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What are they doing? She has no idea since he’d kissed her that first time in the med pod their relationship had changed. But what too? Were they together? Were they fooling around? They’d not slept together yet just made out a lot, like every chance they got. She felt like a teenager sneaking around the bus at night, she was being extra cautious this time. She’d lost count of how many times they’d almost been caught. It didn’t help that Fitz was a night owl and Simmons a morning person because it meant that they were likely to have to dodge at least one of them depending on whose bunk they slept in.
She’d dismissed the first kiss as him being relieved she’d woken up. Something he told her had very nearly not happened; she still wasn’t sure how she felt about being injected with some experimental drug. But she was alive so she supposed she should be grateful. When he’d tentatively kissed her again the next morning it had seemed there was more too it. They’d jumped apart the moment Simmons had wandered in to check on Skye’s vitals luckily the young scientist had been in a world of her own. She felt sure then that would have been the end of it but a week later when she’d been allowed back to her bunk, he’d knocked on her door in the middle of the night. When she’d opened the door to see him standing there she’d been a little surprised but she’d let him in. Truth be told, she felt safer when he was near, being shot had really screwed with her head. She hadn’t been sleeping well and it seemed Simmons may have ratted her out, if his concerned gaze had been an indicator. He’d pulled her close and kissed her, tenderly at first but as she’d responded it had become more intense and needy. When they’d broken apart for air, she’d tried and failed to stifle her yawn. He’d sighed making her get into bed; she’d wanted to point out that it was him that had snuck into her bunk in the small hours. But she’d not wanted him to leave, kicking off his shoes and pulling his snug shirt over his head he’d climbed in beside her. It was a little bit of a squeeze the bunks weren’t exactly spacious but they managed it. She’d drifted off in his arms enjoying the most peaceful night’s sleep she’d had in a while.
When they’d woken the next day it had been to Coulson knocking on her door. In any other circumstance seeing Ward scramble to get dressed would have been highly amusing but with their boss on the other side of the door not so much. There was nowhere for him to hide so he retreated to the far corner of the room, while she talked to Coulson through her cracked door. She didn’t dare open it fully making the excuse she wasn’t decent yet. Thankfully it was a flying visit to check on her, when he left she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her lips. Even Ward couldn’t resist a relieved sigh and a small smile. She knew they shouldn’t be doing this, they were bound to get caught eventually and he would be in so much trouble. S.H.I.E.L.D had strict anti fraternization rules, it was no secret that she had been a rule breaker but her team meant a lot to her and so did he. It was a lot to risk if this was just a fling but at the moment she needed him. His presence soothed her frayed nerves the nights they had slept apart she’d been plagued by nightmares. He’d been furious with her for not telling him having found out when he’d snuck in on another occasion. She’d woken covered in cold sweat to him shaking her awake and ever since then he’d refused to let her sleep alone. Reasoning that she needed sleep to fully recover and focus on training and that there was no way he would sleep knowing she couldn’t. It was sweet really she was touched, he obviously cared about her, she just needed to know how much.
They have leave coming up Coulson has decided that they need some time to relax after recent events. The thought of a week without him has her stomach churning. She supposes she’ll sleep in her van. When she tells Ward this however he’s having none of it. They had been cuddled up on one of the couches enjoying a midnight make out session, but yet again they’d had to break apart when May stalked through on her way to the cockpit. They had no way of knowing if she’d seen anything, Ward seemed a little nervous she guessed because the pair had had a fling before the incident as she now referred to it. May wasn’t the type to hold grudges or tell tales, whatever she had or had not seen she was likely to keep to herself. It was Coulson and FitzSimmons they really had to keep this from. The former because he was their boss. The latter because as much as she loved them neither were very good at lying or keeping secrets. After May departed they stuck to talking about the upcoming break and he insisted she come and stay with him, he had more than enough room for her at his place. A part of her was excited she’d never expected he would ever invite her to his home. They hadn’t exactly started out on good terms. It was true that since the berserker incident they had grown closer and she was sure he had told her things he had never told anyone else, but this was all still so new. She was nervous because they needed to have the talk before they crossed a line they couldn’t come back from.
