"What were you after?" he growled.

"The truth, what are you after?" she returned with suppressed rage.

"World Peace, you pseudo-archaist hacker types love to stir things up, but you're never around for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason, Skye."

"Skye," Jemma called shaking her shoulder. "Did you hear me?"

Skye shook her head, trying to erase the sound of his traitorous voice from her head.

"Sorry, I was… what can I do?" Skye asked from her corner of the canteen at providence. She was surrounded by computers, trying to figure out everything she could about Hydra, Garrett, and anything else that might help her team.

"I just wanted to remind you that we have a briefing in a few minutes," the scientist smiled at her kindly, pity reflecting in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be there," Skye returned, quickly returning her eyes to the screens in front of her.

Jemma stood there for several more moments, hoping that Skye might open up, but eventually returned to Fitz and the make shift lab.

"Don't trust us?" Coulson chuckled. "Ask him anything you'd like."

It was a trick. He thought that Coulson wanted him on the team, but clearly that wasn't the case. He was going to let this little girl interrogate him like a common criminal. Ward could only pray that training in deep cover would hold.

"You can't just… this is defiantly not protocol," he called after Coulson in a last ditch effort to get out of this situation.

"You seem nervous, Agent Ward," she said softly. He hated how easily she drew his focus.

"I'm calling to mind my training," he replied, hoping to intimidate her. "There is no way I going to reveal classified secrets to a girl who's hell bent on taking us down."

Thank god he had come up with us, instead of saying the name of his true loyalties.

"Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked. And before she could even finish the question, he was answering in spite of himself.

"Yes, a few," he said avoiding the startling high number and quickly adding. "High risk targets, but they were terrible people, who were trying to murder nice people. And I didn't feel good afterwards."

It was the truth. As much as he owed to Garrett for saving him, he never felt good about the people he had been forced to kill.

"And does your grandmother know about these things?" she asked calmly.

In an instant a picture of his Gramsy came to the forefront of his mind and he couldn't help the pained whisper that escaped. She was good, but he was better he just need to distract her, set her in a new direction until the time was up. She liked people, a nice personal story would probably do the trick.

"My Gram, she was amazing," he started, trying to gage if this tactic would work, she leaned closer, hooked, so he continued. "She made the best sweet tea you have ever tasted."

"Isn't that a southern thing?" she interrupted, hopping onto the table beside him.

"Yes," he replied.

"But no accent?" she questioned.

"Training," he answered vaguely. "We learn how to bend into whatever situation we are in. Tenemos que estar preparados (We have to be ready) исчезать (to disappear)一瞬のうちに (in an instant). Un opérateur memorable est un dispositive morts. (A memorable operative is a dead operative.) "

It was the truth, but his head still hurt from all the effort to conceal his true self, better to reveal things of no consequence. Keep her from asking anything he couldn't answer vaguely.

"I was a farm boy for a major part of my childhood. I can ride and rope and bale hay with the best of them. I was a junior rodeo champ, won a few sharp shooting contests boring stuff really, but at the time, it gave me something to do with myself."

She was eating out of the palm of his hand, her owe delicate fingers clutching his arm, waiting to hear whatever he chose to tell her next.

"I… um… I know you have more time, but would you mind if I closed my eyes for a bit, my head is starting to ache," he said with a shrug, trying to bring up her need to protect.

"Of course, I'm sorry your boss had to use you like this," she replied, her eyes showing true regret in their depths. He lay his head on his arms and regulated his breathing, as to appear to be sleeping. Maybe Coulson would let her out now that the 'interrogation' was over. No such luck, time slowed to a stop, nothing but the silence of the room and the swing of her feet surrounding them until he felt her hand move to rest on his head. Only by the skill of his training did he keep from flinching as she slowly stroked his hair.

"You're not so bad when you're powered down, Robot," she whispered and he could hear the smile in her voice. He couldn't believe it when he woke up alone in the interrogation room. It had been years since actually allowed himself to fall asleep in someone else's company. It must have been the drugs, it had to be.

"You ready to wipe London off the map, Kid?" Garret asked.

"Of course, Sir," Grant replied shaking himself for the memories that haunted him every day.

"That little girlfriend of yours was quite the little pain in the ass," Garrett chuckled.

"Sir?" Ward asked, confused by the non sequitur.

