Summary:They were just enjoying their holiday together. And then Skye got 'kidnapped' by SHIELD. Oh well, Natasha had to head back into work anyways.
And then Jemma almost dies and Skye just really needs her girlfriend. And then Skye almost dies herself, and Natasha just really, really needs her to just wake up.
or, them throught the first half of agents of shield's s1
Notes:Another week, another update. I physically cant stop writing these two. It's good therapy and relaxation for me in between assignments, so you'll have to deal with another fic. How terribly awful :)
As you can see, this work will have a second chapter. I decided to devide this one into two chapters rather than two fics, because it just made more sense and also tagging is really not my hobby.
The conversations that came from the show are very much not accurate to the show, because Im too lazy to watch everything five times. It works, and that's all we need.
Without further nonsense, please just enjoy the next part of my blackquake brainrot
(See the end of the work for more notes.)
Chapter 1Chapter TextLife was never meant to be like this, not for Natasha. She was never meant to be a part of the Avengers. She was never meant to be a hero. She was never meant to find something that looked suspiciously like love. She was never meant to pour coffee in the morning for someone other than herself or Clint. But here she was, on a temporary leave from work, because she'd saved the world with her new group of ragtag friends, bringing two cups of coffee to the couch for herself and her girlfriend.
Skye took the cup with a grateful smile and wrapped her hands around it. Natasha placed hers on the coffee table and laid down on the couch, wrestling her head in Skye's lap. She'd never thought she'd like this. To just lay on the couch with someone else, talk about everything and nothing and drinking coffee during easy mornings or after long days.
She glanced up at Skye, who was doing a great job of both sipping her coffee without spilling and typing away on the laptop that was on the arm of the couch. "Still working on the website for that idiot who wants to sell dogfood shaped like cats?" she asked. Skye mumbled something incoherent, completely absorbed in her work. Natasha almost envied her.
Nick wouldn't let her take on a mission for another week. He thought she – and Clint for that matter – deserved a break, especially with Coulson's death weighing so heavy on both of them. Clint immediately decided to spent some time with his family, and Natasha had figured she could spend some time with Skye, after they both kind of almost died in what was now called the Battle of New York.
She had been helping in the aftermath where she could. Clearing rubble, doing press conferences. Tony had donated immense sums of money for the reconstruction of the city. He'd also set up a fund for everyone that had lost their home, their friends or their family in the battle, mostly sponsored by again, him. Bruce had been anonymously helping in hospitals. The rest stayed mostly in the shadows. Steve was out on his own, Thor had left with Loki and the Tesseract. And now there was nothing to be done.
For the first time in as long as she could remember, there wasn't a mission to prepare for, a fight to get ready for. It was just this, drinking coffee with her girlfriend, helping with decorating some of the websites Skye built, teaching her Russian and just relaxing.
It wasn't all perfect. Both she and Skye woke up in the middle of the night from nightmares. Skye would start silently trashing in her sleep, and Natasha was sporting a few bruises on her shins from when she hadn't managed to wake her up fast enough. She herself never made a sound, nor did she move, as her mind replayed memories of portals, aliens, Clint's unfocussed blue eyes, Bruce's guilty look before he hulked out, the pain in her entire body from when the hulk had thrown her against a wall, and Skye. She saw Skye's eyes like Clint's, or Skye getting hurt, or even dying. There were no outward signs of her nightly terrors, but every time she woke up from them, Skye would be holding her, either awake and whispering comfort in her ear, or still fast sleep, clinging to her tightly in some form of unconscious comfort. And if that wasn't the sweetest thing someone had ever done for her. It scared Natasha. No, it frightened her.
Natasha wasn't build for this life. She was build to be a fighter. Trained to be a killer. Made to be a monster. Unmade to be a mindless soldier. Not for this.
And it frightened her how easy this was. How easily she was getting used to this, how easily it was to value this. Because good things never lasted for her, and she wasn't sure she could handle missing this.
A soft hand on her cheek gently pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked up, blinking a few times to clear her suddenly hazy vision. Skye was looking down at her with those adorable brown eyes, that showed a hint of worry, but mostly just kindness and understanding. She tried to give a reassuring smile.
"There you are," her girlfriend whispered. "You zoned out for a second there. You okay?"
Natasha nodded, a slight crease in her brow. "Yeah, think so. Just… thinking."
Skye closed her laptop, put her coffee down on the coffee table and then moved one hand to Natasha's hair and the other one to hold one of Natasha's hands. "Talk to me."
Natasha hummed as the hand in her hair started moving, softly scratching her scalp. This was nice. "I eh… I'm not good with feelings. Or affection, or love, or anything like that. I was trained to be a killer. Even at SHIELD, I never stopped being just an agent. I may be killing bad guys now, but I'm still a killer. I… don't quite know how to be something else. How to be… me."
She closed her eyes, as she tried to gather her thoughts. Skye let her, never stopping her movements. "And I'm… scared, I think. Cause I like this, what we have here. I don't want to lose it."
It was the painful truth, and Natasha was surprised and a bit proud of herself that she managed to actually say it. But then again, everything seemed easier with Skye. She opened her eyes, smiling a bit when she saw Skye smiling down at her. "I think you're doing a great job with the feelings and the affection and the love, sweetie. And don't forget, I'm new at this too. We can figure it out together. How to be us. You and me."
Natasha felt her smile widen, and Skye leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. "And I like this too. If it were up to me, we're not stopping any time soon."
Little did they know.
Only five days later, one day before Natasha would be going into work again, Skye had gone out for groceries. And then she hadn't come back. Natasha was quietly preparing some stuff for tomorrow, casually cleaning her guns and checking the new widow bites Tony had made her, trying not to worry to much when Skye hadn't returned after two hours.
But after three hours she had started to worry. And after five hours she was actively pacing through the kitchen. She was just about to call Clint, when her phone vibrated. She forced herself to calmly pick it up and check the message.
It was encrypted, and it took her a while to decipher it, but when she did, she sighed. It was just… so Skye.
Check the news. I may have made a simple mistake. SHIELD will pick me up in a minute, don't worry too much xx
It was ridiculous, but Natasha checked the news. There was some footage from a guy jumping out of a four-story burning building with a woman in his arms, and walking away unscratched. Published by the Rising Tide. Credits to Skyenet. Natasha cursed. She went back to her contacts and typed a message back.
You idiot. Just… take care. Stay in touch?
The answer didn't take too long. How mad are you?
Natasha almost chuckled. Not nearly mad enough
Then I'm staying in touch. See you soon.
Natasha rolled her eyes. See you soon, babe
She imagined Skye blushing above her screen and grinned. Girl deserved a bit of embarrassment. She threw her phone on the couch and dropped herself on it. Suddenly she didn't feel much for work tomorrow anymore. Ah, it was just as well. She picked up her phone again, and dialled another number. It was picked up on the third ring.
"Third ring only? Are the little menaces keeping you that busy, Clint?"
///
Skye frowned at the cuffs they'd put on her. She could escape. Nat had explained to her how she could dislocate her thumb and slide out. Or she could just pick the lock. But the first sounded quite painful, and the second might alert her captors that she knew more than she let on. Besides she didn't think they would hurt her, so there was no real reason for her to escape from her cuffs.
She'd send Nat a heads up that she would be going dark, and felt a bit guilty for the way this happened. This wasn't the plan. She'd help the Rising Tide, and they would help her. Hacking SHIELD. To get the file. Because she couldn't, and despite Nat secretly rooting around like crazy, she couldn't either. It drove her nuts.
But now, here she was, cuffed to a table on what the 'bus', captive to SHIELD. She shook herself and mentally went over her cover story. Nat had taught her to stay as close to the truth as possible when lying, so that's what she'd done.
She told the mean robot guy and slightly nicer dorky guy that she wasn't working for anybody. That was true.
She was cooperating with the Rising Tide. Also true.
She'd made a mistake and now SHIELD had her in captivity. Again, true.
She had no ulterior motives. Now that was false. But, who didn't have ulterior motives these days. She figured she could get away with that.
How did she know about SHIELD? Just the news. After New York SHIELD kind of became public knowledge.
The fact that she was Natasha Romanoff's girlfriend, called Clint Barton 'birdie' and met the rest of the Avengers in a messy diner, she left out of her story.
