A/N: I still don't own any of these fine characters.
A/N1: I am sorry for the delay! I know this is slightly a filler chapter but I needed to get some of the less exciting conversations out of the way to build up to the more fun bits that will happen in the next chapter that is already being worked on. Promise!
Chapter 6
Ward was shocked to see sunlight streaming from the window when he woke, by his estimate it was close to eight. The professor hadn't been wrong when he'd told Ward that he would feel exhausted after the experience with the berserker staff. Ward hadn't slept this late in almost a decade and he didn't even remember falling asleep after and May had…
He rolled over expecting to find her still in the bed with him assuming he would have woken if he had felt or heard her moving around. When all that greeted him was an empty bed and a silent room, Ward shook his head. He should have known that Melinda May was able to move just as stealthily as himself and she wasn't one to participate in the awkward morning after discussion.
Deciding not to waste any more time, he thought about waking the reluctant Skye and making her get breakfast with him. Ward felt compelled to make sure that everything between them truly was okay after everything that had happened the past few days.
Skye was always grumpy when he woke her up for early training which meant that she may be in a slightly better mood due to the extra few hour of sleep. It was a quick walk to her door just down the hall. He had learned after several weeks of living with her on the bus that knocking would simply be a waste of time and energy. Skye would sometimes fall asleep with headphones in to block the sound of the engines so the fastest way to get Skye out of bed was to literally drag her out of it. Plus, it gave him the chance to see her still rumpled and glassy eyed from sleep.
Bypassing the hotel's security was a joke to people with specialized training. These door locks just provided the illusion of security. He moved through her door silently, unsurprised to see she had the curtains closed to block the light. He fully entered the room expecting to see her sleeping peacefully in the room's huge bed but he was shocked to find it empty. Throwing the switch to the light, he quickly scanned the area. The bed was unmade and there were towels on the floor in the bathroom but Skye's computer, phone, and bag were missing. His mind started flashing with all of the worst case scenarios so he forced himself to a deep breath and went to find Coulson.
Ward rushed into the hotel's restaurant, he immediately spotted Coulson and May sitting at a table in the back corner in what appeared to be friendly silence. As he made his way over to the table considering how to ask Coulson if he knew where Skye had run off to, Ward caught movement out of the corner of his eye and felt relief flooded his system when he saw that it was Skye. Objectively, he had known that nothing had happened but, he still felt better seeing her for himself.
By the time he made it to the table Skye had taken a seat next to Coulson and had snagged his coffee cup. Before Coulson could manage to protest Skye had gulped down the entire cup and began pouring another from the pot that had been left off to the side. When she realized the three other occupants of the table were watching her she looked down sheepishly, "Sorry, long night. Need caffeine."
"Ok then." Coulson shrugged while reaching for another mug and directing his attention to Ward. "How are you feeling? Any lasting effects from the staff?"
Ward attempted to shrug his shoulders but winced. Without the adrenaline from the staff the consequences of fighting a mob of angry were beginning to be felt. "I've had worse, sir."
Without Skye's habit of badgering Ward and Coulson with questions the table fell into silence, only speaking when the waitress approached to take their orders. He never thought that not hearing her chatter would be just as grating on his nerves as her incessant questioning. Ward kept glancing up to see if he could get a read on what was keeping her so quiet but all he saw was the bruise from his elbow and tiredness in her eyes. When he could no longer stand it Ward broke down and asked her, "Hey, are you ok? Usually you've asked about a dozen questions by now."
"I'm fine, Ward. Really. Just a bit tired." Skye responded quietly without bothering to look up from the phone in her hand.
Ward was ready to press for a more descriptive answer but was interrupted by FitzSimmons joining the group and bringing with them chatter about how to improve the night night rounds. Skye quickly chimed into their discussion with an idea of possibly finding a way to incorporate a tracking device in the rounds as a way to monitor suspects that were incapacitated but couldn't be taken into custody right away.
"That is bloody brilliant!" Fitz exclaimed. It took Simmons a moment to start babbling about a way to ensure that the tracker would be able to implant itself within the subject without causing enough damage to draw too much attention.
