Chapter 1
Skye couldn’t help but grin in amusement as her Supervising Officer, Lance Hunter, spoke into the comms, with a series of nonsensical but clearly annoyed, words.
The mission had been relatively simple, extracting a team of three agents from a navy battleship they had been sent to infiltrate, and gather the data needed to hack their systems. Something that the other team had not been unable to do.
Even though she was perched on the roof of a warehouse on the docks beside the ship, with hostiles currently scouring the harbour, she wasn't exactly safe. None of the agents were.
She had not seen any of the agents on board the ship, but from the way Hunter was muttering under his breath, he had obviously met up with them and was unhappy about it.
“Saving bloody yanks. I do not get paid enough for this.” he mumbled under his breath.
She waited until Hunter had opened the door onto the ship's deck, effectively creating the diversion she needed before she took her shot.
She hit her target easily, grinning at a job ‘well done’ before she shifted her gun and pointed the scope at her S.O and a dark haired man, who she assumed was another Shield agent. He had his back to her; she couldn’t see his face but knew he was part of the ‘three-man team’ that they had been sent to rescue.
“And that would be my rookie, who just shot a usb into a harddrive from a hundred yards away.” she heard Hunter tell the agent he was with, before he put his finger to his ear and stared directly at her position, “Rook, mind giving us some cover?”
She had already spotted two men running along the deck behind them; shooting a man in the head was a far bigger target than a USB port. In comparison it was easy for her to fire a perfect kill shot, right between the eyes, before the first man managed to reach them.
That was when the agent turned around and looked directly at her, exposing his face.
Her heart seized in her chest and she immediately moved out from behind the scope to get a better look, not quite believing what her eyes were seeing, but there was no mistake.
Even through her honey coloured bangs, she could clearly see Grant Ward standing on the deck with Hunter.
It had been just over a year since she had seen him but she seemed to have forgotten how tall he was; Hunter, who was far taller than her, was at least a full ten centimeters shorter than him.
But she had remembered everything else about him; his square jaw, black hair, dark eyes and a hard expression on his face. Something that contrasted greatly against his shapely and impossibly soft looking lips.
She felt her breath hitch in her throat as their eyes met; she froze, trapped by his gaze.
All of a sudden, she was not the trained Shield Agent she had been moments before, but was once again a bumbling hacker who refused to follow orders, rebelled against any sort of rules and who seemed to enjoy putting herself in harm's way, that annoyed her Supervising Officer, Grant Ward, to no end.
As if that wasn’t shocking enough, she then saw Fitz and May appear from the hull of the ship, onto the deck, joining Hunter and Ward.
000
Skye hadn’t spent much time in High School, but she had encountered bullies through most of her childhood and teenage years.
However she thought that once people left high school, they would see the immaturity and hurtfulness of their actions when they tormented someone like that.
Agent Melinda May had to be at least ten, maybe fifteen, years older than her, yet the only way she could describe her was, a bully. Although it had taken her a while to come to that conclusion.
May wasn’t exactly welcoming when Skye had joined the team; she was closed off and stoic. But she noticed that she was that way with everyone in the team and didn’t take it personally.
Even with her harsh critiques, constant scrutiny and dismissal of her skills, she took it as her just being mindful of a rookie on the team; she did have a lot to learn after-all.
However when Coulson was kidnapped, that was when things changed.
Agent Hand’s dismissal of her almost made sense; she didn’t know what she could do and, she had the sneaking suspicion that she was prioritising taking down Centipede and not finding Coulson, unlike the rest of her team.
Or at least, she thought everyone on Coulson’s team was focused on finding him; apparently she was wrong.
“You're a distraction. And you're gone.” Agent Hand told her harshly.
She lurched forward to argue with her but, to her surprise, Ward beat her to it
“Agent Hand,” he began, calling her attention to him, “I know Skye's methods are unorthodox.” he said, glancing over at her quickly before he turned his attention back to his superior, “But she's a member of this team. She can help.” he told her seriously.
To hear him defend her, when he was constantly drilling into her about following the rules and taking things ‘seriously’, made her stare at him with open mouthed shock.
