A/N: Sorry for the lack of update yesterday – I was at a con, and while I thought we would be back around eight in the evening, I got home after eleven pm, completely exhausted, so I didn't trust myself to write. (I swear I'll make it up – I wanted to it today, but life had other plans. But look out, one of these days – hopefully tomorrow – you'll be getting a double update!)

By the Poolside

"If anybody needs me, I'll be down at the pool" was practically the first thing Skye said after she got her hotel key card, but before she stormed out of the lobby, making Grant chuckle in spite of himself.

But, after all, she was right – overnights still weren't standard, so whenever they got to spend the night at a hotel, just like now, it was the best if they got the most out of the opportunity. And if "the most" meant swimming around the pool a little bit – especially this late into the evening, when it was surely mostly deserted –, then it was the thing she should go for.

A little while later, after he unpacked his bag for the night and put on some clean clothes, he went down to the pool as well, just to see what she was up to. (So she amused him. She was warm and entertaining and completely unpredictable, and he might have found it alluring.)

And sure, she was there, alone in the pool area, paddling around in the hotel's pool awkwardly, like a puppy first trying its paw at swimming. He just couldn't stop the amused little chuckle that escaped from between his lips at the sight of her. Hearing his voice, she stopped abruptly and turned to face him, hands on her hips – although the effect wasn't the same with the water distorting her image.

"Hey," she called to him, her head held high proudly. She was wearing a simple bikini, her long hair almost black and completely flat from the water, and with her make up gone, the oriental slant of her eyes seemed more pronounced, and at the same time, she looked so much younger. "I'm sure they taught you how to swim at the super secret spy academy, but the nuns weren't so throughout. You try learning how to swim on your own."

"Sorry, sorry," he said smiling, holding up his hands in a placating gesture as he sat down on the edge of one of the lounge chairs. "I didn't mean to be rude – it's just you're cute."

Skye's eyes went a little wide as she floated over to the edge of the pool, resting her elbows on the tiles.

"Wow, Robot – I didn't think that the word "cute" would be in your dictionary," she teased, her legs never stopping under the water.

Grant shrugged.

"I think I'm just full of surprises."

Skye's eyes sparkled at this, and he knew he was in trouble – they were entering a strange and dangerous territory, something they have been skirting for the last couple of months, but never dared to enter. It wasn't just simple banter anymore they engaged in during training, because it wasn't the cargo hold, and FitzSimmons weren't only steps away – it was just the two of them on a balmy summer night, talking by the pool.

It wasn't banter – it was flirting, and he didn't know how he wanted to feel about it.

"Oh, really?" Skye asked, the pink tip of her tongue visible just for a second. "And what kind of surprises?"

He chuckled, letting his head fall back a little.

"If I told you them, they wouldn't be surprises anymore, would they?"

"But I wanna know them," she said with a smirk, looking up at him from under hooded eyes. "You wouldn't deny me this, would you?"

She was playing coy, and damn, she was playing it well, and it was doing things to him he wasn't proud of.

Accompanied with a sigh, he stood up and grabbed her towel from the back of the longue chair.

"I think it's time you climbed out," he told her, stepping closer. "The chlorine is starting to mess with you brain."

She stuck her tongue out at him, but reached for the offered hand nonetheless – which, in hindsight, should have been a warning sign. Because when did Skye do anything she was told to do without some kind of commentary?

The moment their hands clasped together, she pulled at him with all her strength. If he had had a moment to see the situation a little clearer, he could have had avoided it, but with mesmerized by a pair big, brown eyes, he didn't have this headway – so before he had time to comprehend what was happening, he was falling headfirst into the pool, clothes and shoes on, and the hotel key card in his pocket.

When he broke the surface a moment later, sputtering water and shaking droplets out of his hair, she was already sitting on the edge, grinning at him.

"Why did you do that?" he asked, half annoyed and half amused, brushing dripping wet hair out of his eyes.

Skye kicked into the water, splashing him again.

"Because you didn't answer my question," she answered in a cheery tone. "And because I wanted to see how would you look in a wet shirt."

"Oh, really?" Well, two can play the game… "In that case…" And with that he lunged forward, caught her ankles, and pulled the squealing Skye back into the water, trying to push her under.

So their relationship was evolving. Did it scare him? Definitely. Did he want to stop it, and leave everything the way they were? Some days yes, but in moments like this?

Moments like this he could barely wait to see what the future had in store for them.