A/N: Hello theree! finally got my FF account back. I had forgotten the password... hahaha. Let's start with a few stories until AoS comes back to help out poor shipper hearts!

As always, I don't own any of this characters.

Set during Civil War with mentions of MAJOR character's deaths and a name-cameo from our favorite masked vigilante from Hell's Kitchen. Basically everybody picks a side and shit always goes down. Grant and Skye decide to have just one night.

A GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE

She's still sitting on the bed when he comes back. She can hear his footsteps as he walks back to the old house's room.

There's a window. She could have left. The door wasn't even locked. She still can walk, it's just a few cracked ribs and cuts and bruises.

She could have left.

She should have left.

Grant opens the door.

"Is this you trying to kidnap me again?" She sighs and it hurts when she lets the air out of her lungs. She still needs to keep her guard up, let him know that he's still the enemy.

Grant scoffs. "Do you feel like a kidnap victim? Because if you want to go, Skye. Just fucking go. The world is a mess out there, and part of that thanks to you. So do whatever the hell you want to do" His words are charged with anger, and hate and it doesn't even make sense that he's doing this. He chose his side. She's the mission, and the enemy.

"Why are you doing this?" She asks and his eyes meet hers. She clearly hit a nerve and he doesn't have an answer for that... yet. "I thought you were on Shield's side"

"Funny. I could just ask the same question" He says and drops a bag on the bed. He went out to get what he needed to patch Skye up. He sits on the bed next to her, and Skye's first instinct is to move away from him, but she doesn't.

She can't let him see that she's afraid or… affected somehow by his presence. They're enemies. They've been trying to destroy each other for the last 4 months, since he took over Hydra and she started her own team. They're like cat and mouse.

Just… she isn't sure who is the cat and who is the mouse.

He's just a problem. A huge fucking unpredictable problem. He doesn't want to twirl his mustache and lead Hydra to take over the world. He just wants to destroy. Lock his targets and destroy everything on his path.

Still, he never throws the last punch. It's like those animated tv shows where the hero and the villain fight and fight but they never kill each other. At the end the bad guy always escapes and tries to come up with a new plan for the hero to stop and none of them ever succeeds until the last episode.

They're stuck in fucking loop. There's no last episode. There's just her, unable to kill him and him, unable to kill her.

She always has an excuse. There were civilians that needed evacuation, the building was unstable, they had hostages, they were too many. She wonders what Grant tells his henchmen when they go back to whatever hole they live in without her head.

It's like there's no last episode for them… just a huge fucking plot twist when Fury took over Shield again and decided to follow Stark on his quest to hunt people with powers.

And yes, part of it was thanks to her and the crystals she dropped in the ocean. She set in motion her mother's plan without meaning to, and lots of people were affected… or killed in the process, filling the world with new people with gifts that really didn't know anything about the Inhumans or the way to use their powers.

Coulson went rogue and joined Captain America and The Defenders against the registration initiative, including several other heroes. She just followed, like she always did. But the guilt was still there, and the need to protect her people and her new team.

"Take off your shirt" He says and that finally catches her attention. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm no longer interested" Grant says absent mindedly as he reaches for the bag and takes a few bottles and bandages.

Skye doesn't even know how to respond to that. So she just unbuttons her gray shirt.

He stares a lot to be 'no longer interested'.

His eyes move from the bruises on her ribs to her black bra and then her chest and neck. His mental excuse? That he's still a man and Skye's just hot. She never wanted anything from him and he can't fall back to his old, bad habits. Maybe he's let her live a few times but that's just because he can't stay until the rest of her team arrives… and she's spared him a few times too. He won't owe anyone anything… not anymore, even less his life, even less to Skye.

He's on a mission. Tear everything apart. Destroy everyone who hurt him and Kara.

But the world had to go on a war between superheroes.

He's not stupid. He's a strategist. When Fury asked them to be Stark's bounty hunters they accepted. It always comes to that. Kill or be killed. Nobody wants to get caught in the middle of a war between heroes… if they still call themselves that. Grant never really gave a fuck.

