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Very special s/o to LisaMichelle25 for rising up to my plea for more reviews and giving me such a heartwarming one too!
Skye cupped his cheek, her anger fading. She didn't know what it was but she knew that there was no way he was lying. Maybe it was from the lack of practice of maybe his defenses were finally being stripped away but judging from his expression and tone of voice, there was nothing but the truth coming out of his mouth now.
She leaned in and ghosted her lips, hearing his breath hitch, she pulled away and whispered, "Let's just pretend that there is no Hydra or SHIELD-."
"No." Ward gently pulled further away, leaving a foot of space between them, "You said so yourself, we need to hash this out now."
Skye sighed and dropped her hands into her lap, still kneeling in front of him. She had completely forgotten about bandaging his knuckles. "That was before your knee-weakening proclamation of your feelings for me." She whined, but his eyes were firm, "Fine," she huffed, settling more comfortably on her legs. She bit her lip, considering her words before beginning, "I'm not sure I can ever forgive you for betraying us. But I think I might be starting to understand what you did." She admitted with a twinge of guilt; she hated going back on her word.
"I told you, you would understand eventually," Ward said somewhat smugly.
Skye rolled her eyes before getting serious again, "It doesn't mean I fully understand. I just wish we could go back to the time where you were actually good. Well, even if you weren't but…I want you to have a chance at redemption, to prove that there was always a good side in you, it was just hiding all this time. But at the same time, I don't know if I can ever trust you again to be able to give you that chance. I want to… but I shouldn't- it would be really stupid of me and I don't think I can take another betrayal." Skye paused, then added sheepishly, "I also really don't like going back on my word. You know, the part where I hate you- I still kinda do- and will never give you what you want."
They were silent for a short while, then Ward started to talk.
"My turn," He tentatively reached for her handwhich she allowed him to take. "You know that I have feelings for you and I never wanted to hurt you intentionally or unintentionally but I needed to save Garrett-," Skye made a small noise of dissent but didn't say anything, "-I've always…cared… about the team. I've never been good at interpersonal feelings. I was trained to work alone, never depending on anyone. I was taught to read people and to play them. If this…us…is going somewhere, I'm going to need help. Tell me what I can do to make this up to you and I'll do it a hundred times over."
Skye could feel tears collecting in the corners of her eyes as Grant Ward opened up to her, finally asking for help.
He squeezed her fingers, sending tingles up her spine, "I know you can't trust me, but I'll spend as long as it takes to win back that trust."
Finally, Skye took her face in her hands and touched her lips to his. This kiss was slow and gently, the way any first kiss should be. In a way, this was their first kiss; they were finally their real selves, not holding anything back from each other.
His fingers skimmed her back and she moved to sit next to him on the bed, never breaking contact. This kiss lacked the hunger and need that their other kisses had been made up of. This kiss was steady and filled with emotion; there was not rush as they explored each other, touches tender and lips soft. The only reason they broke apart was because the cell door was buzzed open, revealing a mild looking Trip on the other side.
"There's a mission," He announced smoothly, as though he saw agents kissing prisoners all the time, "Coulson wants us up in the briefing room now."
Skye took her hands off Ward but didn't move away from him, "It's like, four in the morning." She said crossly.
Trip shrugged, "You're up." He gestured for Ward to stand up so he could be cuffed, "I guess it's urgent. I have orders to take Ward up with us."
"Why?" Skye asked suspiciously, even though she knew Trip probably didn't know.
"I guess we'll find out." The specialist said, cuffing Ward securely and turning him back around.
"I'll see you up there," Ward said casually, as if he were still and agent of SHIELD and they were back on the bus. Just like the old times.
"See ya," Skye hopped off the bed and wiggled her fingers over her shoulder at the two men as she left.
Everyone, including Fitz and the good doctor Cavaco were upstairs already, waiting for Skye, Trip and Ward to arrive.
"You do know that part of Ward's punishment is solitary confinement?" Coulson asked her shrewdly.
"My goodness, frolicking with the prisoner?" Billy shook his head disapprovingly until he caught May's eye and stopped.
"We need to resolve some…issue." Skye said lamely, moving to stand on the other side of the table screen.
"We'll talk later." Coulson's tone was final and Skye shot Fitzsimmons and "uh-oh" look when her commanding officer looked away.