The fact that he acknowledged that she had any type of skills, let alone ones that would be helpful to their situation, left her floored with disbelief. But she also felt very validated that Ward, her supervising officer, was touting her skills.
And he had said she was ‘a member of the team’, which warmed her heart as, at times, she still felt like an outsider.
Agent Hand leveled him with an unconvinced glare before she turned her attention to May, “Agent May, your professional opinion,” she began, “Will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?” she demanded, raising her eyebrows expectantly.
There was a tense moment of silence as they waited for her to respond.
For all of May’s critiques and hostility towards her, if Ward had acknowledged her skill, then surely they would...
“No.” she told her coldly.
Skye turned to her in utter disbelief, feeling as if she had just been punched in the stomach as she stared at her; absolutely horrified. She couldn’t believe May, despite everything, would think so little of her to completely remove her from the plane and not allow her to help find their leader.
Was she really so heartless that she couldn’t, at the very least, keep her around so that she would have updates on Coulson’s well-being? On the off chance that, maybe, she could help?
This was beyond hazing the new recruit and making her earn her place on the team with ‘tough love’, this was something else entirely.
As if to reinforce her terrible conclusion, Ward looked over at May with a similar look of disbelief and, perhaps, even a little disappointment in his fellow specialists' assessment of her.
Her S.O was notorious for not showing any sort of emotions, always approaching any situation with cold professionalism, obeying the rules above all else and, as Coulson put it, ‘trust the process’ more than any other Agent she knew. Even May.
In a situation like this, for him to voice an opinion contrary to those above him in the chain of command, was incredibly significant. For him then to show emotion about anything, let alone disagreeing with a member of the team, was monumental.
“Increase her restriction level, confiscate her laptop and phone.” Agent Hand ordered, “Then have her delivered to debrief.”
One of the agents stepped forward, as if he was ready to physically remove her from the plane, and a bolt of fear shot through her as she cringed away.
Thankfully Ward stepped between them, “I’ll do it.” he assured him before he turned to look at her, “I’m her S.O.” he said softly, his voice uncharastically tender, as if he was trying to comfort her.
The look of regret and sympathy in his eyes, made her heart ache.
As he directed her to follow him towards the cargo bay, she couldn’t help but look at May, hoping to see some sort of explanation or even regret in her eyes about what she had done.
Instead, May stared at her with cold eyes, her chin jutting out arrogantly, almost as if she was pleased by seeing her so upset, and being removed from the plane.
She glared back angrily; a feeling of betrayal coursed through her veins, before she marched past her without a word.
After they had gotten Coulson back, May had played it that she was in on the plan the rest of the team had concocted the whole time, getting her taken off the mission so she could search for Coulson outside of the Shield system, she didn't have to follow rules or answer to anyone, but Skye knew better.
She saw the vindictive look in her eyes; having an excuse to kick her off the plane had taken priority over saving Coulson's life.
With that knowledge, she realised without a doubt that May was a bully, who was specifically targeting her.
000
She had been so focused on Ward and May, that she didn’t see the group of men aiming their guns at her on the roof until the shots were hitting the area around her.
She instantly ducked down behind the edge of the roof to avoid the bullets.
“Rook! Get to the extraction point!” Hunter bellowed in her ear.
“Got it!” she yelled, hoping he would be able to hear her response amongst the loud gun fire.
Snatching her rifle from the stand, she was careful to keep her head down as she slung it onto her back.
She took a moment to gather herself, waiting for a lull in the gun fire, a sign that they were reloading, before she jumped to her feet and sprinted across the roof.
She didn’t hesitate as she jumped from the ledge of one roof to another; her heart beating frantically in her chest as the sounds of gunfire began to chase her across the roof.
000
When Coulson had told her that he had asked for May’s help with finding her parents, she had gotten a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
May was the last person she wanted help from and, she was pretty sure, she was the last person May would want to help.
Since Coulson’s kidnapping and safe return, she had been avoiding May at all costs which, on the rare times they did interact, seemed to make her particularly prickly and poignant in her disapproval of her.