She clears her throat and Grant blinks a few times before taking one of the bottles. "This will help with the bruising and the bon-"

"I know" She cuts him off. "I heal faster. The powers were not the only effect" She's not supposed to tell him that, but she just wants him to shut up. That voice he was using… like she was still a defenseless rookie, like he cares. She hates that.

"So that's why you're always back on your feet so quickly. That's cheating" He applies the green-ish ointment on his fingers and then hesitates before touching her.

Their eyes meet again and since she doesn't say anything he takes it as he approval.

Grant sees how she clenches her fist on the sheets when he presses his fingers against her ribs. She gasps softly. "You ok?" He asks and regrets it. Skye's the enemy. He can't soften or might end up with four in the back again.

"Yeah" She says and then swallows. Ward's way too close; his calloused palm is now moving against her flat abdomen and it definitely affects her. It's ok. She can admit it to herself as long as he never finds out.

He's careful and takes his time. She wonders if the bastard is enjoying this somehow. "I think I can do it"

"You can" He says, "I've done it plenty of times" He applies more ointment on his fingers. "You have a mean kick" He adds and then goes back to her. "But it's better when someone helps. You still have cuts on your face and arms and I'm pretty sure you don't want to take care of that yourself"

She sighs when his hand is on her skin again. This time he presses harder. Like he remembered that he's not supposed to be tender. It really hurts.

Yeah, they're back on safe ground. "What were you doing in that crappy bar anyway?" He asks.

"What were you doing? Were you following me or something?" She bites back.

Grant shakes his head and then grabs the bandages to start warping around her. He moves her arms abruptly and Skye winces, but she keeps them up as he wraps her wounds. "I was following Murdock. They're after him"

"They're after me too" She says and then feels him pulling the bandages tighter. That one really hurts. "Asshole" She mumbles.

"And thank you will suffice" He pulls again and this time he hears a whimper. "It has to be tight enough" He ads when he finishes and secures the bandages around her.

"I'm fine" She breathes and then goes back to the topic "They're after all of us"

"I didn't know he was meeting with you. They thought it was Rogers… hence all the man power"

"Did they catch Matt?" Skye asks and sounds a little worried. She shouldn't ask that, and Grant shouldn't answer.

"I don't know. I left" He says, pointing out the obvious, and then he grabs a needle. "I don't have Simmons' gentle hand so... this might hurt" He says and also grabs a small bottle of alcohol to clean her cuts first.

He definitely doesn't have Simmons' gentle hand, but at least he's fast. He finishes with a deep cut on her right arm and hand and then works on her face, which brings them even closer. "This might scar. But it'll make you look dangerous… badass" He teases, using the same words that Skye chose once.

The memory is kind of painful. Those days are so far in the past… the last moments that she was still a rookie, looking up to him, having feelings for him, feeling safer in his arms.

"Evil. I should have said evil" She adds and winces when Grant pierces through her skin with the needle one last time.

His left hand is on the back of her neck and she can feel his breath against her cheek when he replies. "Yeah. You should've".

He finishes in silence.

"You're good to go" He finally says after a long pause. He doesn't leave the bed, or gives her space. His eyes trace all the features on her face, focusing a few seconds on her lips. "It would be safer if you spend the night here. Let things cool down"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay here"

Another moment of silence.

Then she finally moves, inches away from him "I doubt I'll be able to get any sleep. But I still need to lay low"

Grant jus nods and finally stands up, walks to the door.

He stops just before leaving the room. "Do you want something to drink?" drinks? He's not supposed do that. And judging by Skye's expression she's thinking the same, remembering the same. "You probably could use it…"

She definitely could use it. She nods.

Grant leaves and comes back a couple of minutes later with a bottle of cheap whiskey. "It's all I could get. I don't have glasses…"

Skye's still siting in the same position on the bed. She's got her shirt back on and is just finishing with the buttons.

Ward hands her the bottle before turning around to leave again, and then she just adds a new one to her long list of poor decisions.

"It's rude to leave someone drinking alone. Maybe you could use it too," She says, staring at the bottle in her hands and she feels more than sees him hesitate. He doesn't move a muscle. "You just saved my life and patched me up so I guess you won't try to kill me. I won't try to kill you. It's like a truce… a… temporarily truce"

He turns and looks at her. She looks back at him.