He felt pride swell in his chest. This girl, that was barely able to think tactically several weeks ago, was now coming up with an idea that could help efficiently gain more intel without risking an entire op. Remembering how she had lit up when he had complimented her before the whole Miles situation, Ward wanted to see her smile like that again. "That's a great idea, Skye. When did you come up with it?"
Again, she barely glanced over at him when she answered, "Oh, it was just something I thought about last night when a friend was telling me a story."
Ward didn't miss the significant glance between Skye and Simmons. He watched as the two seemed to have a silent conversation. How women managed that still boggled his mind and he'd always wondered if it was just something that came naturally. He looked around at the rest of the team to see if anyone else understood what was going on between the girls. Fitz and Coulson and Fitz looked just as confused as he did. May, on the other hand, had a slight smirk that seemed to indicate that she too understood the silent girl code.
It was apparent that none of the girls were going to clue them into their silent discussion. And as much as it bothered him, Ward knew he would be more likely to get Skye to talk to him if they were alone. It was always easier to snag a decent amount of personal time with her on the plane. With that thought in mind he turned to Coulson, "Where are we off to next, Sir?"
"D.C." Coulson answered without thought. "Agent May and I have meetings in the Triskelion. Which means that the rest of you will have a few days of down time. It seems like we could all use a little relaxation."
Generally Ward was the type of agent that preferred to always be on a mission. However, he had to admit a few days off wouldn't be too bad. It would give his body more than enough time to recuperate.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
As soon as the plane was at cruising altitude Simmons grabbed Skye by the hand and dragged her to the lab before anyone could follow. It was long past time that the two talked about what was really going on. Before Fitz could follow Simmons hit the lockdown button. "Start talking."
Skye laughed, thinking that for the first time in her life she had a friend that actually cared enough to want to discuss something as normal as boys. Even if technically the 'boy' in question was Captain America. "What do you want to know?"
Simmons pulled Skye until they were both seated in the labs roller chairs and they were facing each other. "Absolutely everything."
"There's not really all that much to tell." She sighed. "It's a little difficult to have a normal date when…" Skye motioned to the plane around her.
"But you two are quite obviously still in contact." Simmons pressed.
That much was true. Over the past few days there had been many texts and many phone calls. When they had spoken last night the conversation had flowed so easily that neither realized how late it had gotten until Skye mentioned that the sun was starting to rise. Skye knew there was no way she was containing the smile so she looked to Simmons and nodded.
Simmons squealed and clapped her hands giddily for a few moments before calming down enough to ask, "Do you think there is something there? I mean I know you've just been talking to him and haven't really spent any significant amount of time with him but surely you must know if you like him. Well, of course you like him, who doesn't like him? What I mean to ask is if you have any romantic inclinations toward him? Do you think he has toward you? When will you see-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Simmons, slow down!" Skye laughed. It was always entertaining to see Simmons excited by something. You could watch how quickly her mind jumped from one concept to the next. "I don't know what is going on exactly. I know that… He makes me laugh. And it's so easy to talk to him. But I don't want to just assume..." Skye trailed off unsure how to explain her nervousness. "I think I really do like him and I hope he likes me."
Both girls giggled a bit before Simmons tried to reassure her friend, "It's still new. And like with everything else when something is new there's bound to a certain amount of apprehension."
What Simmons was saying made sense. It made Skye begin to wonder if Steve had the same issue with nerves as well. There were times when they were talking that he would seem so confident but at other times he was shy and seem flustered. Not that she was complaining, it was so cute when he stuttered momentarily.
"For what its worth from what I saw at the Hub… He definitely seemed interested. He sort of seemed, well it was like he didn't want to let go of your hand." Simmons told her friend quietly thinking about how while the group had quickly devised the rescue, Steve kept Skye's hand in his. Simmons wasn't ashamed to say that she had watched as the two said goodbye. Skye may be uncertain of Steve's interest but no one else with eyes could miss it.
