Summary:Skye is having a hard time trying to keep her powers a secret, and then Sif lands on earth again and he'll breaks loose.
Natasha is trying to keep her fiancée from breaking down completely.
Bobbi is struggling to find where her loyalties truly lie.
And Clint is just very supportive of anything his friends do.
This starts at the moment Skye gets out of quarantine, all the way to her getting dumped at the Retreat. Some missing scenes, lot of tiny time skips, but also they're being cute and I'm spending time on that
Title is from Fall Out Boy's 'Twin Skeletons' cause it was on while I was editing this, I am terrible with titles and this lyric kinda fitted :]
Notes:Sooooo….
Yeah, it's been a month. In my defence, I've been working on other things! Which is also why this took a month. And we're still not through season 2. I need a chapter two for this, it will take some time. I hate Real SHIELD with all my heart. Anyways.
Besides this, I currently have four fics 'open' on ao3, and i am working on another one. Updates will be all over the place, my time is divided between too many things. I'm doing fucking great 😌
Hope you enjoy this, and it was worth the wait!
(See the end of the work for more notes.)
Chapter 1Chapter Text"Skye!"
"No," she whispered. "Trip, don't do it! Trip!"
She shot up, tangled in the sheets and trashing around her. "Please no, I'm so sorry," she whispered.
Strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. She knew those arms. "Tasha?"
Natasha hummed in her ear, breath ghosting over her neck, and she shivered. "You need to breathe, lyubov moya, just breathe," Natasha whispered. Skye took in a shuddering breath, only now realising how her lungs were aching for it. She gulped in another breath, and another, and-
"Take it easy, dorogaya, take it easy. I'm here. We're safe. Easy breaths." Natasha pulled her into her chest, and Skye relaxed into her. She took a deep breath, like Natasha, and later May, had taught her, and held it for a few seconds, before releasing the air again. She repeated this a couple of times, while Natasha held her and murmured soft encouragements, until she felt better.
She tilted her head to look at Natasha. "Did I hurt you?" Natasha shook her head and looked around her bunk. The bottle of water on her nightstand had shaken to the floor, and she leaned over to pick it up before handing it to Skye. "A very light kick in the shins," she whispered with a smile, "But I think I've had worse."
Skye smiled. "I'm still sorry."
"It's okay," Natasha assured her.
Skye pulled out of Natasha's embrace to properly lie down. She was exhausted, and it didn't help that she saw Trips form crumble -or almost worse, Natasha's – every time she closed her eyes. May's training was tiring, and the week since San Juan she had not relented even the slightest. And Skye was struggling, because every day she could feel the control she was fighting so hard for slipping further. And one of these days she was going to explode.
Natasha watched her until she lay still, before taking the sheets from the foot of the bed and dragging them up and over them. She snuggled into Skye's arms, and Skye smiled, pulling her closer. Freaking Black Widow liked being the little spoon, who would've thought.
"You know, I've been thinking," Natasha whispered, her head tucked under Skye's chin. Skye hummed. "About…?"
"Control," Natasha replied, and Skye sighed. If one more person started about controlling her emotions she would punch them. Natasha chuckled. "I know, but that's not what I meant. I was thinking about calling Bruce, and ask him about control."
Skye actually paused at that. Bruce's Hulk-problem mostly consisted of control too. Controlling your emotions. And while it was mostly anger in Bruce's case, Skye supposed they shared a relatively similar problem. "Huh," she said. "That might actually be a good idea."
Natasha nodded, her head bumping gently into Skye's chin. "I have those sometimes," she said very seriously. "I think he'll advice meditation to begin with. I remember him doing that a lot. Calm music. And maybe in your case punch a bag every day for thirty minutes to get it out of your system. He can't do that, because then he'd turn, but he always said he'd like the option."
Slowly, Skye nodded. "I think I'd like that. Thank you."
"Of course," Natasha said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Now sleep. You'll need it for your training with May."
"I like training with you better," Skye grumbled. "You don't keep bugging me to try and rip your head off." Natasha chuckled. "You like training with me? I must be doing something wrong then. But we can train together sometime soon if you want."
Skye hugged her closer. "Would love that," she replied, her voice soft and tired. Natasha wrapped an arm around her waist. "Sladkikh snov, moya lyubov," she whispered, and before Skye knew it, she was drifting off again.
So, apparently Lady Sif was back on earth. Skye groaned and rolled her neck, and she had to hurry to keep up with Bobbi's long strides. Bobbi gave her a look. "May hit you that hard?"
Skye harrumphed. "My entire body hurts and because I keep screaming myself awake at night it doesn't really gets to rest." She sighed. "It's just... I'm just tired."
Bobbi placed a comforting hand around her shoulder. "You're doing amazing. I'm pretty sure we're entitled to a vacation soon anyway."
They entered the hospital and Bobbi turned to talk to one of the cleaners in a language Skye really didn't follow. "Didn't know you spoke Portuguese," she said questioningly once Bobbi re-joined her.
Bobbi shrugged. "Not fluently, which is why I asked for someone who speaks English." She eyed Skye curiously. "Has Nat taught you some Russian yet?"
"Of course." Skye smiled. "I think it's very hot, being fluent in another language." Bobbi raised an eyebrow. "Are you flirting with me?"
Skye laughed. "Not necessarily, but let me know when it's working."
Their moment was interrupted by a woman appearing behind the sign in desk, and they returned to their mission.
"Where can I find the storages?" Bobbi asked the kind woman behind the desk. Skye nervously shifted on her feet as the woman explained how to get there.
Bobbi turned back to her. "Ready to go?" Skye nodded and took after Bobbi. They hurried through the halls until Bobbi stopped outside one of the doors. In here, she gestured. Skye nodded, hand on her gun as they opened the door.
Inside, a blue man stood with their back towards them. Even if he hadn't been blue, his clothes were the same as on the footage Skye had found, so there was no doubt that this was their guy. Except that the blue colour really unnerved Skye.
Having heard them, he turned around, and clicked a device on his chest, and the blue faded to a Caucasian skin tone. He noticed Bobbi grabbing her batons. "You don't want to fight me," he started.
Bobbi shrugged, her voice surprisingly steady for what had to be her first alien encounter, not counting Sif herself. "We just want to ask some questions."
The man obviously did not share that sentiment, as his next move was to lunge forward. Bobbi dodged and hit him with one of her batons. He merely looked annoyed, and lashed out again. Skye felt frozen to the ground as Bobbi hit him again, and he picked her up and flung her across the room.