She theorizes that because she spent so little time around her, she had to take every opportunity she could to belittle her, as they were so rare.
But she reasoned that even someone as cold hearted as May, despite whatever grudge she held against her, would surely not hinder her efforts to find her parents.
After a few days she had finally worked up the courage to approach her after a successful mission, figuring that she would be in something that resembled a good mood.
However when she approached the bar, she realised that May was not alone and skidded to an abrupt stop, hiding behind the corner before she realised what she was doing.
“It was tactical. Not personal.” she heard Ward say sounding both critical and annoyed; a tone he often used when speaking to her.
“My mistake.” she heard May mumble quietly, almost as if she was… embarrassed?
She hadn’t intended to eavesdrop, but she had never heard her sound anything other than monotone and serious; she was incredibly curious as to what would provoke such a reaction from the normally emotionless Specialist and how Ward was connected to it.
“I am not some recruit who can't separate church from state. I'm on the same page as you.” Ward told her seriously, “So don't flatter yourself.” he dismissed.
Her stomach twisted so violently she thought she might be sick as she realised the implications of what she had just heard; May and Ward were sleeping together.
She didn’t want to believe it. Her entire being recoiled away from the idea.
But she couldn’t think of anything else that might explain the conversation she had just heard.
She’d associated the feeling of betrayal with May for a long time now, so much so that the sting of it had somewhat lessened.
But Ward? That was a different story.
His betrayal hit her with devastating force; she felt as if her heart had been placed into a vice and someone was squeezing it so tightly, that it hurt to breathe. A lump lodged in her throat that left her so short of breath, she audibly gasped.
That was when May rounded the corner and found her standing there; she clearly knew that she had heard their conversation and knew what was happening between the two of them.
If she had been in her place, she would have been mortified and perhaps a little scared that something they were obviously trying to keep secret, had been exposed.
May however looked annoyed and there was something challenging in her gaze, as if she was daring her to deny she had been eavesdropping, or tell anyone about what she’d heard.
She had no inclination to do either.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to crash.” she mumbled.
Despite fresh waves of hurt rushing over her, she immediately knew she was in the wrong; not just for eavesdropping, but feeling upset about it. She had no right to feel the way she did about the situation. Ward had no loyalty to her, he didn't owe her any sort of explanation. She knew that.
But that didn’t stop the feeling of betrayal as tears began to sting at her eyes, that she furiously blinked back; determined not to look so weak and emotional in front of a superior agent.
“What do you want?” she demanded, angrily, “This about that thumb drive again?” she asked, huffing impatiently.
“No.” she assured her, her voice sounding as small and pathetic as she felt, when she remembered the USB she had given her with all the data she had found about her parents.
“Good.” she glared.
That one word sparked a fire within her and she raised her eyes to glare back at her, “Look, I get that you don't wanna help with that.” she told her pointedly, “Loud and clear. Big neon flashing lights.” she added sarcastically, “But I didn't ask, okay?” she snapped.
For a moment, she thought she saw a flicker of surprise come over May's face; seeming shocked by the venom in her words, before she quickly returned to her emotionless and hard expression.
“You have to decide why you're here.” She told her seriously, “We have a mission and it's not to find your parents.” she hissed, condensation dripping from every word as she eyed her critically, “If you can't put aside your personal attachments, then you shouldn't be here.” she told her firmly.
The words seem to fall between them like a bomb, its devastating impact hitting her squarely in her chest.
With that, May turned on her heel, thrusting her nose into the air once more, and walked away, seeming not to care about the emotional carnage she left in her wake.
She could no longer blink back her tears and hurried to her bunk before anyone could see them fall.
The reason she had decided to join Shield in the first place, was to find her parents. Now, not only had May refused to help her, but criticized her for wanting such a thing in the first piece. As if she was some insolent child that needed to grow up and not be so concerned in finding people who had abandoned her and obviously didn’t give a damn about her.
As if to reinforce the idea that no one cared, came the realisation that Ward was sleeping with May.
