You Will Ever Be Only You to Me
Ward might not be good at interacting with people, but he is good at reading them – it's part of the job description. And he can tell that something's up with Skye.
It's not just what she has just told him as they stand in front of the Wall of Valor, about feeling like she has cheated her way in; there's something deeper going on here, something that's really bothering her. And as stupid as he is, he just can't stand watching it; he wants to help.
He places his hand on her shoulder in a poor attempt at comforting her. She stiffens for a moment, maybe startled, but then looks up at him. There are tears in her eyes.
"Hey," he starts, but he has to swallow before he could continue. "Is everything okay?"
She makes a strange head gesture that starts off as a nod, then ends in a shake. No; everything is definitely not okay.
"It's just… ah…" she stammers, not finding the right words as she looks around in the hall, not meeting his eyes.
"You don't have to, if you don't w –" She places her hand on top of his, interrupting him.
"I want to. Just… not here?" she says in a small voice. He nods, understanding; after all, here in the Academy, even the walls tend to have ears.
They go to a nearby park – close enough on foot, but far enough to be out of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reach –, and sit on a bench, a respectable distance between them, although he feels like the distance not just physical, but emotional as well. She still won't look at him, but stares ahead. But, at least, she starts talking a couple of seconds after sitting down.
"You know why I came here, after all, right? To find my parents" she answers her own question. "And I have been inching towards it, towards finding them, and Coulson promised he'd help, and now…" She lets out a heavy sigh. "While we were at the Academy, he and May went somewhere to track somebody who might know where I came from. And what they found… it isn't pretty."
She tells him then, she tells him everything – about the Hunan Province, about the dead agents, about the bloodshed, about how she was placed in the system, about being an 0-8-4. There are silent tears running down her face by the time she finishes it.
"I've always known… Well, I have always known that I didn't know where I came from, but this … this hit low. I mean, who the hell – or what the hell – I am? Some monster, or… or… a science experiment? Or just some unfortunate kid who was at the wrong place at the wrong time?" Even his throat tightens as she reaches up to wipe away her tears. "And I get it… I get it if you don't want to do anything with me now from now. I mean…" she sniffs. "I have been a liability from the beginning. And now I could be a ticking bomb. I'm an 0-8-4, and those things never end well, at least that's what my experience tells me."
He just can't help it; he reaches out suddenly and grabs her hand.
"Hey, look at me," he tells her, pleading, and when she doesn't comply, he takes her face in his other hand, and gently turns it towards him. "The unknown… it's not necessarily bad," he tells her with total conviction. "Like… like Thor's hammer was classified as an 0-8-4 once, and it turned out pretty good."
She lets out a teary little chuckle.
"Yeah, well, the exception makes the rule stronger."
"And then there's what we found in Peru," he goes on.
"Um, need I remind you that thing almost blew up our plane?""
"But it also brought the team together," he reasons. "Without it, we would be still bickering."
"We are still bickering," she emphasizes, making him squeeze her hand.
"True, but now out of love," he says, making her laugh. "And you are missing my point here. Without it, we wouldn't have found our rhythm. It's just like you – without you, we would be just a bunch of people working together. You are the one who makes us a team."
She actually blushes at that.
"You really think that?"
"I do," he replies, looking deep into her eyes. "And you can ask anybody else on the team; they'll say the same thing. And you can be an… Asgardian or a science experiment, for us – for me – you'll always be simply Skye. Because that's the person we have come to love, and by whom we'll stand."
The corners of Skye's mouth quirk upwards.
"Even when I'm an annoying little midget who won't do what she's been told?"
He lets out a tiny chuckle.
"Even then."
She gives him a full on smile, nudges him with her elbow, then lays her head on his shoulder, lacing their fingers together.
"Thank you, Robot."
"Anytime, Rookie."