Awakening Quake
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Chapter One.

Chapter Twenty-Five: His Girl

"Miss Skye, Mr. Rogers would like you to go to his apartment when you have a chance." JARVIS told Skye as she took the elevator back to her apartment after her session with Natasha. They had spent the morning with Natasha teaching Skye how to try and fake emotions. It wasn't easy and Skye wasn't sure she'd ever really get the hang of it, but she understood why Natasha thought she should try and learn.

"Thank you JARVIS." Skye told him and when she stepped out of the elevator, she headed for Steve's apartment instead of her own. She knocked lightly on the door, sure that JARVIS was also announcing her presence and a second later the door opened.

"Hi." Skye said as she stepped inside, feeling a little shy. She had never been great at the 'morning after' and the last time she'd slept with a guy, the morning after had involved finding out he was a serial killer.

"Hi." Steve told her warmly. He reached for her and Skye went into his embrace happily, raising her face to meet his kiss.

"Did you have a good work out?" Steve asked after a minute, his arms still around her.

"Natasha went easy on me," Skye told him, "We practised my espionage skills instead."

"Not a bad idea." Steve acknowledged. "So Natasha…?"

"She had a pretty good idea what happened last night," Skye told him.

"Bucky too." Steve told her. "He was grilling me during our run." He looked her in the eye. "Does it bother you that they know?"

"Apparently everyone knows," Skye said, making a face, "and no, it doesn't bother me. I mean, it's not like our relationship was a secret."

Steve looked relieved and Skye had a feeling that he was remembering what she had told him about her relationship with Ward and how she had concealed it from everyone.

"Good." Steve told her. "Because I don't want to hide it. I care about you Skye and I want everyone to know it."

He released her from his embrace and instead reached for her hand, leading her to the couch. Skye went willingly, settling into the crook of his arm.

"I feel like we should discuss where we go from here." Steve told her after a moment. "And what last night meant."

Skye nodded. "Okay."

She didn't have a lot of experience with the relationship talk. Her love life was a series of disasters, with Ward being the biggest one of all. But she felt surprisingly calm, mostly because she trusted Steve and knew that he wasn't about to blow her off.

"I know it's old-fashioned, but I have a hard time with casual sex," Steve began, "During the war it was different and there were some USO girls, but even then…"

Skye could see his embarrassment and guessed that he'd been slightly uncomfortable with those sexual relationship. "I understand." She told him softly. She had never been one for casual sex either, though sometimes she'd wished she had been, given how many mistakes she'd made in the romantic department.

"Last night wasn't casual for me," Steve told her, looking her directly in the eye, "I respect you too much for that, Skye. I don't want to rush you, though."

"You aren't." Skye promised him. "Last night… It was what I wanted, what I've wanted since I moved into the Avengers Tower."

"Me too." Steve told her. "I haven't been able to get you out of my mind since that first night when you had that nightmare and I saw you in your pajamas."

Skye smiled, thinking how sweet he'd been and how patient. Really, it was what she'd needed to heal. Oh, the past still hurt, but she was finally starting to trust her heart. This time she had made the right choice.

"I want this," Skye told him softly, "I want to be with you. It's scary because I've been on my own for so long."

"You're not alone anymore," Steve assured her, squeezing her hand gently. "I'm here for you, we're all here for you."

"I know." Skye told him with a smile. She believed him. She was starting to feel like this time it was going to work out. She had a home, a family and the chance at something more. Everything she had ever dreamed of.

She leaned forward to kiss Steve, but was interrupted by a chuckle. Startled, she looked around to see Bucky grinning at her.

"Sorry to interrupt." He said unrepentantly. "But I need the punk, Stark wants to run my arm through some training exercises and Stevie's the best opponent."

"So you had to come interrupt my time with my girl?" Steve asked, making a face, but he got to his feet.

My girl. The words should have made Skye's blood run cold after her experience with Ward's psychotic possessiveness, but they didn't. Steve didn't mean it like that, he would never try to control or own her. She could hear the pride and affection in his voice. His girl. She was Steve Roger's girl. She had to admit, she really liked the sound of that.

"Want to watch me beat up the punk?" Bucky asked her with a grin.

"Ha." Steve told him. "In your dreams." He turned to Skye and helped her from the couch. "Bucky's right though, you should come watch me whip the floor with him."

Skye laughed. "As tempting as that is, I actually have some computer work I should be doing." She leaned into Steve, giving him a quick kiss.

He held her close to him for a moment and then released her. "I'll see you later."

Skye nodded. "Don't beat each other up too badly."

"No promises." Bucky told her with a grin, "but I'll make sure he's still pretty for you, doll."

This immediately had Steve sputtering and as Skye left the apartment, she could hear the two of them exchanging good-natured insults. She was thrilled for Steve because knew how much it meant to Steve to have Bucky back in his life.

Secretly, she wished she could find the same kind of balance though and have this wonderful new life, but find a way to include Jemma and her other friends in it and not just rely on the occasional phone call or e-mail.