Chapter 41: "After the After-Party"
July 24
Capitol Party
Honestly, America was a little annoyed by the time the last night of parties had come around. The group of victors who had totally ditched her the other night had been a little grumpier than usual, and she did not want to be stuck with the older victors and the creepier ones. Which left her with not that many options for people to hang out with.
Not that they were all horrible. Hank McCoy and Charles Xavier were nice enough and made an honest effort to ask her how she was doing, but they didn't seem to appreciate her sense of humor quite like the younger crowd she'd had the first night.
And Johnny Storm was asking to get stuffed into a trash can, so she wasn't exactly going anywhere near the Fantastic Four either.
She would much rather just go home. Get about a month's worth of sleep. Pretend this whole thing never happened. Go out in the woods and… and try real hard not to look too long at Tommy or Teddy while she was making sure they didn't get themselves stupidly killed either.
But this one was the last night. Noh had pulled out the nicest red dress yet for the meet and greet with the president so she could be crowned and go home. And if she was honest, she looked great in it; she just didn't feel like dancing and showing off how great she looked.
Of course, this was the biggest night of the whole celebration, so her plan to find a nice corner at the party and shout encouragement at her stylist as he tried to pretend he wasn't totally dating Seven's… well, that fell through. As soon as she arrived, everyone there wanted to dance with her.
Everyone.
Sam was first to whisk her out onto the dance floor with a little smirk. "You wanna make everyone else look bad?"
"What, you guys jealous?" she shot back.
"Of you? Never," he said with a little shake of his head.
"Too bad. I was all prepared to let you off the hook for totally ditching me if you were too depressed by how amazing I am."
"We did not ditch you," he promised. "But you are amazing."
"I don't fall for flattery," she smirked.
"Good thing I'm not makin' it up then," he laughed. "Come on. You and me — nobody's gonna look this good tonight."
She considered him for a moment and had to chuckle. "Only if I don't get to dance with the blonde from Two," she allowed. "That happens, and we're stealing the thunder from you."
"Girl, that ain't even gonna do it, but you're welcome to try."
"Give me five minutes after I ditch you," she shot back.
"Oh. You're gonna ditch me?" He said with his eyebrows raised. "Nuh-uh. Nope." He took her hand and spun her — right into Jess, who caught her from the spin and pulled her into a slow twirl.
"We'll try to keep you from the politicians tonight," Jess promised.
"Oh, is that what the pass-the-America game is about?" America asked. "And here I thought you just couldn't keep away."
"Yes, and yes," she agreed. "And you'll thank us for it later."
All night, it seemed she was twirled from one friendly face to the next — though the stylists seemed to be the ones to step in most often for the fast dances, just so she wasn't alone. She particularly liked dancing with Jubilee or with GoGo, one of Eight's stylists. They knew how to have fun, and GoGo was single, too.
So when Logan found her for one of the slow songs just after she'd finished dancing her heart out with GoGo, she had to smirk at him. "Oh, you're a step down."
"No kidding; I could say the same," he shot back.
"Yeah? Who were you dancing with before me?" America challenged him.
"Bottle of Crown Royal."
America looked over her shoulder and then back at Logan. "Oh, come on. I am such a big step up from Scowling and Blue."
"Scowling and blue?" he asked with a frown. "What the hell're you talking about?"
"So you weren't dancing with Quill's favorite sister-in-law?'
"Christ no," he said with a scrunched up nose. "I was drinking. Whiskey."
"Had to check. Then I'll give you that I'm not a step up," America allowed, breaking into a grin. "I was about to get all offended."
"Just lookin' for a reason to slap me and storm off, eh?" he teased.
"I had a gorgeous dance partner, alright?"
"You can have her back when you catch your breath," he promised. "And she can take it away again."
"Smooth," she laughed as she let him lead her through the crowd of dancers. "But accurate."
"GoGo, huh?" he said with a smirk. "She's fun."