That harsh reality was so much worse because it was her own fault. Falling for a superior officer was stupid, she knew that.
But some small part of her thought, that perhaps, he may have had some sort of feelings for her too. That maybe he cared about her as much as she cared about him...
To discover that he was sleeping with May, someone he knew held a grudge against her, felt like the deepest betrayal she had ever known.
May was right; she was emotional, unprofessional and of no help to the team. Everything she was feeling in that moment just proved that.
Grabbing the papers that she had gathered about the identity of her parents, she proceeded to tear the documents apart.
It was a metaphor for how her heart was feeling.
As tears streamed down her face, she made a decision.
Wiping away her tears impatiently, she threw the shredded paper away and made her way to Coulson’s office.
000
Hunter, Ward and May were running parallel to her along the dock, though they were faster, not having to jump from one roof to another like her; even Fitz was making more progress than her, as he trailed behind the other three agents.
They seemed to be encountering a lot less gun fire than she was; an open target on the roof was far more exposed than the ones on the ground.
“Gotta move your ass Rook, you're gonna miss our ride.” Hunter reminded her, his voice coming out in short huffs through her ear piece, already sounding breathless with the effort of running.
“I’m sorry, am I not leaping across buildings with a ten pound rifle on my back fast enough for you?” she retorted sarcastically; said rifle was forcing her to use more effort to jump, and it was draining her energy to continue running at such a fast pace.
“Not really no.” he told her simply as he ran along the pier where the familiar sight of their team's helicopter appeared, the doors open, waiting for them as it hovered over the water.
000
She had stayed silent through most of the mission briefing; which was unusual for her.
Even though she had rehearsed what she was going to say dozens of times in her head, the fact that she was now faced with actually saying the words out loud, made her nervous.
“Everybody clear on our objectives?” Coulson asked.
Everyone murmured in agreement.
“Skye,” he called, turning to look at her expectantly, “The floor is yours.” he said simply.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped up towards the holotable; she was trying to keep her face smooth, passive as all eyes in the room focused on her.
“So,” she began, trying to sound as casual as possible so no one would know the emotional turmoil she was in, “this is going to be my last mission with you guys.” she announced.
The words fell like an anvil onto the holotable that separated her from the rest of the team; there was a moment of silence where it seemed like they hadn’t heard her.
Or perhaps they had and were waiting for her to smile, revealing it as some sort of joke, but she didn't and the seriousness of the situation dawned on them all.
“What?” demanded Jemma, a confused frown creasing her brow as she stared at her in disbelief.
“Why?” Fitz asked, sounding bewildered.
She focused on the duo, she had expected their reactions and had her answers ready for them, “I’ve realised I’m not the right fit here.” she explained calmly.
“Skye, of course you fit in.” Jemma assured her as she moved around the holotable to place her hand on her shoulder affectionately, “We’re a family here.”
She nodded, a sad smile tugging at her lips; had it been only yesterday that she would have agreed with that statement? It didn't feel like it. A lot could change overnight.
“Thanks but, I know I don’t have what it takes to be an agent.” she told her firmly.
“Isn’t that something you should talk to me about?” Ward interjected, his voice hard, “I’m your S.O.”
She turned to look at him and was surprised to see how defensive he had suddenly become; his arms folded tightly across his chest, his jaw clenched and his eyes had narrowed into small slits with the force of his glare in her direction.
His reaction was unexpected; she had thought he would be relieved that she was leaving. All of his complaints about training her, which she had once thought were fun little jibes, had turned sour and sincere in her mind.
She reasoned however, that his outrage was not due to her leaving, but that she had passed over him in the chain of command, and gone straight to Coulson with her decision.
“I didn’t need to, the situation was pretty clear.” she shrugged, “Agent May gave me some great perspective,”
Every gaze that had previously been focused on her, suddenly turned to the woman, standing silently in the corner.
Funnily enough, her stance mirrored Wards; arms folded, jaw clenched, narrow eyed glare. But her eyes didn’t look outraged like him. Infact, she seemed to be barely concealing her glee; seeming to be vindicated by Skye’s words.