"Bobbi!" she called out, but there was no response. She pulled her ICER at the man. And then everything started to shake. Her gun trembled, falling apart in her hands. She swallowed thickly as the alien gave her a searching look. Then one of the closets next to her shook so hard it fell. On top of her. Because seriously, could this day get any better?
He made a sound that she would name a chuckle, and jumped over the closet and out the room. She took a deep breath, and the shaking stopped. A look at Bobbi taught her that her friend was still, unmoving, though she seemed to be breathing.
She tried to move from underneath the closet, but it was too heavy to lift. Except, what if she didn't... lift it. Natasha said she had control. So she did. She put her hands underneath the closet and closed her eyes. The humming that she felt around her now concentrated to her arms and then to her hands and then out of her hands. The pressure lessened, and she opened her eyes to see the closet moving.
Out of shock, she faltered in whatever she was doing to make this happen, and the closet dropped an inch before she managed to get it up again. She quickly crawled from underneath it and rolled away, the closet falling down to the floor with a loud clanging noise. She didn't spare it a second thought as she crawled her way towards Bobbi.
"Bobbi, hey. You gotta wake up. We have a blue alien to track. Bobbi?" She gently clapped Bobbi's cheek, and the blonde groaned and blinked open her eyes. "Wha...?"
"He threw you in a wall," Skye explained with a small smile. "Come on. We need to check back in."
"Your nose," Bobbi croaked. "Nat's going to kill me."
Skye reached for her nose and pulled her hand away bloody. Huh. "He threw a closet on me," she said. It wasn't even a complete lie. "I feel fine. And given your own state, she won't be too mad."
She helped Bobbi sit, and then stand up. A bit fuzzy still, the taller woman wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and together they made their way out of the building.
///
"Skye, what is causing this?"
Panic grabbed her throat. She just had to breathe. But her lungs weren't working, and everything was shaking, and that alien was going to kill her...
"I am," she gritted out, because she'd rather they kill her and they live than that she'd kill them by bringing down the base on top of them. Except that wasn't what happened. Because the moment Blue Guy made a move to attack her, May stepped in front of her, facing him.
"Not on my watch," she said, her tone low and icy. And Skye gulped in a breath. May moved backwards until she was holding Skye's leather jacket. "Breathe," she whispered. Yeah, Skye had figured that out herself. The only problem were her lungs.
Sif said something, and she couldn't even properly hear it over the screaming in her head and the vacuum in her lungs, but it all boiled down to her being a monster, and she clenched her fist because she wasn't a monster, she hadn't asked for any of this... and then all the windows in the room shattered, glass raining down on them.
Skye let out a whimper, and May chose this moment to yank her out of the room and away. To one of the holding cells, Skye realised. But whether to keep her in or the aliens out, she didn't know.
Any option would do.
Coulson stepped up to keep the aliens from following, yelling for Fitz to get Bambino, and then May was pulling her past the lab, where Simmons was looking at her like she was a monster, and she heard herself apologising, but the base still shook in its foundations, and Jemma looked scared.
And then Natasha and Clint were running at them. Natasha, her Tasha. Clint took one look at the situation, gave her an encouraging nod and moved to help Coulson. And Nat followed her and May down into the room, sitting down with her as May closed the wall behind them.
Skye looked at her fiancée. She could see her talking, but it wasn't coming through. It was like there was a wall between them. Panic made its way up her body, her breath catching in her throat, she could feel herself losing control. "I can't," she whispered, or she thought she did because her voice didn't sound like her. "I can't."
Natasha hit her in the face, and she startled back into herself a bit. "You can. I know you can. Like Clint said. Just breathe."
Skye shook her head. "I'm trying!" But what if Jemma was right? She could see May looking around them as dust fell from the ceiling and the wall in front of them flickered. She was doing that. She was putting them all in danger, and not just because she was shaking the base. If she wasn't like this, they wouldn't have to put themselves in danger to keep the aliens from getting to her. Jemma was absolutely right. She was wrong.
Suddenly Sif's sword pierced through the wall, the entire thing shaking under the pressure of the foreign metal. Natasha chanced a look over her shoulder. "She won't get through," she said, though whether to convince Skye or herself remained to be seen. She looked at Skye. "I promise she won't get you. The only thing you have to do is breathe."
Skye nodded, she was trying. Then Sif tore the wall open, and Natasha swirled around, in a fighting stance along with May. But all Skye could see was the Asgardian and her big sword, coming for her. For the monster. In a last moment of control she seized forward and grabbed the gun she knew Natasha kept in the waistband of her jeans at all times. She pointed it at herself and shot. The last thing she heard before everything went black was Natasha screaming her name.
Bobbi's mind was spinning as she swept the glass in the common room with Mack, Hunter and Simmons. So Skye did have powers. And quite… destructive ones at that. She'd suspected, of course. With the way Skye had been acting since San Juan, and how Fitz and Natasha refused to leave her out of sight for longer than 5 minutes after they gave her blood the all-clear.
She had hoped the girl would tell her. They had become quite close the past few months. But then again, she got why Skye hadn't told her. Why she hadn't told anyone. With the way everyone was acting… it was probably for the better.
She thought about Gonzales for a moment, and what he would have done. And she didn't like the conclusion she came to. He would lock her up, and not in a quarantine. If she'd even be allowed to... No, Surely he wouldn't go that far. Bobbi shook herself out of her drifting thoughts just in time to notice Fitz walking in.
The engineer was trying to catch Jemma's eye, but the girl seemed intent on ignoring him. Fitz fidgeted with his hands. "So you're still mad," he mumbled.
Jemma looked up. "You lied to me, Fitz!" It sounded sad, and frustrated, and Bobbi was pretty sure the girl didn't really know what or how to feel right now. But her response hit a wrong nerve with Fitz, who looked up with a hint of ice in his gaze. "Well that makes us even then."
The comment hit hard and Jemma quickly looked away. "She should've told us," Jemma eventually said. Fitz chuckled, a sarcastic and bitter thing. "What, so you could lock her up and study her? You talked about containing Raina. About eradicating this threat. And you're mad she didn't tell you?"
It was what Bobbi had assumed why Skye hadn't told them. Obviously, Fitz, and probably Nat and Clint too, shared this sentiment. Jemma clearly didn't. "This is different! Skye is my friend, I would never do that to her." Fitz shrugged. "Maybe you should have made that clearer."
He looked around the room, catching all of their eyes. Bobbi noticed Mack and Jemma looking away, while Hunter looked uncomfortable under Fitz's intense gaze. When it crossed hers, Bobbi held it unwaveringly. She was done with backing down on her morals and her friends. When he spoke next, he was still holding Bobbi's gaze, and his voice was steadier and clearer than it had been in a long time. "We're her family. We're supposed to protect her."
