Hey babes. Back again with a new chapter for ya. Apologies for not updating yesterday. I was at my family reunion all day and was super exhausted when I got home. But I'm updating now. Thanks for all the love so far. Can't believe this story is almost over. Yikes.
Tamara: Thank you. :)
Guest: Haha. Yep.
Guest: I know. A lot of people feel that way. You're just going to have to wait and see what happens.
Guest: Thank you. :)
Enjoy!
*December/January*
"You know, tonight is our first wedding anniversary," Skye steps up behind Grant where he's standing at the stove making breakfast and wraps her arms around his bare torso.
He smiles, "I know it is."
Skye presses a kiss to his shoulder blade. "Can you believe that at midnight we'll have been married for an entire year?"
Grant turns around in her arms, wrapping his own arms around her waist, "And it's been a really great year."
She grins, "Yes it has. Being married to you is a wonderful feeling."
"That is very true," he smiles. "It's also a wonderful feeling getting to raise a daughter with you."
Skye smiles and nods, "Yes it is."
"We should do something special to celebrate," he tells her.
"It's New Years, Grant. I don't think it can get any more special than that."
"Is that going to be your excuse every year when I suggest we do something to celebrate?"
Skye shrugs, "Guess you're just going to have stick around and find out." She leans up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips.
He smiles against her lips, "I'm not planning on going anywhere."
"Good."
"Mamá. Papá."
Skye pulls away from her husband and looks down to see Jessica staring up at her, Bug's antennae clutched tightly in her hand and Buddy standing right beside her.
She smiles down at her daughter, "Hey, baby girl." She leans down and lifts Jessica into her arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek, "Did you sleep well?"
Jessica nods, "Sí." She holds her stuffed ladybug up in front of her, "Bug queire un beso también."
"Well we can't forget about Bug," Skye smiles, leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of the doll's head. She looks at her daughter, "Better?"
Jessica nods.
Skye smiles, "Good, I'm glad. Now, I think you and I should go into the living room and play while daddy finishes breakfast. What do you say?"
Jessica nods again, "Sí."
Skye gives her daughter a small smile before turning and making her way into the living room, leaving Grant in the kitchen to finish making breakfast for the three of them.
"Thank you again so much for agreeing to watch her for us tonight, Kara," Skye says to her friend as they stand in the living room.
Kara waves off the thanks, "It's no problem, really. Even though it's New Years, it's also your first wedding anniversary; you guys should go out and celebrate."
"Yeah, Grant managed to convince me," Skye smiles.
"What are you plans?" Kara asks.
"We're going to go to a nice restaurant for dinner, and then we're going to watch the countdown that they apparently have in the center of town every year."
"Sounds very romantic," Kara smiles.
"That is exactly what I was going for," Grant smiles as he makes his way into the room. "Hi beautiful," he says to Skye, wrapping an arm around her waist and dropping a kiss to her cheek.
"Hi," she smiles up at him.
"¡Mamá! ¡Papá!"
Grant and Skye turn their heads towards where Jessica is sitting on the living room floor, playing with some of her toys with Ben.
"Hey, angel," Grant smiles at the almost three year old. "I want you to be extra good for Uncle Ben and Auntie Kara tonight. You listen to what they tell you and don't cause any trouble for them. ¿Está claro?"
Jessica nods, "Claro, papá."
"Good. Now come give me and mommy a hug."
Jessica jumps up from her spot and runs over to them, colliding with Grant's legs as she wraps her arms around him in a hug. Grant chuckles and bends down to lift the girl up into his arms, pressing a kiss to her cheek.
"We'll see you in the morning, okay?" he says to his daughter. Jessica nods her head. Grant smiles and then passes her off to Skye.
"I love you so much, angel," Skye says to the little girl.
"Yo también te amo," Jessica smiles.
Skye smiles back and then kisses her temple, hugging her close.
Grant steps forward and places a hand on his wife's lower back, "Skye, we're only going to be gone for a couple of hours. It's not like you're never going to see her again."