"We talked about that last night!" That was one of the moments Steve seemed to be at a loss for words. "He told me that he was worried that if he let me go I'd dart off before he could help and I'd get in even more trouble."
The girls dissolved into another fit of giggles. Mostly because Steve had accurately guessed exactly what would have happened. Before they could continue their conversation, Fitz came down from the living room area and started banging on the lab's door. They could hear his muffled voice demanding to know why he was barred from his own lab.
It looked like this subject would have to be tabled for the moment. Though by no means was Simmons prepared to drop it completely. Seeing two people at the start of something as wonderful as love always gave her such a vicarious thrill. It wasn't like there were many men lining up to flirt with her.
"This is my work station too, Jemma." Fitz complained the second she released the locks and allowed him to enter.
"Well how else am I supposed to get a moments privacy?!" She demanded crossing her arms.
While the two started bickering and setting up various pieces of equipment, Skye snuck out quietly. It was best not to be in the middle when they were firing comments back and forth they were notorious for dragging people into the middle of their good natured fighting.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
May entered Coulson's office without bothering to knock. She could tell that something was bothering him at breakfast and she was more than ready to force him to talk it out with her. She had known Coulson a long time and was aware that after a certain amount of time brooding over a subject, he needed to vocalize his thoughts.
The two sat silently looking at one another until May raised an eyebrow. Her way of asking what was going on without needing words. Coulson sighed, "I yelled at Skye. I told her that the system needs to be trusted when it turns out… The system was about to kill two people she cares about."
It was easy to understand why that aspect of the past week was one of the heaviest things on Coulson's mind. In the short amount of time that Skye had been on board, he had grown incredibly attached to her. In a reassuring tone, May tried to console him, "You didn't know that. You had no way of knowing what Agent Hand had done."
Abruptly, he stood and began pacing. A sure sign of agitation and worry. "It's my job to know what's going on with my team. After what happened with Simmons I should have been more cautious."
"Are you really trying to take the blame for Simmons catching an alien virus?" May questioned. "A virus, I might add, that had never been encountered or even considered before then?"
Coulson had to admit on that score May was absolutely right. It was impossible to control everything. "No, you're right. But the thought of anyone on this team…" He trailed off.
May knew that her friend was terrified of harm coming to people he cared for. He had seen, done, and lost a lot. Including his own life. "I know."
He nodded. The two sat silently. Coulson finally asked one of the questions that May knew had been making him itch with curiosity. "And just what the hell happened at the hub with Skye and…"
May just glanced up at her friend. "Why would I know anything about that?" It was her personal rule to try and avoid becoming overly involved in the personal drama of those she worked closely with. That could complicate her ability to remain totally objective. "Would it really matter if there is?"
Coulson sputtered momentarily. "Of course it matters. Skye's my…" He trailed off unsure how to explain why he was instantaneously protective of the girl. Regaining his composure, he glared at May. "And don't try and pretend that you don't know everything that goes on in this bus, Melinda."
She just shrugged. No one on this bus was as secretive as they'd like to think. It was just a matter of listening when people spoke and observing their behavior. As she stood and moved toward the door May tossed over her shoulder, "If you're really concerned about what is going on you should ask her."
The conversation was bound to be awkward but, Coulson knew that if he didn't meet it head on the curiosity would slowly burn away at him. "Yea, yea, yea."
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Skye walked into the living area of the bus after escaping FitzSimmons' science bickering and collapsed face down on the couch. The events of the last few days and the lack of sleep the night before had completely wiped her out. Even as exhausted as she was Skye still couldn't quite wipe the smile off of her face.
It had been so long since Skye had laughed as much as she had last night. Listening to Steve tell her what it was like to learn certain generational things and his opinion on them was hilarious. He told her about what the members of the Avengers were actually like and why she should disregard anything she may have seen in any SHIELD file about them because of both Tony and Natasha had a tendency to add things that were completely untrue as pranks. For instance, Clint did not actually request his arrows to be outfitted with streamers but Thor really was obsessed with pop tarts. That report was true.