And then Mack spoke up. "No, Fitz," he started with a grave look on his otherwise open and kind face. "We're the ones that need protection from her."
Before Bobbi could open her mouth to cuss him out on... whatever this bullshit was, a sound from the doorway had them all looking up. And there stood Skye. Her eyes were sad, and she looked so broken, as she heard how the people she trusted gave up on her. And then her gaze hardened, and she backed away, before running of towards the hangar.
Bobbi felt a feeling of... it was almost panic clawing it's way up her throat. She didn't want Skye to think she agreed with this. Because she didn't. So, in that moment, she made a decision. She whirled around and slapped Mack across the face. He looked surprised, and a bit guilty, but Bobbi knew that guilt was more at the fact that Skye had overheard him than at what he said, so she couldn't care less.
"What the hell, Mack! Skye is part of your team. A friend. Family. Fitz is right; we should be offering her support. That girl is terrified because she changed, and all you do is hate her for it. It's not like she chose this. She is terrified out of her mind, and the last thing she needs is to also be terrified of you. This isn't you Mack. Get your head out of your ass and realise that." She threw the broom away and walked to the door. "I'm done, Mack. With all of it," she called over her shoulder, not caring who heard. She was done.
She needed to find Skye. Or Nat. Preferably both. She made her way to the hangar, trying to rationalise where the girl could have gone. Meanwhile, she pulled out her phone and dialled Nat's number. There was no one in the hangar but her – and maybe Skye – so she started talking the moment it was picked up. "Where are you?"
"Gym. I'm looking for Skye. She slipped out and I can't fucking find her and I don't think she should be alone right now. So if you find her..."
Natasha sounded slightly panicked to those who knew her, and Bobbi hated that that panic was justified. "She went to the hangar, I'm looking for her too. She had a duffel bag. And she may have overheard Mack saying they needed protection from her."
Natasha sucked in a breath on the other side of the phone, and Bobbi hummed . "I smacked him across the face. I'm done, Nat. It's over for me. I'm with Skye, and I need her to know, but I need to bloody find her first." It was silent for a while, and Bobbi walked slowly around the hangar. You'd think there weren't many options here, but the hangar was massive, and full of dark and lonely spots, and it also had multiple doors leading elsewhere.
"He said exactly what she didn't need to hear," Natasha's voice suddenly piped up in her ear. "She thinks she is a danger to us. So she'll go somewhere she can't hurt us. Something that will contain her powers, maybe."
Bobbi halted in front of the BUS. "The interrogation room," she realised, before lowering the ramp and hurrying onto the plane. Natasha sucked in another breath. "I'm on my way."
The line went dead, but Bobbi paid it no attention as she practically ran up the stairs to the interrogation room. Build to withstand Asgardians, surely it could hold Skye's powers. Or so the girl must think. She skidded to a halt outside of the room, and banged on the door. "Skye? Skye!"
There sounded a muffled cry through the door, and Bobbi realised in a flash that she must think that Bobbi had come here to... she didn't know what exactly. But the girl was terrified and she wasn't helping.
"Skye," she tried again, fighting to control her voice, "I'm not here to hurt you. I won't try to get in if you don't want to. If it makes you feel safer, Natasha is on her way now, and Clint is probably too."
She paused and leaned her head against the door. She couldn't hear much through these damned walls, and she had no idea what Skye was doing, or if she was okay. But at least she knew she was there. "I hit Mack. He's an idiot, and he doesn't know what he's saying. Or maybe he does, which makes him a bigger idiot, and also an asshole."
She scratched the back of her neck. "I know you heard Mack, Skye, but I hope you heard Fitz too. He... he said that we're your family. And we fucked that up massively. He didn't say it like that, but that's what it boiled down to. Because as your family, we should have supported you. We should have let you known that no matter what happened, infection or not... alien or not, you were family and should have supported you."
Behind her, Bobbi heard to sets of footsteps approaching, but she didn't move away from where she was leaning her head against the door. "Skye, I'm sorry if I made you feel like you're a danger to us. I don't believe you are. I want you- no I need you to know that you have my support. No matter what. I'm... I'm done Skye. That guilt thing? I fixed it. And for a large part because I met this young agent who despite everything believes in the good in people, who believed in me despite me making the worst decisions ever, who showed me how to trust again."
She looked up, and caught Natasha's serious gaze. She thought she saw a hint of pride and encouragement in there, but it was always hard to get a read on her friend. She turned back to the door. "I still think you're a rock star, Skye. Even if you now have the power to literally rock the world. "
There was a tense moment of silence, and then the door opened and Skye barrelled into Bobbi, who had to take two steps back to keep them from falling over. The plane was now asking ever so slightly, and Bobbi marvelled briefly over the fact that the room had indeed contained Skye's powers, before shaking the thought and wrapping her arms around the younger woman. "I've got you, Skye. I'm here," she whispered.
Skye looked up with tearstained cheeks and red eyes, and Bobbi thought she saw the lingering terror and panic in her eyes that only followed after heavy panic attacks. She glanced aside to Natasha, who quickly stepped forward and took Skye from her embrace. "Hey, lyubov moya. Please don't run away again, this place is a lot bigger than you'd think," she said in a joking tone. Skye gave a rueful smile. "Sorry, Tasha. Just... need to keep you safe. And I didn't think you'd let me go."
Natasha softly flicked her nose. "If you need this room to feel safe, because you know it will keep us safe, then of course you can come here. I just want to know where you run off too. If you want, I can move my stuff here too. Or Bobbi can. Even Clint."
Clint hummed affirmatively in the background, and Bobbi nodded. Of course she would. Skye gave them a teary look, but Bobbi swore she could see a glimmer of hope there too. Clint took a tiny step towards her. "Can I hug you?" Skye nodded carefully, and stepped out Nat's arms and into Clint's.
He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. "I'm going to talk with Mack. See if I can make him see some sense. You have Fitz and us three on your side regardless, and I think Hunter too, though you might need to smack him over the head sometimes. That guy is not subtle. Simmons... needs to figure out what she feels, but I'm sure she'll turn around. And May and Coulson have your back too. It's going to be okay. And if its not, you'll have us to fall back on. I promise you will always be welcome at my home. And I'm definitely still hosting your wedding," he added, a teasing lilt to his otherwise soft and calm voice.
Skye nodded against his chest and smiled. "Thanks, birdie." Clint gave her a last squeeze before releasing her. "Let's get you set up inside."
