Hello, Goodbye
Skye's POV
I sighed as I finished the song. The last notes reverberated around the room as I lifted my hands off of the keys.
I spun around in my seat as the sound of clapping brought me back to reality.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I hope it's okay that I was playing? Just always wanted to try it at least once,” I said nervously fiddling with my hands. I'd never let anyone hear me sing before; in fact, I couldn't remember ever having sung out loud let alone played the piano! Definitely not something that had been a possibility growing up under Hydra's control. I can’t imagine I sounded anywhere near decent...
“No need to apologize, sweetheart. You have a beautiful voice!”
“Oh, please. No need to lie!” I said with a nervous chuckle.
“The devil doesn’t lie, gorgeous,” he replied with a wink as he went to join me on the piano bench.
“Ok, let’s say I believe this whole, “you’re the devil” thing; which I guess would not be the strangest thing I’ve found out was real, but isn’t that what the Devil is all about? Lies and deception or whatever? I don’t mean to sound inconsiderate and uninformed or anything but I only know what I’ve read up on recently...” I trailed off, biting my lip as I realized I was starting to ramble big time.
“No harm done, sweetness. It’s a common misconception. I just bring out people’s deepest desires - I have nothing to do with whether or not they decide to act on them,” he told me, leaning in to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear. As he did so, I felt another spark of electricity flare throughout my body and tried to hold back a shiver as I bit my lip again.
“But speaking of desires, what do you desire more than anything else?” he repeated.
“Not this again, I told you, I don’t know!” I said, shaking my head. I decided to change the subject.
“I thought you were going to change?” I said as I looked him over. It looked like he had, but not into anything comfortable, just another suit.
“I did! Do you not like it?” The last part he said with a hint of hesitancy and I suddenly felt bad.
“No, no! It’s a very nice suit! I just don’t see why you changed out of your suit only to put on another one?” I said tilting my head to look at him.
He opened his mouth to respond, but before he got the chance, we heard the chiming sound of the elevator.
“Are you expecting someone?” I asked fearfully as I remembered the Hydra guard I had spotted downstairs.
“No,” he answered standing up and walking over towards the elevator.
As soon as his back was turned, I dove behind the couch. I mentally scolded myself for acting cowardly, but was overpowered by my determination not to be recaptured.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” I heard Lucifer demand to know.
“That’s not important. Where is Skye?”
“No idea who you are talking about, now please leave before I have you escorted out,” Lucifer said calmly. I paused as I recognized the voice.
“Phil?” I asked as I stood up and faced the elevator in surprise. “What are you doing here?!” Better yet, how did he find me?
“Skye! Are you okay?” Coulson asked worriedly.
“Yeah, why?” I answered, confused.
Coulson strode right past a bewildered looking Lucifer to join me by the couch.
“Thank god you’re safe!” He said in relief.
“No need to bring my father into this,” Lucifer commented snippily. Coulson raised a brow at this but I shook my head and mouthed “later” to him.
“What’s wrong, Phil? And how did you find me?” I asked quietly.
“I intercepted a Hydra message informing command that a guard had spotted you here.”
I silently cursed as my suspicions were confirmed.
“That isn’t all though is it...” I said. Coulson had a troubled look on his face; one I had never seen before.
“Fury needs you to come in.”
It was my turn to raise my brows, getting the sense that he wasn’t talking about Bus Skye but “Angel”.
“Fury knows how I feel about joining his “Initiative” or whatever it was called, Phil. I’m not ready. I don’t have enough control! I’d cause more harm than good!” I exclaimed in a heated whisper. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lucifer staring at the two of us with narrowed eyes.
“Skye, heroes are made by the path they choose, not the powers they are graced with,” he said as he put an arm on my shoulder.
“I’m not a hero, Phil...nor was I graced...just experimented on and turned into an abomination,” I told him, shrugging his arm off.
“You are not an abomination, Skye! And sorry to burst your bubble but you already are a hero - my hero. After everything Hydra put you through and yet you are still willing to help strangers like Mike - long before you joined my team. You didn’t have to go back for Tony, Natasha, Clint, and Steve that day you escaped Hydra, yet you did. You chose to rescue a building full of strangers instead of standing by and watching and you didn’t have to stay on the Bus and train to become a Shield Agent. We could really use your help, but in the end it is your decision. Forget about what Fury wants, what do you want, Skye?”
I paused at this. My head trying to wrap itself around what Coulson had just told me. I was his hero? How was that even possible! He was mine! Not to mention he knew a whole slew of national heroes who had done way more than I ever had! I opened and closed my mouth as I contemplated his question. It rang similar to what Lucifer had been asking me all night.
What did I want. I could just walk away and leave the saving the world business to those more capable, but what if there was a way that I could help? Would I be able to live with myself knowing I could have helped but chose not to?
“I - I want to help...” I said slowly. “I just don’t know how...” It’s not like helping people was very high on Hydra’s priority list...
“You’ve already done so much to help my team and I, I hate to have to ask even more of you but the Avenger team is going to need you on it, Skye. You may not see it now, but you are helping just by agreeing to come with me,” Coulson replied.
My mind raced as I tried to make a decision.
“Okay, fine. But on one condition,” I finally said.
