Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

End of Part 2: Memorial

“She wouldn't have wanted a funeral.” Jack told Tony again, sounding frustrated. Steve finished pulling on his clean shirt and stepped into the room.

“Tony, listen to him.” Steve murmured, quickly gathering what the issue was.

“We don't have anyone. No one would come.” Jack told Tony again, shaking his head quickly. “Besides, she wouldn't want that much attention. No funeral.”

“Well, we have to do something. I'm doing something.” Tony said firmly, crossing his arms defiantly.

“We have your blanket, from the park.” Steve offered to Jack. “We forgot about it in the chaos of you two leaving. It's still in interrogation.”

“We could have lunch in the park.” Jack nodded. “She would like that. She loved that park.”

“Then it's settled.” Steve announced, cutting off Tony's retort with a firm look. Tony sighed and tossed his hands up.

“Fine.”

“Can I go get the blanket?” Jack asked. Steve nodded and he headed for the elevator.

“Tony, I know this isn't what you want...but it's not about you.” Steve told Tony.

“She should have the best.” Tony growled, taking a long swig of bourbon. “I want her to have the best.”

“Well, for Skye – simple is best. Jack was right – she loved that park. It would be a fitting memorial.”

“Do you think they Erased her?” Tony asked, quickly wiping his cheeks. “Tasha said the Eraser was too hot to get into. The scientist ordered the guards to do it.”

“I don't know Tony. You have the hard drive. Follow her a little further.” Steve shrugged, swallowing back his own tears.

“I don't think I can do that.” Tony frowned. “Not right now, at least. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Well, tomorrow then.” Steve replied, working to make his voice kinder. Everyone had their masks on and it was resulting in some pretty harsh sounding conversations.

“It was bad, though. Right?” Tony asked, pulling at his hair. “Bad enough that she broke out to erase it. Bad enough that she didn't want us to see.”

“I'm going to go help Jack,” Steve growled, turning and walking from the room before he lashed out at Tony. He wanted to bury those images. He wanted them out of his head. But Tony kept bringing it back up and he was dangerously close to losing his cool. His imagination was good enough at conjuring images of what she could have erased; he didn't need Tony's speculation to add to it.

0-0-0-0-0

“I brought another blanket,” Clint said softly, joining the team in the park. Jack had picked a spot against a tree. Steve seemed to understand the significance, but it was lost on everyone else. He tossed the blanket out, spreading it on the grass.

“I got coffee,” Tasha offered, smirking slightly at Steve. He chuckled lightly, recognizing the logo on the cup. Tasha sat next to Jack, throwing her arm around his shoulder. “First time I saw Skye, you were getting coffee with her.”

“Coffee you had to buy her cause you couldn't convince me to go on a date with you,” Steve added, smiling fondly.

“I still hold that it was a good choice,” Jack grumbled. He tried for a smile, but failed.

“Some...what did she call him? A pansy? Some pansy said something to you and she knocked him out.” Tasha smirked, nudging Jack. Tony laughed lightly.

“I didn't know that.”

“I told her to stop punching everyone who was unkind.” Jack laughed wetly. “She just snorted and told me that he needed to learn to take a punch.”

“Knowing what I know about Skye, I don't really think that was a fair expectation.” Clint chuckled, flopping back on the blanket. “My first impression of Skye was over the intercom. I was listening in to your elevator conversation.”

“Oh God. The elevator conversation.” Steve groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

“First thing I heard her say was something about boo boos.” Clint chuckled. He pointed a finger at Steve. “Said you had to kiss them all better.”

“He was grumpy.” Tasha nodded. “His crush was a baddie. Skye suggested I put him in a better mood. It was the suggestive eyebrow waggle that almost did me in.”

“Oh, God. She would.” Jack chortled. He had gotten a jumbled version of the story from Skye over the last few months, but it was an unspoken rule that he wasn't allowed to ask Skye about Steve. It made her sad to talk about him.

“That's when the internet theories made their appearance.” Clint laughed, throwing his head back. “Nat had to bail. She couldn't keep a straight face.”

“You were crying in the back room,” Tasha shot back.

“Steve's face...” Clint giggled. “I thought his ears were going to melt off his head.”

“She had a fantastic sense of humor.” Tony smiled. The group fell silent, staring up into the clouds instead of looking at each other. It seemed colossally unfair that the day was so nice. Warm, but not hot. A slight breeze to keep the bugs away. The sun out, but not glaring down on them. It would have been Skye's perfect day at the park. Tony cleared his throat loudly. “My first impression of her was a mix of being impressed by her skills and her concern for you.”

“When she found out we had you, the first thing she said was that she would come fix it. We just needed to let you go.” Steve nodded.

“In the interrogation room, she brought herself, essentially, but the first thing she asked when she saw you was if you were alright. Then she broke you out of your handcuffs.” Tony nodded. “She didn't take any shit from us. She wasn't afraid to call us on our shit – nobody does that. She smacked Clint within minutes of meeting him...”

“...bumped hips with me when Steve wouldn't let her properly introduce herself...” Tasha added.

“Called me out about my behavior towards you.” Steve muttered, ducking his head.

“And she surely wasn't afraid to throw in my face just how much power she had over me and my system.” Tony nodded.

“She doesn't...didn't,” Jack corrected himself and swallowed hard, “She didn't take shit from anyone.”

“My second impression was that she was a firecracker.” Tony grinned. “Her easy humor. God, the way she laughed at our theme music.”

“You had to turn away,” Jack laughed lightly. “We saw you trying to wipe the smile off your face.”

“She just got me.” Tony shrugged. “Our sense of humor is the same. Maybe that's why I was so taken with her so quickly.”

“The first time I met her, I didn't realize she was the girl from the park. I didn't realize she was with you.” Steve admitted, ducking his head. “Never got a good look at her with you. I was being dumb, mocking that I could lap her during my morning run. I was disappointed when she didn't seem frustrated...so I tried harder.”

“You winked at her.” Jack chuckled.

“I winked at her.” Steve nodded. “Stupidest thing I've done in a while. The next time I lapped her, she stuck her foot out and tripped me. I had to tuck and roll to avoid face planting into the concrete.”

“Ah, Face Plant.” Clint smirked. He liked that Skye picked him a nickname that reminded Steve of his stupidity. There weren't very many people who could put him in his place.

“She apologized for tripping me, even though I was being a jerk.” Steve smirked. “Then she went on to say she was glad I wasn't injured because she didn't want to have to explain to the Avengers how she hurt their Grandpa.”

“New job title,” Tony chuckled, pointing a finger at Steve. “Avenger Team Captain and Resident Grandpa.”

“The first time I remember seeing Skye,” Jack said softly. “She was sneaking into our room after a test. We thought she was a scientist, but she knew the language. It's hard to learn our language. The words are language specific; it sounds like jibberish, but we would have known. We would have known she wasn't one of us. She calmed us right down, then fixed us up. She was our angel.”

“How old were you?” Tony asked, flipping over to play with a few blades of grass.

“I don't know.” Jack shrugged. “Young.”

“You were ten when she broke you out,” Steve mused. “How many times did she visit?”

“I don't know. A lot. Sometimes we were too fucked to even notice she was there. But then we'd wake in the morning and be healed...and we just knew she had been looking out for us. She was always looking out for us.”

“You heard what she said,” Steve said quietly. “It was worth every second for her. She loved you. She died thinking of you.”

“Just ignore the bad stuff and remember that,” Clint nodded. “Remember how much she loved you.”

“Do you guys mind if I stay a little longer?” Jack whispered. “Alone?”

“Anything you need.” Tasha nodded, getting up off the blanket. She pulled Clint up, giving Steve and Tony a look that suggested they start moving.

“We'll see you back at the Tower?” Tony asked, picking up the extra blanket.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. He saw Steve's disbelief and smiled sadly. “I don't really have other options right now, Steve. You even have our van. I promise, I'll be back. I just need a little time.”

“Okay,” Steve nodded, trusting his word. Clint waited until they were a good distance from Jack, checking over his shoulder that he wasn't listening.

“I'll hang out. Somewhere high. Keep an eye on him.” He offered. “I know he wants to be alone, but we promised to keep him safe.”

“Keep him safe,” Steve nodded. “We'll see you back at the Tower.”

“Gotcha.” Clint replied, then headed off in a different direction.

“Hey, don't forget, she cared about you too.” Tasha said softly, bumping her hip into Steve's side. Steve just hung his head, unsure what to say in response to that. Tony hummed his agreement with her words, which only worked to stoke the red hot coals of Steve's anger. They were laying in wait, simmering beneath his calm demeanor. He would use that anger to get whatever answers he could get. He felt detached pity for what he was going to do to the scientists when they found them.

“She didn't care enough to let me protect her.” Steve muttered, then stormed off before he took his frustrations out on his teammates. They didn't deserve it.

“The kid's got a damn hero complex,” Tony muttered.

“Kid.” Tasha snorted. “He's easily twice your age.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I also know what he means.” Tasha said sadly. “She should have taken us up on our offer.”

“Agent Rogers, you're needed at headquarters.” An agent that Steve didn't know informed him, calling him through the Tower phone.

“I'm taking a sick day.” Steve replied, clutching Jack. They were bundled under a blanket, watching the flash drive Tony had made of Skye and Jack at the bunker. They were taking some time alone to try and replace their last memory of Skye with a happy one. Jack had come back from the park visibly distraught. Clint had returned shortly before the man, shaking his head silently. Tasha grabbed him and dragged him to their floor. Already, Tony was having his own private time with Pepper. Steve had someone for him this time – someone who needed him just as much as Steve needed him. Steve couldn't help but wish it was Skye bundled up with him, though.

He had an awful feeling that he would always crave her attention. How was he supposed to use his computer without thinking of her lessons? How was he supposed to make any jokes, without thinking of their pranking? How was he supposed to sit in the common area and look at the heating and cooling system, the community table, or the massive entertainment system? How was he supposed to look at Jack and not feel instantly protective, just like she had been? She had ruined him. He was a ruined man. Again.

Heartbreak hurt just as much in this new century.

“Sir, you're needed.” The agent repeated.

“I'm not coming in.” Steve growled. He felt bad (just the tiniest bit) for being so forceful with the agent, but his point wasn't getting across. He wanted to be left alone to grieve. There was literally nothing that could make him go into headquarters right now. No mission was that important. He clicked the call off, then powered it down so no more calls could come through. They could call someone else to save the world today. He was off duty.

0-0-0-0-0

“I know you're mad at her. At Skye.” Jack stated lightly. He was fiddling with Steve's tablet nervously.

“I'm not mad at her.” Steve sighed. And he wasn't. Sure, she had made some ridiculously stupid choices because of her stupid pride, but he was regretful – if anything. He regretted not being able to convince her to come back. To stay. To be safe. He was mad, but not at her. Never at her.

“You are.” Jack rebutted. “You're mad cause she hid us in that bunker for months instead of coming back to the Tower and asking for help.”

“I'm not mad.” Steve repeated, though the stern tone of his voice did little to convince Jack.

“Can I explain? Why she wouldn't come back?” Jack asked softly. He was afraid of angering his comfort source. His person. His new person...

Was he that pathetic that he always needed someone looking out for him?

Simply put, yes. He was self-aware enough to realize his support systems were vital to his well-being.

“Please.” Steve whispered. Maybe some logic behind her choices would ease the twisting knife in his gut; the terrible ache in his chest. Jack smiled softly and handed Steve the tablet. His hand shook as he went to swipe across the screen. He had never shown this to anyone.

“Um...so, this is me.” Jack said softly, showing Steve baby pictures of himself. His parents were in many of the pictures, smiling proudly as they held him. He was their first born. Their miracle baby. They had spent a good deal of time and money trying to get pregnant. After five years, they had finally succeeded. Jack kept swiping across the screen, showing Steve his childhood. Jack progressively got older, until he was five. He was normal. He was happy.

Then he swiped to the article of his parent's plane crash. The small plane was wrecked across two fields; the article showed the wreckage in the picture. Another smaller article showed a picture of Jack, at five years old, crying his eyes out in the back of an ambulance. He was clutching a metallic silver blanket.

The next article described the early evidence of tampering with the small plane's engine. The next three articles detailed how the engine had been tampered with, the landing gear disabled, the stuck throttle. Someone had forced that plane to crash. Each article reiterated how lucky the boy was to survive; how no one could figure out how he had survived. Jack swallowed hard and swiped again.

The next screen was an entry form, filled out by the responding officers, to foster care. Just until family could be located for him to live with. The forms filled out by his aunt and uncle, releasing him into their custody. The forms for missed well-being check ins. The forms for retraction of care. The article of their deaths. Two adults and a small child were found in their home; the bodies were too decomposed for proper identification.

“It wasn't you.” Steve whispered, pointing to the gruesome picture Skye must have gotten from the State Medical Examiner.

“No. That's when they took me. No one looked because they thought I was dead.” Jack whispered back. Whispering seemed appropriate for this conversation.

“Are you sure these are your...”

“Yes.” Jack whispered, swallowing hard. “I remember...I remember the door bell ringing. I remember my aunt getting tea. I stayed upstairs; I was still grieving my parents – I didn't care about visitors. Then they were shouting and glass was breaking and...”

“It's okay,” Steve interrupted, pulling Jack into a tight embrace. “You don't have to tell me all the details.”

“I saw them...on the way out.” Jack whispered. He pulled up other files, this time of children Steve recognized from the van. “Each of us were taken with no regard for the people around us. They kill without mercy, without discrimination. This girl, Lucy, lost a baby brother. We don't know why they took her and not him. Nick's dad was a Marine. Not an easy target. The icing on the cake was Nicole. Her foster dad was a cop. They took her during a police function. They took her from over fifty armed police officers.”

“We're a little better than regular police officers,” Steve commented, though he could see where Jack was going with this. Jack actually chuckled at that.

“That's true. But there are only six of you. Dr. Banner doesn't like Hulking out, so you guys tend to leave him towards the back. Even if all six of you were present, which you never are, you would be over powered. They would be prepared for you. They know everything about you and you know nothing about them.”

“Stop being so...reasonable.” Steve sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“See why she wouldn't stay?” Jack whispered. “Even with your offers...she wouldn't risk you. She never thought very much of herself. She wouldn't risk your safety for her happiness.”

“My safety wasn't her call to make!” Steve ground out, trying to stop his hot tears from escaping.

“Yeah, well...she never was much good at listening to other people's logic when she was sure she was right.” Jack replied. His lip quirked up slightly, before falling into a frown. Soon, his tears joined Steve's.

“Can we watch the movie again?” Steve whispered. Jack didn't reply, just grabbed the remote and started the slide show over.

0-0-0-0-0

“You think ignoring your phone is going to make them go away?” Coulson asked, getting off the elevator on Steve's floor. Steve groaned loudly.

“Go away, Coulson. I'm taking a sick day.”

“Is that her?” Coulson asked. Of course, he already knew it was her. He had seen the picture on the mission board. But this was different. Jack shifted on Steve's shoulder; he had cried himself to sleep an hour earlier.

Steve just nodded. His throat felt like it was swollen shut. He was sure he had never cried so much in his life. He hadn't even cried this much over Bucky. They were at war – to some extent he was aware Bucky could get hurt, could be killed. It felt different with Skye. He wasn't prepared. Somehow her paranoia never infected him; she was just running from some vague someone. He had never contemplated her getting hurt or... She was too good to get caught. (But they were better).

Coulson sat next to Steve and watched some of the flash drive, chuckling at the prank Skye pulled on Jack. He had walked out of the shower with purple hair. Skye's laughter filled the room. “Now I understand why Stark is so taken with her.”

“Coulson, please.” Steve begged. He was going to break down again and he didn't want to do it in front of Coulson.

“You have a kid that is throwing a temper tantrum, trying to get your attention.” Coulson commented, frowning like he was disappointed. “You don't get sick days when kids are involved.”

“Which?” Steve asked, cocking his head.

“I don't know. Fury didn't say. Wash up, I'll drive.” Coulson countered. He smirked slightly. “We can take Lola.”

Chapter Text

“Thank God you're here,” An agent sighed, escorting Steve down the hall. “That psycho kid has been going fucking crazy.”

“Which one?"

"I don't know. The boy." The guard shrugged. "I don't know his number."

"What's he doing?” Steve asked, stonily following the agent down the hall. Steve had spent a considerable amount of time with the kids and he was positive psycho was not the word to describe any of them. The fact that the agent was using it on the boy made Steve clench his jaw. His barely contained anger sprang up again.

Today was not the day to test his patience.

“They're calling it a temper tantrum...but that seems like an understatement.” The agent replied.

“Very helpful.” Steve retorted. He really wasn't in the mood for this. The children were important to him, and the way the agent was talking about them made his blood boil. The agent was in very real danger of getting punched in the face. “What did he do?”

“We tried sedating him, but the kid is like a ninja on crack. Three agents are in sick bay, getting patched up.”

“No one tried to talk to him?”

“We're here.” The agent replied, not answering Steve's question. Steve frowned and looked the man over, unhappy with his handling of the situation. This was a child. A gifted child, but a child none the less. He didn't deserve treatment like this.

The agent stepped back, clearly not about to go into the room. Steve could hear the screaming already. The agent raised an eyebrow and gave him a pointed look that made Steve pinch his eyebrows together in annoyance. Steve opened the door quietly, slipping in without drawing attention to himself.

The room was a disaster. Bunks were flipped, chairs were sticking in the walls where the legs had gotten stuck in the drywall, mattress covers and clothes were strewn around the room – and in the middle of it all, Steven was having a meltdown. He was crying and screaming for Steve at the top of his lungs. The other children must have been removed from the room, because he was alone.

The part that angered Steve the most were the four agents standing in each corner of the room. They were in full tacticle gear – their weapons pointed at the boy. Steve's jaw smashed together so hard that he was afraid of breaking teeth. He snarled silently, jerking a thumb towards the door. The agents exchanged a look, but hastily exited the room. Steve took a second to compose himself before speaking to the boy. He was sure the anger was still sketched on his face.

“Whatcha doing, kid?” Steve asked. It wasn't his job to be babysitter, but there was obviously something very wrong with the boy.

“Steve!” He cried, running for him. Steven launched himself around Steve's torso, latching on and sobbing into his shoulder. Steve wrapped his arms around the shaking boy, frowning.

“What happened?”

“I didn't think you were coming,” Steven cried, gripping Steve's shirt. “They said you weren't coming, ever.”

“I was on a mission.” Steve replied. It wasn't entirely a lie. He could have come sooner. Then again, if he knew it was his namesake that needed him he might have come in when asked. “You didn't answer me though. What happened?”

“I got mad...” Steven admitted, picking his head up to look around the room. Tears were still streaming down his cheeks and his nose was running. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand and looked back at Steve, wincing. Steve chuckled slightly.

“I think that's an understatement.” Steve pointed out. Steven nodded, seeming relieved that Steve wasn't mad at him. “How about we bust this joint? We can get you some ice cream and you can tell me all about...this.” Steve waved his hand vaguely towards the destroyed room. Steven nodded his agreement, looking Steve over.

“What's wrong, Steve?” The boy asked softly, cupping Steve's face in his hands. “You look sad.”

“I am sad.” Steve replied, smiling softly. “It's okay though. Let's take care of you, alright?”

Steven nodded and put his head back down on Steve's shoulder. The agent outside the door looked relieved that the boy wasn't screaming any more.

“Thanks for taking care of this...situation.” The agent sighed.

“He's not a situation.” Steve said testily. “He's a child.”

“Sorry, sir. Couldn't help but overhear your conversation in there.” The agent continued brazenly. “You shouldn't reward his behavior with ice cream.”

“I'm taking him with me.” Steve called over his shoulder, deliberately walking too quickly for the agent to keep up. If they stayed in the presence of that stupid agent one more second, Steve was sure he was going to make a very bad decision.

Steven buried his face in Steve's neck, blocking out the looks the pair were receiving. Every agent that Steve passed did a double take when they saw the super soldier carrying the trouble maker down the hall. He ignored all the looks and whispers, stopping only at the front desk to officially check the boy out. Based on the disgusted looks they received, he got the impression no one would miss the boy, but he would do this correctly. By the time all the paperwork was filled out, Clint had found him.

“I hear you really needed Steve,” Clint teased lightly, bopping Steven on the nose. Steven nodded his agreement, but didn't smile at the teasing.

“We're going to get ice cream and he's going to tell me all about it.” Steve explained. “Care to join us?”

“Hell yes, I will.” Clint grinned. It was a bit over the top, so Steve suspected this was Clint's kid friendly version of a specialist mask. Steve followed Clint out to his vehicle once they realized Steve had no way of getting anywhere. Coulson had disappeared after dropping Steve off.

“We don't need to get ice cream,” Steven said softly, buckling himself into the backseat of Clint's SUV. “I don't need it.”

“I need ice cream,” Clint replied easily. “Oh, or we could do fro-yo. Have you had fro-yo?”

“I don't know what that is,” Steve and Steven replied at the same time. Steven chuckled a little bit. Clint smiled at Steve, glad to have gotten a chuckle from the boy.

“Fro-yo is frozen yogurt. You get to pick the flavor, then whatever toppings you want on top.”

“Yogurt?” Steve asked.

“Sounds too healthy.” Steven groaned. Clint laughed out loud.

“It's so far from healthy, but I guess it's slightly healthier than ice cream. But it's delicious, I promise. Let's try it. If you hate it, I'll eat yours.”

“I don't want to see you on that much sugar,” Steve told Clint firmly.

“Chill, Grandpa. He'll eat all of his.”

“Don't call him that.” Steven informed Clint, frowning.

“Sorry, kid.” Clint grinned.

“Fro-yo it is.” Steve agreed, indicating Clint should get driving.

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, you were right.” Steven moaned, shoving his fro-yo in his mouth. Clint winked at Steve, who he had bullied into getting his own serving of fro-yo. Of course, Steve made it as healthy as possible, getting one of the sugar free options and putting only fruit on top.

“Clint said he wanted to play with you later,” Steve told the boy, smirking at Clint. “You just wait til all of this sugar hits him.”

“Whoa!” Steven grinned. “Really? Will you teach me to shoot? I heard you're the best.”

“Well, I try.” Clint replied modestly. Steve snorted and shook his head. “Does that mean he's coming back to the Tower?”

“For a little while at least,” Steve nodded.

“Aw, look at you being all paternal...” Clint cooed. Steve smacked the back of his head, making Steven giggle. “But really, what brought this on?”

“I don't like how they were treating him.” Steve replied shortly. He hurried to change the subject. “So, you promised to tell me about what happened.”

“I needed to talk to you. They wouldn't call you. They said...they said that I was just a stupid boy and I couldn't help. They said you were too important to care about somebody like me...” Steven paused, swallowing hard. Clint and Steve exchanged an angry look before Steve pulled the boy into his lap.

“Of course I care.” Steve told the boy firmly. He wanted there to be no doubt in the boy's mind. “The mission was...hard...and I needed a minute to get myself together.”

“You tried to find Jack's friend, huh?”

“How did you know?” Steve frowned.

“Clint taught me how to climb through the vents.” Steven admitted, glancing over to the man. Clint puffed out his chest and grinned proudly. Steven smiled a little at that.

“So you escaped?” Steve asked, chuckling. “No wonder they were mad. What'd you do after that?”

“Someone left their computer unlocked. I looked...” Steven admitted softly.

“Well, that was stupid.” Clint huffed. Who knew what the boy saw?

“They caught me. They were mad.” Steven confessed, cowering.

“What did they do?” Steve asked, stiffening up. He could see the fear in the boy's face.

“I'm okay.” The boy whispered.

“What did they do?” Clint repeated.

“I just wanted to help.” Steven dodged, glancing up at Steve. “I think I know where they took your friend.”

“Wait, what?” Steve backtracked. The distraction was effective.

“You asked about where we were taken, before the program started. So I talked with the others.” Steven explained, absentmindedly doodling on the back of Steve's hand. “I can't really tell you. I don't know how. But the computer guy...the one with the movies? If I can talk to him, we can find it. I think.”

“You're sure about this?” Steve asked, surprised.

“Well, I mean, I don't know if he's there. But the scientists probably are. You didn't find any at the other place, did you?”

“No, just guards and a few low level employees.” Clint replied.

“Our friend won't be there, but we can get the scientists.” Steve informed the little boy, before looking up at Clint with vengeance in his expression. “We can get the scientists.”

“I just really want to help.” Steven told Steve, frowning at the man's stiff posture. “You're not mad, are you?”

“No, buddy. I'm not mad.” Steve replied sincerely. “I promise, I'm not mad. In fact, I think you're going to be a big help.”

“Good.” Steven smiled softly. “I want to help. I don't like it when you're sad.”

“Sweet Jesus,” Clint muttered softly, discretely wiping the corner of his eye while the boy hugged Steve. Steve hugged the boy back tightly, loosening his hold when the boy hissed in pain.

“Finish your ice cream so we can go,” Steve said softly, pulling his bowl closer to he could eat it from Steve's lap.

“It's fro-yo,” Steven replied just as softly, but with a touch of sass. Clint pressed his lips together tightly, trying not to grin. “And I think I'm full.”

“Okay,” Clint replied easily, grabbing all three bowls to toss in the garbage. Steve grabbed one of the wipes from the napkin tray, unfolding the damp toilette to wipe down the boy's face.

“Did they hurt you?” Steve asked softly, wiping the sticky residue from the boy's hands.

“I'm okay,” he replied, keeping his eyes down.

“You're not going back there, okay?” Steve replied.

“It's okay, you don't have to do that for me.” He replied. “I'll be okay.”

“You're not going back.” Steve repeated. “And I'm going to make sure there is different staff for the other kids until we can figure out a better long term solution.”

“I get to stay with you?” He asked, looking up shyly.

“Do you want to? You don't have to. I can find you a different...”

“No! I want to.” Steven interrupted, throwing his arms around Steve. “I want to.”

“Well, okay then.” Steve said softly, smiling.

He carried the boy to the car, ignoring the look Clint was giving him. Neither men were surprised when the boy fell asleep in the car; after the temper tantrum, it wasn't surprising that he was exhausted.

“Does Tony know you're bringing a kid home?” Clint smirked.

“Nope.” Steve replied, smiling back.

“Wanna take bets on his reaction?” Clint chuckled.

“If he really can help us find another facility, I don't think Tony will have a problem with it.” Steve shrugged.

“Like you would let Tony send him back anyway,” Clint grinned, glancing back at the boy. He had a dribble of chocolate ice cream down the front of his standard issue Shield shirt. His hair was growing out, so his scars were hidden. With a change of clothes, a few hearty meals, and the love he knew Steve would give the boy, Steven was going to be a very different boy.

“I'm going to have to learn that mash-up language,” Steve sighed. “Watch Jack and him team up on me.”

“That boy loves you.”

“Yeah, well...the honey moon period won't last forever.” Steve shrugged. “And Jack can be a ridiculously bad influence.”

“Cause he's the only bad influence in the Tower.” Clint smirked.

“Well, at least the air ducts are already clean from you sneaking around. I don't have to worry about him getting too dirty.” Steve sighed. Clint laughed out loud. Life at the Tower was about to get interesting.

0-0-0-0-0

“Stay in the car with him?” Steve asked, sliding out of the passenger seat.

“Why are we back at Headquarters?” Clint frowned.

“I need to have words with the team in charge of the kids.”

“Words or fists?” Clint asked softly.

“Depends on them.” Steve grunted. He was pissed they thought it was okay to treat the kids like that.

“Maybe you should just go have words with Fury. Get him to change the detail.”

“I'll see if he'll see me.” Steve agreed. His temper, which was usually completely under his control, was completely out of his control right now. Going head to head with the agents he was pissed at would probably be a bad idea.

0-0-0-0-0

“Agent Rogers, what can I do for you?” Fury asked, crossing his fingers in front of him at his desk.

“You need to reassign the agents on the children's detail.” Steve told him, his shaking hands locked firmly behind his back. It wasn't fear – it was anger. Fury's secretary had made an unkind remark about the children on his way past her.

“And why do I need to do that?” Fury asked.

“Because they aren't treating the children well.” Steve informed him. His tone was short and pinched with the effort of trying to be polite.

“I see.” Fury nodded. “And how are they treating them?”

“They were holding four assault rifles on a boy this morning. He is injured from his treatment from them.”

“The same boy that broke out of his containment area and hacked one of our secure computers?” Fury asked, frowning. “The same boy that put three of my agents in sick bay?”

“He needed me. He's helping us on a project. Your agents had no reason to treat him like that. He's seven.”

“He may be seven but he's got abilities beyond his years.”

“He's a boy. He may be able to do things a seven year old can't do, but he's a seven year old boy. A scared seven year old boy.” Steve growled through his locked jaw.

“He's unsafe.”

“Remove those agents from the children's detail, or I'll do something about it.” Steve told Fury, his usual do-whatever-you-ask soldier facade long gone.

“You're going to do something about it?” Fury asked incredulously. “You're an agent. I'm the boss. I decide where my agents go, what my agents do. You don't tell me what to do.”

“I'll do what's right, even if you don't agree. Get someone to treat those children better.” Steve growled and spun to leave the room, not bothering to wait for Fury's dismissal.

“Captain.” Fury called angrily. “I understand your friend is dead and you're upset about it, but that doesn't excuse you from following Shield protocol.”

“This isn't about Skye.” Steve told Fury from the doorway. “This is about those children. They're innocents. They were helpless. They are victims. Shield protocol places them pretty high on the list of people to protect. Maybe you forgot that. Sir.”

Chapter Text

“Is that a kid?” Tony asked, watching Clint and Steve step off the elevator. Steven was still asleep, so Steve had carried him in from the car. “Why is there a kid?”

“His name is Steven,” Clint told Tony. “He's from Chi. He is going to be your favorite.” Clint winced, hating that he accidentally brought Skye up. It was too soon.

“Hmm, and why is that?” Tony asked, reclining on the couch. He neatly avoided thinking about what Clint accidentally brought up.

“He has a good idea where another facility is. Not the experimental facility. He said it's where some of the kids were taken before the program started. He thinks we'll find the scientists there.” Steve explained.

“Whoa, what?” Tony asked, springing from the couch. “Wake him up. We have work to do.”

“Yes, you do.” Steve nodded. “But you're going to have to be patient. He said he doesn't know how to tell you.”

“Patient.” Tony scoffed. “I can be patient.”

“He said the computer guy with the movies,” Clint grinned, “Could help him find the building.”

“Computer guy?” Tony huffed. “That's all I am? Not a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist?”

“Make him the top of the list,” Steve sighed, giving Clint a pointed look.

“Aw, man. I wanted to be the top.” Clint laughed loudly. “I'll have to work my way back up to the top.”

“Inside voice,” Steven mumbled, adjusting sleepily against Steve's shoulder. Steve grinned, wondering how many times the boy had heard that line.

“Hey, buddy.” Steve said softly, stroking the boy's back. “You wanna talk to the computer guy now?”

“Are we there?” Steven yawned, struggling to open his eyes.

“Computer guy?” Tony asked indignantly. “Computer guy?!”

“Oh, hi, computer guy.” Steven said shyly, waving a hand tiredly at him. Tony crossed his arms with a silent huff, sending the boy a death glare.

“Steven, this is Tony Stark. You can call him Tony, if you want.” Steve explained, smirking at Tony.

“Please, no more Computer Guy stuff,” Tony told the boy seriously, watching Steve's interaction with the boy.

“Sorry, Tony.” The boy apologized, clinging to Steve's shirt.

“So, I hear you and I are going to be working on a project together.” Tony grinned, clapping his hands together.

“Maybe you could give him a minute to wake up,” Steve told him pointedly.

“The paternal look is cute on him, isn't it?” Clint grinned.

“Shut up, Clint.”

“He is awfully paternal.” Tony agreed, narrowing his eyes at Steve. “Why is that?”

“Steven's going to stay with me.” Steve told Tony, silently warning him to save his words for a time when the kid wasn't around. Tony's jaw dropped.

“You're doing what now?”

“I'm not taking him back to Shield.” Steve repeated, his tone daring Tony to argue with him.

“Can I ask why?” Tony asked, looking more surprised than angry. This was not at all what he was expecting. Everyone handled grief differently, but stealing a kid? That was a new one.

“They don't treat him well,” Steve replied, angry heat flushing his core. Tony saw the anger on his features and softened.

“Maybe we should have Bruce look him over before we start any project. Those scientists will still be there in an hour.”

“That actually sounds like a great idea,” Steve agreed, thinking about the hiss of pain.

“Aw, no doctors.” Steven said, shaking his head. He climbed up Steve, wrapping his arms and legs around him. “I don't want to. Please, I'll be good.”

“Oh, no. No, no. You're not in trouble.” Steve told the boy, walking away from the other two men to talk to Steven in private. He winced and pulled the boy's grip loose from his neck. Steven was strong; he had a hard time breathing. “Bruce is a friend. He's not like a doctor doctor, but he looks after the Avengers if we get hurt. He's super nice. I promise, I just want to make sure you're okay. You're important to me. I need to make sure you're not hurt.”

“I'm not important,” The boy sniffed.

“You're important to me.” Steve repeated, running his hand gently down the boy's back to calm him.

“You're important to me too.” Steven admitted, loosening his hold around Steve.

“Bruce won't hurt you.” Steve murmured, not knowing how to respond to the boy's affection. What was he thinking? He didn't know anything about children. “Can we go get you checked out?”

“Only if you promise.” Steven said softly, pulling back so he could look at Steve.

“I promise, Bruce won't hurt you.” Steve agreed.

“No, promise you won't be mad.”

“What would I be mad at?” Steve asked.

“The Shield people.”

“Well, I can't make that promise. I don't make promises I can't keep. I'll promise not to be mad at you though.” Steve told the boy, feeling dread build in his gut. What had those agents done to the boy? Shield was supposed to be the good guys. Steven winced, but nodded, accepting Steve's promise.

“All ready?” Tony asked when they walked back into the room.

“All ready.” Steve confirmed. Tony's demeanor was different. Clint must have told him what happened at headquarters.

“Steven, have you met Jarvis yet?” Tony asked, smirking. The boy shook his head, frowning slightly. “Jarvis, introduce yourself.”

“Hello, Mr. Steven. I am Jarvis, Sir's AI.” Jarvis informed the boy. Steven's eyes got large and he glanced up.

“No. Way.” Steven grinned, looking over at Tony. “You built a robot?”

“Oh, buddy. You haven't even seen my robots.” Tony smirked. He brushed some imaginary dust from his shoulder and smirked at Clint. “I'm so going to be his favorite uncle.”

“Jarvis doesn't have a body.” Steve explained to the boy. “He lives in the Tower. He'll help you with anything you need.”

“Does he have to call me mister?” Steven asked, rolling his eyes at Tony.

“I don't know. Why don't you ask him?” Tony replied.

“Jarvis?” Steven asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Mr. Steven?”

“Do you have to call me mister?”

“What would you like me to call you?” Jarvis replied.

“Anything?” Steven asked Steve. Steve nodded, sharing a smile with Tony. “Can I change my mind later?”

“As many times as you want.” Steve laughed.

“Jarvis, just call me Steven please.”

“Yes, Steven.”

“This is so cool,” Steven grinned, squirming from Steve's grip. He rushed over and gave Tony a hug around the waist. Tony awkwardly hugged the boy back, sobering slightly. The three men watched the boy with soft smiles, all thinking about how much Skye would have enjoyed the little trouble maker. Tony pulled away from Steven and steered him towards the elevator.

“Tell Jarvis where you would like to go.” Tony told Steven.

“Where I want to go, or where you want me to go?” Steven asked, sassing just a little. Tony smirked.

“Where I want you to go.”

“Fine.” The boy sighed dramatically. Then he grinned and looked up at the ceiling. “Jarvis, can we go to...”

“Bruce.” Steve supplied softly.

“...Bruce's office?”

“Yes, Steven.” Jarvis replied, sending the elevator. Steven grinned broadly and bounced up and down. “So cool!”

“Hmm, look at all that sugar kicking in.” Steve muttered dryly, giving Clint a look.

“Archery practice after your computer project?” Clint offered to Steven.

“We can do that here?” Steven asked, cocking his head. “Or do we have to go to your house?”

“Oh, buddy. Sorry, I never explained.” Steve stepped in, kneeling down so he was at face level with the boy. “We all live here. It's Tony's Tower, but he built floors for each of us.”

“So we're gonna live here?” Steven beamed.

“Is that okay?” Steve smirked.

“I guess,” Steven shrugged, feigning indifference. Tony laughed as the elevator stopped at Bruce's lab.

“I have a feeling we're gonna get along just fine.”

“Oh, no. What's happening?” Bruce asked, taking his glasses off and stepping away from his microscope. “Did one of your long, lost kids finally turn up?”

“This one is Steve's actually.” Tony retorted, pretending to be hurt. Bruce raised his eyebrow at that. He glanced between Steve and Steven, obviously taking in their differences. Steve was blonde and had a fairly light complexion; Steven had dark brown hair and a dark enough complexion to not be confused with Steve's – more like Jack's than Steve's.

“Steve's?”

“I'm going to stay with Steve from now on.” Steven informed him, grabbing Steve's hand to reinforce his point.

“Well, all right then. I'm Bruce Banner. You can just call me Bruce.”

“I'm Steven.”

“Did you name him?” Bruce grinned, glancing up at Steve.

“I told him he had to pick a name. I was tired of calling him 1027.” Steve shrugged.

“Wait, he's one of...”

“I'm Group Chi.” Steven interrupted. He winced. “Sorry.”

“So he picked Steven?” Bruce laughed, waving off the apology.

“I wanted Steve, but he said I couldn't.” Steven huffed theatrically. He added in a little foot stomp, grinning proudly when that got a chuckle from the adults.

“It was taken.” Steve agreed, smiling down at the boy.

“If this gets any more cute, I'm going to puke rainbows and lollipops.” Tasha informed the boys.

“Hi, Tasha,” Steven greeted, abandoning Steve to give Tasha a hug.

“You had to pick a boy, didn't you? Isn't there enough testosterone in this Tower already?” Tasha groaned loudly, squeezing Steven tightly. The boy hissed and backed away.

“Which brings us to the reason we're here.” Steve informed Bruce. “Could you look him over? Maybe give his ribs a once over?”

“What happened?” Bruce asked, trying to mask his horrified look.

“Steven knows where another facility is. He's going to help Tony find it on a map.” Clint explained. Tasha gasped at that revelation. Clint nodded his agreement with her reaction.

“But Shield wouldn't get me so he could tell me about it.” Steve nodded. “Steven escaped the room and happened across a computer someone didn't lock.”

“Stupid.” Tasha muttered. Clint nodded again.

“They weren't happy when they caught him. He won't say what happened.” Steve finished.

“All right, well – shoo.” Bruce nodded, waving the extra people away. He could tell from the boy's expression that he wouldn't be comfortable showing him what was wrong with all these people around.

“Can Steve stay?” Steven asked, hurrying over to grab Steve's hand again.

“Of course, I'll stay.” Steve nodded.

“Steve'll stay, you others – shoo.” Bruce repeated. Steven smiled when Bruce kicked Tony's behind for straggling.

“See, not a doctor doctor.” Steve grinned, bending over to whisper to him.

“All right, Mr. Escapee.” Bruce smiled, putting a pillow on the metal table. “Up you go.”

“Escapee.” Steven snorted, lifting his arms to signal to Steve he wanted to be lifted. Steve rolled his eyes but lifted him onto the table.

“I've seen you in action.” Steve told the boy dryly, tapping his nose. “I know you could have managed that.”

“I'm hurt, Steve!” He exclaimed loudly. “I might need ice cream to make me feel better.”

“We can definitely get some ice cream after the exam.” Bruce agreed.

“We just had ice cream.” Steve told Bruce.

“Nuh uh.” Steven denied, shaking his head. “We had fro-yo. And it was healthy.”

“It was not.” Steve argued. “Chocolate fro-yo with Oreos, fudge, and marshmallow sauce does not count as healthy.”

“Yeah, but it was yogurt...so...”

“Good luck with this one,” Bruce grinned, rolling a stool over to Steven's side. “Wanna pull your giant shirt off for me?”

“We'll go clothes shopping.” Steve agreed.

“Remember, you promised.” Steven reminded Steve, looking at him uncertainly.

“I didn't forget.”

“Okay. Just remember, I'm okay.”

“Take the shirt off, Steven.” Steve said firmly, suddenly anxious at the extent of his injuries. The boy licked his dry lips and reached back to pull his shirt off. “Damn.”

“I'm okay.” Steven repeated. His torso was bruised, front and back. There was also a distinctly hand shaped bruise around his upper arm. His elbows are bruised and covered in needle marks.

“This didn't just happen today, did it?” Bruce asked softly, lifting the boy's arm to look at the bruising along his ribs. Steven glanced at Steve.

“Tell him the truth.” Steve told him. “No lying here, okay?”

“Most of it happened today.” Steven told Bruce. “But not all of it.”

“What happened with the other bruises?” Bruce asked, running his fingertips along the boy's ribs. Steven hissed and squirmed away from the touch. “Hmm, bruised.”

“We can't do anything for that, can we?” Steve confirmed.

“Tylenol, ice packs, and lots of ice cream should help.” Bruce replied, smiling at Steven with the last part.

“You hear that Steve?” Steven asked, looking over at Steve. “Doctors orders.”

“Well, we can't ignore those, now can we?” Steve laughed. “What else hurts?”

“Nothing, really.” Steven shrugged. “I have a bruise on my shin, but that's because I hit it with a chair when I was throwing it.”

“You did what now?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I'll have Tony hack Shield's servers. I kind of want to see his temper tantrum too.” Steve smirked.

“It's a good idea to know what you're getting into.” Bruce laughed. “I'll contact Coulson and see if I can borrow Simmons. I still want her to look at that blood and we can do a full workup on this guy.”

“No needles.” Steven asked softly.

“I'll see what I can do,” Bruce replied. Steven frowned at that. Bruce sighed. “I want to make sure you're healthy. You're joining this family; it's important to us that you're well taken care of.”

“I'm just staying with Steve.” The boy replied shyly.

“Yeah, well...you've got a whole tower of aunts and uncles that are your family too, now. You think you're just going to live with Steve? You're stuck with all of us.” Bruce smiled kindly. Steven slid from the table and gave Bruce a shy hug.

“I never had a family before.” He said softly.

“Welcome to our crazy family,” Bruce laughed, hugging the boy back carefully.

“Okay, Steve. I did the doctor part, can I go work with Tony now?” Steven asked, smiling.

“Go on. Just ask Jarvis to take you to Tony. I'm going to talk to Bruce for a second.” Steve laughed. Steven grinned and ran for the elevator.

“Jarvis? Can you take me to Tony please?”

“Yes, Steven.” Jarvis replied. Steve caught a glimpse of the giant grin on the boy's face as the elevator doors closed.

“He's really okay?” Steve asked, turning to Bruce.

“The bruising will go away in a few days. The rib will take a little longer to heal, but it's nothing major. Other than that, he seems fine. Needs a little meat on his bones, maybe.” Bruce smiled. “Simmons is just a precaution. I'm sure Shield gave him a full workup, but...”

“But Shield is also the one that put those bruises on him.” Steve finished. Bruce nodded and scratched his head.

“You know, adopting a kid isn't going to fill the hole Skye left.” Bruce said hesitantly. Steve ducked his head, feeling like he was being reprimanded. He respected Bruce and his opinion.

“I know. I'm not trying to do that. I didn't go into headquarters intending to take him with me, but when I saw how they were treating him...I couldn't just leave him. You should see the looks they gave that kid when we walked out. I mean, he's high energy, I'll give you that. But he's a good kid. He doesn't deserve that treatment.”

“You could find him a foster home, until Shield figures this all out.” Bruce suggested.

“Shield's idea of taking care of this is putting them in the system. I talked with Skye about it very, very briefly. She hated that idea. They tried it in the sixties and it failed. I'm not letting him end up stuck in the system because no regular family will tolerate his energy level. I'm better equipped for weird. I'm better equipped for his energy. I'm better for him. And...he's better for me. I need someone, Bruce.”

“Welcome to fatherhood,” Bruce smiled softly, pulling Steve into a hug. “For the record, I think you're going to do a fantastic job. I just wanted to make sure you weren't rushing into things without thinking about it.”

“Well, it's definitely rushed.” Steve laughed. “I made this decision like two hours ago.”

“I'll let you know if I can swing Simmons around. I would like to take a peek at his serum port.” Bruce grinned. “Now, go check on your boy before Tony gets him into trouble.”

0-0-0-0-0

Steve was bored.

He had been watching Tony and Steven mess around on the computer doing...something...for the last three hours. Tony had explained it to him, of course. But that meant about three words stuck. They were doing some sort of search for topographical landmarks, using Steven's knowledge as a basis for the search.

At first, it was interesting watching them work. Steven picked up quickly what Tony threw at him, understanding far more of it than Steve did. The boy was delighted with the technology at his finger tips. But soon the glamor wore off and Steve wandered away, dragging a chair into the lab so he could watch comfortably. He had read an entire book and taken a very short nap, but they were still working.

“I'm going to go check on Jack.” Steve groaned finally. “You going to be okay here with Tony?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Steven nodded, waving Steve off without looking up from the computer screen. Tony looked up with a sad grin. The boy's excitement over what they were doing had won him a spot in Tony's heart. Maybe, like Bruce suspected of Steve, he was using the boy to fill a hole. Steve shook his head at Tony's amusement and wandered off towards the elevator.

“Jarvis, is Jack still on my floor?”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers.”

“Take me there, please.”

“I hear you stole a kid.” Jack said the instant Steve stepped off the elevator. He was sitting backwards on the couch, watching Steve with his head propped up on the back of it.

“I didn't steal him.” Steve replied, coming to sit by Jack on the couch.

“Are you taking him back?” Jack asked.

“No. I'm keeping him.”

“Then you stole him.” Jack retorted loftily. Steve smiled softly.

“I checked him out of the front desk?” He offered. That made Jack laugh. It was weak, but it was a laugh.

“Tasha and I went clothes shopping for him.” Jack admitted. Steve peered around Jack and saw the pile of clothes in the doorway of one of Steve's spare rooms. “I also claimed him a room.”

“Did you leave any clothes on the rack?” Steve sighed, rubbing his face. Jack laughed softly. “Really though, you just did this?”

“You were up there a while. Tasha came down after you had Bruce check the kid out. Speaking of which, which kid is it?” Jack smiled.

“1027. The youngest of Chi.”

“Ah. Your mini-me. I should have known.” Jack nodded. “You trying to get rid of me?”

“Would it be that easy?” Steve joked. He pulled Jack in for a hug. “Promise, not getting rid of you. I wouldn't want to, even if I could. You're part of this family now. Just...eventually you're going to have to get out of my bed.”

“Aw!” Jack laughed, hugging Steve back. Steve felt some moisture soak through his shirt and realized Jack was crying.

“Hey, you know I would never get rid of you right?” Steve asked. “I'm not replacing you. Steven wasn't being treated right at Shield. I couldn't leave him. Besides, I'm kind of attached to him.”

“Skye was right. You've gone all paternal.” Jack laughed wetly. Steve nodded against his head, holding back his own tears. “I think it's going to be good for you. You need someone.”

“Thanks, Jack.” Steve replied softly. “What do you think Skye would say if she saw us like this?”

“She wouldn't believe it.” Jack giggled, a tear dropping down his cheek. “You were so afraid of me.”

“I wasn't afraid.” Steve scoffed.

“You were so afraid.”

“I just didn't know how to handle you.” Steve laughed.

“You still don't.”

“You toned yourself down.” Steve agreed. “Poor Ward.”

“Hmm, hot Ward.” Jack hummed appreciatively. They both laughed softly. “So what's your kid doing?”

“Oh, God. How could I forget?” Steve exclaimed, sitting up. “Steven thinks he knows where another facility is. He said he was at another building when he was first taken, before he started in the program. He's helping Tony find the building now. He is pretty confident the scientists are there.”

“Good. I hope they are. I'm going to kick their asses.” Jack growled. “Can we go check on them?”

“Ugh, I was just up there. It's boring.” Steve moaned. He let Jack pull him off the couch though.

Chapter Text

“This isn't going to be as easy as I initially thought it would be,” Tony confessed, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“Computer guy can't figure it out?” Clint teased lightly. Jack stared Clint down, throwing daggers at him with his eyes. Clint shrugged lightly. They all wanted the facility to be found. Skye might be lost, but they could still take vengeance on the scientists that took her.

“We're going to have to write our own program.” Tony shrugged. “The information Steven has isn't compatible with the technology that I have.”

“You can't find it.” Steve frowned.

“Oh, we'll find it.” Tony argued. “We will. It just won't happen as quickly as I had hoped. It's going to take a few days, at least, to write up this program.”

“We'll find it, Steve.” Steven agreed, looking down cast. “I'm sorry we can't find it now.”

“Oh, buddy.” Steve sighed, suddenly realizing how he was coming across to the boy. “I know you'll find it. It's okay, I promise. And even if you can't find it, even if this doesn't work, it's not your fault.”

“But...it would be my fault.” Steven shrugged. “It would be my fault that you're still sad.”

“I'm not sad because of that.” Steve whispered, pulling the boy over to the couch.

“You're sad cause you couldn't find your friend?” Steven guessed, clambering onto Steve's lap. Clint, Tony, and Jack grabbed chairs and settled in to explain this to the boy.

“We found her.” Steve frowned. Steven looked around, confused.

“But if you found your friend, why are you sad?”

“Cause we were too late.” Jack whispered.

“Your friend is dead?” Steven gasped, horror flashing across his face.

“Skye was erased.” Tony informed him. Clint and Steve's heads whipped over to his. “I watched the rest of the drive.”

“You're sure?” Jack whispered.

“I'm sure.” Tony nodded. “They brought her into the room. They left, she didn't. Then they turned the Eraser on. Nothing else came out of, or into the room until Clint and Tasha found it.”

“Shit.” Clint sighed, rubbing his eyes. “Does someone else want to tell Tasha that? I would love to not be the one to break her heart.”

“Oh, sissy.” Jack sighed, throwing his head back and covering his face.

“Skye was your sister?” Steven asked softly, scrambling from Steve's lap. He hurried over and planted himself on Jack. Jack hesitated, casting a slightly panicked look towards Steve, before finally wrapping his arm around the boy.

“Yeah, Skye was my sister.”

“Your for real sister?”

“No, not for real.” Jack whispered.

“Just because someone isn't related to you by blood, it doesn't mean your relationship is any more or less real.” Clint interjected. “Skye wasn't related by blood, but she was his for real sister.”

“You came from the facility, though, right?” Steven asked.

“Yeah, I came from the facility.” Jack nodded, tapping his covered wrist. Steven nodded, remembering when Jack had pulled his watch off to show them all the tattoo that confirmed his identity.

“I'm sorry we can't get your sister back.” Steven frowned, his chin trembling.

“It's okay,” Jack whispered, awkwardly patting the boy's back as he clung to him.

“How about we take a break and shoot some arrows?” Clint offered, peeling the boy off the noticeably uncomfortable Jack. Steven hiccuped loudly, shaking his head. He squirmed loose from Clint's arms and ran back to Steve, burying his face in his neck to hide his tears.

“We can go find a movie to watch,” Steve offered quietly, rubbing circles on the boy's back.

“I need to help Tony,” Steven replied, hiccuping again. “We need to find them.”

“We can't find them today,” Tony replied, looking uncomfortable with all the emotions in the room. “Let's take a break. We'll be more productive when we come back to this.”

“We need to find them. We need to find the scientists.” Steven growled angrily, though he didn't lift his face from Steve's neck.

“We'll find them, buddy.” Steve comforted him, standing. “Arrows or a movie?”

“Oh, or both.” Clint grinned, bopping in place. One glance at him let Steve know this was his mask, but someone needed to break the mood in this room. Steve was grateful to Clint for being the one to do it. “We can shoot some arrows and then watch a movie. Maybe an archer movie? Robin Hood?”

“Do you have that movie?” Steven asked softly, peering up at Tony and Clint.

“Oh, buddy.” Steve laughed lightly. “That's the wrong question to ask.”

“What's the right question?” Steven whispered.

“What movie don't we have.” Tony smirked. “The answer? None. We have them all. Or, we can very easily and very quickly get them all.”

“Cause of Jarvis?” Steven asked softly.

“Cause I get everything I want.” Tony retorted. Steve and Clint laughed at him, drawing Steven even further away from Steve's neck.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because Tony is rich.” Clint replied easily. “So if he wants something, anything, he gets it.”

“Did you buy your robots?” Steven asked, curiosity peaked.

“Did I buy my robots?” Tony repeated, looking incredulous. Steve laughed at his expression, coaxing a small smile from the boy as well. “I made my robots, thank you very much.”

“You're welcome?” Steven replied, shrugging. Clint snorted and shoved Tony lightly.

“You're welcome.”

“I'll prove it. Come to my lab and I'll show you.” Tony replied, crossing his arms.

“Nuh uh!” Clint whined. “Arrows. I get to show him my lab first.”

“It's not a lab.” Tony retorted.

“To me it is.” Clint argued.

“It's an archery range.” Tony sniffed. “All you do is shoot arrows. How boring is that?”

“Are they always like this?” Steven whispered to Steve, watching the other two men argue.

“Surprisingly, no.” Steve smiled. “Tony and I argue more than them.”

“Tony is fun to pick on.” Jack agreed, sitting down next to Steve. “He's the only one that really gets worked up.”

“I don't think I want Clint to shoot arrows if he's mad.” Steven admitted, watching Clint's face get red as Tony continued to pick on his hobby.

“Should we save him?” Steve asked, smirking.

“That's probably for the best.” Steven agreed. Steve chuckled and pulled the boy loose from his neck.

“Hey Clint, think fast.” Steve called, then tossed the boy at him. Steven yelped midair, afraid of being dropped. Clint laughed as the boy crashed into his arms and instantly scrambled to get a hold of him.

“Hi, Clint.” He grinned.

“Hey, you.” Clint laughed. “Let's go shoot some arrows?”

“How about you shoot some arrows and I watch?” Steven countered.

“I can blow some stuff up.” Clint offered, smirking broadly.

“You have got a deal.” Steven grinned, shaking hands with him.

“Tony, we're going to my lab if you'd like to join.” Clint tossed over his shoulder as the rest of the room headed for the elevator.

“It's not a lab!” Tony huffed, following along anyway.

0-0-0-0-0

“Can we do that again sometime?” Steven grinned, jumping up and down in place. “Cause that was awesome. That jug just exploded. It. Was. Awesome.”

“So you liked it?” Clint smirked. In response, Steven let out a little half yell and launched himself at the wall. He kicked off, doing a neat little flip before landing back on his feet.

“My favorite part was when Tony wasn't paying attention and then the arrow almostgothimandwhatifhisbeardgotburned? He would look silly with only half a beard but maybe he should try that look out sometime because it's okay to be silly and...” Steven all but shouted, speaking so quickly that his words were starting to run together. Steve smirked and shot a look of exasperation at Clint.

“I warned you about the sugar high.” Steve said simply, smirking at the look of exhaustion on Clint's face.

“Maybe we should do something to burn some of that energy?” Clint sighed. “I don't think a movie is going to do the trick.”

“...check out your vents?” Steven finished, looking expectantly at Clint and Steve. Jack had bailed when the boy got touchy. Tony was trying, but his mood left something to be desired, so he excused himself after almost getting shot by Clint's arrow. To be fair to Clint, Tony had stepped into the line of fire at a bad time.

“Say that again?” Steve asked, looking down at the boy. Steven launched himself at Steve, climbing his body quickly.

“Can I check out the vents?” He asked peering at Steve from over the top of his head. “Clint taught me how at the Shield place but they didn't like it there. Am I allowed to do it here? If I'm allowed to do it here, I would like to check them out. Can I?”

“Clint?” Steve shrugged. It was his domain, after all.

“I'll go with you.” Clint nodded. “Just this first time. There are a few places I need to point out.”

“Unsafe places?”

“Eh, they're not unsafe.” Clint shrugged. “But I would feel better if I explained them to you.”

“Then I can go in later by myself?” Steven grinned, wiggling on Steve's shoulders. Steve winced and dug the boy's knee from his collar bone.

“Sure.” Clint agreed.

“And not get in trouble?” Steven clarified, his face clouding just the tiniest bit.

“And not get in trouble.” Clint nodded.

“No matter what, though, you won't get hurt here.” Steve added. “It's okay to make mistakes. This is a safe zone. We won't always like the choices you make, but that's how you learn. We'll never hit you.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” Steve nodded, looking up at the boy so he knew how serious he was. “And if anyone ever hurts you again you just come find me and I'll take care of it.”

“Take care of it?” Steven asked, cocking his head.

“Do you think Steve is going to let anyone hurt you?” Clint laughed, tugging the boy down from Steve's head. “He checked you out of a top secret military base because he didn't like how you were being treated.”

“It's not really a base,” Steve sighed.

“That's not the point,” Clint laughed. “If someone hurts you, Steve will kick their asses.”

“Clinton...” Steve muttered warningly. Clint and Steven exchanged a grin.

“To the vents?” Clint laughed.

“To the vents!” Steven agreed.

Chapter Text

“So...what's going on with you?” Steve asked after silently observing Jack pout. They had retreated back to Steve's floor after Clint and Steven disappeared into the vents.

“What are you talking about?” Jack sighed, removing his arm from his face.

“You were weird with Steven. You've always been okay with the kids...but you were weird today.” Steve pointed out.

“I wasn't weird.”

“You were weird.” Steve countered, giving Jack a dry look when he huffed. “Look, it's not a big deal. I was just curious why a roomful of them is okay for you, but one little boy can make you that uncomfortable.”

There was a long silence between the two men. Just when Steve was sure Jack was going to ignore him, the man sighed loudly and adjusted to look at Steve directly.

“Look, I'm not good with kids.” Jack said pointedly. “When I was with the kids in the room, it was for a purpose. A very specific purpose. I never just went and hung out with them. I don't know how. I don't know how to deal with his...feelings. I didn't know how to make him feel better when he was crying, because I wanted to lose it myself. I was always the kid. Skye always took care of me. I don't know how to play her role.”

“You don't need to be her.” Steve whispered, joining Jack on the couch. “You don't need to play her role. You just need to be you. He doesn't know any better than you do. Hell, we're all playing on a steep learning curve here. None of us have any kids, or really interact with any – aside from brief moments during a mission.”

“But Skye would know what to do. Skye would be so perfect with him...”

“I bet she wasn't perfect when she first broke you out. 14 kids for one care giver? That's a lot for anyone.” Steve said softly.

“That's true.” Jack nodded. “But we didn't stay at 14 for very long.”

“All that I ask of you...all he's going to care about...is that you try. And if that's too much right now, that's okay too. Steven knows how much you've lost. He's never met her and he's sad about it.”

“He's only sad because he thinks she's 47.” Jack chuckled humorlessly. “He's sad because he thinks they got what they wanted.”

“You don't know him. Hell, I don't know him that well.” Steve shrugged. “Let's hold off judgments until we get to know him a little better. Okay?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Jack sighed, giving him a fake salute.

“I'm not your boss,” Steve retorted. “You're not an Avenger.”

“But I would be so good.” Jack smirked. “The Avenger that can't protect himself, has no life skills, and can't interact with children. Go me.”

“I'm leaving this pity party.” Steve said, getting up from the couch. “Let me know when you're done.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Told you, I prefer Dad.” Steve replied, stepping back onto the elevator.

0-0-0-0-0

“Where'd you lose the kid?” Tony asked, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. He had downloaded Robin Hood and had it all queued up.

“He's with Clint. Exploring the vents.” Steve smiled, dropping down next to Tony.

“And the other one?”

“Pouting on my couch.”

“Oh good, you noticed it too.” Tony sighed. “Why was he all...”

“He said he didn't know how to be Skye?” Steve offered, making it sound more like a question than a statement. “She always took care of him and he feels like he doesn't know how to take care of other people.”

“He shouldn't compare himself to her.” Tony said softly. “He should set his bar lower. I mean, at least at first.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys.” Jack frowned, joining them on the couch.

“What?” Tony shrugged. “Skye sets the bar high. No wonder you're feeling intimidated. Don't try to be her. Just, do you.”

“Me sucks.”

“You don't suck.” Tony said forcefully. “Skye had years of practice. Just do your best. That's all we expect out of you.”

“You two suck.” Jack huffed, crossing his arms.

“Why?” Tony asked.

“That's pretty much exactly what I told him.” Steve replied, smirking.

“No wonder he's pouting.” Tony snorted.

“Well, I called it a pity party...” Steve replied. Jack groaned loudly and threw his head back against the couch.

“I'm going back to my floor.” Jack announced, getting up from the couch.

“Don't think 'what would Skye do',” Tony said softly, knowing he was pushing too many buttons, too soon.

“Think 'how would Skye want me to be'.” Steve added, just as softly.

“You don't fucking know what Skye would do, or what she would want me to be!” Jack yelled angrily. “You met her twice!” He pointed at Steve, his finger shaking with anger. “You met her once.” His finger shifted to Tony. “You think that a handful of emails and one video chat makes you an expert on her?”

“Jack...” Steve said softly, his hands out in a placating gesture.

“No, Steve. You don't know her. You know what she would do if she was in my position?” Jack shouted, his face contorting in anger. “She would fucking run. She would run so far and so fast that no one could ever catch up. Because she was strong enough to be her own person. Because she was strong enough to be on her own. But also because she was scared. She was so fucking scared, all of the time. If she taught me anything, it was to run before shit got bad. So this is me, being absolutely terrified of this fucking situation, but trying my best not to run. And I'm sorry if I'm not meeting your expectations...but right now, this is the best I've got.”

Jack turned and disappeared into the stairwell before Steve or Tony figured out how to breathe again.

“Shit.” Tony muttered finally.

“I don't know whether to give him some space or go talk to him.” Steve admitted softly.

“Can I go talk to him?” A soft voice asked from overhead. Steven's face was barely visible through the slots in the vent access.

“I don't know that that would be the best idea right now.” Steve admitted, getting up to help the boy down from the vents.

“But he's feeling bad,” Steven said softly, hanging his head. “It's my fault. I need to go fix it.”

“It's not your fault.” Steve said firmly. “If anything, it's my fault. I pushed too hard, too soon.”

“How much did you hear?” Tony asked softly.

“All of it.” Clint grunted, lowering himself from the vent. “He raises some good points.”

“Please, Steve. Can I go talk to him?” Steven begged, his eyes wide in a way that reminded him of Skye. Steve set the boy on his feet.

“You can go try.” Steve agreed hesitantly. “But don't be offended if he's angry. It's not your fault.”

Steven didn't say anything in return, just scurried out of the room, asking Jarvis where he could find Jack.

“He caught on to the system quickly.” Tony commented. He twisted his mouth in indecision. “Jarvis, let us know if we need to separate them?”

“Of course, Sir.”

“I'm not sure this is a good idea.” Steve admitted.

“No, it's probably not.” Tony agreed. “But they need to get to know each other.”

“But, when he's that mad?”

“The kid can hold his own.”

“That's true.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Jack?” Steven asked softly, pushing open a half closed door. Jarvis had directed him back to Steve's floor, then to one of the bedrooms. Jack was on the bed, looking at pictures that he had spread out over the comforter. Jack didn't look up at the boy, just twisted his metallic scarf between his hands. “Jack? Can I come in?”

“Are you going to do it anyway?” Jack huffed, still angry.

“Not if you don't want me to.” Steven replied. Jack took a few pictures out of a small box and added them to his spread. Steven hesitated, waiting for a signal from Jack.

“You can come in.” Jack said finally, casting his eyes upwards. He did a double take, becoming aware of how scared the boy looked. Steven was scared of him. That wasn't what he wanted. He felt the anger drain from his system. Suddenly, he was tired. Just, exhausted. “Steven, I'm sorry. I don't know how much you heard...”

“Don't apologize.” Steven interrupted, climbing up to sit on the end of the bed. “It's not your fault.”

“It's not your fault either.” Jack retorted. They eyed each other, both frowning as they disagreed with each other's words. Finally the boy cracked a smile.

“If I let you win, will you not be so angry with me?”

“Let me win?” Jack retorted, his own smile escaping his stern expression. For a brief second, Jack was hit with the staggering realization that Steven sounded surprisingly like Skye. The boy shrugged and smiled a little more. “For the record, I'm not mad at you. I just don't know what to do with you.”

“You don't have to do anything with me.” Steven replied. “I can take care of myself.”

“How old are you?” Jack grinned, raising his eyebrow.

“Seven?”

“And you don't need any help?”

“Okay, fine.” Steven huffed, throwing his hands up dramatically. “I can't reach the stuff on the top shelves.”

“I'll move the good stuff down for you.” Jack snorted, finally gracing the boy with a sincere smile. He could be Skye's mini-me...and that won him more points in Jack's book than he cared to admit. His anger was ebbing. At least, towards the boy it was.

Jack wondered idly what Skye was like as a child. She had never mentioned it. Never talked about it, aside from a random comment here or there about an orphanage. Jack swallowed hard; now he would never get the chance to find out about her.

“I can always get a chair.” Steven smiled back. He glanced down at the pictures, frowning slightly.

“This is Delta.” Jack offered, picking up a group picture when he saw what caught Steven's interest. It was just weeks after they escaped so everyone looked a little dirty and frazzled, but everyone was smiling. It was the only picture Jack had of the entire group. The retrieval team had caught up to them a few days afterwards and their numbers had dropped by two.

“Which one is your Skye?” Steven asked softly, easily picking Jack out from the group.

“The big one.” Jack replied, leaning forward to point her out. His ten year old self was clutching Skye's hand, terrified of being separated from her. Skye looked younger in this picture; a cap on her head and a blue hoodie that looked brand new. The full weight of her responsibility hadn't settled on her yet. Jack missed that Skye. He wondered, not for the first time, what Skye would have done with her life if not for them.

“I thought you were all Delta?” Steven asked, cocking his head as he considered the picture. “Skye is too old to be part of this group.”

“Skye wasn't from the facility.” Jack said softly, knowing he was going to break the boy's heart. Steven's face did drop a little, but not like Jack was expecting.

“I don't understand.” He admitted softly.

“I was Delta.” Jack explained, pulling his watch off to expose the tattoo. Steven nodded. “It was bad. They were still tinkering with the serum. They still are...but it was worse for us. Skye would come in after the tests and give us blood. 47's blood.”

“But if Skye wasn't from the facility...” Steven interrupted.

“She was from the outside.” Jack interrupted back. “47 had gotten out, I guess. Skye knew 47. His blood was special. The serum worked for him when it didn't work for anyone else. It made his blood magic.” Jack scoffed slightly. “It's not magic. But it does heal. Skye was our angel, bringing us magic blood to make the side effects of the tests go away. But we could only take so much, and Skye was much too kind to let us stay. She came and broke us out.”

“You guys trashed the labs.” Steven grinned. He knew this part of the story.

“We thought that if we destroyed everything, they would stop. We thought we would be the last kids they got to experiment on. So we destroyed everything and ran. We were ten. Well, I was ten. I was the youngest of Delta.”

“Being the youngest sucks.” Steven stated bluntly.

“Yeah, buddy.” Jack nodded. “Skye was older. She was 18. She took care of us.”

“All of you?” Steven asked, his eyes raised. “Only one person?”

“Yeah. She had to be pretty strict, because we were kind of naughty...but she was also the kindest person we had ever met. She didn't care that we didn't understand much about the outside. She didn't care when we got angry and took it out on her. She was our rock. Steady in the face of any storm. She did everything a parent would normally do: fed us, clothed us, kept us safe when the retrieval team came to take us back.”

“The team caught up to you?” Steven asked, fear skittering across his features.

“Many times.” Jack nodded. “My point is, she always took care of us. But she never needed taken care of. She was strong. So strong. The strongest person I know...and I know superheroes.” Jack admitted, his voice cracking even as he tried to joke. Steven pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, wanting to comfort the man across from him; but he had seen how uncomfortable Jack had gotten the last time he crawled onto him. Jack cleared his throat and continued. “I never took care of her. Never took care of anyone. We were always on the move, avoiding making attachments, avoiding the retrieval team.”

“You don't know how to take care of me.” Steven said softly, catching on quickly.

“I have no idea what to do with you.” Jack admitted, a tear breaking free. “I'm an emotional mess. My sister just died. I've gone from living with one person to living with a team of superheroes. I have a permanent residence...Shit, I'm just flat overwhelmed. I can't handle my own emotions...so when you came at me with your own emotions I just...”

“You don't need to take care of me.” Steven told Jack. “We're part of a family now. That's weird for both of us. But if we're assigning roles, Steve is my dad. Tony and Clint are competing for favorite uncle. I don't know what that makes Tasha, but Tasha's got to be more responsible than Tony or Clint. Clint almost blew up Tony's face today.”

“Blew up his face?” Jack chuckled, wiping tears from his cheeks.

“Yeah. Tony walked in front of Clint's fire arrow. It almost got his face.” Steven grinned. “But that means I'm all covered for responsible adults.”

“You're using responsible very loosely here.”

“I don't need more.” Steven laughed. “You can just be my cool older brother. You know, you do something stupid and blame it on me. I make a mess and blame it on you. We team up against Steve when he's being too responsible...”

“You just became my favorite person in the Tower.” Jack laughed.

“And I'll try to keep my emotions away from you and not be too touchy.” Steven added.

“You don't have to change who you are.” Jack replied firmly, doing a double take as the boy's expression turned serious. “I'm touchy too. So touchy. It drives Steve a little crazy.”

“Cause he's your boyfriend?” Steven asked, knowing it would make Jack laugh. He grinned when he was successful.

“Yes, cause he's my boyfriend.” Jack agreed. “We should go find him and see what he has to say about that.”

“The Shield people like to talk about it.” Steven commented. “They come in to check on us and talk like we're not there. Like we're cattle. Like...because we've got this extra piece we're no longer people...”

“Extra piece?”

“My spine.” Steven nodded, turning to show Jack his serum port. Jack reached forward and traced a finger down the port where it joined his spine, low on his back.

“I don't have one of these.” Jack said softly.

“I know.” Steven nodded. “They didn't start with them until years after you left.”

“We blew up their serum...” Jack gaped, connecting the pieces in his head. It was his fault this boy had this tech attached permanently to his body.

“It's not your fault.” Steven whispered, seeing the horror on Jack's face. “You may have blown up the serum, but they were the ones that made it. They were the ones that stole us. They were the ones that put this on me. The blame is all theirs. Please, don't blame yourself.”

“I'll make you a deal,” Jack said, wetting his dry lips. “You don't feel bad about having emotions and I won't feel bad about the port.”

“Um...does pretending count?” Steven asked, pulling his giant shirt back down.