"Alright" He finally says "It's not like I will get much sleep either" He doesn't know exactly why, though. It's a lot of things. The world crumbling down around him, the war, Kara dying in his arms, Shield, Hydra… Skye sleeping in the room next to his, Skye…

Grant just sits down next to her, leaving more space between them this time.

Skye opens the bottle and takes the first sip, a very long one. She almost coughs when the amber liquid burns down her throat. She makes a disgusted face when she's done and wipes her mouth with the back of the hand that holds the bottle "This really tastes like shit"

"If you're going to gulp the whole thing at once maybe… you're going to complain now?" He takes the bottle from her and then sips. He does it with more moderation than Skye but he still winces "It's bad"

"It's really bad" She still takes the bottle again.

This is really ironic. Drinking with your enemy, or more like your… nemesis. Your ex-almost-something nemesis. She doesn't think that Superman would sit and have drinks with Lex Luthor, or Batman with the joker. It's ridiculous… but this is real life, not a comic book. This world's very real heroes decided to go to war with each other. Villains became 'heroes', good guys are being hunted down like criminals. Quake can have drinks with The… what was his name again?

"Why would you ever call yourself The Taskmaster?" She drinks again.

"There's no 'the'. It's just Taskmaster. I didn't choose it. It was my men. And you're one to talk, quake"

"It's more like a codename. I'm not a superhero" She hands him the bottle again, this time their fingers brush briefly "It's just another name. Everyone gets one these days"

He takes another sip from the bottle. By now he's gotten used to the taste, and the company. It almost feels normal, like a brief moment of calm in the middle of this mess and all the fighting. It crosses his mind that right now he's got friends and enemies, allies and targets, but Skye's probably the only person in the world whom he can have this moment. He can't really place her in any category. "What do you think that's gonna happen? Whit this war…"

She sighs, "I think they're playing cat and mouse".

"And who's the cat and who's the mouse?" He asks, handing her the bottle.

"That's the problem"

"That both sides want to be the cat?" He jokes.

She takes the bottle "That both sides want to be the mouse" She drinks another long sip "Sooner or later something really bad will happen and everybody will see how stupid this whole thing is"

"If it's so stupid why did you join the fight?"

"Why did you? What's your interest in hunting people with powers? Tagging them like dogs"

"That's what shield's always done! Didn't they tag you like a dog too? Coulson did that and you would still follow him blindly" He scoffs "and you called me lapdog"

"That was different"

"Different how? Even after everything that's happened you still think that you get to decide what's right or wrong, what's black or white"

"That's why you're doing this? You want to hurt my people because you want to punish me? We left shield because this is wrong. We're talking about innocent people who need help, not being hunted by the government"

"So now you're an activist again? That's just fantastic. Just because Coulson had a change of heart you're suddenly caring about the innocent and defenseless again"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wake up! This world isn't black or white. You used to be able to tell the difference"

"So, your gray world consists of just calling a bad guy everyone who stands against Stark and Shield?"

He sighs, "Fury offered me a way out, a way to survive this. That's what I'm doing here. Nothing more. Nothing less. I don't care about this heroes or villains crap. I don't believe there's such thing as heroes or villains, there's just people trying to do whatever the fuck they feel like doing, because they feel guilty, because they want revenge, or power or control; because they need to survive" He looks at her "…because they want to fit in. Rogers won't change a thing, and even if he does, he can't control these people. He's just a man who doesn't know how to live without a war. The world is moving on and he just can't live with that. He feels guilty because he let all this happen"

"And who are you? You've had lots of opportunities to leave it all behind. You could have left with your girlfriend and start over, move on. You can't. Now you wanted in in something that doesn't have anything to do with you to destroy more people that haven't done anything to you. That's insane"

"Just tell me one thing. If Coulson would have stayed with Shield what would you have done? You… Shield's pet superhero, would you have followed him against the innocent?"