As she laid remembering parts of conversation she pulled her phone from her pocket to look at the time then tried to calculate the time difference. The only thing her exhausted brain could determine was that it would be really early where he was. Instead of calling to tell him that they would be in DC in a few hours like she wanted to, Skye chose to fire off a quick text. 'I hope you aren't tired of talking to me cuz the team is actually headed to DC and I owe you coffee. Or you owe me coffee. Either way we should get that coffee.'
She wasn't awake long enough to know that Steve's reply was almost instant.
A few minutes later, as Ward was making his way to cockpit to check in with May about what happened the night before he spotted Skye passed out on the couch. He couldn't help but pause to stare at her. She looked so peaceful with a slight curve to her lips and her hair splayed out across her back. The still bruised cheek that caused Ward's gut to twist. He had put that mark on her and he didn't think he'd start to forgive himself until it was fully healed.
While Ward continued to watch over her in silence her phone chimed signaling a text, Ward jump back a bit unsure if the noise had disturbed Skye enough to wake up. He had a feeling she would not take kindly to him staring at her. Ward shook his head with a sigh of relief when Skye didn't stir. But he chose to walk away now before something actually did rouse Skye from the nap she obviously needed and she caught him watching over her.
He made his way to the cockpit knowing that what had happened between them the previous needed to be discussed. He wasn't eager to actually talk about it but, when colleagues crossed line as they had last night it was important to ensure that all parties were on the same page. Miscommunications or expectations could undermine the ability to effectively carry out a mission. And in this line of work that kind of mistake could very well be fatal.
When he passed Coulson's door he heard the team leader call out his name. "Yes, sir?"
"Have you seen Skye around? There's a few things I need to speak with her about before we land in DC."
"She's asleep in the common room. I can go wake her if you need, sir." Ward assumed that Coulson needed to discuss certain ground rules about visiting the Triskelion, especially after the Hub incident. Thinking about all the havoc she could cause in a base the size of the Triskelion… Ward realized that he may not be able to let her out of his sight while they were there.
Coulson quickly shook his head. "That won't be necessary, Ward. She was up for most of the night, if she got any sleep at all. I could hear her laughing all night through those ridiculously thin walls."
Maybe everything did just roll of her back. It was hard to believe that someone could find the will to giggle after the week they had searching for the staff. "I can send her up here later if you'd like me to, sir."
"Thank you, Ward." When Coulson returned to reading one of the many files on his desk, Ward knew that he had been dismissed.
Ward left the office and continued on to the cockpit. May barely glanced at him as he took the copilots seat. They sat in silence for a few moments before he cleared his throat and got straight to the point. "About last night-"
She stopped him from continuing with a look. "It was just sex, Ward."
He should have known that May wasn't going to be the type of woman to allow herself to be led around by her emotions. "Just sex?"
"Yes. It's an itch we scratched. No need to get feelings involved." There was no emotion in her voice.
Silence again took over the cockpit once again. Ward realized that her evasion still hadn't given an indication as to where the two of stood now that they had 'scratched the itch'. "So scratching this itch was just a one time deal?"
Ward could see the self-satisfied smirk briefly pass overs May's face before she shrugged, "If that's what you want."
In reality, she would prefer having a mutually beneficial arrangement. There was no risk to her objectivity with Ward. He wasn't someone that May could see herself caring about as more than teammate and having someone on the bus that was available when she needed to let loose a little bit and blow off steam but wasn't going to expect her to fall madly in love or want commitment would make handling the downsides of this job much easier to bare. "I wouldn't be opposed to repeat performances."
That got Wards attention. He was a bit confused now so he decided to ask for clarification "It would just be sex?"
May turned and actually looked at the man she was essentially propositioning for stringless sex. She thought him striking since the moment she'd seen him and she respected his effectiveness in tight situations. But there was nothing more than that. "Yes. We could both use an outlet."
Ward sat and considered everything he just heard. A beautiful woman was telling him that she wanted to have what was essentially a no strings affair? It couldn't be that simple. "What's the catch?"
A moment passed before May elaborated, "If it causes any problems, it ends."
