Love's A Game Want To Play?
There's a Hydra agent to her left. He stands out so obvious it's painful, but only to her. Skye has been around enough agents for one lifetime to pick them out of a crowd. He's dressed casually, brown leather jacket, his back is to her. But she can just tell, there's this vibe coming off him and it's not friendly. She has two options she can run but then he'd give chase, find out where she lives and that wouldn't be good for anyone.
Or she can continue to sit in this booth of the coffee shop and sip her mocha latte in silence, hoping that he goes away. She doesn't get her wish. Skye fouces back on the computer screen in front of her, her fingers flying across the keys when she hears the padding of the booth squeak under his weight. Skye takes a sip of her drink before looking up and when she does she groans aloud, she knows him. Of course they'd send him.
''Hello love''. ''Oh god''. ''You know I always imagined you saying that but under very different circumstances''. ''Ew''. He attemtps to pluck the latte out of her hands but Skye smacks him and then kicks him in the shin. ''Why are you here Kebo?'' ''Oh we're calling me by my first name again? Alright then Skye, I think you know exactly why I'm here. No need to play dumb''. When she and Garrett joined Hydra John told her that they weren't there to make friends.
Only had one goal, save him. So Kebo coming along hadn't been in the cards. Skye didn't plan to become friends with him it just sort of happened. He got under her skin like some kind of disease and now he won't ever go away. Kebo smiles at her before running his hand over his shiny head, he gets up and sits in the booth next to her. ''But first come here''. He hugs her tightly and Skye wraps her arms around him, it's been too long since she's seen him.
They've known each other for a few years now, he's always been there when she needed him. After she escaped Shield she lived on his couch for a couple of weeks until she got back on her feet. Kebo is a good man, he too was never loyal to Hydra only joined it to spite Shield, for revenge. When he was younger he fell in love with a girl named Lauren, it was probably fourteen years ago now. She died long before Skye ever came along.
But Kebo still wears the grief fresh like it happened yesterday. Shield kidnapped Lauren because she had powers, ran tests on her before Kebo could even blink. Long story short he and Garrett along with a few other people rescued her. But it was too late the damage had been done, Lauren couldn't cope with what had been done to her so she took her own life. Kebo never recovered. He's an alcoholic but Skye doesn't judge him, everyone has to get through this life somehow.
''How are you doing cupcake?'' Skye sighs and closes her laptop down, slides over the pastry she was going to eat but changed her mind. ''You know the usual''. ''Everything okay?'' He asks, throwing his arm over her shoulder and downing the dessert in two bites. ''Yeah everything is peachy. Now what do they want from me this time?'' ''Always so dramatic''. ''I learned it from you''. Kebo chuckles and nods in agreement.
''Let's go back to your place''. ''Fine''. Skye tucks her laptop underneath her arm and walks out, her head ducked down. ''You know I'm not feeling the blonde''. He comments pulling on her wig as she slaps his hand. ''Wouldn't have to wear it if Coulson would stop coming after me''. ''It will blow over eventually''. Skye gives him a look, ''no it won't. Especially not with Ward''. At the mention of the Shield agent Kebo rolls his eyes.
(What Skye doesn't know and Kebo never had the heart to tell her, is that Ward was one of the men who helped save his girlfriend all those years ago. And since then the two have remained very close friends, probably the only friend Ward has ever had. Kebo is just too afraid to tell Skye, and he can't exactly do it now anyway.) ''You've got to let the Ward thing go''. Skye unlocks her front door and throws her keys on the kitchen counter.
''Easier said than done''. ''Yeah I know''. Kebo checks the area before coming back to the kitchen, always so paranoid. ''No big bad Shield agents hiding under my bed?'' Skye asks and tosses him a beer. ''Nope you're good for now. So let's get down to business cupcake''. Skye sits next to him on the couch and turns to face him. Bucky comes out from snoozing lazily in the sun under one of the windows, sees Kebo and hisses, his tail sticking up.
''My cat hates you''. ''I never did anything to him!'' ''Bucky come here, be nice Kebo isn't going to hurt you''. The cat doesn't budge, intead runs into Skye's bedroom without looking back. ''So much for protecting me''. Skye mutters, leaning back and stretching out her legs. ''Lay it on me Popeye''. He pulls out his phone and hands it to her. ''Nothing too serious. Just your typical hack into security, transfer some money. You'd need to be on site for it to work though''.
Skye chews on her lip, ''where?'' ''Arizona. Some small company that owes Whitehall money, he wants you to take it back from them. I'm not going to lie there are weapons inside, probably ones that Shield would be very interested in''. ''I'm not going if there's even a chance Shield is there''. Over the past couple of months Skye has done odd jobs for Hydra, nothing too big. Just enough to make her feel like she's actually doing something and not sitting on her ass all day.
''You'll have backup even if they do''. ''That's not the point and you know it''. ''Even if they do show up which is a very rare possibility, you'll be fine. I'm not going to let anything happen to you''. ''I'd believe you if Ward wasn't apart of Coulson's team. Kebo he hates me, he'd bring me in no doubt about it the second he saw me''. Part of that is true. Kebo knows personally that Ward doesn't hate Skye, far from it. The fool is in love with her.
