(Chapter 2 has been edited!)

"It looks like Skye might end up as more than just our consultant."

Ward frowned to his partner specialist, May, who was icing her wounds as the two agents watched Coulson show their newest brunette asset his vintage car, Lola.

"Despite our reservation," Grant added gruffly.

"I think with a good supervising officer, and some dedicated work.. she might just survive this after all." May told Grant in an accepting tone. "She'll need someone disciplined. Someone good."

Grant nodded his head slowly, not admitting to May that he knew exactly what she meant; Skye was a natural. He was sure if he spent the next two weeks drilling her nonstop on defensive exercises, he would be able to have her defending herself against any lower ranking agent in no time.

There had once been a time where Grant wished that Skye would realize what it was she was getting herself into.

Now, he could only hope she would never find out.

"Alright. I'll do it." Agent Ward announced after watching Skye talk to Coulson about something. Yes, this could be a good opportunity to get to try and get to know the girl who didn't even know her real name.

Grant had questions for her, but he wasn't sure how to approach. Not without making a fool of himself.

May didn't respond, and when Grant glanced up at her, he realized she was looking at him with a face he couldn't read.

He cleared his throat, "Uh, you were talking about me, right?"

May smirked.

Grant lifted an eyebrow, genuinely confused that he might of missed something important. Unfortunately, the Cavalry didn't give him an answer before walking away.

...

"Good, you're early."

Agent Ward grunted as he punched the punching bag, listening as Skye descended down the stairs one slow step at a time. The former hacktivist had a smile on her face she watched the experienced agent attacking the sandbag viciously.

She wondered if he knew what a sight he was for her at that moment. His gray t-shirt was tight across his chest and was straining against his muscles each time he threw a jab. Skye had already gotten a glimpse of what was under his clothes when Fitz let her borrow his glasses so he could win a game of cards. She certainly wasn't disappointed with what Agent Ward had to offer.

In fact, watching as sweat dripped from his forehead, and his cheeks flushed with exertion, Skye was having a hard time not thinking about his sculpted body looked naked.

"Looks like I'm not the only one,"

Skye said casually, arms crossed against her chest as she strolled up to her new S.O.

He broke the news to her two days ago, Grant told Skye if she was going to be sticking around then she should at least know how to defend herself. He gave her a few days to prepare herself for their training, and it had been all Skye was looking forward to.

Grant grunted as he finally stopped his assault on the punching bag, holding it steady before grabbing the towel that was around his neck and patting his face down. The untrained hacktivist came to a stop in front of him, eyes trained on his arms as she watched his muscles flex while he wiped himself off.

"You always up this early, or are you just as excited about the first day of class as I am?" Skye questioned in a husky whisper, not even bothering to hide the fact that she was boldly checking him out.

Agent Ward paused with his towel pressed against his forehead as he stared down at Skye, unsure of how he was supposed to respond when she flirted with him so blatantly.

Grant slowly finished wiping his face down, before facing Skye with a stern look on his face.

"I'm up by five a.m, every morning. Don't flatter yourself, rookie."

Skye frowned, shoving her hands into the pockets of her blue sweats in a rejected manner.

"..Riiightie-o, then. Well, Mr. Fun Machine. What's on the lesson board for today?"

Ward trained Skye relentlessly twice a day. Once in the morning, and again in the evening.

It was frustrating for the younger hacktivist, because she wasn't used to such extensive drills that focused on her stamina and defensive skills.

Still, Skye found that Agent Ward was actually a fairly good teacher. She caught on quickly to the steps he gave her, though Grant often expressed how out of shape the former hacker was.

(In fact, Grant verbally voiced everything he found flawed in their newest consultant.

Agent Ward was a very hard man to please.)

On their second session, Grant decided he wanted to see how much stamina Skye had to work with, so he dedicated their training to the treadmill and weights.

Skye was a surprisingly good student, at least when she wasn't flirting shamelessly with her S.O. At the moment, Agent Ward had the weak, untrained hacker trying to finish her third pull-up.

Grant observed as Skye dangled from the bar, her arms shaking as she managed to pull her self up halfway.

He could see that her arms were ready to give in from the strain, but he strongly believed she could do another two shaky pull-ups before her body gave up on her completely.

Unfortunately, Agent Ward was proven to be wrong when Skye dropped from the bar and landed on her feet, hunching over from exhaustion as she tried to catch her breath.

Skye let out a defeated groan, "Ooooh.. I cannot do another pull up."

"What the hell are you doing, rookie?" Grant snapped at Skye as he marched over to her, annoyed that she was giving up so easily, and not pushing herself like he knew she could.

The sweaty brunette rubbed her aching forearms as she glanced up at Ward quizzically.

"What? I don't have the upper arm strength that you do." She said defensively, patting her sweat down with her towel.

"You didn't even try!" Grant argued, annoyed by Skye's lack of commitment.

Skye was taking a drink from her water bottle, and she paused mid-gulp, looking offended by Ward's comment. "Excuse me! I've never been able to do a single pull up, so the fact that I managed to do three is kind of a big deal."

The S.H.I.E.L.D agent frowned at his rookies response. Skye watched as Agent Ward headed over towards the various weights that were propped against the wall. He picked an appropriate one that he figured Skye would have trouble lifting, and he marched back over to her and abruptly thrusted the dumbbell into her abdomen.

Skye grunted, letting out a painful 'oof!' as she grabbed the weights that her S.O. so graciously handed her.

"Two and a half pull-ups," Grant told Skye slowly in a serious tone, he glaring daggers down at her, "Is not a big deal."

By the third day, Skye was accustomed to Agent Ward's strict training. She honestly didn't like disappointing him, he was just such a hard man to please, and there was something in Skye that wanted him to approve of her. He was strong, and he's saved her life.

