Just Like a Funeral

Summary: Takes place in 4x20. Ward and Daisy's final goodbye before she escaped the framework. "It's just like a funeral, to day goodbye again, for one last time." Slight AU: If Ward was in the warehouse with the team and the backdoor. Very emotional. (My goal was to make you cry) SkyeWard!

Author's Notes: I am a huge shipper of Skyeward so this last pod was tantalizing. This is my view of what could have happened when Skye/Daisy had to leave the Framework (if Ward was with her). If you like this check out End of All Things, another one of my Skyeward framework fics. Check out this song, it is amazing and really sad and absolutely perfect for this.

Warning: Angst

Disclaimer: Nobody who writes fanfiction owns anything.

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"What have you done to me?" you said

What have you done?

I wanna get over you sometimes

Won't you get forward

You know, it's just like a funeral

To say goodbye again

For one last time

You were holding my hands

And looked into my eyes

And we started to kiss

For one last time

All my light

Turned to darkness

All my gold

Turned to sorrow

All I knew

Was a lie

All I need

Is just in front of me

~Like a Funeral by Erik Jonasson

This is our last chance to get out. Last chance to save my family, Daisy thought preparing to jump through the portal. She could hear Hydra attempting to break in but somehow, the soldiers seemed miles away. Coulson, May, Fitz and Simmons were already through the portal. Mack was holding off the remaining Hydra soldiers. Daisy was about to jump of the ledge when she felt a tug on her arm.

"Sk- Daisy, wait," Grant looked into my eyes. She knew what he wanted her to do. Despite the fact this world wasn't real. Despite the fact that he was really dead. Despite the fact that she had to save her friends in the real world. Despite all logic, Grant wanted her to stay. He had been trying not to ask her this, trying... so hard. He couldn't help it; he loved her. Without her his life was meaningless. His entire life was literally created for her.

"Please. My entire existence is a lie, except for you. You're my whole purpose. When you go, I-I will have nothing left." His voice was barely audible and sounded so… broken. He sighed. "I can't just say good bye… I have too much I want to say."

Daisy was immediately ripped back to the past, to Lincoln's death. She had said those exact words to him, begging Lincoln to survive somehow. She had no power to stop his death, to keep him with her.

This time, she had the choice to stay with Grant. If she jumped through that portal, she would give up her last chance to be with him. She would be destroying the last remnant of the man she had once loved.

"Grant I-" This was impossible. The fact that she had a choice just made it a thousand times worse. Instead of watching Grant betray her, watching Lincoln die, watching her life go to ruins without an opportunity to stop it, she was willingly leaving the last remainder of Ward. No, Grant was wrong; this wasn't a good bye, this was a funeral.

For what felt like hours, the two stared into each other's eyes, each wishing fate hadn't been so cruel, wishing that Daisy could do the impossible: stay. Grant slipped his hands into hers and squeezed reassuringly. He knew she couldn't stay. And yet, as they stood there, stalling the inevitable, he tried to remember his life with Skye before Daisy came. It all seemed so far away...

"Daisy, I-I know you have to go," Grant finally choked out. "And I know this is so much worse for you. But... when you go back to your world, I just want you to know that I love you. And I know, without a doubt, that your Ward always loved you." A single tear trickled down grant's cheek. Daisy reached out to brush it away.

"I know," Daisy said, tears streaming down her face. She had finally accepted that she would never see him again and it shattered her heart once again. "I loved him, too."

Daisy pulled Grant down into a soft kiss. Her arms encircled his back, clinging on to him like he might blow away. The kiss deepened until there were no more gaps between them. In that one moment, it seemed like nothing could separate them ever again. That was, until Daisy's built up sob broke the kiss. Seeing her trembling form, Grant pulled her head against his chest and rested his chin on the top of her head.

Eventually, Daisy extricated herself from his arms and attempted a smile. They both knew what had to happen next, but Grant couldn't watch her disappear from him forever. "I can't watch you leave me," he murmured, looking into her red eyes.

Daisy thought for a moment then, in a shaky voice, said, "Close your eyes and count to ten."

"Skye-" Ward protested, letting out a half sob-half chuckle.

"Shush. Just do it, ok?"

Ward obeyed, smiling slightly. He knew that, in whatever universe, Skye was too stubborn to ever beat in an argument. "I love you. I will always love you," he said. Grant held both her hands in his and squeezed.

"Always." Daisy gave him one last kiss and began to step backward. Grant was all too aware of the absence of her touch.

Ward sighed and commenced his count, eyes still closed. "One, two, three.." He tried to stretch out each syllable into an eternity.

With each word, Daisy took one step back, edging closer and closer to the portal that would take her back to reality.

"Four, Five, six..." She studied his face and voice, trying to ingrain every detail in her grain.

"Seven, Eight, Nine.." They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but that's not true. Sometimes, what doesn't kill you breaks you.

Good bye Grant Ward.

Grant heard a strange sucking noise and felt the quaking vibrations beneath his feet. "Ten." He opened his eyes to a world he didn't want to live in. She was gone. Forever.

"Good bye Skye."

Thank you so much for reading :) I love you all! Please fav, follow and review (I am always up for some constructive criticism). Tell me what you guys thought of the finale!

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xoxo~ SeveredStrings