AN: Hey everyone! If you usually skip this part, please read, thank you in advance because this is going to be a large AN. So, this is the last chapter of the first Book of this story, which is kinda like the first part. I am really sorry for not uploading on Saturday like usual, it's been a crazy week and I have been under the weather lately.

Back to the important stuff, as I mentioned this is the last chapter of the first part of this story. And since this whole journey started we (my awesome Beta MegaDiary123 and I) have been consistent into uploading once a week, every week for more than 8 months. We both do love the story, but we need to get our batteries recharged to continue with the second part. Book 2 will be uploaded in this link, continuing as Chapter 58 and so on. The only thing is that I am not sure about is when that will be. I have said it before and I am saying it again, I am not abandoning this story. We will continue with Ch58 after we have some chapters from the 2nd Book written in advance to make it easier to upload consistently every week. This is the simple reason why I am not going to mark this story as "Complete", because it's not. It's still an on going story that's on a brief pause for the time being. I just don't know exactly when it will be continued, hopefully soon enough.

Yeah, that was it mostly. I want to thank every single one of you for reading/supporting/reviewing this story, you have been so supportive this past year and I can't thank you enough for your kindness. I will see you again, hopefully sooner than later, not sure exactly when though. Feel free to drop a review or PM me for more information and I will definitely write you back :)

On behalf of MegaDiary123 and myself, and for the time being, we are out!

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

"Well, that's one Hell of a way to meet" Tony's voice echoed through the room.

Bruce laughed at his surprise. "You think?", he questioned the billionaire. "But I think this introductory story pretty much sums up our whole journey together. We both had issues, obviously, and they all were similar as well" he looked over at me and I simply gave him a nod.

After all that we went through together at that point in our lives it was easy for both of us to understand what the other person was thinking just by looking at the other's eyes. So the silent permission that Bruce was asking didn't go unnoticed. After all, he didn't really know what my relationship with Pepper and Tony was and how much they knew about me and my past. And I did truly appreciate the fact that he wanted to make sure we were on the same page about disclosing our how the two of us met and what had happened at that period. I had let him know that the pair sitting across from us knew about me, but he still didn't know how much they knew.

"We were running from people, and as I found out recently it turned out that we both were running from S.H.I.E.L.D.. We didn't have much control over what was happening to us and from what I have gathered neither wanted to hurt anyone. So, I guess you could say that despite starting off on the wrong foot, we developed an understanding and we did grow quite close" he shot me a smile and I returned it wholeheartedly.

The comfortable silence that filled the room was soon broken by Pepper's voice. "Well, let me thank you for being there for Skye when she needed someone". Her words were so genuine that it could only fill my chest with a warm feeling.

"Oh, it was nothing Ms. Potts. We were there for each other, it was pure luck that brought us together" Bruce countered.

"Well, I do not believe in such things as luck" she said in her matter-of-fact voice. "And if I am to call you Bruce…"

"Pepper it is" he finished her sentence with a small nod and a smile plastered on his face.

This was nice, I concluded. Just being in a room with people I trusted and just talking, relaxing. Not having any training to go to the next day and basically taking a day off. I could suddenly tell why the pirate insisted so much on this and I made a mental note to thank him for that at some point.

True, I had been keeping in touch with Pepper throughout the whole year I was in training with Clint, but being close to her and talking face-to-face was not something to be compared with simple phone calls or texts. Also true, Tony still had that arrogance on him but he had tuned it down a lot since everything that happened in the Stark Expo. And I could also tell that he and Pepper were getting closer with him respecting her and her thoughts more, so that was a nice change. And finally there was Bruce, a person who I had not seen in many years and who I couldn't help but feel close to. But at the same time, when I thought of him and the other guy, as this was how the doc was referring to the Hulk, I thought of how I exploited our relationship.

"You okay there?" My head snapped to Pepper as her voice brought me back to reality. Looking around I saw all three occupants of the room looking at me with concern-filled eyes. I hadn't even realised that I was so lost in my thoughts that the room had grown quiet.

"Yeah, yeah" I tried to brush it off only for Pepper to see right through my lie.

"Skye…" she said with her 'you better tell me what's wrong, or else…' tone that I knew meant business.

I smiled kindly at her and turned to look at Bruce who was sitting next to me. "I am sorry" I told him.

"What for?"

"I told Loki all about you. Everything that happened in the Helicarrer was my fault, my plan" I simply said but didn't avert my eyes as I usually did when feeling guilty about something. With Bruce it was different. It was like an unspoken agreement that we had to be honest with each other. And it would feel like a betrayal to that agreement were I not to see his end of the conversation.

It took him a good few seconds, which seemed to drag out from my point of view, but he eventually answered. "It's okay" and I could tell he meant it, the unspoken agreement still holding strong.

"Really?"