"Single, too," America said with a shameless grin.
"You oughta do something about that," he advised.
"Yeah? I'm heading back to Twelve tomorrow morning. I'll see if she's still single when I come back later," America reasoned.
"She will be," he replied, though he wasn't looking at her, rather scanning the crowd over her shoulder with a neutral look on his face.
"Catch like her? We'll see," America said, shaking her head, though when she noticed that Logan's gaze wasn't on her, she moved to follow it.
It took her the better part of the song, but America found what it was that Logan wasn't looking at when a pretty girl with long, dark hair pulled a ridiculous face as soon as Logan was even partly turned her way.
"She single?" America asked.
Logan frowned and met her gaze. "Who?"
"Girl making faces by the table across from Sam's," America said, tipping her head in the correct direction.
He made a little disinterested sound. "No idea," he said with a little shrug. "You want me to leave you two alone?"
"You could introduce me," America said with a smirk.
"Why, you shy all of a sudden? Going for the blushing school girl look? Because I don't think you can pull that one off, princess."
"Nope, not a chance," she said. "I'd just like to know which of us she's looking at."
"Well, by all means," he said with a tiny smirk. "Check it out."
America smirked his way and took it as a challenge, pushing through the dancers until she got to where the young woman was as she leaned over the table. "America Chavez," she said, offering the girl her hand to shake. "Currently looking for a dance partner. You available, or are you waiting for someone?"
"Oh, that's — I'm fine," the girl said quickly, suddenly interested in drinking what she had in her hand even if she hadn't really touched it until then.
"You know, he's not a half bad dancer," America pressed, grinning when that made the girl turn pink. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She waved at the girl with the tips of her fingers. "See you around. Good luck with your… waiting."
When she got back to Logan, he was at the bar with a drink in hand, halfway through it and again half-heartedly scanning the room. "Run out of dance partners?" he asked before he tipped the glass back and took a drink.
"Not me. I'm too fabulous for that," she said.
"Uh huh, that's why you're with me at the bar, eh?"
"Oh, I just thought it was sad to see you here by yourself with the pretty girl staring at you all… pink and blushing," America said, grinning with all sorts of trouble in her eyes.
He chuckled a little at her. "Well. Now I am shocked," he said, not sounding it in the least. "Here I thought tonight was all about finding you pretty girls to make friends with."
"I can share when they're not interested in me," she said with a smirk.
"I'm fine with the whiskey, I think," he replied. "But if you wanted to get after GoGo, I think she's done getting glittered with Jubilee. Proceed at your own risk."
"You think I can't handle a little glitter, you're out of your mind. But then, I guess I'm a little braver than you."
"You're not going to goad me into pestering that girl."
"One dance. If she says no, I'm sure your ego will survive."
He had to laugh at that. "You act like my ego isn't beaten down all the time."
"So what's got you turning chicken? It's not like you're proposing. It's just a dance. I danced with Jubes, and she's got a line."
"It's not a great idea to pick up girls at these parties," he told her, letting his tone get more serious.
"I have a discerning eye. I don't give trash the time of day," she promised.
"Oh, and you think I do?" he countered, both eyebrows raised her way.
"I dunno; you've just been drinking and chickening out of anybody decent but me."
"Just because you're such a tough act to follow," he said with a little smirk. "So instead of giving me a hard time — who do you want to dance with next?"
"What, and let you continue to live in this chicken coop?" she asked, complete with a 'bwak' and a crooked grin.
He grinned her way with a little laugh. "I don't really give a damn about the picking," he said. "But I can take you over to the girl from Two if you want a spin. Saw you lookin' that way enough."
"She's pretty easy on the eyes," America allowed.
"And not a half-bad dancer," he told her. "If you don't mind the close dancing."
"Never bothered me," America said with a shrug. "But then, I'm braver than you."