But Grant is still hurt about Skye lying to him, lying to the team. It's going to take a long time for him to forgive Skye, Kebo has no doubt that he won't. It's just Grant thinks Skye played him like she did with the rest of them, he never did think anyone would care about him. And finally when someone did when he opened himself up to said person, she turns out to be a liar. Kebo sees Ward's side, but he also sees Skye's. She was just trying to save John.
Kebo can't exactly tell Skye all of this so he simply shakes his head and tells her not to worry. ''Look I can't make you but Whitehall asked for you personally, you're lucky it's just me he sent after you''. Skye sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose, ''you've only been here one other time, are you sure you weren't followed?'' Kebo rolls his eyes, ''have some faith honey cakes, I'm not a total moron''. Skye finishes her beer and offers him another one.
''When do I start?'' He grins knew she was going to agree. No one turns down the kind of money Whitehall is offering her as payment. ''Tomorrow night. You care if I crash here? We'll leave at nine tomorrow evening''. Skye pretends to think about this, ''I don't know you'll have to ask Bucky, he kind of hates you''. ''I never did anything to that cat!'' Skye turns on the TV and rolls her eyes. ''You did scare the crap out of him the first time you were here''.
''That was an accident''. A month after Skye moved in she sent Kebo a message telling her that she was all settled in and he could come by whenever, just let her know first. The moron decided to come in the middle of the night drunk out of his mind, nearly stepped on Bucky and it seems the poor cat won't forgive him for it. ''You getting drunk was an accident?'' ''No stepping on Satan disguised as your cat was''. Skye just laughs at him.
The next night she leaves Bucky with a kiss to the forehead and promises she'll be back soon. One plane ride and a long car trip later, Kebo her and a few Hydra agents are standing in a control room of the building where Whitehall's money is being stored. Skye has set up her laptop and is hacking into their system, she had to be on sight to start the hack, courtesy of their stupid security. ''I'm in''. She tells Kebo who nods and looks around.
''How long?'' She types for a few seconds and then says, ''five minutes. By the way tell Whitehall I better see ten thousand dollars in my account in the morning or I'm going to shoot him''. ''You got it cupcake''. There's two minutes left when Skye hears a commotion outside. Kebo and the other agents look up from the impressive weapons the company had on standby. ''Go see what that was''. Kebo orders and three of the men file out of the room.
''Ten bucks says it's Shield''. Skye grits her teeth, ''now is not the time Popeye''. ''Oh come on Skye let's make this interesting''. ''I don't want to make it interesting I want to get the hell out of here so I can go home''. ''Sir it's Shield!'' One of the agents yells in their comms. There's gunfire, the sounds of flesh hitting the floor. Skye's palms start sweating. She's not ready for this, she realizes. She doesn't want to face Shield why why why did she agree to this?
''Popeye we have to get out of here''. He must hear the catch in her voice because he grabs the laptop and turns towards the back door. ''I'll distract them''. He then shoves the laptop in her backpack and runs out of the room, before he leaves he places a gun in her hand. It takes her back to those early morning training sessions with Grant, when she used to say bang every time she pulled the trigger. John didn't need her to be a solider so he never taught her how to defend herself.
He just needed her to be his hacker, he took care of the rest. So the training, the learning how to punch was all Ward. She hasn't used a gun in months, shakes off the memories of Ward's hands over hers on the trigger. One minute. Kebo is good at stalling. Skye heads towards the only other exit in the room is so close to it when it's literally kicked in. She jumps out of the way and comes face to face with none other than Grant Ward.
Who's gun is in her face quicker than she can blink. She's speechless for a moment, taken off guard by seeing him again. He looks the same. Clean face, those cheek bones honestly he's too handsome and perfect for his own good. He's in tact gear and Skye can remember how she used to admire how gorgeous he looked when he wore it on the Bus. Ward it seems is also surprised to see her, he falters for just half a second.
Then he's recovered, his face blank. ''Hey''. She says her tone relaxed even though she's far from it. Nothing, no flicker of any kind of emotion on his face. ''What up?'' Her false attitude doesn't work on him. Ward moves farther into the room causing her to back up because his gun is still trained on her. ''What are you doing here?'' His voice is steady, no indication that her being here alters his mission at all. ''What are you doing here?'' ''Skye''.
He's looking at her like she's an inconvenience, but god he can't fake how he says her name. No one has ever said it quite like him before. There's just something about it, about the way he says it. How it flows past his lips easy and smooth, like he's drowning and she's a breath of fresh air. (That's exactly what she is but neither of them want to admit it, believe it.) ''Wow he speaks. Was that hard for you? Does someone need to replace a wire?''