“She told me that I needed to choose, if my focus was finding my parents or becoming an agent; and she’s right.” she said simply, her voice light as she tried to look unaffected and turned her attention back to the rest of the group, “My priorities clearly lay with my parents and if I stay, I’d be putting you all at risk and I don’t want to do that.” she explained, a heavy note creeping into her tone, despite her attempts to sound indifferent.
“Skye, no.” Fitz murmured, his eyes filling with emotion, reminding her of a sad puppy.
She ignored the ache in her chest and swallowed past the lump of guilt she felt in her throat at upsetting him so much; she knew he hated change and the two of them, along with Jemma, had become quite close.
“It's done.” she said firmly, pushing down her emotions forcefully so that she wouldn’t appear as weak as she felt in front of everyone, “There’s no point arguing about it.” she declared, a note of finality ringing out as the room.
“Sir?” Ward began, turning to glare at Coulson, “Nothing to say on this?” he demanded.
“It's Skye’s decision and I’ve signed off on it; what more is there to say?” he stated, his voice sounding uncharacteristically detached from the emotion in the room.
Something seemed to pass between them in that moment, a silent communication between the two men, through their eyes.
She had no time to decipher what it could be as Jemma squeezed her shoulder, forcing her attention back to her.
“Where will you go?” she asked, her voice choking with sadness, her eyes swam with tears but she had accepted Skye's decision, and didn't bother to continue trying to convince her to stay.
Guilt tugged at her heart as she viewed her friend, knowing she alone was the cause of her tears. But she was resolved to treat the subject as lightly as possible, so that no one would probe into the deeper meaning behind it.
“Probably go back to living that sweet van life.” she told her easily, “But Coulson has given me a lot of leads I can follow up about my parents.” she smiled as she turned to look at the older man findly.
He nodded in acknowledgement, smiling warmly, but it did not reach his eyes.
“Can’t you come back after you find your parents?” Fitz asked, sounding somewhat desperate.
“Who knows how long that will take?” she shrugged.
Honestly she hadn’t thought that far ahead; she was devoting all of her focus on the present, which was hard enough, let alone the future.
Feeling as if she was growing dangerously emotional, she flicked her hair out of her eyes and cleared her throat, painting a mask of indifference on her face, “Lets focus on the mission. It's my last one and I want to make sure it goes well.” she declared, her voice coming out far louder than she intended.
Fitz sighed in defeat, “I’ll go and prepare the Icer’s.” he said before he scurried out of the room quickly, his head hanging low.
She bit the inside of her cheek to push back the pain she was feeling at seeing Fitz, who she had almost begun to see like a little brother, so upset. But she persevered. She had to.
“Right, let's look at the specifications of the train.” she began as she stepped towards the holotable, “Jemma where will you be sitting?”
“Ah,” she said as she peered over her shoulder at the map of the train, “There I think.”
Skye nodded, she knew exactly where Jemma and the rest of the team would be sitting, but she needed to change the subject and that was the first thing that came to mind.
She felt Ward glaring at her, as if he could force her to look at him with the weight of his glare, but she remained determined as she stared down at the holotable, appearing busy.
“Sir, can I have a word?” she heard Ward ask lowly, his voice hard.
“Of course.” said Coulson, he'd obviously been expecting his request, “May, why don’t you come too.”
“Yes sir.” she replied diligently.
She let loose a breath she didn’t know she had been holding as the three of them left the room.
“Do you have your cover story with Fitz worked out?” Jemma asked her curiously, “I’ve been practicing mine.” she said proudly.
“Ah, no.” she revealed; “I think it’s on my tablet, I’ll just go get it.”
She headed down the hallway towards her bunk, it was only after she opened her door however, did she begin to hear raised voices.
Looking up at the spiral staircase, she had completely forgotten that her bunk was directly beneath Coulson’s office and she could hear everything that was being said.
“Why would you say something like that to her?” she heard Ward say, his voice several notes higher than normal; the tone was distorted with the depth of his outrage.