"Come on," he said, setting his drink down and pulling her onto the dance floor to work their way across the room. But when they got to where the other lady victors were gathered, Logan had to chuckle before he spun her to the girl from Two … the wrong girl from Two. "Have fun, Ophelia." He gave America a little salute with two fingers before he put his hands in his pockets and walked away from the whole situation.
America's look of betrayal was very nearly Bobbi's undoing as she tried her best not to laugh when she caught up to Logan. "Need a partner? Apparently, no one wants to dance with me."
"You didn't get enough already?" he asked as she pulled him onto the dance floor.
"I'll take you back to the bar after. I just want to see this…" Bobbi grinned and shook her head, looking toward America and Viper as they danced far too close for America's liking.
"She should enjoy it," Logan said. "She said she liked the close dancers."
"You know that's not what she meant," Bobbi said, though there was not a hint of any real chiding in her voice.
"She also said she wasn't scared of anything. So…."
"What'd she do?" Bobbi had to ask. She hadn't been this entertained pretty much since the Games started, and she couldn't stop grinning.
"Couldn't let something drop," Logan replied. "I got a little irritated."
"A little."
"If she'd really pissed me off, I'd have twirled her into Shmidt."
"You never know. She might enjoy pissing him off if you wind them both up right," Bobbi mused.
"Easy enough on both counts," he conceded.
"Good for her, though. She seems to be doing alright," Bobbi said, a bit more seriously.
"It's gonna stay that way too," Logan said with a little glare.
"Hey." Bobbi met his gaze evenly. "I'm not going to screw it up for her. Viper's not interested either. Not really."
"I know," he said with a nod.
She spun with him for a moment before she couldn't quite help but grin at him. "Heard about your morning yesterday," she said low. "I was his appointment after that particular meeting. They were still looking smug when I got there."
"Yeah? Then I was just making their point for them. Good."
She chuckled at that but leaned into the dance to whisper, "Just be ready after that first day. Not all twenty-five of us are on the same side."
"I'm not worried about that," he said. "I know there's going to be some trouble. And likely we won't all make it out alive. I only want to see ours get out. To hell with the rest of 'em."
"I hear that," she said with a little smirk before the song ended and she took a slight step back. "Need an escort to the bar?"
"Only if you have a drink with me," he countered.
"You're on."
Logan offered her his arm, and the two of them slipped around the bulk of the crowd to the bar. They'd just gotten their drinks when America caught up to them. "How was your dance with the girl from Two?" Logan asked with a smirk as he picked up his drink.
"Bite me," she said his way.
"Mine was lovely, thanks," Logan said, again not looking her way.
"Listen, you're just… nobody's buying your deflection, and all you've done is steal my dance partner." America narrowed her eyes at him.
"Hey. You said the girl from Two," Logan defended. "You needed to be more specific."
"You said the girl from Two. It was a setup."
"It's not my fault you forgot about Viper," he said with a shrug. "Besides, she's the close dancer. Bobbi has some respect, and by the by, she was the one to ask me to dance."
"Alright if I dance with you anyway?" America asked Bobbi, who was at that point just trying not to laugh at the whole situation.
"I'd love to," Bobbi chuckled.
They'd only just hit the dance floor when the music stopped, and America looked positively put out — though it was quickly obvious what had happened as the royal family came sweeping up to the center stage.
The ceremony was quick and to the point. The crowd was perfectly silent to hear Thanos' low rumble while he crowned their victor and gave a short speech on the success of the Games and the Quarter Quell before the party was officially disbanded for the evening. America was nearly pouting as she made her way back to where Bobbi and Jessica were quietly discussing the details of the speech, which made no sense at all to any sensible person. It seemed as though the president's ramblings had taken a turn to the crazy side this time out of the gate.
"Next time, Two," America told Bobbi.
"The name's Bobbi," she corrected her. "And you better not cop out on me."
"Not a chance," America assured her with a crooked grin as she and Jessica, along with most of the other victors, headed back to their suites. They'd be leaving early the next morning anyway, so everyone was looking forward to a good night's sleep.