Skye leaned against the wall, cross-legged on the bed. Her cards were pretty okay, but... She looked at Natasha across from her, comfortably hanging back in a chair opposite from her, and then at the table with the cards and their bets. She looked at Natasha again, and then tossed some chips on the pile. "Raise with fifty."
Natasha gave an unimpressed nod and threw in some chips. Damn, why was she playing this with a superspy again? Clint rolled his eyes at their antics and added a final card. Huh. She had four of a kind now. Her eyes flitted up to find Natasha already staring at her, leaning forward, weighing her reaction. She raised one eyebrow, a trick she'd perfected under May's teaching. Natasha huffed, and took a look at her own cards. After a few seconds, she relaxed back into her chair. "All in."
Clint gasped, the drama queen. Skye shook her head, but quickly focussed back on her hand. She had a very good hand, one of the highest possible. The chances of Nat having higher were small to none, but she looked so sure. She tilted her head, staring her fiancée straight in her eyes. Was she bluffing? There was a slight glint of amusement in Nat's eyes, a glimmer that Skye hoped she'd always find there, but there was nothing that told her if she was bluffing or not. Except, that something she couldn't put her finger on…
"All in," she echoed. Clint looked between them. "The tension here is making me uncomfortable. But hey, what can you do. Showdown, girls. Nat, you first." Natasha placed her cards on the table, and Skye almost laughed. Her hand was terrible. Three of a kind, and the rest was loose cards. Natasha looked at her, a smile playing around her lips. Clint actually snorted and looked expectedly at Skye. "Come on, Shaky. Show us your hand."
Skye placed her cards one by one the table. Four of a kind. She'd won the entire pot. Clint cheered as she smirked at her fiancée. "Got ya." Natasha gave her a nod. "That you did. How did you know I was bluffing?" Skye shrugged. "Just… something. I don't know. I just knew it was awful." Natasha grumbled something, but her eyes shone with pride and love as Skye high-fived a whooping Clint.
Then the door opened, and their moment was interrupted as May came in. She raised an eyebrow at the chips and cards in front of her, but didn't comment on it. "Can I have a moment with Skye? In private?" she asked instead. Both Avengers looked at Skye, who rolled her eyes and nodded. Clint grabbed the poker case and shoved everything inside. Natasha took their empty glasses and together they left the room. "Can you bring me a sandwich?" Skye called after them. There was no response, but she was pretty sure they'd heard it. May shook her head and closed the door.
Skye gestured for her to sit down in the chair Natasha had vacated. "It's fun," she explained, a bit defensively. "And it's good lie-detector training with Nat. I think I've figured out Clint's tells by now."
May granted her the tiniest smile. "Good. We can play sometime too. But I have something different I wanted to talk about with you first."
Skye leaned back against the wall. "Hit me."
"You need to do a psych eval."
May seemed to hold her breath for her reaction, and Skye closed her eyes for a moment. "May, I'm doing fine. I don't need a shrink," she replied, not opening her eyes. She heard May sigh. "It's protocol, you-"
"I'm being put on the index," Skye realised, her eyes opening to look at her SO. She'd discussed it with Natasha and Clint, who both were on the index too. It really was a very long list of people who qualified for the Index. May nodded, but didn't respond with words. Skye thought for a moment. "It won't help if I mention that I'm an agent as well as enhanced, will it?"
Another shake of the head. Skye sighed. "I don't like shrinks." Blame an entire childhood in the system for that. May huffed. "I know you don't. But you'll like this one."
"How come?" Skye asked, intrigued at the weird tone in May's voice.
"Because I was married to him."
///
"What was the wedding like?" Skye asked eagerly. "Like, small, or did May go totally bridezilla? She can be intense," she explained, when Garner gave her an unimpressed look. She just knew that Natasha was rolling her eyes in the corner of the room, but sue her. It was her psych eval to fuck with.
He smiled. "That's-"
"Classified?" Skye finished for him, one eyebrow raised. "Tell me, did you have actual conversations?"
Garner's smile didn't fade. "How long will you keep deflecting?" Skye sighed. "And we hit the psycho babble."
"Just a description of what I see," he said calmly.
"I don't like shrink descriptions," Skye countered. He gave her a look that was incredibly similar to May's when she was being annoying about training, and she huffed. "Well I see something you have in common."
He chuckled, then leaned forward. "Why did you shoot yourself?"
Skye sucked in a breath. She was suddenly much more aware of her fiancée sitting in the corner, very obviously not reading the Avenger reports in her lap. She'd wanted Natasha to be there, insisted on it even, but suddenly she wasn't so sure anymore. "I'm not suicidal," she stated in a small voice. "I just needed to protect the team. It was… It was just an ICER."
"Did you know it was an ICER?" he asked, his voice soft but determined. She looked at her hands. "I needed to keep the team safe," she repeated. She almost felt Natasha suck in a deep breath. Garner chanced a look her fiancée's way before turning back to her, but she avoided both their gazes.
She hadn't known, not for sure anyway. But she hadn't been in control, and she knew that this was the only way it would have stopped. And she would do everything, including shoot herself with a real gun, if it meant not endangering her team, her family, even more. She looked up at Garner, challenging him to say something.
"A true agent," he mused. "Except you might not be anymore." Skye refused to look away. She knew what could happen. He leaned back. "We got eloped." Not a subtle topic-switch, but she'd take it. "In Vegas?" she asked, remembering her own 'wedding'. He shook his head with a smile. "No, although Melinda does like Vegas."
Skye looked at Natasha, who was fighting the emotions on her face. "Vegas is fun," she said. Slowly, a smile settled on Natasha's face, though her eyes remained slightly unfocussed, and she nodded in agreement. Garner looked between them. "I feel like I'm missing something here."
Natasha cocked her head, and at Skye's nod, she turned to the shrink. "We got married there, for a mission, a good two years ago." Both his eyebrows raised to his hairline. Skye grinned and held up her hand with the ring. "Plan on doing it again soon, for real. But please, keep it out of the eval," she added. "The list of people in the know is short, and we'd like to keep it that way."
He nodded, ever so slowly, obviously trying to catch up on the fact that his client and the Black Widow were engaged. He physically shook himself. "Alright, of course. Ehm…" He scratched his chin. "It's good to see you have a safety net, at least." Skye nodded, and he copied the movement, regaining himself. He thought for a moment, then turned to face her. "What would you do if that safety net fell away?"
She took a moment to think about the question. "I'd do much the same, I think. I'd just be a lot more tired, and a lot more… scared."
"Scared?" Garner asked. "Does losing control make you feel scared? Or something else?"
She looked at her hands again. "Losing control. It's… terrifying."
