Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews. You guys are too kind.
When Skye finally woke up the next morning, the bright, warm light flooding through the bedroom window told her that she had probably slept longer than she should have. She begrudgingly got out of the bed and made her way to the bathroom only to be disappointed by her lack of a toothbrush. The sooner she went to get provisions, or shopping as normal, non-robotic people call it, the better. She had to settle for a quick face rinse before dressing in her freshly laundered clothes and going of in search of Ward. The place was so huge that it took a good few minutes wandering around before she heard signs of life, let alone saw anyone. Skye heard a slew of grunts and smacks coming from the lower levels and questioned whether she really wanted to go investigate but figured why the hell not. She peeked inside the door to see what looked like a gym, complete with large weights equipment, treadmills and a huge mat in the center that was currently occupied by a Ward and May.
Skye watched in amazement as May and Ward sparred with fast, lethal moves. A fast and brutal flurry of attacking and blocking. It was odd that seeing Ward so lethal actually made her feel safer. No matter who was sent for her she knew that Ward could more than match them, though she hoped he never had to. The thought of someone else getting hurt protecting her, or worse, made her stomach turn.
Perhaps most impressive was the fact that May, who Skye clearly underestimated, was keeping up with Ward. She was much smaller but seemed just as strong and maybe even a little quicker. This was proven when May executed as series of moves that ended with her sweeping Ward's legs out from under him, landing him firmly on his back. Skye couldn't contain a soft giggle at the fact that a woman in retirement had put super spy Agent Grant Ward on his ass.
"Something funny?" Ward grumbled, though not unkindly, as he dragged himself to his feet.
"Not a thing." Skye teased, before turning to May. "Nice moves."
"If you think it's so easy, why don't you have a go." Ward bristled but there was a hint of a smirk on his face.
"Raincheck. Maybe after some ninja lessons from May." Skye replied as Ward grabbed a towel.
"Anytime." May replied, still obviously relishing in her victory.
"Sorry to interrupt, though." Skye said, realising she had just barged in on their training session. "I woke up and couldn't find anyone."
"We're done anyway." May replied, heading for the door, brushing past Skye. "I always like to finish when when I'm ahead."
Ward just rolled his eyes at her gloating. She didn't often get the upper hand on him but she sure as hell enjoyed it when she did.
Skye couldn't help but notice she was now alone with a very hot and sweaty Ward.
"Sorry I just wanted to come and ask about going out for provisions." Skye said, stressing the last word. "You have no idea how much I wanna brush my teeth right now."
Skye cringed at her slight over share but shrugged it of quickly enough.
"Yeah sure, there is a place about 30 minutes from here." Ward replied, walking towards her.
"About that though, I didn't exactly have a chance to grab my piggy bank on the way out of my van." Skye said awkwardly. For as long as she had been an orphan she had hated asking for help and handouts.
"Don't worry about it." Ward dismissed. "Give me 20 minutes to shower up and we'll go."
"You don't have to go with me." Skye interjected. "I mean I have to get clothes, toiletries, the works. You could just give me directions and I could borrow the car?"
"Not gunna happen." Ward replied firmly. "You were attacked by a squad of heavily armed men not 48 hours ago. I'm meant to be protecting you remember?"
"Ehh, okay." Skye said, realising this was one argument she wouldn't win. "I guess I'll just meet you out front."
Skye used the time she was waiting for Ward to wander through the small garden in front of the castle. There was something utterly perfect about wandering on cobblestone paths through hedges and blooming flowers. She could totally see why Coulson and May had retired here. Retired from what though, she wasn't entirely sure but she knew better than to ask. Skye took the time alone to think about how much had changed since Ward had slammed open her van door. No matter how much she wracked her brain she couldn't come with a single reason why someone might be after her. She had led a fairly uneventful life. Between St Agnes Orphanage, her countless foster homes and her anonymous hacking from the van she had lived in since she was 15 nothing much of consequence had happened.
Sure she hacked into plenty of things she shouldn't but she was good enough to cover her tracks. Plus if the any government agencies had caught on to her activities they would have sent a man like Ward to lock her in handcuffs and then a tiny little cell, not take her out with a team of automatic weapon toting thugs. Then there was what Ward had said about Level 10 orders. She knew enough about S.H.I.E.L.D from hacking and May and Coulson's reaction to know they were high level orders. Why would the top brass of S.H.I.E.L.D. want to protect her? Plenty of crap had gone down in her short life and no one had wanted to protect her then. Why now?