Bobbi and Logan however, had other things to do, and the two of them slipped off to find their way to the Triskellion. Bobbi had new intel for Fury, and Logan had an overdue trip to the lab for Simmons. He slipped his jacket off once he stepped into the lab, took a seat, and leaned his head back against the wall to wait.
When Simmons came in, it was of course with Fitz close behind, and she gave him a little smile. "I know you're tired, but I promise, I just need this one thing and then you can go."
"That's what you always say," he pointed out, though he didn't even open his eyes as he kept his head tipped back.
"I know. That's what they train us to say, actually," she admitted.
"Well, try the truth," he argued, sitting up straighter. "It'll get you further."
"I really do think this is the last one," she said, then paused. "Of course, that's what I thought last time, but never mind that." She quickly got him set up, and she was all ready before something made her pause, and she looked a little closer at him. "Logan… you… you do know that I can't do anything with results when you're drunk, don't you?"
"I'm not drunk," he argued. "Got a buzz, sure."
"I can't…" She threw up her hands in frustration.
"I'll make the coffee," Fitz offered before Simmons could say anything else.
"I could leave and come back tomorrow," Logan offered.
"No, no. I'll just have to poke you with a few more needles than I told you."
"I knew it," he said with his eyes narrowed slightly.
"Relax. I'm only going to give you an IV of saline," she promised him. "To try to flush the alcohol from your system."
"Sweetheart, I couldn't give a damn right now if I tried," he said as he leaned back and rolled his sleeve up.
Simmons rolled her eyes but got down to work setting him up, and when he was set with the IV bag, she nodded once at her good work. "Now, I'll be back in a bit. If you're really bored, I'm sure I could get a magazine," she teased.
"Forget it," he said with a frown. "I'll just catch a nap."
It didn't take him long to drift off, either, though when he did wake up again, it wasn't because Simmons had come back to take her tests but because Skye had arrived and dropped her shoes off unceremoniously on the counter. She called out to Fitzsimmons with the intent to tell them about the party and how stupid it was that Coulson was making her go to these things — until she saw Logan and froze.
"I thought you were — what, did you somehow get hurt again just by walking here from the party?" she asked, gesturing at the IV bag.
"Came for a test, and then I was informed that my blood was inferior with too much alcohol in it. Sounds like a pack of dirty, dirty lies to me," he replied.
"Well, alright then," she said, though she didn't make a move to leave, instead hopping up on the counter to sit on it. "Mind if I wait with you?"
"Nope," he said shaking his head lightly. He paused for a moment before he had to ask. "Didn't like the party much then, huh?"
"Coulson wants me to work on my interpersonal skills," she complained.
"Like he's got room to talk about interpersonal skills," Logan muttered.
"No, I mean, like, he wants me to work on them so I can… I dunno. He seems to think I'm good for negotiations or things like that. Last mission I ran, I was the 'face of the outfit' or something," she said.
"Sounds … interesting," he replied. "Especially for someone makin' that many faces in public."
She smirked at that. "May calls it 'leadership training', but I call it 'Coulson hates going to parties alone', so you be the judge."
"Probably both," he said before he leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't think anyone around here does anything for one reason."
"Then you have not seen Fitz doing his 'I'm going to ask her out' stare of longing recently," she said with a smirk.
"I have. It's ridiculous," he said with a little laugh.
"That is single-minded resolve, my friend," Skye said.
"I can fix that."
"Don't ask Simmons out again; you nearly killed Fitz."
"I didn't ask her out," he laughed. "I just … I smiled at her. That's all."
"Then Fitz is an overdramatic storyteller. Surprise, surprise."
"Well, I mighta screwed with him a little bit first." He turned her way with a smirk. "But I didn't ask her out."
Skye laughed at that, though before she could say anything more, Simmons arrived. "Sorry, sorry, got sidetracked," she told Logan. "Oh, hello Skye!"