///
Natasha waited impatiently for the coffee to finish brewing. Why couldn't this place just have Stark's high-speed coffee machines? Her phone ringed in her pocket, and she pulled it out with a frown. Bobbi. A low-level operative entered the room, but she chased him away with a look, before answering it. "Yes, Morse?"
"Romanoff. Just called to check in."
Natasha gave the coffee machine a dirty look. "The coffee is as slow as ever, Skye is with Clint, and no word on your ex-husband yet." What a mess their lives were.
"He didn't run, Nat." Bobbi's voice sounded as tired as she herself felt. "I know, Bob. Best shot? Mack took him."
"He wouldn't… unless Hunter found out. But why wouldn't he go to me?"
The frustration was palpable, even over the phone. Natasha sighed. "I don't know. Maybe because you two never were good at talking?"
"Probably." A sigh. "I just wish we were more like you and Skye sometimes."
"What? An ex-assassin with trust issues and an apparently-not-orphan with earthquake powers?" She scoffed. "Believe me, you don't want to be us right now."
"You're right, sorry."
Natasha shook her head, frustrated at herself. She'd been feeling everything and nothing since she realised that Skye hadn't known it was an ICER she'd shot herself with. It was… messy. "It's okay. I'm… I think we all need a vacation."
"We do. Hey, Nat? Can you do me a favour?" Natasha hummed as the coffee was finally done, and she picked up the pot to pour three mugs. "What do you need?"
"Can you find out if Mack really took Hunter? If he did, I know where they are."
Natasha put back the pot. "I'll get on it. Maybe Skye would like to do something else than poker for a while. We'll figure it out," she promised.
"Okay, thank you. I'll talk to you later then?"
"Absolutely. We'll talk later." Bobbi hung up, and Natasha put her phone back in her pocket, before picking up the three mugs and making her way back to the BUS. And then the base started shaking. It took her less than two seconds to realise what the cause was. Or rather, who.
She put down the mugs and ran the rest of the way, vaguely noticing May and Garner on her heels, with Fitz and Simmons mere seconds behind them. She ran up the stairs, ignoring May's cursing, and barged into the room.
Skye was staring at Clint with bleary, panicky eyes, and he had one hand on her shoulder, softly pressing down. "Skye, you need to stop this. I know you can do it."
Natasha felt people moving to brush past her, but she stopped them. "She needs to do this herself," she hissed in May's direction when the woman threw her an angry glance. It hurt her too, but Skye needed to do this without a sedative.
The shaking subsided, until it stopped completely, and Natasha felt her body relax. Skye closed her eyes, only to open them and meet her gaze. "You felt it in the base?" she asked in a small voice. Natasha nodded, finally letting the rest pass to enter the room. "Almost spilled the coffee," she said in an as light tone as she could muster. "But you stopped it yourself. That's good."
Skye nodded, but her eyes betrayed her guilt and fear, and Natasha's heart broke a little. Garner took a deep breath. "I need everybody out." Clint stood up with a final squeeze of Skye's arm and moved to the door. "Where did you put the coffee?" he asked. Natasha rolled her eyes. "Just outside the common room. Please don't drink all of it."
He grinned and walked out, ushering the scientists out of the plane on his way. May nodded towards Skye, something that Natasha interpreted as a proud nod, and left too, closing the door behind her. Garner didn't try to make her leave, so Natasha sat down on the bed, next to Skye. She nudged her gently, and with a humph, Skye sat up straighter, crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Garner took up a chair and sat down, watching them with open curiosity.
Natasha craned her neck so she could check Skye's heartbeat on her watch, but made sure to not touch her. It was decreasing, slowly, but steadily. When it had reached a relatively steady 68 beats per minute, she scraped her throat. "Under 70."
Skye opened her eyes, a proud smile on her face. "I feel better."
Garner's chair creaked as he shifted in his seat. "How do you do that?"
"Regulating your breathing makes you heartrate drop," Skye explained. "May started teaching me the basics after SHIELD fell, and Nat contacted Bruce for some tips."
"Bruce Banner?" Garner asked. "You asked the Hulk for tips? Do you think your powers are linked to anger?"
Skye shrugged. "Any emotions, is my current guess. I have trouble controlling it when I'm stressing, or upset, or angry. Or like, really scared. So it's not precisely the same, but still. The breathing works, makes me feel calmer. I get to shove all bad thoughts into little boxes and duct tape them shut."
He raised an eyebrow. "That's the part that Melinda taught you, isn't it? Compartmentalisation. A trick they teach all agents. Can't have feelings bothering you during a mission." Skye gave him a curious look. "I get the feeling you don't like the method."
"That method is the reason for my job," he deadpanned. "And it doesn't really work. Because you're not working through your feelings. You're shoving them aside, only for them to come back when you're asleep. Or maybe, when you're already unstable because you're upset or scared."
Skye shrugged, suddenly tired and done. "May told me that I can use those feelings when I needed them. On my own terms. We started practicing controlling emotions before San Juan, doc. I know the risks, but I also know the benefits."
"Sarcasm."
Skye raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"Sarcasm," Garner repeated. "You use sarcasm as a defence mechanism. To deflect."
Skye shrugged once again. "I use Nat as a physical defence mechanism, but it doesn't work that way with feelings." Natasha elbowed her in the ribs, and she huffed. Garner nodded. "And humour. Much the same. Deflection, avoidance."
"Of what, exactly?" Skye asked tiredly. Garner's eyes flashed towards Natasha's, and in a flash she realised what he was doing. He was drawing her out. "You're avoiding the truth. Tell me," he added before she could interrupt. "What were you dreaming about?"
Skye gave him a stubborn look, but didn't reply. Garner cocked his head. "You changed, Skye. You have to face it at some point. You have powers, quite destructive powers, and you need to control them, but right now, you can't. You changed, and you have to face it, or you'll never sleep again."
Natasha didn't have to touch Skye to know her whole body was tensing up. "I dreamt I was looking through the scope of my rifle. And then suddenly I was on the other side. And someone was holding a gun to my head."
"Someone in particular?" Garner asked, leaning forward.
"A SHIELD agent. But I can never see his face," Skye said, and her voice turned bitter. "The feeling of going from agent to 'enhanced'. From being respected, and a co-worker and a friend, to being a danger, and a monster."
The room shook. Garner looked around him, and then back at Skye, who was still looking bitter and tired and frustrated, but also sad. "Skye, I think you need to take a deep breath."
Natasha took Skye's wrist and checked her watch. 78 bpm. Not low, but not very high either. The shaking persisted, as Skye frowned at herself. "I'm not… this isn't me?" And suddenly it clicked for Natasha. "It's not. The plane is taking off."