He looked over at her, there was no sign of any feeling on her face and she didn't seem to want to add anything more. "Ok then. Just sex."
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
It was impossible for Steve to get any sleep after spending the majority of his evening talking to Skye. He originally called her just to check on her. Thor had told him that she was unharmed but had asked about the bruise marring her cheek. Still, Steve felt the need to hear that she was fine from her own mouth.
The two ended up speaking for hours about anything that came to mind. It had been so long since Steve had spoken so openly to someone. It felt great and he wasn't willing to let this feeling slip away.
Skye had said that she was fairly certain her team would be making a trip to DC which was admittedly the main reason Steve had chosen to take his leave of Avengers Tower. He'd told Tony and Clint that he wanted to meet with some people about what was being done to track down Centipede. They, of course, didn't buy it for one second.
Steve knew that at some point Skye would have to been introduced to the entire team. It was inevitable, largely due to Tony's curiosity, constant demands to pick her brain, or his questioning her existence. Even though Steve wanted all of his team to know Skye he still hesitated to drag her into what the circus that knowing the Avengers could be. For just a little while he wanted to keep her mostly to himself. At least while the two of them were discovering what they could be to one another.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
After leaving May to pilot the bus in solitude Ward made his way down to the area that was typically used for training. He needed to clear his head a bit before he woke Skye and dragged her down here. They hadn't had the opportunity to really discuss the events of the past week or so and between the Hub and the staff there was a lot that needed to be covered.
As he laid out the mats that would be needed for Skye's next lesson in hand to hand he thought over her strange behavior at breakfast. It would be easy to blame the fact that she was quite obviously tired but Ward couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than that.
Skye was usually so open with him. For a time Ward had believed that she was incapable of holding a thought to herself but since the Hub, she seemed to be holding things back from him. And based on the looks between Skye and Simmons this morning at the table, the scientist at least had some idea what these things were. This wasn't something he was prepared to let pass.
Quietly he made his way to a still sleeping Skye. It didn't appear that she had moved since he had last stood over her. Part of him wanted to let her continue sleep peacefully, the same part wanted to scoop her up and carry her off to his bunk where he could keep her safe negating the need to teach her hand to hand combat.
But that wasn't an actual possibility. Instead he reached over and gently ran a hand down her arm. "Skye. Come on, sleepy head."
She tried to turn away from the disturbance and mumbled, "No. Want more sleep."
Ward smiled to himself. "Nope. You need to train."
With a little more grumbling she finally sat up with a stretch. Just as Ward was about to question what had kept her up all night, Skye glanced at the phone she still had in her hand and smiled sweetly.
"I'll go change and meet you in the torture chamber." Skye grumbled as she tapped out what was obviously a response to the message that caused her smile.
Ward clenched his jaw and watched her leave silently. He knew he had no right to be possessive or jealous but that didn't stop the feeling from settling in his stomach. When Skye caught up to him the training area he was taking out the feeling on the heavy bag.
"Reporting for torture, Agent Ward." Skye sang as she trotted down the stairs.
Once she was warmed up and had stretched, Ward led her to the mats. "We need to work on your self defense. After what happened in the crypt it's clear we've slacked there."
Unthinkingly she reached to touch the mark still on her cheek from Ward's elbow. Even though she knew that Ward was ultimately right she felt the need to defend her limited abilities. "Well to be fair I wasn't aware that I'd need to defend myself from my SO."
Her casual reference to what had happened made Ward flinch. "You need to be prepared to defend yourself at all times, against any one."
For the next hour, Ward put her through the paces of basic self defense and evasion tactics. Correcting her when she let her guard slip, reminding her of the next steps when she faltered. It was good to see her focusing and really trying.
"Alright. Let's move on to the the bag. Jab cross, ten minutes." It dawned on Ward after several minutes that Skye hadn't made any of the usual grumblings she did during training. By this point Ward was normally willing to cut training short just to stop her complaining. It was time for him to get the bottom of what was going on. "I heard you were up pretty late last night. Got something on your mind, Rook?"