"We have moved up the timetable three times, but she always seems to be on our tail," he pauses, gripping the younger man's shoulder, something in his eyes shifting. "You haven't been feeding her information, have you?"

Garrett's grip shifts to his throat, but Ward doesn't flinch.

"I haven't spoken to Skye since I got her to break the inscription on the drive," Ward swore. Garrett searched his eyes for dishonesty, but there was none. Ward had betrayed her. He had given up the one thing that made him happy for the promise of world peace.

"It's too bad you couldn't convince her to come meet the family," Garrett shrugged, moving back to the large screen mapping out their plans.

"Yeah, too bad," Ward answered emotionlessly. He may have betrayed her, but there was no way he would have brought her back here. Even with all her training, she was too good. She couldn't handle deep cover. She had gone willingly into that mansion deathtrap, and stood there talking as Quinn shot her. She would never be able to keep those soft lips from speaking the truth. Bringing her here would have been a death sentence for both of them. Still, a quickly growing part of him was filling with regret, hoping against all reason that he might get another chance to be the man she had thought he was.

"But can you do it?" Coulson asked.

"I will take him out the first chance I get," May replied.

"Who are we taking out?" Skye asked as she sat down.

May and Coulson eyed each other for a long moment, before Agent Koenig answered, "Grant Ward."

Skye bit the inside of her cheek and gave a sharp nod. It had to be done. Who knew what he had told Garrett about them already. They couldn't let one of the best specialists in the world run around for the other team. Tom Brady. Her heart stuttered, but she couldn't show mercy, Hydra wouldn't.

"I know that W…" Coulson started to say something, but Skye quickly cut him off.

"The sleeper worm I embedded in the flash drive is working like a charm, I can see everything they look at, but they are mobilizing for attack again. This time they are headed for London. Apparently the highest concentration of people the program identified as a threat are there. They plan to use a combination of gravitonium and weaponized EMPs to wipe the whole city off the map."

Coulson considered the schematics she had pulled up as she spoke.

"We break into teams. May will help Fitz disable the EMPs. Tripp with be with Simmons figuring out a way to deal with the gravitonium. Skye, you and I will work with local agents to get as many people to safe locations as possible. If this goes their way, I don't want our best allies out of commission," Coulson concluded.

May nodded and continued to review the information on the screen. Fitz glared at Tripp. Tripp smiled at Simmons. Simmons was focusing her concerned gaze on Skye. And Skye? Skye type furiously on the pad in her hands.

"No doubt Hydra is aware of all the World War bunkers SHIELD set up around London, but he might be able to use that to our advantage," she mumbled without looking up.

"How?" Coulson asked moving to look over her shoulder.

"We umm…" she sucked her lower lip in. "We make them think we are in the bunkers, and they will try to set the charges to destroy those first. Then we know exactly where to strike. We just need some volunteers to make it look like we are funneling people underground, while in truth we will be using the last remaining helo-carrier to move people to safety."

Everyone considered the plan for a moment.

"I have some contacts in the city," Jemma pursed her lips. "Are you sure volunteers will be safe?"

Skye made eye contact with her friend, "This is our best chance to defeat Hydra and save the city, but there are no guaranties."

The team nodded grimly. There was nothing more to say.

"So predictable," Garrett shook his head, a disturbing grin on his face. "Our old buddy Coulson is leading the lambs to the slaughter."

"Sir, we have a group forming in sector 5," an analyst commented.

"I'm sure it's just panic causing people to clump together. There is nothing they can do to stop us now anyway. Hey kid, isn't that your little girlfriend?"

Ward's eyes zeroed in on Skye leading a group of people into the subway tunnels.

"Looks like her," he answered robotically. He had hoped that she would stay way, but he knew she wouldn't. If there was danger, she would run right for it.

"Is your team ready with the charges?"

"Of course."

"Well then, move out, we've got a city to destroy."

Ward hated how easy it was for his mentor to give orders like these. He had been promised minimal bloodshed, but these days it seemed like he was taking more lives than he was saving. He wanted to stop. He wanted to move to a deserted island and never see another person again. Well, maybe one person, but she would never forgive him, so that was out of the question.

He was almost out when Garrett had called after him.

"And kid?" he paused as they made eye contact, and Grant felt his stomach drop. "I think it's about time to bring her in."

Ward had nodded obediently. It was a test. Ward knew it, but he didn't know if he would pass. He honestly didn't know if he wanted to.