There was no denying that Skye looked up to him.

And the fact that he was undeniably attractive, especially when he gave her that pinched expression of his whenever she was testing his patience. It was so easy to work him up, and it made Skye want to get a reaction out of him.

That probably didn't help the situation, at all.

Agent Ward was showing Skye the correct positioning for her feet in order to toss someone over her shoulder. Grant was circling Skye as he examined her footing from all angles, and his rookie threw a mischievous smirk over her shoulder when she caught him checking her out.

"Enjoying the view, Officer?" She asked slyly when Grant's eyes flicked from her footing, and up her legs.

He placed his hands on her hips to hold her steady, before suddenly kicking at Skye's right foot hard enough to widen in her stance.

The smaller brunette squeaked at the impact, not expecting the sudden attack. Skye's arms reached out to grip handfuls of his black T-shirt to hold herself upright as she slipped her footing a little wider, and she snapped her head up to glare at him.

Ward was already looking down at Skye with an annoyed look in his eye.

"You need.. to concentrate." He scolded her, unimpressed by her flirting when he was trying to teach her skills that would very well one day save her life.

"Now that you're in position, what's the next step?" He coached Skye, returning to his position standing behind her. Agent Ward wrapped his arm around her neck, as if he were holding her in a headlock.

Skye rocked back on her heel as she tried to angle her footing, unknowingly pressing her hips against his crotch.

Grant inhaled sharply through his nose.

It was difficult for him to remain unaffected by her when the very feel of Skye against him was enough to get his blood pumping. Fortunately, Grant has never been the kind of man who lost his composure easily.

"I'm starting to get the idea that you don't like me very much, Agent Ward." She rubbed her hips against him with the slightest motion that had Grant tightening his lock around her neck, and nearly burying his head into her long brown locks.

Grant was holding his breath, trying desperately to keep himself from rutting against her like a horny teenager.

Unbreakable will. Unbreakable will.

"I don't like having to repeat myself," Grant corrected Skye through gritted teeth, finally regaining the strength to pull his face away from her soft, long hair.

Skye was intoxicating, her small body pressed so close against him. She smelled like coconuts and mint, and it made Grant wants to brush her hair away from her shoulder and taste the sensitive, tanned skin that's tempted him since he first laid eyes on her.

"Yet you take nothing that I tell you seriously, so I find myself doing it often." Grant told her gruffly, ignoring how tempting her body felt against his, and trying his best to return focus to their excersizes.

"Hey! I'm taking this seriously," Skye argued, offended by his accusation. "And I'm grateful that you volunterred to show me the ropes. Even though you clearly have some kind of problem with me." Skye said dryly, because Agent Ward has been a sourpuss since the minute he told her he would be her S.O.

If he didn't want to train her, she didnt understand why he volunterred. Skye would of been just as happy to work with Agent May, she did see uer destroy a man with her bare hands.

"Which is weird, because you've admitted to liking me... a lot, when we first met." Skye lowered her voice, rolling her hips against Ward once again.

This time, he knew it was not by accident.

Grant held back his groan, instead letting his head fall back so he could stare at the ceiling, silently cursing Skye.

"In fact," Skye continued, busy focusing on making sure her footing was right so that her S.O. wouldn't have anything to complain about. "You told me I was the most beautiful girl you've laid eyes on."

She sounded somewhat embarrassed, but clearly proud of this fact. Ward gritted his teeth, refraining the urge to tell her that whatever he said while on truth serum, shouldn't be held against him. Grant figured he would only be egging the girl on by explaining this, so he remained quiet as Skye squirmed in his hold, shifting her foot to the side so she would be able to pivot on it correctly.

Skype gently grasped his elbow which was locked around her neck, pressing her back against Ward's chest suggestively once again. This time she could feel the beginnings of a bulge in the agents pants, and she was relieved that she wasn't the only one excited by their close proximity.

"It's not something a girl just.. forgets," Skye finished, her voice husky as her fingers traced Agent Ward's arm, which was wrapped against her neck.

Grant inhaled sharply through his nose. He could feel how badly Skye lusted for him, even when she was trying her best to hide it. Grant knew how he affected his rookie, he felt the way she watched at him when he demonstrated how a completed pull-up should look, or the way her honeyed hues would glance up his arms suggestively when he joined her with lifting the weights.

She was testing his resolve, the urge to just grab her and throw her against the wall was becoming more and more tempting with each subtle shift of her hips.

To kiss her mouth shut, because everything that came out of it was enough to shake his whole world to the ground.

Grant tightened his lock around her throat, successfully resisting the urge to hump his hips into her shapely ass.

Agent Ward pressed his lips against Skye's ear and said tensely, "Flip."

Skye sighed as she as she was told, taking a step forward with her right foot and gripping her S.O.'s forearm tightly.

She bent forward so Grant was leaning over her back, and let out a long grunt as it took her several seconds to find the strength to throw him over her shoulder.

Finally, with a burst of energy, Skye manage to swing Grant over her shoulder and slam him down onto the mat. She let out a yell of triumph as she stepped back to examine her work.

"That, never gets old," Skye said cheekily, out of breath as she looked down at Grant, who was rubbing his sore back from being tossed around all day for her training.

Agent Ward stood back up on two steady feet, giving Skye and unimpressed look.

"We need to work on using your shoulders so that you can flip quicker." Grant addressed her in a serious tone, and Skye groaned, rolling her eyes, because of course he would find a flaw when she managed to do the move perfectly.

Her S.O. frowned when he saw her reaction to his critique, "Hey, that four second delay where you struggled to flip me could very well cost you your life, Skye."

He knew he was being hard on her. The fact that Skye managed to learn how to flip him and disarm him of his gun in a manner of four days was impressive.