"Hey, Jemma." Skye waved with the tips of her fingers.
"Oh, don't let me interrupt, I just need to take a bit of blood…" Simmons scooted around the room to take a quick blood test from Logan, who was so used to it from her at this point that it was almost routine. "Right. We're just going to check this…"
"Thought you weren't going to poke any more needles into him," Skye teased.
"She can't help herself," Logan teased with a straight face.
"Oh, he did this to himself. He knew I needed to do one last check, and what does he come in here with? Whiskey on his breath that's what." Simmons huffed, looking only more irritated as she got the alcohol test running.
"Don't know why, considering the show he put on yesterday. AC never looked so pleased," Skye teased Logan.
"That guy needs a vacation," Logan muttered to himself.
"Give him another, oh, five months. Give or take," Skye said with a little smirk. "Maybe he'll relax after things get going."
"Don't count on it," he replied. "All hell's gonna break loose."
"Yeah, but he's going balder every day sitting on the lid to this thing. He wanted to move, like, last year," Skye pointed out.
"Well if I'd have known …" Logan said with a look.
"He's the one who told Fury this was the last Games," Skye told him.
"Shoulda been the last one last year."
"Yeah. I hear you. But if you ask me, Fury would've let it go on for another few just to get everything perfect," Skye said with a little glare.
"Dunno what the hell's so damn perfect about this crap," he mumbled.
"It's not," Skye started to tell him, though she was interrupted by Simmons' little cry when she saw the blood results.
"You — you just… get out of my lab!" she almost shouted Logan's way. "Go wait somewhere else until you stop being so… so…!"
"I can go wait in Seven," he countered with a trouble making smirk.
"You will not. You do that, and you'll never give me anything usable," Simmons countered, her hands on her hips.
"Very likely."
"I can take him down the hall," Skye offered. She shrugged Logan's way. "Residential for the team. If you don't mind the popcorn bowls and throw blankets we still haven't picked up."
"Got something I can change into?" he asked.
"Do I or Fitz look like we come in your size?" Skye asked.
"I was hoping for another option, to be honest," Logan replied. "Figured there'd be spares …. Nevermind."
"You can see if Coulson's got anything. He won't be home for a while," Skye said.
"I'll stick with what I got, thanks," he said with a shrug. "If I had a couple more drinks, I could sleep just fine. Or walk back without the suit. One or the other."
"If you hadn't, you would be back in your suite asleep right now," Simmons shot back.
"If I hadn't, I'd probably be dead for killing some jackass at that party."
"That bad?" Simmons asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's always that bad in there," he told her.
Simmons huffed out a frustrated sigh before she waved her hand at both of them. "I'll come find you in a few hours. Just… don't. Drink."
"You're cruel," he said, though he had to see if he could tease her. "If you weren't so damn cute, I'd be mad."
"Then it's a good thing I am," Simmons said with a little sniff, missing the look on Fitz's face across the lab when he'd heart it.
They barely got out of the doors before Logan started to chuckle. "Ya see Fitz? He could use a couple shots."
"No kidding," Skye laughed. "You really have to stop that. He's going to explode."
"I told him: if he wants to admit he's interested, I'll quit picking on him."
"You're going to be picking on him for a long, long time," she said, shaking her head. "That's been a thing since Coulson picked me up."
"He'll get there," he said. "And one of these days she won't be so ticked off at me not to notice when I flirt with 'er. Then I won't be able to come down to play without her running away."
She snorted. "She knows you don't mean it. I'm pretty sure."
"She hasn't heard it," he insisted. "If I wasn't the guy that I am, I'd kiss her just to get a rise out of her." He tipped his head to the side a bit. "And … probably send FItz into cardiac arrest." He paused and pointed her way. "Which would work, because she'd have to save him. CPR and all that."
"Then it's a good thing for both of them that you're not that kind of guy," she said, though she was no longer laughing.