"How long do you think we will have to wait for Hydra?" someone asked.

"Not long now," Coulson answered distractedly. He was on the comms with the other members of the team tracking their progress. The helo-carrier manned by Captain Rogers and his team had already evacuated a large portion of civilians. Jemma was almost done with the serum to neutralize the gravitonium. They were just waiting on Hydra to make a move. Across the room, Skye moved through the crowd, stopping to speak to people, answer their questions, and give them hope. Coulson couldn't have been prouder of her. Even if May had picked the rest of the team, his pick was the glue that held them together, well most of them.

Every time his mind turned to Grant Ward, he felt overwhelming rage, but then he would look at Skye. Coulson had left her in that traitor's care more times than he could remember. He had pushed them to train together. And yet for all the time they had spent together. When he told her about Ward's part in the fall of the fridge, she didn't rage. Her eyes clouded for a moment. He saw the sadness and disappointment flash over her face, and then she asked what they would do next. If she could move on and focus on the job so could he.

"Hey AC, I am going to take a patrol lap, see if our company has gotten here yet," she reported from his side.

"Great," he replied affably, "be careful out there."

"Always," she answered giving a salute over her shoulder as she left the room.

Three charges were set, two more and they would be ready.

"Robins, Stein, take this one to the south entrance. I will take care of the other myself," he commanded. The men nodded quickly heading in their assigned direction. He was connecting the last wires, when he heard her voice.

"Fitz where are we at with the third charge? Good, yeah I am near the east point of contact. No sign of them yet, but I have an icer on hand just in case," she whispered. At first he had thought he was hallucinating, but then the wheels in his mind clicked.

This had been a trap.

He slunk into the shadows.

"Something is off, this charge isn't active," she spoke into the comm.

"That's because, as always, you couldn't let me finish," he called from the shadows, watching her whip around immediately on alert.

"You know what the problem with pulling a gun on me is, Skye?" he whispered stepping into the light.

She glared.

"I taught you everything you know," he taunted, lunging at her, but she had learned some new tricks, and easily avoided his attack.

"May?" he questioned, changing his tactics to suit her style of fight.

Again she avoided him as if she could see his attack before he made it.

"Coulson?" he asked, impressed that she had thus far avoided him.

She said nothing, just waited.

"Cat got your tongue?" he taunted again, feeling unnerved by her lack of usual chatter.

Seconds ticked with her refusing to speak, him trying to get any hint of what was going on in her head.

"You can't avoid me forever," he promised, his body blocking her access to the charge.

"That's great guys, get the rest of the civilians to the helo. I am almost done here. I will meet you at the extraction point," she spoke into the comm.

"You won't get passed me, Skye. He wants you. You know I can't let you go."

Her gaze dropped for a moment, before returning with a blankness that would have caused him to shiver if he were a lesser man.

"I guess it's just an eye for an eye, or more like betraying the one who betrayed you," she said quietly.

"I told you. I want world peace. If you hadn't been so hell bent on exposing secrets, we may never had need to take such drastic action. The plan was to gain control without anyone even noticing. People like you caused this," he accused.

"That's pretty funny coming from the man who is currently protecting a charge meant to destroy a city filled with millions of innocent people," she returned sadly.

"It is a tactical move that will save many more," he repeated the words that had been drilled into him, "it's for the greater good."

"Do you really believe that?" she asked.

He thought for a moment. This was not what he had signed up for, but he couldn't forsake his leader. It was like he had told Raina, he owed Coulson and the team something, but he owed Garrett everything.

"Ye…" he couldn't even finish the word, before the icer struck him twice in the head.

As soon as he went down, Skye darted past him and disabled the charge.

"The last charge is inactive. I have one Hydra operative on ice, requesting help with transfer of the prisoner," she spoke emotionlessly into the comm.

This wasn't a victory. This was her losing one of the few people in life she had ever trusted, and she wanted to cry. She wanted to rage and scream and punch things, but most of all she just wanted to forget. If this was what he had felt when she had helped Miles avoid capture, then she deserved the cold treatment she had received, because right then in the middle of an underground bunker, her heart was breaking.

Ward woke cuffed to the integration table. She had shot him. He couldn't believe that the women he had trained, the girl who said bang as he taught her how to shoot, had shot him without hesitation. He was almost proud. Almost.

"You should know that we have already have Garrett in custody," came a familiar voice from the shadows.

