Dear Inkdrops,

back with some Xandra-Skye-bonding, I just love them so much together.

Disclaimer: I don't own AOS or Marvel in general.

Chapter 34: Reunion - Part II

Suddenly, Coulson's phone rang, making him sigh. He turned away slightly to answer the call, intently listening to whatever the person on the other end was saying. Xandra couldn't quite understand what the two were talking about, despite her improved hearing, but she was certain she could make out the voice - May.
She wondered whether May would react as cold and pissed towards her as Coulson. Probably, she figured, she likely had made it onto SHIELD's "most hated of the month" list in the meantime and May would follow Coulson's lead. Hunter would get it, maybe, the urge to flee, the fear of being locked up. He seemed like someone who would run from critical situations, even though she wasn't quite sure whether that might be rather what he wanted people to think than was necessarily true.

"May, we found Edvardson," Coulson suddenly told his partner, "or rather, she found us. She is at the Retreat right now, and she is gonna stay here with Skye for now, classified."
"You think that's smart?" May wanted to know.
"Best shot we have, we are out of options. There is no way she can come back to the base right now, and I have no time to sort out something else."

So May thought she was crazy, or dangerous, or both as well. Great. The only comfort was that the director's reluctance to bring her back to base didn't seem to have too much to do with her but instead with whatever was happening there right now. Which was concerning, to say the least, but better for her ego.

"But Phil, the kid has been running for days, alone, for all we know. Is she okay? She should be checked for any potential complications, you know that!" the older woman argued.

Xandra bit back a small smile as she heard May's complaint dimmly through the phone. Not so much angry, then, rather concerned. A slight relief, and a bit of a warm feeling in her belly spread.

"Considering the circumstacnes, she seemed to have had a fun ride," Coulson gave back dryly, nourishing in Xandra the deep compulsion to flip him off,"and she certainly wasn't alone but busy getting cosy with Rogers. Unfortunately, she still doesn't talk, so there's that, but you will see it when you drop in."

"Alright, but please tell her I am pissed she lied about Skye. I know she meant well, but I am still pissed."

Xandra tried to keep her face expressionless, Coulson didn't have to know about her improved hearing. May coming by was something to look forward to, at least in comparison to the current audience, even if she was annoyed. She sighed silently as Coulson continued his call. After a couple of minutes, he put down the phone, turning towards Skye again. He never delivered May's message to the cryptographer.

"I am sorry, I need to get back."

Skye nodded. "That's okay, I wasn't expecting you to stay and roast marshmallows, or something."

For the first time, the two turned towards Xandra.

"So, if we unbind you and keep the fence around the perimeter on high, you will stay here with Skye, peacefully, and not try to hurt her?" Coulson wanted to know.

Now there was at least something in his voice, a weariness and suspicion. She nodded. Unless Skye was a threat to her, she would never ever hurt her voluntarily. She had no reason to, it was both unethical and unnecessary.

"You good with that?" Coulson asked his agent, turning away from their captive.

After a moments of consideration, the junior agent nodded, though she seemed almost scared. That cut deeper than Coulson's blatant dismissal, even though she hadn't known Skye for long. Distrust from Simmons? A nobrainer, but from Skye, who should be in the same boat than herself, that was quite something. Though, truth be told, she was probably valid for not trusting another changed individual after experiencing changes herself. Xandra likely shouldn't let down her guard either with her, but she already knew her senses wouldn't let her, so she wasn't too worried about that in the first place.

"Yeah, it's fine. Beats solitaire for the next week."
"Good."

He hugged Skye, whose shoulders were shaking slightly with feelings. Then, he carefully walked over towards Xandra, unlocking the handcuffs. She could see he was taking her in, trying to register the smallest changes - though he wouldn't see much, despite the coloured hair and the damaged skin. After all, that had been part of her plan. She gave him a smile that hopefully looked annoyed and slightly amused at the same time, but didn't dare moving a muscle. Her head and shoulders still hurt too much to risk any other confrontation. With a last, tight nod Coulson walked towards the door, disappearing into the night.

As soon as he had left, Skye breathed out a long sigh, fully turning towards Xandra. She eyed her again, still weary, so she decided to stay on the couch and not move a centimetre.

"Seems like we are stuck here together," Skye suddenly started, "and I think we should talk."

She flushed bright red as Xandra raised an eyebrow at her choice of words, but then shrugged.

"Well, I talk. Pen and paper again?"

Xandra nodded, slowly getting up to get some of the sheets Steve had found in a drawer earlier.

"Okay. But can we make a deal first, please? Don't lie. Please don't lie."

