Tit for Tat

One moment she is grinning to herself, watching him through the backscatter glasses, the next she is hastily pulling them off of her face, trying to hide them under her pillow, because damn, Ward is coming towards her.

She is not fast enough – the door of her bunk (damn those things, not having locks because of safety reasons) opens, and here stands Agent Grant Ward, in his six feet two entirety, looking down at her with a frown on his face, obviously knowing that she is up to something.

Well, the fact that she has the backscatter glasses – which she was supposed to put into storage hours ago – in her grip, trying to shove it under her pillow, while her laptop is open right next to her, doesn't help her case a bit.

Yep. She's screwed.

There's another like two seconds of complete, stunned silence (during which she swears she can see Ward's nostrils flare), and then he speaks.

"Up," he says simply, waving to her, but not reaching out to grab and drag her, which, she thinks, is a good sign. Still, he looks pissed, so she complies, putting the glasses on her shelf, closing the lid of the laptop, and finally standing up, following him out of her bunk.

He takes her to the Cage, which is both reassuring and frightening – reassuring, because it's soundproof, so if he is going to make a scene, nobody else is going to hear it, and frightening because, hello, it's soundproof. No-one's gonna hear her scream.

He is still intently staring at her as he closes the door, which, yeah, does make her feel a bit uneasy. Scared, you could say. She sits down on the chair to regain some resemblance of coolness, only to realize a moment later that she's put herself into an even more submissive position.

Damn it.

Ward doesn't sit.

"Do you want to tell me what were you doing?"

It's not a request; it's an order, and she is sure she will be dead if she doesn't comply. So she swallows and starts talking.

"I was going to help Fitz cheat." That's it, Skye; dig an even deeper hole for yourself. "It's just…" she rambles. "He really wanted to beat you at poker, and it seemed like a good idea at the time… But then of course he chickened out when I told him that then I'd be seeing him naked, so… yeah, I should stop talking," she finishes, biting into her lip.

She is dead, she thinks, but then she sees something akin to a smile tugging at Ward's lips that makes her think that he won't murder her after all.

"And yet you still had the glasses in your hand when I opened your door – when Fitz was already gone for some time."

Skye gulps.

Guilty.

For a moment he plays with the idea of acting cool – then drops it right away. Her palms are sweating under his stare (and okay, heat might have started pooling in other parts of her, too, with him in so close proximity). No way to sell the cool act.

So she goes flirty instead.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't really pass the opportunity…" she says, leaning forward a bit and putting her arms in a way that they push her boobs together. Ward seemed to enjoy the view a couple of weeks back, after all.

He still seems to enjoy it, in fact; she can see his Adam's apple bob nervously.

"Do you have any idea how many protocols you have just broken?" Ward says, but his voice somehow lacks the… conviction, the sharpness, for her to be really scared. "Not to mention invading my privacy."

Okay, so he might have a point here (but then again – a guy with a physique like his should be only allowed to walk around at least half-naked), so she actually casts her eyes down in regret. The next moment she is just about to say that she is sorry, but then she gets a better idea.

Eye for an eye, right?

Before Ward could comprehend what's happening, she is reaching for the hem of her shirt, and pulling it over her head.

She can hear his sharp intake of breath and when she looks up he is actually blushing. Agent Grant Ward, super spy extraordinaire is actually blushing because a pretty girl is taking off her clothes in front of him.

He is so cute it's not even funny.

"What…" he starts, then stops and swallows. She can imagine that his mouth is suddenly dry. "What are you doing?"

She shrugs, reaching behind her to unclasp her bra.

"Well, tit for tat, right? I got to see you naked, sort of, so it's only fair that I let you sneak a peek too, right?"

He actually looks away (cheeks still flaming). Damn it – T-1000 is an actual gentleman.

"Put them back on," he says, not looking at her. "Please. And think about what you have done." And with that he reaches for the door, but then stops for one more second. "And put the glasses in storage, right away. I mean it," he adds, not looking at her, and then he is out of the Cage.

She smirks to herself as she puts her shirt back on, feeling like she has won this round – but then why does she feel slightly disappointed?

There's a knock – an actual knock – on her bunk door later, much later that night. It's Ward on the other side, looking almost bashful.

"It's not that I would mind that much you seeing me naked," he tells her when she opens the door, "or that I wouldn't like to see you naked. It's just… can we at least have some coffee first?"

She almost bursts out laughing.

"You wanna date?"

He scratches the back of his neck.

"Maybe?

It takes all of her willpower not to kiss him right there (who would have thought that the Robot could be this adorable? And the only thing she had to do was sneak a peek of him and flash him some bra…)