The door opened, and the nicer dorky guy came in again, the robot guy on his heels. Perhaps she should learn their names. The dorky guy stood opposite her, while the robot stayed by the door. "I'm giving you one last chance. What is your name?"
Mary Sue Poots. Officially, then. Unofficially, Skye. "Skye." It wasn't like they'd find anything on either name anyways.
"Who do you work for?"
She barely suppressed an eye roll. "No one, I told you."
"And how do you explain the link to the Rising Tide?"
Now she did roll her eyes. "A one time thing. I rejected their offer years ago! They needed my help with Centipede, and I had some time and a guy gad some new computer equipment so we made a deal."
Really, it was all true. Natasha didn't like her hacking for them, but they had come to an agreement that as long as Skye didn't compromise any agents or missions or brought a national panic, she could continue to hack. Being with Nat had opened her eyes to a few of the better sides of SHIELD, though she still didn't like the vast amount of secrets. She knew Nat had been weary too, after New York, and the spy was no longer discouraging her hacking.
And Centipede was one of the things she'd discoverer after digging deep enough. She didn't want to endanger her agreement with Natasha, so she'd forwarded it to some old friends at the RT, and they'd asked her for some help decrypting some stuff in exchange for a few pieces of high tech equipment.
As she pondered all this, she absently registered the confused look the two agents exchanged. She jerked herself out of her thoughts, and raised an eyebrow at them. "Seriously? Centipede?" Their looks were blank, but different from the blank masks that Nat would pull up sometimes. "You have enough idea what I'm talking about," she realised, and then she laughed. "Oh that's hilarious." She was so telling Nat about this when she got out of here.
The dorky guy looked at her. "Just tell us about this 'hooded her'. We could frame you, you know. Tell everyone you blew up that building to draw him out. Now I don't want to do that. But if we have to…"
See, this was why Skye didn't like SHIELD. She was telling Nat about this as well. And hoping she'd quit. "You're threatening me," she said in a monotone voice. "How very adult of you. How about you just offer me something in return?"
Her interrogator raised an eyebrow at her, and she smiled, though it was not a kind one. "T-1000 over there already thinks I'm open to bribing, how about we prove him right? His ego would like that." She saw the guy's mouth twitch while her interrogator fought a smile. "I'm not sure you're in the position to make demands, Skye," he remarked.
Skye shrugged. "I got into your plane. You say I made a mistake, but did I? And now I know something you don't, and you may have my equipment, but you can not decode it. So I'd say I have some ground for negotiations, don't you?"
He looked like he seriously considered it. Then suddenly he stood up and left the room, the other agent following closely. It took five minutes before they returned, carrying some sort of needle gun, and Skye swallowed thickly. The head agent looked at the device before looking back at Skye. "This is a truth serum." Skye scooted back, as the other agent stepped up beside him. "Don't worry. The effects only last about an hour, and you're going to take a nice little nap."
Except that when the agent with the gun stepped forward, he didn't insert the serum in Skye's arm, but in his coworker's. "Hey!" robot guy called out. The other gave him an amused look. "I'm sorry, did that hurt?"
The robot guy pouted. "A little bit, yeah." Then he shook his head. "My god, this stuff works fast." Skye watched in surprise as the guy sat down. The head agent looked at her. "You don't trust us? Ask him anything. You can come out when he's asleep."
And then he left, leaving Skye with a robot agent on truth serum. This sounded… fun?
///
Pick up pick up pick up pi-
"Skye?"
Thank god. "Natasha, I..." she took in a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry."
"Calm down, Skye. Deep breath. Just, take it easy, okay?"
Skye frantically shook her head. "No, no, I need to apologise. Cause I didn't text you for two weeks, and I kissed my ex, and Jemma almost died, and Coulson is alive but I didn't know how to tell you and its probably not allowed, and, and-" And she couldn't breathe. She couldn't fucking breathe. She needed to breathe, because she needed to apologise and hope that Natasha wouldn't dump her on the spot.
For all the quite awful information that was just thrown at her, Natasha remained very calm. Skye heard her talk to someone else, and felt a stab of guilt. Natasha was probably on a mission, and she'd just called her, without no warning whatsoever. What if she'd jeopardised the mission? What if she'd blown Nat's cover? God why were her lungs not working?
"Skye!" Natasha yelled through the line. Skye startled back to herself, and gulped in a breath. "Nat," she whimpered.
"Shhh, its okay. I'm here. I'm with you. Just, take a few deep breaths, okay. Can you do that? Deep breaths. Remember, in for four seconds, then hold for seven seconds, and then out for eight seconds. Yes, very good. In for four, hold for seven, out for eight. There we go, you're doing great."
It was fascinating, the effect Natasha's voice had on Skye. She followed the instruction, matching her breathing to Natasha's, gradually feeling her heartbeat calm down, and her lungs fill with actual air.
"You're doing amazing, love. Are you with me again?"
Skye nodded, then realised that her girlfriend couldn't see that through the phone. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm with you."
"Okay, then how about you start again? Slowly, take your time."
Skye hesitated. "You promise you wont be mad?"
She heard shuffling on the other side of the line. "I promise I will let you explain first. Start at the beginning. How is it to work with SHIELD?"
Skye supposed that was fair enough. She took a deep breath. "Okay, so generally it's pretty okay. We've had some weird missions already, but it's also fun. The team is great. May is a bit... well, like you, I suppose. Took some getting used to, but I respect her and she's great. Then there is Fitzsimmons, they're awesome. And then there's Ward. He's... my SO, and currently a bit pissed at me, because kissed a target." She grimaced, waiting for Natasha to start yelling or to get mad. But she didn't.
"Why did you do that?"
Skye sighed. "They were going after him. He's, we'll, he is my ex, and I wanted to protect him, so I went to find him before the team could. I... I wasn't planning on, you know, doing this, but he had information I needed, that the team could use, and I thought it.. would help... if I did..." She cringed at herself, and tensed her muscles, like she was expecting an actual physical blow.
"Okay."
Skye blinked. "Okay? Just, Okay?"
There was a slight paused, then, "For now, okay, yeah. My work... well, I've done it too. In the past. Now, I don't know. We can come back around to this, we probably should het back to this, but I believe there is more I need to hear. More you need to get of your chest, at the very least, so for now yeah, okay."
And god, she was serious, wasn't she? Skye felt tears forming in her eyes, but blinked furiously. She could marvel about her amazing girlfriend later. Right now, she just needed to tell her everything. "Okay. So, the team wasn't happy, and they gave me some sort of nanny bracelet, which is why I couldn't contact you at all, not without them noticing at least. So, sorry for that I suppose."
"The chances of me going off the grid all of a sudden are quite high so I could and would never blame you for that. Were you actively ignoring me, then yeah. But I know what this job comes with, and mediocre contact is definitely one of the side effects, so to say."
Skye frowned. "But wouldn't you worry? I know I would, if you just, didn't respond anymore," she admitted, her voice small and with a hint of hurt she hoped Natasha wouldn't pick up on.
"Of course I worry," came the immediate answer, "but I have to rationalise that worry. And I would never blame you for a loss of contact during missions. I am very happy you called though. I think Steve would have done something to me if you hadn't called in another month."
Skye could hear the smile in her girlfriend's voice, and something in her chest started to loosen. "Thank you," she whispered, hoping that Natasha would catch the deeper gratitude for, well, everything really, in her voice.
"Any time, sweetheart. Now, what was this about someone almost dying? Are you okay?"
Skye cringed slightly. "I'm... good. Jemma, eh Simmons, she came into contact with an alien virus that would have her... deep fry from the inside? Which would have killed us all cause it would have destroyed the plane. So, she jumped out of the plane and then suddenly there was a cure and Ward had to go after her. She's fine now."
The silence stretched for a while. "But you're not. If she's fine, what is bothering you?"
Skye flinched. "Nothing, it's stupid, it's selfish, I-"
"If I don't get to pull that bullshit, then neither do you."
That was... fair, Skye supposed. She didn't think Natasha would let this go, so better to spit it out. "It scares me. How much I care about them. I've known Jemma for what? Two months? And she almost died and I'm devastated. And that terrifies me."
"Because you cant help but trust them? Because they just feel... safe?"