It wasn't until she heard Ward calling her name in the distance that she realised she had gone into her own little world. She turned to see Ward looking at her questioningly from near the front door of the house.
"Yeah, sorry." Skye said, jogging over to him. "I'm coming."
"You okay?" Ward asked when Skye reached him.
"I'm good." Skye answered with a smile and she could tell Ward didn't believe her. "Let's go."
Thirty minutes later Ward was pulling into the parking space at a large mall, his hands gripping the steering wheel a little tighter as he observed all the people milling around the car park.
"In and out, okay?" Ward said tersely. "It's low risk but still, no chances."
Skye just nodded, though she couldn't help feeling like Ward was maybe being a bit too over-cautious. She got that that was basically his entire job description but still, the people after her still hadn't turned over her little Cuban Resort rock. There didn't seem to be any real reason to panic just yet. They walked in to the mall and Skye was relieved to see all the stores she recognized.
"I do love globalisation." Skye muttered as she walked towards a giant H&M store. Ward followed silently, his eyes darting around vigilantly.
"Just let me grab some basics." Skye said, picking the first things she caught her eye. "I won't be long, promise."
Skye soon realised that it wasn't until you lost every single one of your worldly possessions that you appreciated just how much stuff you need. She grabbed only the bare minimum but still ended up with a armful of clothes.
"Crap." Skye muttered, remembering the most basic of all when she spotted the underwear section. Well this was going to be awkward.
"Uhhh, hold these would you. I'll be right back." Skye muttered, dumping her armful of clothes on Ward.
"I'm coming with you remember." Ward grumbled, obviously to happy to be relegated to the role of clothes horse.
"Ward I'm quite certain there is no-one waiting for me in the underwear section with a gun." Skye teased and she could help but laugh at Ward reaction.
"Right, sure." Ward replied awkwardly. "I'll uhhh, wait here."
"Good plan." Skye said with a smile, leaving him standing amongst racks and racks of clothes, looking like he would rather be in an actual war zone.
Skye quickly grabbed what she needed and a large duffel bag. Unfortunately she knew that they wouldn't be staying with May and Coulson for much longer, even though Ward had never really mentioned it. The though of living out of a bag again bothered her more than she let herself admit. It reminded her of the few sad posessions she carried from foster home to foster home as a child in a faded backpack. There was no point dwelling on it though, Skye quickly reminded herself.
She quickly returned to Ward who now looked like he was in physical pain.
"Okay, let's go." Skye said, almost laughing at the visible relief on his face.
They went to the counter and Skye began feeling awkward about letting a virtual stranger buy her a whole new wardrobe. There was little she could do about it though.
"Ciao, come stai oggi?" The woman behind the counter greeted which made Skye weirdly nervous, not knowing at all what she was saying.
"Bene, grazie." Ward replied automatically as Skye shot him a surprised look.
The woman quickly checked and bagged everything and Ward paid cash, making Skye shift uncomfortably beside him.
"I said don't worry about it." Ward said softly noticing her discomfort, handing her one bag while he carried the other.
"Thanks." Skye mumbled.
They made one last stop at a chemist for what Skye hoped was deodorant and toothpaste because she couldn't read a word on the packaging. With enough basic products so that she could at least feel human then they were on their way back to the car.
"Do you mind?" Ward asked as he stopped in front of the bookstore.
"Sure." Skye said, following him.
Skye watched as he quickly selected a couple of titles from the classics section noting that they were all in Italian. He must be fluent then, Skye thought to herself. As he scanned the shelves Skye watched his entire body tense which was no mean feat considering he seemed tense all the time. He quickly replaced the books haphazardly on the shelf.
"What's wrong?" Skye asked, worried.
"There's a woman watching us. Ten o'clock." Ward replied in a hushed tone. "On my mark, walk directly to the car. Do not stop if I have to engage, got it?"
Skye glanced worriedly in the direction Ward had told her and couldn't help but laugh when she saw a young blonde woman watching Ward much more intensely than she was watching her.
"Oh tell me you aren't that oblivious." Skye laughed as Ward glared at her as though she was singlehandedly blowing an entire mission.
"What? We need to go." Ward hissed, convinced she was going to get them both killed.
Skye just laughed harder, having to actually hold on to the shelf beside her for support. She eventually recovered enough to string a sentence together.
"She's checking you out, idiot." Skye laughed even harder at Ward's reaction.
"What? No she isn't." Ward said glancing over to the woman again as she quickly averted her eyes.