Skye looked at him with an unreadable expression and continued throwing her jabs at the bag as he held it study. "Like you have room to talk, Ward."
That brought him up short. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sorry." Skye sighed, "I guess I'm still a bit cranky."
Ward knew an evasion when he heard one. Especially coming from Skye. "What's up?
Instead of answering or even bothering to make a snarky comment, Skye just continued with the exercises. "Seriously, Skye, what's going on?"
She finally stopped throwing punches at the bag and really looked at Ward. She could see the worry in his eyes and felt slightly guilty. The last thing Ward needed to feel guilty for was her sudden need for a little emotional distance. But Skye also knew that she needed it to adjust to looking at Ward as just her supervising officer. "Really, I'm fine. I'm just really tired."
"Okay…" Again the two drifted into silence as Skye continued the training session. Until tears interrupted the quiet once again. "So you forgot to mention you met the famous Captain America while you were running around the Hub."
Skye momentarily faltered. "Between searching the alien rubble and then chasing the rage stick we didn't have a lot of time to chat."
While the excuse was true enough, it wasn't the whole truth. Skye had considered telling Ward about Steve while they were sitting at the bar in Ireland but he had left before she could figure out the best way to bring up the topic. And when she saw him walking into May's room it dawned on her that if there are things that he keeps to himself then maybe she should follow his lead.
It would have been easy for Ward to accept her easy answer but she had yet to start babbling about the introduction. He decided to press a bit more with a light hearted joke, "Don't tell me you did something embarrassing!"
Skye froze. Of course Ward assumed she had embarrassed herself. Because that's all he saw her as. She hadn't missed the look of surprise on his face when she suggested the tracer rounds and he still hadn't bothered to acknowledge that she had saved his ass by breaking all of his oh so important SHIELD by laws.
When she was about to speak up and explain to Ward just how wrong he was something Steve had told her replayed in her mind. 'Sometimes it's better to let people underestimate you.' So instead of giving him a scathing retort about how much her supervising officer obviously doubted her, Skye took a deep breath and plastered the biggest smile she could manage, "Gee, thanks." As she turned and started removing her hand wraps as an excuse not to face him she continued, "There wasn't much to tell. He made sure I got back to bus in time to go get you and Fitz. Offered to help us slip out for our daring, off books rescue."
Ward laughed softly. That answer seemed closer to the Skye he'd become accustomed to, so he kept up the joking a bit. "Well, don't think you can pull something like that at the Triskelion. Security is even tighter there and I'll be there to keep an eye on you this time."
"Ha ha, very funny." Skye dead panned. "Besides I thought it was going to be down time. I wasn't really planning on hanging around all the suits."
"Oh, got some special plans?" Ward asked, skeptically. He thought Skye would be itching to see just how the biggest SHIELD base operated.
Skye simply shrugged and went to grab a bottle of water. Before she was forced to sit through more of Ward's questioning Coulson's voice called down from the catwalk, "Skye. Can I see you in my office?"
Both heads swiveled up in time to see Coulson already leaving the area secure in the knowledge that Skye would follow. Ward chuckled a bit again, "Looks like you're going to get another 'stay out of trouble' speech. Think it will work this time?"
She didn't bother looking back at Ward as she moved to follow Coulson, "I guess we'll see."
It would make sense that Coulson wanted to talk to her about the next stop to Ward but, Skye had a feeling this was about something completely different. More than likely a more detailed explanation of why Coulson's childhood hero felt the need to discuss Skye with the God of Thunder.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
One of the benefits of having Tony Stark as a good friend was the occasional use of his private jet. Even with Steve's affinity for speeding, driving to DC would have taken him twice the time as flying. He fully planned on using the extra time to tie up loose ends with the ops he had been running for SHIELD and taking a few well-earned personal days. With both him and Skye continuing active missions, Steve knew that time together wouldn't come easy so he needed to take advantage of what little he got.
He boarded the elevator after finishing up the tedious paperwork that always came with moving even an inch within SHIELD intent on ensuring that Fury was aware that even though he was currently in DC, there wouldn't be any active missions he would participate in. At least for a few days.