"Yeah. Exactly."
"You know, I was scared too," Natasha told her, very calmly. "I never knew love. I hardly knew trust. And then you tricked me, which by now I can admit is quite impressive, and you managed to pull my attention in a way no one did before. Besides maybe Clint. And it scared me too. Cause I was taught not to trust anyone. Not let anyone see me, know me. No trust, no betrayal. And then you came. A risk. An unforeseen risk, and a big one. And I trusted you. It scared me too."
Skye suddenly remembered to keep breathing, and took a shuddering breath. Nat didn't talk this openly about her feelings very often. It was... heart-warming, to say the least. "And now?" she heard herself asking.
"I just trust you. Completely. Without hesitation whatsoever. And I might just start to believe in love again."
Skye could swear she felt her heart burst. She opened her mouth to thank her girlfriend, even though that would have been so... insignificant, but instead she blurted out, "Coulson is alive."
She clasped a hand in front of her mouth and screwed her eyes shut, shocked at herself. The silence was nerve wrecking. Eventually, Natasha sighed.
"Is he... okay?"
Skye shook her head. "As far as a dead guy can be, yeah. He eh, he's physically alright, and mentally... well, Fury send him to Tahiti apparently, after they brought him back. He keeps saying it's a magical place." She shook her head. "Ehm. How exactly are not freaking out right now?"
If it hadn't been Coulson this whole mess was about, Natasha would have sounded amused. "I'm still a spy, detka. Nick and Maria have been feeling guilty about something since New York. Even Tony noticed. They all just thought it was because of the nuke. I... had a feeling." There was a heavy, and oddly sad pause. "You probably can't tell him I said hi, can you?"
Skye flinched slightly. "I'm really not supposed to tell anyone, but I can't keep this from you. I know what he meant to you."
"Thank you," Natasha said simply. "Now, is 'May' by any chance Melinda May?"
Skye frowned, still a bit concerned about Natasha, but willing to roll with the subject change. "Yeah, why? You know her?"
"I do. And after what you told me, she just entered my call list."
Skye chuckled at the passive aggressiveness in Nat's tone, before falling serious again. "Nat? Are we... Are we good?"
"Yeah, we're good."
Skye sighed, the last tension I'm her body slowly fading away. "Okay. I miss you."
"I miss you too. Hey, if you're in Europe sometime soon, let me know. I'm mission hopping with Steve there, but I can do dinner if you're around."
Skye smiled. "That sounds great."
She could hear the smile in Natasha's voice. "Great, I'll hold you to that. Listen, I gotta go now. Will you be okay?"
"I will." And it was true. "Thank you. See you soon?"
"See you soon, babe."
Skye smiled and then the call was disconnected. She let her hand drop and sighed deeply, feeling calmer than she had in days.
///
Natasha disconnected her call to Skye, desperately trying to keep her mind focussed on her next step. She scrolled through her contacts, a slightly longer list since New York, and clicked on Clint's contact.
She barely waited for him to pick up before she started talking. "Are you home?" Home was the farm, but they never spoke of the farm on the phone, not even on their secure line.
"Yeah, what's up? Are you and Steve okay?"
She ignored his worried question. "I was right," she told him.
"You usually are, but about what?" he tried to joke, but she didn't laugh. "About our handler. I was right."
There was a short pause on the other side of the line, and she heard him walk before a door closed. "What... How..."
"Mary," she said, by means of an explanation. "She's on his new team. Apparently Nick brought him back and send him to Tahiti. It's bullshit. I'm going to look into it."
"Nat," he tried, and his voice sounded strained. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Maria and Nick kept this from us for a reason. What if-"
"I don't like what I find?" Natasha finished for him, like she hadn't thought of that already. "Then I'll go yell at Nick. And Maria."
Another pause. Then, "Fuck Nat, I don't know... Why would they do this?" He sounded like he was going to cry. Natasha hated it. "I don't know Clint. I don't know. But I'll see what I can find, okay? I promise I won't tell the others, but I have to look into this."
"Okay," Clint allowed. "Just, be careful. And tell Nick he can expect some yelling from me too." Natasha chuckled. "Naturally."
"Are you going to contact him?" Clint asked suddenly, his voice carefully blank. Natasha sighed. "Not yet. I need to know more first. Starting by calling Mel."
Clint scoffed. "Of course she's in on this."
"Exactly." Natasha hummed. "You'll be okay?"
"Will you?"
"Fair enough."
They both remained silent for a while, just basking in each other's 'company'. Then Clint sighed. "I need to go, Nat. The menaces require attention."
"Best go handle them then. I'll keep you updated."
"Talk again soon."
Natasha looked at her phone and sighed yet again. What a bloody mess this was. There was a soft knock on the door, and she looked up. "Come in."
Steve quietly opened the door, and took her in, sitting on the bathroom floor against the wall, the most privacy she was going to get in the shared hotel room. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice kind even though his eyes betrayed his hidden anger.
She shrugged. "I think so. This floor isn't really comfortable, but oh well." He chuckled and shook his head, before falling serious. "Is Skye okay?"
She eyed him carefully. "How much of the conversations did you catch with that superhearing of yours?" He looked at his feet. "Enough to know that she was not okay when she called you, though that was pretty noticeable from your reaction." He looked up again, catching her eye without hesitance. "And enough to figure out that Coulson is alive."
She sucked in a deep breath. "Yeah. Please believe me when I say I'd didn't know." He nodded, his eyes flashing but not at her. "I do. It's Fury I'm mad at, and SHIELD, with all its secrets."
Natasha nodded in understanding, then suddenly chuckled. "You and Skye would get along great," she told him. He gave a small smile. "I'd love to meet her for real. That time in the shawarma tent she was a bit nervous I think."
"She was in a room with Tony Stark, Captain America and a god," Natasha remarked. "And we were all exhausted. Next time will be better."
He gestured to her phone. "You want me to leave so you can make that last call?" She shrugged. "You do you. You'll hear it anyway."
Steve shrugged too and sat down against the door frame. Natasha pulled up Mel's contact and pressed the call button. It wasn't long before it was picked up.
"Agent Romanoff. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Natasha rolled her eyes. "Come on, Mel. I thought we hired first name basis ages ago?"
"That depends on why you're calling."
Fair enough. "Are you alone?"
"I'm flying the plane. No on else allowed in the cockpit but me, you know that."
Natasha hummed. "Okay then. So, he's alive?"
There was a moment of shocked silence on the other side of the phone, and then, "Skye. You're the one she keeps texting. Did you set her up for this?"
Natasha almost laughed, except it wasn't really funny. "So you know. Nick's orders not to tell me and Clint? A low blow, and you know it."
Melinda didn't answer, and Natasha sighed. "Just tell me if he's okay, Mel. I just... need to know if he's okay."
It remained silent, and Natasha honestly began to wonder if Melinda had hung up on her when she finally sighed. "He is okay. For now. He thinks he chose me for this team, but I was not so subtly forced to keep an eye on him by Nick. I don't know much more than you about how he was brought back, though, or where he's been for his recovery. He keeps saying Tahiti, but I don't buy it."
Natasha took a moment to take it all in. "Okay," she just said.
"I take it you told Barton."
"Of course. And Steve overheard. They won't tell." She caught Steve's eye, and after a beat of hesitation he gave a shirt nod. Natasha focussed back on the call. "I wanted to do some private research."
"Just make sure you don't get caught."
"You offend me." Natasha deadpanned. She could almost feel Melinda roll her eyes. "Anything else you need to bother me with?"
"Yeah, actually," Natasha admitted.
"Skye? Your spy?" Melinda asked, somewhat curious.
"Skye," she agreed. "Not my spy. Just... if something were to happen to me, I want you to be the one to tell her. And if something where to happen to her," she swallowed, avoiding Steve's inquisitive look, "I need you to call me."
She knew Melinda was thinking. She could almost hear the thoughts, the questions that she wanted to ask. You care for her. What are you to her? What is she to you? How do you even know each other? A silent realisation of the 'what' would no doubt follow, her old SO was smart enough for that. But she didn't ask. And she didn't say anything, other than, "Okay. I can do that."
"Thank you."
"Of course. Now, I need to fly this plane, so if that was all?"