"You should know that I don't believe you," he replied. If they had Garrett there was no reason for him to be here. If they had Garrett, he would be dead.

"It doesn't really matter what you believe. That's not why I'm here," she returned dangerously.

"Then why, exactly, are you here?"

"The powers that be wanted to know if you have any last words. Most of your compatriots went down with Hail Hydra on their lips, but someone up there thinks that you might be different," she explained.

"Look May, I am not going to give you anything, so you might as well kill me and get it over with."

"I'm not going to kill you, Ward. You don't deserve to get out of paying for what you've done. You have made mothers and fathers childless and children orphans and husbands and wives widows and widowers. Cowards like you deserve to rot in a windowless room with only the memories of the people you have hurt haunting you for the rest of your miserable life. And I plan to be the one who turns the key on your cell."

"Then what are you waiting for, Agent May? Lead the way to my little hell on earth."

"You sure you don't have anything to say for yourself?"

Ward shook his head. There was nothing to say. Nothing could save him anymore.

Days passed like years. He lost count of how much time passed with no access to sunlight or a clock or any indication of time passing other than the nightly gruel deliveries. He awoke each day covered in a cold sweat, soft brown eyes haunting him. Though there was no point now, he still filled his time with endless push ups, sit-ups and running in place. If nothing else it would exhaust his body, leaving only his mind to slowly chip away at his sanity with ideas of what could have been, memories of laughter and friendship and happiness that would never be his.

Then one day it came. There on his nightly tray, instead of a pile of gruel, sat a perfect turkey sandwich. He thought he was losing it, until he picked it up and took a bite. It was nothing special, but it tasted like hope. He didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse.

Next came a book, Hamlet. He had read it of course, but still it was a welcome relief to actually have something to read. He read to whole book that day and three more times that week. He wondered what it meant, but he tried not to think about it too much.

Time went by and little thing piled up in his cell. A few more books, a chess set, a deck of cards, a watch and an ipod with some of his favorite music on it. With each gifts arrival he would ask the guard why, but they never spoke to him.

Then strangest of all, came a scrap of paper.

White Rook to E4

He asked, but was again answered with silence. So he moved to the chess set. He cleared the game he had been playing with himself, and moved the white rook to E4, before considering his side of the board and moving his own rook to C5. Slowly the game played out, day by day, move by move, until white had him in check.

He waited patiently for the next move, checking his watch for the hundredth time. 7:02. The tray was two minutes late, and he paced the room impatiently.

"Hands out," called the guard as the small hole in the door was opened. Ward put his hands through curiously, feeling the cold, familiar touch of metal on his wrists. "Step away from the door," the voice commanded. Ward followed directions like a good soldiers, stepping to the chess board out of habit. When the cell door finally opened, it revealing the last person he had expected.

"Skye?" he whispered.

"I wanted to see the look on your face when I beat you," she shrugged by way of explanation.

"You learned to play chess?"

"I heard it is good for learning tactical maneuvers," she answered.

He frowned, remembering the night he had spent trying to teach her the game.

"You shouldn't be here," he said quietly. The last thing he wanted was for her to see him like this. See him for the man he truly was.

She ignored him and moved to the board, fingers gently running over her remaining pieces.

"You put up a good fight, Ward. I have already beaten Jem, and Fitz, and Coulson, but you were the most challenging. It took me a while to get into your head," she mumbled.

His brows furrowed. Get into his head?

"Queen to F7, Checkmate," she announced, watching him for a response.

"So, it was you the whole time? All these things are from you?" he asked his eyes never moving from her face.

"Not really the reaction I was hoping for, but I guess a smile and a comment was probably too much to expect," she shrugged.

Ward's mind flashed to the day when he had given her a compliment and a smile. It was a good day, but they would never have that again, because it wasn't real.

"You know I am not that man, Skye. It was an act. A cover. I was doing my best to figure you out so that I could give your secrets to Garrett," he snapped.

"What did you tell him about me?" she asked.

Ward hesitated, "I told him you were an amazing hacker, who wouldn't make a good recruit, because you can't keep a secret."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, nothing else mattered."

"You could have told him a lot more. I betrayed you, I might have been willing to do the same again," she reminded him.

"You betray us to protect someone, not a secret, a person. The way you interacted with every person we met told be you value human life over everything else. You could never make the kind of sacrifices Garrett asked of his team."

"Asked of you?"