Natasha never ever wanted to see Skye collapse like that, never again. Also, her future father-in-law really was a psycho. Luckily, they'd been able to re-contain the escaped Index people without too much trouble, but it had done a number on Skye to seem those people being 'handled', purely because of what they were. Hence, the shaking, and then the collapsing. And now her Skye was lying in bed, pale and small with gauntlets around her arms and wrists to prevent her from hurting herself more. She cursed herself that she hadn't noticed earlier. Then again, Skye herself hadn't even noticed it.
The door opened, and Bobbi slid through the door. "Still asleep?"
Natasha nodded, and gestured her closer. Bobbi obediently entered the room, closing the door behind her. She brushed a hand through Skye's hair. It was funny how no one had fought her on watching Skye until she woke up. She thought that everyone kind of knew about them, yet no one had approached either of them about it. Although it had to be said, with Skye suddenly having powers and Natasha being an Avenger, no one really approached them to begin with.
Bobbi took a seat. "Clint told me that Mack took Hunter."
"And now?"
"I'll need to update Coulson about… well, everything, I suppose. Might not be here for long anymore."
"If he sends you away, he's an idiot," a soft voice remarked from the bed. Both women's heads swirled to Skye, who was blinking herself awake. She tried to come up, but groaned in pain when she put pressure on her arms. Natasha quickly helped her up, as Skye finally noticed the gauntlets.
And the bruises that were visible underneath them. "What did I do?" she asked as she lifted her hands to properly look at them and winced.
Natasha exchanged a look with Bobbi. "Simmons ran some tests. It seems like you haven't been stopping your powers, but rather you've directed them inwards."
"Meaning?" Skye asked, her voice monotone. Bobbi picked up. "Your powers damaged your arms. There's hairline fractures from your fingers to your clavicles. The fact you remained functioning for so long… Perhaps the healing agent in your blood. We're not sure, since we don't quite understand your DNA at the moment. But this is… not good."
Skye carefully dropped her arms and leaned her head back against the wall. "The gauntlets?"
"They're to support your arms in healing, keeping them stable without hindering your movements too much, though I suggest taking it easy for a while. They also work to help suppress your powers, so you won't hurt yourself any further," Bobbi explained.
"Suppress?" Skye asked tiredly. "That tracks." She closed her eyes. "Did I hurt anyone else?"
"Just yourself," Natasha replied gently. Skye took a shuddering breath and nodded. "Good. That's… something."
Bobbi snorted, she couldn't help herself. "I don't think the bar has ever been this low." And Natasha and Skye exchanged a look, and a tired smile, and they had to agree.
"You're gonna want to pack a bag."
Skye threw some more clothes into her duffel, under the watchful eye of her fiancée. "Natasha," she said, her hands stilling in their movements. "Please stop burning holes in the back of my head."
Natasha looked away with a mumbled apology, and Skye quickly finished packing her bag, zipping it close before she turned around. "Tasha?" Her fiancée looked back at her, and Skye hated it. She saw the fight in her eyes, but they both knew it was no use fighting this. They'd both felt it coming anyway, especially after Garner's psych eval. That didn't make it any easier.
Skye opened her arms for a hug, and Natasha quickly closed the distance, embracing her tightly in return. "I hate this," the Avenger mumbled. Skye hummed. "Me too. But hey, you get to go on a Hydra-hunt with the big guys. The most exciting thing I'll be doing is the crossword."
The joke fell flat, and Natasha couldn't even find it in herself to respond. "Please just text. Like, at least once every day. Me or Clint. And Bobbi, because she will worry too." Skye nodded, her chin bumping against Natasha's shoulder, but neither woman cared. "I'll text every day," she promised. "And you text as often as you can. Or call. I'd like to see the other guys again."
Natasha huffed. "I can promise you, after one call you'll be done with them. And I will be stuck with them. Without you. I don't want to." Skye tutted and pulled back. "You can do this. Besides, you'll have Clint with you. You can prank Tony together again. Meanwhile, I'll be planning our wedding."
A small smile took over Natasha's face. "I'd expect nothing less."
Skye stepped away, and moved to her duffel, but Natasha's hand around her wrist stopped her, and she turned back with a questioning look. Natasha looked down at her hands, and then up into her eyes. "I love you," she said simply. "No matter what happens. I love you."
"I love you too," Skye replied, and she pressed a kiss to Natasha's lips. She leaned their foreheads together for a few heartbeats, and then she gently extracted her hand from Natasha's grip, grabbed her duffel and left the room. Natasha stayed behind, watching her leave, with the feel of Skye's hand in hers slowly fading away.
///
Natasha walked through the base without a clear direction, but somehow she wasn't surprised when she found herself suddenly in the doorway of the gym. She shrugged and walked over to the punching bags. Might as well get some exercise. She wrapped her hands and got settled in a comfortable routine.
It shouldn't have surprised her that it was Clint who came looking for her. She'd heard him come in about fifteen minutes into her session, but he was being kind and just let her punch for a while longer, leaning against the doorway to watch her. Eventually, his silence started to bug her, so she stopped, stilled the bag, and turned around.
"What do you want?" It sounded harsh, harsher than she'd intended, but in her defence, her fiancée had just left for god knew how long and the last time they got separated Skye had gotten kidnapped, so she really wasn't feeling the vibe.
Clint didn't seem to hold it against her, and just raised a cup with... something? "Found this in the fridge with your name on it. That woman knows you better than you know yourself. Figured I'd stop by to give it to you."
Ah, one of Skye's post-workout shakes. It seemed Skye had known she'd end up here before she herself did. She softened.
Clint smiled and pushed himself off the doorway, calmly making his way over and offering her the shake. Natasha took it with a tiny nod of thanks and took a sip. It was as good as usual. "How do you do it?" she asked out of the blue, her voice deceptively neutral. Clint eyed her curiously for a moment, but then he seemed to catch on.
"It's different for us. Laura knows that SHIELD is something I need. And she knows you have my back, which makes it a lot easier for her to let me go. But it's getting harder, I'm not gonna lie. With two, and a third on the way..."
"Speaking of the third, you better name that one after me," Natasha told him. Clint grinned at her, but it faded into something smaller and softer. "I think, that after a while, it just gets normal. The not knowing if you'll get home. The constant worry of not making it back. It doesn't mean it's easy for me to go, or for her to let me go, but kind of ignoring the feeling will get easier over time." He rubbed his chin and chuckled. "I always had you. You know what I have to go back to, and you always made sure I could. That we both could."