"You could give that a shot too," he said. "Only … in reverse. She'd freak out if someone else laid one on him."
"That's not really my style," Skye said as they finally got to the lounge area. "And Fitz might think I meant it and get all weird."
"Never know," he said with a smirk. "Might be the one."
"I'm not stepping in the middle of Fitzsimmons. That's just… not happening," she said, shaking her head.
"Yeah, yeah. I heard," he said. "They just need a little push."
"Just let them set their own pace," Skye said, waving her hand as she started to clear off some bowls and other things that had been on the coffee table when she and the others had last used the couch.
"Sure they will."
She dropped into the couch at last. "You're going to give him a heart attack. That's not fixing it."
"Totally hands off," he said as he joined her on the couch and let out a sigh. "I promise."
She shook her head at him and then tipped her head back to look up at the ceiling. She took in long, deep breath before she let it out. "So." She glanced his way down the length of her nose. "Let's have it, then."
"Have what?"
"It's just you and me, and I told you I'd tell you everything about the Games and the list and everything else, so — go for it. I know it pissed you off."
"Smart girl to wait until I'm half buzzed." He twisted toward her and put one arm on the back of the couch when he realized what she was getting at. The job. "Okay, I'll bite. Why'd you agree? They threaten your family? Someone you care about?"
She let out a sigh and sat up straight to face him. "I don't have a family, so no. Coulson's team arrested me and asked me to join up instead of, you know, facing Thanos' decreed punishment for terrorist activities," she said. "I just thought it would be more hacking and computer programs — and it would give me a chance to see the inner workings of the organization I was trying to hack in the first place."
He frowned at that and thought it over for a moment. "I didn't think Coulson was like that."
"He's not," Skye said quickly. "I just didn't know that at the time. And … I really did get arrested for terrorism, so if I leave SHIELD…."
"You... are not a terrorist," he said with a shake of his head.
"Hacked into the presidential palace twice and got close enough to one of Fury's secret projects in SHIELD to warrant Coulson's team coming for me," she countered.
"Secret project, eh?" He leaned closer to her. "So. You pissed off Nick. That's not hard to do. The only reason he didn't let Thanos catch you is because he wanted to use your talents for himself. Hell, if he didn't want to use me for ...whatever, I'd probably have picked a fight with Ronan and died by now. So, am I missing anything?"
"About why I agreed to work for SHIELD?"
"Yeah," he said.
"No, I think being arrested and saving my neck just about covers it," she said with a little nod.
He nodded and glanced down at his knees as he thought it all over. "Then I can't get mad at you for that. Not after all the crap I've done for Fury. Wasn't by your choice — so at least you're not a psycho that gets her kicks out of it. I think."
"You… no, no. That — that's just the start of it, though," Skye insisted, surprised into spluttering. She had clearly come prepared to defend herself, ready for him to read her the riot act — not simply accept what she said and move on.
"Then you're going to have to help me out here," he told her. "I don't know what questions you want me to ask, and like Simmons said — I'm drunk. My mind ain't on espionage, darlin'."
Skye blushed bright red. "I just thought — you knew the kids being picked for the Games weren't random…"
"I'm not as stupid as I look," he said. "Those kids wouldn't have made it to adulthood anyhow. Too many brainiacs."
"Brainiacs and leaders and people that Fury would like to use," Skye agreed, her eyes wide.
"You really think most of us didn't know we were picked on purpose?" he asked.
"How would I know?" Skye asked. "That… that was my whole job was looking over the list to make it look random," she said in a rush.
"Didn't say we knew the purpose," he pointed out. "Just that it wasn't coincidence."
"Well, it wasn't. Not for you in your Games, and … and not this year…"
He shook his head and closed his eyes. This conversation was killing what little was left of his buzz. "I know why they wanted some of us. The killers. But I don't … I don't understand the ones like little 'Ro. Or the ones that I … any of my alliances. Far as this year? I figured Scott was probably my fault," he said. "For trying to take care of the kids."