"It was what I promised, whatever it took."

"And you always followed orders, never hesitated?"

"I gave him the gravitonium for Christ's sake, Skye. He never would have found it if not for me. If I had not betrayed our team," he yelled. The guard in the corner moved closer, but Skye waved him off.

"I would have killed you," he whispered, his voice thick with self-loathing. This was the moment that haunted his dreams. He was standing over her, gun in hand, watching her blood pool on the floor. His worst nightmare was that he had gotten the order, and followed it.

"You can't know what you would have done," she answered.

"Stop trusting me!" he roared. To her credit, she didn't flinch.

She just narrowed her eyes, took a step closer and said, "No."

He stepped back, uncomfortable with her constant, trusting gaze.

"You should go," Ward sighed, sitting on his little cot.

Skye moved through the cell, picking up one of the books and flipping through the pages, before gently returning it to the stack.

"What kind of book would you like next, a mystery? Do you like the James Bond ones? Maybe like something historical?"

"You should forget you know where I am, and stop sending me things. You can't save me, Skye."

"History it is. I've been reading this biography of Abraham Lincoln, I will send it when I'm finished."

"Ma'am, your times up," the guard called from the door way.

"Ok, can you give us a minute?"

The guard looked skeptical, but stepped outside.

"I can't give up on you," she said as she sat down next to him.

"Why?" he asked desperately.

"Because you helped me find myself, and now I need to return the favor," she answered, her hand coming to rest on his arm for a moment, giving him a quick squeeze. "I'll visit when I can."

"I will look forward to the book," he smiled at her as she moved to the door. "Be careful out there."

She gave a mock salute, before exiting the cell.

It was almost a month before the book came. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. It was obvious just looking at the book, that it was the same exact copy she had read, pages were dog eared, and the spine was well wore, but it made his love it even more. As he started to read, he found that every few pages, she would make a comment in the margins. It was like have her there reading over his shoulder all over again. Her silly jokes, and the strange way she processed information, made him think about things he never would have on his own, and he found himself wishing that he could answer her.

A few weeks later he was gifted with PostSecret: Extraordinary confessions from Ordinary Lives. On the inside front cover was her familiar scrawl.

Ward,

I was hoping to deliver this in person, but a mission has come up. Surprise, surprise, I know. I know how you feel about secrets, but this is more like an art project. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and have lots of comment when I come to see you.

Skye J

Ward worried a little at the idea of her out on a mission without him. Sure Coulson had probably replaced him, but that didn't mean his replacement would look out for Skye the way he had. He knew he had no right to worry, but he couldn't help it. She was out there fighting, and he was locked up waiting.

Trying to distract himself, he started to read the new book. It was filled with strange and sad and funny secrets that people sent in to free themselves of their heavy burdens. He finished to whole thing in one sitting as he generally did, but when he was finished, he began to wonder about his own secrets.

Which would he be willing to send to a stranger?

Which were unforgivable?

Which was the greatest?

Which was the worst?

The idea of secrets and the truths swam in the back of his mind until a week later, when the guard pulled the little door open.

"Hands," he called and Ward complied quickly, excited to see his only visitor. It wasn't until the door opened to reveal Coulson that his stomach dropped.

"Garrett escaped. He has Skye," Coulson said, no other words need.

"How long?" Ward asked.

"She has been gone three days," Coulson answered emotionlessly.

"No trail?"

"Would I be here if there was?"

"Cuba, Holguin, Cuba. He has a compound on the edge of the city," Ward answered quietly.

Coulson turned on his heal and strode down the hall, only to turn back, "You coming?"

Ward didn't need to be asked twice.

The team had treated him like a leaper. No one wanted to get to close, but that suited him just fine, as he considered the best way to rescue the one good thing in his life. Now as he watching the guard walk the perimeter, he knew what need to be done.

In one fluid movement, he had incapacitated the guard and another who had heard the scuffle. He ghosted through the house with practiced ease. He knew where she would be, he just hoped he wasn't too late.

He could feel May on his heels, unwilling to let the traitor out of her sight, but that didn't matter. He just needed to get to her. When he got to the right hallway, there were two more guards to be dispatched, but his did it with ease and silence. He swung the door open and his heart stopped.

There hooked up to several machines was Skye, caked in blood and sweat.

"Nice of you to join us Rookie, I was wondering how long you would be," Garrett called coming into the light behind Skye and bringing a knife to her throat.