That night her sleep was fitful as all the things she wanted to say to him and all the things she needed to know swirled around her mind. He slept soundly beside her, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She liked watching him sleep; when his face was relaxed he looked so much younger. There was no disapproving look marring his handsome features, there was definitely attraction here. There always had been they’d never been short on chemistry, every time he looked at her with longing in those chocolate brown eyes it ignited her blood. She knew full well if their conversation went the wrong way she couldn’t stay with him. There was too much heat between them for it to end any other way than with sex. She couldn’t do that not with him, he’d told her about his and May’s arrangement. If that’s what he was looking for with her, if it’s all that he could offer then it wasn’t enough. She may not know what they were or what they would become but she did know that.
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The next day she packed up what little she had in her backpack and met him in the cargo hold. She’d made the excuse to the others that she was staying with friends in the city. Mostly they seemed to buy it she saw doubt flash in Coulsons eyes but he didn’t push her on it. Everyone else had left, it was just them and the S.H.I.E.L.D agents that would be looking after the bus while it was stationed at HQ. He took her bag and loaded into the SUV they were borrowing. The drive was short not surprisingly he had an apartment close by in Mahattan. The building was beautiful all old world architecture and red brick. There were only 10 floors which was small for a New York City apartment block. His was on the top floor; they took the elevator in near silence the tension like electricity in the air. It took all her restraint not to pounce on him right there, now that would be hot but if their talk went well they had a week for that. She smiled wickedly to herself.
The doors pinged open when they reached his floor, she followed him to his door. When she stepped into his apartment she gasped, it was beautiful spacious but not enormous. She’d expected a sparse, chrome filled bachelor pad but this was...homely. It was all rich dark woods and warm browns and creams, it was masculine but it suited the old world charm perfectly. She wondered briefly if he’d had help decorating before he interrupted her reverie “Not what you were expecting huh?” he sounded nervous.
“No” she agreed “but it’s nice it suits you” she smiled.
“I’m glad you like it. I’ve never really brought a woman here” he admitted.
She raised an eyebrow stunned “Really?”
“Really” he chuckled “This is kind of my space you know, I’ve just liked to keep it that way till now” he said shyly. This was a side of him she’d never really seen, this vulnerability. Well that had to mean something surely?
“Why me?” she asks her voice barely a whisper.
He looks over at her, as their eyes meet something passes between them. Something more than lust or sex, a deeper more intense connection, maybe it’s always been there and they just didn’t realise but suddenly she knows the answer. “Because when I thought about spending the week without you...I just couldn’t. I...something changed or maybe it didn’t maybe I always felt that way but...I thought I lost you. They said there was nothing they could do that we’d have to decide whether we should let you go. Skye...” he’s baring his soul to her letting her in willingly when he never would have before. As hard as this has all been for her she knows he’s still hurting too. That when he seeks her out at night, he’s not just taking care of her he’s reassuring himself she’s still here. That she didn’t die, that he didn’t lose her. She walks over to him wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and resting her head against his chest, closing her eyes she inhales a scent that is typically Grant Ward. A mixture of soap and the outdoors, he wraps his muscular arms around her and kisses the top of her head.
“It’s OK Grant, I’m here I’m not going anywhere” she whispers.
“You were all alone, I wasn’t there and I should have been. I can’t let that happen again Skye, I can’t lose you” his voice is broken and her heart cracks wide. She can’t bear the thought of him blaming himself.
She looks up at him, her eyes overly bright. Her hand caresses his cheek and he leans into her touch “It wasn’t your fault” her tone brooks no argument. He nods and then presses his forehead against hers closing his eyes.
She asks only because she needs the reassurance “What are we?”
“We’re whatever you want us to be” he replies.
“It has to be more than sex Grant, I can’t do that with you...I...you mean too much to me” she closes her eyes as the tears she’s been holding back escape cascading down her cheeks. When she’d been bleeding to death on that cold cellar floor she’d fought with every ounce of her being to live. She couldn’t face the fact that she would never see him again even then. How could they have been so blind? How could she? Why had it taken this for them to realise what they were to one another. Yes they were different but they needed each other, like two halves of a whole they completed one another.
He lifts her chin gently so she’s looking at him her breath catches as she recognises the emotion in his eyes “You will never just be sex to me, this could never just be about an easy lay because I love you” he emphasises every word. Her heart is beating so fast she thinks she might just have a coronary, she can’t believe her ears. She doesn’t say it back she can’t she’s too overcome instead she elects to show him. Snaking her arms around his neck she pulls him down to her and when their lips meet its explosive and tender all at the same time. She kisses him deeply her tongue curling around his, drawing a deep rumbling groan from his throat. This is it they both know they can’t turn back now, his hands find her waist and he hoists her up, she wraps her legs around his hips. There’s not an inch of space between them, he matches her kisses with fervour. He walks carrying her to his bedroom and at that moment the only feature in the room she cares about is the bed.