Natasha nodded. "Yeah, that's all. Just a dead guy and a favour."
"Just another day at the office."
"Thanks Mel. I'll see you when I see you."
"Until then."
The call disconnected and Natasha let out a long breath. When she looked up she caught Steve's eyes. "I hate day's at the office," he joked. Natasha chuckled slightly. "As do I."
He got up and offered her a hand "Want to go get some pizza?"
Natasha smiled and took his hand to heave herself up. "I'd love pizza."
///
She wasn't expecting any calls. She was just hanging in cafés and walking around cities with Steve now, until they were assigned the next mission. But Nick usually contacted Steve. Maria and Clint practically never called unless the world was ending, and Skye usually stick to texting too. Tony was missing and presumed dead, and would not be in contact anytime soon. Which left just one person who could be calling her. And she didn't like the implications.
Steve watched as she picked up the phone with a blank face. "Melinda?"
Melinda didn't waste any time on insignificant greetings. "Please tell me you're still in Europe."
"We are," Natasha replied carefully. "Why?" Please don't say Skye, please don't say...
"Skye. She's been shot. We're on our way tot the medical facility in Zurich." Melinda's voice sounded clipped and Natasha couldn't remember the last time she'd heard the other woman so emotional, and she didn't want to think about what that meant.
She stood up and motioned for Steve to follow her. He didn't ask any questions, but just took out his wallet and went to pay. Natasha walked to the entrance and waited there, barely keeping from shifting her way from foot to foot. "We are leaving now," she told May. "What happened?"
She didn't want to know, but she had to ask. And Melinda probably didn't want to think about it, but told her anyway. "We were supposed to intercept a train in Italy. But they knew we were coming; our Italian friends weren't friends after all. Skye and Fitz ended up at the final location, and she went in alone. We weren't there to stop her. Quinn shot her, Simmons has been able to keep her alive so far, but it's critical."
Steve joined Natasha and followed her out to the car. She signed 'hotel' and he nodded, getting behind the wheel and driving back to their hotel. "She went in without any training? I am so killing her when I get there," she grumbled.
Melinda made a sound of... something. "Natasha... there is no guarantee she will make it."
That's... no, that couldn't be. "No. She will. She is a stubborn idiot and she will be fine," she insisted. Steve threw her a slightly concerned look, before speeding up slightly above the maximum speed.
"She was shot in the lower stomach. Twice. She's lost a lot of blood, and there is quite a bit of internal damage. You know what that means Natasha. Just... Maybe you should prepare yourself.."
Fuck, she was serious, wasn't she? Natasha squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. "We're on our way," she just said. "Text me the updates please." If you call, I'm scared it'll be the last call.
Melinda sighed, and Natasha got the feeling this affected her more tan she was willing to let on too. "Okay. Will do."
"Fly safe, Mel." She hung up, and pulled her phone away. The car came to a stop, and when she looked up, they were already at the hotel. Steve really had stepped up the speed. He gave her an inquisitive look. "You go pack the bags and I'll d checkout," he decided. "If I let you do checkout, I think you'll murder the poor receptionist."
She rolled her eyes at him and got out of the car. She could get a hold of herself just fine, thank you very much.
But she hardly believed herself as she hurried to their hotel room to gather all their stuff. She was done soon enough and went to put their stuff in the car. Steve came out and ushered her to the passenger seat with a stern look. "You'll drive us to death. At least I can speed and still drive save."
She grumbled but took the passenger seat. He took his place behind the wheel and they were soon on their way. "Where are we going?" he asked. She leaned forward in her seat and set the navigation to the address she'd googled while waiting for Steve. "Zurich. Medical facility."
He paid no attention to the shortness of the answer, but just nodded. "We're not too far out then, shouldn't be a long drive. Four hours or something. Just, try not to kill me for not going fast enough."
"I won't, if you keep going fast enough," she deadpanned with little humour. He gave her a once over. "SHIELD pays the speeding tickets?"
She shrugged. "We're a bit off the book here, soldier. I believe this is going AWOL." She looked at him. "If you don't want that, I understand. You can say I held a gun to tour head or something. Or, just get out of the car."
Steve chuckled and gave her a funny look. "I can go against orders, you know. I'm not as prim and proper as everyone thinks. Listen, Skye needs you, and you need me, so I'm getting you there. Fury can go climb a tree."
She gave him a long, searching look, before realising he was deadly serious. "Don't let Nick hear it," she answered eventually, just hoping he would get the message. He looked like he did, smiling before turning his attention back on the road. Natasha leaned back in her seat and watched the road pass by. She could practically feel Skye's hand in hers, whispering in her ear that it would be alright. Her stomach twisted, and she just hoped it would be.
///
Natasha stalked through the halls, Steve hot on her heels. Melinda had texted her an hour ago that Skye had gone into surgery, and since then it had been silent. And it freaked her out. She absentmindedly heard Steve apologise to anyone she levelled with a death glare, but she couldn't care less.
She stumbled om a waiting room and skidded to a halt, Steve almost marching into her. He looked over his shoulder, and being so close to her, she could feel his muscles tense.
Sitting in the waiting room, staring ahead into nothingness was Phil Coulson. Who was supposed to be dead. Natasha hadn't wanted to let him know she knew so soon. She had also wanted her relationship with Skye to remain private a little longer. But the again, she'd also never wanted for Skye to end up in critical condition in a hospital, but here they fucking were. She entered the waiting room.
Five pairs of eyes turned in her direction, all with similar mixes of shock, hope and fear. She couldn't keep any of their gazes but Melinda's. The older agent stood up and ushered them back into the hallway. Natasha felt like she was going to burst out of her skin any moment.
"Stay still," Melinda hissed. "I trained you better than this." Natasha threw her a dirty look. "Just tell me, Mel. I already know Dreykov would be disappointed in my attachment, I don't need yours too."
Melinda's eyes flashed. "Still in surgery. We're waiting for the doctors to come out and give us some news. It's... not looking good."
Someone clearing their throat interrupted them. Natasha turned around, her eyes meeting Phil's. He looked guilty, but suddenly Natasha was just tired. "I'm not here for you," she said by way of greeting. "I'll let Clint do the yelling, and rest assured, he will yell."
Phil winced. "I would walk with you, but I have a team member in there, and'
"I know," she interrupted him. His eyes widened as he realised. "You're here for her." She could see the questions behind his eyes, and shook her head. He nodded, made a move to place a hand on her shoulder, thought better of it and turned around to take his place on the couch again. Natasha looked at Melinda. "So we just wait?"
Melinda nodded and leaned against the wall. "We wait."
///
It wasn't a long wait. It felt like ages, but in reality it really wasn't that long before a doctor walked into the waiting room. Melinda hurried inside, while Natasha remained in the doorway.
She felt her legs start to tremble and her stomach clutch when the doctor delivered the news. She vaguely registered Steve's hand when the doctor said to call Skye's family and Phil said that they were the family.
"Then I'm sorry, " the doctor replied, and Natasha closed her eyes. Skye couldn't... not this soon. This wasn't meant to happen. She just found her, she just found happiness. And Skye was so young. She had an entire life to live, so much love and laughter and possibilities. She couldn't...
She shuddered and would have fallen, if it wasn't for Steve holding her up, subtly but surely placing her back on her feet. She tuned back into Phil's conversation with the doctor about moving her. Because if he could be brought back from the death, then surely Skye could be saved from the brink.
"If you find where you was treated, then you can try that," the doctor agreed. "But we can't do anything else for her. And I can not guarantee that she would survive the journey. The fact that she lived through this surgery is a miracle in and of itself."
Natasha felt herself step forward, catching the surprised attention of the doctor. "Give her my blood," she heard herself saying. The doctor raised an eyebrow, and the rest of the people in the room looked quite shocked too. "Excuse me?"
Natasha swallowed. "I said, give her my blood. A blood transfusion. I think we have the same blood group, or at least we are compatible. My blood contains a healing factor. It won't be enough to save her, but it could... at least it would give her a chance." Because if this was all she could do for her girlfriend, then fuck she'd do it. She'd do it, and again if she had to.
The doctor thought for a moment. "If you two are compatible, it should work. Follow me." Natasha nodded and followed, as if in a trance. Steve moved after her, seemingly unwilling to let her out of sight. That was nice of him. She caught Melinda's eyes and exchanged a determined nod. They would do this.