“We can fake it until we make it.” Jack nodded.

“Then you have a deal.” Steven grinned, extending his hand to shake on it.

“Let's get you into different clothes.” Jack snorted, watching Steven tug the giant shirt so it would hang properly on his body.

“This is what I have.” Steven shrugged. There was no pity there. Just a blunt statement of fact.

“Tasha and I bought out a few stores.” Jack admitted sheepishly. “We can go pick you out something awful and see what Steve says.”

“You just became my favorite person in the Tower.” Steven giggled. “Just, please don't tell Tony or Clint that.”

“Deal.” Jack laughed, pushing his pictures into a pile so he could put them back in their box. He left one picture out. The one of him and Skye. Skye had just pulled one of his teeth and he was proudly showing off his new gap. He stuck that picture on the headboard and scrambled off the bed with Steven.

“Where are we going?” Steven grinned, happy that Jack wasn't angry any more.

“Your room.” Jack replied, heading two doors down. He waved to a closed door, “This one is mine. Well, supposed to be mine.”

“Supposed to be?” Steven frowned.

“I've been staying in Steve's room.” Jack muttered, forking his thumb back towards the room they had just left. “He's going to be your Skye.”

“He won't mind if I go in there?” Steven asked softly.

“Hell no.” Jack said firmly. He opened a few bags, throwing some of the more outrageous outfits on the bed for Steven to pick from. They may have gone a bit overboard clothes shopping. Not that Jack would ever admit that.

“Are all of my clothes like this?” Steven asked, trying to hide the worry in his tone. Jack laughed and shook his head.

“No. Tasha and I just like messing with Steve.”

“Okay. Then let's do that shirt and...”

“...these pants?”

“This is awful.” Steven sighed, accepting the clothes.

“These are supposed to be.” Jack grinned, helping Steven strip the too large shirt off his body. He saw the bruises covering his torso and upper arms and inhaled sharply.

“It's okay.” Steven said softly, slipping the bedazzled red shirt on to hide the bruises again. “I'm okay.”

“Steve said you weren't being treated right...”

“It's why he took me away.” Steven said softly. He forced a grin onto his face. “Stop being all serious. We need to plan here.”

“Oh yeah?” Jack laughed, watching the boy struggle into artificial leather pants.

“Yeah. Like how I'm going to get out of these.” Steven hissed, jumping up and down to pull the pants on the rest of the way.

“They look fantastic.” Jack grinned, pressing his lips together to keep from laughing out loud.

“Can I call you dad?” Steven asked, buttoning the pants. “If you and Steve are boyfriends...can I ask Steve if you're going to be my other dad?”

“Oh, God.” Jack gasped, collapsing on the floor. “You're brilliant and amazing and this is perfect.”

“Is that a yes?” Steven inquired. “Not too much emotion?”

“Never.” Jack laughed. “Here, wear this too and we're ready to go.”

“Can I never wear this again?” Steven asked softly, taking in his appearance in the mirror. Between the skin tight pants, the bedazzled shirt, and the sequined beret, Steven's outfit was... He didn't know what it was. But he didn't like it.

“We can have Clint shoot it with one of his fire arrows.” Jack offered.

“Okay.” Steven grinned. “Let's go. We're going to watch the Robin Hood movie.”

“Can you keep a straight face?”

“Psh, the question is – can you keep a straight face?” Steven snorted.

“No promises.” Jack laughed. “Jarvis, to the common area.”

“Please.” Steven added.

“I hear we're watching Robin Hood,” Jack called as soon as the elevator door pinged open. The three men were still sitting on the couch, arguing about something. Clint looked up first, and his jaw dropped. He saw the twinkle in Jack's eye and bit back a grin into his fist. He could instantly see what they were doing. He approved.

“It's all ready to go,” Tony agreed, turning with Steve.

“What are you wearing?” They asked at the same time. At least Steve tried to hide the horror in his tone.

“My Shield shirt was too big...” Steven shrugged, self-consciously. “Jack said he got me some new clothes.”

“Jack!” Steve sighed, smashing his palm against his face. “Are all of his clothes like that?” His words were muttered through his hand, making them hard to understand.

“Don't you like this?” Steven asked innocently, avoiding eye contact with Clint. He had figured it out and was trying to restrain his laughter. If he looked at Clint, he would break too. “Jack said I could pick out whatever I liked.”

“And this is what you chose?” Tony whispered, his face frozen in a horrified expression.

“You don't like it.” Steven said softly, his face dropping. Steve's face fell too.

“Oh, buddy. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings.” Steve said softly. “If this is what you like, that's what you can wear.”

“I'm not going out with him looking like that.” Tony inserted firmly, crossing his arms and shaking his head aggressively.

“Ignore your least favorite uncle.” Jack said pointedly. “You look fabulous. Clint, doesn't he look fabulous?”

“You look so fabulous.” Clint agreed, toning down his full blown grin into a small smile before Steve could turn and see it.

“Would you go out with me like this?” Steven asked, milking his moment for all it was worth.

“Right now?” Clint asked, biting his cheek to keep his laughter in.

“Dr. Banner did say I was supposed to eat ice cream to make me feel better.” Steven nodded.

“We just got you down from that sugar high!” Steve pointed out.

“We're going to watch that movie, remember?” Jack said softly, guiding the boy to the couch. Steven sat next to Steve; Jack claiming the boy's other side.

“Robin Hood!” Steven nodded, getting as comfortable as he could in the tight pants. He winced and adjusted, which had both Clint and Jack covering their grins.

“Robin Hood.” Tony agreed, reaching for the remote.

“Hey, Steve...can I ask you a question?” Steven asked, turning to him with a serious expression.

“Sure, buddy. Anything.”

“At Shield, they always talk about you and Jack...and how you're boyfriends. If you're kinda like my dad now, does that mean Jack is going to be my other dad?”

There was a full minute of silence in the living room, the only sound coming from the previews of the movie. Steve had frozen, contemplating how to explain this to the boy. He started a few times, then reconsidered his phrasing and stopped. As a result, his mouth resembled a fish gasping for oxygen. Steven could feel Jack shaking against his back and could see Clint shoving his fist into his mouth to muffle his laughter and broke. As the boy's laughter sprang free, so did Clint and Jack's. After a beat, Tony joined in as well.

“Oh, thank God.” Steve gasped, clutching his chest. “I think I just had a heart attack.”

“Too early for that conversation?” Clint laughed.

“Much too early.” Steve agreed, finally laughing at the situation. He eyed the boy warily, then carefully asked, “Is the outfit part of the joke? Or...is that what you picked out?”

“You don't like it?” Steven asked, plucking at the shirt.

“Do you like it?” Steve hedged.

“I asked you first.”

“Nuh uh. I did. Just tell me.” Steve frowned.

“Tell me first.” Steven smirked. Steve's confidence grew. “It's the most awful thing I've ever seen.”

“Ever?” Steven grinned, confirming Steve's suspicion.

“Ever.” Steve agreed.

“It's not that bad.” Steven shrugged.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve laughed. “I bet you can't sit through the whole movie in those pants.”

“Please don't make me do that.” Steven begged, giving the whole thing up. “Jack promised Clint could shoot the whole outfit with one of his fire arrows.”

“I would love to do that for you, kid.” Clint agreed, grinning widely.

“Can we watch the movie now?” Steven asked, pulling garments from his body. Steve had to grab the bottom of his pants and help pull them from his small frame. Jack handed him a plain blue shirt and a pair of shorts, which he pulled on gratefully. He was uncomfortable with the angry looks he received while his bruises were exposed. He could do better. He would do better, so they had no reason to put any more bruises on him. So they had no more reason to look at him like that.

0-0-0-0-0

“He warmed up to him quickly,” Clint said softly, nodding towards Jack and Steven. They had both fallen asleep during the movie; Steven was resting against Jack's side.

“I think he just overwhelmed Jack.” Steve replied back, just as softly.

“Jack has been through a lot lately. More than I took into consideration. It's more than just losing his sister. It's his whole life.” Clint said softly, stacking the empty bowls that littered the room. They had eaten their dinner while watching the movie.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, getting up to help Clint. They moved to the kitchen, loading the dishes into the dishwasher and washing the pot they used for dinner. “I mean, I know everything isn't okay...but, you've had that mask on for a while now.”

“What mask?” Clint laughed, tugging on his cheeks like he could remove the pretend mask.

“Your assassin mask. Kid-friendly assassin mask.” Steve replied pointedly, ignoring his joking manner. Clint took one look at Steve's serious face and sighed. The figurative mask fell, showing his exhaustion and grief.

“It's hard.” Clint shrugged. “But Jack is right...we barely knew her. I mean really, what do we know about her? Not much. Only what she wanted us to know. She broke Delta out. She knows 47. She's older than she looks. I mean, what else do we know?”

“Not much.” Steve agreed. He could add a few more things to that list. She was from an orphanage. She liked the color blue. French fries and ice cream were her favorite foods. She had a weird passion for bad movies. She was a prankster at heart. She stayed up late and ran to make herself tired enough to sleep. Inconsequential things, really. “But I could say the same about Tasha. I know you know more about her...but I don't. I have a handful of tidbits that she's dropped about herself over the years. Really, you reveal more about her than she does. I don't think it matters how much you know about a person. You can't equate caring to knowledge.”

“Steve?” A quiet voice asked sleepily. Steve smiled softly at Clint, excusing himself wordlessly.

“Let's get you to bed, huh?” Steve whispered, picking Steven up from the couch. The boy nodded and quickly fell back asleep on Steve's shoulder. “Night, Clint.”

“Night, Cap.”

Chapter Text

“Tasha?” Clint called out, looking around his quiet floor. She wasn't anywhere to be seen. Clint frowned and tried to think back to when he had seen her last. She had been in the lab when Steven went to get checked out, and Jack had mentioned going clothes shopping with her. Beyond that, Clint wasn't sure he had seen her. “Jarvis? Is Tasha in the building?”

“No, Mr. Barton. Ms. Romanov left the Tower at 2:23pm.”

“Where is she going?”

“I believe Ms. Romanov left a note for you.”

“Great, thanks.” Clint muttered. He wandered into the small kitchenette, which was where Tasha always left her notes. She was terrible with goodbyes, so she avoided them. He wasn't sure why he was surprised she had gone without telling him, but right now he could really use her. She should know that. Clint sighed and picked up the note.

Until I see differently, Skye's not dead. You can't convince me otherwise. The man that took the hit on Skye just popped up on my radar. Need to deal with this my own way.

N

Clint's chest tightened, making him clutch himself tightly. She always was better at expressing herself when she wasn't face to face with somebody. He crumpled and let the rest of his mask fall, showing his utter devastation. Reason it away all you wanted, Skye was still gone and it still pierced him like a knife.

And tonight...he had to come to terms with that. Alone.

0-0-0-0-0

Steven shot up in bed, looking around panicked. He took in the room slowly, trying to bring his breathing under control and stop the tears that were pouring down his face. He wasn't successful. The dream was much too real, even now.

He had been strapped down to a metal table. He could still feel the cool metal pressing along his back. Similar metal straps held his wrists and ankles to the table, effectively pinning him in place. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't get out. The overwhelming feeling of wrongness pressed against his chest, forcing the air from his lungs until he was gasping for breath. He shouldn't be here.

He was cold, so cold – and the metal table only leeched what little heat he had left. His vision was blurry and people were talking around him, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.

Unable to suppress the panic flooding his little body, the boy scrambled from his own giant bed and scurried to Steve's door. It was halfway closed, so Steven hesitated at the frame. Giving in to his weakness with a little sob of frustration, Steven pushed himself into the room. There were two lumps in the bed, close enough for comfort but not actually touching. When he saw they were both dead asleep, he hurried from the room, pressing his palm into his mouth to muffle himself.

He needed to be strong. He had promised not to be emotional with Jack. He couldn't risk giving Steve a reason to send him back.

He crawled back into his room, cowering beneath his heavy comforter. He forced himself between the pillows, propping himself up for the night. He didn't dare fall back asleep. He couldn't risk the nightmare returning.

0-0-0-0-0

“Tony, come back to bed.” Pepper whispered, tugging on his wrist. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling on sweat pants.

“I need to find them.” Tony argued. He was exhausted – he knew it and Pepper knew it – but he never ranked his own well being very high on his to-do list.

“The boy's asleep. You need to sleep too.” Pepper argued, sitting up to wrap herself around Tony's back so he couldn't get out of bed. “You'll work better rested.”

“I can't sleep.” Tony confessed.

“You need to try.”

“I've been trying!” Tony growled. It was three in the morning and he had only just given up trying to sleep. He thought that was an admirable attempt. He didn't need to tell Pepper that every time he closed his eyes, he saw Skye being dragged through the hallway of that facility. He didn't need to explain how he felt about watching her die, even as indirectly as he had. He couldn't, even if he tried, put into words how he felt about her final moments.

“...Tony.” Pepper exhaled, unsure what to say. She had never met the girl, had been kept out of the loop of trying to find her, mostly because of her incredible time commitment that was Stark Industries, but that didn't mean she didn't see how important she was to the team. Their frustration over the last week, their grief over the last day, was as plain as the nose on her face.

“Look,” Tony sighed, pulling at his hair. “I know it's stupid. Jack pointed it out earlier. We barely knew her. I met her a grand total of one time. All that I have from her is a fantastic bit of coding that nearly killed me and a stupid theme song. That and her brother...who honestly? Is probably more trouble than he's worth. I know what you're going to say...but, it still hurts Pepper. It hurts that she's gone. It hurts that we couldn't find her...that I couldn't find her. I should have found her in time... I should have saved her...We only needed hours...”

Tony broke down crying, dropping his face into his hands and letting his body wracking sobs shake his body. Pepper didn't know what to say; she didn't know how to comfort him when he was like this. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him back down into bed, cradling his body against hers. She just held him, knowing full well that sometimes just crying was enough to ease an emotional burden.

0-0-0-0-0

“You're up early,” Steve commented, walking into the kitchen. Clint was already halfway through the pot of coffee and it was only 5:30.

“Yep.” Clint nodded. He wasn't in the mood. He was so far gone that he didn't even want to pretend to be in the mood. His child friendly assassin mask, as Steve referred to it, would be harder to place today. Good thing the boy was no where to be seen.

“I'm going for a run.” Steve sighed, bending over to slip his tennis shoes on. “Steven and Jack are still sleeping.”

“Everything go alright last night?” Clint asked. He might not be in the mood, but he cared about the boy.

“Yeah.” Steve replied, his own mood just as black as Clint's. He headed for the elevator, nodding to Clint as a goodbye.

Chapter Text

“Where is everyone?” Tony asked, grabbing for the empty coffee pot. He sighed and put it back, then gathered up the stuff to make another batch.

“Gym.” Clint replied, tracing his finger along the top of his coffee mug. Tony shot him a look at his monosyllabic response, but didn't have the energy for snark. Not quite yet. With the coffee set to brew, Tony sat down next to Clint.

“Everything okay?”

“Just fucking peachy.” Clint growled. He wanted to take his coffee and retreat back to his room, but he couldn't do that. He would break down again, and one night of it was enough. So, despite his dark mood, he stayed. The promise of fresh coffee was a definite motivating factor as well.

“You sleep at all?”

“Did you?”

“Little bit. Did you?”

“No.”

“Haven't seen Tasha around.”

“She went after the hit man.”

“Without you?”

“She needed time to process this...her own way.” Clint growled.

“Is she bringing him back here?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

“Huh.” Tony commented. He wasn't sure what to do with this side of Clint. Despite everything they had been through, he had never seen this side. Clint always went out of his way to be the chipper one – even if it was all a facade. Tony's natural inclination towards snark probably wouldn't be appreciated right now. The coffee bubbled and hissed, indicating the end of its cycle. Tony got up and helped himself to a mug full. “I'll be in my lab.”

Tony stalked off and Clint was left alone to his thoughts. Again.

0-0-0-0-0

“Mr. Barton, Ms. Romanov is requesting your presence in the interrogation room.” Jarvis chimed in, some time later. Steve and Steven were still in the gym. Doing what, Clint didn't know. Tony had reemerged from his lab long enough to grab a banana and more coffee, then disappeared again. Jack hadn't left Steve's floor. At the very least, he hadn't come into the kitchen.

“Of course she is.” Clint muttered, refilling his coffee cup. He had lost track of how many times he had refilled. The barely contained shaking of his hands told him he had had too much, but he didn't care. He couldn't bring himself to care about much of anything. He stepped onto the elevator and let Jarvis zoom him down to the interrogation room.

Of course, he couldn't help but think of the last time he was on that floor. She had been in this elevator, teasing Steve mercilessly. She had even broken through Nat's hard outer shell - within twenty minutes of meeting her. It was a record, to be sure.

Clint cleared his throat and forced himself to think about Steve's embarrassed face. Forced himself to think about a seventy year old wad of cum. Anything other than the missing piece.

“I found him.” Tasha announced. Clint closed the door behind himself softly.

“Is he alive?” He asked sarcastically.

“Well, yeah. I wouldn't have brought back a corpse.” Tasha retorted, then looked at Clint harder, looking past whatever semblance of a mask he had on. “What's wrong?”

“What'd you find out from him?” Clint asked, dodging the question.

“Not much. Centipede was good at covering their tracks.” Tasha admitted softly. “He was tracking them for months. He was bought out for the hit before the one that drove them to the bunker.”

“So he wasn't the one that took the last hit?”

“No. They were in Kansas before New York. He found them there and followed them to New York. Lost them while they were here, but then as soon as Jack popped up on our monitors he was back in business. I laughed at her, Clint, when she said that if we knew where they were, that Centipede would know. But she was right. He tried following Jack from the city, but lost him when he activated the cloaking. He managed to shoot a tracer at the van, but it was damaged and would only ping occasionally – that's why it took him so long to find them again.”

“But he's got nothing on Centipede?”

“They paid him $1,250,000 up front, cash. Unmarked, non-sequential bills.” Tasha shrugged. “No face to face contact. They talked through the dark web, once. He hasn't received his final payment yet - $2,750,000.”

“We could try to trace it when it comes in.” Clint muttered, knowing it probably wouldn't do much good.

“If they pay him.” Tasha nodded. “Are you going to tell me what's wrong now?”

“I'm just...sad?” Clint said softly, not looking at her. He couldn't look at her and break her heart.

“She's not gone.” Tasha said softly. “She's not. I know it looks like that...but they have that stupid serum and...We can still find her. Until there's a body, I'm looking for her.”

“Nat...there won't be a body.” Clint said softly. She made a small sound, disbelief and shock in a single sound. Clint's mask dropped completely. She took one look at him and pulled him into her arms. “Tony followed the feed a little further. After the scientist left.” Clint stopped, trying to hide the shaking in his voice. He couldn't stop the tears, but Nat couldn't see them – not with his face in her shoulder. “The reason the Eraser was too hot to go in was because she was in there.”

“Clint...I don't believe...”

“They dropped her off, they left, and they started the machine. No one else touched that room until we showed up on the feed. She's gone.”

“She can't be...” Nat whispered. Clint felt her knee buckle and tightened his grip on her, keeping her on her feet.

“She's gone.” Clint repeated. “She's gone.”

Nat clutched at Clint, a single sob breaking free from her chest. Hearing her grief brought his own back to the surface, and the two assassins fell to the floor still holding each other.

0-0-0-0-0

“Is everything okay?” Steven asked as Steve tucked him into bed for the night.

“Why do you ask that?” Steve hedged, smoothing the comforter over the boy's slight frame.

“Everyone was...different today. I don't think Tony came out of his lab, but he didn't want help.”

“He's just not ready for your help yet,” Steve whispered. He smiled slightly, “He needs to write the program first, then you can help him tweak it.”

“Clint was a zombie. Until Tasha got back, at least. Then they went to their floor and I didn't see them again.”

“Me either,” Steve shrugged, unable to explain that one away.

“And you and Jack were... Well, Jack locked himself in that blue van downstairs. I think he's still there. You tried, but...” Steven twisted his sheets between his fingers as he spoke. Steve stilled the nervous action and brushed the boy's hair back. It was just long enough to not stand straight up.

“It's not you. I promise, it's not you. You didn't do anything wrong.”

“But, they were okay yesterday.” Steven whispered, his voice cracking.

“To some extend, we're all spies. We're pretty good at hiding our feelings in front of strangers.” Steve explained, feeling uncomfortable. “Honestly, you should feel honored. You're part of the family already. You got to see behind the mask.”

“Is it cause of Skye?” Steven asked. “Cause Skye's dead?”

“Yeah, buddy.” Steve whispered, clearing his throat. “We thought we could save her, but we couldn't. It's hard to let go of someone that is important to you.”

“But you've seen lots of people die.” Steven pointed out. “It's your job.”

“That doesn't make it easier.” Steve replied, running his hand down the boy's hair. It was still damp from his bath. “Go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, we're doing something fun today.” Clint announced loudly over breakfast. Steven glanced up at Steve with a nervous smile. Steve snorted into his coffee and sloshed it over his hand. He hissed and shook the hot coffee from his skin.

“I'm not.” Tony said instantly, shaking his head to reaffirm his words. “I need to finish that program.”

“You don't want a break?” Steven said softly. “Or help?”

“I'll need your help,” Tony told the boy, mustering up a smile. “But not yet. I need to build the base of the program first.”

“Your turn will come, young Padawan.” Steve told the boy solemnly.

“What?” Steven frowned. Steve looked up proudly, beaming to the whole kitchen.

“I got a reference that he didn't!”

“He's seven.” Tasha informed Steve, shaking her head lightly.

“Yeah, but I got it.” Steve repeated, nudging Clint. He needed some response. Those were six movies off his list. Six.

“We're so proud of you, Grandpa.” Clint smirked. “What can we do that's fun?”

“What do you want to do, Steven?” Tasha asked, pulling the little boy into her side for a hug. He grinned up at her, wrapping his arms around her to give her a proper hug. She softened, extending the hug.

“I just want to spent time with you guys. Anything is fine.”

“Hmm, we can go to a park? Or a pool?”

“Have you seen the ocean yet?” Jack asked, sipping his coffee.

“The ocean?” Steven frowned, shaking his head.

“How much schooling did you get in there?” Steve asked. The boy's face dropped.

“Um, none? Nothing with books at least.” He peered at the adults clustered casually around them, trying to read their expressions. “I'm not dumb though. I can learn. I promise, I'll learn.”

“Oh, buddy.” Steve sighed, watching the boy's nervous movements. “We're not saying you're dumb. We just want to know where you're at so we can help fill in some gaps.”

“Besides, I'm sure you've done more than you realize.” Clint added, smiling at the boy. “Just more practical, hands on stuff and less book stuff.”

“{And hey, you've got a great start in world languages.}” Jack said in the mash-up, making the boy laugh out loud.

“That's true.” He grinned, shoveling more cereal into his mouth. It was getting soggy while they talked.

“We can pick a language to single out,” Jack smiled, switching back to English. “Make you fluent in a language someone else has a chance of knowing too.”

“But you know the language.” Steven smirked. “{My cool older brother knows my language.}”

“{Your cool older brother knows other languages too.}” Jack snorted. “{Skye was very strict about my learning. I won't be so hard on you.}”

“{Which language did Skye teach you first?}”

“{Mandarin.}”

“{Then let's start with that.}”

“Anyone else feel left out?” Clint asked, shooting the boy puppy dog eyes. Steven laughed and reached out to bop his nose.

“Jack's going to teach me Mandarin.”

“Aw, not Russian?” Tasha sighed dramatically. “Russian is the best language.”

“You can teach me Russian,” Steven smiled.

“Let's not overwhelm you,” Steve said. “You don't need to learn everything all at once. You're seven after all.”

“Remember though, the kids from the experiments were higher functioning.” Tony interjected. Jack pointed a finger towards Tony, nodding his agreement. His mouth was full of toast and he couldn't vocalize his agreement. “You'll need to keep him busy or he'll be bored. Bored boys get into trouble.”

“Would you know anything about that, Tony?” Steve smirked. Tony shrugged and nodded, silently saying of course.

“Okay, so we've got language covered,” Steve laughed. “I'll get you a tutor for now. We can think about enrolling you in a proper school later, after we've gotten things cleaned up.”

“After Tony and I find the scientists?” Steven guessed.

“That would be a good start.” Steve agreed.

“We don't have to get a tutor.” Clint shrugged. “Lord knows Tony won't let just anyone into his Tower, and frankly, I'd rather not have strangers around right now. Between us, we've all got subjects we're good at. We can take up subjects.”

“We'll be in and out on missions.” Tasha pointed out.

“So? He's already getting a unique schooling experience. He doesn't need to have one of those rigid school schedules.”

“I'll teach him about computers. That's a good skill to have.” Tony offered. Steven grinned at Steve, bouncing in his seat with excitement.

“Computer guy is going to teach me computers.” He whispered loudly. Tasha laughed out loud at the nickname and Tony's corresponding expression.

“I thought we agreed to drop that,” Tony muttered.

“You don't get to pick your nicknames.” Steve said pointedly. “I wouldn't be Capsicle if you could.”

“He makes a good point, Computer Guy.” Jack laughed. Tony sighed loudly, resigning himself.

“I can do math,” Clint offered. “Maybe with a side of practical physics? Someone else will have to take over eventually.”

“Practical physics?” Steven asked, pushing his empty cereal bowl away from himself.

“Tony will want to teach you all about theoretical stuff or space stuff...and frankly, who's going to use that?” Clint smirked, glancing at Tony as he ribbed him. “My physics are more real world. Trajectory and drag, for example.”

“Oh, cause you're good with arrows?” Steven asked innocently.

“Good with arrows?” Clint face palmed.

“Um...great with arrows?” Steven tried to correct. Tasha laughed loudly, making the boy feel better about hurting Clint's feelings.

“We can mess around with some mechanics.” Jack offered, taking the attention off Clint. “Maybe we can work with Tony, too. Get some chemistry in there?”

“No blowing stuff up.” Steve inserted quickly.

“Aw!” All three groaned. Steve and Tasha smiled at each other at their theatrics.

“What about little ones?” Tony asked. “Controlled, little, baby explosions. For chemistry. For science. For learning!”

“Please, Stevie?” Jack asked, pushing his bottom lip out. Steven looked over at Jack and mimicked his expression.

“Please, Stevie?” He asked, working his puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, you're fucked.” Tasha snorted.

“Tasha!” Clint hissed, clamping his hands around Steven's ears. “There are little ears around!”

“I've heard worse,” Steven said loudly.

“That doesn't make it okay.” Clint told the boy.

“I can't hear you!” Steven shouted. Clint sighed and removed his hands from Steven's ears.

“That doesn't make it okay.” Clint repeated.

“So, what are we doing today?” Tasha asked, bringing the subject back around. “Clint and I took a sick day, so no missions for us. Pretty sure Shield won't call Steve, not with how he handled the last call they placed. We've got all day.”

“We can do some sight seeing.” Jack offered. “He's never seen the ocean. He's never seen New York.”

“No offense, but aren't you guys a little too...obvious?” Steven asked, crinkling his forehead.

“We'll be undercover.” Steve grinned.

“Nat does a great undercover.” Clint agreed.

“I can't wait to see this.” Steven beamed, bouncing in place again.

“Okay, well, let's go get dressed.” Steve said slowly. “Let's see if Jack and Tasha picked you some normal clothes too.”

“He's such a whiner.” Tasha sighed, smirking at Clint.

“You should have seen what Jack dressed him in that first night. It was horrendous.”

“I've got pictures.” Tony agreed, swiveling his tablet to show Tasha images from Jarvis' memory bank. The one he chose showed Clint with his hand in his mouth, Steve and Tony with their mouths open in horror, and Steven and Jack standing just outside the elevator. Tasha took one look and burst out laughing.

“We can find you something just as fabulous for today.” Tasha offered.

“Please, no.” Steve and Steven said at the same time.

“We're trying to be discrete today.” Jack laughed.

“Okay, you go get dressed. We'll come back up here when we're all ready?” Clint chuckled.

“Deal.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Tasha?” Steven gasped, looking at the blonde stranger standing next to Clint.

“Hey, kiddo.” Tasha smirked.

“Whoa. You're good.” Steven gasped, walking around her in a circle. Clint was less recognizable than Tasha, especially with his arms covered and his bow put away, so he settled for some artificial facial hair. It did the job.

“We all ready?” Steve asked, tugging his hat lower on his face.

“Will someone tell him that a popped collar and a baseball cap doesn't make for a good cover?” Jack sighed, walking into the room. He was dressed normally, if a bit toned down. No one knew him, so he didn't need a cover.

“We've tried.” Clint sighed right back. “He's stubborn.”

“And I've never gotten made, so you both can eat it.” Steve replied, smirking.

“To the ocean!” Steven grinned, bouncing in place.

“First, to the secret escape tunnel.” Tony replied.

“You have a secret tunnel?” Steven asked, his eyes wide.

“Well, yeah. Covers don't do much if you walk out of Stark Tower. People will still know who you are.” Tony shrugged. “The tunnel will get you away from the Tower.”

“You're so smart.” Steven gushed.

“I think that was part of Pepper's design plan, right Tony?” Tasha interjected, smirking.

“Shush, crazy blonde lady,” Tony dismissed, waving a hand at her. Steven laughed and skipped to Steve's side, taking his hand to indicate he was ready.

0-0-0-0-0

“Think he had fun?” Steve asked, carrying the boy back to the Tower. He was passed out cold on Steve's shoulder.

“Well, I had fun, so I'm sure he had fun.” Jack grinned.

“You've been locked in a bunker.” Clint snorted.

“He was locked in the facility and then in at Headquarters.” Tasha remarked, taking the lead on getting them all back to the entrance of the secret tunnel. As soon as the door closed behind them, Tasha pulled the wig off and shoved it in her bag. She moaned her appreciation when she should run her fingers through her hair and over her scalp.

“I'm sure he had fun, Steve.” Clint grinned, getting around to answering the question.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Stop worrying.”

“He was worried yesterday.” Steve admitted.

“Yeah...” Clint sighed, rubbing his face. His mustache was now in his hand. “I didn't handle yesterday well.”

“I don't think any of us did.” Steve nodded.

“How'd he sleep?” Tasha asked, nodding towards the boy.

“I didn't hear him at all, but he asked about having nightmares.” Steve replied. “Jack didn't wake either.”

“Jack was in your room?” Tasha smirked.

“I've been staying in his room.” Jack shrugged, unashamed. “I'm not used to sleeping alone.”

“Yeah, but you and Skye had separate beds.” Clint pointed out, grinning.

“Yeah...but I tend to be more...” Jack paused, struggling to find the right word.

“Tactile?” Steve offered, shooting him a smirk of his own.

“I tend to be more tactile when I'm emotional.” Jack finished. “I think it's fair to say, I've been emotional lately.”

“Definitely fair.” Tasha agreed quietly. Clint opened the door to the Tower and ushered everyone in.

“It's good to have you back in the Tower.” Jarvis greeted.

“Where is everyone?” Steve asked, mentally trying to place everyone's location in the Tower. He liked having an idea of where everyone was.

“Sir is still in his lab. Ms. Potts is at Stark Industries.”

“Has he slept at all?” Steve asked, stepping into the elevator. Jarvis zoomed them to Steve's floor first.

“Sir has had four REM cycles in the past 72 hours.”

“Guys, wanna head to Bruce's lab?” Steve asked, shifting the boy in his arms. “I'll drop Steven off then meet you there?”

“We're gonna force some sleep on Tony?” Clint asked.

“He's our best chance at finding those scientists, but he can't do that with no sleep.” Steve replied.

“He needs it.” Tasha nodded.

Steve stepped off the elevator, letting Jarvis take the others to the lab. He settled Steven on his bed to remove his shoes and jacket. He stacked the items neatly by the side of the bed and tucked the boy in, pressing a kiss to his forehead without thinking about it.

“How are we going to do this?” Clint asked as Steve joined them in the lab. Bruce was shaking his head in the background.

“Don't get me involved in this. You know how mad he was last time.”

“Yeah, but Clint was not at all discrete.” Tasha pointed out.

“Yeah. He just pinched Tony's nose closed and made him swallow it.” Steve agreed.

“What! It worked, didn't it?” Clint grinned, toying with a small vial of blue liquid.

“We could put it into a drink?” Steve mused.

“It would have to be something he would actually drink, though.” Clint sighed. “So, no, Bruce. Tea is out.”

“He drinks it sometimes...” Bruce grumbled. Steve grinned and shook his head.

“Liquor it is. Who can deliver it the most convincingly?”

“Bruce.” Tasha and Clint responded immediately, pointing towards Bruce.

“Guys!”

“Bruce!” Clint replied back in the same exasperated tone. Bruce cracked a small smile and sighed.

“Fine. But I'm pleading the fifth if he's mad.”

“Done.” Tasha laughed.

Bruce walked back into the lab a few minutes later, scowling. The reason behind the scowl was apparent: his lab jacket and face was dripping the liquor he had tried to offer Tony.

“You guys suck.” Bruce informed them, then got right back on the elevator to take a shower.

Chapter Text

“All right, Pip Squeak,” Tony called tiredly, “Come tweak with me.”

“Are you okay?” Steven asked, offering Tony a hug around the middle. Like Skye, he seemed immune from Tony's no touching rule.

“Just tired.” Tony replied, hugging him back.

“Wanna take a nap?” Steven offered. “I can do this until you get up.”

“Nah.” Tony huffed, crossing his arms with a smirk. “Sleep is over rated.”

“I think Skye would have wanted you to take care of yourself.” Steven said softly, unsure if he was crossing any lines. Tony's mouth dropped open and the air in his lungs huffed out, but he didn't say anything so Steven pressed on. “I mean, if Skye cared about you even a tiny bit as much as you care about...”

“I'll go take a nap,” Tony interrupted, leaving the room abruptly.

“Did I say something bad?” Steven asked Tasha. She was still labeling cards for him.

“Sometimes the truth is hard to hear.” Tasha mumbled, not looking up from her task.

“Should I...”

“No, just give him a bit. Hopefully he'll actually sleep.”

“More than we could do...” Clint muttered, nursing a cup of coffee, even though it was nearly lunch time.

“You don't do much, though.” Tasha smirked.

“Hey! I trained...yesterday? Nope, that was Ocean Day. The day before? Nope. Um...Damn.”

“Go.” Tasha laughed, pointing towards the door. “And check on the interrogation room while you're at it.”

“I'm learning here!” Clint argued.

“Clint, I know your hearing aids are charging and Tony has your backups in for a tune up. You're not learning shit.” Tasha muttered.

“Wait, hearing aids?” Steven asked, glancing up from his note cards.

“Clint can't hear well.” Tasha explained.

“Oh.” Steven nodded, then looked over at Clint and said very slowly and very loudly. “I'm sorry you can't hear well.”

“Jarvis, you recorded that, right?” Steve laughed, walking into the room. He had just finished his own training and was still slick with sweat. He headed straight for the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Yes, I recorded that.” Jarvis replied.

“I don't hear well.” Clint told the boy with a smirk. “Not, I don't hear at all.”

“You're basically deaf.” Tasha argued.

“I am not!”

“You slept through the fire alarm that cleared the building when Tony blew up one of his labs.”

“I was sleeping. It was important.”

“You nearly died on that 0-8-4 mission in the Amazon.” Steve added. “Cause the moisture messed up your hearing aids and you didn't hear the gun cocking at your head.”

“I was testing your super hearing.” Clint retorted, waving his hands at them in a bring it on gesture. Tasha and Steve grinned at each other and fired back at Clint.

“What about when you were trying to hide the fact that you forgot your hearing aids and jumped out of the plane too early?” Steve asked, smirking.

“Easy. I knew where I was supposed to go. Your plans were off, a bit.”

“You were 75 miles from where you were supposed to be.” Steve laughed.

“What about when I called out about the last doughnut and you didn't hear me.”

“Aw, doughnut.” Clint sighed. He knew Tasha had him.

“I remember him crying over missing out on the last one.” Steve told Tasha, making a mock serious face.

“You remember correctly, Grandpa.” Tasha smirked back.

“How can you know what we're saying if you can't hear well?” Steven asked, frowning with confusion.

“I can read lips.” Clint shrugged.

“But what if I'm not looking at you?”

“Why wouldn't you be looking at me?” Clint preened. “I'm gorgeous.”

“Yes, he's being mostly serious.” Steve grinned, watching the interaction. “Where's Tony? I thought he was going to come grab you for some...computering...”

“Computering?” Tasha laughed, throwing her head back.

“He's sleeping.” Steven replied, flipping through to another pile of note cards. “Or, at least, he said he was going to. I hope he is.”

“Jarvis?”

“Sir's breathing patterns indicate he is asleep.”

“So, you can't hear Jarvis?” Steven asked Clint.

“No, I can't hear Jarvis right now.”

“So you don't know if Tony is asleep or not?”

“Steve and Tasha both visibly relaxed. Tony is sleeping.”

“Hmm, you're good.”

“I know.” Clint agreed, wiggling his eyebrows. “I'm going to go train before Tasha kicks my butt.”

“It's been days, Clint.” Tasha pointed out.

“Yeah, well, sometimes a break is better for you than constant training. Take Tony for example. He's taking a break.”

“Yeah, but he was working before that.”

“Just. No.” Clint replied, flapping his hand lazily at her. He got up and walked away, shouting, “I can't hear you. Look at me not watching your lips move. I win because you can't get in the last word.”

“He's such a child.” Tasha sighed, handing Steven the last of her cards. “There you go kiddo. This should be a good start.”

“What are you guys doing?” Steve asked, sitting down beside the boy.

“Tasha's teaching me Russian.” Steven told Steve, grinning proudly. He waved a thick stack of cards at Steve. “But I need to build my vocabulary before we can start learning practical stuff.”

“Hey, when is Tony's birthday?” Jack asked, walking in. “You just said in a couple days.”

“Crap. It's today...isn't it?” Tasha asked, looking at Steve.

“It is...” Steve nodded, frowning. It was a testament to how fucked up the last few days were; Steve normally remembered the details.

“Okay, well Tony is sleeping, so we have time to set something up.” Tasha nodded, quickly reorganizing her day to include a birthday party.

“He probably won't sleep for very long.” Steve muttered.

“We can go work on the program when he wakes up.” Steven supplied. “I can make sure he stays in the lab.”

“Boom!” Jack agreed, snapping his fingers at the boy. “Steve, we can go get some party stuff.”

“Party stuff?”

“Uh, yeah. We need cake.” Jack sighed, like Steve was stupid. Tasha and Steven swiveled their heads towards Steve, grinning at Jack's tone.

“Cake it is.” Steve agreed. “Are we buying one or making one?”

“Can anyone cook here?” Jack asked, throwing his hands up in a defeated gesture. “Cause I would ruin a cake.”

“Buying one it is.” Steve laughed.

0-0-0-0-0

“Where's Steven?” Steve asked, walking in on Tasha and Clint. He set the cake on the counter and glanced at the balloons and streamers that were adorning the room.

“Computering.” Tasha grinned. She was sitting on Clint's shoulders, pinning the last clump of balloons onto the wall.

“Jack, package came for you.” Clint told Jack, bending over to let Tasha climb down from his shoulders.

“Package?” Jack asked, frowning.

“You didn't order anything?” Clint asked, his own frown forming.

“No.”

“Let's go have Bruce scan it.” Clint said immediately, pulling Jack with him to the elevator. Jack barely retained his grip on the small box.

“Who is it from?” Steve asked, sliding into the elevator just as the doors shut.

“Doesn't say.” Clint replied. Jack was staring at the box, holding it firmly between his two shaking hands.

“Jack?” Steve asked softly. “Do you know what it is?”

“Not for sure...” Jack whispered. A tear slipped free, sliding haphazardly down one cheek.

“What do you think it is?”

“Skye has...protocols...” Jack whispered.

“Protocols?” Clint asked.

“So we were taken care of.” Jack's voice was just barely audible. Steve pulled Jack into his side, tugging him from the elevator.

“Bruce, can you scan this package before we open it?” Clint asked, prying the box from Jack's grip.

“Who is it from?” Bruce asked, taking the package anyway.

“Not sure.” Clint shrugged.

“It came for Jack?” Bruce asked, setting it on the table. He pulled out a piece of machinery and passed it over the top a few times. Clint nodded.

“It's nothing explosive.” Bruce told them. “Appears to be biological?”

“So we can open it?”

“Should be safe.”

“Jack?”

“You can do it.”

“Do you really think it's from her?” Steve asked softly.

“Indirectly.” Jack mumbled. “She didn't mail this. Like I said...she has... had protocols.”

“It's...blood?” Clint said, his tone questioning, even as he pulled what was clearly a bag of blood from the box. “It's cool.”

“It's not fucking cool,” Jack growled.

“Not cool, like...cool.” Clint sighed. “Temperature wise. It's temperature cool.”

“So someone just mailed this.” Steve nodded, catching on.

“The box is well insulated.” Bruce agreed, inspecting the packaging. “It would have kept it at a good temperature for a while.”

“There isn't a note or anything?” Steve asked, pulling Jack tighter to his side. Jack twisted, pulling himself into Steve's chest for a proper hug. “There was a note with Tony's birthday present.”

“She sent the birthday present.” Jack mumbled, his words almost incoherent because of how tightly pressed against Steve he was. “She didn't send this.”

“I don't understand.” Clint sighed, rubbing his face. “Explain this whole protocol thing.”

“It's pretty fucking self explanatory.” Jack grumbled. “She has protocols, on a timer. Every week, she would reset them. If everything was okay, we didn't need what the protocols provided. If it wasn't okay, the protocols would fill the gap – the need. She's probably disabled the other ones...we each had one...”

“Each kid from Delta?” Steve asked softly.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded against Steve's shoulder. “I'll probably be getting another box soon, with my meds. I'm almost out.”

“Why wouldn't you tell us that?” Clint sighed, resisting the urge to smack the man.

“Because then I have to admit that she's gone...” Jack whispered. His breath hitched in his chest and suddenly he was sobbing. “No fucking blood is going to fill her gap.”

“But we could have gotten you more medication.” Bruce said softly. Steve winced when the sobbing intensified. He waved the others back, leading Jack to the elevator. Jack let Steve lead him, trusting him to get him somewhere private.

“Wanna go back to our floor or the van?” Steve asked softly.

“Van.”

“Van it is.” Steve agreed, letting Jarvis take them there. “Wanna show me some more pictures?”

“What do you want to see?” Jack asked, pulling away from Steve when he slid the van door open.

“Anything. Something that makes you happy.”

“That'll be hard.”

“You know what I meant,” Steve scolded softly.

“I know. I'm sorry.” Jack whispered, dragging himself into the van. Steve followed suit and closed the door behind them. “Hit the cloaking button? I just want some privacy.”

“You got it.”

“So, what did you want to see?” Jack asked, pulling Steve back so he could boot up Skye's system inside the van.

“How did you guys celebrate birthdays?” Steve asked, shrugging.

“Can I show you my favorite pictures?” Jack asked, sniffling around a small smile.

“I would love to see those.” Steve nodded, smiling.

“For my birthday this year, we were on the run. Skye knew we were going to have to move soon...She never told me. I never handled it well. You would think you would get used to it... Anyway, she surprised me before my actual birthday.” Jack pulled up pictures, making Steve laugh. “We went to a thrift shop and picked out outfits for each other. I think I definitely won.”

“It's awful.” Steve agreed, chortling. Skye was wearing brown plaid bell bottoms, platform shoes with fake goldfish in the bottom, and a skin tight white shirt that said I know I'm cute . Her hair was done up in tight curls with a flower headband woven between the locks. Jack was in drag, wearing a red ballroom gown with a slit up his thigh. He was wearing a blonde wig and extremely long fake eyelashes. “How did you walk in those shoes!”

“I think I lost them by the second bar.” Jack admitted. “I almost broke my ankle.”

“You went bar hopping like that?” Steve grinned.

“Had a contest, to see who could get guys to buy them the most drinks.”

“Oh man.” Steve sighed, reclining back slightly as Jack clicked through the pictures. There were a lot of pictures with men that Steve didn't recognize, though most of the pictures were with Jack.

“We had to get a picture to prove we got the drink,” Jack explained, answering Steve's unspoken question.

“Who won?” Steve asked, trying to ignore the tingles of jealousy that were racing down his spine. In one picture, Skye was looking decidedly annoyed. She was clutching the hand of the man next to her, pinching his fingers in a way that looked uncomfortable. Steve could only imagine what the man had done to deserve that. If he had been at the bar with her, she wouldn't have had to deal with any of that crap.

“I did, of course.” Jack scoffed. “Skye was never really into the whole bar scene. But I got super confident and asked lots of guys for lots of drinks.”

“I bet you did.” Steve smirked. “How drunk did you guys get?”

“You mean how drunk did I get?” Jack laughed. It sounded fake, forced...but he was trying. “I don't remember most of these pictures. Skye kicked off her goldfish shoes and tossed me over her shoulder. I was too drunk to walk back to the van.”

“Skye didn't let her guard down enough to enjoy a few birthday drinks with you?”

“Skye can't get drunk.” Jack retorted.

“Like Tasha can't get drunk or like I can't get drunk?” Steve asked.

“I don't understand the question.”

“Did she have a high tolerance?”

“Oh. No. She never drank. Okay, not never . She rarely drank. So I'm assuming it's not a tolerance thing.”

“So it's like the medication never working right on her?” Steve guessed.

“I guess.” Jack shrugged. “I never really thought about it. I slept through my hangover and Skye drove us to our new location. It was very low stress for me. Skye was always good at that. Making things low stress for me.”

“Give me some time to figure you all out and I'll make things as low stress as possible for you, too.” Steve said softly, then laughed at the picture on the screen. Jack was passed out on the floor of the van; the wig was half off, one fake eyelash had been lost, and someone (Skye, probably) had drawn a mustache on his face in black marker. “This is my favorite picture so far.”

“It would be, you big jerk.” Jack teased, huffing lightly.

“Show me some more from when you were younger.” Steve asked. “I've seen the stuff from the bunker and from the last year, but I want to see more of you as a kid.”

“I was different as a kid.” Jack warned, opening another file on the screen.

“Better different or worse different?”

“Hmm, both?”

“How so?”

“Things are worse for the youngest.” Jack whispered, like it explained things. And it did. It was a phrase that kept being repeated. It was worse for the youngest; it was a fact, even if he wasn't exactly sure how. He was afraid to ask. Jack continued after a beat, when Steve didn't press further. “I was a clingy kid. You're not going to find a picture where I'm not right next to Skye.”

“Somehow that doesn't surprise me.” Steve said softly.

“Stevie!” Jack whined, pouting.

“What!” Steve chuckled. “You're clingy now.”

“Not as bad.” Jack chuckled, pointing to a picture on screen like it would prove his point. Steve suppressed a sigh. It totally proved his point. The little Jack on the screen was clinging to Skye, wrapped around her like a monkey. Skye was smirking at the camera, her hip jutted out to hold the boy more easily.

“How old did you say you were here?” Steve asked, trying to hide his smile.

“Hmm, ten and a half?”

“So...a little big to be sitting on her hip.”

“A lot big to be sitting on her hip.” Jack agreed. He blushed and looked down, then admitted softly. “I called her Mom, once.”

“How'd she take that?”

“She ran away.” Jack admitted. “Everyone was pissed at me, because they thought she left for good. We had done plenty of terrible things, things we were sure would get her to abandon us, but she never did. They were sure that was the straw that broke the camel's back.”

“She came back though.”

“Yeah, twenty minutes later. She apologized like crazy, for scaring us. She just needed some space, but she could see that we thought she was gone. She made me feel better, comforted me when I was the one that scared her. I never called her Mom again.”

“Did you think of her as your mom?” Steve asked, cocking his head towards Jack.

“When I was little.” Jack nodded. “Hell, I think I still do. That's why I call her sissy so much. To remind myself.”

“Did she know that?”

“Uh, no.” Jack grinned, smacking Steve's shoulder.

“You don't think she would take that well?”

“Steve, she freaked out.”

“She was 18.”

“It's just...I was never good at showing her how much I cared about her. So I just became better at doing what I was told. That's how I showed her. I showed her by not pushing. And now, I have nothing to show for it.”

“I wouldn't say nothing.”

“I know nothing about her childhood. I mean, she mentioned the orphanage once or twice over the years, but I don't know anything else about it. I don't know how she met 47, or why he was so inclined to trust her with us. I don't know why she decided to break us all out and take on that much responsibility.”

“She likes her privacy,” Steve agreed.

“I think all that power went to her head,” Jack snorted, his tone half joking. “She was so good at being in charge that she didn't realize we grew up.”

“It's hard to let go,” Steve muttered, shrugging. He wasn't sure how to respond to Jack. He didn't give off the vibe of being a responsible adult, though he was definitely old enough to qualify. He could see why Skye might not trust him with much.

“What are we doing for Tony's birthday?” Jack asked after a long silence.

“Something quiet. He's not in the mood for his typical drunken birthday bash. We can throw him a proper party later.” Steve shrugged.

“I was thinking about wrapping up Skye's hacking hoodie, to give to him...for his birthday.” Jack admitted, reaching to grab a dark blue hoodie from beneath Skye's computer system. “Do you think that's a good idea?”

“I think he would love it.” Steve nodded, fingering the fabric. She must have worn it often; the fabric was soft and pliable. Steve brought it to his face, rubbing the fabric on his face. It still smelled like her. His jaw clenched, fighting to regain control of his emotions. There was a giant hole missing from his chest. A Skye sized hole.

“Unless you would rather have it?” Jack said softly.

“I wouldn't fit in it.” Steve snorted, trying to plaster an amused smirk on his face. “Besides, Tony would get the significance better. Hacking Hoodie.”

“I remember when she bought it.” Jack smiled, pulling the hoodie from Steve's grip. “It was the first thing she bought for herself after getting us out. She said she was cold. She had always worn long sleeves around us, so it wasn't a surprise. She cut the cuffs, so her thumbs could poke through.” He pulled his arms into the sleeves, wiggling his thumbs through the holes. “This was her first attempt at sewing.”

“I see she hasn't gotten any better.” Steve smiled, eyeing the crooked criss-crosses holding the seams together.

“At least she didn't bleed all over this one.” Jack chuckled. “This way she could type and stay warm at the same time.”

“We can go wrap it up.” Steve nodded.

Chapter Text

“I don't want to.” Tony groaned as Pepper pulled him from his lab. He put down his heels but he had socks on and Pepper had no problem dragging him all the way to the elevator. “I should get to decide if I celebrate at all!”

“Told you he would whine about it,” Clint whispered loudly. Pepper and Tony both looked up at the voice, frowning. Their frowns deepened when they heard the small giggle that followed.

“Are you two on top of a moving elevator?” Pepper asked, her voice fierce.

“Yes, ma'am!” Clint replied enthusiastically.

“Does Steve know you have his mini-me on top of a moving elevator?” Tony sighed. There was no response. Tony grumbled to Pepper, “Watch me get blamed for this.”

“Tooony, you worry too much.” Steven dismissed.

“Oh, God.” Pepper sighed. “You two are rubbing off on him already.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing!” Tony and Clint huffed at the same time. Steven was giggling when the elevator stopped at the common area. Clint removed the grate and passed Steven down to Tony, then dropped down into the elevator.

“Were you on top of the elevator!?” Steve all but shouted, his eyes wide.

“No?” Clint denied, pulling an overly innocent face and shaking his head.

“We're not allowed to lie here,” Steven informed Clint. Tony grinned and watched the scene play out, still holding the boy.

“We were on top of the elevator.” Clint sighed.

“While it was moving?!”

“Uh huh.”

“Remember what I said would happen if anyone ever hurts Steven again?” Steve asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend. Clint winced, but Steven was more than happy to help him out. His hand shot into the air and he squirmed in Tony's grip excitedly.

“I TELL YOU AND THEN YOU TAKE CARE OF IT!” He shouted, punching the air with his fists.

“Inside voice,” Clint grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Oh, that's rich.” Tony laughed. “This is the best birthday present ever.”

A screen descended from the ceiling, making everyone swivel to watch it.

“What did you guys do?” Tony asked, frowning. They weren't allowed to tamper with his electronics. Hell, they didn't know how to tamper...

There was only one person that knew how to mess with his stuff.

“Hmm...Hmm...” Jack hummed on the screen, thumping his chest. He adjusted his pitch and hummed again.

“Jack?” Tony frowned.

“Just watch.” Jack replied, smiling softly.

“You good yet?” Skye giggled from off screen.

“Will you shush! We're recording already!”

“Then why are you doing your vocal check now?”

“Shhhh!” Jack frowned, swatting off to his left. Another hand swatted back and Skye giggled. “Okay, I'm ready.”

“Can I come on now?” Skye asked.

“Are you going to keep a straight face?”

“Probably not, but we can edit it back out later.”

“Skylar Elizabeth! Get out here so we can sing the old guy his birthday song!”

Skye threw herself across Jack's lap, making him groan loudly. For a second, all that they could see of Skye was her hair and shoulder as she struggled to move herself on Jack's lap. He grumbled about bruising, but by then she had situated herself and grinned at the camera.

“Happy Birthday to you...”

“You never mentioned this,” Tony whispered, turning to look at Jack as the song wrapped up. Jack just shook his head and kept watching the screen. Steve noted absently that she was wearing the blue hoodie that Jack had just finished wrapping for Tony.

“Happy Birthday, Dad!” Skye grinned, waving at the camera. “If you don't have fun tonight, you're going to be in big trouble mister!”

“But not too much fun!” Jack added in, shaking a stern finger at the camera. He turned to look at Skye and added, “He can be your dad, but he's not mine.”

“Fine.” Skye shrugged. “But you're not a very good brother if we don't have the same dad.”

“He abducted me, Skye! ABDUCTED me!”

“You hacked him.”

“You hacked him.”

“You placed my unfinished program.” Skye sighed. “Now shut up and say bye.”

“Bye!” They both shouted, grinning and waving.

The screen retracted into it's usual position, and the room was quiet.

“That was Skye, huh?” Steven asked finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen. He was still smiling at the screen. Skye seemed like fun. Now he could understand why everyone was so upset.

“Yeah. That's my Skye.” Jack replied, trying for a smile. His throat was pinching tightly and he wasn't sure he could talk any more without crying. Steven rested his head on Tony's shoulder, tightening his grip around his neck. He had gone stiff when the video started.

“Skye seems nice. And funny.” Steven commented. There were nods from all around. “Tony, are you really Skye's dad?”

“No,” Tony replied, forcing himself to laugh. He kind of felt like crying. She looked so happy.

“It was a joke,” Clint supplied. “Tony was being all...worried...and Skye called him out on it. I think it was an accident, the first time she called him it.”

“You're not old enough to be Skye's dad.” Steven agreed softly, stroking a small hand down Tony's cheek.

“You never mentioned this.” Steve said.

“I didn't know if she finished uploading it. I didn't want to say something in case it didn't happen.” Jack shrugged. He held out his present to Tony, shrugging. “I guess this is as good of time as any.”

“I don't need presents.” Tony dismissed.

“Open it.” Jack frowned, wiggling it insistently.

“Open it,” Steve agreed, taking Steven from him.

Tony sighed and took the package. More than anything, he wanted to retreat to his lab so he could be alone. So he could rewatch the video on his own. Everyone in the room was watching him though, and he didn't want to be the one to disappoint their new addition. The boy was standing directly between Steve and Jack, clinging to their hands, probably seeing how much they needed it right then. Steve had his other arm wrapped around Jack's shoulder – the trio looking like a weird family photo. Steven could be the child of Steve and Jack. The boy's complexion was just lighter than Jack's, and his hair was more brown than Jack's black hair. Steve's light complexion and hair could have evened that out.

Tony shook his head, dismissing that strange line of thinking and finally opened his present. His first thought, being the ass that he never denied he could be, was that his gift was used. Why had Jack given him a used present? Tony frowned and looked up at Jack, but his head was on Steve's shoulder and Tony couldn't catch his eye. He pulled it fully from the wrapping paper, realizing it was a jacket. A hoodie? A definitely used hoodie.

“Thanks?” Tony told Jack, forcing a smile. Jack and Steve both laughed at that.

“You didn't pay attention very closely to the video.” Steve smiled. Tony thought the clue over, replaying the video in his head. He had been watching Skye too closely and had obviously missed something...oh. She had been wearing a blue hoodie.

“This is hers?”

“Her hacking hoodie.” Jack smiled. “Sorry for it being so well loved.”

“Hacking hoodie?” Tony asked, looking dumbfounded.

“She gets...shit. She got cold, but she needed her fingers free for typing...for hacking. This was her solution. She always wore it when she was hacking.” Jack told him. He shrugged, “I thought you might like it.”

“You don't want it?”

“A. I don't hack. B. That is so not my style.” Jack dismissed, his face contorting in mock disgust. Tony laughed and pulled the hoodie on over his Black Sabbath shirt.

“Is it my style?”

“It's so you.” Jack grinned, walking over to fix the hood so it laid flat between Tony's shoulder blades. It was one of his pet peeves. He stood in front of Tony and braced himself. “So, I know you don't do the whole touching thing...but Skye would give you a hug if she was here...so, just suck it up. Okay?”

Jack pulled Tony into a hug a little more forcefully than necessary. He patted his back roughly, making Tony grunt at the impact. Steven giggled lightly, looking at the awkward hug.

“I've never seen a hug like that.” Steven told Steve softly, peering up at him. Jack and Tony started laughing, allowing Tony to push Jack away.

“Hopefully you never have to see that again, Pip Squeak.”

“Can I give you my present now?” Steven asked, grinning.

“When did you get a present?” Steve asked.

“Tasha helped me.” Steven shrugged. “Can I?”

“Go get it,” Steve smiled. Steven hurried off, plunging the room back into awkward silence.

“This is ridiculous,” Pepper sighed finally. “Tony, go get a drink.”

“Oh, thank God.” Tony chuckled, glad to be given an out. Tasha followed him, slamming back a shot of Russian vodka. They both came back with alcohol in hand. Tony passed some wine off to Pepper just as Steven came running back into the room with a small package. Tony handed off his glass and took the package with a smile.

“You know you didn't have to get me anything, right?” Tony asked, opening the present anyway.

“I didn't get it. I made it. Mostly.” Steven retorted, wriggling with excitement. Clint and Steve exchanged a look and shook their heads at his energy level.

“You're going to give him cake?” Clint whispered.

“Absolutely not.” Steve replied just as quietly.

“Computer guy?” Tony sighed, holding up a white muscle shirt. Steven had written 'Computer Guy' on the front in messy, seven year old print. A badly drawn computer and two people were under the letters. Steven grinned and nodded.

“In case you forget, cause you're so old now.” Steven told him, then looked back at Tasha to confirm that he had said it correctly. Tasha winked and gave him a thumbs up. Steven beamed widely at her approval.

“Turn it over. I added my gift to the back.” Clint grinned, cracking open a bottle of beer. Tony did as he was bid and instantly frowned.

“I am not.” Tony retorted.

“What does it say?” Steve asked, smiling. Tony just shook his head and held the shirt up. The back said 'Steven's least favorite uncle' in Clint's messy sprawl. Steve couldn't help but laugh, even though it earned him a dirty look from Tony. “Hey! You haven't even shown him the robots yet. How are you supposed to be his favorite?”

“Robots. Now.” Tony replied, hauling Steven over his shoulder. Pepper laughed and ushered him away from the elevator.

“You can do that tomorrow. We're doing a birthday party tonight.”

“Or you can do robot stuff and I can drink your other present.” Tasha shrugged, holding out a bottle of scotch with a bow around the top.

“Uh, no!” Tony whined again, looking back and forth between the elevator and the scotch.

“We have longer if we do it tomorrow,” Steven told Tony's back. “Also, there's a lot of blood in my head right now.”

“Put him down,” Steve chuckled. “We ordered in your favorite dinner food and got you a cake. Suck it up. We're doing a birthday party.”

“This is not a party. This is a sausage fest.”

“Do you want to go out to a club?” Steve shot back, not missing a beat.

“Not in the slightest.” Tony admitted. “Fine. Let's do this.”

“Cake first?” Steven giggled.

“NO!” Clint and Steve said emphatically. Tony chuckled and tossed the boy onto the couch.

“It's my birthday and I say you can eat whatever you want.”

“I told you he would say it.” Skye whispered from the ceiling. Jack chuckled in the background. Skye's voice was deeper the next time she spoke, “It's my birthday and I say...”

“ Well, he is a  pompous  ass.”

“Hey! Don't say that about the super old birthday boy.” Skye reprimanded Jack. “Now do it.”

“I don't wanna.”

“Too bad. Do it.”

“Hi, I'm Tony Stark and I need to tell everyone more than once that it's my birthday!” Jack belted out, making his voice sound like Tony's. “Cause it's my birthday, you have to do as I say.”

“I love when you do that.” Skye giggled.

The room waited for the voices to go on, but they didn't. Tony shot Jack a dirty look, which made him bust into wet laughter.

“I'm sorry!” Jack replied, wiping his eyes. Steven shuffled in place, clutching his hands together.

“He doesn't really think you're an ass.” Steven chimed in helpfully. Steve hung his head at the language, which made everyone else burst into laughter.

“Dinner, then cake!” Tony shouted, ushering people to the table where the food was already waiting.

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, so this is obviously because of the sugar, for Steven,” Clint said conversationally, plopping down next to Steve on the couch. “But I don't know what Tony's on.”

They both watched Steven and Tony dancing around the room to music that was blaring loudly. Tony picked Steven up and swung him around, making the boy giggle.

“Well, at least Tony's helping burn off the sugar he let him have.” Steve shrugged. “They both should sleep well.”

“Has he not? Steven, I mean?” Clint asked. Steve quirked an eyebrow. “You keep mentioning his sleep.”

“He hasn't woken me,” Steve shrugged.

“You're sleep deprived too, even for you.” Clint retorted. He twirled a pair of drumsticks, thinking things over. “Maybe you're just not hearing him.”

“I hear Jack every time he rolls over.” Steve replied. “I hear him every time he starts mumbling about Skye and I hear him every time he starts crying because she's gone. I think I would hear an upset seven year old.”

“Then why do you keep mentioning his sleep?” Clint asked.

“I don't know. He seems okay, but he always seems okay.”

“Aside from that meltdown at Headquarters.”

“True.” Steve admitted. “I mean, I see him fall asleep and he's always asleep when I check on him before I go to bed. And he's usually still asleep when I get up in the morning...It's just...”

“Maybe he just needs less sleep than us.” Clint offered. “We're still learning what exactly that serum did to him.”

“Bruce have any luck getting a hold of Coulson's team yet?”

“They're on a mission. They said they would check in when they were finished.”

“Who knows how long that will take?”

“We could motivate them.” Tony grinned, twirling closer with Steven in arm.

“With what?” Steve asked, glad to see some humor in Tony's eyes. Even if it was because of excessive alcohol consumption.

“Twerking man!” Jack giggled, holding tightly to his glass.

“We don't have Twerking Man,” Tony retorted. “I have Humping Man, though. Oh, Clint – didn't you want to send it to headquarters anyway? This would be perfect. Except to their plane. I would send Humping Man to their plane.”

“I have Twerking Man!” Jack laughed. He set his glass down and ran for the elevator. His running was crooked and sloppy, which made Clint snort with amusement.

“He's going to sleep well.” Clint grinned, pointing to Jack's retreating form with his drum sticks.

“He's been holding back on us!” Tony gasped, affronted.

“Tony, I need some water.” Steven announced loudly.

“Let's get some water!” Tony replied, just as loudly. Pepper and Tasha looked up from their spot on the opposite couch, surprised that that line had come out of Tony's mouth. Tony caught their look and grinned. “For the boy,” He informed them before waltzing off to the kitchen for some water.

“I think I almost had a heart attack.” Pepper commented, clutching her chest dramatically. Tasha giggled beside her.

“That would be the day...” Tasha chuckled, but cut off her sentence when Tony came back with his own glass of water.

“Oh, shit.” Pepper muttered, burying her face in Tasha's shoulder. “I'm too old to learn his new tricks. What is he doing?”

“Either he's lost his mind in his old age, or Steven has figured out how to control him.” Tasha muttered back, wrapping an arm around Pepper's shoulders. She glanced around the room, taking in all the males in attendance. It really was a sausage fest. She was used to being surrounded with men, working with men...but she had become close to Pepper since moving into the Tower. It would have been nice to have another female in the Tower, just to balance out all of the testosterone that could sometimes overwhelm both Pepper and her. She smiled slightly; Skye would have kept the boys in their place.

“It scares me how good he can be with Steven.” Pepper admitted softly. She knew Tasha would never hold her words against her.

“Especially considering he's only known him for a few days and Steven is super touchy.” Tasha agreed.

“What are they doing?” Pepper sighed, watching Jack stumble off the elevator. His wide grin made her concerned.

“Not sure. We could go see?” Tasha shrugged.

“Can we take the blanket?” Pepper whined lightly; it was cold in the Tower. Tasha snorted at the tone. THE Pepper Potts would never let anyone else hear her like this. It meant more than Tasha cared to admit that Pepper let her guard down around her. She didn't have that type of relationship with any other female.

“Stupid question,” Tasha replied, tugging Pepper up and taking the blanket with her. “Scoot,” Tasha told Clint. He and Steve separated, letting the ladies sit between them.

“Oh, God. You're so warm.” Pepper moaned, making Steve blush instantly.

“See!” Jack shouted, raising his hand like he was making a point.

“Shh!” Steve groaned, swatting Jack's hand out of his face. “You're interrupting Tony's work.”

“Oh, this isn't work.” Tony giggled, typing quickly on a laptop. Normally he would have gone down to his lab to do this, but he liked the weird familial atmosphere that had developed in the room. He was going sentimental in his old age – he had never craved this atmosphere before. In fact, he would have gone to great lengths to avoid this very situation. Everyone but Bruce was crammed onto the couch, chatting with each other and enjoying each other's company. He glanced up, getting a look down the couch again, and couldn't help but smile at his family.

“You should let me go,” Steven murmured sleepily against Tony's chest. He was sitting on his lap, watching him type, but he felt in the way. Tony grumbled but let the boy slip from his lap. He clambered over Jack to Steve, accepting some of the blanket from Pepper. He slipped into the small space between her body and Steve's. She wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in for a cuddle. Steve watched on their interaction with affection; he was glad everyone was getting on so well with the boy. Lord knows they weren't equipped for kids.

“What are you sausages doing?” Pepper asked jokingly.

“Messing with Coulson.” Steve smiled.

“Doing what?”

“Remember Twerking Man?” Tony asked. Pepper shook her head. “Hmm, maybe I didn't tell you about him. Did I mention Humping Man?” Pepper shook her head again. “Hmm. You've been out of the loop.”

“It's not my fault you leave me out of things!” Pepper retorted.

“We'll update you on Skye's versions of Iron Man when there is a more appropriate audience.” Tasha grinned, nodding towards Steven. Pepper's mouth quirked up in understanding. “We can show you Twerking Man though.”

“I'm working with him!” Tony argued, shaking his head.

“Well, stop taking so long so we can show Pepper.” Tasha sighed, swirling her drink.

“Coulson's gonna flip.” Clint giggled, draping himself around Tasha. “Can we go to Headquarters tomorrow and see it?”

“We have a mission tomorrow.” Tasha reminded him.

“A short one.” Clint retorted easily. He grinned at Tasha winningly, “Please? Please can we go see Coulson tomorrow?”

“Can I wake you up early so we can get to headquarters before the mission?” Tasha countered.

“How early?”

“We need to leave Headquarters by 8am for the mission. Wake you up at 6 to get you caffeinated, then head in. Should give us about an hour to suit up and see Coulson...if he's back.”

“Deal.”

“6am. Not 6:30, not almost 7.” Tasha clarified. “6.”

“Fiiiiiine,” Clint groaned loudly. Steven grinned sleepily at him.

“I can make sure you're awake,” He offered.

“Deal!” Tasha grinned. “If Clint doesn't get out of bed, you can come jump on him.”

“Done!” Tony smirked, raising his hands from the computer. “Oh, man. I can't wait to see Agent's face.”

“You're going to hack into Shield, aren't you?” Steve asked.

“I already hacked into Shield.”

“You're going to hack into the surveillance feeds, aren't you?” Steve corrected.

“Oh, yeah.” Tony grinned.

“You should find me this one's temper tantrum while you're at it.” Steve smiled, nodding down at Steven. The boy winced and shook his head.

“I'm not sure you want to see that.”

“That's exactly why I do want to see it!” Steve laughed. “I need to know what I'm getting into.”

“What if I promise not to do it ever again?”

“Steven, you can't promise that. You're seven.”

“But...”

“You're not going to get into trouble.” Clint said from the far end of the couch. “We just need to know what to expect if you're ever that angry. We're still not really sure what you're capable of.”

“I won't get into trouble?” Steven clarified, his eyes downcast.

“You won't get in trouble.” Steve and Clint agreed. Steven looked up with a small smile.

“You guys said the same thing.” Steven giggled. He yawned deeply mid-laugh, triggering Pepper's own yawn.

“Bedtime.” Pepper announced. “I'll take Steven down, if you're not ready yet.”

“Steven?” Steve asked.

“Okay,” Steven smiled, hugging Pepper. “Do I still get my good night from you though?”

“You can have one from everyone,” Tasha replied for Steve, stealing him from Pepper. She gave him a hug, being careful with his ribs, and ruffled his hair. “Good night, munchkin.”

“My turn!” Clint grinned, prying him loose from Tasha. He shoved the boy into the corner of the couch and curled up around him. “I'm ready for bed,” Clint announced before dramatically “falling asleep” on Steven.

“Cliiiint,” Steven laughed. “I'm supposed to go to bed.”

“Shh, I'm sleeping.”

“Let the boy go. It's my birthday, I need a hug too.” Tony complained. Jack and Steve glanced towards the ceiling, half expecting Skye's voice to come back on. They both frowned when there was no voice. It seemed they had filled their Skye quota for the day. Jack's face visibly fell.

“Come on, Steven. I'll take you down.” Jack said softly, offering the tired boy his hand.

“I think I'm going to head to bed, too.” Steve sighed, a few minutes later.

“Happy Birthday to me,” Tony shrugged, watching the room clear out. After a minute, he was alone. He needed to finish his drink before heading to bed, so he picked the laptop back up and checked his upload. The laptop flickered and the screen changed. Skye's smiling face filled the screen. Tony nearly spilled his water all over himself at her sudden appearance.

“Hi, Dad.” Skye said softly. She glanced over her shoulder to where he could just barely see Jack's sleeping form. She smiled fondly at her brother and turned back to the front. “You're really hard to get alone! I had to wait all day! Ha, just kidding. This is a recording; I didn't wait at all. Also, while I'm on the topic...I did totally hack your Tower again. I know I promised not to, but... Well, it's your birthday! If you're seeing this that means that we couldn't come. You probably didn't know, but Steve was planning you a dinner party. Said we could pick the place and he would get you there. Obviously, that didn't work out, but you should still give him some credit. He tried really hard to convince us.