He sets her down on her feet and undresses her slowly, removing each item of clothing with care, caressing and kissing her skins as it’s exposed. She repeats the process with him, her hands tracing the planes and valleys of his muscular body. They’re naked, drinking each other in with hungry looks but when he said she was more than sex to him he wasn’t kidding. He lifts her gently and places her head against the pillows; then he joins her, his body covering hers. He lowers his lips to hers and their kissing again, it’s deep and sensual. There’s no rush, no-one will walk in on them here they have all the time in the world; she threads her fingers through his inky black hair pulling him closer. Moaning and gasping as their kisses become more visceral, his lips leave hers and he kisses his way down the tender column of her throat. When he finds her pulse point he sucks, the sensation travels straight down to her sex and she cries out her back arching off the bed. His hands wander roaming her body and then he’s cupping her breasts, kneading the tender flesh gently. Kissing his way down to where his hands are working their magic, he circles one rosy nipple with his tongue before pulling into his mouth and sucking hard. She writhes in ecstasy as the erotic sensation washes through her, she’s falling apart underneath him and he knows it. He repeats the action with her other nipple, she can feel her desire pooling at her core.
His lips are moving again travelling downwards over her stomach, stopping to nip and suck at strategic places. He’s unravelling her, her body responds to his touch in ways it never has to anyone elses and she loves that. Taking her foot in his hand he grazes the pad of each toe with gentle nips before running his tongue up her instep, the action sends shivers down her spine and makes her sex spasm. She doesn’t know how much more of his sweet torture she can take. As if he’s read her mind he grasps her ankles pulling her legs apart, and settles between them. He runs his nose along hers before kissing her gently “Are you protected?” he asks his voice thick with lust.
“Yes” she breaths.
“Do you trust me?” she knows he’d understand if she said no but she does trust him. She knows he’d never do anything that would put her at risk; she trusts that he’s clean.
“Yes” and then her lips find his again. She can feel his sizeable erection lying heavily against her belly; he breaks the kiss and takes his cock in hand. Gently he rubs the tip over her wet folds, she moans like the wanton creature she is and when he nudges her swollen clit she cries out “Please”. Slanting his mouth over hers he swallows her cries as he thrusts into her in one smooth stroke. He moves slowly in and out of her, making love to her it’s maddening when she’s wound so tight but the feeling is sheer bliss. Her body begs for release but he feels so good like velvet steel sliding in and out of her greedy sex, that she never wants it to end. Wrapping her legs around his waist her feet press into his perfect ass forcing him deeper, slowly he screws her into the mattress as their climax builds. She’d always assumed the first time they crossed this line it would be fast and furious but it’s not its slow and sensual and perfect. Her body is awash with sensation; he’s looking deep into her eyes. His pace increasing as he nears his end, with one more powerful thrust he’s falling hard and as he calls her name she’s right there with him. For a brief moment in time she doesn’t know where she ends and he begins but she finally knows what they are. Soul mates.
He collapses on top of her cradling her body to him, neither wanting to break the connection. Eventually though he eases out of her before rolling onto his back bringing her with him. Her head finds his chest and she rests against him listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, he wraps her up in a warm embrace kissing her temple softly. She’s stroking patterns with her fingers on his taught stomach and she feels him smile against her hair.
“And why are you smiling?” she teases.
“Because I’m happy” he steals a chaste kiss.
“Me too” she sighs sleepily.
He frowns and she strokes his brow “Why is it you don’t have nightmares when we sleep together” he asks curiously as if the thought just occurred to him.
She rolls her eyes as if the answer should be obvious “Because I feel safe with you, like no-one can hurt me. I always have” she explains. He kisses her again but there’s nothing chaste in the way he kisses her now.
“God I love you” he pants as he breaks the kiss. Her heart swells and she can’t help but answer him this time.
“Me too...I mean I love you too” she smiles up at him as he strokes her cheek. They barely leave his bed the rest of the week let alone the apartment; it’s one of the best weeks of her life. And although they’re back to sneaking around when they return to the bus. She feels secure in the knowledge that he loves her and she loves him and whatever comes their way they’ll face it together.