But things wouldn't stay this peaceful at the bus forever, and Ward was determined to spend every second that was possible drilling these exercises into Skye's head.

She was a natural. Grant could see this. He would do all he can to make sure Skye could protect herself, because he wasn't always going to be around to do it himself.

(And that thought made him sick.

...he tried not to think of it often.)

...

"They'll never allow a Strike Force on Malta soil," Agent Coulson said as he zoomed in on a file on the screen projector.

Skye slowly entered the room, realizing that the S.H.I.E.L.D agents were having an important meeting. She propped herself against the door frame, listening as they debriefed.

"This weekend is Quinn's worldwide annual share holders gathering. We'd risk global outrage, but.."

"If we go in alone," May continued Coulson's line of thought.

He nodded his head, continuing, "Shield could disavow us. Claim ignorance, pretend that they are unaware of the op."

Agent Ward listened quietly. No one else seemed to notice the untrained field agent rookie who was listening intently to their debriefing. Grant frowned, because he could practically hear the gears in Skye's mind turning as she seemed to be hatching up some kind of plan.

"Without a man inside, it's impossible." May countered to Coulson. "Unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions?"

"If we had a monkey we could get in," Leo began, and Jemma instantly cringed and shook her head. "Fitz!" She scolded, having heard enough of his 'monkey' ideas.

"If we had a small monkey," Fitz began again, ignoring Simmons interruption. "He could slip through the sensors and disable the fences power source with his adorable little hands."

Coulson raised his eyebrow to Fitz, looking as though he were actually entertaining the idea. Skye had pulled her cell phone out and was scrolling through her old e-mails while the team tried to figure out a way to infilitrate Ian's party.

Finally reaching the message that she was looking for, Skye broke into their conversation.

"I could go in." She quipped, casually.

Agent Ward was immediately speaking over Skye, walking towards Coulson so he could distract the agent from Skye's offer. "Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta," Grant suggested to Coulson. "I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover, gather intel and-"

"Hall doesn't have a few weeks." Coulson cut Ward off easily, walking towards Skye.

"And, let me restate," Jemma said to Grant, "Any agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets. Legally." Simmons added the last part with a false pepped voice.

"Not me." Skye said in a bored tone, as if wondering why they were still discussing this at all when she already said she would do it. "I could go in-"

"Skye." Grant cut her off with a sharp look, because he wasn't even going to entertain the idea of sending her on a solo ops when she didn't even know how to turn the safety off of a gun. "This is serious."

"I'm being serious," Skye said, mocking his condescending tone.

It was starting to piss her off how Ward clearly had some kind of bone to pick with her. "You guys need a man who isn't an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hello? Did you already forget you put me on this plane?" She asked, now addressing Coulson.

"This isn't something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye." Grant sounded exhausted, as if the last thing he wanted to do was have this conversation with her.

Fitz shook his head, dismissing Skye's offer as well. "Did you hear the part about the deadly lasers? Without a monkey-"

Skye snapped her head towards Leo, cutting him off with a scowl on her face. "You guys said you could only do this if you have a man on the inside-"

"-And you want to be that man?" Agent May was the only one who didn't dismiss Skye's offer completely.

Noticing this, Skye turned her attention to Melinda, deciding she would be the person to convince. "FitzSimmons loved that guy.. and he needs help." Skye told May firmly. "They could be torturing him- or worst." She slid two chocolate hues towards her S.O., who was watching her his signature frown. "..Making him do strength training."

She smirked when Ward angrily shook his head in disbelief.

"You don't have the background!" Grant tried to reason with Skye. She was so- Skye was simply too naive, believing she could just sneak into the estate and save the day. "You don't have the clearance," Grant listed angrily. "Or the training, or experience! With any of this!"

She was going to get herself hurt, and Grant wouldn't be there to protect her. His instincts where screaming at him at him to dismiss her from the room completely; she shouldn't have any part of this. She shouldn't be here, where she could distract him, and risk him blowing his cover.

"I know," Skye told Agent Ward in a calm tone, leveling him with an even look. She then flipped her phone so she could show him the screen. "But what I do have, is an invite."

May, FitzSimmons, and Coulson all exchanged looks with one another. Grant didn't take his gaze off of Skye, who smiled up at him sheepishly.

"Well... technically it's an E-Vite."

...

"Tape up." Grant snapped at his rookie when he heard her descend down the stairs. He didn't bother looking at her as he continued to throttle the punching bag without a pause.

Skye frowned as she did as she was told, taping her hands so she wouldn't tear them open when it was her turn on the punching bag. Once she was done with taping her hands, Skye slowly walked back towards her S.O., who was still punching the sandbag relentlessly.

Upon her approach, Grant roughly caught the bag so it would stop swinging back and forth. He then snatched Skye's hands and examined her tape closely, making sure she wrapped them properly. Once he was sure it was secure, he thrusted her hands back towards her and stepped away.

Skye's frowned deepened from his rough treatment, clutching her hands to her chest as she looked at her S.O., who was clearly avoiding her gaze.

"Alright," Skye said slowly as she took Agent Ward's spot in front of the punching bag. Skye gave it a pathetic jab or two before focusing her attention on Ward. "I'm getting some strong.. vibes, here. " She raised an eyebrow at Agent Ward, who was still clearly ignoring her.

"So.. if you have something to say, I think I'd rather you just.. spit it out. I don't want to have to deal with Agent Frowny Face for the next four hours."

Grant glared at Skye. She swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous as she realized he was genuinely upset with her.

(Well, at least he was finally making eye contact with her again.. that's a start.)