“Anyway, this is a big birthday. 45 – you old man. I mailed Steve something that he was supposed to wrap for you. If you didn't get it, you may need to check your mail room. It should have made it past your security, but you never know. People make all sorts of mistakes that computers don't. God, computers are so much better than people, aren't they? I'm getting off topic. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking of you today, even if I couldn't make it in person.

“If I were there, sitting with you right now, I would ask you just one question.” Skye leaned forward, smiling warmly. “What are you going to do with the next year that will make it better than last year? If I were there, I would helpfully supply you with some goals that you could work on.” Skye smiled cheekily, “For example...You could lose five pounds. The tabloids haven't been nice to you. Or...you know, we could team up and kick some scientist booty.” She blinked slowly, her features soft and serious. “That should be a goal, for you, this year. Find all the Centipede scientists and dump them in the deepest, darkest hole you've got. Jack and I will help in any way we can. We destroyed them once, we can damn well destroy them again.” She blinked rapidly, then smiled artificially at the screen. “Or, you know, you could also learn to play the flute or something. It's your year! Make it awesome!

“Don't try to trace this feed, we're relocating soon. Oh, and yes – I'm leaving this on your desktop. If your previous birthdays are anything to go by, you're probably passing out drunk. Anyway. I'm rambling. Have a good birthday. Take care of yourself. Keep your eyes peeled – there are always other occasions that we can sneak in for.” Skye winked at the screen. “Never know when we might pop up. Bye, Dad.”

“Shit,” Tony exhaled, looking at his now black screen. He downed his drink in one swallow, then hurried to catch up to Pepper. He needed to not be alone right now.

 0-0-0-0-0

 “I'm sorry,” Steven said softly, shifting in place in the elevator with Jack. He was still clutching his hand. Jack frowned and looked down at the boy.

“What are you sorry about?”

“That your sister is gone.” Steven said softly. “I can see you're sad.”

“Of course, I'm sad.” Jack replied, bending over to talk to the boy at his level. “She was important to me and I miss her.”

“I'm sorry,” Steven whispered, reaching out to hug Jack's neck. Instead of recoiling, Jack scooped the boy up, clutching him close to his chest.

“Let's get you to bed, huh?” Jack said softly, carrying the boy off the elevator. Steven nodded his head from where it was laying against Jack's collar bone.

“Do you think Skye's happy now?” Steven asked softly.

“Here's the thing about Skye,” Jack replied, rocking in place. “Skye could always find something to be happy about, no matter how small. But she was also scared all the time; she always had to watch out for us. She always had to look out for the retrieval team. And now she doesn't have to worry about that...so yeah, I think maybe...hopefully...she's happy.”

“I hope so, too.” Steven yawned. “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”

“Are you having trouble sleeping?” Jack asked, still rocking in place.

“I don't want to be alone yet,” Steven whispered. Jack nodded and started humming, soft and low.

“I think I miss your sissy too,” Steven muttered, mostly asleep. “Is that stupid? Cause I've never met Skye?”

“No, that's not stupid.” Jack murmured. “It's never stupid to miss someone.”

Jack continued swaying in spot, rubbing circles on Steven's back as he hummed the song again. He continued until Steven was limp against his chest, breathing heavily. He smiled a little and headed for his bedroom. Steve intercepted them, hurrying to open Steven's door ahead of Jack. Jack set him down under the blankets that Steve pulled back. Steven woke slightly, mumbling about being cold, before burrowing into his blankets. Jack smiled and sat down next to the boy. He reached over, rubbing small circles on his back, just how Skye always put him to sleep. He hummed the song once more, extra softly, just to make sure the boy had fallen deep enough asleep to not wake as soon as Jack moved.

“You're good at that,” Steve smiled. Jack quietly closed the door behind himself, then smiled back at Steve.

“Skye always put me to sleep by rubbing my back,” Jack admitted, smiling crookedly. “Please, don't ask me how old I was when I let her stop. I'm drunk enough that I may actually tell you.”

“Yeah, you're a little rough around the edges,” Steve said softly, reaching out to brush away his hair before realizing what an intimate gesture that was.

“Need a haircut, too.” Jack grinned. His eyes went blank for a second and his smile froze on his face. “Gonna have to find someone. Skye always...”

“I know a guy.” Steve told Jack, ushering him to his room. “Lets get you ready for bed.”

“Maybe, if I don't cut it...she'll have to come back and yell at me,” Jack whispered loudly, looking up at Steve with eyes wide and innocent. “You know she got out. Somehow, she got out. Skye's very resourceful like that.”

“Come brush your teeth,” Steve said softly, tugging Jack to the bathroom by the wrist. Jack resisted, even as he was pulled there anyway.

“One night won't kill me.”

“Jack, you're not sleeping in my bed with unbrushed teeth,” Steve told him, handing him his toothbrush.

“Good. Cause I'm not going to bed.” Jack announced, dramatically inserting the toothbrush into his mouth.

“Where are you going then?” Steve smiled. He got his own toothbrush ready and started brushing while he waited on Jack to reply.

“The roof.” Jack replied finally, garbling his words in his attempt at talking around his toothbrush.

“Why the roof?” Steve asked, wincing at himself in the mirror. He was sure he wasn't going to like this.

“Cause Skye hates them. She's afraid of heights, you know.” Jack paused to spit, then rinsed his toothbrush off. “Also, it's cold up there. She wouldn't like me being on the roof because of the danger and since it's cold, I could get sick, you know? If it meant she was coming back... I would be better, for her. I could be more responsible.”

“Jack...” Steve whispered sadly. Jack was very matter of fact about the whole thing, looking at Steve with wide, glossy eyes. “Skye's not hiding from us.”

“I was being an ass you know?” Jack shrugged, pulling off his clothes layer by layer. “We're running because of me. Skye wouldn't be involved in any of this, if it weren't for me. But I was the one complaining when Skye was just trying to keep me safe. I don't blame her for not coming back. But I would do better by her, if she gave me a second chance.” Jack grunted and offered Steve a sock clad foot. “Give a guy a hand?”

“When did we become so comfortable with each other?” Steve sighed, tugging the sock off.

“When the alcohol in my system made me drop all my inhibitions!” Jack giggled, running to the bed in only his boxers. “Hurry up, I want your heat.”

“You get warm, then you get on your side, got it?” Steve asked, sliding in beside Jack.

“I would trade these cuddles with you for fights with Skye, any day.” Jack said in a high pitched voice, then giggled at himself. He tucked up next to Steve, pouting when he realized that he was still fully clothed.

“We're not cuddling.” Steve yawned.

“We're cuddling,” Jack disagreed confidently. “You're being super lazy about it...but we're definitely cuddling.”

“Five minutes.”

“Five minutes?”

“You get five minutes, then I'm banishing you from this half of the bed.” Steve smirked, chuckling lazily.

“What's so funny?” Jack laughed back.

“The day you got brought into the tower for hacking Tony, Skye asked me if I was insecure about my sexuality.”

“She would,” Jack giggled. “Why'd she ask that?”

“Because you hitting on me made me so uncomfortable.” Steve admitted.

“You were so embarrassed.” Jack laughed, slapping Steve's chest lightly.

“Point is, I think my answer to her would be different now.”

“What would it be?”

Steve cleared his throat and announced in a deep voice, “Having cuddled with both male and female counterparts, I feel very secure in my very straight sexuality.”

“Aw, Stevie! You just admitted we're cuddling!” Jack giggled, leaning up on one elbow to hover above Steve. “Are you saying you don't want me?”

“Jack, you've grown on me. Really, you have. And maybe I'm working towards lightly loving you in a completely non-sexual manner...but no. I don't want anything to do with you...and that stuff.”

“Lightly loving me?” Jack roared, throwing back his head as he laughed.

“Well, I don't full love you. You're kinda strange and I don't really know you that well, yet.”

“Normal's boring, Steve.” Jack said lightly, laying back down on his side of the bed. “Skye loved that. She said it all the time, every time it was made clear that we were totally different from the other kids around us.” Jack cleared his throat and told the ceiling, in Skye's voice, “If I know only three things for sure, Jack Jack, it's 1) You're not normal, 2) You're definitely not boring, and 3) I sure love that about you.”

There was a long beat of silence between the two, as Skye's voice echoed in the air around them. Then Steve adjusted so his back was completely flat on the bed and he, too, was staring at the ceiling.

“Do it again,” Steve asked softly. Jack nodded, even though it was pitch black and there was no way Steve could see him.

“Jack, she's my van and she's beautiful. Don't you dare knock on Gertrude.”

“Gertrude,” Steve chuckled. “Is that really what Skye called her van?”

“Yeah. There was some reasoning behind it...but I couldn't tell you what it was anymore.” Jack replied, shrugging.

“One more?” Steve asked softly.

“Steve and I have teamed up to prank Tony,” Jack announced, his voice and laugh like Skye's. “I've never had so much fun corrupting someone before.”

“She really said that?” Steve asked softly.

“Yeah,” Jack murmured. “She talked about you a lot. You guys keep moaning because you miss her and you only met her once, well, twice in your case. But it was the same for her. Granted, knowing Skye, she did some digging to learn up on you guys...but she still only met you very briefly. I've never seen anyone get to her so fast. Never. One time we drove away from a six month stay at a location – which, by the way, is incredibly long for us – and didn't have to say bye to a single person. She is very good at not making connections, or...denying them, if they try to happen anyway.”

“What happened with us?” Steve asked softly. Jack chuckled sleepily.

“I haven't the faintest idea.”

“What were you humming before?” Steve asked sleepily, desperate for sleep but struggling to actually fall into slumber. “To Steven?”

“Our grieving song,” Jack muttered, his good humor suddenly gone. “Skye always sang it when we lost someone. But it was important to us...so sometimes it's a lullaby. Steven doesn't know that, of course, but...”

“Sing it for me?” Steve asked, uncharacteristically needy. Jack's lip twitched up slightly and he nodded into the darkness.

I know you're gone, I know you're gone
But I don't feel what I know
I know you're gone, I know you're gone
But my mind ain't in control
Cuz it's my heart that's been missing you
It's the heart I need to listen to
And it's been singing songs, pretend to dream
That once to say it's help us leaving
One day I will sing those song
Sing 'em til they sleep
Just like you sang to me
Just like you sang, sang to me

From the day that I met you I stop feeling a afraid
In your arms I feel safe, in your arms I feel safe

From the day that I met you I stop feeling afraid
In your arms I feel safe, in your arms

Miss you so, I miss you so, and I miss you till I'm old
I miss you so, I miss you so my fear will fade I know
Cuz it's my heart that you help to build
Love it's my complice still yeah
Love will fill the holes I got
Cuz you will never hold me but I know that you are with me
I know that you are at peace
Cuz you let us sing to sleep
You let us sing, your heart to sleep

And I know that you are with me
And I know that you are at peace
Cuz you let us sing, your soul, your mind and heart to sleep

From the day that I met you I stop feeling afraid
In your arms I feel safe, in your arms I feel safe
In your arms...

I miss you so, I miss you so and I'll miss you til I'm old

Chapter Text

“Clint, I mean it. I will go get Steven.” Tasha warned. Clint moaned and curled up tighter under the blankets.

“Just five more minutes,” He groaned, burying his head under the pillow. Tasha had yanked the curtains open, drenching the room in an orange pre-dawn glow.

“No. Now, or I'm not making you coffee.”

“Aw, that's so mean!” Clint whined, kicking the blankets off him. “I'm up. I'm up!”

“Get in the shower. I'll go get the coffee.” Tasha smirked, kissing his forehead.

“I love you,” Clint yawned, stretching.

“You love coffee,” Tasha corrected, swatting at him. “Shower. Now.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Hey, Pip Squeak.” Tony smirked over the top of his coffee. He had already re-watched Skye's video a few times that morning, and was filled with renewed determination. He was going to find those asshole scientists and put them at the bottom of the deepest, darkest hole he could find – for Skye. He hoped Steven was up to doing some serious work, because Tony was determined to finish the program that day.

“Hi.” Steven smiled back, unusually shy. His hair was all over the place and he was still wearing his pajamas.

“You look like you're ready to go back to bed.” Tony commented. Steven shrugged lightly.

“Aw, yeah. Pajama day!” Jack all but shouted, sliding into the kitchen. “Dude! You're wearing pajamas too? Great minds, kid. Great minds.”

“You were asleep five minutes ago,” Steven commented, trying not to yawn.

“You were asleep five minutes ago,” Jack mimicked back.

“You're sassy this morning,” Steven noted.

“Sassy pants!” Jack grinned, jumping up and down in place. Steven turned to look back at Tony, trying to gauge Tony's reaction. His own expression showed just how little he cared for Jack's display.

“You're normally like this,” Tony laughed. “It's a little odd to see it on the other foot.”

“I've got all this energy!” Jack giggled, tossing his hands in the air.

“You know where the gym is.” Steven told him, sliding off the stool. He plopped himself down on the couch and dragged a blanket from the back. “Jarvis, can you find me some cartoons, please?”

“Yes, Steven.”

“What's up with him?” Tony mouthed. Jack shrugged and visibly deflated. Tony nodded slowly. “Well, let's give him some time. Can I show you something?”

“Sure,” Jack agreed.

“Jarvis, to Jack's lab please.” Tony asked, stepping into the elevator. Jack froze just outside the doors.

“My lab?” He asked softly.

“We promised Skye we would take care of you,” Tony admitted softly. “Knowing what I know about you...I figured a lab is part of that.”

“So you just...made me a lab?” Jack asked, shocked.

“Well...yeah.” Tony nodded. Jack did this little move where he ran in place really fast, then tossed his hands in the air with an excited squeal.

“I really want to hug you right now!” Jack announced loudly, letting Tony drag him into the elevator by his wrist.

“I really appreciate your self-restraint.” Tony replied dryly. He looked very pleased with himself. The elevator pinged open and Tony shoved Jack out.

He stood there in silence for almost a full minute, just looking at the lab that Tony had designed for him. Of course, a team had brought in all the equipment and placed everything...but that was beside the fact. Eventually, the silence grew uncomfortable and Tony glanced around Jack's shoulder to gauge his reaction. Jack sobbed and threw himself at Tony, completely ignoring Tony's discomfort.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.” Jack cried, clutching at Tony's shoulders. “It's perfect and amazing and you didn't have to and...”

“I mean...I wasn't about to share my lab with you.” Tony shrugged, dismissing his thanks. He smirked condescendingly, “I actually do important work in my lab.”

Jack's sobs turned into laughter as he saw through Tony's mask.

“I still can't believe you made me this,” Jack repeated.

“You can thank me by letting me go,” Tony offered, trying to pry Jack from him.

“Nope. The first hug was from me. This hug is from Skye. She would love you for this. I love you for this. It's so perfect.” Jack said softly, changing the hug into a less restrictive hold. Tony patted Jack's elbow, the only thing he could reach because his arms were pinned to his side. Eventually Tony grew tired of it.

“I think your point is made.” He said firmly, stepping backwards away from him.

“Sorry.” Jack replied, though he was grinning.

“Uh huh.”

“I am.” Jack retorted.

“Uh huh.” Tony snorted. “I'm gonna go see if Grumpy Pants is ready to tweak.”

“Can I stay here?” Jack asked, his eyebrows high. “I wanted to look at the comms that Fitz and I made for Steve. I think with some work, we can make them smaller...”

“Kid, it's your lab. You do whatever you want, whenever you want.” Tony laughed. “Talk to Jarvis about rules. You can control who you want in here...except me. Jarvis will always let me in.”

“This is so cool!” Jack squealed again, running over to look over his equipment more closely.

“Let me know if you need anything,” Tony told him, stepping back into the elevator.

“You may not be Steven's favorite, but you're my favorite!” Jack shouted as the doors closed. Tony crossed his arms over his torso in a rare show of embarrassment.

Damn that kid. He was sneaking past his walls, too. What was it with these kids? Maybe it was the whole...Asian factor. That was something they all had in common. Yeah. They were easy because they were Asian. Tony nodded to himself, acknowledging his line of thought. Now, he just needed to not meet any more Asian people. He didn't have any room for more people in his life. Then, he couldn't help but grin when he thought about what Steve would say about his assessment. He was giggling to himself when he stepped off the elevator.

“What did you do?” Steve asked, leveling a look of exasperation at Tony.

“Showed Jack his new lab.” Tony replied, knowing that wasn't what Steve was asking about.

“What else did you do?” Steve pressed.

“Where'd the kid go?” Tony asked, ignoring the question.

“He said he was going to get dressed.” Steve replied.

“Hmm, thought him and Jack had a pajama day planned.” Tony mused. “Is everything okay with him?”

“I don't know. I think so?” Steve shrugged. He leaned against the counter. “To be honest, I'm still trying to judge his normal, so I'm not sure what is...abnormal?”

“We might want to judge faster.” Tony admitted.

“Why? What'd he say?” Steve asked, instantly concerned.

“Nothing,” Tony admitted. “I don't know. He just wasn't himself this morning. He did come up in pajamas and with bed head, though...so maybe he just woke up wrong?”

“I'll talk to him,” Steve nodded.

“I'm going to see if we can steal Fitz as well as Simmons,” Tony continued. “Jack wants to mess with your comms.”

“Good. It's giant.” Steve smiled.

“Yeah. We need to cover your face back up,” Tony agreed, walking from the kitchen. He grinned to himself when he heard Steve snort.

0-0-0-0-0

“Robots?” Tony asked, stopping Steven before he got off the elevator.

“No, that's okay. Let's do the tweaking first.” Steven replied, skirting Tony's outstretched hands.

“But, I promised to show you my robots.” Tony pointed out. “I need to prove that I make them.”

“I know you make them.” Steven shrugged. “Clint showed me Dum-E when we were exploring the vents.”

“But that's not what I meant.” Tony sighed, trailing after the boy. Steven smiled at him and boosted himself into the work station Tony had set up for him.

“I think this is more important.” Steven pointed out. “They're not going anywhere.”

“Okay,” Tony frowned. He knew when to admit defeat. He didn't know which card to play next, so for now he was going to let it go. Besides, this meant he had a better chance of finishing the program that day.

0-0-0-0-0

“Sir, there is an incoming transmission.” Jarvis chimed in.

“From?” Tony asked, not looking up from his computer screen. Steven was a few feet away from him on a stool, frowning while he typed slowly. He was humming a tune that Tony had never heard while absentmindedly pecking at the keys. Tony made a mental note to put a typing lesson at the top of the boy's computer class lesson plans.

“Agent Coulson.” Jarvis replied. Tony pushed his own keyboard back and grinned over at Steven. He looked up briefly, but continued working on his line of code.

“Put it through.” Tony told Jarvis, frowning slightly at the boy's lack of enthusiasm.

“Mr. Stark.” Coulson smiled, though it looked a bit forced.

“Agent!” Tony smirked, tossing his arms wide. “What do I owe the pleasure?”

“You know perfectly well why I'm calling.” Coulson retorted easily.

“I still say Fitz can fix this problem...” A deep voice sounded off screen.

“Agent Ward!” A Scottish accent huffed. “I explained this to you. I'm hardware not software. I don't know how to fix this. If the computers were disassembled, I'm your man...”

“Well, then you're a pretty terrible excuse for our computer person.” Ward retorted. Tony couldn't help but grin at Coulson.

“You're the one that can take apart nuclear bombs,” Fitz grumbled. “Maybe you should learn a little about programming.”

“Mr. Stark, remove the Iron Man from our system and I won't have to resort to other measures.”

“Psh, other measures?” Tony snorted.

“Hey, I think it's funny.” Agent Triplett muttered softly in the background. “I bet Mr. Stark doesn't even know how to twerk.”

“Yeah.” Coulson retorted, mimicking Tony's snort. “You think I'm going to let you pick Simmons' brains if you're messing up our ops?”

“Did we mess up your op?” Tony asked, glancing over at Steven again. He was still hard at work; his brow furrowed in concentration. Tony nudged the boy, trying to coax a smile out of him. He was disappointed.

“That's not the point.” Coulson sighed.

“Seems like that was the point you were trying to make.” Tony shrugged.

“Don't interfere with my systems and I won't interfere with Simmons and Dr. Banner working on a project together.” Coulson offered.

“You don't have the authority to deny me.” Tony argued. Coulson actually laughed at that.

“You think you're going to have better luck asking Director Fury?” Coulson asked, still chortling.

“I'll just have Barton and Romanov kidnap her.” Tony shrugged. That made Steven glance his way, his eyebrow arched. Finally, a response.

“Excuse me?” A British voice asked sharply. There was muffled laughing off screen, and Coulson pressed his lips together and stepped to the side. Simmons took his place, shooting a glare Tony's way. She ducked her head while she talked, obviously trying to avoid the dancing Iron Man that was plaguing their plane. “I think you will find that you will have a hard time getting my cooperation if you resort to the black bag method of persuasion.”

“Like you're going to say no.” Tony grinned. “We've got this facinating biological... sample... that we would love you to have a look at. Bruce is thoroughly enthralled with it.”

“Biological sample?” Simmons asked, her interest peaked despite her best efforts.

“Blood.” Tony shrugged. “Very unusual blood. But, I can see why you might not be interested. It's okay. We can call in another biologist.”

“Mr. Stark...now, don't be rash.” Simmons back peddled.

“Oh, come on Jemma!” Fitz groaned. “At least pretend to hold out.”

“Ah, Agent Fitz. It's my understanding that Jack would like to tinker with your comm units. It's okay though. I'm sure he'll be fine tinkering on his own. Never mind he's never had access to the kind of resources at his finger tips. Who knows what he might do with them?” Tony smirked when Fitz yelped and shoved Jemma from the screen.

“Don't you dare let him tinker without me!” Fitz ordered, shoving a finger towards the camera. Tony laughed out loud and clapped his hands.

“I win, Coulson.”

“Remove the Iron Man.” Coulson said firmly, stepping back into frame. He snapped his fingers and added, “And while you're at it, remove the changes your source made to my file!”

“Aw, is Agent having problems with his file?” Tony asked in baby talk. Coulson frowned and worked to retain control of his composure. Steve stepped off the elevator and whistled lightly to Steven, catching his attention. Steven smiled softly and hurried over to the elevator.

“Was that a kid?” Coulson asked.

“Steve, what's going on?” Steven asked softly, looking at Steve's suit and duffle bag.

“I got called into a mission.” Steve told the boy. “It won't take long, but they need me.”

“But I don't want you to get hurt...” Steven frowned.

“I'll try my best not to.” Steve smiled. “It won't take long. A few of our scientists were just taken. The people that took them missed a tracker – so we know exactly where they are. I just need to get them back. It won't be too hard.”

“So I have to stay?”

“You have to stay.” Steve confirmed. “But if you're good, I'll bring you some ice cream back.”

“What if I'm not good?” Steven asked.

“Hmm, then maybe you get less ice cream.” Steve smiled.

“You're coming back?”

“Of course I'm coming back.” Steve scoffed. “You think I'm going to leave you alone with these guys for very long?”

“Hey! I heard that!” Tony yelled. Steve grinned at Tony and waved him off.

“I've got to go now, okay? Find Jack, if you need anything. Use your judgement, okay? If Tony asks you to do something unsafe...just...don't.”

“I can still hear you!” Tony yelled. “Really, I'm not deaf.”

“Bye, Tony.” Steve called back. “Keep an eye on him while I'm gone, yeah?”

“Oh, I'll keep a very close eye on him.” Tony smirked.

“Oh, God.” Steve groaned.

“See you later, Capsicle.”

“Be good.” Steve reiterated to Steven, then pulled him into a hug. “I'll see you in a few hours.”

0-0-0-0-0

“They're already back!” Clint groaned, tugging Tasha along. “Hurry up!”

“Clint, it was on their plane.” Tasha sighed. “They've already seen it.”

“Damn. Phone.” Clint sighed, dragging to a stop so he could pull his phone free from his bag. “Tony, what do you want? I'm stalking Coulson.”

“I want you to kidnap Simmons.” Tony chortled from the other end of the phone call.

“Kidnap Simmons?” Clint confirmed, grinning at Tasha.

“Why are we kidnapping Simmons?” She asked.

“Calling Coulson's bluff.” Tony retorted.

“Consider it done.” Clint grinned. He couldn't wait to see Coulson's reaction.

“Oh, God.” Tasha groaned, but willingly let Clint drag her towards the hangar.

“You're going to distract Coulson, I'll grab Simmons.” Clint whispered a few minutes later. They were watching Coulson's team unload materials and reload supplies. Tasha smirked and ducked out from behind the crates.

“May!” Tasha called out as she approached the plane. “Can I pick your mind for a minute?”

“That wasn't the plan!” Clint hissed to her.

0-0-0-0-0

“Oh, you fucked up, Nat. You fucked up big.” Clint huffed, trying to keep the squirming Simmons on his shoulder as they jogged down the hall. Tasha grinned at his dismay.

“Put me down you Neanderthal!” Simmons grunted, smacking Clint's back.

“Wait!” A voice down the hall shouted.

“Fitz!” Simmons yelled. “Help!”

“Wait!” Fitz called again.

“He's gaining!” Clint groaned.

“If you had done your exercising, you would be in better shape and a tiny scientist wouldn't slow you down this much.” Tasha pointed out.

“She's not heavy!” Clint protested. “She's just...squirmy.”

“Take me with you!” Fitz shouted, launching himself at Tasha's back.

“It's a good thing you're so vocal,” Tasha grunted, absorbing his impact.

“You could have died kid.” Clint agreed. Fitz giggled nervously, but didn't release his hold on Tasha. In fact, he wrapped his legs around her, clinging to her back like a monkey.

“You have to take me with you. Jack is going to break our comms unit!” Fitz begged. She sighed and adjusted her hold on him, helping keep him on her back. Fitz whooped and hollered at his success, making Simmons groan.

“You were supposed to come save me!” She complained.

“We need to get to the quinjet before May catches up to us,” Clint grunted, still jogging along.

“She was busy...” Fitz started.

“Don't steal my scientists!” Coulson interrupted, shouting down the long hall. All four swiveled their heads to look at Coulson, then Tasha and Clint put on a burst of speed.

“Sir!” Simmons shouted. “I want it noted in my disciplinary file that I'm resisting this kidnapping!”

“And I want it noted in my file that I heard her argument and ignored it!” Clint shouted, giggling when he saw Coulson running to catch up.

“I'll hold him off,” Tasha grinned, making Fitz slip from her back. “Take the science babies and get the jet started.”

“Fitz, you on board with keeping Simmons on board?” Clint asked, remotely opening the hatch to the jet that was sitting on the roof.

“Whatever you need, Sir.” Fitz nodded seriously.

“Coulson's gonna be so mad,” Clint giggled. “We're corrupting you so bad.”

“You're not corrupting me,” Fitz argued. “You're corrupting Simmons.”

“You just ran away from your supervising officer. Willingly. That's more than Simmons here can say,” Clint retorted, setting her down in a jump seat. “Strap her in. Make sure she doesn't get out.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“And stop calling me sir!” Clint shouted as he headed for the cockpit.

“Yes, Ma'am.” Fitz retorted offhandedly. Tasha snorted behind him, making Fitz whirl around in surprise. “Christ! Make some noise, will ya?”

“I wasn't trying to be sneaky.” Tasha shrugged. “Strap yourself in. Coulson's clear.”

“Is he mad?” Fitz asked softly.

“Nah.” Tasha denied, waving off his concern.

“You're lying.” Simmons interjected, her arms crossed firmly across her chest.

“He's not mad.” Tasha repeated. “He's just a little...”

“Angry?” Simmons interrupted.

“Disappointed.” Tasha smirked. “He hates it when Tony wins.”

“You don't feel like you're being too mean?” Simmons asked softly.

“Oh, he's got worse coming to him.” Tasha replied. “He let us think he was dead.”

“He was dead.”

“But then he wasn't. He should have let us know. Me and Clint, at least.”

“He was your handler, huh?” Fitz asked, holding his straps as Clint got the jet in the air.

“Long time ago, yeah.” Tasha nodded.

“You can't blame him for that...” Simmons murmured.

“Would you let Fitz off the hook so easily?” Tasha asked, quirking an eyebrow. Fitz snorted and then tried to cover it with a very fake cough.

“I expect more out of Fitz than that.”

“Yeah, well we expected more out of Coulson.” Tasha shrugged. “You should be clear to unstrap now. I'm heading up to the cockpit.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Oh, Skye.” Jack whispered, taking in his new lab in shock. He still hadn't touched anything – he was afraid that it would disappear, like cotton candy on his tongue.

Tony had thought of everything. Shiny tools lined an entire wall, and rows upon rows of drawers filled another. The work space was positively massive. It was probably bigger than any of the places he and Skye had ever stayed. He wandered into a small “living area” that consisted of a half-size fridge, microwave, sink, table and couch. Tony assumed he was going to be spending a lot of time down here. He couldn't help the smug expression on his face; he was going to create something awesome, for Skye.

He just wasn't sure what, yet.

He tentatively reached out to touch a screen, jolting it to life. All the other screens turned on as well, surrounding Jack in a near transparent wall of memories. Tony had pulled images from Skye's system and his own, finding pictures of Jack – with Skye and the team. There was even a picture of Fitz and him, hunched over a table, working to assemble Steve's prototype.

Jack suddenly felt like something was leeching his energy. Shit. He should have known better; he wasn't paying attention to his body. He was suddenly incredibly warm and he struggled to sit. He missed the stool he was aiming for, his hands were shaking uncontrollably and he couldn't keep his legs under him to save his life; the last thing he knew, the floor was rushing up to meet his face.

0-0-0-0-0

“Hey there.” Bruce greeted, watching Jack come back around. Jack blinked slowly, trying to place himself. “Stay there. You had another episode – Jarvis alerted me.”

“You used the blood?” Jack asked slowly, looking like he was talking around his tongue for the first time.

“I had to.” Bruce admitted. “Your heartbeat was incredibly erratic. I tried shocking it back into rhythm twice, but that didn't work. I tried everything I could think of, before I used it.”

“It's okay,” Jack shrugged. “If Skye's system works the way it should, I should get another bag in a week.”

“You'll receive blood weekly?” Bruce asked, his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah.”

“You'll need blood that often?”

“Well, not usually. But she would err on the side of caution. Especially with me.”

“We need to figure this out, so we can solve it – or at least make a treatment plan that doesn't include receiving a blood transfusion every week.” Bruce mused. “When Simmons gets here, I'll ask for her input – if that's okay with you?”

“Do what you need to do, Doc.” Jack shrugged. He was beyond caring right then. Skye would have been pissed at him – but she wasn't here. She couldn't say anything about his stupidity.

0-0-0-0-0

Steve sat with his head bowed in thought. All around him, men were getting their gear together and catching up with other specialists. Steve already had his gear, and he didn't have friends among the agents, so he sat off at the side.

His head wasn't in a good place that morning. He couldn't get it on the mission. He couldn't get it off Skye. He had dreamed of her the night before. It had been a good dream, too...until it wasn't.

They were in the 40's – watching a movie from the hood of his car. Skye had been tucked against his side, giggling at the movie. He had glanced over and seen Bucky with his own dame, the next car over. They weren't paying much attention to the movie, so Skye started throwing things at them. Bucky had growled at her, then launched himself at her – getting his revenge with tickles. Skye had giggled and squirmed, begging for his help.

That's when the dream had turned bad. Skye's laughter had turned to crying, her tears turned to blood. She was still begging, though. Begging for his help. Begging him to save her. And he couldn't do anything but stand there and watch her die. Just like he had stood there and watched Bucky die.

Or not die, as it turned out.

That was another thing plaguing him. Skye had made it clear that Bucky wasn't ready yet, but she hadn't said anything about why. Why wasn't he ready to see him? Why was he still alive? How was he still alive? And why did he still look exactly how Steve remembered him – minus the long hair and weird mask. Steve needed to check out that flash drive again. He was a little intimidated by the sheer amount of information on it, but he hadn't taken the time to look at it. Honestly, he was afraid of what it would say. What was wrong with Bucky?

And that lead him to the reason he hadn't taken the time to look at it – Steven. Steve was starting to wonder if he had made a mistake bringing him back to the Tower. Obviously something was wrong with the boy – even Tony had picked up on it – but Steve hadn't the faintest idea what the issue was. The boy hid himself well, which made Steve worry about why he kept hiding behind it. And why didn't he say anything, if there was something wrong? What had he done so wrong that Steven didn't trust him?

“Grab your gear! Load up!”

Steve jerked to attention, scrubbing his face quickly. Right now he needed to put Skye out of mind – he couldn't do anything for her. At best, they could find the scientists, but that was Tony and Steven's job, not his. He needed to put Bucky out of mind – he couldn't do anything for him until he figured out where he was staying. He could set aside time to do that when he got back to the Tower, though. Lastly, he needed to put Steven out of mind – he had no idea what to do with him. That problem would require some thought. Disappointment twisted his gut at the thought of failing with Steven, just like his gut had twisted when he had woken early that morning clutching a pillow instead of Skye.

“All good, Cap?” Agent Tripplet asked, half running to catch up with him. Steve slowed, letting him catch up.

“Agent Tripplet,” Steve greeted, nodding his head towards the man.

“You okay today?” Trip asked, peering at him. “You look like you have the world on your shoulders.”

“Good thing I'm a super soldier then, huh?” Steve replied, trying for a smile.

“Your team driving you crazy?” Trip asked, laughing.

“Nah. Some days I just feel my ninety some years more than others.” Steve dismissed.

“Well, you're going to feel ancient when we get back.” Trip smirked, claiming a jump seat next to Steve.

“Do I want to know?” Steve groaned, rubbing his eyes.

“We just got back from a mission, when I got pulled for this.” Trip told Steve. “By the way, there was a Twerking Iron Man on board with us – did you know that? It was hilarious. Anyway, we'd only been back an hour when Barton and Romanov came and stole Simmons. Then Fitz jumped ship...literally. Coulson said he rode Romanov back to the quinjet they had stashed on the roof.”

“They kidnapped Simmons and Fitz?” Steve groaned, not knowing if he wanted to laugh or cry. He was so tired – physically and emotionally. He didn't need this, not from his team – not now.

“Nah, man. Fitz came willingly.” Trip laughed, shouldering Steve lightly. Steve smiled slightly and shook his head. Trip's easy grin fell. “Seriously, man. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah.” Steve dismissed. “Yeah, of course. I just need to catch up on a little sleep. It was Tony's birthday yesterday, so we had a late night.”

“Alright, well, let me know if you need anything. I still owe you for the baby advice.”

“Thanks, Agent Tripplet.”

“Sleep tight, Cap.”

“Aw, now you went and made it creepy.” Steve groaned, pushing his cap down his face to hide his eyes. He grinned when Trip started laughing, satisfied that he had dispelled his worries.

0-0-0-0-0

“You are amazing and fantastic and awe-inspiring and...”

“Tony,” Clint interrupted, raising a hand to physically stop the words from leaving Tony's mouth.

“We know how awesome we are already.” Tasha grinned.

“He watched the video of you running away from the bald guy from the plane.” Steven said helpfully, though he barely looked up from his task. Tony nodded enthusiastically. Clint removed his hand and wiped it on his pants.

“That's disgusting, Stark.”

“Then don't touch me, Merida.” Tony retorted. “Go, distribute the science babies – nice nickname Tasha, I'm stealing that – to the lab.”

“Where's Jack?” Fitz asked.

“Jarvis, where is Jack?” Tony asked.

“Mr. Chang is with Dr. Banner in his lab. He is receiving a blood transfusion.”

“What? Again? Already!” Tony shouted, tossing his hands up.

“Already?” Fitz asked softly, looking concerned.

“Jarvis, take them to Bruce's office. Bruce can explain it better than I can,” Tony offered.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Steven and I have a small kink to work out and then I'll send him down for the check up.” Tony told their backs as they headed for the elevator.

“Ready for this?” Tony asked, turning back to his computer. Steven took another moment to refocus, staring instead at the door. Tony frowned. “Or do you need a break? We can go get some food?”

“No. Let's get this done. We need to find the scientists.” Steven said softly.

“But we can take a break and still do that.” Tony replied.

“No, I'm fine.”

“You don't seem fine.” Tony pressed gently.

“I said, I'm fine.” Steven said just as softly, but a little more firmly than before. “Can we finish this? Please? Steve needs...”

“Steve needs a lot of things,” Tony interrupted. “And yes, finding the scientists is probably one of those needs...but he also needs you to take care of yourself. That means taking breaks.”

“We can take a break when we're done.” Steven shrugged, then turned back to his computer.

“Whatever you say, kid.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, you need to take a break now.” Tony groaned, looking his program over. Something had gone wrong with the coding, but he wasn't sure what. Every time he tried to fix the problem, it seemed like something else broke. “Bruce and Grumpy will be expecting you.”

“But they haven't been here for more than ten minutes...” Steven argued.

“Nope, go.” Tony interrupted. “Check up, ice cream, and then – and only then – will I consider letting you back in my lab. You need a break. I'm forcing a break on you.”

“But I don't want to...”

“Kid, sometimes you don't want to do things, but you still have to. It's part of growing up. Part of being responsible. Right now, I'm responsible for you.”

“No, Steve said Jack was in charge.”

“Fine.” Tony sighed, tossing his hands up in frustration. “Jarvis, ask Jack if Steven needs to go to his check up with the doctors.”

“Mr. Chang says, 'he absolutely must go to his check up',” Jarvis quoted a second later.

“See?” Tony grinned. “I win. Go.”

“But this is broken, Tony.” Steven pointed out, his bottom lip pushing out in a subtle pout. “It's broken and it needs to be fixed before Steve gets back and...”

“Kid, I know it's broken.” Tony sighed, running his hand through his hair. “I know it is. I'll find the mistake and fix it. Then we can keep working when you get back from your check up. Deal?”

“If it's my mistake, I should fix it.” Steven argued stubbornly. Tony groaned and threw his hands up in frustration.

“Fine! Then I'll find the mistake and you can fix it. Will you please go to your appointment?”

“Fine!” Steven shouted back, throwing his hands up like Tony had done. He stalked out of the lab, his arms crossed angrily across his chest. “Jarvis, take me to the stupid doctors.”

“Yes, Steven.” Jarvis agreed.

“What's up with him?” Tony asked absent-mindedly after the boy left.

Chapter Text

 “What the hell is going on?” Clint yelled over the alarms.

“I don't know.” Tony shouted. “That's the perimeter alarm.”

“Think they're coming after Jack?” Clint yelled, running towards the breach with his bow in hand.

“It's not a breach.” Tasha interjected calmly. “No one is breaking in.”

“Red, there is clearly...” Tony sighed.

“No, Tony. No one is breaking in.” Tasha repeated.

“Oh. Well, who is breaking out?”

“Oh, now you can ask the smart questions.” Tasha rolled her eyes and took Clint's bow and removed his quiver. “Go into the vents. Get Steven out.”

“It's Steven?” Tony groaned. “Man! I'm going to be in so much trouble.”

“Clint, go.” Tasha sighed, shoving him. Clint nodded and boosted himself into the vents without a second thought. “Tony, we should go check on Bruce.”

“Check on...Oh. The check up. Shit. Did he Hulk out?”

“No,” Tasha sighed. “But it was a close thing. Simmons distracted him enough while Steven made his escape.”

“But what happened?”

“I don't know.”

“What happened?” Tony asked again as they stepped off the elevator. Bruce was looking distinctly ruffled, but Simmons looked like she was in shock.

“Um...he didn't want a check up?” Simmons said softly. The question was clear in her voice.

“I don't know. He was off before the checkup started.” Bruce added.

“Yeah, he wasn't himself upstairs either.” Tony nodded. “What specifically happened?”

Bruce replied instantly, “I'm not honestly sure what did happen.”

“He just...freaked out.” Simmons nodded.

“Jarvis, can you call Jack down to the lab?” Tasha asked. She shrugged to the room. “Maybe he can shed some light.”

“Yes, Ms. Romanov.”

“I knew he didn't like needles, so we were deliberately putting them off.” Bruce explained. “Simmons and I were taking a look at his port and he just...”

“Flew off the handle.” Simmons finished when Bruce hesitated.

“You didn't break out the needles yet?” Tony asked.

“No. They weren't out at all.”

“And you didn't do anything to the port?” Tasha asked.

“No. I mean, we touched it. But no needles or scalpels or anything.” Simmons denied.

“What's going on?” Jack asked, dragging Fitz along behind him.

“Steven lost his shit.” Tony supplied helpfully.

“Lost his shit?” Jack sighed. “Can you be any more specific?”

“Nope, that pretty well sums it up.” Bruce agreed, scratching his head.

“What were you doing when he lost his shit?” Jack asked, frowning at the scientist.

“Looking at his port.”

“Just looking at it?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, we were discussing it...but we didn't do anything to it except feel where it was connected to his spine.”

“Where is he?” Jack sighed. “I'll go talk to him.”

“Clint is trying to find him.” Tasha replied.

“Trying to find him?” Fitz asked, peeking around Jack's side. “Who did you lose?”

“You didn't tell him?” Tony asked Jack.

“Didn't come up.” Jack shrugged.

“Didn't tell me what?” Fitz asked.

“Steve stole one of the kids. He's living here now.” Jack informed him.

“The one from the lab? He's one of the Shield kids?” Fitz asked, wincing.

“One of the Centipede kids.” Jack corrected. “They're not Shield's.”

“They're not Centipede's either.”

“They're more Centipede's than Shield's.”

“Oh, goodness.” Simmons sighed, rubbing her temples. “I didn't realize he was staying here. I wonder if he's the kid everyone's been looking for. Does anyone from Shield know where he is?”

“Don't worry, Steve checked him out.” Jack grinned.

“Checked him out?” Simmons asked hesitantly.

“From Shield. Filled out all the paperwork.”

“That's true!” Clint agreed from above them. “I was there.”

“Did you find him yet?” Tasha asked.

“Yes...and no.” Clint replied.

“Clint!”

“I know where he is...mostly.” Clint sighed.

“Mostly?” Jack asked.

“He won't let me get close.” Clint told him patiently. “He's really worked up. We need to give him some time to calm down before trying to talk to him.”

“Jack?” Tony asked, deferring to him.

“Why are you looking at me?” Jack frowned. “I don't know what's wrong with him either.”

“But you're from the same place,” Tasha pointed out.

“Yeah. Like 30 years apart.” Jack retorted. “That doesn't make me a freaking mind reader.”

“But you can go talk to him.” Tony deadpanned.

“Yeah, if you want your butt kicked.” Clint snorted.

“I can't.” Jack sighed.

“You can't get your butt kicked?” Clint laughed. “Cause I beg to differ.”

“I can't get hurt.” Jack groaned. “I mean, I can. But I shouldn't. It's bad for me.”

“Kid, it's bad for everyone to get hurt.” Tony smirked.

“Yeah, but do you have a clotting disorder that could kill you?”

“And suddenly it all makes sense.” Clint gasped, using his hands to mimic his mind exploding.

“What makes sense?” Fitz laughed.

“Why Skye was so protective of him.” Clint replied. “He's literally like this fragile, little, man-baby.”

“I'm not a man-baby!” Jack huffed, crossing his arms.

“Okay, seriously though. We need a pact of silence... First, I have no idea how to fix Agent's file. I can't alter it – Skye did a real number on it. And we need to get Steven out of the vents before Steve comes back and asks us what happened.” Tony groaned, stepping in front of Jack so he couldn't see Clint.

“What did happen?” Steve asked, stepping off the elevator.

“Welp, that's my cue.” Clint muttered, pushing himself away from the vent opening.

“Tony?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You look beat.” Tony grinned, trying to usher Steve back into the elevator. “How about a nice hot shower, maybe a little food in your system?”

“Tony...”

“Steve...”

“That alone worries me.” Steve sighed, running a hand over his face. He looked exhausted.

“Everything is totally fine.” Tony dismissed, waving a hand lazily.

“You're not convincing me,” Steve groaned.

“Go shower. We'll take care of it.” Tasha told Steve, ushering him into the elevator. “Seriously, you look beat."

“Where's Steven?”

“Chilling in the vents.” Jack shrugged. “I think he needed a break from Tony. Don't worry, Clint is keeping him company.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed, stepping onto the elevator. He still looked worried, but he allowed the elevator to take him away.

“Shit. That was close.” Tony sighed.

“Okay, we've bought some time. We still need to fix the problem.” Jack sighed, looking at Fitz like he would have an idea.

“Well...when I was upset, as a kid, I would make monkeys out of pieces of my last project.” Fitz shrugged.

“Oh, Fitz.” Simmons sighed.

“We could have Clint drag him out and then shove ice cream in his face.” Tony suggested. “He does like ice cream.”

“But that doesn't help us long term.” Bruce pointed out, cleaning his glasses off with his shirt.

“Fuck long term.” Tony laughed. “I just want to not get murdered by Steve.”

“He won't murder you, you big baby.” Jack snorted.

“I say we leave him be,” Tasha offered. “When I'm upset, I need space. Anyone stupid enough to not give that to me usually ends up hurt.”

Like that was some sort of cue, there was loud, but muffled, cursing. Clint was scrambling through the vents, making no attempt to silence his movements. Bruce put a chair under the vent and stood on it, opening the vent before Clint got there. Sticking his head in the vent, Bruce bust out laughing.

“Steven might take after Tasha,” Bruce chortled, stepping down from the chair. He turned and opened a drawer, pulling out a handful of gauze that he offered to Clint as soon as he dropped down to the floor.

“You should know better,” Tasha smirked. Clint flipped her off and pressed the gauze to his nose. His face was smeared with blood.

“Sit down, sit down,” Simmons instructed, flapping her hands at the chair. “Let me help.”

“Simmons, it's a bloody nose.” Clint told her. His voice was deeper than usual because his nose was blocked.

“It may be broken!” Simmons objected, swatting his hands out of the way. “Let me look.”

“I don't need...”

“It's definitely broken.” Bruce chuckled. “Put your hands down, let the lady do her work.”

“The lady,” Fitz chuckled softly, elbowing Jack. Simmons whipped around with a wild expression. Fitz raised his hands in surrender and stepped behind Jack, ducking his head.

“Hey! Don't piss her off before she messes with my face!” Clint laughed, waving the bloodly gauze as he spoke.

“Definitely need to set that.” Bruce winced, getting a better look at his nose. “What did he do to you?”

“I think it was a foot?” Clint shrugged. Simmons grasped his nose firmly and set it quickly. “Fuck, Simmons!”

“What? You were distracted. It's a good technique.” Simmons shrugged. She was clearly unashamed.

“Let's tape you up,” Bruce smirked.

0-0-0-0-0

“Why is Steven covered in blood?” Steve asked, storming off the elevator. “And why does he swear it's not his?”

“Cause it's mine?” Clint offered, pointing to his nose.

“He came out of the vents?” Bruce asked, looking up from his computer. Steve didn't even reply, just gave Bruce a dry look. He smirked and shook his head, “Sorry. Stupid question.”

“Why are you bleeding and why were you bleeding all over Steven?” Steve asked, pinching his nose in frustration.

“He kicked me. Broke my nose.” Clint shrugged. “It's not a big deal.”

“Why did he kick you?”

“Hmm...” Clint looked to his friends and teammates for support, but they studiously avoided his eye. “God. You guys suck.”

“What happened?” Steve repeated. “Were you training?”

“Yes!” Tony jumped in, nodding eagerly. “He was training the Pip Squeak to evade capture in vents – I think it started out as a game...But obviously the student has surpassed the teacher.”

“Have you talked to him since this happened?” Steve asked, pointing a finger at Clint's nose.

“Nah. He seemed a little upset, so we thought he might need some space.” Clint replied. “We were just going to go send Jack to talk to him.”

“Traitor,” Jack muttered, crossing his arms in a pout. He turned to look at Steve. “Is he out of the vents?”

“Yeah, he's in his room.” Steve nodded. “You can go talk to him now.”

“Sir, yes Sir!” Jack replied, giving Steve a flimsy salute. He grabbed Fitz and dragged him onto the elevator with him.

“Well, I'm going to head back to my lab...” Tony announced, trying to get onto the elevator with them.

“There's nothing else you have to tell me?” Steve asked, stopping Tony with an outstretched arm.

“Hmm...no?” Tony replied. “He didn't get very far into his check up though. Send him my way once he's done here?”

“I feel like you're not telling me something.” Steve frowned, narrowing his eyes at Tony.

“God, you're so paranoid!” Tony chuckled, slapping Steve's shoulder. “We got stuck on the coding so I sent him for his checkup with Simmons. That's it.”

“Why didn't he get very far into his checkup?”

“Hey, you know how he is with needles.” Tony snorted. “I need to get back to work now.”

“I know how he is with needles...but why do you know how he is with needles?” Steve persisted. His arms were crossed in annoyance.

“Bruce mentioned it.” Tony dismissed. “Hey, I'm hungry. What are we doing for dinner?”

“Oh, food?” Simmons asked, perking up immediately. Tony buried his face in his hands at the disappointed look Steve gave him.

“You can't steal people and then not feed them.” Steve told Tony sternly.

“I'm feeding them now!” Tony retorted. “What are we ordering?”

“Pizza,” Clint replied instantly. “We need some pizza.”

“Boom. Done.” Tony grinned. “Everyone tell Jarvis your preference. I'm heading back to my lab...”

“Stark,” Steve warned threateningly. Tony grinned and let the doors close on him. Now he was safe. Steve sighed and turned back to the remaining few. He rolled his eyes when he saw Clint trying to pull himself back into the vent. Simmons was holding his feet, effectively halting his efforts.

“Damn it! Simmons, let go!” Clint hissed, trying to wiggle his feet without kicking her in the face.

“No!” Simmons snorted, laughing despite herself. “This is payback for kidnapping me.”

“You're glad I stole you and you know it!” Clint retorted, losing ground. Clint flailed wildly as he fell to the ground, landing with a loud thump. Clint arched his back and hissed in pain. “Shit, Simmons!”

“Oh, that one was all me.” Tasha smirked.

“Tasha!” Clint whined, sitting up while rubbing his back.

“No one else is leaving until I know what happened.” Steve said firmly, crossing his arms and bracing himself in front of the exit.

“Jack needed more blood, this morning.” Bruce admitted finally. The awkward silence was too much for him. Besides, he wasn't lying. Steve did need to know about it.

“Same as last time?” Steve asked, relaxing marginally.

“Jarvis alerted me.” Bruce shrugged. “He was in his lab.”

“Did he really need the blood, or was he just excited?” Steve asked.

“Oh, he definitely needed it. Jack gave Simmons and me permission to look into making his treatment plan better.”

“He has an unusual set of symptoms.” Simmons nodded. “But I guess the fact that he came from that horrible place explains some of it. Who knows what the serum did to him?”

“That's what we're working to find out.” Bruce told her softly. “Though Jack has had his symptoms for so long, I'm not sure that we can do anything about them. Honestly, I would just be happy to offer him a better treatment plan. Steven though, he's only had the serum for two years. That's still a long time...but it gives us a better chance of reversing at least some of the issues.”

“Steven doesn't have issues.” Steve said defensively. “He's just got a lot of energy. He doesn't need to be fixed.”

“I didn't say he was broken,” Bruce replied immediately, trying to back track.

“I'm gonna go see how Jack is doing with him.” Steve said softly, stepping onto the elevator. The elevator zoomed away, leaving the remaining four standing in awkward silence.

“Um...is he okay?” Simmons asked softly, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Bruce dismissed instantly. “It's just been a long week...or two.”

“He's mentioned in passing that he hasn't been sleeping well. Maybe we need to drug him instead of Tony.” Clint shrugged. “Might do him some good.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Steve, I think you might want to give him some time.” Jack admitted, trying to keep him from entering Steven's room.

“Why?” Steve asked sullenly. “If there is something wrong, I need to fix it.”

“You can't always fix things.” Jack said softly. “Sometimes words don't make things better.”

“Jack, move.” Steve sighed.

“I warned you,” Jack muttered, stepping out of the way. Steve hid his annoyance and pushed into the room. Well, he tried to push into the room. The door was locked. Steve sighed and avoided Jack's gaze.

“Jarvis, can you unlock this door?” Steve asked.

“I could.” Jarvis replied. Steve sighed and shot a glare at the ceiling. “But it won't do you much good, Mr. Rogers.”

“Jarvis, just open the door.”

“I have unlocked it.” Jarvis supplied helpfully. Steve tried the door again, but it didn't budge. He sighed and looked at Jack.

“Jarvis did say it wouldn't do you much good.” Jack shrugged. Steve pointedly ignored him and turned back to the door. He knocked lightly, then more firmly.

“Steven?” Steve waited a beat, then knocked again. “Steven, open the door.”

“No.”

“Steven?” He tried again. Nothing, but faint laughter behind him. He turned and gave Jack a dirty look.

“I told you, give him some time.”

“Steven, open this door.” Steve sighed, keeping the annoyed growl out of his voice by sheer will power. It wasn't the boy's fault that Steve was so annoyed today.

“Or what?” A muffled voice asked. Steve turned and looked at Jack, at a complete loss of what to do.

“Steven, just open the door.” Steve tried again, forcing his voice to be softer. “I just want to talk to you.”

“Or what?” Steven repeated, a little less muffled and distinctly annoyed.

“Steven, I'm not going to give you an ultimatum here,” Steve sighed, crossing his arms at the door.

“Good.”

“I'm telling you, walk away.” Jack smirked. “You're not going to win this one.”

“Fine.” Steve sighed, admitting defeat. “Steven, we're ordering pizza. Let Jarvis know what you want. Hopefully, I'll see you soon.”

“I'll let you know if I see him,” Jack offered, hiding his smile behind his hand. He really didn't want to pull out the I told you so card, but it was tempting.

“I'm going to take another look at the Bucky drive.” Steve nodded, walking away quickly.

0-0-0-0-0

“Where'd...the kid go? What's his name again?” Fitz asked, sitting down next to Jack.

“Steven.” Jack replied with a smirk. “And he's still pouting in his room. I think.”

“Oh, dear. Still?” Simmons asked, frowning. Her pizza was halfway to her mouth, frozen.

“Yeah.” Clint nodded, claiming a seat. “I tried sneaking in...”

“He boobie-trapped the vent to his room.” Tasha smirked, brushing something white from his shoulders and face.

“You're bruising,” Bruce pointed out, waving to his own face.

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious, doc.” Clint grinned, taking a bite of his own pizza.

“If we had extra magic blood,” Simmons teased, “We could test it out on your face.”

“For the bruising, of course.” Steve smirked, just joining everyone at the table. “Not even magic blood can fix all...that.”

“When's Tony joining us?” Clint grinned. He was glad Steve had gotten the stick out of his butt.

“I don't know. I haven't seen him since his hasty escape from the lab.” Steve shrugged, sliding the bowl of salad down his way.

“When's Steven joining us?” Clint asked, his grin slipping.

“I don't know.” Steve shrugged.

“Me and Fitzie are gonna finish your new comm. It's going to be amaze-balls.” Jack supplied, filling the silence.

“I'm so close.” Tony announced to Jack, striding into the room. He took the empty place at the head of the table, gulping at his scotch. “Jarvis is running it now, but hopefully I've unlocked that flash drive.”

“The one I gave you?” Jack asked, his eyes wide.

“Jarvis is going to let us know when it's unlocked. Until then, let's eat.” Tony grinned, looking around the table. He took in the empty seat next to Steve, then the white powder all over Clint. “Where's the pip squeak?”

“In his room.”

“He okay?”

“We'll know when he comes out,” Steve shrugged. He was trying to play it cool, but he was frustrated. His friends knew something that he didn't – something that they weren't telling him. He just wasn't sure it was about the boy. He bit back his frustrated groan. This whole...parenting...thing...he was doing would be so much easier if he knew what the problem was. Why wouldn't Steven tell him what the problem was?

“Hmm, hopefully he comes out soon. I think we're close with the program.” Tony grunted, sliding an entire pizza box towards his spot. He took a large bite, then looked expectantly at the table. “So, what's new with everyone? How are my captives holding up?”

0-0-0-0-0

Steven listened hard, waiting for Steve to get back onto the elevator. He was covered in flour from when Clint tried to break into his room. He had given up, which was a win in Steven's book. Steve would be mad, no doubt, but it would be worth it. Now, he just had to escape without drawing their attention.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes, Steven?”

“Where is everyone?”

“They're eating dinner. Should I tell Mr. Rogers that you're coming?”

“No! No, that's okay Jarvis. I have something I have to do, first.” Steven sighed. “What are your rules about me? What would you have to share with the others?”

“Mr. Rogers didn't want rules for you.” Jarvis replied simply. “I would alert him if you left the Tower unattended, or if you were experiencing medical distress.”

“So, if I stay in the Tower, you won't tell on me?” Steven clarified, looking optimistic.

“No, Steven. As long as you're not in danger.”

“Great. I just want to go to Tony's lab and finish the program. Can I do that without you telling him?”

“Why can't I tell him?”

“Cause it's a surprise!” Steven retorted, trying to grin to confuse the AI. He knew what he did wrong now, with the programming. He could fix it. He could find Skye. He needed to be the one to find her – it was his only chance.

“Okay,” Jarvis agreed, stunning Steven. This was too easy. Steven grinned and slipped into the vents, trailing flour after himself. He just hoped dinner would last long enough to give him time to finish fixing the program.

0-0-0-0-0

“Steven, you really should eat some dinner.” Steve told Steven's door. He set a plate of pizza on the ground by the door, unwilling to let the boy starve – even if his isolation was self-imposed. “I'm going to go talk with Tony, see how the program is coming. Would you like to come with me?”

Nothing.

“Okay,” Steve shrugged. “I guess I'll see you whenever you decide to come out. I'll be in my room later, if you want to stop by for a chat.”

Nothing.

“I'm not mad, you know. Whatever you think you did wrong...I'm not mad. I'm confused...because I don't know what's wrong...but I'm not mad. And I would really like to talk about this and figure it out. So please, come find me.”

Nothing.

“There's some pizza by your door,” Steve sighed, then got back on the elevator to go talk to Tony.

Tony was just inside his lab, stiff with anger.

“Tony?” Steve asked softly, approaching slowly. What was in the water today? Everyone was out of it, himself included. “Tony, what's wrong?”

“He ate it.” Tony growled. Steve would have laughed, had he not caught sight of Tony's face right then.

“Who ate what?” Steve asked, stepping around him to peer into the lab. Steven was standing in the middle of the room, covered in white powder (flour, probably, he mentally connected), his arms crossed defiantly. Steve tossed his hands in the air. “How did you get down here!? I've been talking to your door.”

“He ate the flash drive.” Tony told Steve, talking through clenched teeth.

“Skye's flash drive?”

“You're not supposed to have it!” Steven told them both, adjusting his stance minutely. Steve frowned, seeing the boy trying to subtly slip into a fighter's stance. He was going to fight them over a flash drive?

“You don't even know what's on it!” Tony huffed, storming into his lab.

“47 is none of your business.” Steven growled back, retreating a step.

“Steven, why are you down here?” Steve asked, pulling a chair over and sitting in it. He made sure to leave the boy plenty of room, but he didn't think he would accomplish anything by  towering over the boy. “How do you even know about the flashdrive?”

“I was fixing the program. I know what got broken. Then I saw that Jarvis was trying to open it and I took it. It's not for you to have.”

“So you ate it?” Steve asked, his eyebrows raised.

“I didn't eat it. I swallowed it.” Steven retorted.

“I bet we can make him puke it back up.” Tony told Steve, circling the pair like a vulture. “With dogs, vets make them drink hydrogen peroxide until they puke.”

“Steven is not a dog, Stark.”

“Little boys don't break into labs and eat personal, private data!” Tony ground out.

“It doesn't belong to you!” Steven yelled, turning to watch Tony walk circles. “And it's only private to 47! You're not 47, so you can't look at it!”

“You're seven years old,” Tony retorted with a snort. “You don't get to decide what I do.”

“47 is only safe because he's a secret!” Steven shouted. “He's a secret and you're going to ruin everything!”

“He can help us find the scientists,” Steve said calmly, stepping between the two children.

“He won't.” Steven huffed.

“Why not?”

“Because then you'll know about him!” Steven sighed angrily, like it was obvious. “47 has stayed gone for this long because no one knows him. I'm not going to let you ruin that for him.”

“Even if it helps us, help you and the other children?” Steve asked, reaching out for the boy.

“There's nothing wrong with us!” Steven shouted. An angry tear slipped down his cheek and he forcefully scrubbed his face. The moisture stuck in the flour on his face, making a thin paste roll on his skin. Steve tried to grab for him, but the boy squirmed loose. Tony almost had him, but Steven smacked his palm against Tony's forehead, making him stumble backwards. The two adults scrambled to control the boy before he lost it, but they were unsuccessful. Steven let loose a little war cry and fought his way back to the vents. He knew Tony was the weakest link and used that to his advantage. Once he was back inside the vent, and therefore safe from Steve and Tony, he let out one shaking sob.

“Did you even hear me?” Steven asked softly, his voice sad and miserable. There was loud thumping in the vents when Steven hurried from the area.

“I think I rushed into this whole...parenting thing.” Steve admitted, sitting down heavily. He wasn't sure today could go any worse.

“What was your first clue?” Tony chuckled humorlessly.

“I think...I think maybe I was counting on Jack to help me with him. I guess I assumed he would know how to help me. But he's pretty worthless on that front. I was just so mad. How could anyone treat a child like that?”

“I heard he and Fitz are almost done with your new comms, so there's that.” Tony shrugged, finally feeling cool enough to attempt to code.

“Sir,” Jarvis pinged just then, “Coordinates are on the screen.”

“Coordinates?” Tony asked, whirling around. On his biggest screen, a map and coordinates were flashing. “Coordinates for what?”

“Steven has indicated this is the building you're looking for.”

“Can we pull up a satellite feed?” Tony asked, zooming out on the map to get a better idea of where they were heading.

“Satellites will be passing overhead in approximately eight minutes.” Jarvis reported.

“Finally, some good news!” Tony grinned, turning expectantly towards Steve. Steve smiled, but didn't have much to say. “We can go get those rat bastards now.”

“I'll call Shield.” Steve nodded.

“You should be happier.” Tony pointed out.

“Oh, I'm happy.” Steve replied. “I'm glad we're going to get all those scientists and make them pay...but they're also always ahead of us. I'm not going to get too excited until I know for sure the scientists are there.”

“Go, call Shield, Captain Grumpy Pants.” Tony chuckled, waving him off. “I'm going to wait for this satellite feed.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Steven?” Steve asked, knocking on the boy's door again. “Steven, we're going to go to the facility you found for us. Do you want to come? I mean, you'll have to stay on the plane, but...you could come.”

“No. I'm staying here.” Steven called back, clearly still pouting.

“Steven...”

“I want to stay here!” Steven shouted.

“All right, stay. Bruce is in his lab, if you need anything.” Steve sighed. “I'm leaving now. Thanks for all your help.”

Chapter Text

“They're scattering!” Fitz informed the specialists on the ground, watching scientists shoot from exits.

“Make sure we get them all!” Tony said into his comms. “Dirty bastards.”

“Language,” Clint and Tasha scolded at the same time. Tony laughed and landed in front of a group making their way for some brush. This was just the thing he needed to get his mind off Skye.

“Will you guys ever let me forget about that?” Steve sighed.

“Nope.” Tasha said quickly.

“Too much fun,” Clint agreed over the top of her.

“Going somewhere?” Tony asked, quickly subduing the small group that was trying to escape.

“I'm going in,” Steve informed his team. “I'll see if I can flush anyone else out. Stay by the exits.”

“Dude, it's like a ghost town.” Jack muttered, watching Steve walk down the hall through his comm unit.

“Heat goggles would be amazing right now.” Fitz muttered, crunching on something.

“Are you always eating something?” Steve asked, shaking his head.

“What? I was feeling a little peckish.”

“Any suggestions where to look?” Steve asked, knowing the engineer had pulled up ancient blueprints for the building. It had since been converted, but a few of the major structures were bound to be the same.

“Hmm, head right. Looks like there is a lot of electricity being used down that hall. No idea what's down there,” Fitz giggled slightly. “But I think it's worth a look.”

“Sounds good.” Steve agreed, banking right.

He cleared room after room, finding only one scientist hiding under his desk. Steve pulled him out and restrained him, leaving him tied up in the hall. Finally there was only one room he hadn't cleared yet. It was locked. Steve growled and kicked at the door, realizing it was barricaded shut. He braced himself against the door and pushed the debris back, bit by bit. Then he slammed the doors open, spinning to get a good look.

There was no immediate threat, so he slipped his shield onto his back. The medical tables and desks were behind the doors, explaining why Steve had such trouble getting the doors open. There were several scientists on the floor, unconscious and tied up, but no one else around. Steve frowned and checked their ties. Once he was sure they were secure (they were), he checked in a back room, the only area he couldn't see from the doorway. Clear.

Then he turned and saw something he hadn't on the way in. A body, propped up on a table. The table was angled away from the door, explaining why Steve hadn't seen the body before. A bag of blood was dripping slowly into the pale arm. He took a step closer, seeing long, dark hair. He swallowed hard and walked around to the front, getting a good look at the body.

“Is that Skye?” Jack gasped, his voice cracking.

“What? Skye? You found her?” Tony asked, his voice cracking slightly.

Steve nodded dumbly, forgetting Tony couldn't see him.

“Steve!”

“Uh huh.” Steve nodded again, frozen to the spot.

“Well? Can we get her out?” Tony asked, annoyed.

“Uh huh,” Steve nodded again.

“Capsicle, you're really starting to piss me off.” Tony snapped.

“Is she alive?” Jack asked, hope clear in his voice. He could see what Tony couldn't. It felt like a hundred people were talking to him, demanding an answer from him. Even murmurs of Wait, is who alive? From the enlisted specialists joined the muttering.

"I need a better fucking update on this situation!" Tony barked. "Why is Jack asking if Skye's alive?"

Steve finally rushed to Skye's side. She was in a black sports bra and black elastic shorts. It didn't seem necessary, but she was strapped to the table with metal bands around her wrists and ankles. Those areas were red and bloody, where she had desperately tried to get out. She was covered in blood and some sort of orange substance oozed from her wounds. Through a few clean spots on her skin, Steve could tell she was pale. Too pale. Her blue trinity – honorary Delta? - stood out in stark contrast to her skin. Her scarily blue-white skin that clung way too tightly to her body. Steve felt like he could see every bone in her body. Her ribs and hip bones stuck out the farthest, though she was thin everywhere. He took in all those details in one sweeping glance, his heart racing with anticipation and hope. 

He brushed a finger down her cheek; it was ice cold. His fingers slipped to her neck, desperately trying to find a pulse.

Nothing.

There was nothing.

She was here, right in front of him...but she wasn't here.

There were too many voices asking Steve about her, so he ripped the comm from his ear and set it next to Skye on the table.

Then he broke.

The stupid, irrational part of his brain informed him that he wasn't being rude; his sobbing would answer the question everyone was asking him. She was dead. He knew that. But, she had also been Erased. So how was she here now? He hoped Fitz or Jack would have the good sense to restrict his comm feed; Shield didn't need to know his weakness.

“I shouldn't have done this alone,” Steve whispered, feeling the overwhelming wave of loss crashing over him. Finding her like this? This, he was not prepared for. Despite her paleness and the icy cold of her skin, she could be sleeping or unconscious. If you ignored the blood (God, so much blood) and orange on her, she could be fine. He could faintly hear voices through the comm and he couldn't help but curse his super hearing. He just needed a minute. He needed a minute with her. He couldn't do that with her looking like this.

Pushing back the tears on his cheeks, Steve put on a pair of medical gloves and filled a shallow basin with water. Using the only tool available, he wiped her down with patches of gauze. He thought getting her clean would make this easier – but he was wrong. Again.

There was a pile of orange and red gauze on the floor by his feet when he was finished. Cleaned up, he could see the lacerations and burns on her skin; he could see the bruising and welts; he could see needle marks in her elbow. He wondered vaguely why they were pumping blood into a corpse. He removed the line, hoping instead Fitz or Simmons could provide reasoning behind the IV. The security videos from the previous compound hadn't been close enough to show them the injuries on her skin.

Now, he could see exactly how much she suffered. No wonder she had erased that footage. He was suddenly very glad she had. He didn't think he could watch them hurting her. Not when he knew what the end result would be. That was Skye, though - looking out for other people when she ought to be looking out for herself.

Her legs were severely burned from the knee down, looking almost like the bubbling that Steve had seen in the file photos of the groups. The rest of her body showed signs of burns as well, just not to the degree that was present on her legs. Steve forced himself to concentrate and pushed back the thoughts of anger and revenge that were quickly surfacing. If he focused on them right now, he would be tempted to leave her and kill whoever did this to her – starting with the men by his feet. He couldn't do that; getting Skye back had been his main priority. She was the most important thing. She was his most important thing.

“I'm sorry, doll.” Steve whispered, pushing her hair back and pressing his forehead to hers. It had been her way of saying good bye after all. It seemed only appropriate that he did the same. In a twisted way, Steve was glad he had this – glad he had a body to say goodbye to. The closure he needed was right in front of him. He pulled back just enough to press a kiss to her forehead. “I'm so sorry.”

Chapter Text

“I'm sorry, doll.” Steve whispered, pushing her hair back and pressing his forehead to hers. It had been her way of saying good bye after all. It seemed only appropriate that he did the same. In a twisted way, Steve was glad he had this – glad he had a body to say goodbye to. The closure he needed was right in front of him. He pulled back just enough to press a kiss to her forehead. “I'm so sorry.”

He pulled back farther, finally ready to take her from this place. He had himself together enough that he could carry her out with a shred of dignity intact. Then he met her eye.

She blinked and focused on him, turning her head slightly to do that. Her face was cold, emotionless. Her eyes were icy and distant.

“Orders unchanged?” Skye asked with a robotic voice.

“Oh, shit.” Steve cursed. Scrabbling back, he fell hard on his ass. There was no recognition behind her gaze. Her gaze shifted from his face to the floor by the scientists, staring intently at a dark square.

“Don't answer.” Jack cried. Steve could hear him even though the comm wasn't in his ear. He quickly replaced the comm.

“She's alive,” Steve grinned. “There's something wrong with her, but she's alive.”

She was far too pale, ice cold, probably injured more than he could tell, and something was dreadfully wrong with her - but she was alive. She was alive! He wanted to cry with relief, but he still needed to get her back to the Bus so Fitzsimmons could take her to medical. They could figure out whatever was wrong with her. A chorus of relieved sighs filtered through the comms, as well as some crying. Steve suspected that was Jack.

