Time for chapter 2! First off, since this is a multi-chapter fic I'd like to take the chance to thank all my readers who favorited, followed and reviewed the story! HanHan84, firerosedreamer67 and mynameisagent - Thank You for the lovely feedback! Without further delay, this chapter is taken from 1x09 "Repairs" with the 2nd scene of Skye/Coulson after they deal with Tobias. Enjoy! ^_^

Disclaimer: Must I do this all the time? It saddens me to know I don't own Skye, Coulson, AoS or anything else Marvel related! *sigh*

The second time it happened, Skye learned that her answer was most likely 'yes she would tell him' even though her mind was set on her saying 'no, keep them to yourself'. In all honesty, she hadn't planned on saying "I love you" to Coulson when she almost did. Again. They had just finished another mission and Skye was making her way towards the deck for Game Night with the others when she noticed Coulson staring at his now-broken vintage edition watch near the Briefing Room. She remembered the two of them getting locked together in his office a few hours ago and nothing had happened at that time; but maybe there was a chance the part of her which kept bringing the words to her lips decided that conversation was better left for later. And when later came around, it had been another one of her near slip-ups that she'd barely managed to save. Skye had started off talking to him about the watch and as she thought back to it, began to wonder just what would happen if she had said those three words to him.

"Can Fitz repair it?" It was an innocent enough question for her to start off with and she did know that Coulson valued all of his old-fashioned collectible items.

"Nah. This one's a lost cause." He truly sounded convinced by that and yet seemed to have accepted that the watch was gone.

"But May isn't. If anyone can bring her around, its you. You know what makes people tick; pun intended." She even giggled at her own joke.

Skye knew what she had witnessed in the barn when May had somehow talked Tobias down and saved all of them from more of his anger. Coulson had spoken to her for a minute after that and she noticed the tension between the two but refrained from commenting on it.

"So do you. You see the good in them; you were a friend to Hannah, you can't wait to get inside May's head and you figured Tobias without even trying." He smiled at her as he spoke, every word of it echoing true to what he had witnessed in her through all that they had been through.

"I guess I'm full of surprises." Skye hadn't known how to react to that; hearing his words made her feel as if she was... special. It was a feeling she wasn't used to and that's all she could say to him.

"But this isn't one of them, I wanted you paying close attention to the Index Asset Evaluation and Intake Process because someday, you'll be really good at it. Even the best." He stood up to face her now and hoped that she would see the belief he had in her.

"Thanks... A.C." She definitely looked proud to hear him say those words to her and even managed a real smile, he had a way of doing that to her, even when she wasn't expecting it.

"Maybe you'll get to rename it." Coulson added as an afterthought, knowing it was one of the things she would have wanted to hear.

"Good. Cause that name is super stupid!" Her eyes widened a little as she considered the possibilities of changing the name to anything she wanted to and even laughed at the prospect of getting rid of the existing name.

"I know." He nodded in reply and even smiled back, getting ready to make his way towards the deck to meet up with the other team members.

And as he began to walk away, Skye couldn't help herself from turning around and calling out to him. What had possessed her to do so was something she wouldn't really ever know. She certainly hadn't planned on saying anything else to Coulson; their nice and simple conversation was over, all that remained was for her to join the others for Game Night.

"A.C.?" Skye hoped it wasn't too loud because right now, she didn't want Ward or FitzSimmons to hear her and interrupt their moment.

"Yeah Skye?" He glanced back to where she was standing and Skye noticed that he was watching her, waiting to hear what else she had to say. For a really long minute that still felt like only a second to her, she tried to find the right words she wanted to tell him it nearly resulted her in saying those three words again.

"I... I just wanted to say... thanks. For y'know, everything that you did." Skye fumbled as she blurted out something completely lame. Coulson already knew there was no need for her to say thank you to him and yet that's what she had gone with.

And now, here she was... a few hours later after Game Night had ended at the bar with a cup of steaming hot chocolate between her hands as she tried to figure out what she was going to do the next time her impulsive side decided to say "I love you" instead of anything else. What if someone else happened to be around them? What if he didn't want to hear those words? What if he did? All these questions were playing on her mind as she sat there alone, enjoying the comfort she was feeling being out on the Bus while everyone else was asleep. The hum of the plane and its smooth flight path only added to Skye's sense of peace. No matter what her thoughts about Coulson were, no matter what she decided to do the next time there was another close-call, she was resolved to keep her feelings to herself for the moment and see where they took her.

A bit longer than yesterday's chapter and slow progress... stay tuned for #3 tomorrow at the same time, same place! Till then, reviews are always welcome! :-)