"Ten minutes." Her S.O., commanded sharply, and Skye let out a sigh as she jabbed the sandbag some more. She really didn't want to spend the next four hours of their evening session training with a pissy S.O. And judging by the way Agent Ward was gripping the punching bag tightly, he was going to keep up the silent treatment all night.

Skye gave the bag a few more half-asses punches.

Fine, if he wasn't going to speak, she would make him talk.

"I mean, I thought you guys would be thanking me, actually." Skye shrugged her shoulders casually, jabbing the bag weakly. "You needed a man apart from S.H.I.E.L.D? Here I am. What's the problem? I thought I was doing you guys a favor here."

"I'm not going to thank you, for foolishly putting yourself at risk." Grant said between gritted teeth. Skye smirked, because at least he wasn't giving her the silent treatment anymore.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve!" She tried to reason with her S.O.

Grant let out an uncharacteristic snort as he suddenly let go of the sandbag, walking away from Skye. She paused, lowering her arms as she watched Agent Ward walk away from her.

Ward shook his head, back turned to Skye as he tried to keep his composure. In all honesty, it was overwhelmingly hard for Grant not to grab a hold of Skye's shoulders and literally shake some sense into her. Grant wasn't sure how he was going to let Skye get off this bus without him going after her. He clenched his hands into a fist, nails digging into his palm as he tried to keep himself in check.

"You're going to get yourself caught. You'll leave the team hanging, and be no use to us dead."

Agent Ward was facing Skye again, and whatever retort she was going to snap back at him froze in her throat once she saw the look on his face.

He was worried, about her.

Sure, he had a crappy way of showing it, but Agent Ward was worried about her safety. Skye's anger deflated a bit as she responded in a light tone, "I was invited to this party weeks ago. Before you broke into my home and kidnapped me, remember?"

Grant lifted an eyebrow when Skye mentioned 'breaking into her home', and she gave him an awkward shrug, not wanting to elaborate.

"So," Skye continued easily. "That means Quinn, he wanted me to come to his little party long before I had anything to do with S.H.I.E.L.D."

She noticed the frown that slipped on Agent Wards face at her information. Grant slowly returned back to the punching bag, holding it steady so it wouldn't budge at all when Skye jabbed it.

"And that's another thing, Skye. Why you? There are thousands of anonymous users in the Rising Tide, and yet for some reason, Quinn chose you. That can't be a coincidence."

Now it was Skye who took a step away from the punching bag so she could give her S.O. an incredulous look, not liking whatever it was he was trying to imply. She thought he was worried about her safety, but apparently he's just worried if she was a freaking rat.

"Are you seriously tring to say-" Skye began, her voice raising an octave defensively. She shook her head, trying again. "Ian Quinn doesn't know who I am. He doesn't know if I'm a boy, or a girl, if I'm in my fourties, or If I'm even legal! All he knows about me is my username; thats the thing about us hackers, we like to remain anonymous." She glared at the agent, unable to believe he would suggest she was working with Quinn.

Grant didn't seem convinced in the least. "And that takes us back to my question, why you? Did he just see your username and say to himself, 'I think I'm going to invite StormySkyes12 to my big evil gathering with dangerous terrorists-"

Skye snorted at Ward's explanation, cutting him off. "Oh! Please. Of course not. Everyone knows that StormySkyes is the best hacker other than-" She paused and shook her head dismissively. "Well, people know Stormy is the best of the best. It's not unusual for people to invite me to their events." Skye shrugged her shoulders casually, "I would of forgotten about Quinn's offer completely if I didn't hear you guys mention his name."

Agent Ward sighed, stepping away so he could go lean against the wall. He rubbed his face in frustration. Skye watched her S.O. with a frown on her face, because she didn't like seeing Ward beat himself up like this.

She slowly approached him, rubbing at her aching fists self consciously.

"Hey. I can do this. Seriously, you need to start having more faith in me."

"No, it's not that." Grant sighed, rubbing his face. "It's my job as your S.O. to make sure you don't get yourself killed while your out there on the field-"

"-No. It's my job to make sure I don't get myself killed!" Skye interrupted him in a snappy tone. "It's your job to make sure I know what I'm doing out there. And you're doing a pretty damned good job at it! I haven't felt this confident about my fighting skills since like, the tenth grade."

She was unwrapping the tape from her hands, because clearly Ward was going to be giving her attitude all night, and her mission was tomorrow. She decided she would rather spend her last couple of hours to herself, researching, instead of training with a grumpy S.O. who apparently didn't have any belief in her skills whatsoever.

Skye didn't even think she was going to need to fight anyone on this mission, she only agreed to tonight's training session because she figured it would help ease her S.O.'s nerves about putting her in the field. Clearly that wasn't working.

"I'm sorry that all of this.. field agent ninja super spy crap doesn't just.. come naturally to me like it does for you." Skye told Agent Ward angrily as she continued to unwrap her fists. "But instead of telling me how I'm going to crash and burn-"

Grant watched as his soulmate began to quickly unwrap the tape from her fists, upset with him. He knew she was going to run away to her bunk, but he couldn't let her just leave like this. Not if they were putting her in the field the next day.

Skye didn't notice Grant approaching her until he placed his large hand on top of her own, stopping her from taking off the tape, causing Skye to freeze.

She looked up at him with confusion in her brown eyes.

"You think.. this came naturally to me?" Grant asked Skye slowly, disbelief in his voice. "This.. has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do. You see, I've had the chance to properly train myself, Skye. I've taught myself to be prepared to die at any given moment while I'm on the field. Tell me, Skye. Are you prepared for that?"

Grant slowly took the tape out of her hands, and gently began to wrap her fists back up.

"No." He answered for her, "And you shouldn't have to prepare yourself for those kind of risks. You're beautiful.. young. You can still find your soulmate, make a family for yourself. Live your life."