Her humor isn't appreciated, in fact Ward is ignoring her. Walks over to the weapons in stock, never once taking his eyes off her. ''You're too late by the way. The money is gone and those weapons aren't even that bad''. Silence. She's starting to freak out a little bit, unless Kebo pulls a miracle out of his ass there is no way she's getting out of here unless it's in hand cuffs. Ward turns to her, gives her a smile that's not friendly or nice at all. It makes her nervous.
''Pick a side Skye''. Is all he says. ''I'm not- Ward that isn't what this is''. ''Then what are you doing here? Because it looks like you're still running with Hydra even though you swore you weren't''. This is surprising, she must look it because Ward cocks his head to the side. ''You believed me?'' ''Not really''. He finally puts his gun down and this entire situation is throwing her off. She's used to Ward being cold with her, he was in the beginning when they first met.
But this is different. This time she knows why he is the way he is, she knows things about him. She knows how to make him smile, how he tastes, how his family treated him. Skye hurt him and it's something Ward must be used to but not with her. He didn't think he'd ever have to defend himself to her. ''You know how this is going to go, Skye''. ''You don't want to arrest me''. He takes a step to her, she can smell his after shave it's subtle, feel the heat of his skin.
''And why wouldn't I want to do that?'' Carefully he takes the gun from her hands, there's no point in fighting him for it. She'd lose. She tries a different tactic, scared. If there's one thing Grant is, it's a protector. He never could stand to see her afraid. ''I don't want to go back to Vault D Grant''. He visbily tenses at the use of his first name, meets her eyes. His whiskey eyes are blank devoid of emotion.
But when tears fill her own and she starts shaking she can see him react. It's barely there, a shift but she sees it. ''Coulson can't lock me up again. I'd rather die, you'll have to kill me. I'm not going back with you''. She misses him. Skye misses the way he used to look at her she misses the feel of his hands brushing against her's. She misses late night conversations in the kitchen when they couldn't sleep. She just misses Ward all of it all of him. Would he ever forgive her?
Grant looks as if he's in pain as he studies her, his control slipping just a tad. They just stand before each other, broken promises and memories drifting between them. ''Please Grant please don't. Just kill me I can't go back there''. ''I'm not going to do that'' .''Why not?'' She's testing him and he knows it. ''Because you're not getting off that easy''. He reaches for her suddenly but it's not to take her into custody. It's to shield her from the incoming bullets.
Hydra has caught back up to them and Ward reacted, keeping her safe. They fall behind one of the walls, sheltering them from danger. Ward places all of his weight on one hand as the other cups the back of Skye's head so it's pressed protectively into his chest. His body is draped over hers and against her will, her better judgement Skye's own hands come to rest on the top of his shoulders. She opens her eyes to meet his and they're on fire, smoldering.
Drinking her in as she's breathing heavily beneath him. Skye just stares at him, let's the past wash over them. She wants to tell him she's sorry that she loves him, that she's so sorry she hurt him. But nothing comes out and something tells her he wouldn't believe her anyway. ''Let the girl go and we'll leave quietly''. One of the agents tells Ward as they stop firing. And whatever spell they were caught up in whatever moment if you could call it that, is over.
Ward slips back into mission mode, hoisting himself up and Skye rises as well. He's about to reach for her again, she has no doubt he could take her and get out of here no problem. The few Hydra agents wouldn't stand a chance but Kebo is amoung them, and him being dead doesn't really work for Skye. But Ward sees her assault coming, he's too good not to. Her leg moves to kick him but he catches it in one hand before shoving her against the wall.
Puts her leg back down and presses his weight against her. ''Come on rookie did you really think it would be that easy?'' ''Nope''. She head butts him, and he couldn't of avoided it, she was too close it was too personal too easy. He stumbles just enough for her to break free and then she runs. Sprints into the Hydra agents and they lead her out of the room, firing back at Ward. And for half a second she's afraid that they could kill him but doesn't dwell on it. He's too good.
By the time she makes it back on the plane she's locking herself in the bathroom. Kebo is on the other side of the door asking her if she's alright. But she's having a hard time breathing. Sits on the floor and puts her head between her knees, bracing her hands against her head. After all this time she thought she'd be ready to see him again but she was so wrong. And it's not just because of memories on the Bus that is making her feel like she's dying.
Being around Grant again reminded of her John. If it wasn't for him her and Ward would have never met. And when she starts thinking about John she's hit with this wave of missing him so strong it hurts. He wasn't good but he was kind, took her in when no one else did. John may have just used to her in the end but to her he was everything. And now he's gone somewhere she can't follow. It was just her and Garrett once upon a time and now it's just her.
Forever. He's never coming back.
Skye doesn't know if she can take seeing Shield again, seeing Ward. All she can see is John's face and his words in her ear telling her she's special to him, that he needs her. No one ever needed her before she was never important to anyone before he came along. Now she's back at square one, Coulson's question at the Cybertek base comes back to her loud and clear like he's in this bathroom with her. Sitting next to her, torturing her.
''Now you have the rest of your life to wrestle with the question who are you without him?''
She doesn't know she has no idea. She's doing the best she can. Maybe that's never going to be enough.