Before the elevator doors could fully close the STRIKE team leader, Brock Rumlow, stuck his hand in. He was dressed in full tactical gear unlike the casual street clothes Steve was still wearing. "Morning, Captain. You're here early."
Steve nodded and moved a little over to allow his colleague a bit more space. "You are too."
"Headed out on a mission." Rumlow told him. "I'm headed up to the chopper if you want in. We could always use skills like yours."
Any other time Steve would have jumped on board without second thought just to avoid being stuck at a desk. It was a nice change to have a reason to stay behind. "Can't today, man. I'll catch the next one."
Rumlow was a bit shocked. "What? You got a hot date or something?"
The elevator stopping at the top executive floor saved Steve for having to tell Rumlow too much he walked away smirking. "Something like that."
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Skye didn't bother changing out of her workout clothes before going to talk with Coulson. "You needed to see me, AC?"
He looked up from a file in front of him, trying to hide the chuckle at his hacker's unique nickname for him. "Yes. About what happened at the Hub."
Sighing, she fully entered his office and closed the door. If this was just him giving her a lecture about what she did wrong then she didn't need everyone to hear it. And if this was about who helped her while she broke the rules… She really didn't need it to be overheard. "Look, I'm sorry I went behind your back but I followed my gut. Just like you've told me to do."
"And you were right." Coulson stood and led her to small sitting area his office held. "I'm more interested in how Steve Rogers came to be involved in the situation."
"I didn't know he was following me! I wasn't trying to make a scene, I swear." Skye was well aware how much her de facto mentor valued a certain amount of confidentiality. She didn't want him to think that she had spilled secrets two missions in a row.
Coulson didn't even bother hiding his smile, "I know all that Skye. Captain Rogers has a tendency to jump into new situations with both feet. A lot like you."
"So he's told me." Skye laughed. She knew there would be no point in hiding her continued friendship from Coulson. When he looked at her pointedly she continued, "Yes, we've been talking since the Hub."
While Coulson had assumed based on what Thor had said that this would be the case, having it confirmed was something he hadn't really anticipated. He really didn't know what to say. Captain Rogers was a huge improvement to Skye's last friend. But Coulson still felt oddly protective of his newest team member and the man he considered a hero. "You have obviously made quite the impression…"
It didn't seem like there was anything that Skye could say. She wasn't going to deny that there was a certain connection and she certainly wasn't going to lie to Coulson again. When it became clear that he wasn't going to continue without some form of acknowledgement from her, she simply nodded.
"He's a good man, Skye." Coulson said quietly. "He's been through a lot."
Skye nodded. During some of their talks he had hinted at the darker parts of his past. She'd listened but uncharacteristically chosen not to press. "Which is why I think he could use a friend. Don't you, AC?"
He didn't miss the slight twinge of hurt in her voice and he realized that he may have made her feel undeserving, "I know he does. Just as much as you do, Skye." Coulson reached over and clasped her hand to make sure he was getting through. "I think the two of you… You could make sense."
Needless to say she was shocked. She had expected Coulson to tell her that getting involved with Steve wouldn't be a good idea. Basically getting his blessing was the last thing she expected. "Thanks… I think."
"Should I expect to be seeing more of him?" Coulson asked, considering how some things seemed to go for this teams missions, having a direct line to a super soldier may not be such a bad thing.
A blush spread across Skye's cheeks. She didn't want to get too ahead of herself but she did hope that he would be around. "Well, he will be in DC while we are there."
"Excellent. The two of you should consider going to this amazing Mediterranean restaurant in Woodley Park. The chicken is fantastic!" Coulson told her excitedly.
A/N2: It seems that every one is overwhelmingly in favor of Skye/Cap. In the show I am rooting for a redemption arc for Ward but I don't want it to happen too quickly. I think it's something that needs to be painstakingly earned.
The next chapter will be in DC. With coffee, dates, movies, a sleep over, and… Steve and Ward's first meeting.
The question is… Should any other Avengers make an appearance in DC? And what to do with Fitz and Simmons.
Let me know opinions.