Skye swallowed nervously as she let her S.O. tape her hands back up. She's never had Grant speak to her so honestly before without the aid of truth serum, and it was sort of beginning to make her heart race. Gross.

"O-oh. Well, you're barking up the wrong tree here, fun machine." Skye tried to brush Agent Ward off as he patted her hands once he was finished. She tried to keep her tone light, "Because I'm not so sure I've got a soulmate out there waiting for me. Don't think I got anyone, really."

Grant's heart skipped a beat. Skye began to jab at the punching bag once again, and he held it steady.

"What makes you say that?" He asked, voice remaining neutral despite the sudden spike in his pulse. Skye shrugged her shoulders with nonchalance, punching at the bag. She really didn't feel like admitting to Agent Ward how her soulmark didn't form all the way. It was clear he already felt some type of way about her, and she didn't want to add pity to that list.

"I was born without." Skye lied simply.

(She would have had someone's name, she just knows it, but something went wrong. The fishing hook on her wrist was not a birth mark, it formed when she hit puberty just like a soulmark would. It was meant to be someone's name at one point, but there was something wrong.

With her.

Something she's been searching for, for a long time.)

"What about you?" Skye asked, switching the subject with ease that she's gained from over the years of avoiding certain topics.

Deflect.

Grant hesitated as he watched Skye's face, her eyes glued to the punching bag as she began to jab at it some more. He could feel her sorrow washing over him on the subject, and Grant didn't have to imagine why.

The thought of never forming the mark that had kept him sane when he was just a kid, the thought of never having been able to rub those five letters at night after he'd suffered a particularly bad beating from his older brother Christian. Not having a name to try and fit to a face at night when he woke up from a nightmare about his father.

(His soulmark had once been Grant's favorite thing.)

When he'd accidentally snap at Thomas, his younger brother knew just where to find him when he was sulking off; out in the valley, watching the sky, laying in the field of-

"I had one, once. Then I got rid of it." Grant forced himself to respond once he realized he was hesitating for too long. Skye paused from her workout, looking at him with an amused quirk of her eyebrows.

"Wait a second. You got rid of it? That's very.. Fuck the system, of you."

It wasn't unusual for someone to get a tattoo over their brand, or to have it surgically removed. Not nearly as many people believed in 'soulmates' or 'destiny' as there might have been back in the day. However, Skye was more used to drunken hill billies in a bar, shouting at the top of their lungs about "fuck a soul mates" and "baby we can prove destiny wrong for a night."

"That's pretty bad ass," She said, quirking an approving eyebrow at her S.O.

Grant resisted the urge to smile, failing, so he tried to cover it with a scoff.

"Please. It's not unusual for Specialists, like me, or May, or Romanoff, to remove our brands. Clearly it's the more practical choice, we wouldn't want anyone thinking they have an upper hand on us."

Grant watched as Skye jabbed at the punching bag silently for a few seconds. He could feel that there was something eating her up, but she wouldn't voice it out loud.

Skye punched the sand bag some more while Agent Ward held it steady. She made sure to raise her arms back up when they started to fall.

She knew better then to tell Grant how she really felt. That he should appreciate the fact that he knows his soulmates name, that he even has a soulmate at all. It was news to her that Agent May, and other specialists chose to remove their soulmarks for their job. Skye wondered if that was a part of the job when becoming a special operative.

If you had to give up your heart as well.

(Or did they still think about the person that they left behind?)

Skye jabbed the punching bag, and after a moments pause, she asked boldly.

"What was her name?"

Grant froze at Skye's question. He couldn't decipher whatever it was that was running through her head. She was upset about something, and he figured he owed her the truth. Skye didn't know who she was. Hell, Grant didn't know who she was. Not for sure.

(But deep down he did.

And he couldn't lie to her.)

"Daisy." Agent Ward admitted stiffly.

The face she made in response was beautiful.

Skye scrunched her nose, resisting the urge to laugh.

"Oh!" Skye let out a startled sound at his answer, because the thought of her S.O. being destined to be with an innocent sounding girl named Daisy.. It was almost too much to bear. "Could you imagine?!" Skye giggle-snorted, and this time Agent Ward couldn't hide the affectionate smile that spread his lips as he rolled his eyes and held the punching bag tightly once again.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright rookie, ten more minutes."

Skye let out an exhausted groan as she began punching the punching bag with gusto, and the two spent the rest of their training in silence, their earlier argument forgotten.

...

Skye arrived in Malta twenty three hours later.

Her hair was curled and styled, and she was dressed in the pretty pink dress she bought herself months ago, but never had the chance to wear. Skye's always loved these anonymous events, people fawned over her through the internet because of her reputation, without even knowing who she was! And then, on the off chance she did attend one of these gatherings, the members are always so astounded to see that StomrySkies12 is not an overweight acne prone teen with entirely too much time on his hands. No, instead she was a homeless hot girl who could steal your identity within seconds, without you even noticing.

Skye took a cup of champagne from the passing waiter, sipping on it so she could hide her lips as she spoke into her comm.

"The eagle has landed. And the eagle is rocking these shoes- thanks Jemma.

Back on the bus, Fitz gave a confused look to his partner, "The- what?"

Meanwhile, Jemma leaned closer towards the microphone and responded easily, "Oh! No problem Skye, you're putting them to better use then up in my bunk-"

"Girls." May's voice cut through the comm, and she gave Simmons a sharp look. "Focus."

"Right." Skye reminded herself, moseying through the crowd as the comms went dead.

The guests had the option to hang a name tag over their neck with their username if they wanted, since the party was private. Skye was glad to see she wasn't the only one who opted not to.

