Siblings
Skye doesn't remember the first sibling her parents brought home. She was only a year old when her Aunt Susan and Uncle Jack were killed in a car crash. It took two months for the authorities to track down her dad and ask if he wanted custody of Skye's cousin. Bobbi came to live with them two days later, and a year after that it became permanent. Skye had never known life without her older sister, and her parents said that she had loved Bobbi immediately. It was Bobbi who bought Skye her favorite stuffed animal for her second birthday, a pink dragon two-year-old Skye had named Long, after the stories her mamā had told her of the creatures. Skye had followed Bobbi around like a lost puppy for years, exclaiming that she wanted to be just like her older sister when she grew up. Bobbi, unfortunately familiar with how easily family could be lost, tolerated it very well and even liked it occasionally, although she would never tell her little shadow. Skye wanted to do everything that Bobbi did, gymnastics and ballet and martial arts. Bobbi taught Skye to do a backflip and cried with her when Skye broke her arm. A month and a half later, Skye, with Bobbi's help, did one successfully.
When her next sibling and first brother came into the family, Skye was five. She had fairly clear memories of the first time she met Clint. She had latched onto him immediately, and the whole family still teased Bobbi about how jealous she was. Clint, used to small children from his stint in foster care and the circus, acted happy and upbeat for her. Later that night, Skye snuck out of her room and listened at the bannister as Clint cried because of the horrible memories he had involving young kids. After that, Skye didn't see Clint for a while, even though she later found out the rest of her family did. A few months later, Clint moved in permanently and he and Skye became partners in (pranking) crime. Skye's Māma and Daddy would laugh and shake their heads, calling Clint a bad influence. Clint is the one who taught Skye how to shoot, earlier than her parents would have liked. Māma shook her head and whispered under her breath that at least it was a Nerf gun. Two years later, her parents finally let her learn to shoot, and Clint was her teacher for that too.
The last sibling Skye got was Maria. She was ten this time, aware now of some of the nuances of mental health issues. Her parents had finally sat her down a few months earlier and told her why she hadn't seen Clint those few months before he moved in. So, she knew that not everyone had a good childhood like she did. It was good timing, because when Māma brought Maria, her trainee, home with her, Maria took one look at how Skye interacted with her Daddy and burst into tears. Daddy had hustled Skye, Bobbi and Clint away, but not before Skye heard Maria sob about how her dad hated her. For weeks following that incident, Maria was extremely formal with the whole family, until Skye asked if Maria wanted to share her and her sibling's Daddy, because he was a good one. Maria had no clue how to treat a child as young as Skye, so as bonding, she taught her new little sister the basics of coding. Maria didn't know that much about it, but it was the most child-appropriate skillset she had. Skye soon completely surpassed her older sister's teaching ability, but she never forgot those first few lessons with Maria.
Clint was technically the one who brought Skye's sort-of sister into the family, but Maria was the one who made it official. Natasha was the most traumatized of all of the siblings. Skye heard about her for months before she met her, because at 12, she was considered too young to be around someone so volatile. Later, Natasha would credit meeting Skye as the biggest breakthrough in her de-brainwashing. Natasha told Skye that she reminded her of her younger sister, Yelena, who she missed very much, and the other little girls that she had been with in the Red Room. When Natasha had a bad day, she would come over and braid Skye's hair, just like she did with the girls she was raised with. Natasha taught the whole family to braid as well, and from then on, Natasha would braid Skye's hair while someone else braided hers. Natasha also taught Skye ballet. She had done a bit with Bobbi when she was little, but had stopped after one of their moves. Natasha credited her stealth to her ballet training, and pushed Skye hard in her training. Sometimes she would push too hard and Skye would leave with bloody feet or sobbing, but Natasha would always apologize and Skye knew it was because she was still unlearning everything the Red Room taught her. Skye cried happy tears when Natasha proposed to Maria and became an official part of her family.