"Yeah" he placed a hand on my shoulder and sqeezed. "I figured that Loki wanted to make me lose control and after I found out that you were under his control, I knew that I would be in a delicate situation"

This made me furrow my brows as I took in what he said. "Natasha told me how she brought you in. If you knew, if you expected, something like that to happen, why come in? Why risk it?"

"I figured it was worth it" our 'staring contest' of shorts never broken. "I hadn't heard from you in years, Skye, let alone see you. I'd been hiding in India for a fair amount of time and one night agent Romanoff comes in and tells me what was going on. I can't say that I wasn't hurt when she told me that you were with S.H.I.E.L.D.. I am even going to admit that I briefly thought you were playing me all along, that you were working with them since the beginning. But she explained that this was not the case. And the way she spoke about you let me know she was telling the truth.

"So if I was indeed the only person who could track down the Tesseract, and subsequently you, and I had not accepted the responsibility in fear of the other guy coming out then what would that make me? Whether you want to admit it or not Skye, we share a past. After what I was told, I knew that the chances were that you would use what you knew against me but all of it would be worth it if I could find you and bring you back to people who clearly cared about you. Plus, I have a feeling that you would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes and you were asked to help out, even with the risk of losing control"

With that he sat back on the sofa, linking his hands on the back of his head and leaning onto the cushions. "But from what I've gathered, you losing control would not be as easy now would it? Especially given that New York still stands still after all that happened" he playfully winked and I answered by punching him lightly on his upper arm.

"Shut it Greeny" I called him with the nickname I used to all those years ago.

His brows almost met his hairline when he heard me calling him like that and he didn't miss a bit to retaliate. "Whatever you say, Shaky"

At that Tony scoffed and when I turned to look at him with narrow eyes I saw him covering his mouth in a failing try to not laugh. "I am sorry" he said but clearly not meant it. "It's just, Skaky?", and with that he let his laughter echo in the room without holding back.

"Oh, I dare you Tony" I told him but he kept on without stopping. "Now that I am here I think I am going to spend a lot of time talking with my best pal Jar" at that he suddenly sobered. "And who knows… maybe he will help me plan something special for you" I finished with a playful glimpse in my eye.

"J.A.R.V.I.S. would never allow it" he challenged but I could hear the dread in his voice nonetheless.

"Wouldn't he now? We both know that he likes me the best, isn't that right Jar?" I asked in the air and waited for the A.I. to reply.

When a few seconds passed and he didn't, Tony saw it as a bad sign. "Answer the question J.A.R.V.I.S." he said while looking at me straight in the eye.

The playful smile didn't leave my lips, only grew larger when the English accent came through the speakers in the room. "Both of you hold a different place in my programming. I am also programmed to help you should you ask my assistance. I am programmed by Mr. Stark, but I have also spend many hours helping Skye in building better security walls in our systems and I have to admit her help has been dire"

"See" I told Tony and then mouthed 'he likes me best'

And what did Tony do in return? Being the 5-year-old he is he grunted and simply said "We will talk about this later J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Oh, don't be so hard on him. He's being honest that's all. After all, it was your programming that doesn't allow him to lie, you can't really blame him for that, can you?" I could almost see the billionaire's head growing red from how upset he was about the whole situation and Pepper saw it too, as she turned to me with a pointed look as if to demand to defuse the situation. I let out a sigh, as after all this time I still couldn't say no to her. "Hey, Tony" I spoke and from the look that he gave me he definitely wanted to say 'Now what?', but just stared daggers at me. "I've been meaning to ask. How come and you have yet to bring up the whole S.H.I.E.L.D. and powers situation?"

This had him change his features to that of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you know. After what had happened in Monaco, you didn't mention my powers again and then after I disappeared from the Expo you did the same. You know I'd been talking with Pepper and I am sure she had let you know that I was in S.H.I.E.L.D.. And, well, with the history you have with the organisation I guess it surprised me that you never asked, or even mentioned it for that matter"

"I never did, did I?", he questioned and rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, after Monaco you were really hurt in case you've forgotten. And, despite how much I hate to admit it, you might have had just saved my life. And when I did question you in the hospital, you got upset and then I had Pepper here taking your side. Oh, I had planned to ask you, believe me I did. Only before I got the chance the mansion in Malibu was destroyed…" at that Pepper hit him in the shoulder and then proceeded at glaring at him. "Fine, fine. Then I sorta destroyed the mansion and you left again with this lady here" he pointed next to him as said lady rolled her eyes.

"But that wouldn't have stopped you" I stated. I knew him and his attitude, especially at that time. And if he wanted to ask something, not even a threat about the end of the world would have stopped him from asking it.

"Nah, it wouldn't. What did was One-Eye. He came in, told me that Natalie or Natasha worked at S.H.I.E.L.D. and practically threatened to end me where I to even talk to anyone, and that included you, about your powers" he simply explained.