“It was the truth and she needed to hear it.” May responded, clearly unaffected; she could almost hear her shrugging.
“Cut the crap May,” he snapped impatiently, “you’ve had a grudge against her from day one!”
She blinked in surprise, absolutely floored; she had never heard him speak to a fellow Agent that way, let alone a superior, with such anger and disrespect
“Because she is unprofessional!” she responded, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice, “She’s too emotional and that makes her a liability.”
“A liability?” he scoffed, “She was the one that found Coulson, not you!” he told her harshly, his voice growing louder with the strength of his conviction, “She’s an asset!” he insisted.
“I disagree.” May retorted sharply.
“She’s right.” interrupted a new voice that she recognised as Coulson, “She is emotional, but at least she’s aware of it and acted accordingly.” he told them calmly.
There was a moment of silence as the words echoed around them before Ward spoke, “I don’t understand.”
“She found out about you two, that’s why she wants to leave.” Coulson replied flatly.
She felt her heart spluttering nervously, as she flushed with embarrassment so hot, that her head was beginning to spin; they knew.
When she had spoken to him last night about why she wanted to leave, she had played it off as just her prioritising things, like she had explained to the rest of the group. However he had seen there was something more behind her decision and he eventually coaxed the other reason out of her.
She remembered being surprised that he seemed to already know about Ward and May; but it was his plane after all, he knew about everything that was happening within its walls.
He’d agreed not to mention it to anyone when she asked him, trying to salvage at least some shred of dignity she might have after being so foolish; but it seemed he was not honouring her request. Adding yet another layer of betrayal that she felt she was currently being suffocated with.
Though, realistically, his treachery was barely a blimp on her radar compared to everything else.
“Well if she is leaving because she has a crush on her Supervising Officer, it just proves my point: she’s too emotional to do this.” May said unabashedly.
Ironically, she agreed with her statement.
“Oh she’s emotional? Really?” Coulson let out loudly, his voice dripping with sarcasm and contempt.
She pulled back in surprise, she had never heard him speak that way; he was always so calm and collected, to hear even the slightest anger in his voice was a first for her.
“When she realised she had feelings for her supervising officer, she removed herself from the situation because she knew those feelings were dangerous.” he told them seriously, “She’s not like you, who was petty and jealous and bullied her into leaving the team.” he continued the anger and condemnation clear in his voice; she knew he had directed that statement at May.
There was a moment of silence before Ward spoke "Sir, I-"
But Coulson cut him off, his voice becoming eerily calm after such an outburst, “As far as I’m concerned, Skye is a better agent than both of you right now. ” he declared.
She felt the tension in her stomach ease slightly; Coulson still believed in her, even though she didn’t believe in herself.
One day, she hoped she could prove him right, but for now, she would hold those words close to her heart and use it to lessen the pain she had been drowning in.
Afraid to listen to another word, or worse, be found eaves dropping again, she grabbed her tablet and ran back to the briefing room.
000
She watched as Hunter, Ward, May and Fitz clambered onto the helicopter that was hovering just above the water at the end of the pier; once they were safely on board as it began to rise.
As she reached the edge of the last roof, she jumped down onto the pier, careful to roll out of the landing so she didn’t injure herself from the impact before she sprung up to her feet and kept running.
Part of her was dimly aware that the helicopter was too high now for her to be able to jump up into it. However there was a glimmer of hope as she saw someone lower a rope for her to grab and pull herself up into the helicopter.
If she could make it before the rope ran out of length, leaving her stranded.
000
Somehow she had successfully avoided Ward since the briefing, making sure that Fitz, Jemma or Coulson was with her at all times.
She knew he would never approach her about such a deeply personal topic if there were others around.
As it was, she couldn’t bear to look at him, the depth of her embarrassment was so strong. What would she see when she looked in his eyes? Anger? Sadness? Disappointment? Or, worst of all, pity?
She knew how ridiculous she must appear to him, developing a crush on her mentor like some love-sick teenager. Even more so that she was so consumed by those feelings, that she knew she couldn’t be trusted to do her job.
She felt so pathetic, she was certain he would view her as such; that was more than she could handle.