She seemed vulnerable for a moment, something Xandra could understand very well. After all, they were the only ones who had experienced round about the same thing. She wondered whether it was smart to trust Skye with any detail - would she turn on her as soon as Coulson demanded it and use it against her? Or could this be an option to get her as an ally?
Xandra was very aware that she thought like someone who wanted to work against SHIELD - but really, that wasn't the case. Of course, her rationalist brain understood every consideration the other agents had done, she could understand the decisions on an intellectual level, but apparently there was still enough human nature in her to be royally pissed on an emotional level. Stupid maybe, but nothing she wanted to do anything about right now.
She had worked and had been loyal to the agency for years, but apparently, that didn't count anymore as soon as one became a threat. Then one suddenly became replacable - a lesson she had already learned years before starting to work for these grey eagles, but that now had come back with a vengance. She wanted to be safe, and she couldn't be sure SHIELD wouldn't fuck her over (again), so she needed alternative options. It might not be pretty, but one needed to be smart about these things and people and be able to fuck them over in return, if need be. Loyalty could get you killed, and other than Steve, she really really wasn't the type for that right now. Though, truth be told, maybe he wasn't so clear-cut either anymore, he had helped her after all, no questions asked.

But, she could agree not to lie. That was fair. She might keep secrets, but lying was on another level, even to her. So she nodded and pointed towards Skye.

"Yes, I'll be honest as well," the agent answered, "to get the obvious out of the way. I am incredibly pissed that you ran away and left me there, alone, to deal with all of this shit, alone! I thought - I thought we were at least both in this because we had experienced the same thing and then suddenly the first thing you do is run away and leave the team and nobody knows where you are!"

Her voice had become progressively louder as she paced the room, now stopping to glare at the apparently-not-so-Swedish-at-all cryptographer.

I am sorry
I was scared
They had questions I couldn't answer
they wanted to lock me up for longer and I can't stand that
I was as lost as you are but they don't care about me like they do about you
so - answers from someone else neecssary

The writing was a bit wonky as she handed the sheets to Skye who took them slowly, coming closer for the first time. She read it with a frown.

"But you said you were fine! And I get being scared, but SHIELD, they are experts. And you know them. Why run from them?"

Locked up longer

She spelled it out again, since Skye still didn't seem to get it. The other woman frowned, apparently quite confused. Just as she wanted to add something, the agent suddenly lightened up.

"Oh, you're claustrophobic, right? I remember now, I saw you freak out when the power went off in the vault. But they knew! Why would they keep you locked up if they knew?"

For the first time, Skye sounded angry at someone other than Xandra.

Realistically, it's the smartest and the only choice really
And let's be real, it can make people talk

"You are implying Coulson-?" Skye asked.

She shrugged.

he cared about SHIELD more
again, realistically, as he should
but not acceptable for me personally

"And so you ran. Did you at least find the answers?"

Xandra tried to nod and shake her head at the same time. After all, she had answers now, but she didn't know how much of it was true or what to do with the knowledge that she was allegedly a hybrid between two extra-terrestrial species. She pointed at the junior agent with a questioning look.

"Me? No, I haven't figured out anything. But you probably knew that, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I would ask you, but you are probably going to tell me nothing so I am just going to ask - did you find out anything that is going to help me?"

The cryptographer shook her head.

sorry no. Only that the thing works like a trigger and has likely to do with something Kree of some sort

Skye looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I had guessed the trigger part, but it's good to have a confirmation for the Kree-theory. Obviously, they found out that something was wrong with me as well, even though the blood sample was normal. Fitz swapped it, but you knew that. And I suppose you lied to May and that's why she's pissed? She kept fuming and I didn't know why for quite some time. Anyway, after the shaking shit, they ran my blood again. There is something odd in my blood as well. But it's not blue."

Xandra nodded again. Skye slightly chewed her lip, seemingly thinking.

"Okay, so we have turned differently, obviously. And - obviously, I've got some kind of ... thing. You experienced it earlier. Sorry by the way, that was an accident. I can't control it, it just happens. And when I try to repress it, it hurts."

you shake things. Make vibrations maybe?

"I don't know what exactly. It just happens when I am scared, or angry, or something."

connected to emotions probably

She had heard about this before, about powers that were connected to the state of mind. After all, her own seemed to be as well, of some sorts.

"Sounds likely. So, I know your hair and blood colour changed. And you can't talk, but they said it's trauma when I asked. But they also said something weird about emotional shut-off. So I suppose we both got changed, right? Since you also got cocooned. Like Reina. But you and Reina got changed physically. I didn't. And Tripp-" she shrugged helplessly.

it seems to be a personal thing

"I got this horrible uncontrollable thing- some kind of power," Skye went on, "did you get anything internal?"

'Something that SHIELD doesn't know' is what she didn't say, but Xandra heard it still. She had promised not to lie, so she nodded.

"Will you tell me?"

She shook her head, a bit apologetic.

"Is it as crazy as shaking shit?"

Was increased cognitive abilities, metabolism, senses and strength that crazy? Probably not, since it was exactly what people tried to get with supersoldier serum. It was likely some people's dream. Was machiavellism anyone's dream? Maybe? She herself found it scary. But all in all, it probably was less freaky than Skye's change. So she shook her head.

"I know the oxygen in your blood is higher now, so I suppose you will be faster than before. You have been on the run and you don't really look tired, therefore I suspect something connected to physical abilities."

Xandra didn't react, so Skye went on.

"To be honest, maybe that's good. That means that if my powers go crazy, I might not kill you," she told her with a wry smile that was probably meant to cover her uneasiness.