The doctor didn't waste any time, drawing her blood and administering it to Skye. It pained her to look at her girlfriend, small and frail in the too big bed. When the doctor walked out for a few minutes, Steve stepped out too to give them some privacy, though he remained within earshot. Natasha took Skye's hand in her own. Carefully, she ran her thumb along Skye's hand, the way Skye always did with her when she had trouble falling asleep. She sat there for a while, until she heard footsteps approach and had to release Skye's hand.
The doctor entered, followed but Steve who carried an oddly blank look. The doctor motioned to the bed. "I need to prepare her for transport," she said, almost apologetically. Natasha nodded and stepped away. "Of course."
With one last look at Skye she let Steve lead her out of the room and back to the waiting room. "What is it?" she asked Steve, silently hoping it wasn't something like a mission. He gave her a sideways glance. "Fury called. He has a mission for us."
Well fuck. "Does he know we're here?"
"I didn't tell him, and he didn't say anything about it."
That was good. They entered the waiting room. Skye's team looked up anxiously. Natasha focussed on Melinda. "Transfusion went well. They're prepping her for transport now. And we have a mission, so we have to go."
Only Natasha and maybe Phil would be able to see the sympathy in Melinda' eyes as she nodded. "Anything special?" Natasha shrugged and looked at Steve, who hummed. "Agent Sitwell has been taken hostage. We need to retrieve him."
The young scientists made a sound, and Natasha gave her a searching look. She looked a mixture between sad, nervous and almost amused. "Are you the agent that shot him in the chest? He won't hurt up about that."
The girl, and Natasha realised this was probably Simmons, who almost died from an alien virus, gave a small nod. Natasha smiled at her. "Good move. You have my approval."
Simmons let out a tiny laugh, and Natasha's smile became slightly more genuine, before she turned back to Melinda. "Is there anything i can do that you can not?" she asked, trying everything to be rational about this. Melinda shoo her head, and Natasha sighed in defeat. " Then please, keep me updated."
Melinda nodded. More words weren't necessary. Natasha shook hands with Coulson, threw one last look down the corridor where Skye was still fighting for her life, and just hoped that she'd done enough to give her at least a small chance. Then she resolutely turned around and marched out of the room, out of the facility. If Steve was worried, he didn't say or ask anything, instead just following her and taking his place behind the wheel again without a single complaint.
Before long they were driving away, and Natasha felt her heart clench at the thought of driving away from Skye when all she wanted was to turn around, run back and hold her hand. But she couldn't.
So she sat tight, shoved all her feelings into a little box, closed it tight and pushed it to the back of her mind. Compartmentalisation. She had a mission. And Skye would be alright. She had to be.
Chapter 2Summary:Skye is not dead. Natasha was really, really worried and they're being cute
And then it's Hydragate shennenigans :)
Notes:So, uni is starting again. I found out in the past two weeks that I'm good at doing nothing, and that I'm not good at writing when I do have time. So now uni is back up, updates will be faster, because *procrastination is motivation*
also, all emails with kudos are cherished in my mailbox. if you binged everything, you might get saved for future serotonin boosts :D
Enjoy Nat and Skye being adorable between all the shit of Hydragate!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextSkye hated that her life consisted of phone calls and bedrest right now, but then again, it was kind of her own fault she got shot. God, Nat was going to kill her.
Natasha. She'd stopped by. Gone completely off the grid, outside the books, everything to get to her. It was… It meant everything to her. She even donated her own blood, for God's sake, so she could fight until Coulson and Simmons had figured it out. Her blood, a part of Natasha, now forever running through Skye's veins. She was vaguely aware that that was probably biologically incorrect, but the thought felt so good, so right, that she couldn't care less. And now she had to call her girlfriend that she was alive. Except, her girlfriend was on a mission. Skye expected Natasha to be mad if she didn't call the moment Jemma had given her a phone, though. So, she pulled up the contact, and pressed call.
A click. Call connected. Then… "Skye?"
God, it was good to hear her voice, despite the obvious tremble. She felt Natasha's hand on hers, her thumb stroking the top of her hand in comfort, like she was back here, and let out a choked sob. "Nat," she forced out.
"Skye. Bozhe moy, Skye. You're… "
Skye managed to get out a wet laugh. "Yeah, I'm alive," she said through the tears.
"Just… how are you? Are you going to be okay? Fuck, I want to be there right now." And Natasha sounded so frustrated. "Fucking Sitwell, why did he have to get kidnapped?!"
Skye laughed, she couldn't help it, and then winced. Laughing hurt. Natasha must have heard it, because she made a soft sound. "Sorry, I won't make you laugh. Just, talk a little while?"
"You were here," Skye said, because she had to say it. Natasha hummed, and Skye relished in it. Those last moments, she thought she'd never hear it again. "I was so scared, Nat. But I'm gonna be okay now. Jemma says I'll be fine. And you were here and I could feel you and… Thank you."
"Always, remember? And fuck, I was scared too. Don't ever almost die again, because next time I will kill you!" Skye knew Natasha's anger came from her fear and it warmed her heart, despite the harsh words. "I won't, I promise. I can't recommend getting shot anyway. I'll try not to repeat it."
Natasha chuckled, and it was music to Skye's ears. "I'm so glad you're okay. I don't know what I would have done if…" her voice faded and Skye thought that maybe even the thought alone was to much for her girlfriend. "I'm sorry, Nat. I really am. I thought this was the only chance. I shouldn't have gone in alone, I'm sorry." Her voice got choked again, and her lungs started to hurt, but she had to say it.
"It's okay, darling, it's okay. You're okay. I would have probably done the same. Granted, I have training and experience," Natasha joked, "but we can work on that. Next time we see each other, I'm going to teach you some tricks, okay?"
Skye nodded, before realising Natasha couldn't see that. "Okay. That sounds good. I miss you." She took a deep breath, before wincing again. Everything fucking hurt.
"I miss you too, dorogaya. But I will see you soon. For real this time. I did not enjoy the last time I saw you."
Skye blushed slightly at the Russian term. It was adorable, but she was not going to tell Nat she was adorable. She'd just survived this, thank you very much. "I know, lyubov' moya," she replied softly, silently praying that she hadn't butchered the pronunciation too much.
There was a beat of silence on the other side of the phone. "Did you just…" Skye chuckled at the baffled tone, but it quickly faded at Natasha's next words. "I fucking love you, did you know that?"
Now it was Skye's turn to be stunned into silence. "You do?" she asked eventually.
"Frighteningly much, yeah," Natasha admitted, her voice somewhere between nervous and determined."I know this is not really a good way to tell you, nor is it the way I wanted to tell you. And I'm sorry if it's too much or too soon, but you almost died and I saw you lying in that fucking bed and I regretted not telling you so I'm telling you now." And then, almost as an afterthought. "You don't have to say it back. I know it's… difficult, for people like us. But I just-"
"I love you too," Skye interrupted, new tears in her eyes that were definitely good tears. "So much."
"Oh, thank god. I mean, fuck, I don't know what I mean." A beat of silence again. "I have never done this before. But ehm, I'll take you on a date again? When my mission here is done?"
Skye tried so hard to keep her laughter to a beaming smile when her lungs started to protest, but she couldn't help herself. The heart monitor next to her started beeping, and she looked at it in confusion. Her heartbeat was too fast. Jemma would be down here in a minute. "I'd love that."
"Are you okay? Is that a monitor?"
It was almost funny how fast Natasha went back to concerned. "I'm fine. My heartbeat is speeding up because you just told me you love me and asked me on a date. Jemma will be here any second now and that is your fault."
"I… I made…"
"Natasha Romanoff. Did I make you blush?" Skye asked with a grin when Natasha stopped trying to talk. There was a pause, and then a mumbled "Yeah."
Skye laughed. Her lungs and ribs and everything hurt, but she laughed, cause she was alive and Natasha loved her and maybe things would be okay again.
The door of the medical pod opened, and Jemma strode in, a worried look on her face, that faded into amused when she saw the state Skye was in. "I thought I told you to take it easy," she reprimanded her, but it was soft and kind. Skye smiled at her. "Sorry, Jemma."