Thankfully, there was the small mercy of May being shut up in the cockpit as she piloted the plane to their destination. At least she wouldn’t have to see her, already imagining what she would see in her eyes if she looked at her; Triumph? Vindication? Satisfaction?
The only thing she was sure of, was that May would be laughing at her; and Skye couldn’t help but feel that she had every right too.
She almost made it out to the SUV, mere moments away for the team to go their separate ways on the mission, when Ward finally cornered her.
“We need to talk.” he practically growled in her ear as she stood in the cargo bay, making sure her laptop was secure in her back-pack to take on the mission.
She couldn’t help but snort in amusement; at the ridiculousness of what he, of all people, had said.
“Something amusing to you?” he demanded through gritted teeth.
She looked up at him, not surprised to find him glaring at her; that seemed to be his default these days. She was glad that her nonchalant attitude had aggravated him so much. His anger towards her was so strong, it left no room for her to see any other emotion on his face.
“You said ‘we’ need to talk.” she explained, “But that’s not something you do is it?” she challenged as she zipped her bag shut.
He clenched his jaw so hard in response, she wondered if he had cracked some of his teeth with the effort.
He was staring at her with the utmost seriousness, which only encouraged her to become more nonchalant and playful; working to make him as angry as possible to distract him from anything else he would be feeling.
“Talking is what I do.” she smiled knowingly, “I talk and talk and you're tired of hearing my voice.”
It was a low blow for her to repeat the harsh words he had thrown at her when he had been possessed by the berserker staff; he wasn’t in his right mind and didn’t intentionally want to hurt or upset her.
At that moment, she wanted to hurt him. Her words would be a tiny papercut compared to the vicious knife wound she felt he had inflicted on her.
“Guess you got what you wanted;” she shrugged, “you won't have to hear my voice anymore.”
Although she had tried to keep her voice light, she couldn’t help the hard edge that crept into her tone or the stone-like glare that found its way onto her face as she looked at him; she felt as if her very heart was turning to ice as she looked into the eyes of a man who had once filled her with so much warmth… now plunged her into a cold reality.
Not so long ago, she would have crumbled under the weight of his glare, but now, she stared at him with her own iron clad gaze, the strength of her conviction not only surprising him, but her as well.
His jaw twitched slightly as a muscle seemed to spasm in his neck, straining against the tension that radiated out his entire body as he stared at her.
“Ward!” interrupted a voice.
He jumped slightly, whirling around to see who had called his name.
She glanced over his shoulder and almost laughed out loud when she saw that it was May who had called him, “Wheels up! Now!” she commanded.
“Alright!” he called back to her impatiently.
‘Run along boy toy.’ she longed to say, but Ward turned back to her before she could.
“Were gonna talk when I get back.” he told her, his words almost sounding like a threat, “This conversation isn’t over.” he said through gritted teeth.
She rolled her eyes at him sassily, as she swung her bag onto her back, “Yes it is.” she said simply before she walked past him.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lurch forward, almost as if he was going to reach out and grab her, to physically stop her from leaving; but he didn’t.
000
Launching herself off the pier, she grasped the rope with both hands, swinging wildly for a moment as the wind from the helicopter blades seemed to pick her up and toss her around for a moment.
But she held the rope tightly and eventually locked her feet around it, securing herself in place before she began to climb up. Her efforts were helped by someone from above pulling the rope into the helicopter.
As she inched closer to the cabin of the helicopter, she realised that that day in the cargo bay, before they had all boarded the train in Italy, was the last time she had directly spoken to Ward…
Then suddenly he was there, leaning over the edge of the cabin, reaching out to grab her.
The moment he gripped her arm, their eyes locked and she had the strangest feeling that there was some unbreakable bond there, as if he was never going to let her go as he hauled her up into the cabin.
“I’ve got you.” he declared, his voice husky as he pulled her up until both her feet were firmly planted inside.
Realistically, with the wind whipping through her ears and the helicopter blades roaring outside, there was no way she should have been able to hear what he said to her, but somehow she did.