Probably
But I could have taken you down before anyway

"Confident much?" Skye asked, "if I remember correctly, you just ended up against the bookshelf not long ago."

I was unprepared
I had you pinned before

Skye slowly came over to the couch, sitting down and motioning for her to join her. They sat at the opposite ends, clearly making sure not to touch.

"Okay. Summary: We both got some kind of powers in the whole thing, right? Different ones. We are both considered dangerous, and that's likely true. So basically I could rip this cabin any minute and you - I don't know."

you won't rip the cabin

"How do you know?"

Xandra got up, lightly walking over to a panel in the wall Steve had told her about before. After a little bit of searching, she finally managed to push a pen under it, dislocating it. Skye came closer, humming to herself as she saw the metal that had been covered below the wood. The whole cabin was a lot sturdier than expected, made to shelter powered individuals, to keep them safe but also to potentially detain them. A dent in the shape of a huge fist was a testament to a former inhabitant, proof that Banner had been here and the structure had withstood his attack.

"Wow, well, I suppose it might keep standing after all," Skye said, almost to herself.

Xandra scoffed before putting back the panel as best as possible, after all, she didn't want to get into trouble for vandalism. Both flopped back onto the not-so-comfy couch, more relaxed than earlier.

"Say, do you also feel so buzzing, like your body is too small and itchy and a thousand bees are inside of you all the time?" the agent wanted to know

The cryptographer nodded.

It's bad, probably cells adapting and stuff

"Yeah, though so, too. But it's really bad, I can't sleep and it's distracting."

exercise helps

"Like physical exercise? Like, what you and Captain America were doing here, hmm?" the dark-haired woman asked.

Her voice was a mixture of surprise, incredulity, but also - was that teasing? Yes, certainly, there was something lighter, too, together with barely concealed curiosity.
She nodded again, after all, they had seen the tape, cameras that thankfully didn't cover the bedroom. She had checked that beforehand.

"So you just, what, turned up on the doorstep of your supersoldier ex-boyfriend after a stint in an alien city, to get help on the run from an organisation that he was working for as well but that is currently muddled up with HYDRA and he just decided to do it? And then you decided to drop into a very peacefully located safehouse where you then decided to use your newly acquried free time to make up?"

pretty much

"Damn girl, he sounds like a keeper," she commented dryly, "you know, he might not show it, but Coulson is probably dying from jealousy right now."

Xandra rolled her eyes. While their boss was certainly a bit of a fan, she highly doubted that. Steve probably had lost quite a couple of brownie points through the association with her. She was also pretty certain the director didn't want to sleep with her boyfriend either.

"What's he like? Like, as a person. Not as Captain America," Skye asked suddenly, apparently determined to keep up their one-sided conversation, "I mean, other than that he has a great biceps, I saw enough of that on the tape when he basically lifted you up like you weighed nothing. No worries, we stopped then, it was clear enough where this was going."

Without any further thought, Xandra flung a pillow at Skye, hitting her straight in the face with a little bit more force than she had planned. The other woman fell back with an amused huff, giving her a small smile.
"No reason to get defensive! He is hot, I will admit it."
Xandra decided to roll with the teasing and grinned, then she pondered. Other than physically attractive, what was Steve like? It was so hard to describe, to describe someone one knew well and still didn't know everything about, someone so straight foreward and still multi-layered like an elaborate birthday cake. Additionally, while she really really wanted to gain back Skye's trust - for personal and tactical motives - she also didn't want to reveal too much.

the "Captain" is not an act u know. he's so what you would expect, really. honest, loyal, determined, a gentleman

"Didn't look like a gentleman to me," Skye gave back deviously, ducking from another flying pillow. "Sorry, but the whole situation here sucks, so I need you to distract me with details of your apparently very interesting love life," she told Xandra with very little remorse."Truth be told, you sounded a bit like an untouched china doll when I went through your file, so this is ... unexpected and very satisfying for the part of my brain that likes gossip."

he took me out to dinner first

Xandra pointed out with a grin. It felt different between the two now, less forced, more friendly and companionable.

"Sounds like a dreamboat."

a good man
and he's unexpectedly funny. sometimes
what about you?

Skye frowned.
"Not sure if you gathered that, but the last guy I dated was sort of my SO, and then he turned out to be HYDRA and kind of a psychopath. So all in all - not very lucky."

was he at least attractive?

The agent raised an eyebrow.
"Of course he was. Give me at least credit for being shallow and stupid for dating a dissenter and mole."
Her tone betrayed how mucht hat guy had hurt her though, and Xandra's heart clenched. She so didn't deserve that, nobody did.

sounds like a piece of garbage

Skye nodded, then decidedly changed the topic.
"What about sleeping arrangements?"

Well one couch and one bed is the safest
just in case sleep triggers something

She didn't expect it, but she also didn't want to wake up after having strangled Skye on accident only because her brain had decided the other woman was a threat and had acted on it. Just as little did she want to fly through the air before she was fully awake due to a nightmare her new flatmate ahd had.

you can have the bed you look so tired

Skye gave her a lopsided smile.

"Thank you. But please, can we change the sheets?"