Skye sighs, "I know." She lets Jessica slide down out of her arms and then run over to Ben. She turns to look at Kara, "She's already had dinner and brushed her teeth, so no snacks. If she wants to try and stay up late to watch the countdown, that's perfectly fine. She probably won't last all night, but if she does, send her straight to bed afterwards. Buddy can just sleep wherever, but not in our bed, though he'll probably fall asleep wherever Jess is. We'll probably stay at a hotel after the celebration, but we should hopefully be back before Jess wakes up tomorrow. Feel free to just crash on the couch or floor tonight. There are some extra blankets and pillows in the hall closet. You have our numbers so call or text one of us if there's a problem or you have a question."
Kara nods, "Got it. Now go," she smiles. "Have fun and celebrate your anniversary. We're going to be perfectly fine here, I promise."
Skye bites her lip and then turns to look at Grant, "Are you sure you want to go out? Because I told you that I'm fine with just staying in."
"Skye, we need this. We hardly spend any time just the two of us when you come by. And you'll get to see Jess again before you leave, so relax."
"Fine, fine. You're right. Now let's go before I have second thoughts about all of this."
Grant lets out a low chuckle and presses a kiss to her temple as he wraps his arm around her waist. He smiles over his shoulder at Kara as he and Skye step out the front door, "Thanks again. We'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," Kara smiles and waves, shutting the door behind them.
"I can't believe how nice of a place this is," Skye comments from where she and Grant are sitting at a table for two along one of the walls of a fancy restaurant.
"You think so?" Grant asks.
Skye nods her head, "Definitely. How have I never noticed this place before?"
"Probably because we don't actually come into town a whole lot when you're here. We've been a few times, but not enough for you to really explore and take things in, you know?"
Skye nods, "Yeah, I know. But soon that is all going to change." She reaches across the table to place one of her hands on his, linking their fingers together, "I promised you last year that before this upcoming year is out, I am going to pick someone on my team to take my place running it and I'm going to get out. Even if I don't pick someone for whatever reason, I am going to get out before the year is up. I can't promise you exactly when that will be, but it'll definitely happen before December 31st."
Grant gives her a smile, "I know I've made a big deal out of it before, but I don't care when it happens, just as long as it does happen before too much longer. Because then you can come home for good and we can spend the rest of our lives raising our family without having to worry about any of the craziness that comes with being associated with SHIELD."
"I know. The team probably won't take it too well, but none of that matters. What matters is you, me, our family, and the life that we're building together."
"Have I told you recently how much I love you?"
Skye smiles and shrugs, "Wouldn't hurt to hear it again."
Grant smiles, "Well I do. I love you so much. More than I've ever loved anyone or anything in my life."
"Same goes for me too," Skye replies. "Just like I told you a year ago when we got married, you have always been, and always will be the only guy for me. As cheesy as that may sound."
"I like cheesy," he smiles. "Especially when it has to do with you and me."
"Me too." She lifts up out of her chair and leans across the table, meeting him halfway with a kiss.
"Oh you two are just so cute."
Grant and Skye pull apart to see an older woman standing beside their table, a smile on her face.
"I'm so sorry," the woman apologizes, "I didn't mean to interrupt your moment. I just wanted you to know that I think you're a beautiful couple."
"Oh, thank you," Skye smiles kindly at her. "I'm Skye. And this is my husband Grant."
"I'm Diane," the woman replies. "How long have you two been together?"
"That's a bit difficult to answer," Skye tells the woman with a small laugh. "But at midnight tonight it will be our first wedding anniversary," she grins at Grant and then looks back at Diane.
"A New Years wedding," the woman smiles. "How romantic. And now you're out celebrating. Well I wish you both the best in the years to come."
"Thank you," Grant smiles at her.
"You're welcome," she smiles back. "I should be going now but have a good rest of your night."
"You too," Skye says to Diane as she walks away. She looks back at her husband, "She was sweet."
Grant nods, "She was. She actually reminded me of my grandmother a little bit."
"I would have liked to have met your Gramsy," Skye says.