She was approached by a girl with the username 'PondLake3' around her neck, and she was looking at Skye as though they were the bestest of buddies. It made sense, since they were all members of the Rising Tide, a community Skye once took comfort in.

Now, she couldn't help but realize how easily she was betraying them all.

"Hey there, Anon!" PondLake3 said cheerfully as she handed Skye a random meat kebab. Skye took it without questioning the girl, and popped a piece of delicious steak into her mouth. "This must be your first time, huh? I bet I had that same exact look on my face when I went to my first event!"

Skye's eyes widened with feigned excitement as she nodded her head agreeingly, hyper-aware of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were listening to their every word. Skye cleared her throat, "Yeah. It's a lot nicer then I expected. So, where's the man in charge?"

"Oh? You mean Quinn? He's been all over the place meeting with the members. There's rumor going about that he's offering paid internships, but he didn't mention anything to me when I met with him." PondLake pouted, blowing a stray strand of blond hair from her face. "Hey, what's your U.N. anyways?"

"Wait- Quinn's giving out Internships to Rising Tide members?" Skye asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She repeated this, just in case Agent May hadn't heard through the comms. "Where is he getting the authorization from? He shouldn't have access to each individual members e-mail address-" Skye was thinking out loud to herself as she quickly walked away from PondLake3 in a panic.

"Skye? What's happening?"

May's voice could be heard through Skye's comm, and she scratched at her ear absently when her sharp voice sent a pain to her eardrum.

"I don't know, but I plan on finding out," She said in a confident tone, before adding lamely, "The eagle is on the move."

"The eagle? No, a monkey! Look for a mo-" She could hear Fitz's distant voice through the comms questioning Simmons.

"Fitz." May snapped through the mic. "Concentrate. And Skye, stop talking to yourself. You're going to draw unwanted attention."

"Oh, yeah." Skye muttered to herself, realizing she must look like a crazy person talking to herself.

She scanned the party with searching eyes as she looked for the man in charge. It didn't take too long to find him, he was the center of a crowd, explaining to a group of guests how much more beneficial his company was compared to any other company. Skye raised her lips to her glass so she could hide her mouth as she said, "Top dog spotted. Eagle is in pursuit."

"Skye, what are you doing?" Simmons asked, unsure of whatever the hell it was their newest consultant was trying to say.

The brunette cleared her throat, embarrassed that the spies didn't understand her spy talk. "I- I don't know. I see Quinn. I'm going in."

The comms went dead, and Skye quickly slinked her way over to the group of people right as Ian Quinn was explaining the perks of traveling within his agency, and Skye quickly broke into the conversation nodding her head daftly as if she understood what they were talking about. "Yeah- I know right?"

Four heads turned to look at her with quizzical looks, and Skye shot them an innocent smile before turning her attention to Quinn. She extended her hand out to him proudly.

Ian paused mid-sentence, looking at Skye with a confused look as he slowly shook her hand. "Uh.. hello..?"

"StormySkyes." Skye introduced herself with confidence. "12. Although I go by Stormy. Or Skye." She batted her eyelashes, waiting for his reaction.

Quinn's eyes widened once he realized who he was talking to. He took a step back with an impressed look on his face as he eyed her up and down, "Oh? You're Skye? I've heard a lot about you, missy. You never RSVP'd, so we weren't exactly expecting you to show up."

Skye froze, because Ian Quinn wasn't supposed to know who she was.

"We?" She asked, unable to hide the nervous squeak in her tone.

Quinn smirked, looking over his shoulder and waving somebody over.

Skye's heart dropped to her stomach.

She brought her hand to her ear, speaking in a hushed tone while Quinn's attention was off of her, "The eagle... will be right back." Before tearing the comm out of her ear, cutting off her connection with the bus.

"Miles?" Skye asked when her ex boyfriend approached her with a shy smile on his face.

He was dressed in a black tuxedo with a pink rose in his pocket, which Skye noticed matched her dress perfectly. He was looking just as handsome as the day when she ran out on him. Skye was stuck, completely thrown off guard, while Miles eagerly engulfed her in a hug. After a hesitant pause, Skye wrapped her arms back around him.

"Skye, wow. I didn't think you were coming- you, you look great."

"Miles?" Skye asked, still unable to form intelligible words.

What was he doing here in Malta, with Ian Quinn, at the prime ministers estate?

"Didn't expect to see me here, huh?" He asked her with an easy smile, rubbing the back of his neck in his usual nervous tick. Skye shook her head, remembering that she was on a mission, and she should at least be pretending she was happy to see him.

Skye forced a natural looking smile on her face as she immediately snapped into her acting mode. "Wow, Quinn invited you as well? You never.. used to.. attend these things.."

She trailed off, remembering how she hasn't spoken to him since she texted him an apology a year ago. A lot could change within a year. She expected him to angry with her, not open arms and shy smiles.

"Actually.. I'm uh, I'm the one who invited you, Skye."

The former hackitivist was terribly glad she tore the comms out earlier, because she was sure the startled sound she made to Mile's confession was something that Fitz would tease her about for her rest of her life.

Ian gave the ex lovers a knowing smirk. "Why don't you and Stormy Skyes take a few minutes to go and catch up with one another? You can show her the bar." Ian asked his co-worker.

Miles nodded his head in agreement, looking down at Skye with a hopeful look.

She hasn't forgotten about her mission.

Skye smiled sweetly, wrapping her arm around Miles flirtatiously. "Yeah, why don't we start with the inside of the estate?"

Time was ticking. Coulson and Ward were waiting for her to reboot the system any minute now. Miles appearance didn't change anything. She had a mission.

"You haven't changed a bit." Miles was telling Skye after he laughed at a story she'd finished sharing with him. He unlocked the door to his office, and Sky bet May and the others were just freaking out about her radio silence.