“Shit. I need to come in. Steve, she's under programming. Don't let her out of those restraints; we don't know what her orders are. Would it be okay if Romanov and Barton bring me in? Don't look at her when you answer.”

Steve agreed; the compound was nearly empty at this point. Romanov and Barton could protect Jack if they ran into a few stragglers. Steve waited in silence, holding Skye's hand. Ten long minutes later, Jack entered the room.

“We'll wait at the door,” Barton muttered, catching a glimpse of Skye on the table. He pushed Tasha back against the frame, preventing her from seeing around the table. Jack looked at Clint's expression, swallowed hard, and walked slowly to stand by Steve. He took one look at his sister and turned his back quickly. It took Steve a half second too long to figure out why; by then, Jack was crying. Steve hurried to Jack, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Jack turned and buried his face in Steve's shoulder.

“Breathe like me,” Steve said softly, taking exaggerated breaths. Jack's first breath was more of a shuttered gasp, but after a few minutes he was almost breathing normally. “She's going to be okay. She's alive. That's more than we hoped for. You can break this. You helped all those kids.”

“But if I get it wrong, I could make things so much worse.” Jack replied. His words were muffled by his tight throat and Steve's shoulder. Steve laughed humorlessly.

“Not sure you could make it worse,” He replied, glancing at Skye over Jack's shoulder. She was watching them without interest. This Skye was such a stark contrast to her typical self that he was hesitant to even think of her as Skye. But Jack could fix that. Steve needed Jack to fix that.

Steve pulled Jack from his shoulder and held Jack's face in his hands. “They've taken her away from us, but you can bring her back.” He told the man confidently. Jack's lip quivered, but he nodded and pulled away from Steve. Jack took a step back and shook his hands out. He took a shaky breath and exhaled slowly.

“If this works, we're gonna need to get her out of here fast.” Jack told Steve softly. Steve frowned in confusion. Jack elaborated, “She'll be confused. She won't remember anything that happened while she was under the programming. She'll be hit with all of her fear, all of her confusion, all of the feelings she hasn't been allowed to have. No specific details, just the feelings. It's...overwhelming. She won't know how to handle it. And...she's in soldier mode right now, which means her pain receptors are inactive.”

Jack didn't have to spell that one out for Steve. He understood loud and clear. When her programming fell, she would feel everything. They needed to get her back to the bus quickly and give her something for the pain. Something strong. Jack could tell Steve understood because of the disgusted look that crossed his face. Clint and Natasha growled their understanding as well.

“I don't think I ever want to find out what they did to break her.” Jack muttered, working to contain his hysteria. “I need to talk to the scientists.”

“We'll stay with Skye.” Clint offered, his voice hard. “We'll make sure she's safe.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

“Steve?” Skye asked, her voice no more than a hoarse whisper.

“Skye.” He replied softly.

“Steve? Is he still here? Is he with you?” Skye asked, looking around the room. Jack stepped into her line of sight.

“It's okay. I'm here.” Jack told her softly.

“It's okay, we've got you. It's over. You're safe,” Steve replied, his voice low and comforting. He risked a glance at her as he broke the metal bands holding her down. Blood started gushing from her wrists and ankles as the raw skin was ripped open with the removal of the restraints. He broke the last band just as Skye's face crumpled. A wordless scream ripped from her throat, turning quickly into tears.

Steve carefully scooped Skye up, dangling her legs around either side of his waist so he didn't have to touch the burned skin, and headed for the door. Jack must have agreed with Steve about the IV line, because he unhooked the bag from the stand and took it with him when he followed Steve out the door. Skye locked her arms around his neck and buried her face, sobbing into his neck. Warm blood from her wrists smeared into Steve's hair and neck, quickly cooling, but all he could think about was the sounds she was making. Steve had never heard crying like this before. This was animalistic, the purely primal release of her pain and anguish.

“We've got a shooter,” Barton told Steve through the comms. “Tasha, cover me. I'm getting higher ground.”

Steve reached back for his shield, slipping it onto his left arm. He used his shield to protect Skye's back and to help hold her up. He was afraid to touch her, afraid of hurting her more than she already was, but he knew realistically that the faster they got back to the plane the faster they could get pain medication in her system.

“Let's go quick, before we have more company,” Romanov said a moment later. Skye pressed her mouth into Steve's shoulder to muffle her sobbing.

“Keep close,” Steve told Jack.

0-0-0-0-0

The specialists they had passed on the way to the plane had all moved out of their way, watching Steve run by with barely contained horror. They couldn't see much, Captain America's shield hid most of her, but he was carrying someone – a girl with blood running down her feet and dripping from her fingertips. Tasha had provided basic medical attention, mostly stopping the light bleeding coming from her numerous wounds on her front, but she couldn't do anything with the wrists, ankles, or back because Skye had still been strapped down. The horror on the specialists' faces faded into surprise; they were only supposed to find the scientists. The girl was very much alive – her sobs were proof of that, but the concern on Captain America's face had them worried about the extent of her injuries. Was this the girl they were trying to retrieve the first time around?

“Dr. Simmons!” Steve shouted, running Skye right up to their medical lab.

“I'm all ready.” Simmons nodded, game face on. She tightened the gloves on her hands, looking over the tools she had already assembled. Steve shucked his shield, letting it fall heavily to the floor. Simmons glanced over at Fitz. “You can get your Dwarfs ready. You can take a reading once I get her stabilized.”

“What did you do?” Skye shrieked, turning her head side to side to take in the room. She didn't like what she saw. Her scream caught in her throat, making her gag and cough. Her dry lips cracked and bled under the strain.

“Thank goodness.” Fitz gasped, all but running from the room. Steve set Skye down on the examination table, prying her loose from his body. Jack handed off the bag of blood to Simmons, then stood wringing his hands.

“No, no, no,” Skye begged, panicking. “Don't leave me here.” Her face crumpled and her sobs intensified, “Please, don't leave me.”

“I've got you,” Steve whispered reassuringly, clutching her hand.

“No,” Skye whispered, shaking her head rapidly. Her sobbing returned full force with her panic, making her breathing erratic. She clutched at his forearm, holding him so tightly that her fingers were turning white. Simmons handed Steve oxygen, trusting him to slip it over her ears.

“Simmons, she needs pain medication.” Steve said firmly, looking away from Skye long enough to make sure she was getting it. He smoothed Skye's hair back, making sure the tubing was settled comfortably on her face. Jack was hovering in the doorway, looking torn. On one hand, Steve knew he was very squeamish. On the other, this was his sister. Steve gave him an out. “Jack, you could go see if Fitz needs help with the drones. We'll want to do that reading as soon as we can.”

“Right. Drones.” Jack nodded, hurrying from the room.

“No needles!” Skye screamed, thrashing on the table. Simmons hurried to hide the needle and pain medication behind her back, but Skye was well on her way to a full blown panic attack.

“Distract her,” Simmons whispered forcefully. “I'll put a mild sedative in her IV as well. It'll help her stay calm. Why did you bring this? We have blood here.”

“We didn't know what it was. Figured you could find out. I didn't want to leave it if it would be helpful.”

“We'll save it and can reuse it if we need to.” Simmons agreed, nodding her head.

“She's going to fall off the table,” Clint growled, pushing into the room to help Steve. Skye screamed and lashed out, kicking Clint in the chest hard enough that he stumbled back into the wall. He shook himself off and hurried back in, deflecting the next kick aimed at him.

“Skye, doll, you gotta listen to me.” Steve said urgently, grasping her face. It was the only place that looked unharmed. “Skye, you're out of there. You're safe now, I promise, but we need to take care of you. Please, let us take care of you.”

A hysterical little cry burst from Skye's mouth at his words. She clamped her mouth shut quickly, trying to keep the hysteria in. She managed the suppress the sounds, but was helpless to stop the tears from streaming down her face. Steve wiped the tears from her face gently, cradling her head gently between his hands. He didn't know what he said or how to make it better, but he could be there. He could show her what his words couldn't.

“There's so much blood,” Clint groaned, holding her at her hips. The blood from her wrists were creating small puddles that Skye kept rolling through. She was twisting in his grasp; he was so afraid of hurting her, but the blood was so slippery and he couldn't get a good grip. “You need to stop the blood.”

“Agent Romanov,” Simmons called, “Come hold her arm so I can start an IV. I need to stop this blood flow, but I would like to have something in her system first.”

“Got it,” Tasha nodded, slipping by Clint's side to hold Skye's arm to the table. Skye kicked and screamed, trying to get away from Simmons when she came at her with the needle. When she couldn't get free, she crumpled into a shaking heap.

Clint couldn't look at her; he knew what they were doing was necessary, but her reaction was so unlike the brave, snarky Skye that he knew that he was appalled by their actions. She was so scared and they weren't doing anything to help that. Simmons was good at her job though, and the IV was in place within minutes.

“That's it, take a breath.” Steve was murmuring, coaching Skye through her panic attack. “Breathe like me. Deep breath in...”

“They were so little...” Skye whispered, wheezing. “It's my fault.”

“It's not your fault.” Steve contradicted firmly. “Right now, I don't want you to worry about any of that. Right now, just breathe.”

“I was never that small,” Skye whispered, her voice cracking.

“Okay, look at me.” Steve said softly. “Tell me five things you see.”

“Hair...” Skye muttered, her eyes darting around Steve's face. He had her face pinned between his hands.

“Good. Four more.” Steve nodded, smiling warmly.

“Eyes...mouth...” Skye's face crumpled slightly and new tears slipped free. She took a jagged breath – her breathing was better but still way too fast. The panic was still clear as day on her features.

“Should be hitting her system,” Simmons whispered, pressing gauze pads onto her wrists. Tasha grabbed a few pads as well, helping to staunch the blood flow to her ankles.

“What'd you give me?” Skye whispered, blinking drowsily. “I don't want it. Please, no more.”

“Just something for the pain.” Steve replied, stroking her forehead.

“Where is he? Is he here? Let me see him.”

“Jack is here, don't worry.” Steve murmured softly. “He's safe. You're safe. Just breathe, doll.”

“You shouldn't have taken the blood. I need it back. Bring it back, please.” Skye rambled quickly.

“Right after we know what's in it.” Steve agreed.

“Give it back!” Skye told Steve, her voice breaking.

“Hey, cheater, you only told me three things.” Steve said softly, hoping to distract her again.

“Hmm, you're pretty.” Skye said softly, her tone warm and teasing.

“You like those pain meds?” Steve asked, smirking lightly.

“No more drugs, 'kay?” Skye whispered.

“Nothing you don't need,” Steve promised.

“Agent Barton, I need an extra set of hands.” Simmons said softly, trying not to work Skye up again. Steve was doing a good job of reassuring her and the medication was doing its job; Skye looked half asleep. She was still upset, but she wasn't struggling to get off the table any more.

“Whatever you need,” Clint nodded.

“Wash up,” Simmons frowned, looking at his bloody hands. Clint hurried to do as asked, then slipped on a pair of gloves that Simmons insisted on. “Cabinet 3, no, not that one. To the left. Yes, that one. Antibiotic spray and bandages.”

“Got it,” Clint nodded.

“Tasha and I are going to worry about her legs. I need you to do her wrists. Just spray them liberally, wipe any excess off of her clear skin, and then bandage them up.”

“Easy enough.”

The three worked wordlessly, the lab silent except for Skye's small whimpers and Steve's reassuring sounds. Simmons and Tasha sprayed her legs with the burn spray, spread thick ointment on her legs, then wrapped them loosely with cloth. They looked Skye over, silently agreeing to treat the rest of her burns. They were considerably better than her legs, but still needed to be treated. After applying more burn spray and ointment, they wrapped her arms and exposed abdomen to help protect them. Clint took over for Simmons once the wrists were finished, letting Simmons draw blood from the IV port. Skye was shaking against the table, clutching at Steve's hands on her face.

“How is she?” Tony asked, stopping in the doorway. The room was pretty small and Dr. Simmons needed the space to take care of Skye.

“We're almost done with her immediate treatment,” Simmons answered distractedly, trying to roll Skye. She hissed in pain and started crying again, making every Avenger glare at Simmons. “Agent Rogers, she seems attached to you. Would you be willing to hold her so we can take a look at her back?”

“Of course,” Steve nodded. “Anything you need.”

“What is that?” Fitz asked, pointing to some orange on Steve's top. It was mostly hidden by the blood transferred from carrying Skye back.

“Shit, you got it on you?” Jack asked, stepping into the room. He couldn't come far; there wasn't room.

“Take it off,” Dr. Simmons said quickly. “Don't let it touch your skin. Jack, could you grab a bio-hazard container, please. Fitz, when you're done there could you heat up a blanket?” Simmons asked, sticking probes to her chest so they could monitor her heart.

“I give up. I'll be good. Make them go away.” Skye mumbled, her words barely audible.

“I want to run one more test,” Dr. Simmons told them, ignoring Skye's words. “We should do it before we check her back so the Captain's vitals don't interfere with her reading.”

“My Dwarfs will take all the measurements we need on her,” Fitz explained, opening some cases. “They can check for breaks, damage to internal organs, bruising, you know – everything they would do at a hospital, but with one quick scan. You won't need to be away from her for long.”

Everyone took two steps back, watching as Fitz pulled a tablet from a case.

“Can I wash your neck?” Tasha asked Steve, holding up a wet towel.

“For what?” Steve frowned.

“Blood,” Tasha said dryly. She smirked when he ducked down, letting her have access to his neck.

“No,” Skye whimpered, reaching for her friends.

“Skye, sweetheart, just stay still. You're almost done,” Tony told her.

“We're not going anywhere.” Clint added.

“Can you find me two more things, Skye?” Steve asked softly. “Anything in the room.”

“I don't wanna look too hard.” Skye admitted.

“Okay. Four things you can touch. Name me four things you can touch.”

“Jack gave it to you, didn't he?” Skye cried. Her hands were shaking, but came up to wipe the tears away.

“Yeah, doll.” Steve nodded. “What do you say we bring him home?”

Fitz tapped a few buttons and miniature drones rose out of the cases he had opened earlier. Each drone ran a light over Skye's shivering body, working surprisingly quickly. The sound of Skye's heartbeat filled the room, thumping steadily, if a bit fast. Skye whimpered and pressed her eyes shut. She exhaled a slow breath, then took a long, shuttering breath in.

“I'll help you,” Skye agreed.

“Hi Ho, off to work we go,” Fitz muttered softly, tapping on his tablet. After only a few minutes, Fitz was landing the drones back into the cases.

“Well, that was cool.” Tony commented. “We'll have to talk about those later.”

“Okay!” Fitz responded eagerly. It was easy to see the excitement on his face. Steve smiled at Jack; He would probably want to see the drones too. He was just as mechanically inclined as Tony. Simmons frowned at the readings and started setting up a blood drip. Regular blood from the plane stores, not the bag that had been hooked up to Skye before.

“No. None of that,” Skye whimpered, trying to pull the IV from her arm.

“You need it doll,” Steve reassured, clamping his hand over her IV access. “I promise, it's just blood. Nothing else.”

“No. It's wrong.”

“Don't worry, it's universal.” Simmons reassured Steve.

“She looks like she's freezing,” Jack pointed out.

“The blood will help with that. She only has about 2.5 liters. I can run the rest of my tests later, when her blood levels are up. Captain, you can get her now. That chair should be sufficient. Just, be careful with her.”

“Yes, ma'am.” Steve nodded, all business. He shifted Skye into an upright position with Clint's help, then let her latch her arms around his neck again. Tasha adjusted the IV stand, pushing it back behind Steve as he sat in the chair Simmons had pointed out.

“Her back is considerably better,” Simmons informed the Avengers cheerfully. “We'll finish wiping away all this dried blood. Then, I don't know that we need to, but we'll bandage these up after we disinfect, then we should be okay until Fitz and I finish analyzing her scans. Just looking at this quickly, she looks...well, battered. But nothing requires surgery. I'll give you a better update after we get a better look at these scans. You'll need to let her sleep.”

Tony nodded, watching as Simmons worked to clean Skye up. Once finished, she gave the Avengers a small smile before exiting the lab with Steve's suit top. She could tell they wanted to be with their friend.

Skye whimpered and took a shuttering breath. Her heart rate was steadily rising, giving way to her pain and panic. He could feel the tremors that were running through her body, so he adjusted his hold on her, dropping his head to murmur in her ear. “It's okay, I got you.”

“Don't want this,” She moaned dully and burrowed into his chest for his heat.

“Calm her down,” Jack whispered, watching the monitor with her vitals. “Remember, medicine doesn't work on her like it should.”

Tasha came over with a roll of gauze and quickly wrapped Skye's forearm, effectively blocking her access to the IV line. Skye groaned when she realized what Tasha was doing, but couldn't do anything to stop her. Steve nodded his understanding to Jack and adjusted his arms again, this time making one arm available. He stroked Skye's hair, humming lightly. Skye pulled her arms in to her chest, clutching at Steve's shirt. Steve shifted down in the chair, getting a little less vertical. Her heart rate stopped climbing, but was still high.

“Think we can cover her?” Tony asked, frowning. She was obviously cold; she was covered in goosebumps and was shivering.

“Here's a warm blanket,” Fitz offered shyly, entering the lab. “I wouldn't cover her legs. Her body is going to pull all her blood to her core to heat it. Besides, the heat won't feel good on burns, even indirectly.”

“Thanks, Fitz,” Tasha said softly, unfolding the thin blanket. She glanced at Steve, “You're warm enough for the both of you. At least this way she's decent.”

Skye flinched when the blanket hit her skin and she gripped Steve just a little bit tighter. He kept one arm across her back, trying to warm her, but used the other to keep her face hidden. She smelled off, missing the parts that smelled like Skye. He didn't get the relief he was seeking from her scent. She wasn't quite back yet. When she smelled like herself, he could convince himself this was real.

“Thanks, Tasha,” Steve yawned. Tasha smoothed the blanket over Skye's back and patted her softly. He was suddenly exhausted; he hadn't slept well all week and his adrenaline high was over. Finally, this emotional roller coaster was over. Clint pushed the chair so it reclined.

“What? I've spent some time in standard issue Shield medical chairs,” Clint smiled at Steve's surprised face. “Someone gets hurt a lot.”

“And you've never told me about this?” Tasha asked, outraged. “You're hurt just as often as I am.”

“Can someone check on Steven?” Steve asked.

“He's fine.” Tony replied. “I called Bruce.”

“Thanks, Tony.”

“Sleep well, Capsicle.” Tony smiled, pressing a kiss to Skye's head. He ushered the bickering assassins from the room, leaving just Jack. “Don't worry, we'll be back.”

“Well, I'm staying.” Jack said firmly, crossing his arms like he expected Steve to argue.

“The bed's free,” Steve smiled.

“Good.” Jack sniffed, then grinned. “First, bathroom break. Don't wander off.”

Steve chuckled lightly and waved Jack out. Steve kept humming lightly and stroking Skye's head, hoping to lull her to sleep. She whimpered lightly against his embrace.

“You okay, doll?”

“I'm okay,” Skye whispered, glancing up to meet Steve's eye. “I mean, I'm going to be okay.”

“Promise?” Steve whispered back, pressing his forehead to hers.

“I wouldn't lie to you, Face Plant,” Skye whispered back, smiling softly. The use of his nickname broke Steve's composure more than anything. He choked on a small sob, pulling her to him. He cried into her hair, trying to shield his indiscretion from the cameras he was sure were watching. Skye pulled her arms free to wrap around his head, giving him the privacy he wanted.

“Shh,” Skye comforted, running her fingers through Steve's short hair. “Captain America wouldn't cry over anyone.”

“Maybe not the Captain,” Steve replied. “But Steve Rogers can cry over anyone he wants. I missed you. You have no idea how much I missed you.”

“Sappy,” Skye murmured drowsily, though she said it with a small smile.

“I'm supposed to be letting you sleep,” Steve laughed wetly after a minute. Skye nodded and pulled away from his head.

“Sleep sounds good.” She nodded. Steve smiled and shifted lower in his chair, taking full advantage of the reclining option. Skye shifted slightly downward so she could lay her ear on Steve's chest. She hummed faintly, smoothing his shirt with her cheek.

“You're so cold,” Steve whispered. Skye nodded her agreement, so Steve pulled the blanket up around her and draped his arms around her. “Sleep tight, doll.”

0-0-0-0-0

By the time Coulson made it to medical, the three were sleeping peacefully. Coulson smiled and snapped a picture on his phone.

Several other specialists poked their heads in, checking on the girl they were worried about. Steve's worry had passed to them, so they were happy to see them sleeping peacefully. They were still in medical, and the girl was all wired up, but she was alive. They were all glad to see Captain America's friend was all right.

Trip left quickly, finding Ward to ask about a heavier blanket. The girl was shivering.

The duo returned and dropped a blanket over Jack's prone form and over the sleeping pair in the chair. If they were surprised that Steve didn't stir during their visit, it didn't show. The girl moved enough to clutch an edge of the blanket, pulling it tighter around her. Steve's arms adjusted around her, though he didn't wake.

“{Thanks},” She whispered.

“{You're welcome},” Ward replied just as softly, pulling a surprised Trip from the room.

“What'd she say?” Trip asked.

“She just said thanks. For the blanket, I assume. Let's get a drink.” Ward offered, pointing to the staircase.

“In what language?”

“Ukrainian.”

“Think Cap has a thing for her?” Trip asked, grinning. Ward grinned back.

“We would have to ask Romanov, but I doubt he treats all of his friends like that. Did you see how he was holding her?”

Ward and Trip laughed and ascended the staircase.

Chapter Text

An hour later, a medical aid sneaked into the room to check Skye's bandages. She checked the blood bag and frowned because it was still full. She pulled the blanket down and had her wrist immediately caught and held.

“I'm just checking her bandages,” She winced, trying to whisper.

“Make a little noise next time?” Steve replied equally soft. He released her wrist with a mouth twist that revealed his regret.

“I didn't want to wake you.” She sighed. She flexed her wrist then peeked up at Steve before pulling a bandage from Skye's back. The aid frowned and checked another bandage. It was the same thing. She systematically removed the handful of bandages on Skye's back, tossing the used bandages in a bio-hazard bin.

“What's wrong?” Steve asked, watching her confusion grow.

“Nothing's wrong,” The aid replied, cocking her head at Skye's bare back. “I need to grab Dr. Simmons.”

“Jack,” Steve hissed, stretching to wiggle the man with one arm. It took Steve three tries to wake him. The bed was just far enough away that Steve couldn't quite reach.

“What's wrong?” Jack groaned, stretching like a cat.

“I don't know. I can't see. The nurse just came in and checked her bandages. How's her back?”

“Let me hit the lights.” Jack yawned and slunk from the bed. He turned the lights on, hissed and covered his eyes, then went about flipping each individual switch until he found one that shown dimly on Steve's chair.

“You're going to give me a seizure,” Steve muttered, burying his face in Skye's shoulder to block the light. She smelled different now. A little less chemical, a little more masculine. Steve took a deep breath, recognizing Ward's smell. He finally noticed the additional blanket and realized Ward had taken a blanket from his own bed. Steve barely suppressed his frown. He reminded himself that it was thoughtful of Ward to offer his own blanket. It wasn't his fault that Skye smelled like him now. But he wanted Skye to smell like herself...or him, if anyone. Not stupid Ward.

“Disco in here?” Tony asked, striding into the room. “What happened?”

“Nurse just checked her bandages,” Steve replied in a whisper.

“She doesn't have any bandages on her, besides the ones for her burns.” Tony frowned, squeezing next to Jack on the bed. He ran a finger over a bloody spot and glanced up in surprise at Jack. “They're scabbed over already. Did she always have this fast of recovery time?”

“Well, not that fast.” Jack replied, tilting his head side to side. “Only if she helps herself to some of my medicine.”

“That's because whatever this orange goo is, it has traces of Steve's super serum in it. Or, a cheap knock off.” Dr. Simmons replied, walking quickly into the lab with a folder. Tony wasted no time grabbing the file from her and looking it over. Jack was frozen, his eyes wide with horror.

“Serum?” Jack whispered.

“Yes, Mr. Stark, you may look at my file.” Simmons muttered sarcastically. She frowned at the blood bag, then followed the line down to Skye's arm. The whole line was loose. Simmons sighed and waved the pinched off tubing at Steve.

“You let her pull it out?” Simmons asked, looking disappointed.

“She did say she didn't want it.” Jack smirked. Steve winced and shrugged lightly. He hadn't known she had done it.

“Bruce can put it back in.” Steve offered. “He'll make sure she doesn't pull it out.”

“This is remarkable. It has bits that are actually pretty close to the original formula. There are some other bits in here too, though. Have you identified these?” Tony asked, unaware of the other conversation.

“Fitz is running them through the system as we speak. Now, would you please step aside so I can look at my patient?”

“Have you figured out if there's anything with the other blood results?” Tony asked, stepping aside.

“No, the results came up weird. We're rerunning them.” Simmons dismissed.

“Could you check her legs?” Steve asked politely. He recognized that they were pushing Dr. Simmons too far with their worry.

“If I could have some space, in my lab, I would love to look at the burns.” Simmons said firmly. Their overprotective natures were getting them on her bad side. Steve smiled weakly.

“We are sorry.” He offered. “We didn't think we would find her. I mean, we thought she was dead...so we're kind of-”

“-protective.” Simmons nodded. She sighed. “I understand. I'm the same way every time Fitz gets hurt. It's not your fault my lab space is tiny.”

“I was going to say relieved, but that works too.” Steve smiled. “We'll do better, I promise.”

“Could you bring her up here?” Simmons asked, patting the medical bed. “I know you won't unwrap yourself from her, but I can't reach her legs.”

“Sure thing,” Steve replied, struggling to sit upright in the chair. Jack and Tony grabbed his elbows and pulled him forward. Steve smiled shyly, blushing a bit. Even in her sleep, she clutched at him – his shirt was bunched in her fist. Besides, she could wake up any time and he didn't want her to be alone when that happened. She begged him not to leave her alone.

He sat himself at the end of the bed so Simmons would have the best access. He adjusted Skye's limp form so her head was cradled against his shoulder and not rolling loosely. Simmons sighed and shook her head, but didn't comment.

“Would it be an inappropriate time to point out how bad he's got it?” Tony whispered to Jack after they watched Steve maneuver Skye into a comfortable position. One hand was holding her to him, but the other was running over her hair. In her sleep, Skye nuzzled her nose into Steve's shoulder. Jack laughed out loud and nodded. Steve glanced over at the two, raising his eyebrow in a silent question. Jack grinned and shook his head. Steve sighed and shook his head. He would find out eventually.

“He's not the only one.” Jack whispered back to Tony. They grinned at each other, then turned their attention back to Dr. Simmons. She was just starting to unwrap the bandages.

“Blow me,” Simmons muttered, tracing a finger down Skye's calf muscle.

“Excuse me?” Steve asked, his face flushing bright red. Simmons waved his embarrassment away.

“I'm British...it's not...” She huffed. “Americans.”

Skye giggled faintly against Steve's neck.

“Your whole torso just got very warm,” Skye mumbled, pressing her face further into his neck to block the light. “She was just surprised. They have different slang across the pond.”

“Yes, exactly.” Simmons agreed, throwing the bandages from both of her legs into a bio-hazard bin. “Now, your legs. Initially, your legs looked like they were covered in second degree burns. It usually takes days to reach this level of healing.”

“What does that mean?” Steve asked, glancing down at Skye's bare legs. The red and blistering was better, though by no means gone; the blistering was slightly diminished and the raw skin was starting to scab over.

“It means her body is healing at an accelerated rate. It's a good thing we cleaned the burns when we did. I'm not sure super-healing protects her from infection.”

“I've never gotten an infection from a wound,” Steve replied with a small shrug. He didn't much care how it happened, he was just glad she was getting better.

“You, missy, are lucky you have some kind of intimidating friends,” Simmons told Skye firmly, waving the blood tubing at her. “If you were one of my usual patients...”

“Is Jack here?” Skye asked, cutting Simmons off. Steve and Tony ducked their heads to hide their amusement. Of course Skye wasn't going to accept any crap from Simmons.

“Of course I'm here, stupid.” Jack huffed. He hurried to Skye's side, sitting behind Steve on the bed. Skye smiled and reached around Steve's waist to grab Jack's hand.

“Did you deprogram the kids?”

“Yes, ma'am,” Jack joked. Skye smacked at him lightly, too exhausted to put any strength behind it. Jack looked alarmed at her weakness.

“Don't worry about me,” Skye smiled. “I just need to sleep. For like...a year.”

“Are you okay?” Jack asked. “I mean, I know you're healing...but, are you okay?”

“I'm fine. Hmm, I will be fine.” Skye replied, smiling softly.

“We're getting dropped off at the Tower in twenty,” Tony interjected.

“Aw, Dad. Didn't see you back there,” Skye smiled, trying to twist around. She hissed and turned her body back. Tony hurried into her line of sight, sitting down next to Jack on the bed.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Did you guys get everyone?” Skye asked softly.

“We got everyone.” Jack replied quickly. Skye frowned at her brother. “I had to talk with the scientists, to figure out which one programmed you. Between the ones that were there when we were and the pictures Group Tau, Upsilon, and Chi drew, I am confident we got everyone.”

Tasha ran a hand down Skye's hair, “How are you feeling?”

“I'm okay. Tired. Cold.” Skye replied, hiding a yawn. Tasha grabbed Ward's blanket from the floor and draped it across her back again. Steve knew he didn't hide his frown well enough, but couldn't help but be annoyed. She wasn't supposed to smell like Ward. He ignored the gleeful smirk Tasha shot him.

“You look pretty comfy on Steve,” Tasha smiled. Her smile at Skye was warm and sisterly; it had none of the snark that Steve's smirk had gotten.

“Hmm, he's comfy.” Skye mumbled, rubbing her head lightly against him. “Warm, too.”

“Are you hungry?” Steve asked. He wanted her to pull her face out of his neck so he could see her, but he was also surprisingly content to just be holding her. That was more than anyone else got from her. Her heartbeat thumping against his ribs was a pleasant reminder that someone was looking out for them.

“No, not really,” Skye replied, shaking her head. Steve frowned and adjusted his hold on her.

“Christ, have you even let the poor girl go yet?” Clint asked, leaning against the door frame.

“No, he hasn't.” Simmons supplied helpfully. “He's rubbish at following instructions.”

“Yeah, we know.” Clint grinned, winking at her when she shot him an exasperated expression. “May sent me down to have you guys strap in. We're landing in five.”

“See you in six?” Tasha asked, adjusting the blanket on Skye.

“Yes ma'am, Ms. Widow,” Skye replied with a hint of her old snark.

“Watch it,” Tasha warned with a grin. “I may be able to take you right now.”

“Better take your opportunity while you have it.”

“I'm not training with you until I'm sure you're better.”

“Is everyone strapped in?” May asked over the intercom. Everyone but Steve scrambled from the room, rushing to grab a jump seat before May caught them.

“Damn it Tony, move it.” Tasha hissed, pushing him down the short hall.

“Ruuuun!” Clint yelled, bringing up the rear. Skye giggled lightly against Steve's chest.

“We're good,” Steve replied a moment later, after he settled back into the chair with Skye. She smoothed his shirt down, idly tracing patterns on the fabric.

“Do you think Tasha really wants to train with me?” Skye asked shyly.

“I think her pride is hurt that she had to struggle through one super guard and you took on eight at once.” Steve replied, smiling softly.

“Are you angry with me?” She asked softly.

“Why would I be angry with you?” Steve asked, frowning.

“Cause I couldn't beat all eight.” Skye shrugged.

“I'm just glad you're okay.” Steve replied honestly, tightening his hold on her. She still felt chilled. “And I'm stupidly glad you're coming back to the Tower.”

“Don't have a choice in the matter,” Skye pouted. “My stupid legs won't cooperate yet.”

“Well, you said you would be training ready soon. Guess that means I have some time to convince you to stay.” Steve replied simply. He pressed his lips to her forehead.

“You want me to stay?” Skye squeaked.

“Of course I want you to stay.” Steve replied. “You said that if things were different, you would stay.” Steve said softly, brushing her hair back.

“I didn't think things would ever be different,” Skye confessed. Steve frowned at her honesty.

“Don't worry, we'll convince you.” Steve replied, pushing away his frown. All he had wanted was a chance with her – a chance to make her stay. Now he was given that chance and he wasn't going to waste it. “Who's going to prank Tony with me?”

“We did just fine from a distance.”

“You know you want to see his reaction in person,” Steve chuckled.

“I don't want to put you in danger.” Skye admitted softly.

“They've already seen us take down two of their facilities.” Steve murmured. “Jack says we have all the scientists. There isn't anyone left that's a danger to you or to Jack.”

“I don't know what they did to me. There was something orange...I don't know what that was.” Skye blurted out softly, her eyes still averted.

“Fitzsimmons have already started breaking that orange stuff down. There are some components that are similar to the serum I received. It probably explains why you're healing so fast.” Steve shrugged. Skye didn't say anything else. He grew frustrated and grasped her face in his hands, tilting her eyes up to meet his. “You're going to be okay. We're going to figure this out...and I'm gonna be there the whole time.”

“The whole time?” Skye asked; Steve could feel her face heating under his hands.

“Try and stop me.”

“You going to be my super warm mode of transportation?”

“I like having you here,” Steve smiled, releasing her face to wrap his arms around her again. Skye didn't avert her gaze. Her face relaxed and her expression turned playful.

“What if I need to go to the bathroom?” Skye asked, smirking.

“I'll get you there, then leave.” Steve grinned. He was more than happy to play along; her good humor meant she wasn't feeling too bad. “Why? Do you need to use the facilities?”

“No. Too dehydrated.” Skye replied abruptly. “Haven't eaten in a while either...they didn't see the point.”

“Did you want me to stay with you at the facilities?” Steve asked softly, deliberately breaking her tense silence. “I mean, I have been getting an education. Apparently some people are into the whole...” Steve blanched, unsure how to finish the sentence. Skye frowned and cocked her head at him, confused. Steve sighed. “Clint tricked me into watching some video about drinking fecal matter?”

“Two girls, one cup?” Skye guessed, pressing her lips together. Steve saw her hidden smile.

“Are you into stuff like that?” He pressed, suppressing his own smile. He really liked that he was able to make her smile, even like this.

“Steven Rogers. That's disgusting.” Skye chortled, smacking his chest lightly. “I couldn't even watch the whole video.”

“You have no idea how glad I am you said that,” Steve laughed.

“Why?” Skye grinned back. “Were you thinking of doing stuff like that?”

“There are lots of things I've been thinking of doing,” Steve replied, his voice low and husky. “Top of that list being to revisit our last encounter.”

“I could always update the theories on the internet,” Skye agreed, nodding innocently.

“So not what I meant,” Steve told her, pulling her closer. “The moment I'm thinking of had a certain Fuck It flare to it.”

“Fuck it?” Skye squeaked. Steve nodded seriously, pulling Skye close enough that he could run his nose down hers.

“Ringing any bells?” Steve asked, watching her reaction to his closeness. The beeping behind them alerted Steve to her increased heart rate and her breathing was accelerated.

“Maybe just a little one,” Skye replied, her face heating under his hands. He leaned forward and twisted his face, slipping his cheek against hers.

“When you're better.” Steve told her, whispering his promise into her ear. Skye moaned her frustration when Steve pulled away. He smirked at her frustration, half proud and half surprised at it. Skye returned his smirk, shaking her head at him, but then her grin slipped off her face.

“What if Simmons needs to run tests?” She asked seriously.

“We're going to the Tower. Bruce will take over your care.” Steve replied, then waited for her next objection.

“What if Bruce triggers something and I flip out on him and then the Hulk comes out and then people get hurt and then...”

“Skye, is this about the programming?” Steve asked softly. Skye's wide eyes answered his question. He sighed and pulled her close. “Jack was very thorough with the scientists. He was very thorough with you. He wouldn't start deprogramming you until he knew what all your orders were. I've never heard him so...commanding. I know it was scary. Jack explained the programming, so I can imagine how confused you are. But it's done. There are no triggers, there are no orders, there is nothing you have to worry about with that. Okay?”

“I just meant I'm afraid of needles,” Skye laughed wetly. Steve brushed tears from her cheeks, feeling the plane dip forward as it began to land. He had hit a nerve, and she was covering it up with a joke.

“Well, you can squeeze my hand if Bruce needs any blood, okay?”

“I don't want to hurt you.” Skye replied, sniffing. Steve laughed out loud.

“I'm harder to hurt than you think.” He laughed. Skye gave him a stink eye for laughing at her. “I'm sorry. It's just, normally, my needs or limits aren't really considered. It's a bit ridiculous that some puny little girl that I could lift with one hand is the one concerned about hurting me.”

“This puny little girl could kick your ass,” Skye replied, finally grinning back at Steve.

“I know. I saw some footage.” Steve replied. He shifted forward in the chair, pulling closer to Skye. He brushed his lips against her forehead, then her cheek. “You are one kick ass lady.”

“Oh God,” Skye groaned. “I made Captain America cuss. Is Coulson going to be mad that I broke you? I heard he likes to watch you sl...”

Steve cut her off with a finger to her lips. Skye laughed and kissed his finger, then ran a hand down Steve's cheek. The plane jolted slightly as it touched down. Steve knew the others would be coming soon.

“I want this to be real,” Skye whispered, reaching around to hug his neck. She whispered so softly that by the time Steve understood what she said, the others were streaming into the room. Steve waved them off as discretely as he could, hoping they could see this wasn't the time for jokes. Tony helped Steve stand, frowning when he saw how Skye was clinging to him. She had even wrapped her legs around his waist, even though her legs were still healing. Simmons frowned, opening her mouth to say something. Clint clamped his hand over her mouth, glaring at her. She took the not-so-subtle warning.

“Dr. Simmons, you should collect your notes on Skye so you can catch Dr. Banner up on her condition,” Tasha said firmly. She nodded and hurried off to do just that. Fitz stumbled in after Simmons left, frowning.

“Uh, Coulson said we're staying in the Tower for the night.” He announced, looking to Tony.

“Yeah.” Tony nodded. “It's late and everyone is tired. This way you and Simmons can catch Bruce up, and we can look at those drones tomorrow.”

“You really want to look at my Dwarfs?” Fitz asked, grinning.

“Yes, so make sure you bring them in. I don't think they're leaving the Bus here.”

“Well, I bloody hope not!” Fitz laughed. “We'll break the top off your Tower.”

“Well, let's get your stuff together.” Tony laughed, urging the man out the door. “Steve, Bruce will want to see her.”

“I'll make sure they end up there,” Jack said firmly. Steve chuckled at his tone and stern expression. Tasha reached over to disconnect Skye's IV from the stand, taking the fluid bag in hand and holding it high enough that it would still drip down the tubing.

“This is Ward's blanket,” Steve said before they moved. He removed the blanket from Skye, handing it to Simmons as she hurried past. Tasha was definitely smirking this time. Jack picked up the thinner blanket that Fitz had warmed for her and tucked it around Skye. Steve pulled his arms out from inside the blanket, tucking the blanket ends between their bodies and using his arms to help secure the blanket. It tended to be very windy on top of the Tower. Jack seemed reassured by Steve's smile. He didn't explain that part of the smile was because Ward's stupid blanket was gone.

“It was very generous of you to house us for the night,” Coulson told Tony as everyone met in the loading bay of the Bus. Trip and Ward exchanged a smirk when Steve walked in carrying Skye.

“Shouldn't she be in a bed?” Trip asked Steve, his face carefully composed.

“I've got her.” Steve replied lightly. Trip waited until Steve's attention was elsewhere before letting his grin slip free.

“It's no problem.” Tony shrugged. “Your team can help Bruce give Skye the best care.”

“They're the best,” Coulson nodded, smiling proudly.

“Do you have room for all of us?” Ward asked, dropping an overnight bag by his feet. “I can stay with the plane if there isn't.”

“We have plenty of room,” Tony dismissed. Then he grinned at Steve. “Though, we may have to use Steve's spare room.”

“I bet Coulson would love to take that room,” Clint chimed in eagerly.

“You're up to tampering with Jarvis, right?” Steve whispered to Skye.

Skye laughed against his neck but nodded. “I can lock him in his room for you.”

“One time!” Coulson sighed, tossing his hands up. “You guys can't drop this, can you? You even got the innocent in on it.”

“Twice, Coulson,” Tasha corrected with a smirk.

“Three times, actually.” Simmons added. Coulson shot her a look and she blushed. “What? I saw you take that picture.”

“You know I was the one that hacked your file, right?” Skye asked, picking her head up. Her grin was convincing. The only indication she wasn't as okay as she was projecting was the tight grip she had on Steve. Coulson's face dropped with that information.

“Well, I take back the innocent comment. I thought Jack did it.” He said finally. “Are you going to change that back for me? None of the techs can make any adjustments to my file.”

“Maybe if you're good,” Skye shrugged.

“That was you?” Simmons asked, her voice high with excitement. Steve winced at the pitch. Skye nodded in response.

“Oh, if he's not good, you should add a monkey to his file!” Fitz offered excitedly. “We need a monkey on the Bus. Maybe put in like a formal order or something?”

“Fitz...” Coulson sighed.

“Think of the cute little monkey hands!” Fitz whispered to Simmons, grinning broadly.

“Or you could confiscate Lola,” Trip offered, getting in on it. Coulson's mouth dropped open.

“Agent Triplett!” He gasped, looking thoroughly shocked at the development.

“Guess you have good incentive to behave,” May said, offering up a small smile.

“When don't I behave?!” Coulson retorted, sounded offended. Skye giggled and gave him a look. Coulson was reminded that she had accessed his file and groaned. “Well, you...you just stay out of this.”

“Now I want him to mess up,” Tasha laughed. “Enough standing around. I'm ready for a shower, some food, and bed. Not necessarily in that order.”

“I'll order food,” Tony told Steve, nodding his head toward Skye. She had put her head back down after she was done teasing Coulson. She was more tired than she was letting on. “You let Bruce look her over. I'll have food waiting for you guys.”

“Thanks Tony,” Steve smiled.

“No problem. You just worry about taking care of our girl, alright?”

Chapter Text

They finally disembarked from the plane, filing onto the elevator. Tasha handed the fluids off to Jack so she could go shower. He followed Steve and Skye to Bruce's lab, where he was smoothing sheets over a makeshift table. He wasn't a medical doctor, so he wasn't used to needing a table for patients to sit on.

“In duh valley of duh jolly... (Ho - ho – ho)

Heard about the Jolly Green Giant (potatoes)

He's so big and mean (artichoke hearts)

He stands there laughin' with his hands on his hips

And then he hits you with a can of beans.” 

Jack covered his mouth in horror, swiveling slowly to look at Skye. She looked surprised herself, her exhaustion temporarily banished. It was Steve that laughed first, followed closely by Bruce.

“I don't think Hulk has ever been compared to the Jolly Green Giant.” He commented lightly, smiling at Jack to reassure him.

“Evening Bruce,” Steve greeted. Bruce didn't look surprised to see Skye so Steve assumed Tony had warned him that they had found her alive. That would explain why his examining table, which he had prepared for Skye's remains and then never put away, had been quickly converted into a bed.

“Steve. Jack. You must be Skye,” Bruce greeted, smiling kindly. “It's very nice to meet you.”

“Hi,” Skye replied, sounding shy. “I would shake your hand or something but..." She waved her wrapped arms at him, shrugging lightly. "I hear you have a good grip on the Other Guy?”

“She's worried that we missed some triggers when Jack deprogrammed her,” Steve explained when Bruce frowned in confusion. “She doesn't want to hurt anyone...or make you turn into the Hulk and destroy everything.”

“I have a very good grip on him,” Bruce nodded, understanding her concerns. “But just in case, we have a Hulk proof cage that is nearby.”

“Well, I'm offended,” Jack sniffed. Skye turned to smile at her brother and his dramatics. “You think I would leave you with triggers?”

“Not on purpose,” Skye shrugged.

“Not on purpose,” Jack mimicked, sounding just like Skye, though he threw some extra attitude into his version. Steve laughed at Bruce's expression.

“I didn't know he was that good,” Bruce laughed, getting over his shock.

“You've heard me do it before!” Jack grinned.

“Yeah, but I've never known who you were imitating. I knew you were good...but that was perfect.”

“Yeah, spot on.” Fitz agreed, setting his Dwarfs down. “Can you do me?”

“In more ways than one,” Jack replied, winking. Steve and Skye laughed at his implications.

“Rumor has it, you're already doing the Captain.” Fitz laughed, opening his cases up. “Not sure I could measure up to such a legend.”

“I would be more than happy to compare you two, if you're worried about measurements.” Jack supplied innocently. Steve's face was starting to heat, even after two weeks of pretending to be Jack's boyfriend around headquarters. Skye could feel it happening and giggled against his chest.

“I'm glad everyone is in good spirits,” Bruce interrupted, stepping in before the conversation could get too far. “But I'm sure Skye would love to get cleaned up and knowing Steve, he's starving, so lets get this exam over with.”

“A man after my own heart,” Simmons smiled, walking into the lab. “Mr. Stark is ordering food, so we shouldn't take too long down here. I'm starved. Here, use this stand Jack.”

Simmons took the bags from Jack and hung them from a metal stand, giving his arms a break.

“I'll load up our initial reading onto Tony's server,” Fitz nodded, rubbing his stomach. “We can run the scan again with the Dwarfs while that loads.”

“I want to take some more blood,” Simmons nodded. “We need to compare it to your previous sample. I'm curious how much healing you've done since our initial tests.”

“She may have been exposed to elements of my serum,” Steve explained when Bruce looked lost. “Didn't they send over that sample?”

“You have a sample?” Bruce asked, cocking his head.

“The sample was still being analyzed,” Simmons explained.

“We couldn't send it over while it was running,” Fitz agreed.

“Can I have it now?” Bruce asked patiently.

“Sure!” Fitz nodded, pulling the bio-hazard box into the room.

“Take care of it,” Steve muttered. “I'll need it back.”

“He got it on his America Top,” Fitz explained.

“And we are just so grateful,” Simmons sighed softly, eyeing Steve's arms. Jack laughed at her implications. Skye felt him heat for real this time and laughed.

“What?” Simmons defended, realizing everyone heard her. “He's very well formed and symmetrical.”

“We should give Dr. Banner the blood. Maybe he can help us understand the readings.” Fitz muttered to Simmons.

“Oh, yes. Good thinking Fitz.”

“Blood?”

“Yes, Skye was hooked up to a bag of blood at the facility, but our results keep coming back weird. Maybe you could help us look it over.”

“Hmm, I wonder if it's the magic blood,” Bruce mused softly, pulling Simmons along by her elbow.

“You should probably put me down so we can get this over with,” She said softly. Steve nodded, but neither made any move to separate. Contradicting herself, Skye tightened her hold on Steve, wrapping her arms securely around his neck. She threaded her fingers through the short hair at his neck, pulling her fingers through over and over. Electricity ran down Steve's back at her touch. He wasn't sure what he had ever done to deserve this moment, but he wasn't arguing.

“The Dwarfs will need a minute to warm up,” Fitz told Bruce.

“I'll take my sample now,” Simmons offered. “May I use your equipment? Mr. Stark made me leave mine on the plane.”

“Help yourself,” Bruce smiled, opening the cabinet that held what she needed. Simmons ducked her head shyly, making Skye chuckle. Steve felt her laughter against his chest and had to duck his head to hide his smile.

“Be warned, she's a rubbish patient, but he's the enabler.” Simmons told Bruce, shooting the pair a look over her shoulder. Steve and Skye couldn't help their smirks. “She won't keep her blood line in; Agent Rogers said you could make sure she won't pull it out?”

Steve pulled a stool next to the table. He reluctantly set Skye down on the table, working hard to ignore the small whine that escaped her throat, then sat down in the stool. Skye kept her hand on him the entire time. She did hold firmly onto Steve's hand and squeezed her eyes shut while Simmons drew blood, but she didn't throw a fit like she had on the plane. He adjusted the blanket over her, seeing her shiver. “Almost done, then we can get you warm.”

“The Dwarfs are ready when you are,” Fitz offered, releasing the drones from their cases. Jack's eyes lit up as they flew by his head.

“Jack will want to be present when you talk tech with Tony,” Skye told Fitz. “Would you mind letting him know when you do that?”

“Of course!” Fitz replied, smiling proudly. Jack grinned, because Fitz already knew about his love of tech – they had already built something together.

“Skye, would you lay back for me?” Bruce asked, coming over while pulling gloves onto his hands. Skye swallowed hard but tried scooting back onto the table. She only succeeded in messing up the padding and sheets, so Steve lifted her and set her in the middle of the table. Skye winced while laying back, even with Steve's help. Jack frowned at her obvious discomfort. “We're going to let the drones...”

“Dwarfs,” Fitz interrupted, supplying the name helpfully.

“We're going to let the Dwarfs take their measurements,” Bruce started over, smiling patiently. “...while the lab heats up. I want to take a good look at your injuries, so the blanket will have to go.”

“But they're way better.” Steve frowned.

“Yes, but I am curious why the injuries are where they are. Do you know?”

Skye's face was carefully blank.

“Maybe we could leave that for another day,” Steve offered. Bruce took the hint and nodded quickly.

“I'm sorry, Skye. You must have had a very long day.”

“Besides, Agent Romanov copied the server. We can see what they did,” Simmons smiled. Bruce nodded his agreement. Skye, however, frowned. She had forgotten about that. The drones took their measurements and Bruce took a quick peek at the locations Skye had injuries. He took a load of notes. Finally, the doctors decided they had enough information.

“Just looking at these readings quickly, you're going to have to stay in the lab tonight. There is a bed coming. It should be here within the hour.”

“I don't want to stay.” Skye muttered.

“Of course you don't.” Steve sighed.

“I don't need to. Just give me the blood back.” Skye said firmly, directing that comment towards Simmons.

“I'm not giving you the blood until we know more about it.” Simmons replied, just as firmly.

“I need that blood,” Skye all but growled, grabbing hold of Simmons' shirt and dragging her closer. “The serum will take hold soon if I don't get it. You don't want the serum to take hold. Do you understand me?”

“The serum has healing properties in it.” Simmons said softly, cowering at the intensity of Skye's expression. Steve reached forward and removed Skye's hand from her shirt, allowing her to retreat to the other side of the lab. Skye's eyes went wide and panicked.

“Shit. I'm sorry, Simmons.” Skye apologized immediately. “But the serum isn't something to mess around with. I don't want it. Please, just give me back the blood.”

“The healing properties...”

“I don't give a shit about the healing properties.” Skye interrupted. “I care about the other ones. Give me back the blood.”

“I found something interesting!” Tony announced, racing into the room. He pulled something up on Bruce's computer, then projected it to the room. Tasha and Clint ran in after him, having been alerted by Jarvis.

“Video footage?” Steve asked, taking in the room. It was easily identifiable as the room he found Skye in. The major difference, of course, was that the scientists were still conscious and not tied up.

“This is less than an hour before we showed up.” Tony nodded.

On the video, the scientists were preparing the orange serum for injection. An entire table was covered in vials and needles. About half of the needles were already empty, but the scientists kept injecting Skye with more. Skye was barely awake at that point, watching the chaos with fearful eyes. She was awake, was conscious, but she didn't look like she was there. She was struggling, but it was ineffective against the metal restraints.

Tony pointed to the floor of the lab, drawing their attention to the black tile that was slowly shifting. It slid open slowly, then a covered head popped out. The head turned slowly, assessing the room, then the person jumped from the floor and took down the scientists. It took mere minutes to knock out and tie up the half a dozen scientists, all without lifting his face to the camera. Then the man hurried to Skye's shaking form and muttered something too softly for the poor feed to pick up. Whatever he said though, made Skye smile tiredly. The man brushed her ratty hair back from her face, his deep voice just barely audible. She slumped with relief. The man went to break the metal bands, but Skye shook her head quickly.

“Do the blood first, please.” Skye said softly.

The man was silent, just nodded once and pulled a bag of blood from inside the black jacket he was wearing. Someone ran by in the hall, shouting, so the man paused and cocked his head, listening hard. He hurried to barricade the door, slamming desks, tables, and book shelves against the doors. While he was distracted, one of the scientists woke and muttered words to Skye, speaking long and low. By the time the man noticed, Skye's eyes had fallen shut and she looked like she had when Steve found her. The man growled angrily and smashed his fist against the scientist's face, forcefully knocking him back out.

He wasted no time hooking up the blood bag - finding a vein and starting the transfusion without an issue, but then took a minute to try and rouse Skye. She didn't move, so the man growled and paced back and forth. Banging started on the door, and Steve's voice could be heard. The man cursed in Russian, this time loud enough that the audio feed could pick it up. Clint chuckled lightly at the man.

“He's got quite the vocabulary.”

“He disappears back into the tile just before Steve enters.” Tony replied, pointing to the screen again as the tile slid back into place. “He took someone.”

“The tile didn't close completely,” Clint admitted. “When Steve and Jack went to talk to the scientists, I went to check down there.”

“I didn't see his face at all.” Tasha said softly, watching Skye. “There was nothing distinguishing about the rest of him either.”

“You knew him, though.” Clint added. Skye crossed her arms and nodded defiantly at the group.

“But you're not going to tell us who it is, are you?” Steve sighed, reading her body language. Skye smirked ever so slightly and shook her head. Steve ran his fingers through his hair and grumbled something about stubborn women. That made Skye's smirk widen fractionally.

“Will you tell us who he took?” Tony asked. “He was helping you. But he took someone when he knew we were coming. Was he helping one of those bastards escape?”

“Escape.” Skye scoffed, deeply amused. “That bastard might want to escape.”

“Skye!” Tony huffed, annoyed at her unwillingness to answer him.

“You trust him?” Bruce asked softly, pointing to the head retreating back beneath the tile.

“With my life.” Skye replied.

“You trust the blood?”

“He wouldn't hurt me. Give me the blood. Please?” Skye said softly.

“Simmons, hook the blood back up.” Bruce nodded, taking Skye's sincerity into account.

“But!”

“No buts.” Bruce replied quickly, smiling when that made Skye smile. “Skye will get her blood back in exchange for staying under observation tonight.”

“Aw, Brucie!” Skye sighed, flopping her hands onto the bed and throwing her head back in the very image of defeat. “No more needles and I'll stay.”

“This isn't a negotiation.” Bruce grinned. “I know you can hack Jarvis, but you can't do that without a computer or tablet, or electronics of some sort. You have no bargaining power here. You get the blood you want and I get to take care of you, like I want. That's it.”

“Jack?” Skye sighed, looking for an ally.

“Sorry, sissy. I think that sounds incredibly fair.”

“Jack!”

“You're going to be hard pressed to find someone to go against Dr. Banner.” Steve added with a grin. “I think it's a good deal.”

“Dad?” Skye whispered, pulling out her best card.

“Sorry, sweetheart.” Tony smiled, walking in to sit next to Skye on the table. “When you get better I'll help you plan a prank on Bruce, deal?”

“Hey!” Bruce huffed.

“Fine...” Skye muttered, admitting defeat. “I'll stay, I promise. Now can I please have the blood? I'm starting to feel the serum again.”

Simmons cocked her head in silent question. Skye sighed and leaned forward to unwrap the bandaging around her middle. The faint burns that were there before were blossoming into more severe burns, making the bandaging stick to the bubbling. Steve and Tony both hissed and turned to look at Simmons in the same movement.

“Get her the blood!” They insisted. Skye giggled slightly, blinking her eyes quickly.

“The bed is here,” Pepper announced, walking into the room ahead of the delivery man. He was wheeling a large, comfortable looking hospital bed.

“HBIC, Head bitch in charge.

HBIC, Head bitch in charge.

HBIC, Head bitch in charge.

HBIC, Head bitch in charge.” The speakers blared, startling Skye back awake from where she had momentarily dozed off. Tony looked surprised for half a second and then burst out laughing. Skye giggled along with him.

“She really is the HBIC.” Clint nodded.

“Clint,” Tasha sighed, though she was smirking too.

“And suddenly it makes sense.” Pepper sighed, waving absently to Tony. Tony and Skye exchanged a smile, though she looked confused.

“What makes sense?” Skye whispered.

“Why he cares so much about you,” Pepper replied, smiling kindly. “Congratulations on making that list. It isn't very long.”

“Um, thanks?” Skye smiled back, uncharacteristically shy.

“Thanks, Jeff.” Tony smiled, nodding his head in appreciation. Jeff nodded back and left the room. “Let's get Skye transferred over so she can sleep.”

“I can sleep here,” Skye yawned. “I can sleep anywhere.”

“Well, you're going to sleep in the bed I got for you.” Tony retorted, tucking the blankets lightly around Skye so they could move her. They hooked Skye's monitoring systems into the bed, and Simmons hooked the blood back into Skye's IV line.

“Don't you dare unhook this line.” Simmons said in her firmest tone. Skye smirked sleepily and shook her head.

“I told you the other blood was the wrong kind.” Skye yawned, letting her eyes drift shut. Her hand still clung to Steve's, though her grip went slack as she fell asleep.

“Think she'll stay?” Tony asked softly.

“She won't wake up for hours.” Jack whispered. “Healing is hard work.”

“Is that the magic blood?” Steve asked, nodding his head towards the blood bag.

“Probably.” Jack smiled. “I'm glad 47 brought it to her. How he knew where she was is beyond me, though.”

“47?” Tony asked, his head whipping around. “I thought you don't know 47.”

“Well, I mean...I'm assuming that's 47.” Jack shrugged, pointing to the black clad figure that was disappearing into the floor. “He had the blood, and no one has the blood but Skye and 47.”

“47 was right there?” Steve sighed. If he had been a little faster, he could have asked him to come back to the Tower with them.

“Well, I'm stealing Simmons.” Bruce chuckled, grabbing hold of said scientist. “I'm going to show her 47's blood. Maybe we can confirm that this is 47's.”

“You might want to wrap her up first,” Jack winced, nodding towards his sister.

“She's not shivering as much,” Simmons commented.

“We can add some blankets though,” Bruce nodded.

“No, like sterile bandages. If that is 47's blood, her body is going to get rid of the serum.” Jack sighed.

“Get rid of it?” Fitz asked, swallowing hard.

“It looked like it was oozing out of her cuts before,” Steve commented.

“Exactly.” Jack agreed. “Except now she has more open wounds because of the burns. If you want a sample, you're going to need to wrap her.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Bruce smiled, tossing an arm around his shoulders. “You know me well.”

“I know scientists well,” Jack countered.

0-0-0-0-0

Skye stirred awake slowly, trying to place herself. She frowned in confusion at the room. The clean, sterile environment looked more like a physics lab than the experimental lab she last remembered.

What was the last thing she remembered?

She thought hard, frowning in concentration. Everything was a little blurry. The last thing she remembered for sure was escaping from the scientists. She remembered slipping down the hallways, her feet sliding in her own blood. She remembered deleting everything she could find – she remembered her vindictive satisfaction when the scientists were so mad. She shuttered, remembering the scalpel piercing her skin over and over again. She remembered getting weak and very scared, but then...nothing.

She glanced down and saw the needle in her forearm and grimaced. Bags were suspended behind her, dripping slowly into her system. IV fluids, what looked like a meal replacement bag, and an empty blood bag. Unease made her chest tighten uncomfortably. Why had they brought her back? How had they brought her back? There had been so much blood. So. much. blood.

The more likely option was that this wasn't real. They had been tampering with the hallucinogens before she had escaped their hold. It looked like they perfected it. Before, she had easily seen through their attempts. The hallucinations were shadowy figments, nothing like this. She felt like she was actually in this bed. She felt the soft blankets covering her.

Where was she, really?

What were they doing to her?

Panic crept up her core, making her gag reflex twitch and her mouth fill with a metallic taste. Clammy perspiration beaded along her forehead and she bit back a moan. In an instant, cold hands were stroking her forehead. Skye's head whipped to the side in panic. She hadn't noticed anyone in the room with her.

She was confused about the small boy trying to soothe her, but the open air vent at least showed his entrance point.

“{Shh, it's okay.}” The boy said softly, still stroking her head. “{You're safe here}.”

She bit back a sob. They were using him against her. The formula must not be perfect, because the boy didn't look exactly like him, but it was damn close. This hallucination had all the details, right down to the young boy's mashup. His words were slower than they should have been – even Jack hadn't spoken this slowly since...well, since he was ten.

That was another thought. It seemed much more plausible than him. Still, even if it was Jack, he shouldn't be a part of this. She couldn't let Jack be a part of this. They had made him young, too. Younger than he had been when she had helped them break out. Little Jack shouldn't be seeing her like this.

She couldn't bite back her revulsion any longer and heaved, quite unwillingly, a bright orange liquid onto the blankets covering her lap. She was aware of little hands holding her hair back, rubbing circles soothingly into her back. He was talking to someone, but she didn't catch who. He was probably alerting the scientists that she was awake. Here was where the next horror would show itself.

Out of her peripherals, she was aware of doors sliding open and two people stepping into the room. She took a second look, turning her head to better identify them, and would have burst into tears if another bout of orange liquid hadn't made its appearance right then.

Those mother fucking assholes. Was nothing sacred?

They were going to use them against her?

How did they know these two would break her the fastest?

“It's okay, sweetheart.” Tony murmured, shoving a pan under her face to catch the vomit. Skye was glad the vomiting was making her eyes water – she could let a few tears escape without them noticing. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of breaking her.

She was stronger than her connections.

But damn, life could be a bitch sometimes.

“Hey, doll.” Steve said softly. “It's okay. Let it all out.”

“Get that nasty blanket off her,” Young Jack told him, still rubbing her back. His voice was surprisingly firm. Jack never had that much confidence. Steve chuckled lightly and folded the blanket up. Another man, who she recognized as Dr. Banner, came into the room and took the soiled blanket from him. Skye frowned and watched him carry the vomit from the room with extreme care.

“It's okay,” Steve told her, “Bruce will take care of it.”

“It's gross.” Skye muttered.

“{Only a little bit.}” Jack whispered.

“{Only a lot.}” Skye retorted without thinking. Jack grinned at her and finally stopped rubbing circles onto her back. He kept his hand on her though, and Skye wasn't sure if the contact was good or bad. Bad, because it wasn't actually Jack comforting her. Good, because even if it was a hallucination, they were finally done cutting on her. They might be fake, but she still got to see her friends. That alone made it worth it.

She still wouldn't give them what they wanted, but she would take advantage of what she could.

“{Feel better now?}” He asked, softly. Like he was concerned. Skye's throat started to burn with unshed tears, so she nodded mutely.

They wouldn't win.

She wouldn't let them.

Jack started to pull away from her, making panic course unreasonably through her system.

(But that didn't mean she couldn't take a few small moments for herself.)

She reached out and grabbed his hand before she could consider the consequences. He looked surprised, eyeing her with hesitation.

“{Are you okay?}” He asked her softly, covering her hand with his other one. She realized her mistake, but couldn't bring herself to break contact.

“{I'm gonna go back to sleep now,}” She muttered, her eyes fluttering involuntarily.

“{Okay.}” He replied, before needlessly passing on her message to Steve and Tony. “Skye's going to go to sleep now.”

“What? Really? That's what she said?” Tony gasped, feigning surprise. “I never could have guessed.”

A small smirk found its way onto Skye's face, even if she didn't have the energy to open her eyes again. Tony chuckled and handed Steve a warm cloth.

“Wipe her up before she's asleep again.” Tony chuckled. “She might go all kung fu on your ass.”

“{But I don't know how to kung fu.}” Skye mumbled, already mostly asleep. Like this, she forgot all about the hallucinogens. She forgot this wasn't real. That they weren't real. Jack's laughter was different, but no less amused than she remembered it being.

She was so tired and they were pressing all the right buttons.

“What'd she say?” She heard Steve ask. A wet, warm cloth was running over her face, wiping her clean. She could only imagine how she looked. God, she probably had vomit on herself. Good thing this wasn't real. She might be embarrassed otherwise.

“She doesn't know how to kung fu.” Jack replied, his voice firm again. She frowned slightly, wondering why Jack would use that tone. Skye heard two men laughing, but it was like hearing them from the other end of a long tunnel. Something warm and soft touched her forehead, startling her.

Her last conscious thought was that they sure were being nice to her.

Chapter Text

“{I know you're awake, you know.}” Steven said softly, watching Skye pretend to sleep. She had woken a while ago, but noticed Steve was sleeping in the bedside chair and had closed her eyes again. Steve had left about five minutes ago to go for his morning run and no one else was in the room. Steven had been watching from the vents, waiting for her to drop the act. He was not a patient boy.

“{No, I'm not.}” She muttered back, refusing to open her eyes. Finally, curiosity got the best of her and she peeked one eye open to take a look at the boy. “{Still here, huh? What's in this stuff?}”

“{Is that okay? I can go, if you want.}”

“{You don't have to go.}” Skye sighed, easing herself into a slightly better sitting position. She pulled the oxygen tube from her face, dropping it onto the bed. “{I might as well figure this out now.}”

“{How are you feeling?}”

“{Fine. Better. Don't worry about me.}” Skye replied lightly, waving of the question. She frowned at the bandages covering her arms. She waved her arms at the boy, “{Get up here and help me get these off.}”

“{I don't think you should take them off.}” Steven replied, though he scrambled up onto the bed anyway. He settled at the foot of her bed, sitting between her splayed feet. He still wasn't sure how she felt about him being touchy. Jack wasn't a huge fan – but that seemed to apply more to emotions than to the actual touches. He reasoned that Skye would probably be the same way.

“{Come on. Peer pressure!}” Skye joked, waving her arms again. She pushed her lip out in an exaggerated pout, “{Please?}”

“{Steve says I'm supposed to do the right thing. Even if it's different than what grown ups tell me to do.}” Steven informed her, deathly serious. Skye knew a losing battle when she saw one. She sighed loudly, barely hiding her wince at the pain that radiated through her chest with the motion. Steven tugged his bottom lip with his fingers, unsure what to do. “{I can go get the doctors? I don't want you to hurt.}”

“{No, no. Don't do that.}” Skye replied quickly. “{So...how old are you supposed to be?}”

“{I'm seven.}”

“{Ah, that explains things.}” Skye muttered, her eyes narrowed at him while she contemplated that fact. “{You don't look big enough to be seven.}”

“{You look cold.}” Steven remarked, unsure what to say about his age. He wasn't sure what being seven years old had to do with anything – or what it explained. “{I can go get your hacking hoodie?}”

“{Hmm, you remember my hoodie?}” Skye asked, her eyes narrowing further. Steven shrugged and nodded. He yawned and almost missed Skye's question, “{What color is it?}”

“{Blue. And it has holes in the sleeves so you're not cold when you type.}” Steven replied, regurgitating what Jack had told Tony. He mimed typing on a keyboard, which made Skye smile slightly. Steven felt himself relaxing at her smile; he must have passed her test. He shot her back a tired grin in response. “{Tony said your sewing was terrible.}”

“{Hey! It was my first attempt and you know it!}” Skye laughed lightly.

“{Steve says it hasn't gotten any better.}”

“{Steve's a poo poo face.}”

“{Poo poo face?}” Steven giggled, rocking backwards. Skye smirked and picked at the end of her arm bandages. She got an end loose and gave it a tug.

“{Come on, gimme a hand.}” Skye fake pouted, waving the end of the bandage at Steven. “{I'm going to do it anyway. At least this way, you can make sure I don't get hurt doing it.}”

“{Ugh, you're terrible.}” Steven sighed loudly. Skye grinned and nodded. He gave in easily, carefully unwrapping the bandages. “{You know, when you're part of a family that means it's important that you're taken care of.}”

Her skin underneath was clear, except for the skin directly around her wrists. The metal restraints had caused more damage there and it hadn't healed as completely – a thick scab covered that skin.

“{See? Told you I didn't need them.}” Skye told Steven loftily, pretending like she didn't hear his exclamation of family. She had never had a family. Not really.

“{You never said that.}” Steven replied dryly, leveling a dry expression at Skye that he had picked up from Steve. Skye's smile faltered a little bit at that.

“{You know the blood makes us better.}” She said softly, picking the other bandage end loose. Steven unraveled that one without prompting. She sat up slowly, pushing her blankets down off her chest.

“{Please, stop.}” Steven begged, trying to push the blankets back up.

“{Just one more. I promise.}” Skye replied, picking at the wrapping around her abdomen. “{It's itchy.}”

“{You have to leave the ones on your legs.}” Steven said firmly.

“{Okay.}” Skye agreed. It was Steven's turn to narrow his eyes at her. She grinned and shrugged, tossing the balled up bandages at him. Her stomach was clear of scabs and burns as well. “{I didn't get enough blood. My legs aren't done healing yet.}”

“{We can get you another bag of blood.}” Steven said firmly. “Jarvis, can you get Bruce to bring...”

“{No!}” Skye interrupted. “{They don't have the right blood. You know better, Jack.}”

Steven froze, his eyes wide.

“Is everything okay?” Dr. Bruce asked, striding into the lab quickly. “Jarvis alerted me...”

“{Ugh! Now you've done it.}” Skye sighed, tossing herself back into her pillows.

“You've taken your bandages off.” Bruce noted with a frown.

“{I didn't need them.}” Skye muttered petulantly. Bruce looked at Steven for a translation.

“They're better.” Steven told Bruce hesitantly, waving at her exposed skin. The last time he had seen Bruce, he was slipping into the vents while Simmons tried to calm him down. What if he was still mad at him? “Don't worry, we didn't touch the leg bandages. The skin isn't done healing yet.”

“Looks like you're due for some more fluids,” Bruce nodded, shaking her IV bag lightly. “Your body is absorbing these fluids at an extraordinary rate. That's a good thing. After I replace this bag, I'll need to take a look at your arms and legs, to check on the healing.”

“{I don't want any more of your drugs.}” Skye hissed. Her friendly demeanor was no where in sight. Steven frowned at her change in attitude. She was scary like this. She watched Bruce walk into a back room then looked back at Steven. She was taken aback by Steven's frightened expression.

“{Are you mad at me?}” He asked softly.

“{Oh, honey. No. Of course not.}” Skye soothed, feeling unreasonably guilty. She flipped back her blanket and scooted sideways on her bed. She patted the spot next to her, “{Come on. It'll be like old times, Jack Jack.}”

Steven didn't need further prompting. He scrambled up the bed, carefully avoiding her legs, and curled up into her side. She wrapped an arm around him and tossed the blanket back into place. Steven settled in next to her, making himself comfortable. If she could keep Jack safe all this time, couldn't she keep him safe too? Could she keep the nightmares away?

“{Why do you look scared?}” Skye asked softly breaking the silence that had fallen over the pair. “{Is it me? Or Dr. Banner?}”

“{I'm not scared of you. Can I tell you later?}” Steven asked softly, ducking his head.