Natasha took his hand and squeezed it. Then she sighed. "Skye has no one to watch her back right now, though. And she can take care of herself, but... I just wish someone were there with her. Not even necessarily me, but just so she wouldn't be alone."
Clint's hand squeezed hers back. "I know. Like I said, it never gets easy, but it might get easier." He released her hand and poked her side. "And you'll call so often that she'll be glad when you hang up, you'll see!" Natasha chuckled and swatted his shoulder. She took another sip of her shake.
A knock from the doorway had them both looking up. Natasha raised an eyebrow when she saw Bobbi standing there. "Not yet fired?"
Bobbi grimaced. "Coulson is disappointed, which felt worse than if he had yelled at me. But my plan is a go, so I'll be heading out this evening. I just wanted to say goodbye to Skye, which I just did, and to you guys. You're leaving soon too I heard?"
With a sigh, Natasha stepped away from Clint. "Yeah, we're on Hydra hunting duty."
Clint rolled his eyes. "You say that like it's the most terrible thing Coulson could have us do. I, personally, am looking forward to shooting some squid bastards."
Bobbi chuckled, and Natasha couldn't help her own smile. She threw back the last of her shake, and shook her muscles out. Her best friend gave her a short glance, but apparently decided she was fine enough because he smiled. "Alright folks. I'm going to see if Mel has something for me to do. See you around, ladies." And with a lazy wave over his shoulder he walked out of the gym. Natasha watched him leave, then glanced at Bobbi. "You good?"
Bobbi shook her head with a bitter smile. "I'm about to betray some people I trust, people I care about. I know it's the right thing to do, but that doesn't mean it feels good." She sighed, her shoulders slumping, making her look tired and done. Natasha felt for her. "The good thing isn't always easy to do."
She moved to the door, motioning for Bobbi to follow. As they walked through the base, Natasha considered the situation. "What exactly is your plan?"
"I go to the base, help Hunter escape, hope he doesn't shoot me, and then we'll see." Bobbi shrugged. Natasha hummed. "And what if Mack ratted you out?"
"I don't think Mack took my 'I'm done' very serious. As far as I know he still thinks I'm loyal, maybe just a bit compromised." Bobbi shrugged again. "And if he did tell... at least Hunter will believe me. I just have to triple spy the shit out of this."
Natasha chuckled. "Well, you are good at that." She noticed Bobbi cringe a bit, and placed a hand on her friend's arm. "I meant that as a genuine compliment. You're easily in the top of SHIELD. You were before the fall, and you still are now." She nudged Bobbi's shoulder. "Just keep in mind the wedding you're invited to, and you'll see that you'll be perfectly fine."
Bobbi laughed, genuinely laughed at that. "You're seriously still wedding planning?"
"Of course," Natasha said incredulously. "When Skye is back, and you've fixed your shit, and Hydra has lost a few more heads, I am marrying that woman, and you're going to be there. Period."
Suddenly, Bobbi stopped and turned to face her. "Thank you," she said seriously. Natasha nodded, understanding that this was for more than just this conversation. "Of course. Gotta look out for each other right?"
"I just can't figure out this last part!"
Natasha laughed at the frustration in Skye's voice. On the other side of the line, Skye huffed. "Don't laugh at me! I'm serious, it's annoying!"
She couldn't help it, she laughed again. "I'm sorry, I just think it's funny you can hack Tony's AI, but you can't finish the crossword," she said between laughs. Skye huffed again, and Natasha relented. "I'm really sorry. I'll text you Tony's number, then he can help you." The elevator she was standing in came to a stop, and the doors opened.
"You better," Skye muttered indignantly. Natasha rolled her eyes, but the smile didn't leave her face. "Anyway," she said loudly, walking out of the elevator and into the room, drawing the attention of the other Avengers who were busy working away their breakfast. "Do you want to say hi to the boys?"
Clint raised his hand in a wave Skye most definitely couldn't see through the phone call, but Tony yelled loud enough to make up for it. "Skyenet! How are you doing?"
"Was that Tony? Put me on speaker, will you?" Skye asked excitedly. Natasha obeyed, placing the phone on the table so they could all hear her, and then moved to fix her own breakfast and a cup of coffee.
"Stark! How are you liking your new security updates?" Skye asked, her voice now teasing. Tony spluttered, but his eyes were shining. "My security was fine until you waltzed through it like a tank, you brat!"
"I'm going to assume that was a 'thank you', so no problem!" Natasha chuckled. "Be nice, Skye. Clint put Fitz's glitter bomb in his suit yesterday."
"Is his hair shiny?"
"It is."
"Wonderful! You gotta send me a photo." Skye sounded positively elated at the prospect of blackmail, and Tony groaned and hid his head in his hands. "It was so mean," he said, his voice muffled. Skye just laughed at him, before taking a deep breath. "Now that I got you all on the line anyway, had some things I meant to say. Thor, I met your friend, she's a real feisty one. If you see her again, can you tell her I'm doing wonderful? She'll know what it's about."
Thor frowned, his fork-full of eggs halting halfway to his mouth. "My friend? Have you met the lady Sif?"
"We did," Cint muttered. "Packs one hell of a punch, that one." Thor's frown deepened, but he nodded. "I'll pass along the message, of course, lady Skye."
"That would be great, thanks! Bruce, I still need to thank you for the yoga exercises. And the other eh… well, let's just call all of it exercises." Skye chuckled at herself. "I feel better since I started doing them. Less… like I'm about to explode."
Bruce smiled warmly at the phone, and Natasha got the feeling he was genuinely happy to be helping someone again, like he used to do in his doctor days. "It's good to hear that. If you need any help, or just want to talk about it, or anything… Just let me know."
When Skye responded, Natasha just knew she was smiling too. "Sure thing, doc! Oh, and I've been practicing some breathing exercises, maybe you can use those too! Ask Nat about them later, it's hard to explain over the phone."
Bruce looked at Natasha, and she nodded. She'd tell him later, of course. "Thanks, Skye," the doctor said gratefully.
"Alright, think I got everything? Oh, wait, Captain Rogers?"
Steve raised an amused eyebrow at Natasha, who rolled her eyes in response. "Skye, he went AWOL and broke about fifty speed limits to get me to Zurich in time. I think you can call him Steve."
"Oh." Skye seemed to need a second to process that, and Natasha realised she had probably never told her how exactly she got to Zurich. It just… hadn't come up? "Ehm, alright? Steve?"
"Yes, Skye?" he replied, that same amused look in his eyes.
"Right, apparently I'm somewhere you have been before? It's by this massive lake. My handler got all excited that you were here, just thought it was funny to share."