"No. I want to help. I want to protect-"

"Bullshit" He says and stands up "You're right about one thing. You're not a superhero. You just feel guilty. You want to atone for your sins"

"Maybe you're right" She stands up too "But at least I'm ready to fight and die for it. I know that I deserve it. So why didn't you just let them take me? Did you just want a chance to say all this before tuning me in? You can end this now. Forget about the stupid war and finish your mission. I know it's all bout her. Fitz and Simmons already left, Bobbi switched sides, Lance and May are dead, Coulson's in jail. You're almost done. It's just me still standing" as she speaks she walks closer to him. She knows he's probably heavily armed. He always is… guns, knifes, whatever he can use as a weapon.

And she doesn't know if it's the alcohol or her injuries, or the fact that the world is a fucking mess right now. She was meeting with Murdock to join forces with The Defenders and plan a rescue mission for Coulson and other heroes. It went to hell when Shield crashed that stupid bar; it went to hell like everything always does. Like her real family, or her Shield family and right now, she's just too dam exhausted.

"There's no excuse this time. No back up coming. Just you and me and all the guns you're probably hiding. As you just said. This was never about the heroes, not for you. IT's about what we did"

"I know you can make my heart explode from the inside. Crush my brain or my bones" He says and thinks about it for a second. She's powerful, skilled in combat and deadly with her powers. It's funny because even before she could do all this she always seemed to have more power than him.

"I can't," She simply says.

She looks powerless and defeated, like a person who has lost everything. He knows exactly how it feels. He also knows that he can't just take the knife in his sleeve and slice her throat. He can't take the gun on his back and shoot her in cold blood. There's only one thing he can do when it comes to Skye, and that's exactly what he does.

He kisses her.

He closes the distance between their bodies and his hand cups the back of her head as he presses his lips against hers. It should feel wrong but it doesn't. He should remember Kara but he's overwhelmed by the strength of whatever force that pushes him right into Skye's arms. He can't hear over the sound of his heart beating faster. It almost feels like it wasn't even beating until this moment. He's half expecting it to be just an effect of her powers, like she's actually about to make it explode and kill him.

It doesn't happen. She wraps her arms around him instead. Pulls him even closer and parts her lips so they can deepen the kiss. Grant moans when he feels her tongue. They both taste like that awful whiskey and something like blood… probably from Skye's lip.

Now her shirt is not tucked inside her pants and he gets the chance to easily slide his hand inside and against her back. They're both breathing heavily but refuse to stop kissing. She moves her arms to his neck instead, goes for more, ignores the pain from her wounds and jumps for him to catch her and wrap her legs around his hips.

It can't be wrong when it feels this good, she keeps repeating to herself as his mouth travels down to her neck and sucks on her pulse point. She assumes that he was walking this whole time because the next second he's lowering her on the bed.

"We can't. We shouldn't." He says but he looks more tortured than determined. Like it just takes all of his will power to stop.

"I know," She says but her hands are moving from his chest to his abs until they reach the hem of his sweater. Grant is holding his weight on his forearms being careful not to crush her with his weight, especially in her current condition.

Her current condition.

"Skye" He says and then closes his eyes when her hands reach inside his sweater, scraping his skin with her nails. "You're injured"

"I know that too, but… it's been a long time since I've felt like I'm doing something that I really want to do" She admits and he wasn't supposed to know that, he wasn't supposed to see her this vulnerable but what gives? For all she knows she could die tomorrow and never get this, one last moment to let her heart decide.

Her confession reflect on the way he looks at her, like he wants her… like she's everything he has ever wanted and nothing else matters.

She pulls his t-shirt up and he helps by sitting up and straddling her legs. And for what seems to be the first time in years she smiles at him.

She proceeds to unbutton her shirt and Grant just watches. Once she's done the fabric falls open and he goes back to meet her lips. His body hovers over hers as he moves south. Skye moans softly when he kisses the skin between her breasts and places his hand over her hip.

"Wait" He says and she doesn't even register the moment when he leaves her. When she opens his eyes he's placing a set of knifes and a gun on the nightstand.

He, then, proceeds to get rid of his shoes and socks and finally unbuttons his pants before sitting back on the bed, next to her feet.

She watches him untie her boots and then take them off. His hands shake a little, which is kind of amusing. After everything they've been through, including trying to kill each other several times, he's still nervous about this.