Still- she couldn't- she wouldn't sell Miles out to S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was still actively looking for Rising Tide members, and they would definitely have a field day when they find the man behind the whole website. Considering the lengths Agent Ward and Agent Coulson went through to find her, she couldn't let them do the same to Miles.

"I can't tell if that's a good, or a bad thing." She admitted sheepishly.

Miles sat down in his office chair, and Skye plopped in the seat on the couch acrossed from him. Miles gave Skye a soft look that she'd once been quite familiar with.

"It's a good thing, Skye. Always a good thing."

She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable with the affection in his tone, and the fact that she couldn't return it.

"So, rumor has it that Quinn is offering paid internships to Rising Tide members. What's up with that?" Skye switched the subject with ease, somehow managing to ask her question without sounding as objected to the idea as she felt.

Miles leaned back in his seat, oozing confidence. Skye took a moment to acknowledge, while she hasn't changed a bit over the year, there was something about Miles that has drastically changed. He seemed more confident, like he's finally found his place in the world. She was having a hard time figuring out what that place was.

"Well," Miles said easily. "It's actually me, who's been doing the hiring behind the scenes. Quinn's more of a peoples guy, so I give him the names, and he sends out the invites. We keep them for four months, and if we're satisfied with their work, then we put them on the team."

Skye's heart skipped a beat. She shifted in her seat closer to him, as if she'd heard him wrong.

"Wait a second- you're telling me, you're the one giving out internships to Rising Tide members? Are you kidding me?"

Miles chuckled at Skye's response, somehow finding her disbelief amusing. "You know, I was skeptical at first as well. But actually, people can make good money and experience with these internships-"

"-illegally," Skye cut in dryly.

"Skye, you're a member of the Rising Tide yourself. Everything you've done this far was illegal-"

"Yeah, but that's different!" She cut him off, clearly upset. "The Rising Tide, it was for the greater good. People deserved to know what's going on in the world behind the scenes- freedom of information and all that. But you, you're trying to take this freedom and find a way to market off of it- you're not doing this for the people anymore, Miles. You're doing this for yourself."

Skye leaned back into the couch, slowly coming to the realization of what was so different about Miles. When she'd met him- when she'd almost- almost loved him, it was because he was just as screwed up as she was. The Miles now, though, he wore a tux, he kept his facial hair trimmed, his nails were manicured, and he just.. he gave off a different air around him. Skye wasn't sure if she would like the new Miles. The Miles who thought it was okay to market off of his dream of letting the world know the truth.

She opened her compact mirror, waiting for the red light to turn green, and snapped it shut with a satisfied smile.

There, the system was rebooted, and Ward and Coulson should be entering the estate any moment now.

Very first mission? Piece of cake.

"You know," Miles gave Skye his soft smile. She couldn't help the feeling of guilt that whelmed in her stomach, because he had no idea she'd just used him to help S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrate his party. "Maybe you have changed, a bit."

Skye crossed her legs, trying to remain calm. "Oh? Please, explain."

Miles was hesitant, before shaking his head as if shaking the thought from his mind. "I've been searching, Skye." He told her gently. "I've been doing everything that I can to help you find what you've been searching for."

Skye felt her blood run cold. She balled a fistful of her dress into her hands.

"I.. didn't ask you to do that, Miles." She said through gritted teeth.

He shook his head immediately, trying to brush off her rising aggravation. "No- I know! It's just, you've been searching your whole life Skye, and I've been curious myself too-"

"It's none of your business!" She snapped, unable to hide her anger with him any longer.

The two froze at Skye's loud outburst. She instantly regretted letting herself get so worked up, because the flash of pain that spread across his face made her heart clench. Miles looked to the side, unable to meet Skye's gaze as he said gently,

"It was.. once."

The door busted open, and Ian Quinn came stomping in with at least six security guards behind him. Miles jumped out of his seat once he realized there was something wrong.

"Hey- hey! Quinn, what's the problem?" He asked, trying to calm the man down.

"We have a security breach." Ian hissed at Miles. He grabbed the gun off one of his security men and Quinn pointed the pistol to Skye. She slowly raised up from her seat, eyes glued on the gun. "And I know just who has the advanced skill to do so."

Skye froze, eying the barrel of the gun. Her heart was raising; I wish I paid more attention when Ward taught me how to disarm a man from his gun. I wish I listened to Ward when he told me things could take a wrong turn. I wish...

"Woah!" Miles said angrily as he lunged at Quinn, abruptly forcing him to point the gun towards the ceiling.

Skye snapped out of her paralyzed fear when she heard the gun actually go off and fire a shot at the roof, and that was enough to get her legs moving as she climbed over the balcony in her six inch heels and jumped.

Ward.

Help.

Coulson and Agent Ward managed to make it into the estate in just the nic of time. The barrier automatically rebooted itself, and the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were on the move.

"Dr. Hall's down in the lab," Coulson told Ward as he tucked his pistol away into it's holster. Grant ignored him, heading in the direction of the party. Something didn't feel right.

"I'm getting Skye," He ordered, not taking no for an answer, mission be damned.

Coulson lifted a brow as he watched his, normally cold hearted specialist run off to go save their newest asset.

"Right," Coulson said to himself. "I'll just.. Handle Hall myself."

Skye left Jemma's very cute, very expensive high heels behind in the pool. Her knee's were scraped from hitting the bottom from such a high angle, but Skye knew the tremor in her legs would be nothing compared to bullet holes in her back.

She was soaked, she was terrified, and for some reason the ground was trembling.

She couldn't tell if that was blood, or water dripping down her legs, and she didn't have a chance to take a quick glimpse, because there were three more security guards approaching her from out of nowhere. When Skye turned around to run in the other direction, there was another two large security guards rounding up on her, one of them grasping her elbow tightly.