"Oh really? Watch this." Skye said with a sly smirk as she leaned closer and wrapped her arm around Ward's waist, leaning in to his firm chest like a girlfriend would. If he was any more tense he would literally turn to stone. Skye shot the girl a pointed look with one raised eyebrow and the blonde all but ran out of the shop with flaming cheeks at being caught.
"Told ya." Skye said, pulling back and looking up at Ward still laughing. "Get your damn books, Mr Paranoid."
Ward took a moment to recover but quickly cleared his throat, grabbing the books he had chosen and taking them to the counter.
Ten minutes later they were back inside the SUV with a pile of bags on the backseat and Skye still laughing softly from the passenger seat.
"Are you done?" Ward deadpanned.
"Oh that was so much more hilarious than your robot circuitry can appreciate." Skye giggled.
"I'm used to being surrounded by threats and last time I checked, that awareness saved both our lives." Ward said, annoyance clear in his tone.
"Oh relax. And yes, I am grateful for that." Skye said, trying to control her laughter. "I just find it hard to believe that someone who looks like you doesn't realise when they're being checked out."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh come, Mr Tall-Dark-and-Handsome. You and your stupid cheekbones." Skye said rolling her eyes.
"What's wrong with my cheekbones?" Ward asked indignantly.
"Nothing! That's my point!" Skye laughed. "Oh, forget it."
They rode the rest of the way in a comfortable silence and Ward managed to swallow his protests when Skye started fiddling with the radio controls, settling on a station she liked. When they finally pulled up at the winery again, Skye quickly gathered her things from the backseat.
"Thanks again for these." Skye said, waving the bags slightly. "I'm just gunna go put them in my room."
Ward just nodded, grabbing his own books and heading to the kitchen. His earlier sparring session with May, not to mention traipsing after Skye in the universe's largest women's clothing store had left him feeling hungry. Apparently he wasn't the only one because just as he was settling on the counter with one of his books and a sandwich Skye came into the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge. Ward watched as she pulled out an apple and washed it in the sink.
"Watcha reading?" Skye asked conversationally.
"La Div-ee-na..." Skye started reading of the cover in terrible Italian.
... Commedia di Dante Alighieri: Inferno." Ward finished offhandedly in perfect Italian that even Skye couldn't deny was at least a little bit sexy. What was it about foreign languages?
"Oh right, I think I've heard of it. Well the English version anyway." Skye said, vaguely recalling it.
"It's always better in Italian." Ward said as though he had read it more than a few times while placing the book face down beside his sandwich, with a sigh. It was clear he wouldn't get much reading with Skye in such a chatty mood. "Plus the author was born here, so why not?"
"So how many languages do you speak exactly?" Skye asked, taking a bite out of her apple.
"Six." Ward answered.
"English, Italian...?" Skye listed, waiting for Ward to fill in the blanks.
"French, German, Russian and Spanish." Ward finished.
"Lots of business in Europe... right." Skye remembered what he had told her the day before. "Impressive. I tried learning French once but CS languages always seemed easier."
"Français n'est pas si difficile." Ward said with a smile.
"Yeah the fact that I barely understand that very basic sentence is proof that it is that hard." Skye said with a laugh. "Show off."
They both ate and cleaned up quietly and Ward was thankful for the silence. It wasn't that Ward disliked her company but she did talk entirely too much.
"I don't suppose you ran into May or Coulson on your way in?" Skye asked hopefully.
"Sorry, Skye. Still nothing." Ward answered.
"That's okay. I guess I'm just going a little crazy with all the waiting. Plus no wifi for a hacker is like living without a limb." Skye joked. "I even had to smash my phone SIM into little tiny bits. It hurt me Ward, in my soul."
Ward couldn't help but be a little impressed that she was able to joke about all this. He was also kind of amazed how she was taking most of this in her stride.
"You know Coulson has some board games. I can grab them if you're bored." Ward said, trying to be empathetic to the roller coaster she had been on for the last few days.
"I thought you were reading?" Skye asked with a smile. "You don't have to entertain me."
"Thats okay." Ward said, getting up and heading to the closet in the living room. "Plus I think he has my favourite."
Skye laughed and followed after him.
"G7."
"Hit." Ward groaned, ignoring the little victory dance Skye did in her chair. "B10."
"Miss." Skye countered with a cocky smirk as Ward just missed her battleship. She was definitely winning. She was closing in on his last battleship and he was still looking for three of hers.
"I see you aren't as good with humility as you are hacking." Ward mumbled, sticking a little white peg on his board.
"Oh don't be a sore loser." Skye joked. "Wait, was that almost a compliment?"