When he's done with her boots and socks he joins her back in the bed. "No guns?" He asks and Skye shakes her head, and then proceeds to tangle her fingers on the back of his head and pull him for another kiss, and she doesn't hold back.

Her mouth clashes against his and her free hand reaches down to the growing bulge in his pants. He clearly wants her as badly.

Grant turns them so she can be on top and not be crushed because he's very close to stop having control over his actions at this point. And even more when Skye gets rid of her shirt and then reaches back to unclasp her bra and toss it in the same direction. His hands just move on their own to cup her breast as she leans forward to kiss him again. She moans when he rubs her nipples with his thumbs, grinds against him in response.

Even through the layers of their jeans she can feel him, and the pressure against her when she moves feels just right, leaves her panting against his mouth, resting her forehead against his as she keeps going.

His hands reach her belt but his fingers now lack the coordination they had when he was undoing her boots. She has to stop and move away from him to sit on the bed and get rid of her pants. Grant does the same with his and then grabs her wrist to pull her over him again. This is that moment where he no longer can control it. He wants her, he have always wanted her and whatever she offers him right now he'll take. This is not the time to think about all the damage they've done to each other, because right now, even if it's just for a few minutes, he feels happy and whole again.

Skye's completely pressed against him. The barrier of their underwear is doing little to hide their arousal. She still moves her hand inside his boxers to grab him watches him close his eyes and bite his lip to try to stop all those embarrassing sounds coming out of his mouth. His hand reaches down and almost rips off her panties until she stops him and just kicks the fabric down her legs.

Grant sits up and she's still straddling him, but now he finally gets full access to her breasts. His lips move from her mouth to her jaw and then her neck before reaching their objective. He sucks and she pulls his hear, digs her nails on his shoulder and when he licks she moans his name out loud.

"I want you," He whispers against his skin "so bad… Skye I-"

She, then, captures his lips again before he can say anything stupid. She doesn't know what's going to happen next but right now this is all that matters. She's not ready for 'next' it took them log enough to get here.

Skye feels his right hand moving her thigh while the other one is firmly placed against her hip to keep her in place, then he presses his thumb against her clit and she totally whimpers against his mouth. It sounds embarrassing and needy but it also feels so good that she doesn't care.

The bastard really knows how to use his fingers and when he slides one digit inside her she's dripping wet, moaning his name and practically fucking his hand. She has to bury her face against his neck as she rides his fingers, pressing their bodies together until there's no gap between them, enjoying the firm muscles of his chest against her whole body.

"Oh god, keep doing that, please" She moans.

"You like it?" He says and places soft kisses over her neck. He feels her nodding and mumbling curses against his shoulder. When he adds a second finger she bites him and hos gun on the nightstand falls to the floor. "Fuck" He says. Not because she hurt him, but because this is so fucking hot, and she's dripping down his hand and writhing in pleasure as her orgasm builds.

"This feels so good, Grant. Oh God…" She says and moans again. "You need to fuck me right now"

"That can wait" He barely recognizes his own vice right now, it's all raspy filled with desire and promises for the rest of the night. That he can do. Promise things for the night. No matter what happens next they'll always have this night.

She finally goes still, cries out loud when it hits her. She comes hard against his hand and he can even feel everything in the room vibrating around him as she rides it. Her whole body's shivering against his arms and he never lets her go.

"God, you're so-" He whispers against her ear but then stops, what's he going to say anyway? A couple of minutes ago he almost blurted out that he loved her. This is not the time for sweet words. This is all they have, a night, and desire, and lots of unresolved sexual issues. This is closure.

"So what?" She finally says, lifting her head to face him, all dark, glossy eyes and messy hair and swollen lips.

"We have this night, maybe we shouldn't complicate things. I wanted this since the first moment I saw you, I think you always knew that" He half smiles "But we can't… some things are just not meant to be" He says and she cups his face with her hands.

"We have the night" She agrees and then kisses him again, slowly, taking her time. She pushes him back on the bed and they're holding hands. "We have the whole night," She repeats against his lips, like she's trying to convince herself that this is enough.

She moves her lips to his ear and when she breathes he tries to pull his head away and giggles.