"Wait- no, please-" Skye choked, terrified as he roughly dragged her away.

Grant examined as the guests of Quinn's party were quickly evacuating, his eyes straining to catch any glimpses of a hot pink dress.

His heart was racing, he's never been this nervous on a mission before, not in years. But something wasn't right, something must have gone wrong, and the only coherent thought in his mind at the moment was Daisy, Daisy's scared brown eyes, her body trembling in fear. Daisy injured. Daisy, in pain.

It was terrifying him, and Grant hasn't felt fear like this since he's carved her name from his skin in hopes of giving up all feelings together.

He saw two armed security guards heading towards the back of the estate, and Agent Ward's eyes narrowed predatorily as he quickly followed them.

His assumptions where proven correct; the guards led him right to Skye, the girl who couldn't seem to keep herself out of trouble. He didn't have a chance to look her over, all Grant managed to notice was her soaked, terrified look, and the two guards who were holding her down.

And then, all Grant could see was red, and he elbowed the closest guard in his temple, knowing him into the pond, before he quickly flipped the second one over by their elbow.

Skye's eyes were wide as she watched Agent Ward, her savior, fend off each of the men who'd been pursuing her easily. It was as if he'd heard her silently pleading for him, and Skye felt tears of joy whelm in her eyes, because she was so sure she was going to be shot down just a few seconds ago, but he was here now, he was always here when she needed him, and she felt safe.

She was so, so thankful.

When Grant finished off the last guard, it took him a few seconds to calm himself down. Daisy, she was alright. He had to suck in a shaky breath of air once he realized he could of lost her today, his soulmate, for real.

And also, because he realized how much he could never, ever let that happen.

Never.

Finally, Grant looked at Skye, and she stood a few feet away from him, frozen in her spot from fear. Grant slowly opened his arms, and that was all the invitation Skye needed before she was running, barefoot, into Grant's embrace, burying her face into his chest as she tried to catch her breath from all of her panicking.

"Grant.." Skye began, whispering his name thankfully.

Ward wrapped his arms around her bottom, lifting Skye up during their hug so he could look up at her face closely. Her eyelashes were wet, her face was pale, she was trembling in his arms-

Grant pressed his lips to hers. Skye let out a startled noise into the kiss, and her arms wrapped around his neck immediately as she returned his kiss without hesitation, pressing her lips hard against his own.

His eyes were clenched shut, Daisy's fingers running through his short black locks, and Ward couldn't hold back the deep groan that rumbled from his throat when he felt Skye nip his bottom lip between her teeth.

"Skye.." He said, voice torn at the edges. He silently cursed himself for being unable to control the urge to kiss her. Grant knew he was doomed now that he's gotten a taste of Skye's lips, he couldn't keep himself from her, and he wasn't sure he wanted to anymore. She fit him, like those beautiful puzzle pieces she loved so much.

He didn't care if she didn't know. Grant didn't need her to ever find out. Just knowing that she was safe, she was alive, that would be more then enough for him.

He tucked wet strands of hair behind her ear, stroking her temple affectionately. "Are you hurt?" He asked Skye in a gentle tone, watching her face closely. Skye was breathless, chest heaving for air, and her cheeks had this beautiful rosy flush that made her want to kiss her again, and again, and then again. He wanted to make her whole body flushed with red.

"No," Skye said, panting. "Because of you."

He dropped his head to her shoulder, not wanting to know how close she was to have been getting shot.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so." Her legs hurt like hell, but she couldn't expect Agent Ward to fight and carry her out.

He set Skye down, and she tried not to wince from the pressure on her legs.

"Stay close, and do everything I say, alright Skye?" He told her in a soft, but stern tone. She nodded her head silently, unable to find her voice anymore.

He grasped her hand, tugging her gently behind him. "Come on. I'm getting you out of here."

"So, Quinn tells me you invited an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. into the estate."

"I- I'm sorry, sir. I honestly didn't know she was working with S.H.I.E.L.D. They must be blackmailing her, or something."

"I don't want your apologies, son. You know where you can shove that. What I want, is intel. Now tell me everything you know about the girl."

"I- I don't know that much about her, sir."

"Clearly, you have some sort of soft spot for the girl. Is she your soulmate, son?"

Miles paused at the Clairvoyant's question, hesitant to answer. "...No, sir. Skye doesn't know who her soulmate is. Her mark never.. formed, properly."

Now there was a pause on the other line, and Miles waited for the man to speak patiently. "What about her parents?"

"She's an orphan, sir. I mean it when I say I don't know anything about her; even Skye doesn't know anything about herself. All we've managed to find is one single file, and it's been redacted by S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Alright, boy." The Clairvoyant said in a friendly tone from over the line. "Here's what we're going to do. If you slip up like this again, I'll kill you. And clearly, this girl is your weakness, so if I find out you've been in contact with the girl, I'll kill her, and then I'll kill you. Does that sound like a plan to you, Lydon?"

"...Yes, sir."

A/N SPOILER ALERT: MILES AND SKYE MEET UP AGAIN IN THE NEXT /

(FYI I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE SOME SIDE!LINCOLN/SKYE AND SIDE!KARA/WARD MOMENTS. ALSO, POSSESSIVE!WARD IS THE BEST!WARD. ASDFGHJKL;)br /

((also, love-sick Grant makes me want to barf. u might be alright in this story, but ur a little shit in the series. dont think i forGOT DIS. :lbr /

also, I have a thing for referring to Skye as 'Daisy'. Just getting yall prepped for season 3. And chapter 6 of this story. *clears throat*.)

((Pleaaseee don't get upset with me for having Miles work for the Clairvoyant. D;