“{Of course you can,}” Skye agreed, nodding eagerly.

“This looks cozy,” Tony grinned, walking into the lab with a large mug of steaming coffee.

“She won't speak English.” Bruce commented softly, reaching up to remove the empty fluid bag. Skye's free hand shot out to snag Bruce's wrist.

“{I don't want more of your drugs.}” Skye repeated, her tone hard again. Tony winced at Bruce, gauging his reaction to the contact.

“Sweetheart, you might want to let Bruce go.” He said softly.

“I can handle this,” Bruce denied, shrugging off Tony's concern. He certainly seemed in control of himself. Bruce looked at Steven. “What's the issue?”

“{It's not drugs,}” Steven told Skye, reaching carefully over her body to tug on her arm. “{I promise, it's not drugs. You're very dehydrated. Let us take care of you.}”

“{I don't want it. I don't trust it.}” Skye replied, refusing to let Bruce go. Bruce was standing frozen, watching the interaction without any idea of what was happening. Skye refused to take her eyes off him, and the feeling was a little disconcerting.

“{Do you trust me? Trust me not to lie to you?}”

“{I don't know.}” Skye admitted softly, looking down at the boy clinging to her. “{Everything is wrong here...}”

“{Steve said I'm not allowed to lie. There are no drugs in that bag.}” Steven told Skye a little more firmly. “{I can tell him you don't want anything else. But you need the fluids and the meal bag. You need to get better.}”

“{Promise, Jack Jack?}” Skye asked softly, her voice cracking slightly. She coughed to cover her slip. Steven glanced up at Tony, frowning at the name. That was three times now. Steve walked off the elevator at that point, pausing mid-step at the look on his face. His eyes darted between Skye and Bruce, then back at Steven. Steven's eyes were wide and afraid, but before Steve could do or say anything his attention was back on Skye.

“{I promise.}” Steven said quietly, letting Skye tug him closer to her side.

“{Okay.}” Skye said softly. Steven grinned and tugged her hand from Bruce's wrist. Skye gave it up easily, wrapping that arm around Steven.

“{I'm gonna take such good care of you.}” Steven whispered, shifting happily in her hold. She was good at cuddles. Skye chuckled slightly, hiding her face behind the boy. He looked up at Bruce, who was rubbing his wrist. The skin around it was red; she had had a tight grip on him. “Skye doesn't want any more drugs. The fluid bag and meal bag are okay though. Just, nothing else.”

“Who knows what they've pumped into her?” Tony nodded, understanding her fear. “I wouldn't want anything either.”

“Okay, Skye. No drugs.” Bruce smiled. “I promise.”

“{Soon, I'll be well enough to kick your ass if you're lying.}” Skye threatened, her face still buried in the pillow. Steven giggled nervously against her side. She pulled back to smile softly at him. “{Sorry.}”

“Do I want to know?” Bruce asked.

“For your sake, I hope you're not lying.” Steven shrugged. Tony grinned at that. He could translate that statement pretty well. Steven looked at Steve again, swallowing to get some moisture back in his mouth. It had suddenly gone bone dry at the expression on Steve's face. “Can we get Jack?”

“He's on his way,” Steve nodded, coming to stand next to the boy. Steve missed the way the boy leaned away from him, pushing himself closer to Skye. Steve smiled and ruffled his hair, “You look comfy.”

“Skye's good at cuddles.” Steven admitted softly. He wasn't sure where he stood with the team. Tony seemed fine – he may have been angry, but he didn't appear to be holding a grudge. He wasn't sure how things were with Steve though, and it made him nervous. Skye was watching the interaction though, and something told him that she was catching more than he wanted her to.

“{Damn straight.}” Skye muttered, visibly drooping. “{Practice makes perfect.}”

“{I'll help you practice any time you want.}” Steven replied, grinning at her. He liked the prospect of getting more cuddles. They didn't exactly hand out physical contact at the facility. Definitely not positive physical contact. His new family was way better at giving him the contact he needed, but there was no such thing as too much cuddling. Skye smiled warmly, nodding her acceptance.

“Are you gonna make Pip Squeak keep translating for you, or are you going to grace us with some English soon?” Tony asked wryly. “You were speaking English last night.”

“{Don't want to.}” Skye retorted, her voice hard again. Tony sighed and looked at Steven, who only shook his head.

“You're stubborn,” Steve told Skye, though his voice held affection and amusement.

“{You're stubborn.}” Skye mimicked badly, making Steven giggle helplessly against her.

“{Poo poo head.}” He added quietly.

“{Yeah, poo poo head.}” Skye agreed, grinning with Steven.

“{Well, that hasn't changed. You're still terrible at that, sissy.}” Jack laughed, walking off the elevator with Fitz. Skye visibly recoiled; her back pressed against the bed and she clutched Steven tightly against her. Steven winced but kept the pained hiss from escaping his mouth. He wasn't sure what Skye was so scared of, but he would protect her. He would keep her safe. Skye's heart monitor started beeping loudly as her heart rate skyrocketed. Bruce hurried to silence the machine. Jack stopped in his tracks, cocking his head in confusion. “{Sissy?}”

“{Skye thinks I'm you...I think.}” Steven told Jack.

“What the hell bloody language is that!?” Fitz asked loudly. Tony smirked and pulled him aside to explain.

“{Sissy?}” Jack tried again, stepping closer. Skye's face went pale and she shook her head rapidly.

“{Why are there two of you?}” Skye asked quietly. Her eyes were roaming between Steven and Jack. Her eyes were hard and cold. “{Shit. You messed it up, didn't you? I see you haven't gotten any more competent.}”

“{There aren't two of us,}” Steven interrupted. “{I'm Steven.}”

“{Steven is from Chi.}” Jack nodded. Skye shook her head again, pressing her eyes closed tightly.

“{See? 1027.}” Steven told her, showing her his tattoo. Skye shook her head, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed. She refused to accept this. She refused to accept their tricks.

“{Skylar Elizabeth, you open your eyes right now and look at that boy's tattoo.}” Jack commanded, his voice unusually deep and commanding. Tony raised his eyebrows and took a step away from him, his hands raised in mock surrender at his tone.

“{No. It's not real.}”

“{Do it. Look at the tattoo. Ask me anything, anything that would convince you. Ask me something only I would know.}” Jack pleaded, stepping closer. Skye shook her head again.

“{No. I already did that. I'm not going to play your games.}”

“{It's not a game, damn it.}”

“{You're wrong. Everything is wrong. This is wrong.}”

“{Skye. Let me convince you. Give me one chance. If I can't convince you, then I'll let you go on living in your little fantasy world.}” Jack huffed, frustrated.

“{You're different. You're not my Jack.}”

“{Your Jack died two weeks ago when you sent me away instead of letting them take me.}” Jack admitted softly. “{Your Jack died when you did.}”

Skye tried to pull her knees up, but hissed in pain and aborted the motion. She pressed the heel of her palms into her eyes, trying to push the tears back in her stupid, leaking eyes. She wasn't crying, or anything. It was probably a side effect from the orange stuff, yeah. She never cried. Jack silently waved the other men from the room, figuring she would listen better without an audience. Steve pointed to Steven, asking if he should take him. Jack shook his head quickly. He couldn't convince her they were separate people if they weren't in the same room. Finally, they were alone – just Skye, Jack, and Steven.

“{You were our angel, at the facility.}” Jack started softly. If she wouldn't ask questions, he would just have to convince her himself. “{You brought us blood, sneaking it to us after bad tests. You tried so hard to hide how afraid of needles you are, but we saw through that. We knew why you laughed at us when we asked if the blood was yours.

There was a change. One day you didn't come with blood. You came with clothes and shoes. You told us we were leaving. That you were taking us away. But first, you needed our help. We needed to destroy everything. We needed to stop them. What happened to us was awful, but we could be the last. We could prevent them from doing any more tests on kids.}”

Jack paused there, wincing apologetically at Steven. They had been wrong on that count. They weren't the last. Skye's jaw was slightly less tight, so Jack pressed on.

“{We smashed everything. We got to destroy all of the things that we hated. I think you knew how much we would like that. You just stood there, hunched over the computer, watching us with that fucking annoying, knowing, little smirk on your face. Then John started that fire. I don't think you meant for us to burn everything, but you didn't stop us as we added everything we could find to that fire.

“When we finally left, we were all coughing from all the smoke. We were sooty and smelled like a bon fire, but God was that a perfect way to leave that place. I think that was the moment you realized how hard it was going to be. Raising us. You kept trying to get us to sneak through the woods. You wanted to put as much distance between us and that place as you could, but we knew the scientists wouldn't be back until morning and we weren't worried about it.

“It was almost dawn when you realized we were being followed. In our excitement, we had forgotten about the one security guard that was sometimes around at night. He shot you. You were carrying me on your back because I had given up already. I kept falling over things in the dark and I threw a temper tantrum because I was so mad and frustrated. You heard the guard coming and spun, protecting me with your body. If I hadn't been on you, you probably could have taken him out...}”

“{It wasn't your fault.}” Skye interrupted.

“{It was.}” Jack retorted, shooting Steven a smirk. Steven pressed his eyebrows together because he was confused why Jack seemed so satisfied.

“{Jackson Herbert, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times – It. Was. Not. Your. Fault.}” Skye growled, finally opening her eyes to glare at him.

“{Hi, sissy.}” Jack grinned. Skye's glare withered quickly and soon she was trying to hide her own grin.

“{God, you're stupid.}”

“{Well, you're stupid stubborn.}” Jack shrugged. “{I win. Can I introduce you to Steven now?}”

“{Steve's Steven?}” Skye asked, looking over at the boy next to her.

“{I get to stay here now.}” Steven nodded, though he said it with a frown and a shrug.

“{The Tower has kind of adopted him,}” Jack nodded.

Steven had a feeling, based off the video footage he had seen of Skye and his own short interaction with her, that the Tower was about to be a completely different place to live. He wished he was going to be here to see it.

“{Where are the other kids?}” Skye asked, frowning. Her eyes shot to Jack. “{Did you deprogram the kids?}”

“{We had this conversation yesterday.}” Jack told her, frowning. “{Yes, I deprogrammed them. They're still with Shield – we're working on finding a good long term placement for them.}”

“{I don't remember yesterday.}” Skye admitted.

“{You don't remember us getting you out of there?}” Jack asked incredulously. “{You were awake for most of it. You were talking to us.}”

“{I don't know, Jack.}” Skye shrugged.

“{You said everything was wrong here...}” Jack asked slowly, wondering if it was wrong of him to ask. Wrong of him to press the matter, here. Now.

“{They were practicing.}” Skye hedged, fingering the scabs that wrapped around her wrists. When she started picking at the scabs, Jack reached over and slapped her hand.

“{Practicing what?}” Jack asked, concern etched onto his face. She didn't immediately respond, so Jack reached forward to grab her hand. “{Skye? What were they practicing?}”

“{They couldn't get the hallucinogen right...}” Skye admitted softly. She was silent for a long minute, clearly thinking things through. Steven and Jack waited in silence, giving her a chance to process everything. Then she grinned and flicked Jack's nose. “{Now, stop with the sappy shit.}”

“{Can we let the others back in?}” Steven asked, giggling. “{I think Steve is forcing Tony to stay in the elevator.}”

Jack and Skye turned to look and started giggling immediately. Tony's head was peaking out of the elevator door, watching their interaction, but someone's hand was on his shoulder. Tony smirked and shook himself loose.

“My building. My rules.” Tony announced, strolling back into the lab. Steve and Bruce followed, both rolling their eyes at his demeanor.

“Hi, Dad.” Skye smirked. “I think whatever Jack gained in maturity these last few days, you lost.”

“Few days?” Tony frowned. “It's been a lot more than a few days.”

“Like...how many days?” Skye asked softly.

“How many days do you think you were gone?” Bruce asked, holding up his hand to prevent Tony from answering.

“Six.” Skye replied instantly. Tony blinked at her slowly, prompting her to repeat herself. She repeated herself with confidence, “Six days.”

“What's the last thing you remember?” Bruce asked softly. Skye glanced down at Steven, frowning. Steve took her cue and lifted Steven away from her. Steven clutched at Skye's hand as Steve pulled him away.

“Hey, maybe you can see if Pepper stocked the fridge with new apples.” Steve told the boy. “But don't go far. I still want to talk to you, okay?”

Steven nodded, swallowing back his fear, understanding that they were trying to get rid of him. Skye pulled a face at him, leaving him grinning.

“{Pepper hides brownies in the cabinet next to the sink.}” She told him, winking. Steven danced in place and ran off for the elevator. She met Steve's frown with a grin.

“Do I want to know what you just told him?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Nope.” Skye and Jack replied simultaneously.

“There's no lying here, remember Steve?” Clint laughed, popping out of a vent.

“Who's been lying?” Skye asked, grinning. “Hi, Archer. Shit, what happened to your face?”

“Hey, trouble. A foot found my face.” Clint grinned, shoving Steve and Tony back away from her bed so he could give her a gentle hug. “I see you don't like those bandages any more than you liked that blood last night.”

“I don't need the bandages, see?” Skye grinned, waving her arms in his face. Clint nodded, sitting down by her knee as he inspected her arms. He twisted her arm, tracing a finger from her elbow to wrist.

“So you're all better then?” Clint asked, fingering the scab that surrounded her left wrist.

“Hmm, not quite.” Skye giggled, flicking Clint's forehead. “That tickles.”

“You know why this healed up so perfectly?” Clint asked, wagging his eyebrows. Skye grinned and shook her head. Clint waved her forward, then whispered loudly, “Cause I was in charge of your arms.”

“In charge of my arms?” Skye asked, her grin slipping into a forced smile.

“We had to clean you up on the plane ride back,” Clint nodded. “You don't remember that?”

“She doesn't remember yesterday,” Jack said softly.

“Like, at all?” Clint asked, frowning.

“We were just getting to that.” Bruce informed him, pulling up a stool. Steve sat back down in the chair that he had spent the night in and Tony sat at the foot of Skye's bed.

“So, what is the last thing you remember?” Tony asked.

“Cold. I was cold.” Skye shrugged, unwilling to elaborate.

“She's not going to tell us.” Jack sighed. “She doesn't know what we've found already.”

“What if I told you we found a building with zero footage of the week you were there?” Tony asked, leaning forward. Skye immediately lowered her eyes, resorting to picking at the blanket so she wouldn't have to meet any eyes.

“Zero footage?” She asked softly.

“Almost zero footage,” Tony corrected, clearing his throat. “We saw what happened immediately following the section you deleted.”

“I remember that part.” Skye admitted, refusing to make eye contact.

“What's the last part you remember?” Tony pressed.

“{He was mad.}” Skye whispered. “{He said he would make sure I got what was coming to me.}”

“{And after that?}” Jack asked, jumping in to keep the conversation going. Skye didn't bother replying, she just shook her head and kept her head down. Jack looked up at the other men, “She knows what we know. She doesn't remember anything beyond the footage we saw.”

“From the first building?” Steve clarified.

“How many buildings were there?” Skye asked, her voice high.

“Just two.” Clint replied, like it was supposed to reassure her.

“Two?” Skye squeaked.

“The dart they shot you with had a tracer in it,” Steve added.

“But I think you already knew that.” Tony frowned. Skye nodded faintly.

“I had to send Jack away.” She said softly, reaching out to grasp his hand. “I'm sorry. I know you're mad...but...I couldn't let them take you.”

“Teeny, little, man-baby,” Clint whispered, smirking lightly at Jack. Jack threw his fists down in a loud, dramatic pout.

“Skye! He's being mean to me!”

“Do you deserve it?” Skye smiled. She glanced at Clint, smiling towards him too. She was glad he broke up the emotionally packed conversation with a little humor.

“No.” Jack retorted, crossing his arms. Clint was behind him, nodding his head and mouthing Just a little bit. Skye couldn't help her grin.

“Sorry, Jack. You'll have to wait until I'm better.” Skye told him, smirking. Clint looked afronted. Then Skye frowned, “Why does that feel familiar?”

“I'll tell you later,” Steve smiled. All three men in the room turned to look at him. He smirked and shrugged.

“Getting back on track,” Bruce interjected, “There was a tracer in the dart. We built a tracker that could follow it - the remains of it in your blood stream. That lead us to the first building.”

“Did you find anything there?” Skye asked softly, her bottom lip trembling. She pulled it into her mouth to hide her weakness. Steve remembered her being upset about the children – the ones from Group Psi.

“Yeah, we found Psi.” Steve nodded. “We brought them back and gave them a proper burial. We were very careful with them.”

Skye swallowed hard and nodded slowly. She knew better than to expect them to be okay. She knew why they weren't okay...and it broke her heart. It was her fault they were dead.

“Can I...can I rest again?” Skye asked softly, pulling her hands beneath the blankets to hide their shaking.

“Of course you can.” Steve nodded and reached out like he wanted to take her hand. He hesitated, then clasped his fingers in front of him. “You want anyone to stay with you?”

“No, I'm okay.” Skye replied softly, not meeting any eyes. She knew it would hurt Jack's feelings, but she needed some time. She needed to wrap her head around this and put it behind her.

“You sure?” Tony asked, frowning. “It wouldn't be any problem...”

“I'm good.” Skye interrupted. She frowned to herself, then up at Tony. “Sorry. I'm not trying to be rude...I just...”

“It's okay,” Tony interrupted right back. “You've been through a lot, and we don't expect you to just...be okay.”

“Maybe you can come visit me later?” Skye compromised. “Catch me up on what I missed?”

“Sure thing, Sweetheart.”

“Let Jarvis know when you're ready for company.” Jack nodded. “I can be available whenever.”

“Hey...before you leave...” Skye called out, making the men pause on their way out the door. “Where's Tasha? Is she okay?”

“Oh, she's more than okay.” Clint smirked. “We've got someone in holding that she's been chatting with.”

“Okay. Good.” Skye nodded, relieved. She was the one person she hadn't seen yet. They smiled at her and turned to leave again. “Wait! How many days was I gone?”

“Fourteen days,” Tony replied after a beat.

“Two weeks?” Skye whispered, her voice cracking. She cleared her throat and nodded, forcing a fake smile onto her face. “Um...I'll see you guys later?”

“We're not going anywhere, Sweetheart,” Tony smiled, coming back to press a kiss to her forehead. “You rest, wrap your head around this, and we'll chat later – okay?”

Skye didn't respond, just nodded her agreement. The men trailed out of the room, each trying not to look back. Skye sighed with relief the second the elevator doors closed on them. She risked a look over her shoulder, seeing that Bruce had replaced her fluids and meal bag. She made a face at the bags. She knew she needed them, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She felt like she hid her shock well when she unwrapped her abdomen – but she was skinny. Scary skinny. She swallowed hard and pulled the blankets up around her neck. She was freezing, still. The three blankets on her didn't provide her with enough heat.

“Can I come back?” Steven asked, his head poking out of the vent. Skye couldn't help the surprised smile that formed on her face.

“You've been hanging out with Clint, huh?” She teased. He nodded slowly and started to withdraw. “Don't go. You're okay.”

“I can come in?” He asked shyly.

“Yeah. I'm freezing. Let's cuddle.”

“I like to cuddle,” Steven admitted, squirming free from the vent.

“I like to cuddle, too.” Skye smiled. She tossed the blanket back, letting him crawl into the spot he had vacated earlier.

“You're awfully cold,” Steven said softly, making himself comfortable. Skye hummed her agreement and wrapped her arms around the boy, partially to reassure him and partially to steal his heat.

“You wanna tell me why you're so scared?” Skye murmured, finger combing the boy's hair to the side. He was silent for a minute, then he sighed heavily.

“{They're going to send me back.}”

“{Who? Back where?}”

“{Them. Steve... He only got me out because I could help Tony find you...}” Steven admitted softly. He pulled the blanket up around both of them, using it to hide his insecurities.

“{Jack said you're staying here,}” Skye said softly, caressing his cheek.

“{But I messed up.}” Steven confessed. “{I acted badly.}”

“{What happened?}” Skye pressed. Steven froze, then peeked up at her face, trying desperately to read her expression. She looked tired, but she still had a warm smile on her face. He swallowed hard and gripped her arm to his chest.

“{Bruce and Dr. Simmons were looking at my spine and I kinda freaked out on them.}” He said softly. “{Bruce almost turned...}”

“{Into the Hulk?}” Skye asked, her eyebrows high. Steven nodded slowly. Very slowly, a grin blossomed across her face. “{That must have been some freak out.}”

“{It was.}”

“{Okay, so that explains Bruce. What happened after that?}”

“{I escaped through the vents. But then Clint came to check on me...he tried to make me come out...and I kicked him in the face.}”

“{That explains the bruising,}” Skye nodded. Steven was confused why her chest was shaking, so he turned to get a better look at her. She shook her head and wiped her eyes, trying to push the giggles back down. She failed miserably, and laughter rang through the small room. “{I bet he learned a very important lesson.}”

“{What's that?}”

“{Don't mess with us when we're angry.}” Skye grinned, resuming her finger combing. He smiled faintly and nodded. She understood. Of course, she understood. “{What happened after that?}”

“{I blocked myself in my room. Jack, and then Steve tried to talk to me...but I wouldn't let them in. And I knew Clint would try to get in through the vents...so I set a trap.}”

“{A trap?}” Skye asked, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

“{He tripped a wire and there was a small explosion...but don't worry, it was just flour.}” Steven admitted, hurrying to reassure her that he hadn't done anything majorly destructive. “{It is everywhere though...}”

“{I bet it is,}” Skye chuckled, still holding him tight. “{Is that all?}”

“{No...}” Steven sighed. “{I also ate one of Tony's flash drives.}”

“{You did what?!}” Skye asked, shocked into laughter. “{Of all the things you could have said, I would never have guessed you were going to say that.}”

“{They said it was yours. They said it was about 47.}” Steven told her solemnly.

“{Did they get it open?}”

“{No. Jarvis was working on it when I found it. I kept him a secret, for you. I kept him safe.}”

“{Thanks,}” Skye whispered. She pressed a kiss into his hair, then turned to rest her cheek on him. She really was very tired, after all.

“{Is he real? You really know him?}” Steven asked, yawning deeply.

“{Yeah, he's really real.}”

“{You're not him...are you?}”

“{No, baby.}” Skye murmured, smiling drowsily. “{I'm not him.}”

“{Hmm. Just making sure. Can I stay here, with you? I think I could sleep, with you.}”

“{Have you not been sleeping?}” Skye asked, leaning forward to peer into his face. He grimaced and shook his head. “{How come?}”

“{Can't.}”

“{Nightmares?}” Skye asked, turning him to face her. He froze, his eyes searching her face. “{It's okay if it is. It's totally normal.}”

“{I'm not a baby...}” Steven told her softly.

“{Everyone has nightmares.}” Skye interrupted. “{Everyone.}”

“{Even 47?}”

“{Even 47.}”

“{I get scared from the nightmares. They're just so...real.}” Steven confessed. “{But I don't want to wake Steve, even though he told me I could, because I can't give him a reason to send me back.}”

“{Steve's not going to send you back because you have nightmares.}”

“{After I messed up, and everything kept getting worse and I couldn't fix it...I figured they would send me back after all that, so then I decided I better make it worth it.}”

“{So you acted out because you thought they were sending you back?}”

“{Yeah.}”

“{Is that why you're avoiding Steve? So he can't tell you?}”

“{Jack was right. You really are very good.}” Steven chuckled.

“{Steve's not going to send you back,}” Skye whispered, settling herself against the pillows. “{He likes you too much.}”

“{But I was really bad.}”

“{Everyone acts bad sometimes. You'll need to apologize and try to do better. They will understand.}”

“{Are you sure?}”

“{Positive. Besides, if they try to send you back, I'll hide you in my van and take you with me when I leave.}”

“{You would run away with me?}” Steven blinked, shocked.

“{Without a second thought,}” Skye confirmed firmly. She smiled down at him, “{But we don't have to worry about that, cause you're not going back.}”

“{Wait...what do you mean when you leave?}” Steven asked, frowning.

“{Well, I can't stay.}”

“{Yes, you can stay!}” He said loudly, trying to talk over her.

“{It's too dangerous, baby. I can't let anyone get hurt because I'm here.}”

“{You're surrounded by superheroes! They can take care of you!}”

“{It's not their job to take care of me...}”

“{So you're going to get better and then just...leave?}” Steven asked, starting to shout. He struggled out of Skye's arms and scrambled from the bed.

“{I have to.}” Skye said softly.

“{No, you don't have to! We can take care of you. I can take care of you!}”

“{I'm leaving to take care of you.}”

“{Fine! Then just leave!}” Steven yelled, stamping his feet. He felt hot tears drip down his face and hurried to wipe them away before she saw. A harsh sob tore from his throat, and he turned and ran from the room. He didn't bother waiting for the elevator – he headed straight for the stairs, bounding up them in twos.

Chapter Text

“Steven, stop,” Steve called out after ten floors. “Stop, breathe.”

“{Skye's gonna leave. After everything, Skye's going to get better and then just leave!}” Steven sobbed, letting Steve pull him to a stop. He turned and cried into Steve's chest; he wasn't even sure why he was crying. He was crying because he was angry, but he was also crying because he was sad. He was crying because he felt rejected, and because even in the short time he knew her, she knew things. She understood and he was going to lose that. He knew he was being selfish, and that only made him cry harder.

Steve was rubbing circles onto his back, just letting him cry it out. After the sobbing turned to sniffles, Steve muttered quietly, “If you feel up to it, I would love to know what you told me just now...in English.”

“Sorry.” Steven snorted wetly. “I'm sorry about my behavior yesterday. I messed up in the lab with Bruce and Simmons, and then had to run away because I thought the Hulk was coming out...”

“You thought what? You know what...” Steve waved the thought away, “Tell me later. Go on.”

“And then I kicked Clint in the face...Did you see his face? And then I locked you out of my room. And then I boobie trapped the vent. And then I ate Tony's flash drive, well, Skye's flash drive. And then I fought you both to get out of the lab...” The boy sighed deeply, pulling back from Steve's chest to see how angry he was. Steve just steadily returned his gaze, waiting for him to go on. “I made one mistake, and I was afraid you were going to send me back...so then I figured I better make it worth it. If you're going to send me back, you're going to really send me back. But I kinda chickened out and avoided you so you couldn't tell me that you were sending me back.”

“Holy crap, kid.” Steve sighed, pulling him into a hug. “Why didn't you just come talk to me? We could have saved both of us a lot of trouble.”

“I couldn't give you a reason to send me back.” He whispered.

“I'm not sending you back, Steven.” Steve sighed softly, pulling the boy into a hug. “I told you that you're staying here, with me. With us. You don't believe me?”

“Well, yeah.” Steven shrugged, “But you said that before I acted bad.”

“Well, that's true. But you're allowed to make mistakes. You're allowed to act bad...sometimes. You're seven. I don't expect you to be perfect. You're going to learn to do better...and I'll learn to do better with you. I'm sorry you've spent all this time thinking we didn't want you.”

“You were mad.” Steven said bluntly.

“I was frustrated.” Steve corrected. “I knew something was wrong with you, but you wouldn't tell me what it was and I didn't know how to make it better. So I was frustrated, yes, but I'm not going to send you back over it. You're stuck with us, kid. Stuck with us forever.”

“But that makes it sound like I don't want to be here,” Steven said shyly, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“I'm glad you want to be here. I'm glad you are here.” Steve said softly, reassuring the boy. “There's nothing that you can do that will make me send you back, okay? I don't want that to be something you're worried about.”

“Even now that we found Skye?”

“Even though we found Skye,” Steve nodded.

“But what if I act bad again?”

“Then we'll figure it out. Maybe you'll have to do extra chores or something, but I won't send you back. I promise.”

“Okay,” Steven nodded.

“How come you're telling me all this now?” Steve asked softly, resuming his back rub. The boy sniffled a little and adjusted his head on Steve's shoulder.

“Skye said I should apologize. That everyone makes mistakes and I only need to apologize to make it better – and then try to do better next time.”

“Skye's very smart,” Steve agreed. Steven nodded his agreement. “Wanna tell me why you were so upset a few minutes ago?”

“Skye is going to get better and then leave. Skye wants to leave us.”

“She's going to leave?” Steve asked, his expression shocked.

“To protect us. To keep us safe.” Steven nodded. “I told Skye that you guys were superheroes and could keep us all safe, but...”

“She didn't listen.” Steve nodded. “She's stubborn like that.”

“Can we convince Skye to stay? I would like Skye to stay with us.” Steven said softly. “Skye knows things.”

“She knows things?” Steve chuckled.

“Yeah. Skye knows about us.”

“Yeah, she does. She raised Delta, after they got out. She knows all about you guys.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Steven sighed, pulling back to look at Steve properly for the first time. He hesitated, taking in the exhausted features on his face. Maybe Steve hadn't been sleeping any better than he had.

“Of course you can,” Steve smiled.

“Do you get nightmares?” Steven asked softly as his cheeks heated in an embarrassed blush.

“Everyone gets nightmares,” Steve nodded. “Even me.”

“Skye said 47 gets nightmares, too.”

“Skye told you about 47?”

“I told Skye that I ate the flash drive. I heard Bruce and Simmons talking, earlier,” Steven admitted. “I was hiding in the vents when they went over some of their medical files about Skye.”

“You've been spending a lot of time in the vents,” Steve said dryly.

“They think Skye is 47. They were upset because they couldn't compare Skye's blood from before and after the serum. They think Skye's 47, but...Skye's not.”

“I know, buddy.” Steve nodded. “I know she's not 47. She did get some serum though, even though she puked it back up.”

“No, not the orange stuff.” Steven denied. “They were talking about the blood from the first building.”

“We used up the sample of her blood from before she was taken,” Steve nodded. “Well, we're all out of the magic blood – so I guess we'll have to wait and see how her healing goes from here on out.” Steve shrugged. He was realistic; there wasn't anything he could do about whatever they gave her. They would just have to wait and see. Steve grinned and squeezed Steven tightly. “Can you promise to always tell me when something's bothering you? This is so much easier than trying to talk to your door or find you in the vents.”

“I'm sorry, Steve. I'll do better about talking to you,” Steven agreed.

“Good. And I'll try harder to do better with you too.” Steve smiled. “To be honest, I've never done this before...so I'm probably going to mess up some more. We're going to have to work through this together.”

“Maybe Skye can help us out?” Steven suggested, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“We are kind of bad at this, aren't we?”

“Yeah, we are. Do you have to do extra chores if you mess up?” Steven asked, smirking.

“Hmm, we'll see.” Steve laughed.

“I think I should go clean up my room.” Steven admitted. “My flour bomb worked really well.”

“Is it everywhere?” Steve asked, hanging his head. The boy winced and scratched his head.

“Hmm, kinda...yeah.”

“I bet Tony has a vacuum somewhere.”

“Jarvis, where can I find cleaning supplies?” Steven asked, surprising Steve again. He wouldn't have even thought about asking Jarvis – he would have just poked around until he found something.

“I can alert the cleaning staff,” Jarvis replied.

“No, I made the mess. I need to clean it up,” Steven said firmly.

“Well, in that case, there is a supply closet that may be of use to you.”

“Can you take me there?”

“Of course, Steven.”

“I'm going to go clean my room now,” Steven told Steve, sliding off his lap. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, buddy. I think that's a great choice. Would you like some help?”

“Um, no. That's okay. I need to fix my mistake.”

“Maybe later you can show me how you made such a big mess with only stuff from your room.” Steve smirked, tapping the boy's nose.

“Trade secret,” Steven replied, tapping his nose.

“Oh, God.” Steve laughed. “Where did you pick that up?”

“Fitz was teasing Jack.” Steven informed him. “I need to go clean now.” He fluttered his hand at Steve, “Stop distracting me.”

“Hmm, that's Clint, isn't it?”

“That's right, partner.” Steven laughed, stepping out wide and holding imaginary guns. “That's from a cartoon that Jarvis found for me.”

“Oh, yeah? Well, go clean before you get all distracted.” Steve laughed, brushing himself off. The stairs weren't the cleanest. “Let me know if you change your mind and want some help.”

“I'll see you later, gater.”

0-0-0-0-0

“{I didn't wake you, did I?}” Steven asked softly, slipping into the room.

“{I'm a very light sleeper.}” Skye replied, not bothering to open her eyes.

“{Can I stay here?}”

“{Only if you get some sleep.}”

“{Can I? I feel safe with you.}” Steven admitted.

“{You didn't feel safe before?}” Skye asked, opening one eye. Steven didn't reply out loud; he just shrugged and curled up in the chair that was next to her bed. “{Get up here, you. I'll keep you safe.}”

“{Are you sure? I can sleep here...}”

“{I want your body heat, you want to feel safe,}” Skye grinned. “{It's a win-win. Get up here.}”

“{Okay,}” Steven grinned, slipping off the chair. He jumped up on the bed and made himself comfortable, all the while making sure he was as close to her as possible. She did say she was cold, after all. “{I'm sorry I yelled at you before.}”

“{It's okay. I'm sorry I upset you.}”

Steven shrugged her apology away. There was a long silence in the room; long, but not necessarily uncomfortable. Steven started dropping off into sleep, but jerked his head back up into wakefulness.

“{I mean it,}” Skye whispered. “{I'm a very light sleeper, so I'll hear anyone coming in. You just sleep okay? I've got you.}”

“{Can you make the nightmares stop?}” Steven asked with a little whine in his voice.

“{If I had a super power, that would be it,}” Skye replied, smiling fondly. “{I can't make them stop, but I can promise that you're safe and that I'll be right here when you wake up.}”

“{That works,}” Steven agreed easily, yawning. Skye hummed her approval and brushed his hair from his forehead.

“{Sleep,}” Skye urged softly.

“{We want you to stay,}” Steven mumbled as he fell asleep. “{Me and Steve. We're gonna convince you.}”

Skye frowned but kept stroking his forehead lightly, hoping to put him to sleep. She glanced up at a camera, looking directly at it.

“Jarvis, privacy mode.”

“Yes, Ms. Skye.”

0-0-0-0-0

“You know, I'm really growing to hate their whole stupid, secret language.” Tony growled tiredly. He had been keeping an eye on Skye through Jarvis, and saw the interactions between Skye and Steven. They were in Bruce's lab, waiting for him to come back with Simmons. They wanted an update, and it didn't hurt that Skye didn't know they were only a room over. She could have her privacy (mostly...) and they could be close.

“We need to learn it, huh?” Steve agreed, watching Steven fall asleep on screen. Skye was watching him struggle to sleep, still running her fingers over his head. He sighed and waved to the screen. “He does so much better with her. She had him apologize for yesterday. I guess he told her about what happened.”

“He told her, but not us? What was the issue?”

“Something happened in the lab with Bruce and Simmons,” Steve shrugged, turning his back on the screen. “I get the feeling that you know more about that than I do. But he was afraid that since he acted badly in the lab, that we were going to send him back. So he figured if he was going back, he might as well make it worth it.”

“Hmm, he may be a Stark.” Tony smirked. “Going out with a bang. Literally, in Clint's case.”

“That's what Clint gets for trying to sneak into his room,” Steve chuckled.

“So, Skye, who Steven's never met before, already heard all about yesterday and offered him suggestions on how to fix it?” Tony asked, frowning. Steve nodded slowly. “And he took that advice?”

“It was good advice,” Steve shrugged. “Besides, he's heard a lot about her.”

A long, uncomfortable silence fell on the pair.

“Why is she so comfortable with him and not with us?” Tony asked finally.

“She thought we were hallucinations,” Jack told him, surprising Tony and Steve. Jack laughed. “I wasn't even that quiet guys.”

“She thought we were hallucinations?” Tony asked, ignoring Jack's smirk.

“She said they had been practicing.” Jack said slowly, his smirk slipping off his face. “I'm going to be the first to admit that I'm not entirely sure what that means...but they were tinkering with the formula for the hallucinogen. Having Steven there didn't really help things. She thought he was me, when I was little...which obviously couldn't have happened for real. She jumped to conclusions, based on the information she had.”

“Did you convince her?” Steve asked, waving Jack into the room. Fitz trailed after him, surprising Steve. “Christ, I didn't even see you back there.”

“Sorry,” Fitz smirked. “We got done with your comm. Well, mostly done. We'll need your feedback on it.”

“Did you convince Skye?” Tony asked Jack again, annoyed by the distraction.

“I don't know.” Jack shrugged. “I think so. But I can't promise anything. Giving her time to process this is the best thing we can do right now.”

“Did they really experiment on her?” Fitz asked softly, stepping closer to Jack's side.

“You saw her when we got her out,” Steve pointed out.

“But...why?” Fitz pressed.

“The scientists were mad at her, for getting Delta out,” Tony replied.

“And keeping us out,” Jack added, tossing an arm around Fitz' shoulders. Fitz blushed faintly, but didn't pull away.

“Speaking of which, Steven has been spending a lot of time in the vents.” Steve said dryly. “Remind me to thank Clint for that.”

“He'll just be proud of himself,” Tony snorted. “Don't thank him.”

“Yeah, well, I guess Steven overheard a conversation between Bruce and Simmons. They think she's 47.” Steve sighed.

“Why? Is her blood like his?” Jack asked, frowning.

“The magic blood?” Fitz asked, making sure he had his facts straight.

“47's blood is magic,” Steve confirmed. “How much did Coulson share with you guys off the hard drive? How much do you know about what happens with Centipede?”

“There's no such thing as magic,” Simmons sighed, walking into Tony's lab with Bruce. “There is just science that we can't explain yet.”

“Hey, you have great timing!” Tony beamed, welcoming the two back into Bruce's lab. “We were just discussing Skye's blood.”

“Oh, good. We were looking for you, too.” Simmons beamed.

“You look awfully excited for someone who was just kidnapped,” Tony muttered.

“Yes, well. I'm not going to thank you for that...” Simmons said primly, “But you were right. This is really a fascinating find!”

“See! You should be thanking me for kidnapping you!” Clint laughed, stepping off the stairwell.

“Coulson is going to have words with you,” Simmons threatened. Clint scoffed openly at her, letting her know exactly what he thought of her threat.

“Coulson took his specialists back to base this morning, Simmons.”

“Will you let the poor girl be?” Tasha smirked, letting the door slam behind them. “You Neanderthal.”

“While we're picking on Clint,” Steve grinned, pulling him into a headlock, “You, sir, have Steven spying on people through the vents!”

“I do not!” Clint denied, punching Steve in the side.

“Do too.” Steve laughed. “He overheard Fitz teasing Jack about...I don't know what...and he overheard Bruce and Simmons when they talked about Skye's blood.”

“Okay, so maybe he's spying on people from the vents...but I didn't tell him to!” Clint giggled, squirming free when Steve tried to noogie him.

“You're going to talk to him about proper vent etiquette,” Steve told him sternly. “He'll probably be around the apologize about your face and the flour bomb at some point.”

“He's apologizing?” Clint asked, his eyebrows in his hair line.

“Skye talked to him.” Steve replied, like that answer was perfectly obvious.

“And he listened to her?”

“Skye's good at this stuff,” Jack interjected. “I'm not surprised at all.”

“He's never met her before!”

“Yeah, well...you had only met her the one time too,” Jack shrugged, smirking.

“Yeah! But it was hilarious!” Clint chortled, pointing at Steve. “I can't look at him without hearing your sister telling Steve all about her sexual theories.”

“They're not hers,” Steve sighed. “They're the internet's theories.”

“Wait, what?” Simmons asked, her head whipping around at neck breaking speed.

“Yeah, well, that's the same difference to me.” Clint laughed and ignored Simmons. “Seriously, I'm going to have to ask her if she saved that footage. It was hilarious. I would watch it every single day. You know what? I'm going to go ask her now.”

“No, you're not,” Tony rebutted, grabbing Clint by the collar. “She and Steven are sleeping and you're not going to wake her up for that.”

“She's sleeping again?” Clint moaned.

“She's going to be sleeping a lot for a little while. Healing is hard work.” Jack replied. He turned to Tasha with a smirk, “I heard you were chatting with someone in holding.”

“Yeah. I didn't need to keep him alive this time, not now that we have Skye back.” Tasha shrugged, like it was no big deal.

“So you just killed him?” Jack gasped, grabbing Fitz's shoulders and pulling him in front of his body as a shield.

“No, I didn't kill him,” Tasha snorted. “What's the fun in that? He's just going to think very hard about the answers that he gives us from now on.”

“Was he deceitful?” Steve asked.

“He didn't lie...but he wasn't forthcoming either.” Tasha told him, then a grin crept up her face.

“How long has he been our prisoner?” Bruce asked with a frown. “Surely there are some laws or...”

“He's not under arrest,” Tasha snorted. “If he knew how to pick locks and escape Jarvis, then he's free to go. It's not like I have him shackled or anything.”

“Oh, God. You're super scary.” Jack hissed. “How have I never realized this before?”

“Because you avoid the gym like the plague?” Tasha shot back instantly.

“Hey, I'm fragile!” Jack huffed.

“Teeny, little, man-baby,” Clint whispered softly, avoiding Jack's eye.

“I heard that, Clinton.”

“Good, Jackson, you were supposed to.”

“Your name is Jackson?” Fitz giggled.

“It gets better,” Clint smirked, sharing a grin with Fitz. “Wanna guess what his middle name is? … You won't guess. I'll tell you.”

“It's Jackson Herbert, okay?” Jack shouted. “And there is nothing wrong with my name!”

“Who picked it? A garbage can?” Clint shot back.

“Dude, that doesn't even make sense.” Jack huffed, crossing his arms. “And if you must know, Skye named me. So there. I'm going to tell her you were picking on my name.”

“Ooh, I'm scared!” Clint giggled.

“You better be,” Tony laughed. “You've seen her footage. She'll be better eventually.”

“Comparing her readings from our drone...”

“Dwarfs,” Fitz interrupted Bruce, then winced. “Sorry, force of habit.”

“It's all right,” Bruce smiled, waving off his apology. “Her healing is still considerably faster than an average healing rate, but not as fast as it was when she was receiving the magic blood.”

“If I hadn't had to use that bag...” Jack sighed, frowning.

“Jack, I told you, we had to use it. Skye will survive her injuries. You wouldn't have. Don't feel bad about having to use it. That's why Skye had it sent here for you.”

“But still...”

“She's going to tell you the exact same thing,” Tasha interrupted firmly. “Don't feel bad. You'll have another bag dropped off in a week. Or, we can convince Skye not to be stubborn and tell us where to find 47. Obviously, he knows where to find her.”

“She doesn't remember that,” Steve interjected softly. “She remembers erasing the footage from the first building and what the scientist did right after, but she doesn't remember the second building. She doesn't remember us getting her out, and she doesn't remember getting here.”

“She thought she was gone for six days,” Tony added.

“Wait...” Jack said slowly, mentally doing the calculations. “She remembers escaping and the scientist being mad at her...that means the last thing she remembers is...”

“Dying?” Steve finished softly, nodding. No wonder she was so weird with them. This wouldn't make any sense to her. He glanced back at the screen, watching Skye and Steven sleeping peacefully. He couldn't help the small smile that worked its way onto his face. She wasn't dead. She was here and she was safe. The fact that his kid liked her so much was really just icing on the cake.

“We're going to let her sleep,” Bruce sighed, tiredly. “I may do some of that myself, while she's out. When she's awake again, I'm going to want to reassess her and discuss our findings so far.”

“I would love to hear your findings,” Tony smiled prettily. “Can we go over these findings now?”

“I think Skye should be present for them.” Bruce smiled back, easily ignoring the charm that Tony was putting out.

“I think she'll take it better if we can all be there for her,” Tony replied. Bruce turned to consult Jack. He shrugged.

“She's never been hurt this bad before.” Jack mused. “I think either way, freak out or ignoring it away, she's not going to tell us what's wrong with her. She's going to play it off that she's fine. I think, if you just give us a general understanding of what's wrong...maybe we could take care of her better? I'll let you use your discretion at what you feel is hers for private, and what can help us help her.”

“I think that's the most I've ever heard you talk.” Bruce snorted.

“Oh, shut it.” Jack smiled.

“I think Jack's plan is very reasonable.” Simmons interjected quietly. “Can Bruce and I consult quickly and decide what information to share?”

“Yes, of course. Take...well, take some time.” Tony agreed.

“Yeah, we all want to know how we can help,” Clint nodded.

“Okay, give us...ten minutes.” Bruce replied, looking at Simmons. She nodded her agreement.

“Can we discuss this over tea?” She asked, yawning.

“Yes, your Britishness, go get some tea.” Tony agreed, pushing Bruce and Simmons into the elevator. “Hurry back. Who knows what kind of shenanigans we're going to get into down here?”

“Tony, I think there's something wrong with your footage,” Fitz called out, tapping on Tony's screen of Steven and Skye sleeping.

“They're sleeping, Fitz.” Steve pointed out. Fitz giggled and nodded.

“I'm sure they are, but this isn't live.”

“What do you mean this isn't live?” Tony sighed, walking over. He looked at the screen for a minute before seeing whatever Fitz saw. “Son of a bitch! How did she do that? Jarvis!?”

“Yes, Sir?”

“There's a glitch in the surveillance of the lab.”

“There is no glitch, Sir.” Jarvis replied. Tony frowned, but was tinkering with the footage and didn't respond immediately.

“Son of a bitch!” Tony repeated, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“What happened?” Steve asked, concerned. “Is she gone? Steven mentioned she wanted to leave. Maybe we should go check...”

“Miss Skye and Steven's breathing patterns indicate they are asleep,” Jarvis supplied helpfully.

“She put the lab in privacy mode,” Tony huffed, pointing both hands at the screen. He had frozen the footage; Skye was smirking tiredly at a camera. “Jarvis, how did Skye put the lab in privacy mode?”

“Miss Skye has been in my system since the Iron Man hacks.”

“She promised that she wouldn't.” Tony argued.

“Eh, she said no more poking.” Clint mused. “I guess that's kind of vague.”

“If it was already in place, is it really poking?” Tasha asked, looking at Steve. She knew he had taken advantage of the privacy mode setting before. After all, one did not live with Clint and miss details like that. Steve couldn't help his smirk. He knew why Tasha was bringing this up now. She sighed and shoved his shoulder. She hissed at him quietly, “You know, I got blamed for one of your pranks.”

“I know,” Steve whispered back, ducking his head even though he sported a proud smirk.

“You two are ridiculous,” Tasha informed him with a pointed look. Steve's smirk widened into a grin and he just shrugged then nodded. He couldn't dispute that fact.

“What's with that stupid grin on your face?” Clint asked, his eyes roaming between Tasha and Steve.

“Nothing.” Steve shrugged.

“Liar,” Tasha laughed. “I'm dropping this, for now.”

Chapter Text

“When is Coulson supposed to be back?” Jack asked, bopping on the balls of his feet. An unusual hush had fallen over the room, each occupant waiting anxiously for Bruce and Simmons return.

“Later.” Clint replied. “Late afternoon or early evening. They're taking the Bus back to headquarters and finishing reports, then they're coming back for dinner.”

“Dinner?” Jack asked, his eyebrow raised.

“Think Bruce will let Skye out of bed so she can join us?” Steve asked.

“I don't think an hour out of bed will disrupt any healing,” Bruce smiled, walking back into the lab with Simmons. “So long as she's not trying to walk.”

“If you want to get on her good side, you can remove all the tubes and wires, too.” Jack offered, smiling widely. “Even if it's just for a few hours.”

“Hmm, we'll see how she's doing when she wakes up.” Bruce smiled. “She's been healing fast, faster than I expected, even with that pint of blood. She may be able to take a small break.”

“Jack, shut up. I want to know what's wrong with her.” Tony interrupted. “Did you guys decide what we can know, or do I need to hack in?”

“Tony, you won't hack her file.” Bruce told him firmly.

“Then you better tell me.” Tony shrugged.

“I don't know where to start,” Bruce admitted, glancing at Simmons. She nodded and took a step forward.

“May I?” She asked, waving a flash drive towards one of Tony's computers. Tony didn't reply, just snatched it from her hand and plugged it in. Simmons looked like she was going to yell, but Bruce put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back a step.

“Bruce?” Tony offered, stepping back from the computer.

“Let's start with what's visible.” Simmons sighed, still annoyed at Tony. “Some of this you'll know already, from the plane. Her legs were covered in second degree burns, while her torso only had minor burning. No doubt, that would have been different without her treatment, but her torso never got as bad as her legs. That's a plus, considering how quickly the burns on her torso cleared up with the blood. When she wakes, I'm...we're going to want to look at her legs and assess where they are now.”

“She's very dehydrated, though that is also correcting abnormally fast. I'm more concerned about her weight. She's incredibly malnourished and weighs 98 pounds.”

“On the plane, she mentioned that they didn't see the point in feeding her.” Steve offered softly.

“Yes, well...that would explain things. If she didn't eat for the first six days, the days that she remembers, then I kind of doubt they fed her after they 'killed' her.” Bruce sighed, making air quotes to show his frustration with that.

“Yeah, any insight on that?” Tony asked. “I mean...she bled out. Plus, we saw her get put in the Eraser.”

“Clint and I can go check that out,” Tasha offered. “Who knows how long Skye is going to be asleep? Shield has control of that facility now, so we could go by that room and see what's inside. We never did get to go in. Maybe we can see if we can intercept Coulson's specialists. They could come with.”

“Even if they removed her somehow, her organs were without blood for too long,” Bruce sighed. “Transfusions wouldn't have helped, not after that long. I don't have any insight. For now, that's one of the mysteries.”

“But we can offer some insight into the seemingly random wounds on her torso.” Simmons offered, stepping up to the computer to pull up a new image. “They're consistent with the locations of her liver, kidney, spleen, lung, heart...” She traced the locations of each organ as she named it, using the image of Skye's torso as a base. “Then there are some lacerations that aren't associated with anything we can think of, so those are probably just...”

“Them being assholes,” Jack filled in when Simmons stopped. Bruce nodded his agreement.

“The exciting part,” Simmons continued, “Is the serum.”

“I think maybe 'exciting' is the wrong word.” Bruce offered softly, seeing the tense expressions on everyone else's faces.

“What's wrong with the serum?” Tony asked, crossing his arms angrily.

“It's not...wrong. It's just...” Simmons hesitated.

“The orange serum, it's chalk full of tons of stuff,” Bruce offered, in her silence. “We're still breaking down the chemicals, trying to figure out exactly what's in it. There's super soldier serum, which we identified first. There's also gamma radiation, which is concerning, to say the least. Also, there are biological aspects we didn't expect to see – platelets.”

“Sounds like they're trying to give her super powers.” Tony said softly. He shoved Steve aside so he could see Skye through the little window.

“We went back and looked at how much of the serum the scientists injected her with, then compared that amount to what she vomited back up.”

“Did she puke it all back up?” Tony asked.

“Yes,” Bruce nodded. “All but a small amount.”

“I wiped it off her when I found her,” Steve commented.

“Exactly. So between the serum on the gauze and on your top, we're fairly certain she puked it all up.”

“So, if the orange serum isn't healing her...what is?” Tony asked, slowly uncrossing his arms.

“We don't know.” Simmons admitted. “We can't find anything unusual in her blood – no chemicals, no extra biologicals, and only the faintest hint of the orange serum left in her blood from her first draw on the Bus. It's all gone from her system now.”

“But we compared three different samples of blood. 47's blood, Skye's from the first building, and her blood now.” Bruce continued.

“What about from before she was taken?” Tony asked.

“Used it all up to verify the blood from the first facility was Skye's.” Bruce replied. “The amount on the pillow was miniscule. We couldn't get another sample.”

“What about Jack?” Fitz asked. “If he's Skye's brother then they should share...”

“She's not actually my sister,” Jack interrupted. “Besides, I can guarantee that the serum I received and the serum 47 received are not the same.”

“It'd be nice if you had magic blood, though.” Tony muttered. Steve backhanded Tony's shoulder, silently reprimanding him. He caught the way Jack's face fell with Tony's crass words. Tony frowned and rubbed his shoulder, “Ow.”

“Baby,” Steve muttered, pulling Jack to his side to comfort him. “So Skye might have magic blood now, like 47?”

“Maybe,” Bruce nodded, taking off his glasses to wipe them. “We'll have to see how her rate of healing holds out. Based on Jack's useage, I have a pretty good idea of how long it should take.”

“If she puked it all back up though, how would the serum affect her?” Clint asked.

“Well, that's the thing.” Bruce replied, frowning. “There's no serum present in Skye's blood from the first building.”

“So the orange stuff she puked up isn't what affected her?” Tasha asked.

“Don't be dumb,” Tony growled. “We saw that orange stuff burning her from the inside out.”

“I think what Tasha is trying to say,” Bruce interrupted before Tasha murdered Tony, “Is that the whatever is healing Skye was in her system before the orange stuff. They must have given it to her at the first building.”

“It's been in her system for a week?” Steve asked softly. Bruce and Simmons nodded slowly.

“I mean, give or take. We can't know exactly when they gave it to her...” Bruce added. “Or what they gave her – there aren't any traces of anything that would accelerate healing in her blood. At least, not that we've found yet. There is a chance that it was another serum that she puked back up? Her blood now doesn't have any traces of the orange serum, so it makes sense that anything they gave her that long ago would have either dissipated or was absorbed by her body. Especially if she didn't have the magic blood to make her dispel it from her body.”

“But they gave it to her sometime during the footage that she erased.” Tony said angrily. “She better have a back up somewhere or...”

“Or what?” Jack asked, laughing lightly. “What are you going to do to her?”

“Our concern is for the things we can't see on the surface.” Simmons said quickly, pulling up another image. “You know how the wounds are all over organs?” There were silent head nods from everyone present. “Well, there is residual scarring on her organs.”

“What did they do to her?” Steve asked, trying desperately to keep his fists from clenching in anger. Jack noticed and brought Fitz with him to comfort Steve. He couldn't help but smile softly at Jack and Fitz, his anger displaced for the moment.

“The scarring is oddly round,” Bruce said softly, zooming in on the image to show the team what he meant. “Aside from the surface level injuries, which were probably just pain inducing injuries, they sampled her organs, essentially.” Bruce sighed, pointing out dark spots on the scans. “These are scar tissue. They're healing at an amazing rate – you can see differences between her initial scan and this newest one. Based on the lacerations, they took bits of tissue from all of her major organs and muscle groups. The part that has me concerned is that there doesn't appear to be any stitching or adhesive holding the wounds shut. She has just been healing quickly enough that it's not an issue.”

“What did they want?” Steve asked, crossing his arms angrily.

“I'm going to work with the assumption that they gave her something in the first building. I am also going to assume it's a version of the serum that's either the same as 47 received or very similar – but that could be wrong. Jack, you said she didn't normally heal this fast?”

“Not unless she used some of the blood,” Jack agreed.

“Okay, so they gave her something. Or did something to her to make her heal like this.” Simmons continued. “That's mystery number 2. But whatever they gave her, they probably wanted to see what affects it had on her body.” Simmons speculated. “The scarring is large enough for two samples.”

“A before and an after?” Fitz asked, sounding faint. Jack noticed the same thing and wheeled a stool over for him.

“Sit down before I have another story to lord over you.” Jack said softly, smiling.

“Hey, I bet Skye has plenty of stories she would love to share about you!” Fitz huffed. He smiled a second later though, making Jack grin back.

“But you haven't found anything yet that is going to injure her?” Steve pressed.

“Nothing we can find,” Bruce admitted.

“What if she is 47?” Simmons asked softly, waving off the annoyed mutterings of Steve and Jack. “I know you don't think she is.”

“She's not.” Steve said firmly.

“Well, she's following a healing arc that is pretty similar to Jack's recovery arcs,” Simmons continued. “Obviously, there are inconsistencies, but what if she is 47?”

“Can't you just compare the blood?” Tony sighed. “We have a sample of 47's blood and we have Skye's blood. That should answer things for us.”

“Two problems with that,” Bruce sighed. “First, the magic blood has been altered. The white blood cells are degraded enough that the nucleus of each cell is in too poor of condition to extract...”

“...any DNA, so we can't compare hers to the blood.” Simmons finished, then blushed when she realized what she did. Bruce grinned and waved her off.

“Don't white blood cells help you heal?” Jack asked, frowning as he struggled to remember Skye's biology lessons.

“White blood cells are part of your immune system,” Fitz answered. “They help fight off infection and disease. So you're mostly right.”

“Second, we don't know what it is about 47's blood that makes it special.” Bruce admitted.

“The magic blood looks just as normal as regular blood. It looks just as normal as Skye's blood looks now.” Simmons finished. “Their blood does share some similarities, proteins and antibodies, so it's not unreasonable to assume that 47 is Skye.”

“Alright, well. 3 mysteries.” Tony nodded. “We need to figure out how she survived bleeding out. We need to find out what is in the orange stuff. And we need to find out what they gave Skye to make her heal – and we need to find out what is so damn special about this blood. Maybe the last two are related. I thought you were working on this already Brucie?”

“I've been working on it since Jack's first episode. That's why I wanted Simmons here. I needed a fresh sight of eyes.” Bruce nodded.

“She said the results kept coming back weird on the Bus,” Steve remembered, pointing at Simmons. “Did you figure that out?”

“Not really, not yet.” Simmons replied. “Part of the issue was the white blood cells.”

“Unless there's anything else, Clint and I are going to go check out the Eraser.” Tasha informed the room, tugging on Clint lightly. “We should only be a few hours.”

“Don't get into trouble without us,” Clint grinned, wagging his eyebrows.

“You make all the trouble.” Steve pointed out dryly.

“I know!” Clint giggled, being tugged from the room by Tasha.

“Jarvis, will you let us know when Skye and Steven have woken?” Bruce asked the AI.

“Yes, Dr. Banner.” Jarvis replied.

“Even with privacy mode on?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I've upgraded my system since she put her program in.” Tony replied. “Her program must be out of date. Jarvis can monitor her vitals, even in privacy mode.”

“Okay, then I'm taking a nap,” Bruce said tiredly. “We'll reconvene...later.”

“Go to bed, big guy.” Tony nodded, patting Bruce's shoulder. He looked over at Steve, “I'm going to go over the footage of that guy popping out of the floor again. I want to know more about him, and that scientist that he took.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Hey, he did a good job cleaning up his room,” Jack grinned, forking a thumb towards Steven's room. Steve peeked in and nodded.

“Can't even tell there was flour everywhere.” Steve agreed. He was impressed by the level of clean.

“Good thing, too.” Jack nodded. “Or else you might've had company in your bed tonight.”

“I always have company in my bed!” Steve retorted. Fitz giggled, making Steve's own grin pop up. “Technically, he's not my boyfriend. We never had that conversation...”

Steve trailed off, giving Jack a significant look. Jack giggled helplessly, trying to talk but failing.

“What conversation?” Fitz asked.

“You have to say you're only dating one person?” Steve offered, scrunching his face to express his confusion. “I'm really not sure.”

“Ah. Exclusivity.” Fitz nodded, easily catching on. “You never asked the Captain if he wanted to be exclusive with you?” Fitz grinned at Jack.

“Psh, no.” Jack replied, still giggling. “Then I would feel bad hitting on Ward.”

“You can do better than Ward.” Steve and Fitz replied simultaneously. They turned to each other, grinning.

“You're different than I thought you would be,” Steve admitted to Fitz.

“Oh no. Do I want to hear this?” Fitz asked, blushing.

“Keep in mind, my first impression of you was from that first briefing when we went to get the kids back.”

“Oh. I may have fan-boyed a little over Mr. Stark.” Fitz winced.

“Yeah, you did.” Steve agreed easily. “Please, call him Tony. It goes to his head if you're too proper with him.”

“Okay,” Fitz agreed, just as easily. “What's your impression of me now?”

“You're calmer than that first meeting,” Steve grinned. “But, you've also met Tony now, so that explains that. If you like working with Jack, then you've obviously got the patience of a saint...”

“Hey!” Jack grumbled.

“Jack is brilliant,” Fitz informed Steve, ignoring Jack's grumblings. “I deal with his distractions and he deals with mine. We make a good team.”

“I'm very glad to hear that,” Steve told Fitz, smiling warmly. He looked up at Jack, who was blushing, and extended the smile to him as well. “That means I get a break from you.”

“Aw, you had to go and ruin the moment!” Jack sighed, tossing his hands in the air. Steve laughed and dropped his arm around Jack's shoulders.

“We discussed this.” Steve pointed out.

“Still working on it?” Jack asked, faking a sad expression.

“You make it easy to fail, when you're like this...” Steve laughed.

“Stevie!” Jack pouted, turning to surprise Steve with a hug. Steve groaned and hugged him back. “Later, maybe tomorrow, you need to test out your comm, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Steve agreed. “Is it smaller now?”

“Marginally.” Fitz replied. “The camera is an issue. But we've begun working on another prototype. It will be completely undetectable...in theory. We'll let you test that one out after we've worked out some kinks.”

“Oooh, kinks?” Jack teased, winking at Fitz. Steve sighed and shoved Jack off him.

“You better behave.” Steve told Jack firmly. “Fitz will tell me otherwise and I'll force you to do some gym time.”

“But...what if I do gym time between the sheets?” Jack smirked, deliberately ignoring Fitz's rapidly growing blush.

“See? This is what I'm talking about.” Steve replied. “Fitz makes a good partner for you. Don't scare him off.”

“Yes, Sir! Captain America, Sir!” Jack replied, snapping up into a salute. Steve sighed loudly and walked away from the duo.

“You'll have to try pretty hard to scare me off,” Steve heard Fitz mutter to Jack.

Chapter Text

“You're awake.” Coulson smiled, stepping into the makeshift hospital room.

“Shh,” Skye whispered, nodding down towards the boy. “He's still sleeping.”

“I was there, you know, when we pulled him out.” Coulson whispered.

“I know. I was the one that hacked your plane, AC.” Skye smiled broadly.

“I figured that one out,” Coulson replied, working his signature dry humor. Skye's smile expanded.

“Hey, I didn't do anything bad. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You hacked my file.” Coulson pointed out.

“Hmm, yes. I did.” Skye agreed. “But, you deserved it.”

“I disagree!” Coulson retorted quickly. “Besides, you promised to fix it. I've come to make sure you've done that. Technically, I'm not supposed to be on your case. You've banned me from working with Agent Rogers. Good thing the Director is willing to ignore my file right now.”

“I did not promise to fix it!” Skye frowned.

“You did.”

“When?”

“On the plane. While we were waiting to enter the Tower.” Coulson said softly, cocking his head at her.

“Oh.” Skye said softly. “I don't remember that.”

“It's okay,” Coulson dismissed. “How are you feeling?”

“I'm okay.” Skye shrugged lightly.

“Everyone was worried about you,” Coulson said softly. “Even my master assassins, which, let me tell you, is highly unusual.”

“They're softies at heart,” Skye whispered.

“No, they're really not.” Coulson rejected. “Especially not over someone that they've met once. Hell, I was their handler and it took them ages to feel connected to me. What did you do?”

“I don't know,” Skye shrugged. She smirked and changed the subject. “Wanna earn back your other file?”

“Depends what you want me to do...” Coulson replied back honestly.

“Get me a shower.” Skye replied, smiling softly. “That should be easy.”

“You're covered in bandages,” Coulson pointed out. Skye freed her arms and showed Coulson the lack of bandaging.

“It's just my legs.” Skye said softly. “We're surrounded by geniuses – I'm sure they can easily avoid getting those wet.”

“Hmm. Don't go anywhere.” Coulson grinned, stepping back out of the office. He thought it was going to be a lot harder to buy his way back into her good graces.

“Okay,” Skye snorted.

Steven stirred next to her, so she tightened her grip on him and hummed a mindless tune to keep him asleep.

Coulson returned a few minutes later, looking glum.

“Simmons said no.” Coulson frowned. Skye burst out laughing, effectively waking Steven.

“Oh, damn. I'm sorry,” Skye giggled, getting louder instead of quieter. Steven blinked slowly, taking in his surroundings. He glanced down and saw Skye's arms wrapped around him and seemed to connect the pieces.

“{Hi, crazy.}” Steven yawned, snuggling into Skye's side. She finally felt warm and was comfy.

“{Hi, kiddo.}” Skye giggled. “{I'm sorry I woke you.}”

“{It's okay,}” Steven smacked sleepily. “{I like it when you're happy. Why are you laughing?}”

“{AC is being bossed around by a subordinate.}” Skye giggled again.

“{Who is AC?}”

“{Agent Coulson,}” Skye replied, pointing to Coulson in the doorway. Coulson smiled and offered the boy a little wave. He didn't bat an eye at the odd language flowing between them; he was involved with the kids that were still at Shield, after all. It was a little odd that an adult knew the language, though. He had seen Shield agents trying to communicate with the children, using their own language skills. The children just grinned at them and ran away to whatever activity they were doing before. Agent Ward had been one of them, in fact. He spoke at them in all the languages he knew, but only succeeded in frustrating himself. It had been kind of funny to watch.

“{Are you in trouble? Is that why he's here? I can make him go away,}” Steven offered quickly, suddenly looking much more awake.

“He's just trying to earn his file back,” Skye replied in English, for Coulson's sake.

“What did you do to his file?” Steven asked, grinning up at Skye.

“He was threatening Steve,” Skye informed the boy. “He got everything that was coming to him.”

“You threatened on Steve?” Steven asked Coulson, frowning.

“Hey, he has responsibilities and...” Coulson started to explain himself, then realized he was talking to a seven year old. “He deserved it.” Coulson huffed, crossing his arms.

“Don't you dare give him his file back,” Steven informed Skye seriously, making her burst into laughter again.

“Can't argue with that, AC.”

“You two are going to be trouble, aren't you?” Coulson sighed. They both nodded, with Skye still laughing and Steven looking furious at Coulson.

“Okay, AC. Compromise.” Skye grinned. “Since you can't man up and make Simmons let me shower, even though you're her boss and it should totally be possible...”

“What's your compromise?” Coulson interrupted before Skye could get going.

“I want a laptop. Or a tablet. Hell, I'll even take a smart phone.” Skye shrugged. “I'm bored to death. Besides, I can fix your file from there.”

“Done.” Coulson nodded, then hurried from the room before Skye could add any more conditions.

“Ms. Skye, Sir is wondering if you're up for more visitors.” Jarvis inquired.

“Oh, damn. Privacy mode. Jarvis, disengage.”

“You can mess with Jarvis?” Steven asked, his eyes wide.

“Yeah, but she promised not to.” Tony frowned, striding into the room quickly.

“Damn, you're fast, old man.” Skye smirked.

“We were next door,” Steve smiled, coming in behind Tony.

“You had to promise not to mess with Jarvis?” Steven asked Skye.

“Well, I mean...I didn't promise.” Skye hedged, glancing up at Tony.

“Yeah, shirking the rules.” Tony frowned. “Jarvis is not your play thing, Skylar Elizabeth.”

“If you're so protective of him, maybe you should protect him better then.” Skye replied easily, grinning proudly. Tony huffed and looked at Steve. He shouldn't have, though. Steve was grinning.

“What? She has a point.”

“I'm going to get you back.” Tony informed Skye.

“You can't even get onto Skye's flash drive.” Steven pointed out softly.

“I would have gotten onto it if you hadn't eaten it!” Tony told the boy loudly.

“Aw, Dad. I missed your birthday!” Skye groaned loudly, distracting Tony from that line of thinking.

“Don't worry about it,” Tony dismissed, sitting on the edge of the bed by Steven's feet.

“Did you get my gift?” Skye asked, looking at Steve.

“Yes,” Tony sighed, pinching his nose. “I got your incriminating pillow.”

“Incriminating?” Skye asked, trying to be serious but failing. Steve grinning from behind Tony didn't do anything to help her straight face.

“Yes!” Tony shouted. “Of all the things you could have taught him, you taught him about internet explorer.”

“I didn't.” Skye denied, shaking her head. “I swear. I never, ever even mentioned internet explorer.”

“I don't believe you.” Tony informed her with a dry sniff.

“I found one!” Coulson announced pushing into the room. A tablet was being waved in the air.

“Oh, hell no.” Tony growled, snatching the device from him. “Do you know what she could do with this?”

“Yeah.” Coulson nodded. “She can fix my file.”

“Apparently, I promised.” Skye shrugged.

“He's supposed to earn it first.” Steve smirked. Coulson shoved his elbow into Steve's side.

“I'm earning it by getting her entertainment.” Coulson said firmly. “She's dying of boredom!”

“She's been asleep.” Tony pointed out.

“I get bored very, very easily.” Skye offered.

“No.” Tony said firmly, shoving the tablet down the back of his pants.

“Daaaaad!” Skye whined.

“No.” Tony shrugged. “Nope, nope, and …. nope.”

“Then I want my shower back!” Skye huffed, crossing her arms.

“But, Simmons already said no.” Coulson sighed, just barely not whining. That had Skye cracking up again, making everyone in the room smile.

“Dad, I want a shower.” Skye whined again, making her face extra sad. “Please, convince meanie Simmons to let me take a fucking shower? Shit, go around her. She's not in charge here. Go to Bruce.”

Tony was laughing so hard that Skye paused and looked at him, completely shocked.

“Steve doesn't like it bad language.” Steven offered up quickly.

“Is that so?” Skye asked, grinning.

“It's not appropriate for a seven year old,” Steve informed her, though his eyes were twinkling.

“You started that before there was a seven year old!” Tony chuckled. He looked back at Steve then frowned when he saw the humor in his face. “Hey! How come she doesn't get the disappointed face?”

“Face Plant? You don't like bad words?” Skye asked innocently, even though she already knew that about him. He had already shared this story with her.

“I don't.” Steve confirmed.

“Face Plant?” Steven asked softly, directing his question towards Tony.

“What if the seven year old can't understand it?” Skye asked, then switched into Gaelic, “{What if I say...shit, fuck...}”

“{Stop it!}” Steve responded in kind, though he was laughing. “{That's not fair.}”

“I didn't know you knew another language,” Tony commented.

“My parents moved to New York from Ireland.” Steve replied, smirking at Skye. It was totally like her to know that about him. “My mom taught me the language of the motherland.”

“That wasn't Russian.” Tony sighed.

“Her motherland, stupid.” Skye snorted.

“Ouch, Sweetheart.” Tony gasped, clutching his heart.

“Seriously, though.” Skye said, finally getting serious. “I need a shower. Please. I've been in these for...”

“We'll get you cleaned up.” Tony promised.

“Not sponge bath cleaned up,” Skye argued. “Running water cleaned up. If I can't take a shower, then what about a bath? I'm sure we can rig something to keep my legs out of the water.”

“What if I build you a shower chair?” Tony asked, pulling the tablet out of his waistband to sketch a quick picture. He turned the screen to show Skye. “Something that reclines a little so the water doesn't run down your legs?”