"I really hope that wasn't why he was on the list," Skye said earnestly. "I kept trying — I kept asking Coulson to take him off, and I tried every argument I knew, and I couldn't—"
He seemed to have missed that part, because instead of pressing it, he shook his head and held up one hand to silence her. "It's done."
But she was really working up to it now, clearly upset, and he started to come out of his buzz a lot quicker as she got more wound up. "I went to every district, Logan, and I looked at every face and every name and it wasn't like last year when it was just numbers — there were actual kids and faces, and I made recommendations and I tried, I really tried to keep the ones I didn't want out of the Games, but every single one that I said no to — they just — and they all died and my name's on the signoff sheet and—"
He stared at her openly as she got wound up - and more and more frantic, and when it was clear that she was on the brink of a real freak out, he reached over and pulled her into a bear hug and tried to get her to stop. "Come on. That wasn't on you. Not your fault," he insisted. "That's on Fury, and you can bet that any signoff sheet that could prove that it's all hand-picked — it doesn't exist anymore.."
She totally crumbled into him at the hug, half hiding as she cried all over his shoulder. "I killed them, Logan. I killed Scott and those other kids…"
"Knock it off," he rumbled in a more commanding tone as he shifted how he was holding her. "That wasn't your call. Fury was the one that made all the final choices. He's always the one that makes the final choices." He waited until she had more or less gotten herself back under control before he had to pick on her. "Besides, you couldn't take any of those kids in a fight."
She paused, almost like she couldn't believe he was picking on her now, of all times, before she picked her head up and realized she could still easily smell the whiskey on his breath. "Shut up, Logan."
He smiled at her, since, clearly, she was getting past her panic. "Am I irritatin' you?" He didn't wait for her to respond before he readjusted his grip on her and pulled her into a more comfortable position that felt a lot more familiar than the simple bear hug.
"No. But you are just wrong. And your sense of humor is stupid," she muttered, though he could see that she was smirking even if she had laid her head back down on him.
"Yeah, I know. I'm a terrible person all around. Not a newsflash," he agreed. "So why didn't you take America up on her dance? She wanted to dip you. Prolly take a shot at second base too."
"She wasn't asking for herself, you idiot," she replied, shaking her head.
"Not entirely true," he said. "She was askin' to see which one of us you were makin' faces at, but there's no way in hell I'd pull that kind of heat down on you."
She took a deep breath. "I appreciate that. Don't really want to be on the cover of a newspaper as a floozy on your arm anyway," she said with a steadily growing smirk.
"Yeah, nobody wants that," he agreed. "Though I think you got it backwards; I'm the one that's supposed to be the floozy."
"Around here, though? No cameras?" She grinned at him. "I won't play floozy, but… thanks. For the hug. I … totally thought you'd hate me," she admitted that last part in a rush.
He scrunched up his nose at her and shook his head. "You don't hold a soldier responsible for followin' orders. Not much different than what you were dealin' with."
"Hey, it's not like the record was real encouraging. I was part of the process that got Scott and a whole bunch of innocent kids killed. What was I supposed to think your reaction to that would be?" she defended. "You make a habit of forgiving people who screw with kids?"
He drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment. "No. But, with all that I know, and all that they have me doing? Everyone in this organization is being used," he pointed out. "You did what you had to with a gun to your head, and we all have to do crap we would never do otherwise."
"I could have said no," she muttered.
"And died," he replied quickly. "Even if Coulson was okay with you turning them down, Fury wouldn't have been." He let out a little huff. "Hell, with the crap I've been pulling with him, I know he's got a plan to bury me first chance he's got."
"Yeah, could you try and avoid that?" Skye asked, her nose scrunched up. "If I'm sticking around, you have to, too. Screw Fury and his metaphorical firing squads — and the real ones, too."
"Actually it's an assassination team," he said as he pointed to himself. "Which you know all about."