Natasha shifted on her feet. They all sort of unofficially knew Coulson was alive, because none of them were idiots, and there were only so many people Fury would have trusted to rebuild SHIELD. Although rebuilding SHIELD seemed to be a popular hobby these days.
Steve smiled. "I think I remember that place. Lovely cabin. It had this cool high-tech laser grid, right?"
Clint almost spit out his coffee. "He send you to the Retreat?!" he exclaimed after swallowing, trying not to cough. Natasha's eyes darkened as she absentmindedly patted him on the back. Bruce's smile was fading into a frown. "I spend some time there too, though I don't remember all of it."
"That's so cool!" Skye exclaimed, then suddenly she fell silent, when she realised what that implicated. "Ah. Fuck."
Meanwhile, Natasha felt her blood boiling. Putting Skye in a safehouse was one thing. And she knew that Coulson had done it as much for the team's safety as for Skye's own safety, but the Retreat? Oh, he was so dead when she saw him again.
Tony was looking concerned, and Thor was mostly confused, but Natasha saw Clint's and Bruce's eyes simmer with poorly-contained anger, and Steve had his jaw set in the way that meant he deeply disapproved. Which was not a good sign for Coulson's long term well-being either.
There were some vague noises from the other side of the line, and then a deep sigh. "Well, at least I can't damage the pretty lake." Skye chuckled at her own joke, but fell silent when no one else laughed. "Nat?"
Natasha hummed. "Yeah?"
"Don't kill him, please." Natasha just hummed again.
"I mean it, don't."
"I won't kill him," Natasha said reluctantly. I can still threaten him. Skye seemed happy enough with her answer. "Anyways. Work talk." She scraped her throat, not at all subtle in her subject change. "Tony, I'm going to send you some coordinates of places you guys need to check out. Strucker's base is a work in progress, I'll send you what I got on that so far. Sounds good?"
Tony looked nervously between Natasha and the phone, seemingly not sure if they were allowed to change the subject. Natasha gave him a reluctant nod; she'd talk with Skye later, in private. "Yeah, sure, just send me what you got, and we'll go from there. I think I have better reception here anyways," he tried to joke, before standing up to fill his mug with more coffee and taking a sip.
"You have better everything there," Skye complained, going along. "Fresh fruit, good coffee, a soft mattress, my fiancée-"
Tony choked on his coffee, Bruce, Steve and Thor looked at her in shock, and Clint just grinned at all of their reactions. Natasha facepalmed as Skye went on, oblivious.
"- I don't even have chocolate! And only one kind of tea, and Nat said I couldn't drink too much coffee, so… Tony, are you alright?" Skye interrupted herself when Tony kept coughing.
Red-faced and not at all alright, he nodded, even though Skye couldn't see that. "Sure," he croaked between coughs.
"Fiancée?" Steve asked, somewhere between shocked, happy, and… disappointed? Natasha winced slightly.
"Oh, shit! I thought Nat would have told you by now?" Skye asked, a hint of panic in her voice. Natasha quickly stepped in. "I was going to, but… just hadn't yet. So, surprise?"
She took a sip of her own coffee. "Hey, fun news!" she said sarcastically. "We're getting married. No idea when or where or how, it's still a work in progress. You're all invited, by the way," she added, soft smile on her face by the end, and Steve's smile turned more genuine. "I am happy for you two," he said sincerely.
"A joyous union!" Thor exclaimed, deciding that excitement was the appropriate reaction for this. Bruce echoed the sentiment, and Tony finally had recovered enough to get out more than one word. "Yeah, congrats ladies." He smiled. "Remember when you said she wasn't your girlfriend?"
All the genuine happiness seemed to have set Skye at ease. "Yeah, well, she really wasn't then. But now she is going to be my wife!" Natasha tried to hide her blush behind her own coffee mug, but all the other Avengers had seen it, and where grinning at her. "Although, technically, we-"
"Skye!" Natasha interrupted her loudly, already knowing where this was going from the smug tone her fiancée had put on. Clint would never talk to her again if he ever found out though. "I am very kindly asking you to not finish that sentence."
Skye hummed, and Natasha could practically hear the beaming smile in her voice. "Alright, I won't. But you better make your Russian pancakes the next time we stay at your place."
Natasha completely ignored the curious - and slightly teasing - looks from the boys. "Deal," she agreed easily. Skye hummed happily. "Deal. Now, as much as I am loving this phone call, I need to go, get some work done. Oh, and I'm trying to turn my glass of water into a tiny whirlpool. If I succeed, I'll make sure to send a video."
"Alright, sounds very cool. Can't wait to see it," Natasha replied excitedly, and Clint nodded his agreement. "Will you call me tomorrow?"
"I'm calling Bobbi tomorrow, so you'll have to get through the day with just a text," Skye said, sounding slightly apologetic. Natasha gasped. "Are you dumping me for Bobbi?"
"Six-feet blonde gorgeous amazon warrior? No, why would I?"
Tony looked up. "She single?" Natasha shot him a dirty look, and Skye's laugh echoed through the phone. "Don't even think about it Stark, she'd eat you alive." Tony shrugged. "Worth a try," he mumbled.
"It was good to talk to you guys. Be nice to each other, and make sure to send photos of the pranks. I'll see you all at the wedding."
The Avenger all said their goodbyes, and Natasha picked up the phone and put it off speaker. "Skye?" she asked, putting down her mug and walking away from the kitchen for some more privacy.
"Private?" Skye asked, her voice immediately sounding much less excited.
Natasha hummed.
"I'm okay, Nat. I promise. It's... I don't like it, but if he thinks it's necessary... It's a shitmove, and you can yell at him. Please do, because I never could. But it's okay, for now."
Natasha closed her eyes momentarily, and took a deep breath. "If you're sure." Another deep breath. "As long as you know-"
"I do." Skye sounded actually tired now, and Natasha got the feeling this was tougher on her than she was letting on. For the umpteenth time, Natasha wished she was with Skye, helping her through all of this, instead of being sent all over the globe to hunt nazis.
"I love you," Skye spoke softly. "I love you and I miss you and I wish you were here, but it's going to be fine, becaus I can control these powers, and you can take the guys and shoot nazis. And if you see Ward I swear to God please kill him for all our sakes."
Natasha smiled. That was her fiancée. "I love you too. And I miss you too. And the next time I see you, I'm dragging you off for that wedding."
"Sounds fantastic. I can't wait."
"Neither can I." Natasha sighed. "I'll see you again soon, lyubov' moya."
"In a minute?"
"Always."