“Deal.” Skye agreed, snatching the tablet from Tony while he was distracted. She quickly shoved it between her body and Steven's.

“Pip Squeak,” Tony warned.

“Tony,” Steven warned back, just as seriously. Skye leaned over and whispered in his ear quietly. He smirked and added, “Anthony Edward.”

“I'm not going to be able to use you against her, am I?” Tony sighed.

“You would feel bad if Skye died of boredom.” Steven pointed out. Steve laughed from behind Tony, making him turn and glare.

“I'm supposed to be your favorite!”

“Looks like your kid takes after you,” Coulson remarked, stepping further into the room. “How much older than her are you?”

“Oh, ha ha.” Tony fake laughed.

“He wishes he had kids as cool as me.” Skye added, smirking.

“He's not her father,” Steve grinned. “It started as a joke.”

“Yeah, well...he's awfully protective of her.” Coulson pointed out.

“They all are,” May pointed out, walking into the space with Bruce and Simmons. “Might want to remember that.”

“Simmons!” Skye crowed, beaming. “Look at you, all beautiful and smart and...”

“No, Skye. You may not shower!” Simmons interrupted, oblivious to Skye's praise. Her smile fell quickly, making Tony step in.

“I'm overruling her,” He snorted.

“You can't over-rule her medical team.” Bruce pointed out.

“Yeah?” Tony asked, his eyebrows raised in challenge. “She's going to do it anyway, so you might want to take what you can get here.”

“She can't.” Bruce pointed out. Tony winced and bobbled his head from side to side.

“She may have gotten hold of a tablet.”

“She may have? Or she did?” Bruce groaned.

“She's sitting right here,” Skye grumbled softly. “And yes, she did.”

“Nice work, Tony. That was our only bargaining chip.” Bruce sighed.

“Nah, I bet Steven will keep her on the straight and narrow.” Simmons snorted, grinning at the boy. Steve, Tony, and Coulson started laughing at that one.

“That doesn't bode well for us,” Bruce informed Simmons.

“Don't worry.” Skye smirked. “Dad's going to build me some chair thing and I won't get my legs wet. It's all covered.”

“Okay, let's make a deal.” Bruce told Skye, shoving Tony from the end of the bed so he could take his place. “You get to shower and we'll take all the wires off you for dinner, if you agree to finish treatment with us.”

“What is this treatment?” Skye asked, frowning.

“Everyone, out.” Bruce said softly, not turning to look at the other men.

“Bruce...”

“Tony, out.” Bruce said firmly. “Simmons and I need to talk to Skye.”

“Come on Steven,” Steve said softly, coming over to remove the boy from Skye's side. Skye had clamped down on him though, and was watching Bruce with wide, scared eyes. Steve perched himself on the edge of the bed by Steven. Skye's gaze transferred to him. “Guys, can I talk to Skye for a second?”

“This is ridiculous.” Simmons sighed. “Skye, as your doctor...”

“Out.” Steve repeated, this time slipping into his Captain America sternness.

“Oh, shit.” Coulson gasped, half excited and half scared, then audibly left the room. Everyone left the room, wary of Steve's reaction. Steve watched everyone leave, only turning back to Skye and Steven once everyone had cleared out.

“Wanna put the room in lockdown?” Steve asked softly.

“Privacy mode.” Skye corrected softly, though she nodded. “Hey, Jarvis?”

“The room is in privacy mode,” Jarvis confirmed.

“There.” Steve smiled. “Now, could you give Steven just a bit of room to breathe?”

“Oh, honey, I'm so sorry!” Skye gasped, quickly loosening her hold on the boy. He turned his head so Skye wouldn't see the wince on his face.

“It's okay,” Steven shrugged. “Do you not like Simmons?”

“I don't like doctors,” Skye corrected.

“They're not going to do anything,” Steve told her. “They just want to go over the results of your medical tests.”

“What tests?” Skye asked, suddenly pale.

“Relax,” Steve said softly, picking Steven up and depositing him on his lap. He took Steven's place next to Skye, raising his arm to let her squirm closer. He felt the chill of her body seep through his shirt and made a mental note to get her another blanket or something. He let his arm curl around her slight frame, encouraging her to take whatever heat or comfort she needed. “Why don't you pull up the feed from the Bus? Then you can see everything that's happened since we found you.”

“What tests?” Skye asked again. Steven reached out and took her hand, frowning at Steve when he saw how bad it was shaking.

“Nothing like what they did.” Steve hurried to reassure her. “Simmons took some blood to look for medications in your bloodstream. Fitz has little robots that took scans of your body. That's it.”

“Little robots?” Skye asked softly.

“Yeah. He calls them...um...”

“Dwarfs,” Steven supplied helpfully.

“Are there seven of them?” Skye asked, cracking a smile.

“I don't know. You would have to ask him.” Steve shrugged.

“You don't get it do you?” Skye giggled. “Add Snow White to your movie list, okay?”

“Okay.” Steve smirked. “Pull up the feed, doll. You'll feel better knowing what happened. Then we'll all be on the same page.”

“But what if I can't get it...”

“Skye, we both know you're perfectly capable of finding the feed.” Steve chuckled.

“I upgraded their security after I got in so easily,” Skye admitted.

“Hmm, and left yourself a way in, didn't you?”

“Maybe,” Skye shrugged. Steve snorted, making her smile again. “If I break out the tablet, are you going to confiscate it?”

“No, doll. I'll let you fight with Tony over that one.”

“Oh, I'm gonna win.” Skye giggled, pulling the tablet out and tapping away on it. After a minute, she had access to their feed. “What time should I look for?”

“Hey, Steven, why don't you see if Tony will put on your birthday present so Skye can see it?” Steve asked the boy softly, nudging him off the bed.

“Is it that bad?” Skye winced, stretching her arms out like she wanted to stop Steven from leaving. She frowned and dropped her hands, folding them over her torso.

“No, it's not. Really, it's not. You just have one minor freak out.”

“Steven, I would love to see Tony in...whatever your present is.” Skye told the boy, smiling warmly at him.

“Okay,” Steven nodded. “Want me to bring you a brownie back?”

“Is that what you told him?” Steve groaned, throwing up his free hand. Skye and Steven laughed as he slipped from the room. Tony was standing right there, but Steven grabbed his hand and dragged him away before he could sneak into the room.

“Ready?” Skye asked, swallowing hard.

“When you are.” Steve nodded, reaching out to hold half of the tablet. Skye took a deep breath, scooted a little closer to Steve, and clicked play.

The footage she was watching was from a camera on the bus. It was positioned behind Fitz, showing all of the screens. In the middle of all of them was a large screen. Someone was walking down a hallway.

“That's my feed. Your brother and Fitz built me a special comm unit, complete with video camera. I've just entered the building, the second one...the one where we found you, to make sure everyone was out of the building. All of the scientists ran out of the building when we arrived.” Steve explained as Skye watched the screen. “That is the room you're in. Tony will show you some footage of what happens on the other side of the door later, okay?” Skye nodded absently, listening to Steve and Fitz talking. She watched as Steve found her and his subsequent break down. She saw Jack come in and leave with Steve. She took a good look at each scientist as Steve walked passed them, trailing after Jack as he spoke to the scientists. She closed her eyes and took exaggerated breaths when Jack came back to deprogram her. Steve's camera kept switching focus between Jack's face, the face of a scientist on the floor at their feet, and her own. She didn't like the cold, hard expression on her face.

She let Steve fast forward past the trip back to the plane; her fingers were in her ears, trying to block out the desperate cries on screen. Steve's feed cut out when Fitz removed the comm from his ear, so Skye picked up the feed in the medical pod that Steve had taken her to. She watched as she clung to Steve, even as Simmons, Tasha, and Clint worked to stop her bleeding.

“Now I know why Clint is so proud of my arms,” Skye muttered softly, watching as she fell asleep on Steve's chest. She was embarrassed by the desperate way she clung to him.

“You should have seen his face when you kicked him,” Steve snorted lightly. Skye winced and shook her head, mentally making a note to apologize to him. Steve brushed her hair out of his face, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It's okay, you know. He's not mad at you. Honestly, we were expecting worse.”

“You were expecting worse?” Skye asked, surprised. He shrugged.

“We've seen what you're capable of,” Steve reminded her. “Jack helped us locate your backup hard drive from the bunker you guys were holed up in. We saw you take down those men that came for you.”

“I couldn't take them all.” Skye whispered.

“You could barely stand and you still took down more of them than we could.” Steve told her firmly. “We're going to want to see you in action, once you're better.”

“Tasha's mad about that, huh?” Skye asked softly. Steve grinned and hummed his agreement.

“She wants to train with you.”

“The Black Widow wants to train with me?” She gaped, looking at Steve with her mouth open in shock.

“Yeah. I think your styles are pretty similar.” Steve nodded. “Besides, we'll use any excuse to keep you here.”

“Steven mentioned that,” Skye admitted dryly.

“We're gonna convince you,” Steve smirked. “Oh, I didn't know Coulson stopped by. Wait, now I remember Simmons saying something about a photo. Yep, look at Coulson taking our picture.”

“He likes to watch you sleep,” Skye giggled. “What is that...three times now? After you got out of the ice, in his office on the Bus, and then there?”

“Tony offered him my spare room,” Steve nodded. “They all think it's funny. You promised you would lock him in his room, if he does end up staying, so he doesn't do it again. That's another reason I'm not fighting you on this whole tablet thing.”

“Who are they?” Skye asked, pointing to the screen. Ward was draping his blanket around Skye, making Ward grin at whoever was next to him.

“Ah, Agents Ward and Triplett.” Steve pointed out. “They're the specialists on the Bus.”

“Mr. Patience of a Saint and the Baby guy?” Skye asked, smiling softly. Steve nodded his agreement; she was referring to them from what she knew of them on the Bus. “Why are they laughing?”

“I'm sure we don't want to know,” Steve said dryly. He wasn't going to get into this with Skye, not now. She would figure it out eventually – Tasha would make sure of that. “Here's the nurse coming back to check on you. And here's your stupid brother giving me a seizure...”

“Considering how smart he is, because really...he's genius level smart, he can be pretty damn stupid sometimes, huh?” Skye said fondly. She twisted so her cheek was pressed against his shoulder, “How was he for you?”

“Good. Fine...” Steve shrugged. “He had his moments, but for the most part we got along great. Everyone at Headquarters thinks we're dating, which your brother finds hilarious.”

“I'm sure he did that on purpose,” Skye nodded, smirking.

“Oh, he did. Then he went on to tell me that we're not exclusive because we never had 'the talk'.” Steve continued, putting air quotes around his words. Skye giggled at his story. “And then...since we weren't exclusive, he felt like he could hit on Agent Ward. That completely made up for his ridiculousness. I'll have to see if we can find Ward's expression on film somewhere. Priceless.”

“You don't like Agent Ward very much, do you?” Skye asked, smiling.

“Seems like a nice enough guy.” Steve shrugged. “Don't know him very well.”

“Hmm,” Skye hummed.

“He's fun to pick on.” Steve admitted. “He's too serious.”

“This, coming from Captain America?” Skye asked, chuckling.

“Hey, Captain America is probably too serious, but he has to be!” Steve chuckled back. “I'm not that serious.”

“I know you're not,” Skye smiled. “Am I all caught up?”

“Oh, no.” Steve replied. “Clint's going to come soon and kick everyone out so we can land. Oops, there he is.”

“They're not really scared of Agent May, are they?” Skye giggled, watching them push each other down the hall. Steve grinned as her ribs rubbed against his as she laughed. He had to consciously keep his hand from straying to the exposed skin below the sports bra she was still stuck in. He swallowed hard and pulled the blanket up around her a little higher, then removed his hand from inside the blanket to the outside. He didn't trust himself not to give in to the temptation to touch her. That would be inappropriate.

“Hmm, a little bit.” Steve grunted. “I think they were playing it up for your amusement, though. You're going to want to pay attention to this part. It's going to answer a question you had earlier.”

“I'm pretty sure I didn't ask about two girls, one cup,” Skye groaned, adjusting the blanket again and curling into Steve's side a little tighter. “Yuck.”

“Yuck is right,” Steve laughed, “But that's not what I'm talking about.”

“Oh, God. I made you cuss?” Skye giggled, tossing her head back.

“I was quoting you,” Steve retorted, only spurring on her giggling. “But no, keep listening.”

“Oh, my God. Look at you all flirty!” Skye laughed loudly. “I really can't have a kiss until I'm better?”

“All better.” Steve nodded, grinning at her amusement. She finally had normal color in her face, which made him very happy.

“Not even if I ask really nicely?” Skye asked softly, her voice dropping an octave. She leaned closer, trailing a finger down his chest.

“I know what you're doing,” Steve grinned, stopping her finger by grabbing her hand. “And the answer is still the same.”

“What if it made me better, faster?” Skye bargained. Steve just shook his head, grinning when Skye groaned with frustration. She sighed and rolled her eyes up to him. “Fine, stubborn.”

“You're the stubborn one,” Steve retorted easily. He glanced at the screen, “Oh, hey. Here's where you tell Coulson you'll fix his file.”

“Fitz wants a monkey? And what is Lola?” Skye asked, trying not to yawn. Steve's heat was near-hypnotic.

“Lola is Coulson's prize Corvette. He's very protective of it. No one can touch it.” Steve replied, brushing her hair back from her face. “Hey, don't fall asleep. Bruce and Simmons still need to talk to you.”

“I'm not sleeping,” Skye yawned. He laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“You're working on it.”

“It takes a lot of energy to heal this much.” Skye admitted.

“I want you healed,” Steve told her softly. “But Bruce might flip out if I put you to sleep instead of preparing you to talk to him.”

“I don't want to know what's wrong with me,” Skye admitted.

“It's not so bad, especially considering how bad it was. The blood really helped. Bruce gave us a very general run-down of your injuries, so we can help you get better.”

“Promise?”

“I promise. Most of it is either completely healed already or is nearly healed.”

“Hmm, magic blood.” Skye nodded. “What about the orange stuff?”

“They're still breaking it down. You'll have to ask Bruce about that because I don't think I could regurgitate what he said, but he thinks you puked it all back up.” Steve replied. He waited, rubbing his hand over Skye's on his chest, where he had trapped it earlier. “Let me know when you're ready for me to call him in.”

“Can I have another minute?” Skye asked softly, turning her face into Steve's chest.

“Of course, doll.” He replied, pulling her slightly closer. He wasn't sure if she was seeking his heat, because she still felt chilled, or if she was seeking comfort.

“I don't suppose I can ask you to stay,” Skye murmured softly. He adjusted his hold on her so he could wrap both of his arms around her. Her chest rumbled against his when she hummed her satisfaction with his body heat.

“I would, if you wanted me to.” Steve told her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She smelled more like herself now, but there was definitely a chemical undertone. He could understand why she was so insistent on the shower. “But I think Bruce and Simmons wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Okay,” She agreed, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal. Steve frowned, but didn't know where to go from there.

“I'm glad you're getting along so well with Steven.”

“You picked a good kid to go all parental on,” Skye commented lightly. Steve smiled warmly.

“Yeah, I did. He was the one that wrote the program that found you. Did you know that?” Steve asked.

“He mentioned he helped Tony.”

“Helped is an understatement. Tony built the base, taught him some coding, and then he went in and adjusted Tony's program so his knowledge of the building could be used. We wouldn't have found you without him.”

“He's worried, you know. That you will send him back because I'm back now.” Skye cupped his face in her hands. “Please, don't send him back.”

“Skye...”

“You can't make promises to kids that you can't keep, Steve. It's not fair...”

Steve shushed her quietly, pressing a finger to her mouth to stop her rambled words.

“Skye, he's not going anywhere.” Steve smiled, slipping his finger off her mouth. “He's staying with me, with us. The whole Tower has basically adopted him.”

“Oh.” Skye exhaled. She processed that for a beat, then flashed Steve a bright, relieved smile. Steve smiled back, his fingers absently caressing her jaw bone. So much for resisting the temptation.

“You are so beautiful.” Steve admitted softly. Skye blinked slowly, looking at Steve with a dumbfounded expression, then bust out laughing. “Are you laughing at me?” Steve asked softly. Skye continued laughing, waving him off and gasping for air.

“Of...course...not!” Skye gasped out. Steve leveled her with a dry expression.

“For some reason I don't believe you,” He informed her. Skye hiccuped and tried to control herself, but failed. A tear slipped down the side of her face and into the pillow. “You're kind of hurting my feelings here, doll.”

“I'm sorry!” Skye giggled. Bruce and Simmons burst into the room, looking alarmed.

“Jarvis alerted us that your heart rate is...is everything alright?” Simmons asked, pausing.

“Someone is easily amused,” Steve informed the doctors, his face completely dead pan. Skye was still laughing, but she nodded her head in agreement. Bruce quirked a smile at Simmons.

“Steve, I'm going to kick you out now,” Bruce informed him, still smiling.

“Oxygen, Skye.” Simmons said firmly, holding out the oxygen tube for her to place. Steve helped her put it on, then hurried to do as Bruce asked.

“Okay,” Steve nodded, squeezing Skye's hand before removing himself from the bed. He pressed a kiss onto the top of her head and quirked a smile at her, “Don't forget to turn Jarvis off privacy mode when you're done, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Skye chuckled, trying to get a hold of herself. “Go find your kid.”

“He is with Tony,” Steve winced, half running from the room. Skye's laughter followed him from the room.

“You're in good spirits,” Bruce observed, smiling kindly. Skye decided right then and there that she liked Dr. Bruce a whole lot better than she liked Dr. Simmons. She had liked Simmons when she hacked the Bus though, so she would have to give the woman another shot when she wasn't in charge of making her better.

“I feel a lot better,” Skye shrugged.

“You're healing at an accelerated pace,” Simmons inserted.

“I can send some images to your tablet,” Bruce offered, quirking an eyebrow.

“Are you going to try to take my tablet?” Skye asked, clutching it to her chest. “Cause then I'm not going to give it to you.”

“No, I'm not going to take your tablet.” Bruce replied, laughter bubbling up from his chest. “Tony gave it to you, Tony can deal with the consequences when you tinker.”

“Okay,” Skye grinned. “Send me some images.”

Chapter Text

“Hey, creeper.” Tony smirked, coming up to stand beside Steve. He was watching Bruce and Simmons tell Skye about her results. Bruce was sitting on a stool near Skye, resting his elbows on his knees as he spoke to her. Every now and then he would point to something on her tablet or flick something from his onto hers. Skye still had privacy mode on, so he was watching through a little glass window between Bruce's lab and his back office.

“Can't hear anything, it's not creeping.” Steve replied easily.

“That's ridiculous and you know it,” Tony laughed. Steve smirked at Tony, shrugging lightly.

“I just don't want her to flip out on Bruce,” Steve admitted.

“I don't think it's anything too bad,” Tony replied. “Bruce would have let me know.”

“No, not necessarily.” Steve argued. “He takes the whole patient-doctor privacy deal very seriously, even if he's not that kind of doctor.”

“Okay, fine. Look at her face. She's fine,” Tony argued right back.

“She's been fine since she got here, minus that little freak out when she thought we were hallucinations.” Steve rebutted.

“It's going to sink in eventually,” Tony shrugged. “Give her time.”

“Did you finish her shower chair?” Steve asked.

“I did. Coulson insisted on delivering it to your floor.” Tony replied, grinning broadly. “Might want to make sure all your stuff is still there when you get back.”

“Coulson's not going to take my stuff,” Steve sighed.

“Eh, we'll see.”

“Do we have clothes for her?” Steve asked, nodding his head towards Skye. She had gone slightly pale, but still looked okay. “She's not going to want to put those back on.”

“Oh, those fuckers are getting burned.” Tony agreed. “I'll call Tasha. Have her pick up a few things on their way back.”

“Sir, Miss Skye has asked me to inform you that she is ready for her shower now.”

“Of course she is,” Tony grinned, pushing past Steve and into the room with his favorite Science Bro and surrogate daughter figure. “Sweetheart! I hear you're ready to get out of that garb.”

“I'm ready to get out of here,” Skye retorted quickly, huffing her frustration towards Simmons.

“You know how to convince me.” Simmons remarked pointedly, her tone stern.

“Let's get you in a shower, huh?” Steve asked, deliberately stepping between the ladies. “Tony already finished your chair and Coulson is delivering it as we speak.”

“And probably snooping,” Tony couldn't help but add, grinning. Steve sighed and tossed Skye's blankets back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, trying to pull herself up into his arms. Steve couldn't help but smile though.

“I can't go any faster, doll.”

“Sorry. I'm feeling unusually irritable.” Skye whispered back, letting Steve carry her from the room. Tony realized they had made their escape without him and ran to catch up. He didn't make it onto the elevator before it zoomed away though. Steve and Skye heard him shouting even as the elevator moved away.

“It's perfectly fine to feel irritable,” Steve smiled, holding her close to his chest. She snuggled into his chest, tickling him teasingly. “I'm not ticklish.”

“Lucky,” Skye muttered. “Where are we going for this?”

“My floor,” Steve replied, blushing.

“Oh, kinky.” Skye giggled, tracing her fingers along his collar bone. “Am I better enough for you after all?”

“Ha ha.” Steve snorted, stepping off the elevator.

“Skye!” Steven beamed, jumping up and down on the couch in the small living room. “You're out of the hospital!”

“{Steve broke me out, that rule breaker.}” Skye smirked, winking up at Steve.

“I'm going to learn this language, you know.” Steve muttered.

“Good luck!” Steven grinned, still jumping up and down.

“I would do better with a good teacher,” Steve grinned. “Or two.”

“No you won't,” Jack laughed from directly behind them.

“Shit, Jack.” Skye startled.

“Steve doesn't like bad language!” Steven reminded her, then spun a flip before landing on the couch.

“Good lord.” Jack muttered, resting his chin on Steve's shoulder. “What did you feed him?”

“You told him where the brownies were,” Steve reminded him.

“Nuh-uh, that was all Skye.” Jack scoffed.

“Before you two start making out, can I get dropped off in the bathroom?” Skye asked, smirking.

“He's only my boyfriend at headquarters.” Jack informed Skye with a light smack.

“And only when Ward isn't around,” Steve nodded, stepping clear of Jack's hold. “Doll, you're going to have to tell us what you need here...”

“Just put me in the chair and we're good,” Skye smiled, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. “Oh, can I use your shampoo?”

“You can use anything you like,” Steve nodded. “I'll move it down so you can reach it.”

“Thanks,” Skye said softly, trying to play her gratitude off with a soft smile.

“You're welcome,” Steve smiled back, setting her down in the chair in his shower. He moved his shampoo and body wash within arms reach of the chair, then glanced up at Skye, deciding what to do next.

“Can I have a washcloth?” Skye asked softly, seeing his hesitation. Steve nodded and went to grab one, suddenly feeling awkward. “Is it cause I'm going to be naked?” Skye asked when he got back.

“What?” Steve laughed.

“It just got weird. Is it cause I'm going to be naked?”

“Nah. I am just trying to judge how stubborn you're going to be.” Steve retorted, desperately trying to ignore the blush that was spreading across his cheeks. There was a waterproof sheet sitting by the tub, so Steve draped it over her legs. They wouldn't be under the water itself, but they would get wet from the spray.

“Stubborn? Me?” Skye gasped, clutching her chest.

“And dramatic,” Steve told her dryly, then slipped into a smirk. “Guess I know where Jack learned it.”

“What?!” Skye screeched, laughing.

“You heard me.” Steve grinned. He got up from the edge of his tub and started closing the curtain on her. “Call me if you need help, yeah?”

“Uh huh.”

“Skye. Call me.”

“Okay.” Skye replied, but Steve could see the stubborn set of her chin. She wouldn't call for help, even if she needed it.

“God, you're so stubborn.”

“You say that like it's a bad thing,” Skye grinned, though she looked like she was fading. This had been the longest she had been awake thus far, so he wasn't surprised to see the exhaustion on her features.

“I'll be close,” Steve replied, shaking his head. “I'll be in and out, so don't be alarmed if you hear me.”

Skye hummed her understanding, but was too busy making the water the perfect temperature to actually respond. Steve grinned and closed the curtain completely. He left the bathroom and headed to his closet. He pulled a clean pair of sweatpants and a shirt from his own drawers, because he had nothing else to offer her. They would be giant on her, but they were clean, soft, and warm. Steve went back to the bathroom with an armful of towels and the clothes. It sounded like she was struggling.

“Sure you don't want help?” Steve asked, smirking at the shower curtain. “I can go get Simmons.”

“I'm fine,” Skye retorted, sounding distracted.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked.

“I should have taken my prisoner clothes off before I got them all wet,” Skye muttered. Steve laughed at her tone and leaned back against the bathroom sink. He heard a heavy splat from inside the shower and assumed Skye got the offending garment off. “Are you listening to me shower?”

“No, I'm listening to you struggle.” Steve replied easily.

“You could just join me,” Skye said breezily. “You need to clean up too.”

“Very funny,” Steve muttered. Skye poked her head out of the shower to grin at him.

“That blush is always worth it.”

Steve did a double take of Skye. She looked younger, and skinnier, with her hair plastered to her head. Her cheeks were rosy from the hot water, very hot, judging by the amount of steam in the room, which made Steve realize just how pale she still was. But she was grinning, like she hadn't been gone for two weeks. How much of Skye was sincerely okay with what happened, and how much of Skye was a mask to cover her devastation?

“It is pretty adorable, isn't it?” Jack agreed, coming to stand next to Steve. “Your kid conked out on the couch.”

“Aw, he's all paternal,” Skye cooed. Jack chuckled and nodded his head. “Why is he staying here? I mean, aside from the programming.”

“Shield wasn't treating him right. I couldn't leave him there.” Steve replied briefly. “We can talk about it later. Right now, I just want you to worry about getting better.”

“Okay,” Skye replied, anger flashing briefly across her features before exhaustion won out. “I think I'm done here.”

“Okay. I'm going to leave Jack with you, in case you need help. Or I can call Simmons, if you're more comfortable.”

“I don't need any help,” Skye huffed, making grabby hands at a towel. Steve smirked and handed her one.

“So stubborn.” Steve informed Jack, shaking his head.

“What if I want you to stay and help me dress?” Skye sassed, raising an eyebrow at Steve. He immediately flamed over, making her laugh.

“Hurry up. Stop picking on Steve. I want food.” Jack laughed, handing his sister another towel. Steve stepped out, feeling like he was violating her privacy. He peeked in on Steven, confirming he was asleep. The boy was on his stomach, draped across the couch like he had belly-flopped onto it and fell asleep. When he came back, Jack was waiting for Steve outside the bathroom. “You should carry her. I don't want to drop her.”

“I would murder you.” Skye threatened through the cracked door.

“Bless her.” Jack giggled.

“Could you not find any smaller clothes?” Skye asked, smirking at Steve. She waved the too long sleeves at him. Jack had rolled the pants at the waist, but they still hung well over her feet. Since she wouldn't be walking, it didn't matter that they were too long.

“Uh, those are mine.”

“I can tell. It smells like you,” Skye smirked, fighting off her own blush with humor.

“Sorry,” Steve shrugged. “Tasha's supposed to bring some clothes back when she gets back with Clint.”

“Are these yours, too?” Skye smirked, pulling up the waistband of his tightest pair of boxer briefs. He didn't have to respond; his vibrant blush answered her question. Skye's smirk morphed into a delighted grin. Thankfully, Jack stepped in and prevented Skye from verbalizing whatever was running through her head.

“Food!” Jack reminded, shoving Steve towards Skye. Steve ducked his head, smiling shyly.

“Is it okay if I take you?” Steve asked, shuffling his feet awkwardly. It wasn't weird before, but the situation was different. Now Skye was sitting on his bathroom sink, in his clothes, in his boxers, smirking at him.

“Please, will you help me?” Skye asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him coyly.

“Did that hurt?” Steve laughed, stepping closer and dropping an arm under her knees. Skye wrapped her arms around his neck. Jack bopped impatiently by the door.

“I'm fucking starving.” He informed the two.

“I'll never admit it,” Skye replied to Steve, smirking.

“Food!” Jack groaned, shoving Steve into the elevator.

“Hush, you're going to wake the kid.” Skye reprimanded, smacking her brother lightly.

“Sorry...but I'm starving.”

“I think you'll survive.”

“I had to use my special medicine.” Jack told his sister abruptly, looking guilty. “I told them I didn't want to use it, but they did it anyway.”

“Good. That's what it's for.” Skye replied, reaching out to stroke his hair. “Jack, really it's fine. I'm glad you used it.”

“But you could use it more.” Jack replied. Skye laughed lightly.

“I'm going to be okay, Jack. Protocols should have kicked in by now.”

“Bruce wasn't sure you were going to be okay, Jack.” Steve added. “That's why he used it, even though you didn't want him to.”

“See? I'm glad you used it.” Skye repeated, leaning over to press an overly wet kiss to Jack's forehead.

“Oh, gross.” Jack moaned, practically running from the elevator. He bee lined it for the table, using a napkin to wipe his forehead down. Steve came from the elevator, laughing at Jack's theatrics.

“Finally,” Tony sighed.

“Relax, Tony.” Pepper interrupted, placing a hand on his arm.

“Yeah. Tony, relax.” Skye smirked, shivering slightly.

“You're still cold?” Steve asked, frowning.

“I'm fine. Cold, but fine.” Skye hurried to reassure. She blushed slightly. “Can I sit with you and steal some more body heat?”

“I don't think Steve would like that.” Tony told Skye, somehow managing to keep a straight face.

“Yeah. I think he definitely needs his space.” Fitz was quick to add.

“He did mention wanting to spend more time with me, while you were in the shower.” Jack nodded, catching on and playing along.

“Can I bother someone for a blanket then?” Skye asked the room, ducking her head.

“They're teasing, doll.” Steve whispered, sitting down on Tony's free side. Jack was quick to claim Steve's other side. Both scooted their chairs slightly closer, pinning Steve between them.

“Oh,” Skye blushed, ducking her head.

“You definitely can have a blanket though,” Pepper grinned, bringing one around the table. She draped it loosely around Skye, tucking it so her hands were free. “You smell like Steve.”

“Don't make it sappy,” Skye mumbled, pressing her heated face into Steve's shoulder. She wasn't as familiar with Pepper as she was with the other Avengers, and that made her shy. Pepper chuckled lightly and patted Steve's shoulder. Skye forced a deep breath and looked up at the woman, peeking over Steve's shoulder. Pepper stood behind Steve's left shoulder, a hand on Steve's shoulder and on Tony's. She seemed to realize Skye was assessing her, because she paused, swaying in spot as she stopped in place.

Skye's first thought was that she was very composed – definitely more professional than anyone else in the room. She looked like a woman that took no shit from anyone, which Skye immediately liked, but she also looked rigid. How in the world did this woman manage to live in the same place as her trouble maker friends? How in the world did this uptight woman bend to the shenanigans that Skye knew went on in the Tower? Some flexibility was required.

Then Skye took a closer look, taking in the clear affection she had for Tony. Even as Skye looked her over, Pepper was caressing Tony's shoulder, putting him at ease. Pepper's eyes shot up as Bruce and Simmons joined them for dinner, smiling warmly at the pair. Skye couldn't help her own shy smile. Obviously, she was more flexible that she appeared. That, and Pepper loved the same people that she loved. How could they not get along?

“How in the world did Tony get so lucky?” Skye asked softly, directing her question at Pepper. Tony heard the question though and huffed loudly.

“That's rude, sweetheart.”

“He must have been very good in his last life,” Pepper retorted, shrugging lightly. Skye grinned and sat up a little straighter, a witty comeback all ready. Steve laughed at her excitement, grinning at Coulson. None of them understood Tony's relationship with Pepper.

“Food!” Tony interrupted loudly, passing some down to Skye. Everyone else already had food in front of them. The women exchanged a small smile and Pepper finally sat back down. Skye pulled the sleeves of Steve's shirt up past her elbows, freeing her hands. They immediately slid back down, making her frown. She tried the same thing three more times before huffing in frustration. There was a small chuckling sound which made her aware that the entire table was watching her.

“Oh, shut it.” Skye huffed, trying to cross her arms. The stupid sleeves were too long though and she ended up tangled. Bruce laughed and bit into his burger to muffle it.

“Can I help you?” Steve teased lightly. Skye frowned but nodded, holding her hands out to him.

“Please.”

“We got some burgers or there is salad, Mr. Healthy.” Tony informed Steve, making Skye chuckle.

“You've got super soldier metabolism and you don't eat anything you want?” Skye giggled softly. Her head hung heavily against Steve's shoulder, leaving a damp patch on his shirt. He made a mental note to get her back to her bed as soon as possible.

“Just because I can doesn't mean it's good for me.” Steve replied with a smile. He cocked an eye brow at Tony. “Pass me both, please.”

“Oh, shaking it up.” Jack chuckled, reaching over to steal one of Skye's fries.

“Oye! Those aren't for you,” Tony frowned, swatting Jack's hand away. “You have your own.”

“It's okay, Dad.” Skye laughed. “I'm not going to eat all of them anyway.”

“You need to eat.”

“I will, but I'm pretty sure Dr. Pokey 1 and Dr. Pokey 2 are going to keep me on a liquid diet for a bit. Haven't eaten in a while.” Skye replied. She was just barely loud enough for Tony to hear her on the last sentence. Tony frowned but nodded, acknowledging the truth in her statement.

“When are my assassins coming back?” Coulson asked into the awkward silence that fell over the table.

“They're not yours,” Tony retorted. “They're Steve's.”

“They're their own selves.” Steve denied, letting Skye steal an olive from his salad. She took a small bite out of the end, then set it down, testing the waters.

“Well, when are their own selves getting back?” Coulson sighed.

“Whenever they're done.” Tony shrugged.

“Where'd they go?” May asked. Tony made a face at her.

“Nope, we're not getting friendly.”

“Why?” Coulson asked, frowning. Sure, May was a little serious – but she was an excellent person to have on your side.

“I've filled my quota for Asian friends,” Tony replied back, then bit heavily into his burger.

“Filled your quota?” May asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Yeah. You sneaky little Asian bastards keep sneaking into my life.” Tony nodded, talking around his mouthful of burger. Skye winced at his table manners, but didn't comment because Tony was still talking. “Look,” Tony continued. “Sneaky Asian bastard one,” he pointed at Skye, “Sneaky Asian bastard two,” he pointed at Jack, “And there is a Sneaky Asian child somewhere.”

“Crashed on my couch.” Steve filled in.

“See? Asian quota filled.” Tony informed her. The table was dead silent for about two seconds, then Skye and Jack burst out laughing.

“Agent May can have the Asian bastard number two spot. My parents were married when they had me,” Jack offered.

“But where did Romanov go?” May pressed, choosing to ignore Tony's logic.

“Field trip,” Tony shrugged. “Her and Barton were going to steal your specialists, if they could.”

“Sir, there is an incoming transmission,” Jarvis chimed in.

“Put it up,” Tony replied. Tasha's face was projected onto a nearly blank wall, letting the entire table be part of the video call.

“Stark.” Tasha said by way of greeting.

“Romanov,” Tony replied. “When are you getting back? The Asians are wondering about you.”

“The Asians,” Skye repeated, grinning at May.

“Might take us a while, Tony.” Tasha replied, ignoring the whole Asian conversation. “They're more extensive than we thought, even with four of us.”

“You got the specialists with you?”

“Yeah, Ward and Trip are covering half of the tunnels.”

“So there are tunnels.” Tony nodded, mulling that information over.

“Yeah, we're going to get as far as we can, but we should plan on coming back with more people.” Tasha nodded. “How's our little ninja?”

“{Skye is fine,}” She frowned, emphasizing her name. Steve chuckled against her back, vibrating against her. “{Be safe and come back soon?}”

“{Of course, lil ninja,}” Clint chimed in, jumping into Russian easily, shoving in next to Tasha on the screen. Skye grinned tiredly and waved at him. “{Look, Nat. She's still in cling to Steve mode. I win.}”

“{I was cold!}” Skye defended.

“{And Steve was the perfect candidate to fix that,}” Tasha agreed, her face straight. Skye saw the humor behind her eyes though and grinned.

“{Ward's whining,}” Clint chimed in. “{We've got to go. See you later, gater.}”

“I would love to know what's going on,” Coulson sighed as the call disconnected. “Where are they?” Skye nodded her agreement. She felt, rather than saw, the look that Tony and Steve shared.

“They went back to the first place we looked for you. We saw you die and get dropped off at the Eraser, but...here you are.” Steve said slowly, trying to choose his words carefully.

“There are tunnels under the Eraser?” Skye asked softly, catching on quickly.

“It's how they got you out, so they could bring you to the second building – the one that we found you in.” Tony nodded. “Apparently there are a lot of them.”

“Maybe we could go back with my Dwarfs?” Fitz mused out loud. “We wouldn't have to walk each tunnel, we can just have the drones map them out.”

“We would have to adjust the programming,” Jack frowned, and the two fell into a hushed conversation about the Dwarfs.

“So, what about your birthday dinner?” Skye yawned.

“It doesn't matter.” Tony replied, waving off her concern. “Putting it off for a day or two won't hurt anything. I've already had my real birthday.”

“Hmm, 'kay.” Skye agreed, nodding slowly. Coulson was watching her with a soft expression, from across the table. She noticed and blushed, turning a little so she could press her face into Steve's collar bone.

“Coulson,” Steve warned, catching the interaction.

“What!” Coulson asked, tossing his hands up. “I didn't do anything!”

“Leave her alone,” Steve told him, tightening his grip on Skye from under the blanket. A corner of May's mouth twitched up and she shook her head slightly.

“I was just thinking that this is the least neurotic I've seen Mr. Stark, ever.” Coulson admitted.

"Aside from the Asian bastards," Fitz grumbled lightly.

0-0-0-0-0

“I think she's asleep,” Tony whispered, which seemed pointless considering how loud the table was.

“I'll take her to bed,” Steve nodded.

“No, not asleep.” Skye mumbled, blindly reaching out to anchor herself to the table. She ended up with Tony's arm instead. “I like listening.”

“You should probably sleep,” Jack informed his sister, making her blink her eyes open slowly.

“I can sleep all day tomorrow, mom.”

“Oh, damn.” Tony chuckled.

“You can't sleep all day,” Coulson practically begged. “You promised to fix my file.”

“You let Simmons tell you no,” Skye chuckled, letting her eyes drift shut again.

“But I got you that shower.” Coulson replied petulantly.

“Tony got me a shower,” Skye yawned.

“I got you that tablet!” Coulson retorted quickly.

“That you promptly got confiscated. Thanks a lot, AC.”

“Guess you're not done earning it yet,” May smirked.

“I hope he doesn't earn it.” Fitz half whispered to Simmons. “I want that monkey.”

“We have a visitor,” Pepper smiled, watching Steven sleepily get off the elevator.

“Steve?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Hey, bud.” Steve smiled. “You hungry?”

The boy shuffled his feet, taking in the crowd of people in front of him. “I was alone.”

“You can come sit with me,” Jack offered, looking over at Steve's full lap.

“Or your favorite uncle,” Tony offered, making the table groan.

“No.” Steven pouted like only a sleepy seven year old could. Skye chuckled sleepily.

“I'll move.”

“No, don't move,” Steven frowned, coming around the table. He crawled onto Steve's lap, sharing the space with Skye. She giggled and moved her legs, giving the boy one half of Steve's lap. She untucked part of the blanket, holding it open for the boy to crawl under.

“Be careful with her,” Steve warned needlessly.

“I'll be careful,” Steven nodded, all business. He brushed a piece of Skye's hair back before settling next to her, being careful not to touch her side.

“I'm not that broken,” Skye chuckled, pulling the boy under her arm. He grinned up at Steve and adjusted against her, getting himself comfortable and removing any sharp angles from her ribs.

“Oh, he hates that.” Tony noted softly, sipping from his tumbler. Pepper grinned and bumped shoulders with her lover.

“I'm glad you're okay.” Steven informed Skye, letting his eyes flutter shut again. “Steve was really sad.”

“Steven was the reason we found you,” Steve informed Skye again, hoping to steer the conversation away from himself. Skye pressed a kiss to the top of the boy's head and muttered something in the mash-up.

“We all are,” Jack added, patting his leg.

“You don't smell like there anymore.” Steven mumbled. “Now you smell nice. Like Steve.”

Skye hummed her acknowledgment, but her own eyes were shut again too. Within minutes, it was clear the pair had fallen back asleep. Bruce was the first to break the silence.

“Good thing you have a super solider size lap,” He chuckled, breaking out his phone to take a picture. Steve was too busy looking at his load to notice the picture being taken. This was his precious cargo, all wrapped up in one disturbingly light package. Steve chuckled, shifting so he could settle back against his chair more comfortably. He would happily take all the teasing they would dish out.

“So, while Capsicle can't do anything to defend himself...what kind of shenanigans should we get into?” Tony grinned, rubbing his hands together. Pepper sighed beside him.

“Leave the poor man be.”

“For one night, at least.” May agreed, pushing back from the table.

“Thanks for putting us up,” Coulson nodded, taking another sip of his scotch.

“No problem. I'm going to take advantage of having you here.” Tony smirked, glancing at Fitz, who was chatting with Jack, and Simmons, who was chatting with Bruce.

“I'm going to call it a day,” Pepper smiled, excusing herself. “Though I had a pretty easy day. Tony's been so busy lately, he hasn't gotten into as much trouble.”

“Well, thanks for jinxing that.” Steve sighed. Jack and Tony grinned.

“I have been pretty good lately.” Tony nodded, tugging on the hair on his chin. “I should find some way to shake things up.”

“Please, no.” Pepper sighed.

“What about a ball?”

“A ball?” Simmons groaned.

“Your kid can't walk anyway,” Bruce pointed out, looking more relaxed than Steve had ever seen him. He idly wondered if that was Simmons' doing or if it was the lack of stress. Their main source of worry and tension for the last ten months was finally resolved. Steve ducked his head, hiding his grin. He was damn glad it was resolved. He would have been happier if Skye hadn't been hurt in the process, but he had her back now and she would be okay. Eventually.

He could live with that.

He would deal with the scientists another day.

“Like he's going to put her down anyway,” Tony rebutted, tilting his head towards Steve.

“He has a point there.” Jack nodded. “Skye will throw a legit fit though, if you try to make her dress up.”

“A legit fit?” Fitz grinned, nudging Simmons. He wanted to see that.

“Let's have a ball.” She agreed, suddenly on board.

“Stop it,” Steve laughed. “You two are incorrigible.”

“Why don't we worry about getting her better before we worry about celebrating it?” Bruce offered, as always the voice of reason.

“Speaking of which, we should probably hook her back up.” Simmons nodded, standing to look at her patient. She smiled at Steve when he pushed his chair back so she could get a better look at Skye. “She's freezing, still. Bruce, we may need to give her another pint of blood.”

“We're still not sure what was in that serum,” Bruce mused, joining Simmons. “I mean, besides the healing factor. Her latest scans don't have her that low for blood.”

“She had two and a half liters when she scanned her on the plane.” Simmons replied. The two were lost in their own little bubble.

“She's well over three now. Lower than I would like, but not dangerously low.” Bruce nodded. “We can definitely put her on a blood drip for tonight. I would like at least another liter in her.”

“She's just going to take it out,” Steve reminded them. “She only wanted the magic blood and we're fresh out of that.”

“She can't pull it out if she's asleep.” Simmons nodded, glancing over at Steve. “She'll need fluids, too. And a meal replacement.”

“Tomorrow...today? What time is it anyway?” Tony asked, looking around for a clock, “Today. Today, we'll go talk to those scientists.”

“We got the one from the security feed at the first building, right?” Steve asked. That was the one scientist Steve really wanted to spend some time with. He was the asshole that stabbed Skye until she was dead. Well, temporarily dead? Simply put, he hurt Skye – and Steve couldn't let that stand.

“Oh yeah, we got him.” Tony nodded. Venom was clear in his voice as well.

“We're having another birthday dinner for you,” Pepper reminded Tony, giving him a pointed look. “Skye can't celebrate your birthday with you if you're in jail.”

“Well, I mean...she could be locked up with me.” Tony smirked.

“Let's get her to bed.” Bruce interrupted, hoping to stop that line of thought. “She'll heal better when she's hydrated and rested.”

“Back to your lab or a real bed?” Steve asked Bruce.

“I told her I would only make her stay the one night,” Bruce replied. “I think she's okay to get a real bed, as long as we can still hook her up to her Ivs.”

“There's an extra bed on our floor!” Jack shouted.

Bruce and Steve grinned at each other, “Well, he's not wrong.”

“She could tell us how to contact 47 and we could get her the tried and true healing factor,” Tony added, pursing his lips.

“Psh, that won't happen.” Jack scoffed. “She hasn't even told me, and we've been together...well, a long time.”

“Yeah, but has she ever been like this?” Tony argued, pointing his thumb at her.

“Not quite this bad, no.” Jack admitted. Steve and Fitz frowned at what he implied. Jack winced. “She takes protecting me very seriously.”

“Yeah, we noticed.” Tony dead panned.

“How bad has it been?” Steve asked.

“When there were still a few more of us, the retrieval team caught up to us.” Jack told him. “It's too hard, keeping a large group hidden. Especially when they won't listen to reason. Skye protected us from the whole team.”

“How many?”

“Ten combat ready guards, three more with weapons... Oh, and a sniper.” Jack suddenly laughed.

“Do tell,” Tony invited dryly.

“She was so fucking pissed. She handled the guards, no problem. I handled one of the ones with weapons, though honestly I'm not sure how. I kind of fell on him. The other kids teamed up on another. She threw a guard at the third. She had to climb the tree to get the sniper. He was shitting his pants...”

“Jack,” Steve sighed.

“He was pooping all over himself,” Jack corrected easily, not pausing in his story, “watching her climb up after him. He just saw her take out the whole team. He tried shooting down at her, but that was just stupid. Ended up shooting himself in the foot. I never laughed so hard in my life.”

“You said she was hurt.” Tony reminded Jack. He sobered.

“Yeah. But we didn't know it at the time. I thought she was just mad.”

“That's why you were upset when she couldn't take out all the guards at the bunker.”

“I was just surprised she was still on her feet!” Tony nodded.

“She would have been able to take all of them, no problem. If she was herself.” Jack frowned. “I'm going to bed. You guys are depressing me.”

“I'll go with you,” Steve nodded.

“Your lap falling asleep?” Bruce grinned. “Can I take the kid from you? I'll need to follow you down anyway.”

“You can try,” Steve smirked, looking at the grip Skye had on the boy.

“I'll grab your bag,” Simmons offered helpfully, grabbing the bag Steve hadn't noticed by Bruce's chair. Tony lifted the blanket from the sleeping pair, letting Bruce have access to them. They saw how tangled up Skye and Steven were and sighed. The boy's legs were tangled up across Skye's thighs and he was holding himself to her chest with a grip so tight that his knuckles were white. Skye, in turn, was holding him just as tightly. The tension visible in her frame and fingers wasn't visible on her features. She appeared to be sleeping peacefully. Only her death grip indicated otherwise.

“That's not going to work,” Bruce sighed. Steve laughed.

“Cover them back up. I can manage them.”

“Stupid super soldier,” Fitz huffed in mock frustration. Jack grinned at the comment, but Simmons shot him a look that had him cowering. She did not appreciate Jack encouraging Fitz.

“I think they weigh about a hundred pounds combined,” Steve frowned.

“You're exaggerating, right?” Tony asked, looking sad.

“Not by much.” Steve replied, shaking his head.

“She ate all of five french fries.”

“I'm kind of surprised she kept them down,” Simmons said softly.

“We can start a liquid diet tomorrow, if she feels up to it.” Bruce murmured, taking out a pad to take a note.

“She knows her limits.” Jack shrugged. “At least, she knows when people will have to come help her. She knows that if she was puking everywhere it would be an inconvenience for everyone.”

“Yes, it bloody well would have been,” Fitz grimaced, making Jack laugh.

“I'm usually the squeamish one.” Jack grinned, bumping his hip into Fitz.

“Yeah, well you can share that title with him.” Coulson smirked. “Remember that mission where Fitz...”

“I did not!” Fitz interrupted loudly, making Simmons giggle.

“He hit the floor so hard.”

“I thought Ward was going to have to carry him back to the SUV.” May nodded.

“Wait. He passed out!?” Jack asked, both eyebrows raised. Steve chuckled and lifted the sleeping pair, shifting Steven so his weight wasn't on Skye. She had said she wasn't that broken, but he had seen her move.

“I'll follow you out,” Bruce smiled, waving Steve ahead.

“It wasn't my fault!” Fitz huffed, making Jack laugh. “Ward wiggled the damn thing in my face and...”

“Jack seems better,” Bruce commented when the elevator doors closed, abruptly cutting off their conversation.

“He is.” Steve nodded.

“Where would you like them?” Bruce asked, standing at the junction of Steve's bedroom and his empty room. Of the four, Steve had one, Jack had one, and Steven had one.

“Um, the guest bed?” Steve offered, opening the door to his only empty room. The inside was covered in flour. Apparently, Steven hadn't thought to look in other rooms for cleaning. Bruce pressed his lips together and turned to look at Steve. “Okay, what about Steven's bed? They're going to sleep together anyway...”

“He's very comfortable with her, isn't he?” Bruce nodded, walking to the door that Steve indicated to.

“Well, at least it's clean.” Steve sighed.

“But there are no sheets,” Bruce chuckled, flipping back the comforter. There was a note on the bare mattress. Bruce read it out loud, “Don't freak. They're being washed.”

“Jack's been sleeping in my bed,” Steve told Bruce with a resigned sigh. “I'm guessing that's where he'll end up again. We can just put Skye there too. Steven doesn't want to be alone so...”

“Wait. You've been sleeping with Jack?” Bruce interrupted, grinning.

“You tell Tony, you die.” Steve frowned, trying to look tough. He was pretty sure Tony already knew, but he liked seeing Bruce in his teasing mood.

“How am I supposed to pass this up?” Bruce laughed, tossing Steve's sheets back.

“I'll sic her on you when she's better,” Steve smirked, nodding his head towards Skye.

“Oh, God.” Bruce threw his head back and laughed. “Captain America is threatening me with his scrawny little girlfriend.”

“Hey, 'm not scrawny.” Skye mumbled, twisting slightly in Steve's arms. He set the pair down on the bed, giving Skye some space to get out from under Steven. She yawned and stiffly adjusted her hold on the boy, muttering in the mash-up.

“What'd she say?” Bruce smiled.

“Jarvis?”

“You hurt Steve, I'll hurt you.” Jack supplied helpfully, grinning.

“Aw,” Simmons smiled, walking in with Jack.

“What do we need to do to make her comfortable for the night?” Steve asked, ignoring Bruce's chuckling.

“I'll need to put her IV back in,” Simmons told Steve, pointing out different bags she brought with her. “Fluids, meal replacement, and blood.”

“I'm going to go shower during all of the...needles.” Jack winced, excusing himself.

“You might want to check your room.” Steve told Jack as he backed away. “The other room is covered in flour.”

“Is it really?” Jack grinned. “I've got to see this.”

Chapter Text

“Fucking A.” Tasha groaned softly, raising her phone to take a picture of Steve's bed. “I swear to God, I will puke.”

“Eventually, you're going to have to make good on that promise. Threat? Probably threat,” Clint grinned, leaning on Tasha. They were both dirty and tired, but watching the sleeping four with clear affection.

Steve, Steven, Skye, and Jack were cuddled up in Steve's bed. The boy had a firm grip on both Steve's shirt and Skye, though he was tucked in closer to Skye. Jack was on Skye's other side, his arm draped loosely over his sister. Steve brought up the far end, his arm draped across Steven and Skye. Skye was flat on her back, the arm with the IV draped across her face. Bruce had rigged a hook on Steve's headboard to hold her now empty bags. Well, the fluids and meal replacement were empty. The blood bag was still suspiciously full.

“You want me to puke on you?” Tasha asked finally, her warm smile turning into a smirk.

“No.” Clint said firmly. “What do you think Steve's going to do with that hook in his headboard once Skye is better?”

“Probably not what you think.” Steve muttered, his voice gravelly with sleep.

“I don't know. I have a pretty good imagination.” Clint laughed lightly.

“Get out of my room.” Steve sighed. “It's creepy sleeping with you watching.”

“Is it better than when Coulson does it?” Clint laughed.

“You never sleep this long.” Tasha offered in their defense.

“Yeah. It's like...six.” Clint nodded.

“I have some sleep to catch up on.” Steve groaned. “Go away.”

“Has Jack been wearing you out?” Bruce asked, walking in with new, full bags of fluids and meal replacement.

“You have no idea.” Jack giggled lightly. He paused to pull away from his sister. “Here Dr. Banner. You can have this spot, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Thanks,” Bruce smiled, using Jack's vacated space to reach and replace Skye's bags. He sighed when he traced her IV line down, seeing she had clipped off the blood flow sometime during the night.

“Let's wake Coulson's crew and get them in here too,” Steve muttered. “Don't want to leave anybody out.”

“What was that about Coulson's crew?” Simmons asked, walking off the elevator with her own bags of fluid. She saw Bruce had already replaced Skye's bags and frowned slightly at the bags in her hand.

“Let's take those back up to the lab,” Bruce offered. “When Fitz gets up, we'll have him scan Skye again. With her aversion to needles, it seems much simpler to do things the high-tech way.”

“God, I love the high-tech way,” Jack agreed.

“We were on our way to breakfast,” Clint smiled, moving to Steve's bedside table. “You joining us or should I bring you something back down?”

“I'll go with,” Steve replied, wiggling loose from Steven. The boy simply twisted closer to Skye. “He'll let us know when she wakes.”

“What about Skye?” Clint asked, scratching his forehead.

“She does have the liquid meal.” Tasha shrugged, watching Skye shift closer to Steven and his body heat. Tasha smiled slightly, watching Skye rub her face in the pillows. “She looks comfy.”

“Steve, I give your bed maker mad props.” Skye giggled tiredly. Everyone in the room startled at her voice, unaware that she had woken.

“Mad props?” Steve mouthed to Jack, frowning in confusion.

“It's a good thing.” Jack chuckled, patting Steve's shoulder. “You awake, sissy?”

Nothing. Jack shrugged at Steve.

“I thought we were getting food.” Steve laughed, ushering people towards the elevator. “Steven knows how to work Jarvis. They'll keep us up to date.”

0-0-0-0-0

“How'd last night go?” Tony asked, handing Steve a cup of coffee.

“Fine?” Steve shrugged. “Steven's flour bomb went further than he thought, so my bed was a little full. Everyone was asleep by the time I got out of the shower. I didn't hear anyone move, so I'm assuming they slept well.”

“Your bed was kind of full this morning,” Clint grinned, taking Tasha's phone to show Tony the picture she took.

“Aw, look at our dysfunctional little group.” Tony grinned, patting Steve on the back. “I think this goes without saying, but if you hurt her in any way...”

“...We'll all kick your ass.” Clint finished when Tony let his thought trail off. Tasha nodded her agreement.

“We may have to keep an eye on Ward,” Tasha commented blandly. Steve frowned into his coffee cup, knowing Tasha was trying to rile him up but was unable to hide his displeasure. Jack snorted lightly.

“Why is that?” Clint asked, more than willing to step in if Ward was out of line. He had sulked the entire time they were in the tunnels, wearing Clint's perpetual patience thin.

“Ward is fine.” Steve muttered. “Tasha is just being stupid.”

“Do tell,” Clint grinned, propping his face on his hands.

“Ward gave Skye his blanket on the Bus.” Tasha smirked.

“She was cold.” Steve sighed. “It's not the end of the world.”

“But I thought it was your job to keep her warm?” Tony grinned, catching on.

“Did she smell different?” Jack asked.

“He definitely didn't like how she smelled,” Tasha grinned.

“Hmm, super soldier super smelling.” Clint nodded.

“You guys are terrible.” Steve announced, getting up to leave the kitchen.

“Are you going for your run?” Clint called out.

“Later.” Steve called back, taking coffee with him. He stepped into the elevator and stuck his tongue out at Tasha. “Jarvis, take me to Bruce's lab, please.”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers.”

“Are you monitoring Skye's vitals?” Steve asked.

“Yes, Mr. Rogers. Her breathing pattern indicates she is still asleep. Steven is still sleeping as well, though recent changes in his breathing pattern indicates he may wake soon.”

“Steve!” Bruce greeted, rushing over to help with the coffee. He took two of the three cups, passing one off to Simmons.

“Hmm, thank you.” Simmons said politely, though she sat her cup on the counter almost immediately.

“What are you guys up to?” Steve asked, watching Simmons with a bemused expression.

“Going over Skye's scans.” Simmons chirped, clearly excited. “We're still comparing her blood samples to the sample we have left from 47's blood. We spent most of yesterday trying to figure out what was in her blood currently.”

“You look excited,” Steve prompted.

“I would love to see what was in 47's serum.” Simmons sighed, looking over the stack of papers Bruce had already accumulated on the subject.

“We have Gamma's folder.” Steve pointed out. “Skye only stole the one from Delta.”

“We do have Gamma's folder, you're right.” Bruce nodded. Simmons pulled it up on the screen. “But it only vaguely mentions the serum. Major components are missing from the formula, though it still looks close enough to the other serum formulas that a non-scientist wouldn't notice the difference.”

“We bypassed reading the scientific stuff,” Steve nodded. “We just flagged it and sent it your way.”

“Which means we don't know if the file itself is missing data or if Skye deleted it.” Bruce concluded.

“And, there is no mention of a child with the number 47.” Simmons added.

“She's thorough.” Jack frowned, stepping off the elevator.

“Then Skye's been deleting data,” Steve sighed. “Gamma's folder definitely mentioned child 47.”

“Maybe she'll get in contact with him. If they have the same serum, he could tell us if there are going to be any negative side effects.” Bruce agreed, looking upbeat.

“She won't.” Jack sighed. “You can try. But she won't.”

“She's stubborn.” Steve agreed.

“There's something else...” Simmons smirked.

“Shush!” Bruce grinned. Steve and Jack both raised eyebrows at that. “It's a secret. A surprise?”

“For Tony's re-birthday dinner.” Simmons grinned.

“But that's not until later!” Jack groaned, stomping his foot. “Just tell us now. We can keep a secret.”

“Nope. I want to see your expressions.” Bruce laughed.

“Our team is staying for a few more days,” Simmons said softly. “Mr. Stark offered and with Skye's condition, we weren't sure what to expect medically. Seems safer to stay a little longer and keep an eye on her.”

“I have the new readings,” Fitz declared sleepily, walking into the lab with his drones hovering lazily behind him. His hair was sticking up all over, like Simmons hadn't given him a chance to shower before taking Skye's readings. He took a startled double take when he noticed how many people were in the lab. “Uh. Hi. Good Morning.”

“We never have to share our lab space,” Simmons explained with a shrug. “Fitz isn't really a morning person. Our team has learned to stay away.”

“Yeah, well, stay away from Jack in the mornings too.” Steve smirked, giving Jack a friendly shove. “I'm not sure how he's so awake right now.”

“I think last night was the best sleep I've had in...years.” Jack smiled shyly. “Skye's back, the scientists are done for...I don't have to worry about anything right now. That's more than I could say for, well, pretty much my whole life.”

“These are actually pretty good, considering.” Bruce mused, pointing something out to Simmons on the scan.

“Oh good. I can't do gore this early in the morning. You guys have enough stories to hold over me.” Jack moaned with relief.

“I could always share some childhood pictures,” Steve grinned.

“You wouldn't!” Jack gasped.

“Well, then behave.” Steve smirked.

“You better behave or I'll add another theory to the internet!” Jack shot back, frowning. Simmons and Fitz cocked their head at the same time, making Bruce laugh.

“Skye was kind enough to enlighten us to some rather...interesting...stories about Steve's...er...”

“Refractory period.” Jack offered. Steve was by his side in an instant, slapping his hand over the man's mouth. Clint giggled from the air vents, drawing all of their eyes upwards.

“Should I enlighten Coulson's team?” Clint laughed, knowing he was safe in the vents.

“Yes, please!” Fitzsimmons agreed, nodding rapidly.

“NO!” Steve all but shouted, making the room laugh.

“Well, now you have to tell us.” May smirked, startling everyone but Bruce, who had seen her get off the elevator.

“Clinton Francis Barton, don't you dare!” Steve shouted, struggling to keep Jack in place without hurting him.

“Oh, breaking out the full names?” Tasha laughed. “What'd he do?”

“Skye shared two theories.” Clint told Fitzsimmons, ignoring Steve trying to get to him. Jack was dangling from his back, trying to hold him back.

“The first one is my favorite!” Tasha grinned, bumping her hip into May's.

“And that is?” May smiled. She enjoyed seeing this side of people. She didn't often get to see people in their comfort zones.

“Care to share?” Clint offered.

“You all suck!” Steve huffed, giving up on trying to reach Clint. Simmons was giggling and hiding behind Bruce, who had carefully stepped away from the chaos. He had superb control, but it wouldn't do to test things unnecessarily. Fitz was helping Jack from the floor where Steve had thrown him unceremoniously. He tried for the elevator, but May and Tasha were casually blocking it.

“Her first theory,” Tasha started.

“The internet's theory!” Steve corrected loudly.

“The first theory is that when Steve has his first, first?, ejaculation...”

“Oh, God. Don't say the word.” Steve groaned, burying his face in his hands. His face was a painful shade of red.

“It'll be this huge, gigantic wad of seventy year old cum.” Tasha finished, grinning. “You know, cause it all built up during his time in the ice.”

“Kill me.” Steve muttered. “Kill me now.”

“The second theory is less dramatic,” Clint stage whispered. “But I think probably more realistic.”

“What is it?” Simmons asked, grinning.

“Increased libido.” Clint said simply. “Or, as Skye put it, seventy years of libido all shoved into ten years.”

“You horn dog,” Tasha laughed.

“I'm leaving now.” Steve said pointedly, gently pushing the ladies aside. He waited until he was in the elevator before turning back to the group. “I'll be seeing you soon, for my revenge.”

“Sure thing, Cap!” Clint chuckled, pulling himself from the vents.

“Did you see his face?” Fitz was giggling with Jack. “I've never seen a human turn that color before!”

“My friends suck,” Steve muttered to himself. He needed to run and get breakfast before Steven got bored.

0-0-0-0-0

“How are you doing?” Tony asked, letting himself into Steve's room. Steven was still by Skye's side, though now he was propped up on the headboard. She was tucked in close to him, her face pressed into his hip and her arm thrown over him.

“I'm okay,” He shrugged. “A little hungry.”

“I figured you'd be hungry.” Tony smirked. “You didn't really eat dinner last night. There's breakfast upstairs. Why don't you go get some and watch some cartoons? Jarvis can help you find something you like.”

“That's okay. I don't want Skye to be alone.”

“You're not on babysitting duty,” Tony smiled. “I'll stay with her. You go get food.”

“You promise not to leave? I don't want Skye to be alone.”

“Go get some food, Steven.” Tony said firmly. He smirked and pulled the boy from the bed. “I promise I won't leave.”

“You better not.” Steven replied just as firmly. He pointed a finger at Tony's chest. “I'll be watching.”

“You got it boss.” Tony replied, struggling to keep a straight face.

He wasn't going to lie, when he first heard Steve was stealing a kid...he wasn't too pleased. Kids were hard and messy and terrible. They got into everything and ruined everyone's fun. They had no place in his Tower. But he had softened when Clint told him what Shield had done. He kept on softening towards the boy at every turn – his amazement at his inventions, his enthusiasm for helping, his protective nature, and most of all, his cheek. Even after his "bad day", the kid was still worth all the mess. This kid could be the exception for his Tower.

“He will be watching,” Skye giggled softly.

“Thought you were sleeping.” Tony smiled, taking Steven's spot on the bed.

“Hmm, I'm a light sleeper.” Skye replied, not moving at all.

“How are you feeling? I can get you anything you need – morphine, food...”

“I'm fine.” Skye mumbled, snaking one hand out to grab Tony's.

“Christ, how are you still cold?” Tony gasped, feeling her icy fingers enclose around his. “Jarvis, could you ask someone to bring more blankets down whenever they have a chance?”

“I'll be okay,” Skye yawned. “Now shush it. I'm trying to sleep here.”

“Sorry, sweetheart.” Tony grinned, pulling her fingers to his mouth for a light kiss. He waited until he was sure she was asleep again before pulling out his tablet. He was still reviewing the footage from Skye's time at the second building.

“You look frustrated,” Steve commented, stepping into the room quietly. Tony startled visibly.

“Make some noise, will ya?” Tony grumbled.

“Hey, it's my room.”

“In my Tower.”

“What are you trying to do?” Steve asked, stepping in closer.

“It's footage from the second building. Trying to figure out some of our mysteries. It's an added bonus that I'm getting myself nice and angry before we go see those scientists.”

“When are we doing that?” Steve asked. He stripped off his sweaty shirt and used it to towel his face dry. “I wouldn't mind seeing those scientists, either.”

“Maybe tomorrow? I want to go today, but Pepper is super worried that we're going to end up in jail and miss my fake dinner.” Tony sighed, waving the tablet around. “Go shower before you give me a complex.”

“Another one?” Steve smirked, heading towards his wardrobe to grab fresh clothes.

“Yes, another one. Get out of my sight.” Tony replied flippantly.

“Get out of my room,” Steve countered easily. He cocked an eyebrow at Tony, then closed himself in the bathroom.

“Damn super soldiers,” Tony grumbled, adjusting against the headboard. Skye pulled herself closer to Tony's side, seeking his heat in her sleep. He frowned and kicked his shoes off, sliding under the top covers to let her access his body heat. He untangled her IV line from her other arm, letting her curl her arms up like she wanted to. He noticed her fluids were running low so he pulled up an app on his tablet to send a message to Bruce. He could have just asked Jarvis to relay the message, but he would have risked waking Skye.

“Being in my room wasn't enough?” Steve asked dryly, stepping out of the bathroom.

“What?” Tony frowned, pulling up the report Bruce just sent him on Skye.

“You have to be in my bed too?” Steve asked, shaking his head.

“She's cold.” Tony shrugged unapologetically.

“Still?” Steve frowned, sliding into his bed on the opposite side from Tony. He slid over to Skye's side, feeling her chill before he reached her. “Why didn't you say?”

“Jarvis is relaying a blanket order.” Tony shrugged.

“Is that Skye's report?” Steve asked after a minute. Skye was breathing deeply between the two, finally warming.

“Yeah.” Tony grunted. “Bruce just sent it to me. I can't believe the bastards took chunks of her.”

“And did nothing to patch her up.” Steve nodded. “I'm kind of glad she has the healing. I mean, I'm concerned...but until something negative shows up, I can't see a downside to the increased healing speed.”

“I need to get in contact with 47.” Tony said firmly. “They're running on the assumption that the serum was pretty much the same between Skye and 47. He could tell us about negative side effects. The more prepared we are, the better.”

“Crack that code.” Steve agreed. Skye snorted lightly, shifted closer to Steve's heat, and let out a long breath.

“She's laughing at me and she's not even awake.” Tony moaned. Steve laughed at his expression. He shifted down, laying flat under the covers instead of leaning against the headboard. His bed really was very comfortable; though, it took a while to get used to.

“Learn anything else interesting from Bruce?” Steve smiled.

“Her blood level is rising surprisingly fast. Like, she's in the low range of normal,” Tony shrugged. “I guess her healing is accelerating blood cell growth. I can't complain about that.”

“Can we just have the healing for a few more days and then have the serum flush out?” Steve joked. “I just want her better.”

“She says she's okay.” Tony sighed.

“But you've seen her move.” Steve agreed. “She's definitely not okay.”

“God, you guys talk a lot,” Skye mumbled.

“Sorry,” Steve murmured. Skye shifted towards him, pulling herself to his side with a wince.

“Your heat makes up for it.” She smiled, blinking rapidly. She gave up her struggle and let her eyes drift back shut.

“Well, I feel surplus to requirements, so I'm going to...” Tony smirked, sliding away from Skye.

“Hmm, no.” Skye moaned, snaking her arm towards him. She snagged his pants and gave a gentle tug. “Stay. Cuddling is good for the soul.”

“There's nothing wrong with your soul.” Tony snorted.

“Are you willing to bet on that?” Skye chuckled. “Five minutes? Please, I need five minutes. For my soul, Tony.”

“God, you're needy.” Tony sighed, giving in with an ill disguised smile. He slid back in until he was pressed against her side again.

“Needy for body heat.” Skye agreed.

“You are ridiculously cold.” Steve agreed.

“Don't worry,” Skye mumbled. “You're doing a good job fixing that.”

“I feel like I just walked in on a supervised date.” Bruce commented from the doorway. Simmons was smiling fondly behind him. Bruce was carrying new bags of fluids and another meal bag, and Simmons had a few blankets in her arms. They had given up trying to give Skye new blood; her own levels were high enough that they decided it wasn't worth the trouble. Tony snorted his amusement, looking over at Steve and Skye laying next to each other. He was still sitting against the headboard, working on his tablet.

“Hmm, cause this is what I would do on a date.” Steve sighed. He tried to bite back his words as they flew from his mouth, belatedly realizing he was opening himself up to jokes. Surprisingly, it was Skye that giggled.

“You don't bring your dates back to your bed?” She asked, amusement clear in her voice. Tony grinned at Steve from over her head.

“He hasn't yet, at the very least.” Tony smirked. “But maybe he's just using his seventy years of libido to take care of things in an alley somewhere...”

“You're disgusting.” Steve interrupted. He was red again, embarrassed that his sex life kept being brought up.

“Keep embarrassing him,” Skye giggled, squirming closer to his side. “He gets deliciously warm when he's embarrassed.”

“Did you hear that Steve?” Jack laughed from behind Simmons. “You're delicious.”

“You would know.” Steve muttered. “Being my boyfriend and all.”

“Oh no!” Skye giggled. She shivered so Steve opened his arms, letting her squirm closer to his heat. She pulled herself close and draped her arm over his torso. “I can't believe you got to go to headquarters.”

“That's where the kids are.” Jack nodded.

“Still?”

“Still. There are a few that are sick, still. Also, I don't think Shield has a definite plan for the kids yet.” Steve informed her.

“Not the system.” Skye insisted. “That plan won't work. They'll be the freak kids with weird technology fused to their bodies and stupid medical conditions. They'll never get out.”

“I know. I've told the Director.” Steve murmured softly. Reassured, Skye released the tension she didn't realize had been building in her body. Steve grinned and shot Jack a smirk. “Your brother also likes making Ward very uncomfortable.”

“Have I met Ward?” Skye asked. Tony got up from his spot on the bed, taking advantage of her distraction. Before Jack could take his place, Bruce knelt on the bed so he could replace the bags.

“He's on my team.” Simmons nodded.

