Skye opened the door to the base and rushed in. Ward was sitting on the couch and leaped up when he saw her.
"How did it go?! Are you hurt?! Did they hurt you?!" He asked and looked her up and down.
There was a scar above her right eyebrow and her face was bruised.
"Time to get training," Skye ordered, ignoring him, and walking down to the training room.
Ward followed her, on her heels. "Skye wait you have to tell me what happened! Please! Did anyone get hurt?! Did you crush them?! Is Hydra dead now?! What happened?!"
Skye stood in front of him and glared at him. "Enough Ward. Now put out your hands and practice your skills."
Ward started up fire in his hands and looked at Skye. She stared back at him, holding back something. He practiced with his flames for about five minutes before pausing. He made his fire disappear and looked down at Skye.
"You're hiding something," he said. Then his voice turned soft. "What happened at the base?"
Skye looked away from him as she felt tears build up in her throat.
"Nothing," Skye lied as tears built up in her throat.
"Hey," Ward said comfortingly. "You can tell me."
"Hunter........" Skye began. "He got shot......three times. We were surrounded by Hydra agents and.......I wasn't able to save him." Skye's voice broke as her eyes swelled up with tears.
Ward sighed and looked down at Skye. He opened up his arms. "Come here." Skye stared at him for a second. She wasn't sure what to do. But she really needed a hug and comfort right now so she decided to let Ward touch her. Ward pulled her into a hug as she buried her head into his shoulder, crying.
"I couldn't save him Ward," Skye cried. "It's all my fault."
"Shhh," Ward comforted. "It's not your fault. Coulson ordered you to come on the mission. I'm sure there was nothing you could have done."
"But I'm supposed to protect my team with my powers," Skye said between sobs. "But I couldn't.....I couldn't get there in time! You were right, those men are evil. I should have listened to you." Skye continued to cry.
Ward tightened his grip on her and tried to calm her down. Skye hugged him back. Ward looked down at her, surprised that she was hugging him.
"Did Hunter die?" He finally asked.
Skye shook her head. "He's on life support until we figure something out. We barely made it out alive. I have a couple broken ribs and a lot of scars and bruises."
Ward sighed. "I'm just so glad you're okay. I love you so much."
Skye slowly looked up at him. He looked back down at her, caught up in the moment. Their eyes locked. THIS IS THE MOMENT!!!! ITS FINALLY HAPPENING!!!! Ward didn't wait any longer. He put his hand on the back of her head and pulled her head up towards his. He leaned down and kissed her. They began kissing, finally. After all this time Ward finally got his wish. But then, all of a sudden, Skye abruptly stopped. She looked up at Ward, shock and fear in her eyes. She turned around and began to quickly walk away to the door of the base. Ward swiftly followed her.
"Skye wait!" Ward called and grabbed her hand, pulling her around to face him.
She slowly looked up at him. Ward looked down at her, as if begging her to give him a chance. Skye slowly leaned upwards to kiss him. Ward leaned back down and they met. This time, Skye wasn't scared. She couldn't hide her feelings anymore. They stopped and Skye slowly looked up at Ward.

••••

"What just happened?" Skye asked as Ward set a cup of hot chocolate down in front of her. She was sitting on a high chair at the kitchen counter. He was on the other side of the counter looking across at her.
"We just kissed, Skye," He said with a smile and took a sip of his drink.
Skye looked down. What have I done?
"What?" Ward asked and raised an eyebrow, already realizing she was anxious.
"It's just that," Skye began. "Everyone's gonna kill me if they find out about this."
"Well maybe they don't have to find out," Ward said and reached across the counter to hold Skye's hand.
Skye scoffed. "They better not! And you better not tell them. I can't imagine the look on Coulson's face-"
Skye kept babbling on about if her team found out about her kiss wth Ward. Ward ignored her voice and began zoning out. He then walked around the counter and came up behind her. He gently started to massage her shoulders.
"You looked tight," he said.
Skye sighed and leaned back against his chest. "Thank you."
He looked down at her as their eyes locked again. Skye turned around so she was facing him.
"You're beautiful," he said with a smile.
The words rang in Skye's ears and wouldn't go away. She couldn't help but smile back. Then reality set in. She stood up abruptly.
"Ward," she sighed. "We can't do this!"
"Yes we can, Skye!" Ward exclaimed and wrapped his arms around her as he began to pull her into a hug.
"No we can't!" Skye scolded and pushed Ward's arms away. Then she grabbed her bag. "I have to go."
"Skye wait please!" Ward begged.
Skye ignored him and opened the door to leave. Ward went after her. Just as she was about to leave Ward came up behind her and put his hand on the door, slamming it shut.
"What are you doing?!" Skye exclaimed. "I have to go!"
"No." Ward said firmly and shifted so that he stood in front of the door, blocking Skye's path. "I'm not losing you again," he said.
Skye looked up at him. Are those......tears?!
Ward's eyes swelled up with tears as he looked down at her. Skye looked up at him, shocked. Her aggressive expression turned soft. She looked up at Ward with kind eyes. He looked back at her with his tearful, emotional eyes.
"What do you mean, 'lose me again'?" Skye asked carefully.
"I lost you Skye," Ward said softly and gently put his hands on the back of her neck as his fingers slid through her hair. "I chose Hydra over you and made the worst decision of my life. Which made me lose the one real person that ever really cared about me. It was torture watching you interrogate me in the basement," Ward told her. "Being on the other side of that barrier almost killed me. All I wanted to do was run to you and hold you and love you. And now I'm finally getting a chance to prove myself. And you are finally trusting me again. But now you're saying that this can't work and Skye I can't lose you again!" Ward exclaimed and put a hand on her cheek. "I love you so much Skye. Please, give me another chance. I don't know what I would do without you."
Skye sighed as her eyes filled with tears and she rested her hand on Ward's. She was astonished at Ward's speech. She began to cry and fell into Ward's arms.
"Please don't leave me," Ward begged. "Give me another chance."
"I'm not going anywhere," Skye replied as she ran her fingers through Ward's hair comfortingly.
Ward looked down at her, overwhelmed with happiness.
"But I actually do, have to go," Skye said, interrupting their moment. "Coulson needs me. But I promise I'll be back tomorrow. And that I won't give up on us. Okay? Can you wait that long?" Skye asked and placed a hand on Ward's cheek. A tiny smile formed at the corners of Skye's lips.
Ward smiled back. "Okay. Hurry back." He kissed her on the forehead and took in her presence one last time.