"Is Jemma there? Can I talk to her real quick?" Natasha asked.
"Sure," Skye said, and handed the phone to Jemma, mouthing 'Natasha' to the doctor. Her eyes widened comically and she quickly took the phone. "Hello, doctor Simmons speaking." Skye giggled as she leaned back into the pillows, suddenly tired. She started fidgeting with her hands, only to find her rings gone of her fingers. Before she could properly panic about it, a small box appeared in her line of vision. Skye looked up, but Jemma was already occupied by what Natasha was telling her on the phone while she held out the box.
Skye took the box and rummaged through it. She found the one she was looking for, and slid it on her finger. It felt good there, natural, like it was supposed to be there. She spun it around her finger. Always. Never did she think that always would mean this.
A phone appeared in her line of vision, and Skye was pulled from her musings. "What?"
Jemma rolled her eyes with a fond smile and shook the phone in front of her. "Finish your conversation and go to sleep. You're exhausted." Skye nodded, thanked her and took the phone. Jemma disappeared again. "Natasha?"
"Yeah, hi. I just wanted to thank her and ask her some questions, sorry."
"That's okay." She noticed her words were coming slower, and her limbs felt heavier. "Did you tell the team, by the way?"
"No. I didn't know if that was okay, so I didn't tell them." Natasha snorted. "But I did come to the hospital to donate my blood, so they know we're acquainted, at least. Mel probably has it a bit figured out by now, and Jemma is smart; she'll figure it out. The rest seemed pretty oblivious."
"I don't want them to know," Skye admitted. "May and Jemma are good, I suppose. But I want this to be just… us."
"Jealous much?" Natasha asked, amused but kind. "Clint knows, obviously. Steve now too, and Tony knows. They'll keep it to themselves, I promise."
"Okay. That's… good," she decided, her words starting to blur together. Natasha chuckled gently. "I think you need to get some rest. Me and Steve need to go in soon, but I'll text you afterwards. Sounds good?"
"Sounds perfect," Skye whispered. "Love you." God that felt good to say. "See you in a minute," she mumbled.
"Sure thing, dorogaya," Natasha said with a chuckle. "Love you too."
And then she was gone. Skye closed her eyes, and she swore she could feel Natasha's arms around her, and the ghost of her hand in hers and she fell into a peaceful sleep, the phone still clutched in her hand.
Hydra was alive. Hydra was alive. Hydra was alive. Fucking hell, Hydra was alive.
Maybe, just maybe, if she kept repeating it, she would believe it.
Everything she'd ever done for SHIELD, a lie. A lie, and wrong, and it was all wrong. Because people she thought she could trust were Hydra, or dead and then alive, and was that Hydra too? Or was that just SHIELD, with secrets upon secrets, and trust the system, and she had, and it turned out to be Hydra. It was such a fucking mess. Oh, and she'd been shot, and it still hurt, even three days later. And Steve had almost died by the hands of his old best friend and was still recovering in a hospital bed. And Nick was dead and then alive and now Natasha was watching as he flew the chopper in which he'd arrived across the Atlantic.
"Why did you want to come with me again?" Nick asked from his pilot seat. It was weird to see him without his long black coat and his eyepatch. She avoided his eyes. "I can't be back there. I need to be out here doing something."
"That something being following me to your dead handler," he said. She nodded, her face carefully blank, and he sighed. "There is something you're not telling me."
She finally looked at him, and he almost flinched at the sudden heat in her gaze. "Really, Nick? You died but didn't, and didn't think to tell me about it. You have no fucking right to say that right now."
He nodded, raising one hand in surrender. "Okay. Fair. I'm just wondering if this has something to do with Phil, with Melinda, or with that other girl. Skye, right?" When she just looked at him with impassive eyes, he sighed again. "I know you've been snooping in my files. It's redacted for a reason, you know."
"Actually, I don't," she replied simply. "Because the file is redacted. I don't know why. And I'd think at least the person in the file is allowed to know about it." She shrugged at his inquisitive look.
Nick took a moment to just focus on flying, and after a while, Natasha turned her gaze outwards. She'd been sure Nick was never going to tell her, and had to blink when he spoke again. "Skye is an 084. She was rescued in Hunan from a monster by some SHIELD agents. All of the agents who had anything to do with it, were murdered not long after. So, I decided to put the girl in foster care. Keep her bumping from place to place to keep her safe. She turned out to be quite good in deleting her traces herself." He chuckled, but it was with little humour. Natasha shook her head.
"A human 084? What does that even mean?" she asked, not really knowing if she should be scared. "And you placed her in the system?" She cursed. "Fuck, Nick, do you have any idea-"
"It was that or the monster that's been hunting her, Natasha," he interrupted her harshly. "You think this was my favourite option? It was the best, and frankly the only one I had. A human 084 is not something I'd trust any agent with. Why not? Well, we just figured that all out, didn't we?"
He went back to silent, while Natasha stood up and started pacing up and down the chopper. Her girlfriend was an 084. SHIELD had been the one to put her in the system. God, SHIELD had hurt her so much. Would Skye still want anything to do with them? With her? How was she supposed to tell her all this?
She caught Nick's look over his shoulder, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses, but one of his eyebrows was raised in what Natasha recognised as concern and confusion. She sighed. "Skye is my girlfriend."
His other eyebrow raised too, and she knew this was not quite the answer he'd been expecting. "And she knows… well, about you?" Natasha chuckled. "She doesn't know about me, Nick. She knows me. And she hasn't run just yet." She thought he might be fighting a smile, but he just nodded and she couldn't be sure. "It won't interfere with your work?" he asked, mostly because he had to. She shrugged, not stopping her pacing just yet. "You know me, Nick. I would never endanger a mission."
He nodded again and returned his gaze forward. "So she makes you happy?"
Natasha halted halfway through a step. "I… yeah. She does." She smiled softly. "Really happy." She thought she saw the corner of his mouth raise, but it was hard to tell from this angle. "Good," he said. "Then you have my blessing. If you even care."
She cared. More than she thought she would. But then again, she supposed he was the closest thing to a father figure she'd ever known. So she smiled even wider, and said, "I do. Thank you."
He kept his gaze ahead of him, but she could see his shoulders sag just a tiny bit. She took a seat on one of the chairs and folded her hands. Now it was just-
An old radio beeped somewhere in the plane. She shot back up, while Nick turned his head around. "Do we have a signal?" Natasha hasted over to the radio. "It's a beacon of some sort."
"Can you figure out where it's leading us?" Nick asked, already moving to adjust the coordinates. Natasha nodded, already working with her phone to decipher it. "It's coordinates. We're not far out."
"Not far out? We're in the middle of the Atlantic!"
"I know, but that is what it says." She walked over to the co-pilot seat and entered the coordinates. "There can't be a lot of people that know of this frequency; this chopper is ancient. So we best check it out."
He nodded and adjusted their course, and sped up.
It really wasn't long before they reached the coordinates. They were hovering above the ocean, and there was nothing in sight for as far as they could see. "Are you sure-"
"I know what I'm doing, Nick," she interrupted him icily. "It's here, it has to be- There!"
A little to their right, two arms suddenly flailed out of the water. Natasha squinted and gasped. "It's Fitzsimmons!"
He threw her a curious look, and she absentmindedly realised that he didn't know about her hospital visit in Zurich. She turned to him. "I'll take the stick, you pull them out."
He frowned. "Why don't you pull them out?"
Natasha flew a little closer, trying to get as nearby as possible. "Because I got shot in my shoulder three days ago and they don't look like they can drag themselves inside." Her tone was clipped and short, and Nick must have recognised her mission mode, because he nodded and stepped out of his seat. Natasha focused on keeping the old chopper still. When had her life become like this again?
Still alive, if a bit beat up. Hope you're doing alright, please let me know.
Skye had viewed the text with hope and worry, and had quickly replied that she was okay, and how Steve was. There had been no replies to that, except a single short text a few minutes ago.
I'll explain later. See you in a minute.
What did she mean, see you in a minute? She couldn't be here. Skye had seen the chaos in DC, with Steve and the Winter Soldier and Pierce. She herself was quite a way out, handling Garret and Ward. Fucking bloody Ward. Trying to seduce her and then turning out to be a nazi. He'd even kissed her for god's sake. Fucking asshole. She hoped May would break every bone in his body.