“I know. I picked him.” Skye smiled. “I just don't know if I've met him.”

“He was at the loading dock on the Bus...that you don't remember.” Jack nodded.

“He's the one that gave you the blanket when you were sleeping,” Steve helped remind her.

“You make him uncomfortable?” Skye asked, smiling.

“My sister wasn't around to make me promise to be normal.” Jack replied cheekily, turning his (now forgotten) grief into a joke.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.” Clint drawled, staggering into the room. “Will you let the poor girl go?”

“I started it,” Skye informed him, trying to hide the faint blush that stole across her cheeks. “Would it make you feel better if I told you I'm only using him for his heat?”

“Only?” Clint asked, grinning. “I don't think you're only using him for his heat.”

“Help!” Steven yelled, pushing through the crowd of adults blocking the doorway. Just before he was free, a hand reached through and grabbed him. “No! Skye, help!”

“Oh, kid. What did you do?” Clint asked, amused. Tasha hauled the boy over her shoulder and headed for the elevator.

“Steve!” Steven called out again, reaching back for him. Steve laughed and shook his head.

“I can't believe you were dumb enough to start something with her.” Steve replied, offering no help.

“Trip and I just wanted to watch cartoons!” Steven shouted back. Tasha growled playfully and all but dropped Steven to the floor, catching him at the last second.

“There's nothing wrong with my cartoons!” Tasha informed the boy, tickling him mercilessly.

“Stop!” Skye shouted, sitting straight up really quickly. She regretted that decision immediately, clutching her torso and breathing slowly through the pain. Steven scrambled from the floor, taking advantage of Tasha's distraction. “Don't tickle him. Ever,” Skye said firmly, though she was gasping a little from the pain.

“Can I...?” Steven asked, working to slip behind his mask. Everyone in the room saw the panic in his eyes before the mask was able to slide on properly.

“Come here,” Skye nodded, flipping the sheets back. Steven didn't hesitate; He dove onto the bed and scrambled up it, burying his face in Skye's side. Skye twisted away from Steve, wincing painfully, to wrap her arms around the boy and pull him flat. She murmured to him softly, though only Steve could hear the mash-up she was whispering.

“Jack?” Tasha asked softly. Jack shook his head.

“She's just reassuring him. It's okay.”

“I don't understand what I did wrong,” Tasha said softly.

“I'll explain it outside,” Jack muttered, drawing her from the room. “Give her a minute with him.” Clint and Tony followed, eager to hear his explanation. Bruce and Simmons hesitated, lingering over Skye.

“Why don't you come back in a little bit?” Steve suggested softly.

“Are you okay, Skye?” Bruce asked softly. She didn't stop murmuring to Steven, but smiled up at him and nodded. Bruce nodded and grabbed Simmons' hand, leading her from the room. With the room cleared out, Steve could hear the boy's rapid breathing. Skye was muttering to him quietly in the mashup, her voice low and soothing. She was running her hand through his hair and would occasionally press a gentle kiss to his forehead. Steve reached over Skye to rub his back, offering support in the only way he knew how.

“I'm okay.” Steven muttered after a minute.

“Wanna tell me what happened?” Steve asked softly, giving the boy the choice. Steven unburied his face from Skye's chest, looking up at her with a questioning expression.

“I can tell him, if you don't want to.” Skye offered. Steven pulled away, sliding away from Skye so he could crawl over her. He settled himself between their bodies, humming contently. Skye grinned and adjusted against him to make herself more comfortable.

“Cuddling is good for the soul.” Skye laughed lightly.

“They didn't like us touching.” Steven whispered.

“Well, I'm a cuddler.” Skye grinned tiredly, tapping his nose. “Any time you want a cuddle, I'm down.”

“Any time?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay,” Steven whispered, struggling to hide a grin. “Can you tell Steve about the whole...tickling thing?”

“Sure thing,” Skye nodded, smoothing the boy's hair down. She looked over at Steve, obviously considering where to start. “Um. Well, tickling is a panic response. There are different theories, so you have to take it with a grain of salt, but the scientists believed in two theories. One being that your ticklish areas are the most vulnerable – so you have to be trained to protect them. It goes hand in hand with their other theory, that tickling helps develop combat skills. So they would train the children to develop defensive skills and evasion skills through tickling. For some, tickling creates too strong of a panic response – that's why some people are more ticklish than others.”

“So no tickling?” Steve asked, smiling softly at Steven.

“Please, no.” He replied, smiling shyly.

“You could just tell me things like this.” Steve pointed out. “Save us all from learning the hard way.”

Steven shrugged. “We don't get touched much.”

“I'll be fixing that.” Skye said confidently. Steven giggled and nodded his agreement.

“Okay.”

“Is that what happened in the lab with Bruce?” Skye asked, her eyes lighting with recognition. “They said they were looking at your spine.”

“I don't know,” Steven replied, wincing. “I just kind of panicked and...then I was in the vents and I didn't know how I got there...”

“Anything else I should know, while we're on the subject?” Steve asked, reaching a long arm across the two people sharing his bed.

“Like what?” Steven asked.

“Anything. Allergies, things I shouldn't do, things that freak you out.”

“Allergies?”

“Jack can't have strawberries,” Skye explained. “When he eats them, his face swells up and he has a hard time breathing. But sometimes an allergy is less severe; you might just get a rash or feel sick.”

“I don't think I have anything like that.” Steven shrugged.

“Good. One less thing to worry about.” Steve grinned.

“I don't like being alone.” Steven added after a minute of thought. “We were always together, so being alone meant a test was coming.”

“I can't promise you won't ever be alone,” Steve said softly. “But I can promise there won't be any tests, ever.”

“Except with Not-Doctor-Bruce?” Steven smirked.

“Only when I'm worried about your health,” Steve grinned. “But we both know that's not the kind of test you were worried about.”

“No, it isn't.” Steven agreed. “I don't like needles.”

“You'd be crazy if you were,” Skye laughed lightly.

“Skye doesn't like them either,” Steve whispered like he was sharing a secret.

“I don't like sleeping at night.” Skye said softly, adding her own confession. “Jack and I were on the run for a long time. They usually caught up to us at night.”

“Why were they after you?” Steven asked, frowning.

“I helped Delta after tests, remember?” Skye asked. The boy nodded.

“You brought them 47's blood.”

“Right. Well we call it the Magic Blood.” Skye smiled softly. “It makes people better. Helps you heal. But because I kept healing Delta, the scientists thought their serum worked really well. So they were really mad when I broke Delta out. They thought I was stealing away all of their hard work. They thought they finally made the perfect serum.”

“We should call 47 so he can give you some blood.” Steven commented. Steve grinned at Skye's exasperated expression.

“Smart kid,” Steve laughed, messing up the boy's hair.

“I don't need blood.” Skye frowned.

“You need to get better.” Steven said firmly. Steve laughed loudly.

“I'm fine.” Skye huffed.

“You could be better.” Steven huffed back, mocking her annoyance. Steve was laughing behind the boy, enjoying their back and forth. “You took care of Delta, let us take care of you.”

“I'm not good at that either,” Skye sighed.

“Practice makes perfect,” Steven recited.

“Steve, your kid is ridiculous.” Skye huffed, looking past the boy to Steve's amused face.

“Hey.” Steve retorted. “He's perfect.”

“Just perfect,” Steven agreed, tossing his hair with a satisfied smirk. Skye laughed out loud.

“Just how much time have you been spending with Jack?”

“Not that much.” Steven shrugged.

“How long have you been at the Tower?”

“Steve brought me here a week ago.” Steven grinned. “They needed some help finding you.”

“Desperately.” Steve nodded. “We had nothing.”

“Hmm, my knight in shining armor,” Skye mumbled, tucking in closer to her boys.

“We'll always save you.” Steven whispered. He twisted slightly, looking at Steve. “Skye's safe now, right? I mean, we can keep it that way?”

“Of course,” Steve nodded. “I'll do everything in my power to keep the both of you safe.”

“Sappy.” Skye mumbled, sounding half asleep. Steven grinned at Steve, amused by Skye's assessment.

0-0-0-0-0

Skye stayed asleep for most of the day, only waking briefly when new people came into the room. Finally Jack huffed and told the entire team to stay in the room or get out. Skye was too light of a sleeper to sleep through their entrances, however quiet they tried to be.

“I was super quiet!” Clint argued in a loud whisper.

“Yeah, well she's got thirty five years of running from the bad guys.” Jack argued back. “She's learned to sleep light. Don't argue with me Clinton.”

“She needs to rest.” Tasha nodded. “Let's go get food and a shower. You can come watch a movie or read by her later.”

“This is stupid.” Clint pouted, letting Tasha drag him from the room. “Jack was way louder than I was.”

“He's got a point.” Skye had called out tiredly. “You are way louder than the others.”

“Hmm, but you know my noises.” Jack replied, slipping into bed with his sister. Steve had taken Steven to the gym, showing him some of the more kid appropriate exercises he could do to help burn his seemingly endless stockpile of energy. Skye wrapped her arms around his waist and tugged him closer to her side. He smiled and ran a hand over her head, “Go to sleep, sissy. I got you.”

“There's a sappy bug running amuck in this tower.” Skye muttered before doing as he ordered.

When Clint came back an hour later with a book and a defiant expression, Jack didn't have the heart to tell him no. Skye had grinned sleepily and curled up around his body, eagerly seeking his heat and stability.

0-0-0-0-0

The next time she woke, Steve was holding Steven up in the air while laying on his back. Skye bit her lip, watching their interaction without commenting. Steven pulled a roll of duct tape off his arm and taped it to the ceiling. He had two smaller pieces that he used to secure the roll. Skye bit back a giggle when Steve slowly lowered him down. He was obviously trying to be quiet, but the tape was loud – especially in the excruciatingly silent room. It didn't help that he was unrolling it as slowly as he could, trying to mask the noise. Skye successfully bit back her laughter until Steven had secured his iPad to the roll of duct tape and had laid down at Steve's side.

“Sorry.” Steve winced. Her giggling had given her away. “Were we too loud?”

“We tried to be quiet.” Steven nodded, unknowingly mirroring Steve's wince.

“Are you watching a movie?” Skye chuckled.

“My arm got tired.” Steve nodded. Skye's chuckle turned into a giggle.

“So you taped it to the ceiling?”

“We had to use the tools at hand.” Steven informed her defensively. Skye bit her lip and nodded seriously. She wasn't going to ask why Steve had duct tape on hand.

“You're very resourceful.” Skye agreed.

“I know.” Steven replied, entirely self-assured. “Wanna watch with us? Steve's letting me cuddle.”

“Am I allowed to cuddle?” Skye asked, faking a pout.

“What? Of course you are!” Steven exclaimed, shocked that she was even asking. “Steve, move over! Let Skye cuddle!”

“Sorry,” Steve apologized, smiling at the boy and his theatrical disapproval. “Skye, of course you're welcome to cuddle.”

“Okay,” Skye grinned, pulling herself to Steve's side. She still winced, but her movements were more fluid. Steve took that as a good sign. She padded herself in with pillows, making herself comfortable against Steve's side and shoulder. “What are we watching?”

“We're in between movies.” Steve replied. “What do you want to watch?”

“Lilo and Stitch.” Skye replied instantly.

“We don't have that.” Steve laughed.

“Gimme.” Skye retorted, reaching for the tablet. Within a minute, the movie was playing. The only issue was the tablet was spinning ever so slightly in the air.

“Can you get car sick without being in a car?” Steve asked, lightly joking. Skye giggled against his side, rotating her head in time with the twisting of the tablet.

“We need a support beam.” Steven sighed. “Steve, can I climb you again?”

“Sure, buddy.” Steve laughed, handing him the roll of duct tape. He scaled Steve's legs, then balanced himself on the bottom of Steve's feet. Skye laughed at Steven's efforts – he suspended another strip of tape from the ceiling to use two points of contact for the tablet. With the extra line, the tablet no longer swung in place.

“Hey, Steve?” Skye whispered, trying to hide her amusement. Steve turned his attention to her with a smile, instantly seeing the amusement twinkling in her eyes.

“Yeah?” Steve replied, shifting to keep balancing Steven on his feet.

“I think I'm feeling better now.” Skye informed him, losing grip of her composure. She tried to hide her smile by pretending to scratch her lip, but Steve saw through it.

“Is that so?” Steve replied, grinning. He missed playful Skye.

“Yeah.”

“Did Dr. Pokey promise you a sucker when you're better?” Steve bantered back. Skye's grin burst out from under her hand.

“No.” Skye laughed. “I was promised something else, though.”

“Hmm, don't remember promising.” Steve replied, drawing her closer anyway.

“It was implied.” Skye said softly, licking her suddenly dry lips. Steve smirked and pressed a long kiss onto her forehead.

“I'll keep that promise.” Steve grinned, seeing Skye's outraged face. “When you're all better.”

“Um...Steve, are you going to let me down?” Steven asked loudly, balancing his core on the bottom of Steve's feet.

“Yep.” Steve nodded. “Right now.”

“You should see your hair,” Steven grinned at Skye.

“My hair?”

“Clint was in here for a while,” Steve informed her.

“Take a picture? I'm not getting out of bed for a mirror.”

“You gonna show me what a selfie is?” Steve smirked.

“The right way,” Skye nodded, flashing him a bright smile when he handed his phone over. “Smile!”

“Is it a groupie if there's more than one person?” Steven asked with a thoughtful frown.

“Oh, we gotta get Steve a lot of groupies,” Skye jumped in, making Steve blush. “Steve really, really likes groupies.”

“We can have a groupie every day!” Steven suggested, making Skye and Steve laugh. The adult content was going way over his head. Thank goodness. Skye found the picture on his phone and showed the other two.

“It's a Steve Sandwich,” Skye murmured. “With Sneaky Asian bread.”

“Sneaky Asian bread?” Steve laughed. He had forgotten about Tony's sudden adversion to Asians.

“Clint did your hair good,” Steven smiled, looking at the french braid that ran along the left side of her head. Skye nodded her agreement, fingering the braids with careful touches. They settled back, finally ready for the movie.

“Tony is going to throw a fit when he sees this.” Skye giggled.

“And then buy a giant TV to replace it.” Steve agreed, sighing.

“This is much cozier.” Steven added, snuggling into Steve's free side. He peeked over Steve's chest to look at Skye. “We're going to do this more often. He cuddles way more when you're around.”

“Shh,” Steve whispered, using the start of the movie as an excuse to shush them. Skye grinned at Steven and nodded her agreement.

She was asleep again five minutes into the movie.

Chapter Text

“...rainbows and lollipops.” Tasha's whisper woke Skye from her slumber next.

“That's getting old.” Steve whispered.

“Not as old as you,” Skye muttered, tightening her grip around Steve's waist. She felt his laughter rumble through his chest. Steven shifted against Steve's other side. He had fallen asleep as well.

“You really are a very light sleeper.” Steve murmured. “Sorry, doll.”

“It's okay.” Skye smiled, pushing away slightly. “I think I'm ready for the facilities.”

“I'll take you.” Tasha offered, catching on immediately. Simmons had informed her that Skye was re-hydrating very quickly.

“Think I can sneak there without Simmons seeing me walk?” Skye asked in a whisper, pulling the IV from her arm with a grimace.

“Not a chance!” Simmons huffed, appearing behind Tasha. Skye groaned and flopped back against Steve, trying to hide the IV line as she did so.

“It's like she can apparate.” Skye moaned to Steve.

“I don't...” Steve shrugged, completely confused.

“Oh, ha ha.” Simmons retorted, laughing sarcastically. “Just because I'm British, you have to pull out the Hermione jokes?”

“It's not cause you're British.” Skye retorted. “It's cause you just poof appear. Maybe you're my boggart. Hmm, what should I turn you into?”

“You're trying to distract me.” Simmons smirked. “And it's not going to work. We can get you to the facilities...why are you calling them facilities?”

Skye shot Steve a sideways look and pointed discretely to him. Steve laughed.

“What? They are facilities!”

“Guys...I really just have to pee, and I don't much care what you call the room I do it in. Just...move.” Skye grumbled, shifting away from Steve.

“Yes,” Simmons nodded. “Bathroom, then we're checking those bandages. Your bodyguards have been keeping us away. Ugh, did you remove your IV line again?”

“Sorry.” Skye smirked, her expression giving away just how not sorry she was.

“You get the award for worst patient,” Simmons sighed, nudging Tasha forward. “And I work with Agent Ward.”

“Is he a bad patient?” Tasha grinned.

“The worst.” Simmons sighed. “I caught him in the washroom once – sewing a bullet wound shut on his shoulder.”

“That sounds like something Tasha would do,” Steve grinned. She narrowed her eyes at him, but they both knew she wouldn't do anything about it. It was the truth, after all.

“Girlfriend...I know you're like scary and assassin-y...but if you drop me, so help me...” Skye threatened.

“Oh shut up.” Tasha laughed, tossing back Steve's sheets to get at Skye.

“No laughing while carrying me!” Skye argued, inching away. “Laughing means less muscle control which means I end up on the floor.”

“Does she always whine this much?” Clint asked, peering into the room.

“Archer!” Skye called out, waving enthusiastically.

“You look like you're feeling better.” Clint grinned. Skye twisted back to Steve, barely wincing.

“See, Steve? Even Archer can see it.”

“Sorry, doll. I stand by my word.” Steve laughed.

“I thought you had to use the facilities.” Simmons sighed. Tasha nodded and took Skye from the room.

“I know you're making fun of me.” Steve informed her. Bruce laughed lightly from the elevator.

“Oh, you caught that, did you?” Simmons grinned.

“Leave our Resident Grandpa be, Jemma.” Bruce said, grinning warmly.

“I can pick a new team of super-heroes to hang out with.” Steve informed the room. “Or maybe I'll just hang out with Steven. He's always nice to me.”

“You are kinda old, though.” Steven mumbled, stretching. Steve sighed and playfully shoved the boy off him.

“And then there were none. I have no friends.” Steve grumbled.

“Ohana means family,” Steven giggled, easily catching Steve's playful mood. “We won't leave you behind.”

“Oh good, you made it further than I did.” Skye grinned from Tasha's arms. Tasha shook her head, but grinned at Skye's good mood. Skye, in turn, decided to take advantage of her position in Tasha's arms. She wrapped her arms around her neck, pushing her red hair back behind her ear. She lowered her voice and whispered seductively, “Thanks for carrying me over the threshold, love. But shouldn't we be doing this in your room?”

“You want some private time?” Tasha murmured back, playing along easily.

“Stop!” Clint shouted, striding into the room to smack lightly at the girls. “There are children present! And men masquerading as children!”

“Speak for yourself.” Steve laughed.

“You're not a man!” Clint retorted heatedly. “You're a grandpa.”

“I thought a grandpa was when your kids had kids?” Steven asked, frowning.

“It is.” Bruce laughed. “Have you had kids, Steven?”

“What? I'm seven!” Steven gasped. The room laughed at his expression.

“What'd I miss?” Tony asked, striding into the room with a grin.

“Tasha and Skye got married in the bathroom.” Steve replied.

“How did that make you feel?” Tony asked, smirking. He plopped himself down at the edge of the bed. “And what the hell is this?” Tony asked, poking the tablet suspended above the bed.

“It's cozy.” Steven told him with a finger pointed at him sternly. “And you're not allowed to replace it with a giant TV. We need our cuddles.”

“Like I need clothes that fit,” Skye replied distractedly. She was trying to roll the sleeve up that had fallen down. She frowned at the bandages around her wrists. She wasn't sure when she had gotten bandaged again.

“That I can fix.” Tony grinned at Skye. He was ignoring Steven's comment. Of course he was going to replace the suspended tablet. Duct tape was not a decorating tool.

“You were picking at your scabs,” Steve explained, catching her frown. She made a face and nodded her understanding.

“Jack said the van is here. I have a stash of clothes there. Can I just grab them?” Skye asked softly. No one answered her. “Okay, rephrase. Either someone takes me to my van or I'll get myself there. Yes – I will face the wrath of Hermione.”

“I just don't get it,” Steve huffed, reaching up to smooth his bed head. Tony laughed.

“Don't worry, we'll add some movies to your list.”

“No!” Skye half yelled. “The books. Steve, you have to read the books first.”

“Me too?” Steven asked. Skye nodded enthusiastically.

“We can read them together.” Steve nodded.

“Like bedtime stories?” Steven asked hopefully.

“Whatever you want,” Steve agreed. Reading was always a choice, as far as he was concerned.

“Guys, trying to get you to do something is like herding kittens. Clothes. Please. Can I have my clothes?” Skye huffed, looking exasperated.

“Do you often feel like a kitten wrangler?” Clint grinned at Steve.

“That is a perfect description of my job.” Steve nodded.

“And we're off topic again.” Skye groaned.

“We need to check your bandages, then we'll switch your clothes out.” Simmons agreed.

“Oh, and a shower?” Skye asked hopefully.

“Let's see how those scabs are doing first.” Simmons hedged.

“Deal.” Skye said confidently. Simmons gave her a half-hearted glare, trying to figure out her angle. “I mean it, check my legs. I would love to take these bandages off.”

“You're not helping your case.” Simmons murmured, still looking suspicious.

“Jack can show us where your stash is, while she does that.” Steve offered.

“I kinda just want an excuse to see my baby.” Skye replied shyly.

“Of course you do.” Tony nodded. “Bandages first, then we'll go visit your van.”

“You're my favorite.” Skye grinned, squirming in Tasha's arms. “Put me down, please. Let's get this over with.”

“You seem too excited.” Bruce commented. Skye cleared her throat and worked to make a sad face.

“Wifey, would you put me down so Meanie Simmons can remove the itchy bandages from my legs?” Skye asked, working her sad eyes. Tasha laughed and set her on the edge of the bed.

“They're itchy already?” Tasha asked. “I put lots of ointment on them.”

“You took very good care of me.” Skye nodded. “But I think my body is taking better care of itself than you can.”

“It did replenish your blood supply alarmingly fast.” Bruce nodded. The last two scans they had taken had shown her marked improvement. Her blood levels were normal and the scar tissue on her organs was all but gone. She was also rehydrating faster than Bruce would have believed possible, considering just how dehydrated she was before. “Never thought I'd say this – but I'm kind of glad they gave you that serum.”

“At least until side effects start showing up.” Simmons agreed. “Your healing is definitely a good thing.”

“I would have had side effects already,” Skye murmured, adjusting on the bed so Simmons could get to the bandages.

“It happens that fast?” Steve frowned.

“Dude, you went from a scrawny runt to Mr. America in like a minute.” Skye retorted. “Of course the results are fast.”

“My serum didn't have side effects like this serum does, though.”

“Skye is right.” Bruce interjected, watching Simmons start to unwrap her legs. “In all of the files, the side effects happen within the first twelve hours. The more severe ones happened way more quickly. The orange stuff started burning her immediately. We're definitely going to monitor this, but she might be in the clear.”

“Well, color me impressed.” Simmons whispered, running a finger down Skye's shin bone. Skye giggled and squirmed away from her hand.

“Oh, you're ticklish?” Steve smirked.

“Not usually.” Skye replied.

“This is all brand new skin.” Simmons grinned up at Bruce. “Look at this. The scabbing is practically gone.”

“That probably explains why she's ticklish,” Bruce mused. “That new skin is going to be extra sensitive until it toughens up.”

“So, that means I can shower!” Skye all but shouted. She wiggled in place, doing her happy dance. “Oh, a proper shower. Can I walk to the shower?”

“No!” Simmons and Bruce responded immediately. Skye frowned.

“The bottom of your feet are still scabbed over.” Bruce added, seeing her face fall.

“Can I scoot on my butt then?” Skye asked. Bruce grinned and shook his head. Skye huffed and crossed her arms. “I don't know why I'm asking permission here.”

“You wanna take on the Hulk?” Bruce countered easily, crossing his arms right back. He worked with Tony – he knew just how to handle her threat. “Take him on with damaged feet and healing organs? You're just begging for extra bed rest.”

“This is dumb!” Skye moaned, tossing herself backwards onto the bed. Steven plopped himself next to her chest, giggling at her dramatics.

“You should listen to Bruce. He's not like a doctor-doctor. He's nice.” Steven offered softly.

“Not a doctor-doctor?” Bruce asked, raising an eyebrow at Steve. He just shrugged.

“What? He doesn't like doctors.”

“No one likes doctors,” Skye muttered, glaring at Bruce.

“He prescribed me ice cream.” Steven whispered.

“Okay, I might have to give not doctor Bruce a shot.” Skye giggled.

“Good thing I'm a physicist then.” Bruce grinned. “If Steve could take a proper video, you would know that about me already.”

“Is that what was going on in the background?” Skye laughed.

“It was supposed to be his Science Bros introductory video.” Tony nodded, laughing along with Skye. “Grandpa here got the cameras mixed up.”

“I know, I saw.” Skye replied, sharing a smile with Steve. They were the only ones that knew he did it on purpose.

“Tasha may or may not have caught on.” Steve whispered to Skye. Tasha grinned and nodded.

“Definitely did.”

“Did what?” Clint asked.

“Definitely need some food.” Tasha retorted easily.

“Oh, food. It's dinner time. What are we eating?” Clint grinned, rubbing his hands together.

“Pizza!” Steven shouted immediately. He cleared his throat, realizing how loud he had been. “I mean...pizza would be good with me.”

“Pizza is good with me too,” Clint laughed. “But we just had that.”

“I didn't,” Steven muttered.

“That was your fault,” Steve replied, ruffling his hair.

“Birthday boy, on your honorary birthday, what would you like?” Skye asked Tony.

“We haven't had chinese for a while...” Tony shrugged. “But I don't really care.”

“Anything but schwarma.” Bruce moaned softly.

“Whiner.” Tony giggled.

“I'm gonna want to hear about this later,” Skye informed them both, grinning.

“Clint and I can go get the chinese.” Tasha volunteered.

“Can Steven come?” Clint asked Steve.

“Fine with me.” Steve shrugged. “Steven?”

“I can leave the Tower?” The boy asked, eyes wide.

“You're not our prisoner.” Tony retorted.

“I think Dr. Bruce needs you to fill that ice cream prescription, while you're out.” Simmons grinned. Steve frowned but didn't say anything. He would set Steven loose in her lab later, when all that sugar hit him.

“Where's Jack?” Skye asked, reaching back to pull her loose hair up into a ponytail.

“Something with Fitz.” Tony replied.

“Checking out the drones?”

“I don't know. They said something about Steve's comm set.” Tony shrugged. “I wasn't invited, so I don't care.”

“Oh, you care all right.” Skye laughed.

“Come on, munchkin.” Tasha grinned, holding a hand out for Steven. “Let's get you dressed so we can go get dinner.”

“Sweetheart, I'll take you to your van.” Tony offered. “See? I can remember to stay on topic.”

“This is why you're my favorite.” Skye giggled, stretching her arms up like a toddler asking to be picked up. Tony grinned and lifted her easily.

“Even more than Steve?” Tony asked.

“Definitely more than Steve.” Skye retorted, grinning conspiratorially with Tony. “I will admit he's a pretty good heat source though.”

“Hey Capsicle, Skye likes me more. Just saying.” Tony smirked.

“Meh, I'll change her mind later.” Steve shrugged, refusing to rise to their bait.

“When I'm better?” Skye asked.

“Of course.” Steve agreed. He grinned at her frown.

“You're just making this harder for yourself.” Skye informed him darkly.

“Hey, I always did like a challenge.” Steve grinned.

“I'm not wearing this outside!” Steven shrieked from two rooms down. Tasha's laughter could barely be heard. A minute later, Steven came strutting into the room in a leopard print muscle shirt, super skinny black jeans, and boots up to his knees. He tossed a frilly scarf over his shoulder, walking like he was on a catwalk.

“Whoo!” Skye cheered, prompting the boy to stop and pose. “Work it boy!”

“I guarantee your brother picked that one out.” Steve sighed.

“Can I take it off now?” Steven called out the door.

“What if I get you extra ice cream?” Tasha laughed.

“There is not enough ice cream in New York.” Steven informed her, pulling the shirt over his head. He winced slightly as the motion pulled on his ribs.

“Was this Shield?” Skye asked Tony, looking at the bruising on the boy's torso. The bruising had faded into dull yellows and greens, but the handprint bruise on his arm was still visible.

“Told you they weren't treating him right,” Steve said softly.

“I'm going to have words with them.” Skye announced.

“If they're lucky, maybe they'll just stay words?” Tony smirked.

“When can we go?” Skye asked. “I want this resolved. Yesterday.”

“How about when you can walk again?” Steve offered. “Somehow, I don't see you taking getting wheeled around very well.”

“That sounds fair.” Skye agreed. “So maybe tomorrow? Hmm, nope. That's your birthday dinner.” She kissed Tony's cheek. “Don't worry, I won't kick their asses on your honorary birthday. We'll go the next day. But can we call and have the staff changed?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

“Steve already told the Director off for it,” Clint grinned.

“Okay.” Skye beamed. “Clothes now, please.”

“I'm waiting here for you.” Simmons responded. “Go get your clothes, but I want to take the rest of your bandages off before your shower.”

“Deal.” Skye agreed. “Forward ho!” She yelled, pointing to the door.

“You calling me a ho?” Tony laughed, pretending to drop his armful.

“No!” Skye giggled, holding onto his neck tightly. “But if the stories are true, you do qualify as a man whore.”

“There are children present.” Clint laughed. He handed Steven some less fabulous clothes, which he changed into gratefully. “We're out. Enjoy your shower.”

“Oh, I will.” Skye hummed.

“Steve, you coming for chinese or staying behind?” Clint asked.

“I'll stay. Should check in with Jack.” Steve replied.

“Later.” Clint called out, tossing Steven over his shoulder.

“You know, I'm a boy, not a rag doll.” Steven protested, hanging upside down.

“Van.” Skye sighed.

“Van.” Tony agreed, leaving the room.

“Bring her back here!” Simmons called after them. Skye shook her head lightly.

“Of course I'm coming back for a shower.”

“We could run away.” Tony grinned. “Find you a shower someplace else.”

“They may stroke out.” Skye giggled. “As appealing as that sounds, they are trying to help. No matter how frustrating it is.”

“Now you sound a little more like yourself.” Tony murmured, bouncing on the balls of his feet in the elevator. He shifted her in his arms, jiggling her weight. “You lost a lot of weight, Sweetheart.”

“Most women would react badly to weight comments,” Skye commented.

“You're not most women. And it's an observation. A fact. You've lost a lot of weight.”

Skye tapped his arc reactor, frowning thoughtfully. “I would have thought you could fix this.”

“I can.” Tony shrugged, seeing her blatant topic change. “I mean, Bruce and Simmons could – probably fairly easily. But the recovery time is too long. Iron Man can't be out of commission for that long.”

“There is a whole team of people who can step up for you.” Skye pointed out.

“Yeah, but can they fly?” Tony shot back.

“I bet Fitz and Jack could build them something.” Skye mused.

“We can discuss this another time.” Tony said firmly. “It's not your job to worry about me.”

“You can't tell me what to do.” Skye whispered in his ear.

“You're supposed to listen to your dad.” Tony retorted.

“Oh, my baby!” Skye gasped, opening her arms to her van. “She's dented. Why is she dented!?”

“Steve.” Tony sighed. “When Jack plugged in the flash drive, Steve thought he was going to get to see you and was a bit...enthusiastic.”

“I'm going to have words with that man.” Skye informed Tony.

“You do that sweetheart.”

“Okay, so...can I have like five minutes of privacy in my van?” Skye asked softly.

“You going to run away?” Tony asked.

“No. I won't. I promise.” Skye said truthfully. “I've been surrounded by people and cameras for way too long and I just need a minute to myself. To regroup? Please?”

“Steve will murder me if you run away.” Tony said again, though now he was grinning.

“Tony, I promise. I'm not running away. I won't even go in the driver's seat! You can have the keys. I just...This is my home, okay?”

“Okay.” Tony nodded. “I don't get it, but I kind of understand.”

“I won't get you in trouble, I promise.” Skye smiled, kissing Tony's cheek. “Well, at least not today. You may get in trouble after I talk with Shield.”

“Psh, I'm not Shield. They don't scare me. The others may get a talking to, though.”

“Guess I'll have to make it worth it then.” Skye grinned. Tony opened the side door and set her inside.

“Want me to close it?”

“Please. Just for like five minutes.” Skye repeated, pulling herself further into the van.

“Holler when you're ready.” Tony shrugged. “I'm going to go tinker with one of my cars.”

“Thanks, Tony.”

“Any time, sweetheart.”

0-0-0-0-0

“You guys are taking for ever.” Steve commented, letting himself off the elevator.

“Sorry.” Tony replied, wiping his hands off. He gently closed the hood to his favorite car and met Steve by the van.

“You lost her?” Steve asked, looking around for Skye.

“Grandpa, she can't walk.” Tony pointed out.

“She's expert at loopholes.” Steve rebutted. “Where is she?”

“Having some alone time.” Tony replied, nodding towards the van. Steve knocked lightly on the side door.

“Skye?” He asked. Nothing. He glared at Tony, knowing that she was gone. She left herself a loophole and she had escaped. He wasn't sure how, but he was certain. Suddenly, he was regretting not kissing her when he had the chance.

“God, you're so dramatic.” Tony groaned. “You're always assuming the worst.”

“She doesn't want to be here.” Steve retorted.

“And if you smother her, she won't stay here.” Tony replied easily. He opened the side door and poked his head into the van. He smirked and pointed inside, “Oh, Tony...she's gone. She's run from me and she's never coming back! Oh, Tony, please, teach me how to be with women. They're scary and intimidating...”

“Shut up, Tony.” Steve sighed, poking his head inside the van as well. Skye was curled up in the bottom bunk, clutching a faded blanket. She had changed out of Steve's clothes and was now wearing a purple flannel shirt and black yoga pants that stopped at her knee.

“Seriously though,” Tony whispered. “She's independent. If you smother her, she won't stay. And if you regret not kissing her so much, you should just do it. Pretty sure she's not going to mind.”

“What?” Steve asked, frowning.

“You heard me.” Tony smirked. “Also, you said that bit outloud while you were angry with me for losing her.”

“Cause you're such an expert on women.” Steve replied softly.

“Nope. Never said that.” Tony said, shaking his head quickly. “But I understand. I get what it means to be a free spirit.”

“Free spirit.” Steve sniffed.

“You know it's true. I do what I want, when I want to.” Tony grinned. “She's the same.”

“I thought I was the grandpa of the group.” Steve smirked. “You gonna keep giving me worldly advice?”

“Only when you need it.” Tony laughed. “And you're also the only freaking virgin of the group.”

“That is not something you know about me.” Steve rebutted. “Nor are we going to talk about it. Ever. Food is ready upstairs. You going to grab her?”

“Nah,” Tony shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Her boyfriend might get jealous.”

“Eh, Ward's upstairs.” Steve smirked, crawling into the van to get Skye from her bunk.

“Oh, now you can joke about it?” Tony laughed.

“Hey doll,” Steve whispered, rubbing a circle on her back. “Wanna go get some food?”

“Hmm, am I allowed to eat it?” Skye murmured, stretching lightly.

“That's up to you.” Steve replied.

“Can I walk up there?” Skye yawned.

“What if Hermoninie catches you?”

“Hermoninie.” Skye chuckled. “You're so old.”

“Food, doll?”

“Uh huh.” Skye nodded. “By the way,” Skye said softly, letting Steve pull her from the van, “We're going to have words about this.”

“Your van?” Steve asked.

“The big effing dent in my van!” Skye retorted, her anger getting lost in her sleepy tone.

“I told her how you got over enthusiastic.” Tony stage whispered.

“Oh, we're definitely having words over this.” Steve informed Tony, who just smirked. “After chinese.”

“Food!” Skye nodded. She adjusted in his arms, yawning into his shoulder. She hummed contently. “God, you're comfortable.”

“Thought you were just using me for heat,” Steve teased.

“Can't use you for anything else.” Skye retorted, smirking. “Apparently, I'm not better yet.”

“I don't think I want to know.” Tony sighed, stepping into the elevator with the two.

“Simmons got tired of waiting.” Steve told Skye. “We'll eat and then she can remove your bandages.”

“Skye?” Tony asked, peering around Steve's broad shoulders. He relaxed and smiled up at Steve, “She's asleep.”

“She was just awake!” Steve scoffed, trying to look at Skye's face. The fact that she didn't correct their third person usage told Steve what her face couldn't.

“Well, she's out now.” Tony laughed softly. Skye mumbled and adjusted her grip on Steve's shirt. The bandaging on her exposed wrist was twisted oddly, the tape barely holding the gauze to her wrist. “I kinda wanna look,” Tony admitted softly.

“I looked at Jack's,” Steve admitted back. “Confronted him about it when we went to get the van.”

“Well, he's still talking to us,” Tony smirked, then pulled the bandaging free from her wrist. Steve looked away, choosing to believe that she hadn't lied to him – and that if she had, she would fess up to it on her own time. “Oh.” Tony gasped. Steve groaned and looked back down at Skye's wrist. His curiosity was going to get him killed.

“She has a tattoo?” Steve asked softly, pulling her hand free from his shirt so they could inspect her wrist. Her hand twisted in his, transferring her grip to his hand.

“Jack said she didn't have a tattoo.”

“It's too long.”

“It's binary.”

“Yeah, I don't know what that means.”

“It's binary.” Tony repeated.

“Yes, thank you. That cleared everything right up.”

“It says Skye, in binary.” He explained. “See? 01010011, that's S. 01101011, K. 01111001, Y. 01100101, E.”

“She couldn't have just gotten a tattoo that said Skye?” Steve asked, making Tony chuckle.

“This is more her.” Steve just shook his head and shrugged lightly. He had no idea what Tony was talking about. He made a mental note to ask Skye about it. “Binary is used for coding, among other things.” Tony explained a little further.

“Ah, this is her.” Steve agreed. “God, that smells delicious,” Steve murmured when the elevator doors opened at the common floor. Skye didn't seem to notice. She was breathing deeply on Steve's shoulder.

“I think she's asleep.” Tony whispered.

“She was awake ten seconds ago,” Steve countered, trying to get a look at her face.

“She can sleep anywhere, anytime.” Jack called from the table. “Wave the soup under her nose. That'll wake her up.”

Chapter Text

Steve stretched lightly, coming awake a little bit at a time. His room was dark, so it was early. Too early. Why was he awake? Steven twisted next to him, curling up into a ball against Steve's side. Steve ran a hand down his head until he was sure the boy was asleep again, then gazed around the room trying to figure out what was off. He stretched his hand over Steven's body, reaching for Skye. He kept stretching, finding nothing but fabric. Skye was gone. She had kept her word...she may have slept through Tony's "honorary" birthday dinner, but she was there for it. He felt stupid; he really should have seen this coming.

“Crap.” Steve whispered, carefully untangling himself from Steven's hold. The boy didn't wake, just shifted and gripped Skye's blanket tighter, so Steve slipped free from the bed. Skye was definitely not in bed. Jack had still been up when Steve called it a night. It looked like he claimed a room of his own. The extra room farthest from his own room was closed. Steve smiled lightly at that. Good, he didn't have to have the awkward get the hell out of my bed conversation. He closed the door to his room before peeking in the two unoccupied rooms. Nothing. Steven's bed had been slept in, although briefly. The boy had snuck in between Skye and himself, so he knew Skye was still around at that point. He would need to talk to Steven about his nights. Was he having nightmares or was it just being alone that bothered him?

“Jarvis?” Steve asked softly. “Do you know where Skye is?”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers.”

“Where is she?” Steve sighed.

“In the building.” 

Steve couldn't help but feel relieved. It was too straight forward of an answer to be an evasion, but also vague enough to make her feel better.

“Jarvis. I want a straight answer.”

“I am unable to elaborate.”

“How are her vitals? Is she okay?” Steve asked, rubbing his eyes. He was tired and frustrated. He knew it was going to be a challenge, convincing her to stay...he just hadn't expected she would want out so fast.

“Miss Skye is perfectly alright, Mr. Rogers.” Jarvis responded, sounding amused. “She informed me that she's in lockdown mode and that you should go back to bed.”

“So she's in her van?” Steve asked. Jarvis was silent. Steve groaned and threw his arms up. “Will you let me know if she needs anything?”

“Of course.” Jarvis agreed. Steve groaned and rubbed his face. He was too worked up to go back to sleep. He could either hit the gym or start his run early. He checked the clock – 3am. Too early for a run. He would do an hour of gym time before doing his run. Maybe by then, Skye would have reemerged from her van.

0-0-0-0-0

Steve was cooling down from his gym time when Clint ran into the gym looking panicked.

“Shit, Steve. I looked everywhere. She's gone.” Clint rambled quickly. Steve's mouth quirked up at his panic.

“Clint, she's okay.” Steve replied calmly.

“Don't fucking tell me that! I don't know what Tony has been telling you, but she isn't just going to fucking stay. Jesus, Steve, did you hear me?” Clint yelled, shaking Steve by his shoulders. Steve smiled and stopped Clint from shaking him.

“She's in her van. Lock down mode.” Steve told him firmly, but kindly. He certainly understood his friend's panic.

“Why the fuck is she in her van?” Clint yelled, tossing his hands up. “Do you know how easily she could just drive away?”

“Tony has the keys.” Steve rebutted.

“Like she can't figure out how to hot wire her van.” Clint dismissed.

“She wouldn't ruin her van like that,” Steve snorted.

“I want to know how she got to her van,” Tasha added softly, stepping into the gym.

“Don't let...damn...Simmons. Don't let Simmons find out.” Steve frowned.

“It's Hermione.” Clint grinned, elbowing Steve cheerfully. “Can we go check? I would feel a hell of a lot better if we checked.”

“Sure,” Steve agreed, pretending like he was doing Clint a favor. Tasha chuckled lightly at his response. He wanted to confirm Skye's presence just as much as Clint did.

“And then breakfast, because I'm fucking starving.” Clint added.

“Maybe we should hide from Tony today,” Tasha muttered. “He's going to be impossible. Apparently yesterday didn't count because Skye was asleep.”

“Jack did show me the cloaking device,” Steve shrugged, leading the assassins from the gym.

“Wait, they have a cloaking device?” Clint asked, rushing up to Steve's elbow.

“Duh. How do you think Jack got away in a giant, blue van?” Steve retorted, smirking with pride that he knew something Clint didn't.

“Does that mean you figured out how Skye got out, smart stuff?” Clint retorted easily.

“Yes,” Steve lied easily. “But it's a secret.”

“You're terrible.” Tasha laughed, stepping off the elevator with the other two. She practically skipped over to the van and tapped lightly on the door.

“You guys are awful.” Skye called tiredly. “Who panicked first?”

“Clint.” Tasha and Steve replied instantly.

“Like Steve didn't panic.” Clint huffed, crossing his arms.

“I didn't panic!” Steve defended. “I just asked Jarvis.”

“Oh, yeah, cause she can't control every aspect of Jarvis' day.” Clint shot back.

“Boys.” Skye sighed. Tasha opened the side of the van, revealing a very tired Skye.

“Christ, how long have you been up?” Tasha asked, climbing into the van with Skye. Skye set a tablet aside and let Tasha under her blanket.

“I'm almost ready for bed.” Skye shrugged.

“Night owl.” Steve murmured, putting the pieces together. She had confessed it to Steven – she didn't like sleeping at night. They always caught up to them at night. She smiled her agreement, so he smiled back, “We're just heading to breakfast. Would you like something before bed?”

“I'll try something.” Skye nodded, looking considerably more chipper. She had braced herself, like they were going to be angry with her. She visibly relaxed at Steve's smile. Did she think he was going to yell at her?

“We can make you a protein shake.” Clint offered. “If nothing else, that'll come back up easier than something solid.”

“Gross,” Skye muttered, crinkling her nose in disgust.

“Why are you hiding a gun under your blanket!” Tasha asked, exasperated. Skye winced but didn't explain. She just shoved the gun under the pillow on her bunk.

“Skye, I know you don't believe us, but you're safe here.” Steve told her seriously.

“Although, technically, you would be safer if you were with...say...a super soldier – if anything were ever to happen.” Clint chimed in helpfully. Skye giggled lightly at the look Steve gave Clint.

“He's got a point. The garage is kind of isolated.” Tasha agreed, hooking her arm under Skye's knees to pull her from the van.

“Can't I walk?” Skye whined.

“How did you get here?” Tasha replied.

“Can I show you?” Skye grinned.

“Are you going to hurt yourself?”

“No! No, I promise. No feet necessary.” Skye hurried to reassure.

“This I have to see.” Clint smirked. Skye returned his smirk playfully.

“Might not make it as far this time.” Skye warned. “I'm tired.”

“Why don't you just let me help you, until you've slept?” Steve asked, shaking his head.

“No, thanks.” Skye replied flippantly. “I can definitely make it to the elevator.”

“After you,” Clint murmured, waving an arm towards the destination. Skye grinned and pushed herself to the edge of the van.

“Stop frowning, Steve.” Skye giggled, falling forward from the van.

“Shit, Skye!” Clint cursed, stepping forward to catch her. Skye found her balance, then straightened her legs above her head. Without further ado, she walked on her hands to the elevator.

“You've got to be kidding me.” Steve muttered, following Skye. “This is easier than being carried?”

“You bet it is,” Skye smirked. Her face was turning red from being upside down, but her smile was genuine. “Tasha, can I ride you up?”

“Only if I can watch,” Clint smirked. Steve elbowed him in the side, stepping aside so Tasha could get closer to Skye. She adjusted herself, backing her body up to Tasha's back. She dropped her legs over Tasha's shoulders and pulled herself up onto the assassin's shoulders. Tasha braced her by holding her knees. Skye giggled at Steve and Clint's expressions. She was hunched over, because the elevator was too short for her to sit straight. She rested her chin on Tasha's head.

“I think I'm better.” Skye smiled.

“Says the crazy lady walking around on her hands!” Clint argued. Steve just smiled and shook his head. He knew what Skye was telling him.

“You promised the lady a protein shake,” Tasha reminded Clint, stepping off the elevator. “Skye, do you like peanut butter? Clint makes a mean peanut butter protein shake.”

“Oh, yes please.” Skye grinned, straightening up on Tasha's shoulders. She looked over at Steve and sniffed distainfully. “Short stuff.”

“The two of you together are barely taller than me!” Steve laughed.

“But we wouldn't need to break a sweat to kick your bottom.” Skye said succelently.

“Bottom.” Clint laughed from the other side of the bar.

“Steve, wanna grab her?” Tasha asked, bending down slightly.

“Trust fall!” Skye giggled, toppling over backwards. Steve caught her easily and set her at one of the bar stools.

“You're impossible.” Steve murmured into her ear, running his hand down her back.

“Gotta show you my worst before you get all...attached.” Skye replied, waving her hands around vaguely.

“Is that what it's going to take to make you feel better about this?” Steve asked softly.

“Clint, let me help you with that.” Tasha said loudly, stepping away from the pair. Steve and Skye both shot her an exasperated look at her obviousness. When Skye didn't respond to Steve's question, he tried again.

“If we're still here after you show us your worst, will you stay?” Steve asked again, rephrasing his question. Skye shrugged. She was clearly uncomfortable being called out; she didn't intend to make this into a conversation. Steve frowned but pulled Skye in for a hug. “You can try your worst. I'll still be here. Remember, I lived with your brother for two weeks.”

“Jack's not that bad.” Skye laughed, taking his offering with gratitude.

“He's not.” Steve agreed. “But you're far less...bad?”

“The grammar police are gonna come after you,” Skye teased.

“I'm not afraid of grammar police,” Steve laughed lightly. He tapped the watch on Skye's left wrist. “I thought you had yours on when you were taken?”

“I did.” Skye nodded. “This is a spare. Well, more like a prototype. I always have one on. I'm afraid it's kind of like a security blanket. I feel better knowing I have tools at my disposal.”

“You'll have to show me sometime.” Steve smiled.

“Okay,” Skye grinned, hiding a yawn beneath her hand.

“All I'm asking is where you ended up!” Simmons sighed, stepping off the elevator. Fitz's answer was cut off by the loud whirring of the blender. Skye turned to Steve, excitement clear on her face.

“I forgot to tell you.” Skye whispered. “I heard Fitz and Jack talking last night.”

“Oh yeah?” Steve smiled. “Anything interesting to share?”

“Nah, I wasn't listening.” Skye shrugged. “I didn't hear Fitz leave though.”

“Oh.” Steve replied. Then he placed Simmons' voice asking Fitz where he ended up and it clicked. “OH!”

“Are you going to answer me?” Simmons said firmly, crossing her arms.

“Save him,” Skye whispered, nodding her head towards the two. Fitz had one hand on his hip and looked decidedly uncomfortable.

“I called Fitz away this morning.” Steve called to Simmons. “I needed his help.”

“With what?” Simmons frowned.

“That, ma'am, is between Fitz and me.” Steve replied with a similar frown. She seemed to realize she was putting herself where she didn't belong and flushed.

“Sorry, sir.” She said softly.

“Quite alright.” Steve replied. Fitz all but ran to Skye and him, taking advantage of Simmons' distraction.

“Christ.” Fitz muttered, slipping between Skye and the counter.

“That's a terrible hiding spot,” Skye told him softly. He winced and met her eye, relaxing visibly when he saw her warm smile.

“But it's a safe one?” Fitz replied, smiling softly.

“Oh, I will definitely keep you safe.” Skye replied, tossing her arm around his shoulders. “On the condition that I get a hug.”

“You can have as many bloody hugs as you want, as long as you keep her off my back.” Fitz replied dully, wrapping his arms around Skye's middle. 

"Would she have an issue with it?" Skye asked softly, trying not to frown.

"I don't know. I don't want to know, not yet." Fitz winced, as if he was remembering he was talking to Jack's sister. Skye just smiled and nodded her understanding.

“We will need to make a cover story,” Steve said softly. “Just in case.”

“Hey,” Jack called, stepping off the elevator. Skye shook her head quickly, catching the gleam in his eye. Obviously Fitz wasn't as comfortable telling everyone as Jack was. To his credit, Jack caught on quickly and abandoned his train of thought. “Good morning everyone. Sissy, what are you doing up?”

“I'm going to bed.” Skye replied tiredly. Jack helped himself to the stool on the other side of Skye. He and Fitz exchanged a soft smile.

“After drinking my masterpiece.” Clint interjected, setting the protein shake in front of Skye. He pushed a straw into the drink, grinning proudly.

“Thank you,” Skye smiled. Clint waited, watching Skye. She glanced around, unsure what he was waiting for.

“It's better in your mouth.” Clint said finally. Fitz and Jack dissolved into giggles. Even Steve cracked a smile. Clint groaned and smashed his hand against his face. “God. I'm surrounded by children.”

“You're a filthy hypocrite.” Tasha muttered.

“Nah, horny adults.” Skye chuckled, taking a sip of Clint's shake. “Oh, God. This is delicious.”

“Thank you,” Clint smiled.

“Can I have another one later?” Skye asked taking another sip. “Or...the recipe? Can I have the recipe?”

“That implies there is a recipe.” Tasha murmured from behind Clint.

“I just kind of eyeball it.” Clint shrugged. “But I will make you as many as you want.”

“You're my favorite today.” Skye grinned. Clint laughed and punched his fist in the air.

“I beat Steve!” Clint chortled, dancing in place.

“Beat me?” Steve asked, smiling.

“Well, yeah. I was her favorite yesterday.” Tony smirked, strolling into the room. His hair was almost straight up, making Skye frown.

“What have you been doing?” She asked softly.

“Could ask you the same thing sweetheart.” Tony replied, pushing Steve over so he could give Skye a hug. “Jarvis alerted me to your night time activities.”

“I didn't leave.” Skye reminded him, giving him a tight squeeze back.

“You scared me.”

“You worry too much.”

“Too much?” Tony snorted. “With you, there is no such thing.”

“I beg to disagree.”

“Did you clear this diet with Doctor Banner?” Simmons asked, watching Skye idly sipping on the shake.

“It's been cleared.” Skye nodded.

“With who?” Simmons asked, narrowing her eyes. Skye grinned and took another drink.

“Me.”

“You're not a doctor.” Simmons said firmly.

“I think she's okay to make judgement calls about food,” Tony sighed, pressing bread into the toaster. Jack and Fitz exchanged a smirk. Steve raised his eyebrow at them, but they both shook their heads. Skye missed the exchange.

“Archer, I'm not going to hurt your feelings if I don't drink this whole thing...will I?”

“Skye, you drink as much or as little as you like.” Clint replied. “I will be much more offended if you puke all over the kitchen.”

“Yeah. No puking!” Fitz added, nodding firmly.

“Can I save it for later?” Skye smiled.

“Course. I'll stick it in the fridge.” Clint grinned. “You ready for bed?”

“Hmm, few more minutes.” Skye replied, stifling a yawn.

“As long as you don't fall off the stool,” Clint replied, smiling warmly at her. Tasha snorted.

“Steve has fast reflexes.”

“What the fuck did you do to my toaster?” Tony groaned, pulling his breakfast out of the toaster. Skye started laughing, which set the whole kitchen off. “It's not funny.”

“I wonder who did it?” Skye asked, seeing Jack's name burned into the side of his toast.

“I wonder.” Tony replied dryly. Fitz and Jack exchanged a subtle high five.

“Fitz!” Simmons sighed, sounding disappointed. “It's very bad manners to tamper with our host's things.”

“Simmons, relax.” Tony sighed. “They'll get what's coming to them.”

“Oh yeah, old man?” Jack retorted, still laughing at how well his name had transferred over.

“Yeah.” Tony replied, turning to get a coffee mug. “When you least expect it.”

“Can I get a picture with you and your toast?” Jack asked, grinning.

“No! You may not!” Tony replied instantly.

“Ready for bed now?” Steve asked softly. Skye was drifting off in her chair, absently watching the interaction between Tony and Jack.

“Okay.” Skye nodded.

“Can I take you?” Steve asked. Skye seemed to take stock of herself and sighed softly.

“Probably a good idea.” She wrapped her arms around Steve's neck. “Night, everyone.”

“Good night,” Her friends chorused. Tony made a point of peeking out the window.

“It's like...5am.” Tony pointed out.

“You do the same thing, Dad.” Skye retorted. “At least mine is on purpose.”

“Later, Tony.” Steve smiled, taking Skye from the room. “Jarvis, my floor please.”

“Thank you for taking me,” Skye yawned.

“It's absolutely no problem.” Steve replied. Skye nodded and rubbed her face on Steve's shoulder.

“You're very good to me.”

“Good night, doll.” Steve murmured, setting her down on his bed. He was careful not to jostle the little boy that was still sleeping in his bed. He would be up soon.

“Can we go to the park later? Just for a little bit?” Skye yawned, adjusting until she was comfortable.

“Sure thing,” Steve replied, smiling at her fondly. She was asleep by the time he had her covered. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and headed back upstairs for breakfast.

0-0-0-0-0

“Dude, I think she sleeps all the time.” Steven announced to the kitchen. It was less than an hour later. Skye had woken when Steven did, but he convinced her to go back to sleep while he headed upstairs for breakfast.

“Nah, she actually doesn't sleep very much.” Jack replied around his mug of coffee. “She's just sleeping a lot because she's healing. I would bet she's going to go back to her sleepless ways here soon. She's doing a lot better.”

“And scary fast too.” Fitz commented, pushing the last of his cereal around his bowl.

“Very fast.” Steven nodded. “I wish I could heal up that fast.”

“Well, if we do our job right, you won't get hurt any more.” Jack commented, smiling warmly at the little boy.

“There are lots of ways to get hurt.” Steven shrugged. “Where's Steve?”

“On his run,” Tony answered, coming back into the kitchen for a refill on his coffee. “Why, you looking for something to do?”

“I'm always looking for something to do!” Steven grinned. “But...can I eat first?”

“They didn't feed you?” Tony sighed, giving Jack a pointed look.

“Tony would love to make you some toast.” Jack offered, smirking.

“There's that.” Fitz agreed with a shoulder shrug.

“What's with the toast?” Steven asked, narrowing his eyes at Jack.

“Toast it is!” Jack replied, jumping up from his spot.

“He should be your least favorite uncle.” Tony sighed.

0-0-0-0-0

“Park?” Skye asked, hopefully. She was still in the process of towel drying her hair.

“Simmons is going to freak when she finds out you've showered.” Steve smirked, leaning against the open door frame. Skye was standing in front of his vanity, which was strictly forbidden, but she didn't look uncomfortable so Steve let it go.

“She'll get over it.” Skye grinned, catching Steve's eye through the mirror. Tasha had brought her some new clothes to wear, swearing they would go clothes shopping as soon as she felt up to it.

“Will she?” Steve smirked.

“Probably. At least I used my shower chair again. I checked my scabs. They're all fallen off, but naturally. No water damage.” Skye smiled. “Are you still up for a trip to the park? I need some vitamin D.”

“I bet Bruce has some pills.” Steve smirked.

“No!” Skye sighed dramatically. “I need sunlight. Please. Face Plant, please?”

“You already know I'm going to take you.” Steve laughed. “But, to be clear, you're not walking around.”

“Are you a doctor, too?” Skye frowned.

“Yes. Doctor Rogers.” Steve nodded.

“Ugh, you suck.”

“Carried to the park or vitamin D from Dr. Banner.” Steve shrugged.

“Those aren't even good choices!” Skye huffed good naturedly.

“I was always told to give two options that I would be okay with.” Steve grinned.

“That's for children!”

“I'm okay carrying you and I'm okay leaving you here.”

“Fine!” Skye sighed, tossing the towel down. “You win.”

“Jarvis, you recorded that, right?” Steve asked, grinning.

“Yes, Mr. Rogers.”

“Great. Is Steven still in archery practice with Clint?”

“Yes, Mr. Rogers.”

“If he asks, we'll be back in a little while. I'll have my phone, if anything comes up.”

“You worry too much,” Skye smiled.

“Can't help it.” Steve smiled back. “I always worry about the people I care about.”

“I used to be able to count on one hand the people I care about.” Skye replied softly.

“You're not alone anymore,” Steve replied back, tentatively wrapping his arms around her waist. She ducked her head, embarrassed, but peeked up through her eyelashes to catch his eye in the mirror again.

“I don't think I know how to not be alone.” Skye replied, leaning back slightly into Steve's chest.

“I'll teach you,” Steve offered, smiling.

“You can teach me anything you like.” Skye smirked. “So long as we do it at the park.”

“You just want out.”

“Yes.” Skye replied instantly. “But not to run.”

“You wouldn't make it very far.”

“I would make it farther than last time.”

“You let me catch you?”

“Of course I did, silly man.” Skye snorted. “You had Jack. I needed in. You escorting me was way easier than trying to hack in.”

“We're going to test that theory, when you're better.” Steve chuckled. There was no way she was faster than him. He was Captain America, after all.

“Eh, there are other things I want to do first.” Skye admitted, biting her lip.

“If I took care of that now, would you be up to a race in a few days?” Steve asked, twisting Skye in his arms. He lifted her easily onto the bathroom sink, bringing her closer to his eye level. Skye swallowed hard.

“I'm totally up for beating you.” Skye nodded, trying to be snarky but failing.

“That means you're feeling better?” Steve confirmed, bracing himself on opposite sides of Skye's body. Skye made a weird squeak in the back of her throat. She cleared it quickly, nodding her agreement. Steve inched his face closer to hers, looking for any sign of discomfort. “Does that mean I should follow through with my promise?”

“You can try.” Skye croaked. Steve grinned and closed the distance between them. Tony was right. If he wanted to kiss her, he needed to just do it. Her hands came up to cup his face, caressing his skin, and he couldn't help but smile and push into her hands. She rubbed her nose against his, taking a breath of his exhaled air. “Hmm, on second thought...maybe we should race first.”

“You're teasing, right?” Steve asked, holding back a disappointed groan. Skye grinned and cocked her head at him.

“I'm just not sure that I'm completely better yet.”

“Is this payback?” Steve groaned.

“You started it.” Skye smirked. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “But I fully intend to finish it.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Where did you want to go, doll?” Steve asked, watching Skye as she assessed their surroundings. He fought a frown at her vigilance. She needed to relax. He could take care of her while they were out.

“My park. Please.” Skye grinned, running a fingertip down Steve's ear. He grunted and rubbed his ear on his shoulder.

“I'm going to drop you if you keep doing that.”

“I'll tell Simmons on you,” Skye giggled. “You would be in so much trouble.”

“You wouldn't get hurt from this tiny drop.” Steve retorted.

“She wouldn't know that.” Skye laughed. “I can play up my injuries.”

“Skylar Elizabeth!” Steve gasped, pretending to be shocked. “I expected more out of you.”

“Hmm, then I guess you better not drop me, huh?”

“Is this you at your worst?” Steve teased. “Cause I'm not running.”

“Oh, honey.” Skye sighed. “You haven't seen anything yet.”

“Okay, that worries me a little bit.” Steve admitted, smiling softly.

“Smart man.” Skye smirked. “For serious though, you're allowed to run. Rather, you're allowed to let me run.”

“Not going to happen.” Steve retorted instantly. He winced and corrected himself. “I'm, we're, not going to force you to stay with us...but we really, really, really, really would like you to.”

“Really?” Skye asked, and Steve couldn't tell if she was teasing him for his excessive use of really or if she was actually asking.

“Especially me.” He replied softly. “Tony comes in a close second. Family is very important to him...but he doesn't have any. You are more important to him than almost any other person. Our team included.”

“Not Pepper.” Skye whispered.

“That's different and you know it.” Steve replied, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“I don't understand why.” Skye commented. “I haven't known you guys for very long. Really, no time at all.”

“You make very strong first impressions.” Steve grinned. “To be fair, Tony was super annoyed with you at first. I guess he was in his suit when the twerking Iron Man got on his screen. He said he almost crashed.”

“He didn't!” Skye asked, looking shocked.

“He did.” Steve confirmed. “But he saw how you were with Jack. He liked how protective you were of him. And, it goes without saying, considering he offered you a job, but he was really impressed with your skills. But what really did him in, I think, was your sense of humor.”

“He didn't find our theme music amusing.” Skye pointed out.

“I beg to differ.” Steve replied, finally arriving at “Skye's Park.”

“He didn't!”

“He did. Even Jack saw it.” Steve nodded firmly. “I was still mad, but even I found it amusing. Aside from my own song, of course.”

“Of course.” Skye agreed, smirking. “Why were you mad?”

“I had this...crush...on you.” Steve stuttered. “I was going to ask you out, but then Tony hit the alert because Jack had put up Humping Man and I had to go...”

“You were going to ask me out?” Skye squeaked.

“You don't understand how unique you are, Skye. You're so totally different from other people. It explains why we are so taken with you.” Steve nodded.

“You were mad?” Skye whispered. “At me?”

“I thought you were a terrorist.” Steve admitted softly. There was a beat where Skye processed his words, then she started laughing. After a second, Steve joined her in quiet laughter.

“A terrorist?” Skye laughed, smacking his chest lightly. “A terrorist!”

“Why else would you hack Tony? Why would you know how to hack Tony?” Steve chuckled.

“I'm not a terrorist.” Skye laughed. “Are you still mad at me?”

“I was done being mad before you left the building.” Steve reassured. “Heck, before we even left the interrogation room.”

“Is that why you let me kiss you?” Skye asked shyly.

“Not the only reason why...” Steve murmured.

“I didn't really give you a chance to say no.” Skye muttered, looking embarrassed.

“Don't worry, I wouldn't have declined you anyway.” Steve laughed. “I remember being an active participant in that kiss.”

“You picked me up.” Skye grumbled.

“You should be used to that by now.” Steve laughed.

“Psh, yeah I should.” Skye snorted. “I can't wait until I can walk again.”

“Tree?” Steve asked, wandering over anyway.

“Aw, you remembered my tree.” Skye cooed, ducking Steve's chin lightly.

“This is where we had your memorial.” Steve admitted softly. “Jack said you wouldn't want a funeral. Not that we had a body to bury anyway.”

“Oh Jesus. I bet you guys were all sorts of sappy.” Skye groaned, turning the confession into a joke. Steve smiled knowingly, seeing past her humor. She didn't want to talk about her memorial. He was more than glad to oblige her; he didn't want to talk about it either. Steve settled at the base of the tree, keeping Skye on his lap. Skye sprawled out on top of him, her back to his chest, throwing her arms and legs out to catch as much sunlight as possible.

“Okay.” Skye sighed softly. “Now I can die happy.”

“Let's leave the dying part alone, huh?” Steve chuckled.

“For now.” Skye laughed, nodding her agreement.

After a moment of silence, Skye twisted her face up to look at Steve. His head was resting against the tree and his eyes were closed. He looked like he was enjoying the sun as much as she was. The only difference between their positions was that Steve had one arm wrapped around her waist. He cracked his eyes open to peer down at her, smiling softly.

“So...you had a crush on me, huh?” Skye asked softly. She couldn't help the teasing smirk on her face. Steve laughed loudly.

“That implies it was past tense.” Steve smirked back.

“Still?” Skye asked, blushing despite her best attempts.

“I really would think that's obvious.” Steve replied, running his finger down her red cheeks.

“You're not just teasing?” Skye asked softly.

“I would never toy with your affections.” Steve replied seriously. “Assuming, of course, you decided to share them with me.”

“Share my affections with Captain America?” Skye giggled. “I'm not sure the groupies would like that very much.”

“First, Skye...” Steve said, pulling her closer to his chest. “I don't give a rat's behind what anybody thinks – much less my “groupies”. Secondly, I'm not asking you to share with Captain America. I would, however, very much like to get to know you better, as Steve.”

“Captain America is a bit of a hard ass.” Skye nodded, mulling over his words. She smiled up shyly at Steve. “I think I would like to get to know Steve.”

“Yeah?” Steve confirmed.

“Yeah.” Skye nodded. Steve hummed contently and rested his head back on the tree. Skye looked around the park, noticing the groups of people that were clustered around them. She wasn't familiar with any of them. She had been gone from her park for too long. Skye laughed lightly against Steve's chest.

“What are you laughing at, crazy?” Steve asked, not opening his eyes.

“You're going to have to get used to being in trouble, if you're getting to know me.” Skye laughed. “I get into lots of trouble.”

“Huh. Surprisingly, that is something I already figured out about you.” Steve teased.

“Can we prank Tony again?” Skye grinned.

“I was always told there is no such thing as stupid questions.” Steve commented dryly. “You have just proven all those people wrong.”

“Hey!” Skye laughed, smacking his thigh. “That hurts.”

“Of course we can prank Tony.” Steve laughed. “Clint and I already have one planned.”

“With me?”

“Oh, no. I'm not going to tell you what it is. I want to see your face.”

“But...but...” Skye pouted, pushing her lip out dramatically. Steve laughed and flicked her lip lightly.

“It'll be tonight. You won't have to wait long.”

“I didn't get Tony anything.” Skye mused out loud, tugging her lip between her teeth.

“He loved the pillow, if it makes you feel any better.” Steve offered. Skye perked up at that.

“Dude, who knew sewing was so effing hard!”

“Aren't you supposed to use a thimble to keep from stabbing yourself?”

“Well, smarty pants,” Skye sassed. “I didn't have a thimble.”

“Maybe you should get one.” Steve teased, bopping her nose.

“You can get me one next time I decide to make a sewing project.” Skye laughed.

“You're a cheap date.”

“I'm very resourceful when it comes to fun.” Skye nodded.

“Are you going to let me take you out on a date?” Steve asked, checking the area around them for ease droppers. Skye seemed unusually alert to their surroundings.

Skye shrugged, averting her eyes. “I don't need it.”

“You don't need a date?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrow.

“No. I don't need anything special.”

“You're special.” Steve smiled, twisting Skye in his lap. She tucked her legs up against his side and rested her head on his chest. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and wrapped his long arms around her. Despite the warm day, she still felt a little chilled. “So, if I wanted to, I could take you on a date?”

“Like...a date date? Like getting all dressed up and formal and spending too much money?” Skye asked, crinkling her nose.

“I'm taking that as a no.” Steve laughed, “What if it's not a “getting all dressed up and formal and spending too much money” date?”

“Okay.” Skye grinned, peeking up at Steve.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I've heard paintball is fun.” Steve mused.

“I've never played.” Skye replied.

“I bet you could beat all of us. Maybe we should save that for a group activity. It will be more fun with teams.”

“I don't know about beating you.”

“Okay, all but Clint.” Steve amended.

“Still no.”

“Why not?” Steve laughed. “They won't hold hard feelings. Okay, well, Tony might. He will pout.”

“I've never shot a gun before.” Skye shrugged.

“You have a gun in your van!” Steve gaped.

“It's not loaded. Never used it. It looks scary though.”

“How come you've never shot a gun?”

“No one ever taught me to.” Skye shrugged. “Besides, I'm a little scared of them.”

“Cause you got shot?” Steve asked, tapping her shoulder.

“God, Jack has a big mouth.” Skye sighed.

“He was justifying the reason behind your tattoo.” Steve replied, squeezing her tighter for a minute. “I can teach you to shoot. If you want to. I mean, obviously you've managed just fine without weapons training...but if you wanted to...I could teach you.”

“Hmm, I'll keep that one on the back burner.” Skye smiled, dodging the offer.

“You just say the word.” Steve agreed. “I can see why you like this park so much.”

“I'm comfortable here.” Skye smiled. “I can see people coming. There's cover. Not too busy, so I can reduce collateral damage if anyone comes for us. Easy exits into alleys and shops...”

“You only like coming here because tactically it's safe?” Steve interrupted with a frown.

“Well, I mean...the park itself is pretty awesome, too.” Skye replied softly, ducking her head. “At least if you're around I'll have some backup.” Skye joked.

“Sometimes you need to be able to relax.” Steve muttered.

“Hey, you may have been born first, but I've lived longer than you.” Skye told Steve with a raised eyebrow and a finger in his chest. “Don't go telling me how to relax.”

“Maybe you're too old and you don't know how.” Steve laughed. His phone buzzed loudly, making him roll his eyes and Skye laugh.

Your child is moping around the Tower

Steve sighed and showed Skye the text from Tony. Skye laughed and shook her head.

“He's probably not even moping.”

“I would be very surprised if he were.” Steve agreed. “We should probably get back though.”

“But it's so nice.” Skye groaned, stretching her arms up to soak up more sun.

“Five more minutes,” Steve compromised, texting Tony back to let him know they would head back.

“Six and you have a deal.” Skye grinned, peeking up at Steve again.

“Fine.” Steve laughed. “But if Steven dies of mope-dom, you're responsible.”

“I would be more worried about Tony trying to cure said mope-dom.”

“Oh, God. We have to go. We have to go now.” Steve groaned, picking Skye up as he did.

“No!” Skye giggled. “It hasn't been six minutes.”