"Yes, yes I do," she nodded. "And now you know about my job, at least the Games part, so… dirty secrets. Fun times. Yay." She twirled the air with her finger.
"This whole thing is depressing," he said. "We should have a drink." But when Skye gave him a look he closed his eyes and let out a breath. "At least there's a date to work toward. And whatever comes after that …"
"Whatever comes after that will be better than all this crap with the Capitol running things," Skye said firmly.
"Sure," he said, though he didn't look entirely convinced. "If we live through the damn thing."
"What, you planning to cop out on me the second we start the revolution?" she asked him, half serious as she watched his expression. "Because that would be incredibly rude. We put all that work in and you just…"
"I know. Don't die before I've outlived my usefulness. But I don't plan on anything," he replied.
"Yeah, I noticed."
"In my defense, any time I've ever tried to make plans, they blow up in my face," he said. "So I just .. don't."
"I get that, actually," Skye said with a little nod, though she still looked a bit nervous. "Grew up with no family," she explained, pointing at herself. "Didn't get too attached to the ones that took me in when they just… fell through. So I get it."
"You were lucky you had some that tried. Even if they didn't try too damn hard." He looked around the room for a moment, ready for a change in subject. "So. Now what?"
"Well, I was expecting you to get mad and leave in a huff, so I literally have no idea," she admitted.
"I can wreck the place and make a scene if that's what you want," he told her. "But to be honest, I don't want to go back to the suite an' I'm settlin' in."
"We could just… stay here?" she offered. "There are throw blankets, and… and I can sleep in my place if you think you can make it all night without drinking and throwing off Simmons' results," she added quickly.
"I can pretty much guarantee that if you leave me alone for five minutes, I will get into Fury's new stash." He gave her a significant look. "We don't get whiskey that good in the woods, and I'm sure he thinks he hid it better this time."
"Then I guess I'm staying here, too," she said, though she didn't seem the least bit disappointed as she looked around for the throw blankets she'd balled up and thrown aside in her 'quick clean' of the room. "We can watch something…. Not the Games footage… something funny…." She looked through the options stashed under the TV as she muttered to herself.
He didn't move to lay down and instead kicked his feet up on the coffee table and settled into the corner of the couch with his arms on the back. "Anything but the Games," he said.
She nodded to herself until she'd picked out an old black and white comedy, one of Coulson's that she hadn't ever seen. "Let's see how AC's taste is."
"Dry and stiff," Logan replied with his eyes closed and his head resting on the back of the couch.
When she stopped at the couch, she stood there for a moment — clearly unsure of where to sit down and not wanting to push. Logan finally opened his eyes and saw what her dilemma was and had to shake his head at her before he waved her over with one hand. "I'm not going to bite."
"I didn't think you would," she said quickly, sitting down beside him as she turned the volume down a bit — so they could still hear it but it wasn't so loud it would prevent active napping this late at night.
When she still looked a little nervous, he let out a sigh and pulled her over with one arm. "Relax. Watch your weird movie."
"It's Coulson's weird movie. I won't claim it until I know how good it is," she said, still not quite relaxed but apparently surprised to find that he was.
"Sure," he replied. "Let me know how it is when it's over."
His head tipped forward a few minutes later, and his eyes drifted shut. She peeked at him when he suddenly drew in a big, deep, hitched breath and let it out quickly — clearly asleep, and perfectly relaxed.
As it turned out, though, Skye didn't find out if the movie was any good either; she ended up falling asleep not long after.
A few hours later, Simmons came looking for them to finally get the tests done that she needed in the first place. "Oh!" She put one hand over her mouth when she saw the two of them sleeping on the couch, not necessarily curled up, but still leaned into each other.
There was no stopping the grin that crept over her expression, and she glanced at the clock, quickly calculating how much time she'd need to do the tests before she absolutely had to get Logan back to his suite for the sendoff of the victors… She really didn't want to break this up.