Grant gives her a small smile, "I wish you could have. I'm sure the two of you would have gotten along really well. Now come on," he stands up from the table and holds his hand out to Skye, "let's go pay for our dinner so we can head over to the Square for the party."
"Yes, let's," Skye smiles at him, standing from her chair and grabbing Grant's hand in hers.
Grant leans down to give her a quick kiss before leading her towards the front of the restaurant, his hand already reaching in his pocket for his wallet.
...
"Is it just me, or is it still a little hard to believe sometimes that we're married and have a kid?" Skye asks Grant as they stand together in the middle of town square, each of them holding a glass of champagne while they listen to the music performance happening on the makeshift stage at the far end of the Square.
Grant looks down at her, "I will admit that there were a few times when I thought that I'd wake up and you wouldn't be next to me or Jess wouldn't be in the other room sleeping with Bug tucked up against her and Buddy curled up by her bedside. But it didn't take long for me to realize that those were just echoes of my past, in a way, coming back to the forefront of my mind. I realized pretty quickly that I didn't have anything to worry about; that you're with me because you love me, and not just because we have a daughter together."
She smiles up at him and places a hand on his cheek, "I do love you. Very much."
He smiles back, "I love you too." He leans down and presses his lips to hers.
"Alright everybody!" the mayor of the town speaks up into the microphone on the stage.
Grant and Skye break apart and turn towards the man. Grant moves so he's standing behind Skye, wrapping his arms around her middle. Skye leans back against his chest, placing her hands on top of his and threading their fingers together. She smiles when she feels him drop a kiss to the top of her head.
"I hope you've all been having a great time tonight. And yes, I know that our performers aren't as huge as the ones performing in New York or California, but I like to think they're still pretty great," the mayor smiles out at the crowd.
"Now then, it's almost time to ring in the New Year. And before we do, I just want to say, let's all try and make 2020 the best year that we can, alright?" The crowd cheers. He smiles, "Good. Now, let's turn to the clock."
Everyone turns their attention towards the countdown clock set up at the end of the square, counting down along with it.
"10...
9...
8...
7...
6...
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Fireworks explode in the night sky all around them as everyone in the square cheers and kisses their significant other.
Skye tilts her head back to smile up at Grant, "Happy New Year."
He smiles and shakes his head, "Happy Anniversary."
She smiles back and lifts herself up onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips. She pulls back and smiles, "Happy Anniversary."
*February*
Letting out a deep sigh, Skye falls down onto the couch, running a hand down her face in exhaustion.
Hearing her phone go off in her pocket, she pulls it out and unlocks it to find a new message from Grant with a photo attached She said that she wanted to be just like you. The image shows Jessica standing in the middle of the master bedroom, Skye's favorite flannel shirt hanging off of her small body, a wide smile on her face.
Skye smiles at the picture and then types back a reply This is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. And I had a feeling I was missing a shirt.
I think it's pretty cute too. I think she picked this shirt because she somehow knows that it's your favorite.
Haha, aww, that's awesome.
Yeah. I told her to change her shirt earlier after she got it dirty, so I guess she decided she wanted to wear one of your shirts instead of one of her own.
Maybe that just means she'll have my amazing style when she gets older.
Maybe. But she could also have her own style, too. That is always a possibility.
Yeah, I know. But is it so wrong to want to have a little mini-me?
No, it's not wrong. I'm just saying that we should let her figure out who she is all on her own. Not try to force anything on her.
That's not what I'm saying. At all.
I know. I'm sorry.
It's fine.
I love you.
I love you too. Jessie says hi and that she loves you.
I miss my sweet girl. Give her a giant kiss for me, please.
Will do.
I'm going to go now, Jess has a play date with Ian in a little bit.
Okay. Have fun. Say hi to Kendra and the boys for me.
We will.
Closing out of the program and locking her phone, Skye sets it off to the side, leaning back in the couch and letting her eyes close.
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
*Bug also wants a kiss
*Is that clear?
*Clear, dad
Also, for those interested, I'm still working on a special project for Brett and I'd really love to have as many people involved as I can. Let me know if you're intrigued. :)
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!