"Good, you're all here. Let's begin." Coulson said promptly as Trip and Ward entered. "I know it's early, but I found us a target. It's a nicely sized SHIELD facility in Italy. Not too big, not too small. Good resources and location."
"Good job, AC. So what's the strategy? Guns blazing? WWII style? I had a lot of fun with bomb threat last time we ran that one…" Skye rambled excitedly. She was all too eager to get out of this poorly lit base.
"Undercover escort."
"All of us, sir?" Simmons asked anxiously, her voice drowning out Fitz's mention of monkeys.
Coulson shook his head, "No. It'll just ben Agent Triplett escorting the prisoner, Ward. I need the rest of you here, running comms and surveillance."
"I don't get it. What's the undercover part of it?" Skye asked, placing her elbows on edge of the screen and propping her chin up with her hands.
"Since we don't know if the facility is dominated by Hydra or SHIELD, we need to go in and do some scouting. In case the facility is Hydra, Ward will need to maintain his Hydra persona and Agent Triplett will go undercover as a Hydra sleeper agent. If the facility turns out to still be under SHIELD control, there will be no need for undercover." Coulson explained.
"Permission to speak?" Everyone turned to Ward and Coulson nodded curtly.
"With all due respect, sir, I think there is a flaw in the plan." Ward said humbly, but Billy made a noise of outrage which was quickly silenced by Coulson holding up a finger to him. He nodded for Ward to continue, "If they agents there are Hydra, they'll know that Agent Triplett is not Hydra. They know who all their double agents are. Our best bet is to pretend that whoever is escorting me has recently converted."
The briefing room was silent as everyone pondered the point made by the prisoner.
"It would have to be me," Skye said suddenly as the realization dawned on her.
"No." Coulson and May said at once, in unison.
"Skye, it wouldn't make sense if it were a level 1 operative escorting a dangerous traitor- sorry, Ward- into a SHIELD facility without any back up." Simmons said worriedly.
"I'll say I got separated from you guys. Accidentally broke protocol in my excitement to arrest him." Skye said beseechingly.
"You're not prepared." May said not unkindly.
Skye leaned in, looking at Coulson, determined to win, "It's just a scouting trip, isn't it? I've been in combat before, AC, and my training is going really well with Trip. Once I get in there, I can hack their systems and do what needs to be done to get you guys in there with me."
"Absolutely not." Skye turned to glare at Billy who had just spoken, "How dowe know that you won't just take the chance and run off with him? Fraternization with prisoners is banned for many reasons…" Billy continued his own train of thought and Skye turned back to Coulson again.
"You know I won't do that, Coulson. I wouldn't just leave you guys hanging like that. I can do this. The story sells itself. Rising Tide. Lovers. Lost girl, looking for somewhere to belong, shifting loyalties." She said in a low voice, "Plus you know I'm the last person that he'd hurt." The last part was so quiet that even May, who was standing beside Coulson, couldn't have heard it.
When Fitz finally shut Billy up, Coulson announced, "Skye and Ward will go in. That is my final decision." His voice was neutral but through the dim lighting, Skye could see that his expression was slightly pained. There was an outburst from the other occupants of the room but Coulson put them down quickly.
"Fitzsimmons, get to work finding out everything you can about that facility. Agent May, I want you in there with them, start crafting an exit strategy. Billy, I need you to call those numbers on that list I gave you, tell them what is going on. Agent Triplett, after you escort Ward back to his cell, meet me in my office. Dismissed. Skye, a word, please."
They had a long and much needed talk. Coulson asked her about Ward, her relationship with him and his own concerns about the prisoner. Skye reassured him the best she could. They avoided the subject of her recently discovered background. As they talked, she realized how much of a father figure Coulson had become to her. Despite the news about her true family, Skye found that she was finally beginning to be happy again. The team was still her family, she had finally found the truth about her lineage and things were on the mend with Ward. They were about to go back out there and take back control of the world. She was officially a part of something important- to her and to the world
As happy as she was, Skye couldn't shake the feeling that something ominous was looming just in front of them, something dark and utterly inevitable that was about to turn her world upside down again.
THE END. Hahahaha jokes, I would never do that. So thanks for reading, as usual and much love to my reviews/followers/favorite-ers! Don't forget to drop me a little review, even if it's just a three worded one! I love hearing from you guys and it absolutely helps make my day!