"You don't want her," Ward replied calmly.

"Oh, I want her," Garrett chuckled lecherously, "but first I have a question for you?"

"What do you want to know?" Ward asked, suppressing a shutter as Garrett leaned into her, his knife beginning to bite the delicate skin of her neck.

"I want to know why you decided to give her your loyalty after all I've done for you? Ah, ah, ah Agent May this is between me and Grant here, I'd hate to slip and kill your little hacker, but if you distract me accidents might happen…" Garrett warned, when May made to attack him.

"I told you she wasn't supposed to die. She was off limits," Ward answered, hoping that his answered would buy her life.

"But why feed her information about our movements?"

"Ah, sir? I think you should know that Ward didn't betray you. I wrote a worm into the flash drive that built me a backdoor into all of your systems," Skye smiled proudly. With each word, Ward watched the rage fill his mentor's face. He lunged at Garrett, the moment before the knife sliced her throat.

Both men slid across the floor, grappling for dominance, as May rushed to Skye's side, trying to get her loose of all the machines as quickly as possible.

Ward was looking beaten, as Garrett broke free and lunged for Skye, but right as he stood to his full height, the knife he had held to her throat, landed in square in his back.

"I said, she is off limits!" Ward's voice echoed through the room. Garrett fell to the floor, surprise fixed in his unseeing eyes.

Skye rushed to Ward's side, her hands quickly ghosting over his injures.

"We gotta get out of here, guys," May called from where she was checking Garrett's pulse. "He is dead, but his friends around here are not, and I don't feel like a tangle with Hydra today."

"Can you walk?" Skye asked, concern evident in her features.

"Can you?" he asked, surprised by the fact that after three days of being held hostage and tortured because of him, she could still care so much.

"Let's go home," she answered leaning into him as they walked by Garrett's lifeless body.

It wasn't that easy though. Ward still had to go back to jail at the end of the day. He had taken lives. He had worked for an enemy faction. He had to pay for those crimes. But after saving Skye, his life got a little better.

He was moved to a cell with the smallest of windows and allowed weekly visit whenever Skye was available. Finally, after several years of incarceration, he was freed on conditional parole. The conditions, of course, that he should return to his team and serve in any way Coulson saw fit.

Of course, the first chance Coulson got, he had hauled Ward into his office, and once again injected him with truth serum. However, this time he would do the interrogating.

"What is your name?" Coulson began.

"Grant Cornelius Ward,"

"Who are you loyal to?"

Ward blinked, but answered the truth, "Skye."

"Would you ever, now or in the future, knowingly cause this team harm?"

"No,"

"Will you do your job and follow my orders to the best of your abilities?"

"Yes"

"Dismissed," Coulson said returning to behind his desk and beginning some paper work.

Ward stood for a moment, confused by his superior's behavior, but when it was clear that Coulson had nothing more to ask, Ward made his way back to his bunk. A few minutes later, Skye came knocking.

"Hey, do you want to watch a movie?"

"Not really," he answered honestly. "Coulson just shot me up with truth serum, so you shouldn't ask me anything you don't really want to know for at least an hour."

Skye's eyes lit with excitement, and he automatically regretted telling her about the truth serum.

"What's your favorite food?" she asked

"Trefoils,"

"Like the girl scout cookies?"

"Yes, I like girl scout cookies. Doesn't everyone?"

"Yeah, but you pick like the plainest ones, not like Thin Mints, or Tagalongs or Samoas?"

"I can't lie, Skye. Trefoils are my favorite," he shook his head at her silliness.

"Okay, well what's your favorite movie?" she asked choosing not to waste precious time argue about which cookies were the best.

"Saving Private Ryan,"

Skye rolled her eyes, she should have guessed, as that was the only thing he ever suggested they watch.

"What's your favorite board game?" she asked.

"Battleship,"

She grinned, but then turned serious.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes," he answered, worried about where this was going.

"Would you be happier somewhere else?" she asked, worrying her lip with her teeth.

"No," he answered before she could even finish the question.

She sighed in relief, "Do you love me?"

"Yes," he answered making a point of meeting her eyes and hoping that she could see the truth in his eyes.

"Are you ever going to kiss me?" she asked grinning ear to ear.

"Yes!" he replied closing the distance faster than anyone would have thought possible.

They spent the rest of the hour not saying a word, and neither could have been happier.