She chanced a glance behind her to see if Ace was still following her. Some loyal agents Coulson had found would bring him back to his aunt. She reached their rendezvous point, and knelt in front of the little boy. "Hey, Ace. These people are going to take you back home, okay? I promise you, you're safe now. Okay?"
The boy nodded slowly, a bit sadly. "What about my daddy?" Skye hesitated. "We're taking care of him. We're going to make sure he is okay. I'll make sure he will be okay."
"Okay."
Skye couldn't resist giving him a hug, which he happily returned, before he was taken with the two agents, both smiling gently at him, and one even started to ask him some questions about his little Hulk action figure. Skye watched them go, hoping that this was the last bit of drama for the young boy.
She made her way back to the place where she knew Coulson would be, but came to an abrupt halt when she saw the infamous, and supposedly dead, Nick Fury standing next to him, both looking down at Garrett. Mike was standing a few feet away, and spotted her first. "Is Ace alright?"
Both Coulson and Fury looked up at her, but she turned to Mike. "He's being brought to his aunt as we speak. He'll be safe now." He gave her a tiny smile and a nod, and she turned to Coulson. "I take it your plan worked then, sir?" She nodded down at Garrett. "Is he dead? Please tell me he's dead."
Coulson shrugged. "He's not getting up anytime soon, so there's that at least." He looked at Fury. "Any suggestions?"
The director shook his head. "Not much, I'll leave it up to you." Then he turned to Skye, his eyes hidden behind his sunglasses. "You must be Skye."
Skye gave him a short nod, not quite knowing whether to see the guy who had kept her bumping around the foster system or the guy who had protected her, and been the closest thing Natasha had to a father. He tilted the corner of his mouth, in a May-like smile. "So you know then. Coulson told you?"
She nodded again. "Yes, sir. I suppose I need to thank you for saving me," she added, a bit unsure. He shook his head. "No, you're mad at me. And you have all right to be. I found this to be the only option at the time, and I apologise for any pain and suffering it may have caused you."
Skye looked at him, properly looked at him, then nodded, much more relaxed now. "Thank you, sir." He gave a broader smile. "No, thank you."
One of her eyebrows raised, a puzzled look appearing on her face. "For what?"
"You'll know," he said with a hint of cheek in his smile, and then turned to Coulson. "I would like to speak to both agent May and you before you leave. I'll head to the plane now, if you don't mind. I need a fucking drink." And before Coulson could properly reply he'd turned away and left. Coulson watched him go, a bit baffled, and then turned to Skye. "What was that about?"
She shrugged. "I have no clue, sir. But how about we see if May killed Ward?"
Behind them, Mike cleared his throat. "Am I free to go?" Coulson nodded. "You are. You're a dead man, the world is at your feet. I'm just sorry what it cost you. I wish you the best." Mike just nodded, and with one last smile walked out. Coulson turned the other way and went off, leaving Garrett and his team for dead. Skye hurried after him. "Any word on Fitzsimmons, sir?"
"Director Fury and another agent picked them out of the ocean. That's all he could say for now," Coulson replied heavily. He stopped walking when a group of agents with May and a cuffed Ward approached them. He smiled at the sight of Ward bloody and beaten, and turned to May. "Saw a chance to get rid of that anger?"
May scoffed. "Is his head still attached to his body?" Coulson grinned, and turned to Ward. "That is the only mercy you get, understood? I know about four other women who'd like your head to leave your body, but maybe we can get some information out of it first."
Ward made a sorry sound, something between hissing and growling, and May looked oddly proud. "He's having trouble speaking; I think I broke his larynx." Skye smiled at her, and Coulson seemed satisfied. He turned to one of the other agents. "Take him away."
May watched the agents go before turning to Coulson. "And where are we going?" He shrugged. "To the plane. Fury said he wanted a word." May nodded. "Wheels up in fifteen."
Skye sat in Fitz's spinning chair, aimlessly going from left to right in the empty lab. She glanced up when the doors opened, recognised Trip, and went back to staring at the table. He sat down behind the desk where Skye herself worked sometimes. He didn't say anything, and neither did she, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable, and Skye thought that sitting in silence together was better than sitting in silence alone.
"Touchdown in five," May's voice sounded through the intercom. Skye didn't move. She was very busy compartmentalising the past month the way she'd seen Natasha do when they were together. Healthy? Probably not. But she didn't fancy another breakdown. She checked her phone again, but after her girlfriend's 'see you in a minute' there had been no more text's, no more responses, nothing. It scared her a bit, and she was also worried about Fitzsimmons, and SHIELD, the first good thing in her life (except for Nat) had been a lie, and Ward had been Hydra, and technically none of them existed anymore, and she'd seen files fly past about Natasha and Tony Stark and Steve Rogers and they made her want to roll up and cry but she couldn't so she'd deleted them as much as she'd could but she couldn't unread that stuff and it was all so fucked up and…
"Skye?" Trip's voice cut gently through her train of thought. "I can practically hear you freaking out. It's going to be okay, girl. We're going to be okay."
She looked up to meet his sad, but determined brown eyes and gave him a watery smile. "I fucking hate this," she whispered. "The waiting, the not knowing and the knowing too much. It just fucking sucks."
He looked like he wanted to give her a hug, but the plane was landing, so he stayed seated. "It's going to be okay," he repeated instead, like he was convincing himself too. "One day, it will be okay."
The plane stilled, and May's voice came over the intercom. "Meet up on the ramp."
Skye got up and opened the doors of the lab, stepping out onto the ramp, Trip on her heels. He placed a surprisingly steady hand on her shoulder, and she granted him a small smile. Coulson and May descended the stairs behind them and joined them on the ramp. The ramp lowered, revealing a lonely Jemma Simmons waiting for them. Skye heaved a sigh of relief, and barely waited for the ramp to be fully lowered before she hurried towards her friend for a tight hug. Jemma clung to her for a moment, before pulling back. "I'm glad you're all okay."
"Fitz?" Skye asked, because she had to, even if she feared the answer. Jemma looked to the ground. "He's alive," she settled for. Skye took her hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Jemma subtly leaned into her, but turned her attention to Coulson. "Sir, what is this place? I still don't quite know."
"It doesn't have a name, but personally, I call it the playground!" a half-familiar voice sounded behind them. They all turned around, pausing at agent Koenig. "Eric?" Skye asked hesitantly.
The agent shook his head, his eyes downcast. "Billy, miss. Unfortunately, Eric is no longer with us." He straightened. "But I've been here, preparing this place for your arrival. It is quite a large base, but not on many archives, so it is a safe place for now. There will be another plane landing any minute now, containing your prisoner." His eyes flashed, and Jemma flinched. "Ward?" Skye nodded, squeezing her hand again. "Don't worry, May made sure he can't speak for a while."
The older agent grinned and Jemma gave a tiny smile. "That's good, I suppose. And Garrett?"
"Oh, he's dead. Gone. Evaporated," Coulson assured her. "He will never bother us again."
Before anyone could reply, a quinjet sounded above them, and landed not far away from the bus. The ramp opened, and two agents came out, dragging Ward along between them. He looked in a worse shape then they'd left him in, and the reason of that became quite obvious when after a few heartbeats the Black Widow stepped out of the quinjet. Skye's heart skipped a beat, as their gazes locked from across the distance.
Natasha smiled and walked towards them. Skye felt someone squeeze her hand and looked to the side to see Jemma giving her a slightly amused look. She just smiled back, letting her friend lean on her a little bit longer. When Natasha came within earshot, Coulson called out. "Is it me or did he look worse?"
She gave him a devilish grin, but her gaze was heavy and serious. "I saw what he did to Fitz. Besides, Maria said he called me eye candy, and he tried to brag about kissing Skye." She chanced a look at Skye, who pulled a face. "Not quite consensual," she mumbled. Natasha hummed. "Good thing I punched him extra then. Wish I'd killed him, but you can probably use him." She turned to Coulson. "Anyways, he is all yours now. Do with him as you like. Just call me when he's dead, and I'll host a party."
Coulson smiled. "Will do. How was DC?"