Of course, he's really ticklish. She smiles at that and then tries to be more careful, just biting his earlobe softly until she hears him moan. The line of his stubble scratches deliciously against the skin of her neck when he moves to leave a trail of kisses, that feeling alone leaves her aching for him again.

She sits up, sliding her wet core against the underside of his shaft; Grant shivers, so she does it a couple of times until he closes his eyes. He's impossibly hard and she's absolutely ready for him. So she places one hand on his chest and with the other places him at her entrance and then slides down until he's fully inside her. "Oh shit…" she curses, taking a moment to adjust to him. "Oh yes" she adds when she finally starts moving.

He opens his eyes to see her beautiful form. He doesn't care about the bandages, or the cuts and bruises all over her body. She still looks like a goddess, like a warrior goddess, and the way she feels around his dick is about to drive him insane. She's riding him slowly, in every direction, moving her hips in perfect coordination with his and it's a lot more than he can take.

He tries to sit up again to reach for her body, he needs his hands all over her, but Skye just shoves him back on the bed with a devilish grin. "That can wait" She teases and then picks up pace.

She places her hands on his chest for support and starts sliding up and down, going harder and faster.

Her hair falls like a curtain over her face, her breasts hang and bounce out of his reach as she moves and Grant feels like he might explode right now. He wants to turn her around and fuck her into the bed without an inch between their bodies. He wants to make her scream and shake the whole room as she comes. It's not like he has a problem with her being on top, because it might be the hottest thing he's ever seen in his life, it's just that he wants her closer, as close as they can be.

She bites her lip trying to stifle a moan, feeling a familiar heat build up from her core and spreading through her body. Grant keeps pushing his hips up to meet hers and they both go faster. "Fucking hell" She yells and closes her eyes. They're both so close judging by the sounds he's making. Who would have thought that Grant Ward was loud? She definitely likes it.

His hands are firmly placed on her legs as they both keep moving. He can feel her walls clenching around him. "You're so fucking good," He growls. "Skye" He repeats her name over an over, maybe because this is still a little hard to believe. It could be just another of his many fantasies, except that this feels way better. "Come here" He grabs her good arm and pulls her down against his chest.

She stops but he doesn't. He pounds into her as hard as he can, relishes in her moans. "Come on" He says when the lamp on the nightstand starts moving "Just come"

"Grant!" she cries and that's enough for him to go.

"Oh God" He almost yells and immediately moves his hand between them to send her over the edge.

When she comes the lamp joins the gun on the floor the whole room shakes violently and the way her body shakes around him has him repeating her name like a prayer. It takes a while for things to settle. Skye doesn't seem to care and Grant doesn't remember having an orgasm this intense in his life.

It takes them a couple of minutes to go back from their high. She's still convulsing in his arms when he reaches to stroke her hair. They both are a sweaty mess of limbs but none of them seem to care, they just don't move.

"I think that my lip's bleeding" Skye finally says against his chest. She sounds tired.

"It's been bleeding for a while now" He chuckles.

"Gross. Why didn't you tell me? I prefer not to taste blood when I kiss someone but whatever floats your boat…"

"I don't have a blood kink if that's what you're suggesting. I just can't bring myself to care when you kiss me like that" He smiles, sounds so proud of himself.

Skye finally lifts her face and rests her chin against his chest. He's still stoking her hair but then he moves his hand to move the strands that stick to her face.

"It's really hot in here" She says.

"It's summer"

"I feel kind of gross"

"You still float my boat" He teases and Skye chuckles and smiles at him. It almost feels like this is normal, like they can stay like this forever.

"The real Grant Ward. Ticklish, with a sense of humor and really loud in bed"

"That's something I didn't even know myself"

"So you're saying that I'm that good?"

He shakes his head "We could just test it a few more times" He says and they both smile.

"You'll have to give me a minute"

"You're 27"

"Actually… I'm 28" She says and he frowns "Long story" She sighs and then moves to her side of the bed, cuddles against Grant "It's just a minute for the gradma" She relaxes in his arms, tries her hardest to ignore the fact that two weeks ago she almost killed him, that a few hours ago he almost killed her and then saved her life instead, and that like half an hour ago they were fighting about the war that wait for them outside these doors.