“Of course, anything,” Coulson said with a sigh of relief.
“I’m still not ready to handle Tony right now, or the others for that matter. I don’t want them to know it’s me.”
“Are you sure that’s wise? Why hide from them? They are not going to like it if they find out you are keeping secrets, Skye! Not to mention, they’ve all seen the clip of you with your wings. It’s not going to be difficult for them to make the connection if they haven’t already.
“We all know Tony’s opinion towards Shield, he’s not exactly shy about it, and even if he wasn’t already upset with me for disappearing on him, from what Steve says, he’s going to be even more upset with Fury and you if he ever finds out I’ve been working for Shield. So it’s actually better for everyone if he doesn’t know. Whatever has caused Fury to call everybody in must be serious. Serious enough that we can’t afford to have unnecessary distractions and emotions getting in the way! And I can’t ever seem to get a grip on my emotions when I’m around Tony, Natasha, Steve, or Clint. I still don’t know why but until I do, it’s a problem. As for the others recognizing me, I don’t have to use my wings. My powers alone should be enough if I can manage to control them well enough...and I’m able to control my appearance now to a certain extent, so that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. The internet says it’s called glamouring or something, but the point is, they never have to know it’s me.”
“I guess that kind of makes sense, I just don’t understand why you are so reluctant to be honest with them, especially considering the connection you have to them.”
“Being open about my powers means the world will know, which means Hydra will know, and the risk of capture aside, I’m not ready for the world to know who I am! And as for the team, I - I’ve never had friends before...least not until recently. I-what if they can’t except me for who I am? I don’t want to lose them! And would someone please tell me what this “connection” is that I keep hearing about?”
“That’s a conversation for another time, Skye. I can’t say I’m completely onboard with you disguising yourself, but the last thing I want to do is take another choice away from you, so if that is truly how you want to play this out , than so be it.”
“Thank you, that’s means the world to me, Phil.” I told him, as I suddenly remembered something.
“Wait, doesn’t everyone think you are dead? I mean pot, meet kettle...”
Coulson sighed heavily as he nodded. “Natasha, and Clint found out while we were at the Hub, but yes, Fury wants me to take a backseat on this one...”
“AC! I can’t do this without you!” I said, frowning as I began to panic slightly.
“Hey, now. I will always help you Skye! I do not intend to just toss you into this and let you figure things out on your own; It’s just not going to be like the way things are run on the Bus. But I will be on comms with you the entire time!”
I sighed in relief as my panic subsided slightly. I decided, however, that now was not the time to mention that yet another one of my newfound abilities included telepathy. Like all my other powers, it didn’t work quite the way I would have liked and I often gained far more knowledge from someone’s mind than I wanted but it did make something like comms, unnecessary - assuming I ever gained control of it. Serious, that sentence is becoming a record on a loop - I might as well make it my catch phrase at this point, I thought bitterly as I tried to get my thoughts back on track.
Okay, get a grip, Skye. Focus on one thing at a time.
I headed back over to where Lucifer was standing and looked up at him.
“So, um, I really really appreciate you helping me out back there and for welcoming me into your place - the last thing I want to do is appear rude or ungrateful - but unfortunately, I have to go...” I said unsure of what to say.
“What, why?!” Lucifer replied, surprising me with the amount of panic in his voice.
“I can’t get into specifics, but some friends of mine need help,” I said slowly.
“You are leaving me? This is what you desire?” his eyes were wide in shock as he stared down at me.
“Well, no I don’t “desire” to leave you...but I do desperately want to do whatever I can to help my friends...” I answered. For some reason, the broken look on his face was almost physically painful for me to look at and I absentmindedly scratched one of my scars as I tried to distract myself.
“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I’m pleased that my mate’s desire is one so noble. How about I tag along? Another common misconception; the devil actually makes a fabulous assistant,” he said with a wide grin and a wink.
“I’m sure “he” does, but this isn’t something you can be a part of. I promise, I’ll make it up to you when I can, but I really do have to go now.” Before he could say anything else, I turned and pushed the button to open the elevator, keeping it open as Coulson joined me; though he stopped briefly to have a whispered conversation with Lucifer. What the hell are those two talking about? I wondered as I tried to ignore the pain in my chest as I watched Lucifer standing in the middle of the room looking at me with a lost look on his face.
“So where are we headed?” I asked Coulson as the elevator doors closed.
“New york.”
********************************************
In-Line Comments
- So just to be clear I tossed in a few more powers that Skye has so it’ll make it easier for her to counter Loki’s control when that arrives and to hide herself in plain sight when she’s with the avenger’s.
- Also not really sure if I wanted to write it out but basically Coulson heard Lucifer when he called her his mate (though it goes over Skye’s head) so when he talks to him briefly he asks him what he meant - lucifer says she’s his soulmate yada yada, and basically Coulson’s like shit another one? and lucifer is left confused and not sure if Skye has more than one soulmate.
- Also Lucifer is gonna end up tracking her down to new york im just not sure if I’m going to have him show up before/during/after the battle so if anyone has any preference or suggestion let me know!
- Hope you liked the chapter and that it made sense, felt like i went a bit fast with it but want to get to the good stuff 😂let me know if yall have any clarifying questions tho!