She rolled her eyes. "A mess. Steve's getting out of the hospital tomorrow, my shoulder is fine-ish. Nick is not dead and Maria managed to avoid getting hurt. But boze moi, is this a mess. Files out everywhere, and-"
"They're not," Skye interrupted her. God, she itched to hug Natasha, kiss her senseless, to just feel that they were okay. But they couldn't. Not yet. The look in Natasha's eyes let her know that maybe she wasn't the only one feeling like that. She scraped her throat. "I deleted everything I could. I can't be sure there are no hard copies anywhere, but digitally, it's as good as deleted. Us, undercover agents, you and the other Avengers. Most of it never really got out."
Natasha's eyes shone with something, and Skye felt a hand nudge her forward, but she planted her feet firmly on the ground. Natasha watched it happen, and gave her a smile, a real one. "Thank you." She turned to Coulson, who kindly chose to ignore the tension and emotions between them. "I'm here for a while to help you guys settle in. Whatever you need. It will be good working with you again. Director," she added with half a smile. He nodded happily and shook her hand. "Welcome back to SHIELD, agent Romanoff. Now, how about we go in, team?"
The team moved inside, Jemma letting go of Skye to walk with Trip. Skye lingered behind with Natasha. Coulson looked at her over her shoulder and gave her a nod, before leading the team inside with Koenig. When they were out of sight, Skye didn't have the time to turn around before two strong arms wrapped around her waist. "Fuck, I missed you," Natasha breathed in her ear.
Skye twisted around so she could properly hug her girlfriend back, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I missed you too, Nat. Fucking hell. I was so worried, and I've been wanting to hug you since Coulson picked me up, but…"
Natasha hugged her even tighter. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here."
They stood there, god knew how long, finally physically together again. They had so much to talk about. But for now, this was okay. This was good. This was enough. Eventually, Skye pulled back, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Want to come get some food? It's getting cold, and I need to see Fitz, even if he-"
"Skye," Natasha interrupted her gently, softly. Her hand squeezes Skye's own, before intertwining there fingers. "It's okay. We have some time now. I'll be here for a bit, and I'm all yours." Skye beamed at her, and pressed a kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "I like the sound of that," she admitted. Natasha chuckled. "I thought you would." She stepped away, but didn't let go of Skye's hand, and so Skye found herself dragged to dinner by her girlfriend in their new base.
Natasha was lying with her head on Skye's lap, her legs pulled up a bit to fit in the tight space of her girlfriend's new bunk. Skye was sitting against the wall, her legs slightly dangling over de bed, and had one hand combing through Natasha's hair. It settled her. It settled both of them, Natasha suspected. It reassured them that they were both here, alive and safe, for now at least. They still had each other.
Natasha hummed happily when Skye's nails scratched her scalp. Skye chuckled. "Like that, don't you?" Natasha just hummed in response, ignoring the implications. Skye chuckled again and sighed. "I really missed you, you know."
"I missed you too," Natasha replied easily. "A lot. I hated that I had to leave you when you were… when ehm…" She closed her eyes. Skye's hand never ceased moving as she finished her sentence. "When I might have died? Yeah, I hated that too." She shifted slightly, suddenly a bit tense. "I knew you were there, though. I could feel you."
Natasha turned her head, looking up at her. "You could?"
Skye nodded, not really meeting her gaze. "Yeah, yeah. I ehm… I could feel your hand. You were holding mine. It was the first thing I felt when I woke up. And I know that's not possible, and it's a bit weird too. But… I still feel your hand sometimes. Just, holding mine. It's comforting."
Natasha waited for Skye to look at her, and when she didn't, she reached up to tap the woman's cheek. "Look at me, lyubimaya." Skye looked down at her, a nervous look to her eyes. Natasha smiled warmly. "That's the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me." She dropped Skye's cheek, taking her hand instead, and rubbing circles across Skye's palm the way she did then. Skye sighed softly, briefly squeezing her hand before relaxing again.
After a long while of silence, Skye sighed again, but much less happy this time. "Do we… Is there stuff we need to talk about? I mean, the last time I saw you I was going out for groceries and since then it's been phone calls and texts and I fucking died. And now SHIELD's gone, and like, what are we going to do?"
Natasha sat up and turned so she was sitting next to her girlfriend. She took her hands and thought for a moment how to best phrase her response. "Coulson is restarting SHIELD. From scratch. You're staying," she said, because it wasn't even a question. "I am too, although I will be with the Avengers sometimes too. But SHIELD is all I know now, and it is not something I can give up yet. So there is that."
Skye nodded along with her. "And us?" Natasha shrugged. "I'm not nearly ready to give this up either. We will find a way to spend as much time together as possible. And texts and calls whenever we can. Just, no more getting kidnapped or dying, or something like that, alright?" she added with a hint of a smile. Skye chuckled gently. "I'm trying to keep it to a minimum, I promise."
Natasha nudged her gently. "Does that sound like something you want?" she asked, a bit nervous suddenly about the reply. But Skye was quick to reassure her, although she still looked nervous. "Yeah. It sounds good. I don't want to lose you, Tasha. But… There is something I have to tell you before you eh... commit."
Natasha had a feeling she knew what this was about. "Is it about the file? Have you read it?" she asked, her voice soft and careful. Skye nodded, and Natasha opened her arms. Her girlfriend sagged into her, shaking, and Natasha pulled her close. "I know, lyubov' moya. Fury told me about it, so I could tell you, but... It's okay, Skye. I'm still here for you, 084 or not."
Skye shook her head against Natasha's chest. "I'm not human, Nat."
"We don't know that," Natasha simply said. "And I don't really care anyway."
"The cure they gave me," Skye choked out, "It came from an alien. And I, unlike Coulson, did not react to it at all. That means something. That the blood was compatible, on some level." She pulled back a bit to look at Natasha with heartbreakingly sad eyes. "I am not human, Natasha."
Natasha smiled. "And I still don't care." When Skye gave her a disbelieving look, she sighed. "Skye, in the past couple of months, so many things have happened that I am not shocked. And I've never been one to scare quickly. And I could never, ever, be scared of you anyway." She brushed a stray tear from Skye's cheek. "I could never be scared of you. And if you really turn out to be part alien, or something else, then we'll deal with that when it comes to it. And we'll do it together."
Skye nodded tearily. "I love you," she whispered, and Natasha quickly pulled her closer again. "I love you too," she whispered back. "A whole dang lot," she added in a thick southern American accent. Anything to get Skye to laugh. Skye chuckled against her shoulder. Mission accomplished. She nuzzled into Skye's neck.
She hesitated; she didn't want to breach this subject, but Skye had been so open, and it was only fair she did the same. "I suppose I ought to thank you for deleting the files. You really are a genius, you know."
She felt more than she heard Skye hum. "I didn't read your file. As soon as I realised it were your personal unredacted files, I started deleting it. And the ones for the other Avengers."
It was Natasha's turn to freeze. "You... didn't read it?" She heard her own voice as if someone else was talking, and almost flinched at the blankness of it.
"I saw some things while deleting everything," her girlfriend admitted softly, "but I didn't read it. As much as I dislike secrets, it's not up to me what secrets of yours come out. To the world, or me, or anyone. I'd much rather you told me yourself, when feel ready to tell me."
Natasha pulled back a little and searched Skye's face. For what, she wasn't quite sure, but the only thing she found were Skye's honest and kind – despite everything still so kind – eyes staring right back at her. "Thank you," she whispered. Someday I will tell you. Everything.
Skye seemed to read her mind, because she leaned their foreheads together. "I'll be here. Together, right?"
She thought of the ring attached to her necklace. "Always."
Skye chuckled, twisting the ring around her finger. "Always."
Notes:I absolutely hate editing, any mistakes are my own, please don't hate me for them
Next up: a little in between thingy with cuteness and some cameo's, before moving on to s2 and AoU
take care, stay safe, drink something and give your friends a hug. byeeeeee
Notes:The amount of phone calls in this is insane. And I don't even like writing phone calls. I really hope next one will be less, but they will be mostly long-distance for chapter 2 I'm afraid. Next up, Skye and Natasha throughout the Hydragate and the aftermath. It'll be fun!
Hope you all enjoyed, take care of yourselves.
Comments and kudos are always welcome
Series this work belongs to:← Previous Work Part 4 of The Secrets We Keep Next Work →