There are some things that she can't ignore though. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Did you really love her? ... Agent 33" She asks and he tenses.

"Her name was Kara"

"Sorry" She says and pulls away to look at him. "It's just… you started all this… you started a war that you can't end, for her"

"I loved her" He says after a few seconds, he never breaks eye contact and neither does Skye, but he still feels the way her body reacts and tenses at his confession. "Remember when I said that I wouldn't lie to you? It still stands"

She nods and finally looks down.

"She deserved so much better. I thought I could do it… that I could help her but I couldn't. I wanted her to find closure, find good things. It's a different type of love I guess"

"Different?" She asks.

"I don't really know what loving someone feels like. But I know need and urge, something that consumes you… inside, never leaves you, makes you do stupid things to keep that person safe and still thinking that you can just move on when you'll never do it. It just drives you crazy"

Her eyes meet his again.

"Maybe Coulson was right. Maybe I'm just a deluded son of a bitch, a crazy psychopath, obsessed with something that I'll never have"

She moves her hand to his cheek, cups his face. The face of a murderer, a man that's capable of horrible things, the man who killed one of her friends and tried to do the same with the rest. Something's definitely wrong with him.

But there's also something wrong with her.

She kisses him again.

The sun is already up when he wakes up. That never happens… but he can make an exception when he's this worn out. It takes him a moment to realize that he's staring at an empty bed. She's gone.

They had talked about it. It was just one night for them, and then back to playing cat and mouse, hoping that when they die it's not the other pulling the trigger.

"It's late"

Her voice startles him. He turns around and sits on the bed to find her staring out the window, already dressed.

"What are you-"

"I was going to leave" Skye says.

"Then why are you still here?"

She turns and faces him. "I was thinking… about the things you've done, about... the things I've done, and Shield. I just… you killed Lance" Her voice breaks remembering that.

"It was-"

"Kill or be killed. I know I just… it's hard but… I just can't go back to our same routine. I… one thing's missing. One thing I always got wrong"

"What?"

"The truth. And I want to hear everything, from the beginning. Your family, Garrett. I want to know everything" She pauses and walks closer to the bed. "It doesn't mean that I will forgive and forget. But I want to understand because… sometimes you can't just move on. I… I want… I have a proposition for you. I want you to join my team"

He almost laughs at that but stops it because it seems like Skye's not joking. She wants to hear him, she wants to understand, but she can't possibly think that he can go back. "I can't work with Coulson. I don't want to"

"It's not Coulson's team. It's my team. You would work with me"

"Do you really want that? I thought you only worked with people with powers"

"I work with people with potential. This is not just personal. This is strategic. My mission is to recruit people who can make a difference, and I want to believe that you can. I'm giving you a second chance to do something good, not to get orders, just to help… me. I don't think that you want to spend whatever's left of your life with Hydra"

"I thought I was making you happy. You always insisted that I was just that"

"Grant just… shut up and listen to me. I want to give you an option. I don't even know if what I'm doing is right but it feels like it is. I want you to help me figure that out"

"And if I say yes… no Shield, no Coulson or orders…"

"We're pretty much Shield fugitives now so… And we make our own calls. It's a good team. Good people" She sighs "We'll try to help, try to survive this war"

"And then?"

"Well, if we actually survive… when it's over... then it's you and me. If you still want that"

"Tempting offer" He says.

"I still need you to start talking. That's the deal"

"That sounds more like an order. I guess I'll just have to get used to it, boss" He smiles. "Count me in, especially when there's such a good incentive to make it out of this war alive"

She smiles too and finally relaxes. Grant has always been a wild card, and she's half expecting him to say no, and half expecting him to try to kill her –and fail- again. It's not like she can fully trust him or forgive him just yet, but this is a start, and hearing his whole version of the story is something she should have done a long time ago.

She sits next to him on the bed and grabs his hand. Maybe she can't be completely objective when it comes to Grant Ward but she still owes him to hear the truth, maybe one day she'll understand after all and see him for what he really is, and that's not because all the bad things they've both done, but the good things they can do together, as a team.

That's it! tell me if you liked it, and thanks for reading! you know that commenting only takes you a couple of minutes and it's free! :D