"What? No." Ward defended.
"I dunno. It sounded like you think I'm a good hacker." Skye teased.
"Yes Skye, you are excellent at breaking the law." Ward deadpanned as Skye laughed.
"Well we might have to add Battleship to my skills set because... G4."
Skye watched as Ward's eyes flitted down to his board and he ground his teeth.
"Say it." Skye gloated. "Say it, Ward."
"You sank my battleship." Ward mumbled with a defeated sigh.
"Yes!" Skye exclaimed, her seated victory dance back in full swing.
"You know I might be a sore lose but you are an insufferable winner." Ward said with a roll of his eyes and a laugh.
"Oh, quit pouting." Skye teased, noting Ward's first actual laugh since she had met him. "Betcha, I can do it again."
They both began resetting their boards as May and Coulson walked in, having followed the completely foreign sound they could only assume was Ward's laugh.
"I thought you were meant to have superior tactical skills, Agent Ward." Coulson greeted them, ribbing Ward further.
"It's more stabbing in the dark but one thing is for sure... I'm better at it than he is." Skye laughed, enjoying that Coulson was jumping on the bandwagon. Turns out, he wasn't the only one.
"Seems like it's the day for it." May added, smirking about her earlier victory.
"You guys done?" Ward asked shaking his head.
"Actually, yeah we are." Coulson said, his tone dropping. "Ward, you got a minute?"
"Uhhh, yeah." Ward answered, standing up and following May out the door with an apologetic glance at Skye.
"Sorry, Skye." Coulson said. "This is classified."
They all filed out of the room, leaving Skye alone with her empty board game victory and wondering what the hell was happening.
Ward followed May and Coulson downstairs into the cellar.
"What's going on?" Ward asked, taking in Coulson and May's tense faces.
"We can't find them." May answered.
"Hill and Fury?" Ward questioned.
"Both of them are off grid. It seems they disappeared shortly after the order was put out for you to do the same with Skye." Coulson explained. "They aren't answering any of my back-channels and they always answer."
"Something is wrong." May finished and they both glanced at her nervously.
"So what now?" Ward asked, referring to the hacker upstairs.
"Lay low. Stay here for now. She'll be safe." Coulson answered. "We'll keep digging."
Ward just nodded, trying to hide just how worrying their news was.
"I'm going to let Skye know that we'll be staying here for a while. I need to tell her something." Ward said, making his way back upstairs.
He found Skye idly fiddling with the tiny little Battleship pegs with her chin resting on one hand. She looked up hopefully when she heard Ward return.
"Look I know you're probably not allowed to tell me anything but I'm going crazy here." Skye said desperately.
"I shouldn't be telling you this but..." Ward hedged, choosing his words carefully. "We are at a bit of dead end. The people who should be responding aren't and we are still in the dark."
Ward watched Skye's shoulder's slouch at the news.
"I know it's not what you wanted to hear." Ward said.
"It's not your fault. I know you are all trying to find answers." Skye said with a grim smile. "Thanks for letting me know."
Skye walked off in the direction of her room, wanting to be alone.
Ward was worried when Skye didn't surface for dinner but decided against bothering her. He walked past her door on the way to his own and couldn't help but pause as he heard a soft whimper. Trying to ignore the invasion of privacy, Ward pressed his ear to her door. He heard more soft sounds and it sounded like she was in pain.
"Skye?" Ward called out through the door to no response. "Skye I'm coming in."
Ward opened the door, the moonlight coming through the window illuminated her tangled up in her sheets, her hair a knotted mess as she tossed and turned. The pained whimpers had progressed to full blown sobs and Ward decided that he had to do something.
"Skye." Ward called, walking over to her. "Skye, wake up."
He reached out to touch her arm, trying to wake her. The second Ward touched her though, he felt a surge of energy that blew him back with a gust of air. He groaned as his back smashed into the stone wall behind him.
The force startled Skye awake and she looked around frantically only to find Ward looking shocked, crumpled on the floor.
"What the hell was that?" Ward yelled, his whole body trembling.
So I couldn't resist including my own version of the Battleship scene. Also, the H&M thing has a certain significance. On my trip, all of us girls on my tour ended up visiting a H&M in every country. It became "thing". Seriously, they are everywhere over there. I couldn't not include it; ahhh good times.
I hope you all liked this chapter and the wee twist at the end. Don't forget to review and maybe share your predictions/theories. I'd love to hear them. Before you ask though, there is a plan and I must say I'm quite proud of it. I hope you'll like it too.