That was a detail that no-one had told me about. In my mental note to thank Fury for the time off, I also added thanking him for talking with Tony and keeping my secret. It appeared that this guy was doing way too much and he got credit for only a small portion of his actions. "Fair enough. I just never had you for someone who wouldn't ask when someone told you not to" I honestly said.

"Me neither!", he exclaimed. "And if anyone else had told me so, first thing in the morning and I would have you tell me everything, but this guy is scary"

"That's true" I said and couldn't resist the yawn that escaped my lips. I hadn't noticed how late it was until that moment. The sun had properly set on the horizon and the room was lit by the roof lights that were powered by Stark Industries newest clean energy source, which Loki had taken advantage of the power to open the portal.

"How about we call it a night?" Pepper was quick to add when she noticed my tiredness.

Everyone instantly agreed with her and we all got up to head to our rooms. Jar was directing Bruce to the room he would stay while in the Stark Tower and I was about to ask for directions myself, when Pepper linked her arm to mine and rushed me away.

"I was guessing you would go to bed with Tony?" I questioned while we roamed through the corridors.

"Oh, he knows the way. Our bedroom was not destroyed after all" she brushed off my question. We continued walking in silence until we reached the floor that I was staying in and was surprised to find that it was the same one that I was living in while I was working in the building. "I made sure your room remained intact" she explained as I crossed the doorframe and took everything in.

She didn't even exaggerate when she said so. The whole floor had remained exactly the same as I remembered. Only cleaner, if I were to be honest. Even the closet that had fallen during my quake episode during one of the first nights in had been replaced with a new one and was placed at exactly the same spot that the broken one used to be. "Thank you" was the only words that would suffice to what I was feeling. Then I turned back at Pepper who was standing at the entrance and walked up to her, giving her a hug. She carefully placed her hands around me, not squishing as much as she would like to, and I knew that she was afraid of hurting me again just as she accidentally had when she first saw me the same afternoon. "It's nice to be back" I offered.

"We are glad to have you back" she pulled away and brushed some hair out of my face, carefully placing them behind my ear. "I've missed you" her tone had dropped significantly, as she spoke so quietly that I had to strain my ears to actually pick up what she was saying.

"I've missed you too. You know that I'll have to go back at some point, but for now I am here" I tried to comfort her.

"I know. And you will be staying here until you are asked to go back, which I hope won't be for quite a while. From what I've heard you deserve a break. And we definitely have a lot to talk about, too much have happened since I last spoke with you" she said with her motherly tone leaving an underlying question that was always there every time we spoke on the phone.

I grip her hand firmer in mine, making sure that she believed me when I said, "I am fine".

She sqeezed back and looked me in the eye. "You are not" she enquired. "But that's okay, you will be. I am here if you need anything, no matter the time. You promise that you will let me know if you need me? Whatever that would be, from talking to just sitting and enjoying a cup of tea in silence?"

"Sure" I kindly smiled and fought back another yawn, not so successfully.

"Sleep well Skye, see you tomorrow" she leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead before retreating and leaving me alone to my floor.

~ About 1.5 year later ~

That day had started like every day before that, and I started my routine like usual. That was until something changed. I was about to go out for my morning run, having finished my early Tai Chi routine when I heard my phone ringing.

Only when I turned around, my phone was not ringing but had its screen black, as it was turned off. I walked towards the sound that echoed through my room and walked in the room-closet. The sound led me to the safe, which I unlocked and took the buzzing device in my palm, looking at the unknown number that was calling me.

"Agent Skye" I answered as I brought the phone to my ear.

"Morning agent" a voice that I had to hear for quite some time came from the device. "I need you to come in"

I balanced the phone on my shoulder and looked further into the safe and took out a black case with a 'Q' engraved on top. I walked back into my room and opened the case, only to reveal the latest model of gauntlets that we had been working on with Tony for at least a year after the New York Battle.

"What is my mission, sir?" I asked as I walked back into the room-closet and took out the bag that I had always prepared in case of an emergency.

"I need you to go undercover to an organisation that has made its purpose to uncover S.H.I.E.L.D. secrets and make them public. I would ask for someone else, but I trust you. Plus, this mission will require your skills"

My eyebrows furrowed questionably at that. "My skills? Is this threat so great that I will need to quake my way out of there, pirate?"

I could swear that I heard him laugh from the other end of the line. "No" he replied. "No. I don't mean those skills. You are going undercover as a normal, non-powered individual who hates secrets and believes that the government and organisations cover everything up. You are going back to your roots…" he trailed off as if to create suspense. "You are going in as a hacker"

"Huh" I scoffed and laughed at the same time. "I like that. I will set up my computer so that you can send me the instructions on a secure line and I'll get back to you" I felt that this conversation was coming to an end so I added quickly. "Nick, one last question" I could tell he didn't particularly appreciate me calling him Nick, but it was safer than using the surname of the director of an organisation such as S.H.I.E.L.D., plus I got to have my fun with it. "Who am I infiltrating?"

"The Rising Tide"