“Nope, you brought up Tony. Your fault and you know it.” Steve retorted, shifting Skye in his arms as he walked.

“Stupid Tony.” Skye grumbled lightly.

Chapter Text

“I'm bored!” Skye and Steven moaned at the same time. They grinned at each other, then laughed at their synchronization. Steve groaned and rubbed his eyes. He really needed to get his solid four hours in that night.

“What do you want to do?”

“Walk.” Skye admitted, pursing her mouth. “Go convince Simmons that I can walk.”

“Your feet are all cracky though,” Steven interjected.

“Who's side are you on?” Skye asked gasping in fake betrayal.

“Yours.” Steven grinned, cozying up under her arm. “Always yours. But you're important to me, and that means that I need to make sure you're not hurt.”

“You're laying the guilt trip on thick here,” Skye muttered dryly. Steven peeked up at her and smiled winningly.

“That's what Steve told me when I didn't want to go to the doctor.”

“Hmm, should have picked up on that.” Skye groaned, rolling her eyes at Steve. He was on the opposite couch, letting Steven have some time with Skye. Steve grinned and shrugged.

“It's the truth.”

“Note to you two,” Skye smiled, tapping Steven on the nose. “I don't take being mother henned very well.”

“Then it's a good thing I'm a rooster!” Steven laughed jumping up on the couch, crowing like a rooster. Tony walked in mid-jump and cocked his head at the small boy acting like a rooster.

“Do I even want to know?”

“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”

“You gave him ice cream, didn't you?” Steve dead panned.

“No. It's my birthday, so I had ice cream.” Tony replied, shrugging. “It's not my fault I couldn't eat it all.”

“Happy honorary Birthday,” Skye giggled, holding her arms out for a hug. “Again?”

Steve still couldn't get over how tactile Tony could be with Skye. If anyone else wanted a hug from him, Steve could only imagine his response. Pepper, of course, was the exception – Pepper and Steven. Tony plopped himself down on the couch next to Skye, dropping his arm around her.

“As birthday boy, I get to pick the movie.” Tony announced grandly.

“We may need to go burn some energy beforehand. I don't think we're going to get him to settle down.” Steve muttered.

“Well, if Clint had trained him properly,” Skye said extra loudly, “He would have burned more energy during his archery practice today.”

“Properly?” A disembodied voice asked from above them. The vent dropped open, revealing Clint's annoyed face. “I'll have you know that I am an excellent trainer.”

“Yes. I can see that. I would like to enter into evidence: Rooster Boy.” Skye grinned, waving a hand at Steven, who was still jumping on the couch.

“Oye, Rooster Boy.” Clint called.

“Hi-ya, Vent Man...Guy...dude?” Steven called back. Skye chortled lightly at the nickname.

“Did you learn anything during archery practice today?”

“You wouldn't even let me hold the bow!” Steven retorted. Skye pressed her lips together and glanced up at Clint. Clint shot her an unimpressed look and turned back to Steven.

“Yeah, but did you learn anything?”

“I already know about physics.” Steven shrugged. He glanced down at Skye. “Apparently, it has a name though. Archer's paradox.”

“See! He learned the name!”

“Yeah, Archer. That's going to be very useful if he's ever on Jeopardy.”

“Ugh. Steven, you didn't learn anything?” Clint sighed, lowering himself out of the vent.

“Um...” Steven frowned, falling onto the couch to think. “I learned that you make this face when you're trying not to laugh.” Steven twisted his face to resemble Clint's amused expression. “And you get frustrated when I...”

“Steven.” Skye interrupted, effectively stopping him. “Come here.”

A look of fear flashed across his face for half a heartbeat, then was gone. Steven hurried to her, settling himself gently on her lap when prompted. Skye pulled him close, wrapping her arms around him. Then she started talking to him in the mash-up.

Steve frowned, wondering which unspoken rule they had broken this time. He was suddenly very glad Skye was here, more glad than he was before, because the boy obviously adored her and she was good at talking him through things. He wasn't sure how he would have handled the boy otherwise. It wasn't like he was projecting his issues – with the exception of the whole tickling occurrence. Skye had stopped it before it could get bad, though. He didn't want to know what Steven would look like in full panic mode.

Tony looked up at Clint mouthing what did you do? Clint shrugged. No one knew. Steven started replying to Skye in the same language; It was clear that the boy wasn't as fluent as Skye. His words were slower, better enunciated. Steve could catch a few of the words the boy used, he had picked up on a little bit of French and German during the war, but not enough that he knew what was going on between Skye and his kid. Occasionally, he would point over his shoulder to point at Steve or Tony. When Steven started crying, Skye shooed them from the room discreetly. The boy was ashamed of his tears – he was hiding his face in Skye's neck.

The three filed from the room like three teens leaving the principal's office.

“What are we doing tonight?” Steve asked.

“Meh, you know me. I don't need much.” Tony shrugged. Clint and Steve exchanged a look and then burst out laughing. “That hurts guys.”

“That's the falsest thing I've ever heard in my whole life.” Clint giggled. “And I'm a spy.”

“Okay, but really. What are we doing?” Steve chuckled.

“Just a quiet dinner at home.” Tony shrugged.

“What about when Skye gets better?” Steve smirked.

“Well, then we will have to reassess the situation, now won't we?” Tony grinned.

“Yeah, that sounds more like the Tony I know.” Clint laughed.

“So what do you think we did?” Steve asked into the silence. Two pairs of shoulders bobbed up and down.

“You didn't do anything.” Jack answered, walking into Tony's lab with Fitz in tow.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked, frowning. “Something happened.” Jack cocked his head and blinked slowly at Steve.

“She's explaining a few things.” Jack said cryptically.

“Like what?” Steve prompted. Jack hesitated, glancing at Fitz like he could give the answer. Fitz looked just as perplexed as Steve. “Look, Jack. If he's going to live with me, if he's going to be mine, my kid, then I need to know how to help him.”

“You want me to be yours?” Steven asked softly. The elevator doors were open, revealing Skye and Steven. His face was still tear tracked and his eyes were puffy, but he didn't appear to be crying any more. Skye was standing behind him, resting her hands lightly on his shoulders.

“Of course, I do!” Steve replied immediately. Steven rushed forward, all but tackling Steve.

“Why are you on your feet!” Tony half shouted at Skye, giving the two Steves a minute of privacy.

“Just a little bit?” Skye replied, trying to mask her sad smile. Tony rushed over and hauled her over his shoulder. Jack wheeled a chair over and Tony dumped her on it unceremoniously. “I'm fine.”

“It's my birthday and that means you have to do what I say.” Tony told Skye, wagging a finger in her face. She smirked and tried to bite his finger. Tony snatched his finger away, looking scandalized.

“She almost got you old man.” Clint chuckled, crossing his arms.

“Yeah. Old man.” Skye added, smirking. The sass in her tone was nearly tangible. Tony opened and closed his mouth, trying and failing to come up with a response. Skye grinned at Clint. “I'm hungry. Can you wheel me back up to your protein shake?”

“Can I take a chair too?” Clint grinned. “We can race after you eat something.”

“Oh, you're so on.” Skye laughed, eagerly agreeing.

“Dibs on Steve.” Clint called loudly.

“Dibs?” Skye giggled.

“Yeah, for a pusher.” Clint clarified. “It's not like you can push yourself. We can each have a pusher. I call Steve.”

“Dad, you gonna be my pusher?” Skye asked, grinning up at Tony from the chair. They stepped onto the elevator, moving over so Fitz and Jack could join them. They had silently agreed to give Steve a minute alone with his boy.

“Eh, I've got some stuff...”

“...first, you can't work on your birthday, honorary or not.” Skye interrupted, looking sternly at Tony. “Second, I'll help you with hacking, if that's your work. If it's that important, we can get it done fast and then enjoy the rest of today. Third...”

“Okay! Fine. You win.” Tony sighed, throwing up his hands. Skye grinned and wiggled her butt in the chair, grinning up at Tony. He couldn't keep his exasperated expression on his face though, and laughed with her. “You're impossible.”

“I've been hearing that a lot lately.” Skye smirked. “I think you guys might be easier to break than you care to admit.”

“We live with Tony.” Clint drawled. “We're not that easy.”

“Hey!” Tony huffed. “It's my birthday. Doesn't that mean you have to be nice to me?”

“Only if you make me win.” Skye bargained, smirking.

“Hey Ward, Trip.” Clint grinned, pushing his chair and pulling Skye behind him into the kitchen. “When did you get in?”

“An hour ago,” Trip replied.

“I can't see!” Skye complained. She twisted and grinned at the two men in the kitchen. She knew who they were, of course, but she hadn't really had a chance to meet them yet. Clint spun her chair towards the men. “Agents.” Skye said formally, bowing slightly from the waist.

“Hacker.” Trip replied easily, returning her bow. Skye's eyes lit up.

“Oh, you're fun. I like you.”

“Antoine Triplett, at your service.” Trip grinned.

“Skye. Would you service me to a stool, please?” Skye asked, trying to hide her shy blush. She knew asking for help was easier when done flippantly.

“Ma'am, I would love to.” Trip grinned, walking over to scoop Skye from the desk chair. “What's with the chairs?”

“Clint and I are going to race!” Skye beamed, trying not to wiggle in Trip's arms.

“After you eat.” Clint amended.

“You need a little meat on your bones.” Trip agreed, settling Skye on a stool and backing away.

“I'm working on it.” Skye retorted dryly. Clint set her half finished shake in front of her. “Thanks, Archer.”

“You're welcome.” Clint shrugged, turning back to the fridge to find his own meal. Skye peered over at the other man at the breakfast bar.

“Hi, Chatty Kathy.” Skye smirked.

“He's the strong and silent type.” Trip smirked.

“Agent Ward.” He smiled.

“I hear my brother has been...” Skye paused, searching for the right word.

“Difficult?” Clint supplied, peeking up from the fridge to grin at Jack. The man in question huffed and stuck his tongue out at him.

“Flamboyant?” Tony grinned. Fitz pointed at Tony, silently agreeing with that statement.

“Distracting?” Jack smirked, waggling his eyebrows at Ward.

“...all of the above?” Skye grinned. Ward smiled slightly, deliberately avoiding Jack's eye.

“He's been no problem.” Ward informed Skye softly.

“You didn't try very hard.” Skye informed her brother.

“Hey! He was helping us get you back! I couldn't scare him away.” Jack defended.

“Yeah, well, she's back now.” Fitz told Jack softly, smirking at Ward. Ward shot him a fierce glare, making the small man step behind Jack. Skye didn't miss the exchange.

“I've adopted Fitz into the family,” Skye told Ward casually, stirring her shake with the straw. “So you better be nice to him or you'll have me to answer to.”

“I'm not afraid of you changing my file.” Ward replied. Fitz peeked out from behind Jack; feeling brave, he stepped out from behind him and went to sit next to Skye – keeping her between him and Ward. Jack pressed his lips together and shook his head at Ward, trying to warn him off. Clint stopped rummaging through the fridge and turned to watch the exchange. Tony just smirked and leaned against the breakfast bar. Ward realized the entire kitchen had frozen to watch him and frowned.

“You think that's the worst I can do?” Skye smirked, propping her chin up on the bar.

“I'm not scared of you.” Ward shrugged. Trip saw the gleam growing in Skye's eye and caught the anticipatory silence in the kitchen.

“Um, you might want to stop while you're ahead.” Trip warned him, nodding towards the rest of the kitchen. Ward glanced around, noticing the same thing Trip had. Unfortunately for Ward, he was too confident in himself. He didn't heed the other specialist's warning.

“There's nothing on my file that everyone doesn't know.” Ward shrugged.

“Maybe I'll just kick your ass then.” Skye replied, quirking an eyebrow. Ward threw back his head and laughed at that. Trip got up and moved away from Ward, removing himself from the danger zone. Skye smirked at Trip, “You're a smart man.”

“I was mostly raised by women.” Trip grinned. “I have a healthy fear of strong, angry women.”

“Oh, I'm not angry.” Skye replied.

“You wouldn't like that.” Jack whispered loudly.

“Guys, she's a little bitty thing!” Ward laughed, shaking his head.

“So is the Black Widow.” Clint smirked.

“And May.” Trip added, frowning at his new team member's stupidity.

“Yeah, but she's had training. Skye's a computer nerd.”

“Sweet baby Jesus,” Jack muttered, pulling Fitz away from Skye. “This man really doesn't know when to stop.”

“Should I warn Coulson one of his specialists might be out of play for a while?” Fitz grinned. Jack had shown him some footage of his sister in action.

“Who is going to be out of play and why?” Coulson asked, stepping out onto the floor with May and Tasha.

“Ward, cause he's fucking stupid.” Clint offered instantly.

“What'd he do?” Tasha asked, taking in the weird tension in the kitchen.

“Apparently itty bitty computer nerds don't frighten him.” Tony grinned. Coulson frowned at the grin. If Tony was this amused, nothing good could come from it.

“Ward?” May asked in her typical stern tone.

“She threatened me first!” Ward replied, ducking his head when the kitchen laughed at him. He sounded like a whiny little boy.

“I did not.” Skye retorted. “Did I threaten him?”

“Not first.” Tony smirked. He looked at Coulson, “She just warned him off Fitz. Really, if he gets hurt, it's his own fault.”

“She can't even walk!” Ward sighed, waving his hand towards Skye's lightly bandaged feet.

“Ward, you really should take the entire kitchen's advice and stop.” Steve said firmly, walking off the elevator with Steven in his arms. Tasha smirked at his annoyed tone. The boy's head was on his shoulder and his arms were wrapped around his neck, but he was smiling.

“All good?” Skye asked, directing her question at the boy. He smiled and nodded. “Good.”

“Why are there chairs?” He asked softly.

“Clint and I are going to race!” Skye grinned, bouncing in place with excitement. She turned her back on Ward, forcing him to drop the previous conversation.

“Steve, I called dibs on you being my pusher.” Clint agreed, pulling various leftovers from the fridge.

“Pusher?” Steve smirked.

“Yeah. Our little ninja can't push herself yet. We have to make it fair!” Clint grinned at Skye.

“Little ninja.” Skye scoffed.

“Who's pushing you?” Steve smiled, settling down in the stool Fitz had been in.

“Tony.” Skye grinned. “Dad, we better win.”

“Dad?” May smirked. Tony and Skye exchanged a smile, but neither replied to May.

“We'll win.” Tony smiled. “Even if I have to put my suit on.”

“Hey! No cheating!” Clint groaned.

“No offense Dad,” Skye smirked at Tony, “But Clint, you called dibs on the super soldier. You're already cheating.”

“Fine. I get Nat. You get Tony.”

“That sounds more fair.” Steve agreed.

“Eat your breakfast.” Clint urged, heaping random foods onto a plate and shoving it into the microwave.

“I had breakfast hours ago.” Skye snorted. “This is lunch. Or an afternoon snack.”

“Fine. Eat your lunch or afternoon snack.” Clint laughed.

“You're going to eat all of that?” Skye asked, cocking her head at the microwave. The plate was really full.

“What? I'm hungry.” Clint shrugged.

“Did everyone else eat?” Tony asked the kitchen. There was a chorus of “no” and “coming for food now.” “Perfect. I'll order us something.”

“Aw.” Clint frowned, looking at his leftovers.

“I'll help you eat that.” Skye grinned, sensing his disappointment.

“You gonna puke it back up?”

“Archer. Do you have so little faith in me?” Skye giggled.

“Eh...” Clint winced.

“Hey!” Skye giggled. “I finished this!”

“That's true.” Clint grinned, taking the empty glass from her. “But it was only half full.”

“Daaaad, Clint's being mean.” Skye pouted towards Tony. Tony threw back his head and laughed.

“We'll get our payback when we win.” Tony offered.

“Deal.” Skye grinned.

“Jesus, you're hard to find.” Bruce sighed, walking off the elevator with Simmons. They each had a bag – Bruce of fluids and Simmons of meal replacement.

“Jarvis would have told you where she was.” Steven replied softly, crawling off Steve's lap and onto Skye's. He saw her expression when she noticed the bags. Skye softened, wrapping her arms around the boy.

“I thought we were done with those.” Skye frowned.

“No.” Simmons sighed, “You just removed your IV.”

“But...I don't need them.”

“Skye, you've lost a lot of weight. We need to help you put it back on, in a healthy way.” Bruce said gently, correctly reading her anxious expression.

“I'm fine. I don't need it.” Skye rebutted stubbornly.

“I thought she was already re-hydrated.” Tony stepped in, nodding towards the bag of fluids.

“She's considerably better than she was, but she's not at her peak yet.” Simmons replied.

“What if we just do the meal bag?” Clint asked. “Skye can promise to drink plenty of water.”

“I don't want the meal bag either.” Skye muttered softly, ducking her head into Steven's hair.

“You need to let us take care of you, remember?” Steven whispered back. Trip and Steve smiled at each other, watching the boy comfort Skye. Skye frowned at the boy and grumbled her annoyance.

“Fitz can do another scan,” Jack stepped in. “We can base your medical decisions on those scans.”

“Fitz...” Simmons sighed.

“What? You would do the same thing. You can't force medical procedures on someone without knowing that they need it.” Fitz grumbled, forcing himself to stand tall for Skye's sake. She protected him, had called him family...he needed to return the favor.

“It's not a medical procedure.” Bruce smiled.

“It's just fluids!”

“And needles.” Skye grumbled. Steven wrapped his arms around her neck.

“I'll keep the needles away from you.” He offered.

“Okay.” Skye smirked, taking him up on his offer.

“You know,” Steve said casually, “You're setting a bad example. What happens when Steven needs a procedure he doesn't like? You going to tell him he doesn't need to do it either?”

“I never said I was a good example.” Skye retorted, though she could see his point. “He's seven, tops, and I'm an adult.” When Steve still wasn't swayed, she groaned loudly and threw her hands up. “Compromise. Fitz does his little robot work...”

“They're Dwarfs!” Fitz and Jack interrupted at the same time.

“Sorry, Dwarfs...” Skye corrected, grinning. “Then we look at the results. If they're borderline okay, then no bags.”

“But if they're not okay then you have to let us help you.” Bruce agreed instantly. Skye grimaced but nodded her agreement.

“To the lab!” Fitz shouted, rocketing his finger into the air. Skye giggled at his theatrics; He must have been spending more time with Jack than she realized.

“Chair or warm transportation?” Steve grinned, grateful to Fitz for making her giggle like that.

“If we take the chair, can we get a super soldier spin?” Skye grinned, clutching Steven.

“You gonna puke your shake back up if I do?”

“Half strength super soldier spin?” Skye amended. Steve laughed and nodded his agreement.

“I'm assuming we includes this little guy?”

“My favorite little guy.” Skye nodded.

“Hey! I thought I was your favorite!” Jack huffed.

“You're not little!” Skye chuckled. “You've been bigger than me since you were like...12.”

“That was a crazy growth spurt, huh?” Jack nodded, grinning.

“You're stalling.” Simmons pointed out.

“I can't wait until you're not my doctor anymore.” Skye sighed.

“Hey!” Simmons huffed, crossing her arms.

“Then maybe we can be friends.” Skye amended. “This whole hovering Hermione thing isn't working for me.”

“Hermione!” Trip laughed. “Cause she's British?”

“No. Cause she always pops up when I'm trying to get into trouble.” Skye frowned. “To clarify, she's first year Hermione.”

“...or worse...Expelled.” Trip quoted.

“I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Skye grinned.

“No spoilers.” Steve sighed. “Some of us haven't gotten that far yet.”

“The old man is still playing catch up.” Skye chuckled. “He thinks her name is Hermoninie.”

“Oh, man!” Trip laughed. “I've got to remember that one.”

“Hey, I have that picture of you from the plane, remember?” Steve threatened playfully.

“Now I understand what Skye meant about herding kittens,” Simmons sighed softly to Bruce. Bruce laughed and scooped Skye and Steven off the stool and deposited them in the closest office chair. Skye grumbled at the treatment but stayed in the chair.

“To the lab!” Fitz tried again. Steve laughed and pushed Skye and Steven into the elevator.

Chapter Text

“You know, I had plans.” Skye grumbled, thoroughly annoyed. They had agreed she hadn't needed fluids, but the meal bag had been attached to her arm for the last hour and a half. Steve had taken Steven to the garage when the needles made the boy go pale. He tried to argue, but Skye convinced him to help set up the race track. There was no reason they both had to be uncomfortable.

“The office chairs aren't going anywhere.” Bruce smiled, adjusting the drip rate.

“I had a protein shake.” Skye sighed. “And I didn't puke it up.”

“You need more than one protein shake to make you better.” Bruce replied, patiently.

“How many do I need?” Skye retorted cheekily.

“To be determined.” Bruce replied, smiling.

“I need a goal. Give me a number.”

“We'll monitor your improvement,” Bruce replied, looking over her new scan information again. “Nutritional replacement will be a must.”

“Nutritional replacement?” Skye frowned. Bruce smirked and opened his fridge to show her it was stocked with Ensure. Skye crossed her arms with an annoyed huff. “Dude, no. Those are for old people.”

“Dude, no - they're not.” Bruce chuckled. “They're for people who aren't eating well. It will help fill in the nutritional gaps that you're missing until we can work you back onto a solid diet.”

“So if I do the protein shakes and the Ensure, I don't have to do this any more?” Skye sighed, resigned to her fate. Hell, if it got her out of the lab and away from needles, she would take it. Eagerly. Bruce nodded, pointing to the meal bag she was hooked up to.

“Unless something happens. If you take a turn for the worse,” Bruce agreed.

“Deal.” Skye agreed.

“Glad to see you're cooperating.”

“Apparently I have to set a good example for a certain little someone.” Skye replied softly.

“Steven's fear of needles rivals yours.” Bruce agreed, just as softly. “Is that because of the facility?”

“I don't think you understand how many tests they run.” Skye whispered, frowning.

“I have the files, remember?”

“Yeah...but paper doesn't do it justice.”

“Wanna explain that comment?” Bruce asked, pulling a stool over to sit by Skye. They were the only two in his lab and he intended to use that privacy well. She was ridiculously hard to get alone and there were some questions he wanted to ask. Questions he suspected she could answer for him.

“The files are...” Skye sighed, struggling for the right words. “They're deceptively vague. It might say Blood Sample Drawn on the file, but it doesn't say how they got the blood sample...or what they did before drawing it.”

“I noticed there are letters in the files that don't belong to anything.” Bruce nodded, bringing a tablet over to show her. Steven's group file was up.

“See this B?” Skye asked, pointing it out on the tablet. Bruce nodded. B3 Blood Sample Drawn. “A means the child was unconscious for the draw. B means the child was frightened. C means he was angry. D means nutritionally depleted. E means...well, I'm sure you get the picture.”

“And the number?”

“That's how many days before hand they elicited that response.” Skye whispered. “For this test, they probably injected the children with something to heighten their perceptions and then scared them – for three consecutive days before the blood draw.”

“Why would they do that?” Bruce asked, frowning.

“Because they can.” Skye smirked bitterly. “Also, you of all people should understand how much your emotions can affect your bodily state. They needed to know how the serum works under different circumstances.”

“Which letter means happy?” Bruce asked, smiling softly. Skye laughed lightly, but swallowed hard and shook her head.

“Good soldiers aren't happy.” Skye recited by rote.

“Is that why you're happy all the time?”

“I've forgotten what it means to care for a child,” Skye said softly. “But once upon a time, I had a whole group in my care. Steve was right – it's important to set a good example. If I was happy, they were happy.”

“Even if you were just pretending?” Bruce asked softly. Skye shrugged her shoulders.

“My kids...they were so messed up.” Skye whispered, swallowing rapidly. “They were so busy, I was so busy, putting them back together... Their health, their happiness was always more important than my own.”

“You've taken care of others for so long,” Bruce said gently, taking her hand in his. “You've forgotten what it means to be taken care of. Didn't you have someone to take care of you? Even as a child?”

“I don't need to be taken care of.” Skye replied stiffly.

“Why didn't you ask for help?” Bruce asked. “Steve said you know 47. Knew him before you broke the kids out.”

“I took the children out. They were my responsibility.”

“Skye...”

“I think my bag is done.” Skye interrupted, trying to ignore the sadness she could see in Bruce's eyes.

“Few more minutes,” Bruce replied, shaking the bag. There was a little bit left in the bottom. “I have another question.”

“Of course you do.”

“Why are you healing like 47?”

“They gave me something,” Skye shrugged.

“But if you've been taking 47's blood, shouldn't you have the serum already?” Bruce asked.

“It doesn't work like that. In the blood, it's super diluted. The serum has been absorbed by his muscles, his tissues, his cells. 47's blood...when Jack uses the medicine, it stays in his system long enough to repair and strengthen him...but it doesn't become part of him. It's not concentrated enough to take over. Besides, he's got his own serum to protect him.”

“What happens if someone who doesn't have serum takes the blood?”

“My kids all had the serum.” Skye shrugged.

“And you?” Bruce pressed softly. “Does it affect you?”

“Makes me better,” Skye offered with a small smile. “And I don't use the magic blood often.”

“Always saving it for someone else?” Bruce asked kindly.

“47's blood is good at attacking viruses,” Skye said, deviating the course of the conversation again. “You can test Jack's medicine for the response, then test mine. I want to know if it's the same.”

“Which virus?”

“Psh, I can't say it. Don't have a doctorate in immuniology. But I'll write it down for you.” Bruce was quick to offer her his note pad and she scribbled down a name. She also listed the items he would need to run the test. Beneath that, she drew a rough sketch of the cell before and after. “Sorry, I'm not an artist.”

“You've done this before.” Bruce stated.

“Yeah. I mean, I wasn't going to give Delta blood if it would make things worse.” Skye scoffed. “At that point, the Eraser would have been kinder.”

“This is more recent. They didn't have technology to do tests like this in the 80s.”

“I broke them out in 1980, but they were getting blood before that.”

“That's right. I forgot. Jack mentioned it, I think. But that doesn't explain anything. They couldn't do this,” Bruce waved the note pad around, “In 1975, either.”

“Dr. Pokey, I've got a race to get to and you have a test to run. Let's let details be details,” Skye dismissed, waving him off. “Look, my bag is empty.”

“I'll take you.”

“No, I want to try this,” Skye said firmly, dropping from the table with a little wince. She pulled the needle from her arm before Bruce could do anything to stop her and all but ran to the elevator. Safe in the elevator, Skye could admit walking wasn't a good idea. Not yet anyway. Her feet cracked painfully where the new skin wasn't strong enough to support the force she was exerting on it. The elevator pinged open and she all but ran off it – straight into Clint.

“Skye.” Clint grinned, scooping her off her feet.

“Clint.” Skye teased, grinning back. “I was promised a race.”

“I'm going to win.” Clint laughed, taking her back to the elevator. “Tasha and your boys are setting up a course in the garage. Is your boyfriend going to be mad you're in my arms?”

“He's not my boyfriend.” Skye laughed.

“He wants to be.”

“I thought it was Tasha's job to be matchmaker.”

“Yeah, well...I fill in in her absence.”

“You're terrible at it.”

“I am not!” Clint laughed. “Steve is...well, this is going to sound cheesy has all hell, and he would beat my ass if he knew I was telling you this, but he's head over heels for you. I've known him for long enough that I can see that. And you, missy, are not oblivious to him either.”

“God, you have no respect for personal boundaries, do you?”

“Nah. Never saw the point.” Clint laughed.

“Daaaad, Clint's being mean.” Skye shouted the second the elevator opened. “We need to knock him down a few pegs by winning this race!”

“Oh, we're going to win.” Tony laughed, rescuing Skye from Clint.

“We'll finish that conversation another time.” Clint promised her. Skye frowned and stuck her tongue out at him.

“Not if I can help it.”

“Skye!” Steven grinned, running up to her with a chair. “Steve doesn't think you can win!”

“Traitor!” Steve called from the other end of the garage where he was setting up cones.

“Why can't we win?” Tony growled playfully.

“Cause you're old and Tasha actually uses her muscles.” Steven laughed.

“Hey!” Steve groaned. “I told you that in confidence.”

“I don't know what that means.” Steven whispered to Skye. She grinned as Tony set her in the chair.

“It was supposed to be a secret.”

“If it's a secret, you need to tell me that!” Steven huffed, running down to Steve.

“What happened with him upstairs?” Tony asked, pushing Skye to the starting line.

“You guys didn't do anything wrong.” Skye replied, smiling up at him. “We're just working on getting out of the facility state of mind.”

“I don't know what that means.” Tony laughed.

“In the facility, the better you can read emotions – read a person – the better your day can go.” Skye shrugged lightly. “Steven's been trying to do the same thing here.”

“He's reading us?”

“He's figuring out who he needs to be to make you happy.” Skye replied. “With you, he probably expresses interest in your gadgets, your technology. He can see how much you like it when he's cheeky. He works hard to be happy around Steve, because he knows Steve doesn't like it when he's not.”

“Gotcha.” Tony nodded. “So he doesn't really like my tech?”

“Oh, I think he definitely enjoys it.” Skye grinned. “Jarvis, for sure. And the new stuff will keep his interest until he figures it out. Beyond that, I don't know. He's got a damn good mask.”

“Yes, he does.” Tony agreed. “You ready to win this?”

“I don't know. Are you ready to use those muscles?” Skye laughed.

“Hey! I have muscles.”

“You do.” Skye placated. “But Steve has a point. Tasha uses hers. You're in your suit all the time.”

“You haven't even seen me in my suit!” Tony retorted.

“That's true.” Skye agreed. She grinned up at him. “Can I see you twerk in your suit?”

“I can't twerk without my suit.” Tony retorted.

“Okay. Can I see you in your suit sometime?”

“I'm sure you will, sooner or later.” Tony nodded.

“You ready to go down?” Clint asked, sitting on his chair backwards, his feet dragging on the ground.

“Cheater!” Skye laughed, pointing at his feet. “You can't use your feet to steer.”

“Aw, come on!” Clint sighed, getting up from the chair.

“Dude, the whole point behind the pushers is so that it would be fair!” Skye pointed out, tossing her hands up.

“I'm fixing it!” Clint retorted, manuvering to sit in his chair the same way Skye was. He couldn't help but mutter, “Whiner.”

“No cheating, Clinton.” Skye said firmly. “I will beat your ass if you cheat.”

“You're the one that's going to cheat,” Clint retorted. “Let's be honest, you have zero chance of winning.”

“And why is that?” Skye asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Clint smirked and nodded in Tony's direction. He was trying to kick a cone into better position, but he kicked too hard and the cone went flying. He fell right onto his knee.

“FUCK!” Tony groaned loudly, holding his knee. Skye sighed and turned back to Clint. He didn't even have to say anything, he just waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Agent Triplett!” Skye called out loudly, staring Clint down. His jaw dropped at her replacement pusher. Trip was at the other end of the course chatting with Steve, but both of their heads whipped up at her shout. She leaned forward to whisper loudly to Clint, “I almost called Ward.”

His outraged expression was totally worth it.

“What's going on, girl?” Trip asked, jogging her way. Skye sighed exaggeratedly and waved towards Tony, who was still on the ground holding his knee.

“My pusher has injured himself.”

“Need a stand in?” Trip offered, grinning.

“Do you mind? Clint will be insufferable if he wins.”

“He's going to be insufferable if he loses too,” Tasha muttered quietly.

“It would be my genuine pleasure to help you take down Agent Barton,” Trip grinned.

“Steve, would you get the decrepit old man off the course?” Skye called out to Steve. He grinned at Tony's squack.

“You're kicking me off your team?” Tony asked, trying to work sad eyes.

“Dude! You can't even walk!”

“You can't even walk,” Tony retorted. Skye and Trip laughed at that.

“True, but that's why I need a pusher that can!”

“Alright, Agent Barton,” Trip teased, making a show of stretching his muscles out. “What happens when your ninja and I win?”

“You're not going to win,” Clint scoffed. He looked back at Tasha, “They can't win.”

“Then you won't mind having some stakes in this,” Trip grinned. Skye glanced down the course to Steve, flashing him a wide smile. She really liked Trip.

“Steven needs a bow,” She offered up to Trip. “We could always ask for Boudica.”

“Aw, no! My bow!” Clint moaned loudly.

“Girl, you're evil.” Trip chuckled, offering his knuckles. She fist bumped him with a grin. “I like it.”

“Fine!” Clint blustered, “But when you lose, you have to...Nat, help me out.”

“When you lose you have to submit yourself to training for a month.” Tasha offered easily. Skye laughed long and loud.

“I wouldn't be laughing at that,” Trip muttered softly.

“That's cause Tasha wants to train with Skye,” Steven jumped in, launching himself onto Skye. She rearranged him easily, letting him settle onto her lap.

“Yeah, that's the scary part.” Trip agreed.

“Nah. Tasha wants to train with Skye to learn some of the tricks.”

“Really?” Trip asked, raising an eyebrow. He knew Skye was a force to be reckoned with, judging by everyone's reaction in the kitchen, but if the Black Widow wanted to train with her – train with her, not train her – then she must be pretty bad ass.

“Don't tell Ward,” Clint begged. “I really want to see him get his ass kicked.”

“Ward what?” He asked, stalking over. May and Coulson had given him a dressing down for his attitude and, as a result, he was feeling a little surly.

“Ward's just a little ray of sunshine!” Skye replied with a chipper smile.

“We accept,” Trip told Tasha, “On the condition that I get to watch at least one session.”

“Deal!” Tasha agreed, ignoring Clint's blubbering about his bow.

“Secrets don't make friends,” Ward grumbled. Steve and Tony exchanged a grin at Skye's responding laughter.

0-0-0-0-0

“What do you mean, you haven't seen the gym?” Skye asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously at her brother.

“I mean, I haven't seen the gym.” Jack shrugged, playing it cool.

“You mean, the whole time I was gone, you've done zero of your workouts?” Skye asked softly. Steve wasn't deceived by the quiet tone of her voice. She was angry.

“I didn't realize he had...” Steve stepped in, trying to spare Jack.

“No. Steve, no.” Skye cut him off. “This is on Jack. Not only has he used two bags of blood in two weeks, but he's fallen off his strict diet and exercise regimen. That's on him.”

“Skye!” Jack huffed. “You were gone! What was I supposed to do!?”

“You were supposed to take care of yourself!” Skye shouted.

“But...Skye...if I took care of myself, what incentive would you have to come back?” Jack asked softly, his eyes downcast.

“Nuh uh,” Skye retorted, shaking her head quickly. “You don't get to play that card. Go change. Now.”

“Skye!” Jack whined, dropping his shoulders and pouting.

“Now!” Skye responded firmly.

“I'm sorry,” Steve offered, once he was alone with Skye again. “You told me to keep him to his routine and I didn't even think to ask him what his routine was.”

“Steve, I'm not mad at you.” Skye smiled, squeezing his hand gently. “Jack is old enough to take care of himself. I need to get better about letting him take care of himself.”

“Right after you whip him back into shape?” Steve asked, hiding his smirk. He wasn't sure if there was any residual anger hanging under the surface.

“Psh, of course.” Skye grinned. “I better go change too. I need to ease back into this.”

“Carefully, right?” Steve asked softly.

“Yes, Steve, carefully.” Skye retorted, pulling herself onto his lap for some heat before she left to change into workout clothes. He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, letting her shift until she was comfortable.

“Comfy?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at her. She lifted her head from his chest long enough to shoot him a cheeky smile.

“It's not my fault you're all...perfect.” Skye shrugged.

“I'm not perfect,” Steve sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Pretty damn close,” She muttered softly, pulling herself closer to him. Steve didn't know how to respond to that – the idea of being perfect, of anyone being perfect, was laughable – at best. He definitely wasn't perfect, but he also didn't want to argue the point. After a few minutes of silence, he tried to peek down at her face, but she had slipped just enough that her face wasn't visible. He smiled softly and shook his head.

“You sleeping on me?” Steve asked softly. He didn't want to wake her if she was sleeping.

“No,” Skye mumbled, shaking her head lightly. But instead of getting up to go train, she pulled a blanket off the couch and onto her lap.

“Liar,” Steve grinned, reaching out to grab the blanket from her. Skye just shushed him and let him adjust the blanket to cover her.

0-0-0-0-0

When Jack sulked back into the room, nearly half an hour later, he squawked at the scene in front of him. Steve was reading, leaning back in the recliner. Skye was curled up on his lap, her face clear and innocent on his chest.

“Are you kidding me? She's sleeping?” Jack asked in a surprised whisper.

“Take it as a gift,” Steve smiled. “Training's postponed until tomorrow morning.”

“Fuck yeah,” Jack sighed and hurried from the room.

“He's lucky you're so damn comfy,” Skye muttered against Steve's chest.

“One more afternoon won't kill either of you.”

0-0-0-0-0

“How do you like your new bow?” Trip asked Steven, laughing as he struggled to pull the cord back.

“I need more muscles,” Steven grunted. Slowly but surely though, the cord was inching back.

“I bet Tony would love to make you a smaller bow,” Clint muttered. He was pouting in his dinner chair, waiting for Steve and Skye to come back from Bruce's office. He had stolen Skye after her “not nap” on Steve, saying he was going to stick her feet in a hydrating gel for a few hours to help the cracking go away. She had grumbled but let Steve take her to the lab, again.

“It's squishy,” Skye giggled, wobbling into the room. Steve had her elbow, shaking his head with fond exasperation. She was in knee high boots filled with whatever gel Bruce said would help hydrate her skin and heal the cracking. She jumped up and down lightly, wincing slightly. “Steve, it's squishy!”

“I know, Skye.” Steve replied patiently. “You've told me five times now.”

“Clint! Get over here and feel this!”

“No, you stole my bow.”

“You accepted the terms.”

“Nat accepted the terms!” Clint retorted loudly.

“Tasha!” Skye called out, choosing to ignore Clint. “Come feel this!”

“Is it squishy?” Tasha asked dryly. Her eyes betrayed her amusement though.

“Come feeeeeel!” Skye moaned. “Steve won't stick his finger in there.”

“Maybe he doesn't think you're ready yet,” Tasha retorted, seeing Steve's blush blossom. Skye rolled her jaw to hide her amusement, which only spurred Tasha on.

“Maybe we need to go see Bruce about adding a little more lube.” Skye replied, scratching her chin thoughtfully. “Maybe he's afraid of hurting me.”

“He does have pretty big hands.”

“You know what they say about big hands.”

“No, what do they say?”

“The bigger the hands, the bigger the...”

“Stop!” Steve interrupted, smacking his hand over Skye's mouth. “Please, don't finish that sentence.”

“Heart, Steve. The bigger the hands, the bigger the heart. God, who has the dirty mind now?” Skye sighed. Tony laughed and walked over to Skye, taking her from Steve. He guided her to the table, plunking her down at the spot next to his.

“How's that gel treating you?” Tony asked, blocking Steve from her view so she had to focus on him.

“Good,” Skye shrugged. “It's squishy.”

“So you've said,” Tony smirked. “Anything else?”

“It's cold.”

“Does Skye know how big your heart is?” Trip asked Steve with a grin, patting his shoulder. Steve groaned and buried his face in his hands.

“Stuff it, Trip.” Steve muttered.

“Would you like to stuff it...”

“Stop!” Steve hissed, shoving Trip playfully.

“Hey, man. Cool it,” Trip grinned, holding his hands up in defeat. “I'm just trying to help a brother out.”

“We're not brothers,” Steve smirked.

“You're my brother, from another mother.” Trip denied.

“And century,” Ward teased, wandering past the pair.

“Your momma is old,” Jack smirked, following Ward just a little too closely. That explained Ward bee-lining for a chair. Fitz stopped next to Steve, trying to contain his smirk. Now that he knew Skye was on his side, he felt a little braver around Ward. Steve grinned and shook his head at Jack.

“Clint, are you too mad to make me another shake?” Skye asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

“I'll make you another shake when you give my bow back.” Clint frowned.

“I'll make you a shake, sweetheart.” Tony announced grandly, sweeping into the kitchen. Steve glanced over at Clint, who subtly nodded and tapped his nose. “I'm not going to pretend like I've done this before, so you're gonna get what you get.”

“Don't you drink a shake every day?” Skye asked.

“Eh, not really a shake.” Tony frowned, shaking his head. Skye narrowed her eyes at him, so he waved her off and added a banana to the blender. Once there was an odd assortment of items in the blender, he added milk and put the lid on. He went to flip it on, but the power flickered and the blender went crazy, exploding the contents all over Tony and the kitchen. There was a full ten seconds of silence, then Skye broke it with her giggles. She snorted, then slapped her hand over her face.

“Twenty bucks says she did it,” Trip muttered to Steve.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Tony shouted, holding his hands out from his chest. He was covered in half blended banana, peanut butter, and whatever else he had in the blender. Jack was laughing just as loudly as Skye.

“Don't know when she would have done it,” Fitz muttered back, grinning. “She's been surrounded.”

“Except at night,” Steve objected.

“True.” Fitz nodded. “Jack always wants to check the van in the middle of the night.”

He seemed to realize what he just admitted and blushed. Steve grinned and pulled Fitz to his side, trying to reassure him without drawing any extra attention.

“I think Steven checks on her too,” Steve whispered.

“Nuh uh,” Steven argued, appearing out of nowhere as he dropped to Trip's shoulder's.

“Christ, boy!” Trip startled, hurriedly grabbing the boy before he could fall. Steve glanced up, noticing the open vent was several feet away. He tried to catch Jack's eye, to see if that was something normal for a serum infused child, but caught Skye's instead. She was shaking her head lightly, a soft smile on her face. He instantly relaxed; if Skye wasn't worried, he wasn't worried.

“{Looks like someone else gets to join us for training, Jack.}”

“{What'd he do? I missed it.}”

“{Was that wrong?}” Steven frowned, stilling on Trip's shoulders.

“{If you can only do it once, maybe,}” Skye grinned. “{You can give Jack some pointers. He's primarily defensive.}”

“Wait, she knows their...whatever they speak? I thought she spoke Ukrainian?” Ward asked over his shoulder. Trip raised his shoulders in a shrug.

“Try it,” Trip offered.

“{I thought you spoke Ukrainian?}” Ward asked in said language.

“I'm going to go...change.” Tony sighed. This was his favorite suit.

“{I do speak Ukrainian.}” Skye replied with a smirk. “Oh, sushi!”

“What's sushi?” Steven asked, twisting free from Trip. He hurried to Skye and climbed onto her lap. “Hi. I missed you.”

“You napped with me!” Skye giggled, handing him a piece of sushi from Tony's plate.

“I thought you didn't nap,” Steve grinned, walking around the table to take the chair beside Skye.

“Shh, Steve.” Skye admonished lightly. Steven chuckled and pushed the whole piece of sushi into his mouth. He chewed carefully and grimaced at Skye.

“It's squishy.”

“That's what she said!” Clint chortled, pointing at Skye. “It's funny cause it's true!”

“He's such a child,” Skye grinned at Steve, reaching over to steal a piece of sushi off Tony's plate for herself.

“If you puke that back up, I will not talk to you for the rest of the night,” Jack put in severely.

“What if I don't puke by you?” Skye smirked. She popped the sushi in her mouth and moaned deeply.

“Nope, sissy. No puking. Period.”

“Okay, so how many languages do you speak?” Ward asked, catching a lull in the conversation.

“I don't know,” Skye shrugged. “A few.”

“More than a few,” Jack retorted.

“English. Mash up. Russian?” Clint asked. Skye nodded.

“Ukrainian.” Ward added.

“Mandarin,” Jack sighed. “French. Spanish. Latin. Three dialects of Chinese.”

“Good God, woman.” Tasha muttered.

“Like you don't know that many,” Skye retorted. Tasha shrugged; she was good at languages, but she didn't know as many as Skye.

“Didn't Jarvis say the mash up was like thirteen languages?” Clint asked.

“When did he say that?” Coulson asked.

“Wa-a-ay back in day one,” Tony grinned, strolling back into the room. He had changed out of his suit and was now wearing (essentially) his pajamas and an animal print silk robe.

“We can change the topic any time now,” Skye offered, reaching over for a second piece of sushi.

“Hey! My sushi!” Tony yelped, hurrying to his seat to smack her hand away. Skye giggled and shoved it in her mouth.

“Don't worry, I'm done.”

“You're lucky I like you,” Tony muttered darkly. Skye just grinned at him, her cheeks pushed out widely.

“I like you, too.”

Chapter Text

“Please, can't we tell them now?” Simmons whispered loudly to Bruce, bouncing excitedly in her seat.

“Well now that you've drawn all of their attention, we kind of have to.” Bruce replied dryly, though he smiled warmly at her. He handed over a thin file. “Why don't you do the honors?”

“But...”

“Hey, you found it. You share it.”

“You're killing us here.” Jack pointed out. The entire table was watching their interaction. Skye nudged Steve and smirked at him.

“She's never in doctor mode around him.” Skye whispered.

“Think if we lock them in a closet, they'll kiss?” Steve whispered back, grinning broadly.

“Worth a shot.” Skye giggled.

“What are you giggling about?” Tony asked, nudging Skye's knee.

“Nothing.” Skye replied, making her face innocent. Too innocent. Tasha cleared her throat loudly.

“That's what your innocent face looks like, Steve.”

“I'll work on it,” Steve replied, chuckling.

“Okay,” Simmons said loudly, getting the attention of the room again. “As you know, Bruce and I have been taking a closer look at Skye's blood...”

“No shit.” Clint muttered. Simmons frowned and shot him a look. Clint looked shocked and pointed at Jack. Jack frowned and shook his head.

“That wasn't me.” Jack defended. “But, it is kind of obvious.”

“If you'll let her finish...” Bruce interrupted, making Coulson chuckle.

“As I was saying,” Simmons started again, straightening her blouse. “We've been looking into Skye's blood. And we found something interesting.”

Simmons waited, filling the room with a pregnant pause.

“Do share,” Ward called dryly.

“Well, since it's Mr. Stark's birthday...we thought this would be the perfect time for him to meet his sister.”

“Half sister.” Bruce interjected quickly.

“Wait, what?” Jack asked, his head whipping over to Tony. “I didn't know you had a sister.”

“I don't.” Tony replied, crossing his arms. “This isn't a very funny joke.”

“Give him the file,” Bruce grinned, nudging Simmons. Simmons grinned back and passed the file down to Tony. Skye leaned over Tony's shoulder and they read the papers inside together. Suddenly Skye bust out laughing, clutching her torso tightly. Her face turned red and she struggled to draw a breath.

“Skye, breathe.” Steve reminded her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder to keep her in her chair. Skye nodded and tried to compose herself. “What does it say? Who is his sister?”

“I'll have to stop calling you dad, little brother.” Skye giggled, shoving Tony's shoulder lightly.

“Little brother?” Tony huffed, looking indignant. “I'm older than you, thank you very much.”

“Jack, what year were you born?” Skye giggled.

“1970.” Jack replied instantly.

“Oh, no.” Steve gasped, his eyes wide with shock and amusement.

“I don't see how that makes me the little...oh, my God.” Tony gasped.

“I don't get it.” Ward sighed.

“Jack was born the same year as Tony.” Pepper explained, catching on quickly.

“In January,” Skye was quick to add, before Tony could argue that he was older.

“So?” Coulson asked, frowning. He was missing something big.

“Skye broke Jack out when he was 10.” Steve explained. “She was 18.”

“No. Way.” Trip gasped, grinning widely. “This is some real science fiction stuff.”

“So, little brother, how's your birthday?” Skye asked, grinning over at Tony. Tony looked like he was still shocked. His mouth hung open and he was visibly computing facts in his head.

“I think I need a minute.” Tony whispered, pushing back from the table. The table fell silent as they watched Tony stalk off.

“I'll go,” Pepper volunteered, setting her fork down.

“No, I'll go.” Skye interrupted. “Sorry. I mean, I'll go – if that's okay.”

“Go talk to your brother,” Pepper smiled warmly. She helped Skye stand, watching her wince slightly. She pulled her into a hug, “Welcome to the family, by the way. Not that you weren't family already, but now it's official.”

“Thanks, Pepper.” Skye whispered, blushing. She glanced at Bruce and Simmons then leaned back in to whisper to Pepper. “I'm waiting for them to admit it was all a joke.”

“Bruce wouldn't joke about this.” Pepper whispered back.

“Simmons might.”

“Trust me.”

“Okay,” Skye nodded. “Jarvis, where did he go?”

“The roof, Ms. Stark.” Jarvis replied, making the table bust into laughter. “Sir has prepared a chair for you, if you'd like?”

“A chair?” Skye frowned. A wheel chair came around the corner as she asked, making her huff and cross her arms. “No. No way.”

“I can take you.” Steve offered, trying to hide his grin behind his hand.

“I can walk.” Skye replied curtly, shuffling off for the elevator. The chair followed her, making her huff and lash out at it.

“Sir designed it not to topple.” Jarvis offered when she couldn't fling the chair over. Skye growled her frustration and stepped onto the elevator, trying and failing to keep the chair out as the door closed. She ignored the laughter coming from the table, concentrating instead on what she was going to say to Tony. Her anger at the chair only increased as the elevator shot upwards. It nudged the back of her knees, almost making her fall into the chair. So the neat little speech that she had planned flew out of her head when she found her brother sulking at the top of the Tower.

“Your God damned chair won't leave me alone, Anthony!” Skye all but shouted, limping out of the elevator.

“Well then get in the damned thing!” Tony growled back, hurrying over to her. “Why are you on your feet? They're still toughening up.”

“My brother ran off on me,” Skye replied, pulling herself to Tony for a hug. He sighed and hugged her back, letting his frustration seep out into the cool night air. “Are you mad?”

“No, I'm not mad.” Tony replied, scooping Skye up and carrying her over to a swing. “But I do wish you weren't so damned stubborn.”

“Just a little bit,” Skye dismissed with a smirk. Tony growled and sat down next to her. “You seem frustrated.”

“I can't wrap my head around this.” Tony admitted, hanging his head. Skye reached over and rubbed circles on his back.

“What part throws you the most?”

“I've wanted a family since...” Tony started. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair aggressively. “My parents...our parents? I'm so confused...they died while I was still young. Growing up, all I wanted was my family back. Now I learn that all this time, I've had one that I didn't even know about and I almost lost it. We thought we lost you, Skye. Jack, especially, down plays it. But we thought you were dead. We grieved you. I grieved you. I didn't understand what drew me to you so strongly, but now it turns out you're my sister and it all makes sense. Somehow, I must have known you were family and...”

“Jesus Christ,” Skye muttered dryly, shoving Tony. “I'm going to stop you before you get any more sappy.”

“I'm not being sappy,” Tony argued, finally picking his head up. Skye gave him an amused look and he laughed. “Fine! I was being a little sappy.”

“A lot sappy.” Skye amended.

“Do you think they're messing with us?” Tony asked softly, sitting back. “Messing with me?”

“I asked Pepper the same thing. She assured me Bruce wouldn't do that. I don't know him well enough to make conclusions.”

“I don't think he would, but he's different around Simmons.”

“Oh good.” Skye laughed lightly. “I didn't know him that well, but I definitely got that impression, too. She's never in doctor mode when he's around.”

“Doctor mode?” Tony asked, grinning. Skye shivered slightly, so he dropped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

“She's scary in doctor mode.” Skye nodded.

“So...we're family?” Tony asked softly.

“How do you feel about being the little brother?” Skye asked, softly. Seriously.

“Conflicted.” Tony said thoughtfully. “I feel like you should be the little one. I feel like I should take care of you.”

“Doesn't mean you can't.” Skye said softly.

“Would you let me? Take care of you?” Tony asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I feel like you already are,” Skye confessed. “I love Jack, but it's always been pretty one sided. I mean, I know he loves me. It's not like that. I just never let him take care of me; I like to think I can manage on my own. Out here, between the two of us, I can admit that that's not always the case.” She pointed a finger sternly at Tony, “But if you repeat that, I will deny ever saying it.”

“You make it hard.” Tony nodded. Skye giggled and nudged his shoulder.

“Jarvis called me Ms. Stark. Guess being difficult runs in the family.”

“Ms. Stark.” Tony smiled, rolling the name around his mouth. He quirked his lip up and tightened his hold on her. “You're taking this well. Like, surprisingly well.”

“Oh, don't worry, I'll have a proper freak out later.” Skye chuckled. “I don't think it's really hit me yet.”

“Bruce said you're my half sister. I wonder which parent we share.”

“Dr. Banner and Dr. Simmons did extensive research into Howard Stark's DNA.” Jarvis chimed in helpfully.

“Well, there you go. How about we go back and enjoy your birthday party?” Skye grinned. “I need to sneak about three bites of cake.”

“Deal.” Tony nodded. “But you're taking the chair.”

“Only if you take it with me.” Skye countered, smirking mischievously.

“I can take it off remote control.” Tony nodded, chuckling.

“Who's controlling it?” Skye asked, alarmed.

“Jarvis.” Tony shrugged.

“Deal. Get in the chair, brother.”

Tony laughed and plopped himself down in the chair. He whispered a few voice commands to the chair, trying to shield the words from Skye's ears. He didn't want her to be able to deactivate it. When a control panel popped up, Tony grinned and patted his lap.

“Get on, sister.”

“How fast can you make it go?” Skye baited.

“Oh, you want to see fast?” Tony laughed. “I'll show you something better.”

“You can try.” Skye shrugged. Tony laughed at the challenge and pressed a few buttons. The wheels pulled up and tilted downward, hovering half a foot off the ground. A strap extended itself around them, securing them to the chair. Skye looked at Tony with a shocked expression. “It flies?”

“It flies.” Tony grinned, racing for the edge of the Tower.

“TONY!” Skye shrieked, throwing her arms around his neck for dear life. The chair dropped over the edge, free falling.

0-0-0-0-0

There was a shrill scream and a flash past the window, drawing everyone's attention.

“Was that Tony?” Clint asked, racing towards the window.

“Jarvis, activate one of his robots to get him.” Pepper sighed, more annoyed than scared. He wouldn't have dived off the roof without some sort of plan, however stupid it might be. Seconds later, two suits dove down the Tower, racing to get to him.

“Two?” Steve asked, frowning. He pressed his forehead to the glass, trying to see down far enough that he could see what was going on.

“I've never heard Tony scream like that.” Tasha commented. “He must have taken Skye with him.”

“She's scared of heights,” Jack muttered, his mouth hanging open in horror.

“They're going to be alright, right?” Steven asked, clutching Steve's hand. Steve didn't reply. He couldn't, not without breaking his promise. His grip tightened on the boy's hand though, and that was answer enough. Just then, the whole floor-to-ceiling window pane opened, sliding to the side.

“Move your tushes!” Tony yelled over the wind, steering the wheel chair towards the opening.

“It fucking flies!?” Clint shouted, clutching his hair in his hands. He looked incredulously at Tasha. “It fucking flies.”

“Move, before you get run over by a wheel chair.” Tasha replied, amused. The two robots shot back up the Tower, heading back for the roof.

Tony landed the wheel chair, smirking smugly at the group. The glass slid back into place behind them, securing the room again. The strap around them fell away from around them. Then he turned his attention to Skye, who was still sitting on his lap – mouth dropped open, eyes wide, and hair wild from the wind.

“Sir. I'm registering an elevated heart rate for Ms. Stark.” Jarvis supplied into the silence.

“Fast enough for you?” Tony whispered.

“Oxygen levels dropping,” Jarvis chimed in again.

“Skye, you need to breathe.” Jack murmured, hurrying to her side. Skye's wide eyes swiveled to him slowly, her knuckles stark white as she gripped Tony and the chair. Jack sighed and smacked her face lightly, “Breathe.”

“What's wrong?” Tony asked softly. Jack rolled his eyes at him.

“She's scared of heights, dumb ass.”

“Shit.” Tony muttered. Skye finally drew in a long, shaky breath.

“I think I shit my pants.” Skye replied back, just as softly.

“Language,” Steven told her firmly, copying Steve's firm expression and crossed arms. There was a beat of silence, then the room burst into laughter. Steve laughed the loudest, tossing the boy over his shoulder.

“Don't ever change,” Steve told the boy, plopping him back in his chair.

“Oh, Skye, your feet.” Simmons frowned. Skye hissed at her and took the joy stick from Tony, steering them away from her.

“I'm fine. Go eat your cake.” Skye said firmly, though her eyes were laughing.

“We really should...” Simmons sighed, trying again.

“Later.” Skye said pointedly. “I need to eat some cake with my widdle baby brover.” Skye said in baby talk, squishing Tony's cheek.

“Skylar Elizabeth Stark!” Tony snorted, slapping her hands away from his face. “Don't make me disown you already.”

“Anthony Edward Stark!” Skye retorted back just as sharply. “Don't pull out imaginary full names already!”

“Oh, you just wait til my legal team gets a hold of this.” Tony told her, bopping her nose. “It won't be imaginary for long.”

“Really?” Skye squeaked softly.

“Of course,” Tony frowned. She buried her face in his neck, trying to pull her snarled hair around her face to hide herself. “Is that okay?” Tony asked softly.

“I feel like this is a way better present for me than it is for you,” Skye whispered softly, not raising her head.

“You don't think getting a family for my birthday is a good present?” Tony replied back.

Steve smiled and dropped his head, trying not to listen in to their private conversation. There was only so much he could do to avoid listening in, though. He let Steven crawl onto his lap, knowing he was eyeballing his cake.

“So...” Steven said after a beat of silence. “This cake isn't being eaten by anyone...”

“That's my cake.” Steve informed the boy, unable to hide his smile. He knew what was coming.

“Yeah, but realistically are you going to eat it? I mean, it's probably not good for a super soldier metabolism.” Steven told him, discretely palming a fork.

“I know what you're doing.” Steve smirked.

“Yeah, but you're not doing anything to stop me.” Steven countered, stabbing his cake. He shot Steve a look from the corner of his eyes as he brought the fork up to his mouth. Steve let the bite get almost to his mouth, then reached out quickly and directed the fork to his own mouth instead. The boy pouted and tossed the fork back on the table.

“There's a whole cake over there,” Jack pointed out, trying to give his sister her moment of privacy, too.

“Oh, I forgot!” Steven grinned, pouting forgotten.

“You don't need that much sugar.” Steve smiled, shaking his head. “Besides, you need to head to bed soon.”

“Aw, no.” Steven groaned loudly. “It's too early.”

“It's almost ten.” Steve countered. “That's plenty late for you.”

“But Steve!”

“But nothing!” Steve replied, trying to keep his face composed. If he laughed now, he would lose all authority. “I'll give you until 10:30, cause it's a special day.”

“Nobody else has to go to bed at 10:30,” Steven frowned, crossing his arms.

“Nobody else is a seven year old boy.” Steve smirked. “Don't argue or I'll move it up.”

“10:30 sounds good to me,” Steven said quickly.

“That's what I thought.” Steve laughed, sliding his arm around the boy so he could eat the last segment of cake on his plate before the boy got to it.

“And you thought I was a hard ass,” Skye commented, leaning forward to speak around Steve. Jack laughed and shook his head.

“You were a hard ass.” Jack replied grinning. He got Steve's attention and commented, “Granted, there were fifteen of us. She had to be pretty strict. We would have run all over her. My favorite was the first month or so. There was a pretty steep learning curve.” Jack grinned.

“What are you eating?” Steve frowned, hearing Steven's smacking. He was trying to be quiet about it, but was failing.

“What?” Steven said innocently, though his cheeks were puffed out.

“Steven.” Steve sighed.

“Um...magic cake.” He mumbled, working to swallow his mouthful. “It just magically appeared.”

“Skye...” Steve groaned, looking over at her empty spot. Skye was deep in conversation with Tony.

“But I don't want everyone to know.” Skye huffed.

“You don't want to be a Stark.” Tony said pointedly.

“I didn't say that. I just don't want a huge fucking press conference announcing it to everyone.” Skye replied, working to muffle her anger because she could hear the hurt in Tony's tone.

“That's part of being a Stark.”

“Well part of being me is being invisible. I worked really damn hard to keep us off the grid.”

“You don't have to be off the grid now!”

“I like being off the grid. Then nobody can use anybody else against me.”

“I'm Iron Man. They can't use me against you.” Tony huffed, losing his anger quickly. He could suddenly see why she was so hesitant. For her whole life, she was protecting other people. People that were constantly being used against her; Jack had told him about the dead children being dropped back off at the air strip. Tony looked around at the table, noticing how everyone was trying really hard to ignore their argument. He pulled Skye in for a hug. “You win. Can we talk later?”

“Please.” Skye nodded, wrapping her arms around him. “You know, as the little brother, you're just supposed to do what you're told.”

“Well that's not going to happen!” Tony laughed, throwing his head back.

“We would all love to see you try though,” Pepper smiled, patting Skye's knee. They all knew how overbearing Tony could get when he thought he was right, so it was good to see Skye standing up to him.

“Don't worry.” Skye smirked, returning Pepper's warm smile, “I can always tamper with some systems until he agrees.”

“You will not.” Tony said firmly.

“You think you're going to stop me?” Skye giggled.

“Jack showed me her Iron Man hacks.” Steven offered, wiping frosting from his plate. “She's pretty good.”

“You showed him Humping Man?” Skye and Tony asked at the same time, turning on Jack.

“Of course I didn't show him that one.” Jack huffed, looking offended.

“How many did you say you had?” Tony asked wearily.

“I didn't.” Skye smirked.

“You better stay on her good side,” Coulson commented, looking amused and frustrated. May quirked her lip next to him. “It takes a really long time to get back on it.”

“Well, it helps that your team is helping her out.” Tasha smirked. “Speaking of which, where did you end up sleeping?”

“Not my floor.” Steve muttered to Skye, smiling into Steven's unruly hair.

“You have a lot of empty rooms.” Skye commented, then looked over hard at Tony. “Why is that?”

“Our floors all have that many rooms.” Clint replied. “In case.”

“Of what?” Skye laughed.

“Just...in case.” Clint shrugged.

“Four seems excessive though.” Skye replied.

“Yeah, but now Steven gets his own room.” Steve smiled. “More importantly, Jack gets his own room.”

“And Skye gets her own room.” Jack replied, sticking his tongue out. “And then you're all filled up.”

“I'm pooped, guys. I'm going to head to bed.” Skye interjected, pushing away from the table. She had forgotten she was still on Tony's lap though, so she didn't move far.

“I'll take you to the lab.” Tony nodded, catching the anxious look Simmons was giving him. “Dr. Pokey wants to check your feet.”

“No more flying, right?” Skye winced. “I'm still feeling a little queasy from the first time.”

“That wasn't flying.” Trip grinned. “Girl, that was falling.”

“Controlled falling.” Tony retorted. “And, no. We don't need to fly to the lab.”

“Good,” Skye sighed. “I don't want to toss up my bites of cake.”

“You're not worried about that protein shake?” Tony asked dryly, shooting Fitz and Jack a dirty look as he wheeled Skye away. They both grinned and shook their heads in denial.

“That was hours ago.”

“It was disgusting.” Tony remarked, letting the elevator door close without Simmons or Bruce. Skye frowned, because the doctors were right outside the elevator. She knew Tony could be rude, but not like that. “Now, talk to me.”

“That was rude,” Skye frowned.

“Talk to me.”

“They were right outside the door!”

“Skylar Elizabeth. What part freaks you out?”

“Right there.” Skye mumbled.

“The fact that we want you to stay here? That you have a designated spot?”

“Tony, I want to go to bed.” Skye whispered. “Either take me to Dr. Pokey or to bed.”

“Answer my question first.” Tony rebutted, stubbornly.

“No.”

“Jarvis, stop the elevator.” Tony sighed. The elevator stilled. “Sissy,” Tony asked, fluttering his eyelashes like he had seen Jack doing, “Does it bother you that Steve wants to keep you on his floor?”

“Steve didn't say anything about it.”

“Is that the issue? If he doesn't want you on his floor, I can give you your own floor.”

“Jarvis, take me to Steve's floor.” Skye called out, rolling her eyes. The elevator started moving again, making Tony huff.

“Jarvis, you really need to remember who built you.” Tony sighed.

“Sorry Sir. She's overwritten some of your programming.”

“Ear mark it.” Tony sighed, rubbing his face. “I'll fix you later.”

“You'll try to.” Skye whispered, needing the control of having the last word.

“Fine.” Tony shouted, throwing his hands up. “You win. Dr. Pokey and then bed, but you better figure this out because we are going to have this conversation tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Steve walked into his room for the night, frowning at Skye's apparel. Bruce and Simmons had removed the boots; they had been satisfied with the healing. She was still in knee high socks though, probably for extra warmth. She wouldn't be comfortable in a button down flannel all night, but he wasn't sure if she was wearing anything beneath it. He certainly wasn't removing it if she didn't have another layer on. He bit his lip and headed towards his bed. She had fallen asleep on top of the covers, so he lifted the bottom of her shirt just a little bit. There was another shirt underneath, so he unbuttoned her flannel slowly. After he had shifted the flannel off her, he picked her up gently and tossed the covers back. It was awkward, since he was using both hands to hold Skye up, but she didn't wake with the jostling. He put her as close to the middle as he could, assuming Jack and Steven would join them again.

He inwardly sighed at that thought. He really needed Jack out of his bed. It was fine while Skye was gone; they had both needed the comfort of a breathing body nearby. But Skye wasn't gone anymore...and Jack was hogging half of his bed. Four people did not comfortably fit in his...custom made, very large bed. Okay, fine. They all fit just fine, especially considering how much cuddling was going on lately. Even with the whole Jack/Fitz situation, he couldn't be sure Jack was going to stay in his own bed. Steve sighed and ran his hand over his face.

“When did my life turn into a cuddle session?” Steve mused outloud.

“When you made me stay in this tall prison,” Skye murmured.

“You're not in prison.” Steve smiled, brushing her hair from her face. He couldn't tell if she had woken or not. She still looked asleep. “Think of it more as quarantine.”

“It would be better if you let me go.” Skye informed him. “Things are going to happen and then you're going to hate me. I would rather go now and save all of us that. Please, let me go.”

“You can go whenever you want,” Steve said sadly. He didn't want to say those words, but he trusted Tony – well, he trusted him on the free spirit bit. “But I really hope you don't. We all want you here. We can deal with the consequences.”

“You shouldn't have to.” Skye squeaked. “Jack can decide if he wants to stay. They're way more mad at me than at Jack.”

“We got them all,” Steve reminded Skye.

“No, you didn't.” Skye whispered, twisting her face into her pillow. Steve waited half a minute longer, waiting to see if she would elaborate on that. When she didn't, Steve sighed and kissed her forehead.

“Sleep tight, doll.”

She was a Stark. Somehow, it didn't surprise him. There had to be a reason Tony got along with her so well; a blood relationship explained that. They were eerily similar, despite their differences. He had just read an article about Nature vs. Nurture and he couldn't help but wonder if Tony would have turned out differently if he had people to take care of when he was younger. Skye had grown up in an orphanage, so she had been raised around other children. In the 40s, at least, the older children had been tapped to help care for the younger ones. He assumed the same principle would still be in effect with orphanages in the...Steve mentally did some math. Jack was born in 1970, and Skye had been 8 years older than him when she broke him out, so she was born in 1962. Skye was 53, assuming she had told the truth all those years ago. Steve wiped his hand down his face, then turned on his side to face Skye. She didn't look 53. Hell, she didn't look 30.

Just when he thought the world couldn't get any stranger, Skye burst into it with her mystery supply of the fountain of youth.

0-0-0-0-0

“You were right,” Tony muttered quietly, not lifting his eyes from the screen. Skye had just snuck out of Steve's room and was heading for the stairwell.

“She's going to engage privacy mode,” Bruce muttered back. They were floors away from her, watching over the computer, but the whispering felt appropriate.

“Hmm, she's heading to the garage.” Tony sighed, pushing back. “I really thought she would head for your lab.”

“Could she have looped the feed already? Isn't that essentially what privacy mode is? Maybe that's why she always takes the stairs.” Bruce asked softly. “Check the camera in my lab.”

“Bruce, she would have to time it perfectly...” Tony replied, pulling up the other feed anyways though. Jarvis had no control over this one. Bruce smacked Tony to shut him up, pointing to the screen. Skye was already in his lab, just like he suspected. Little things were moved each morning, making him suspicious. He had discreetly asked Simmons if she was doing any lab work outside of their time in the lab together, but she hadn't. He had immediately suspected Skye. Her chat with him that afternoon only confirmed things in his head; now he needed proof. “What's she doing?”

“Can't tell from here,” Bruce muttered, watching the screen intently. He made notes of which materials and chemicals she was using; he could piece it together later.

“She's drawing blood?” Tony scoffed, raising his eyebrows at Bruce. “She threw that hissy fit when we wanted some blood, but she can calmly sit there and do it herself?”

“Eh, not so much on the calmly,” Bruce replied, pointing out her shaky hand and clenched jaw. “She's testing her blood. She doesn't trust our results.”

“Or she's looking for something she doesn't want to tell you about.”

“That's true. She is surprisingly adept at this,” Bruce nodded. She was comfortable in his lab. She had to do some digging to find the right tools, but she used them with skill.

“I want her tested,” Tony admitted softly. “I'm going to talk to her about it tomorrow. If she is a Stark, there's a good chance she's a genius like Dad and I.”

“She is a Stark,” Bruce sighed. “Simmons and I aren't pulling your leg. Frankly, I'm offended you think I would do that to anyone, but especially to you. I know how much family means to you, Tony. Simmons and I are just glad we could be the ones to give you one,” Bruce laughed, settling back in his seat. Skye had started a new test; they were in for a long night.

0-0-0-0-0

“Alright, ma'am,” Tony announced, bursting into Steve's room, “It's question answer time.”

“Go away!” Skye and Steven moaned. She pulled the covers over their head.

“No!” Tony groaned, crawling up the bed to smack at the pair. “If I'm awake, you can be awake. A caterer brought muffins. And I'll make you coffee. Please, I want this. Skye, I need to know about my sister.”

“Oh, my God.” Skye moaned. “Your sister doesn't want to be awake right now.”

“Coffee, Skye.” Tony reminded her. “I'll make you coffee.”

“Are you good at making coffee?” Skye asked, peeking out of her covers.

“Well, no. But I know someone who is!”

“Ugh, fine.” Skye grumbled, slipping out of bed.

“Can I stay?” Steven yawned.

“Someone might as well sleep in,” Skye nodded. “Tony, can I meet you in like ten minutes? I need a shower or you won't get much out of me.”

“Yes, you shower and I'll find coffee dude.”

“You don't even know his name?” Skye sighed.

“Eh, it's not always the same guy and I can't keep them straight.” Tony shrugged. “Jarvis will bring you to me.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, so tell me about your childhood.” Tony sighed, stretching out on the couch.

“I don't remember a lot of it,” Skye shrugged, sipping her very hot, very delicious coffee. It almost made up for her rude wake up call. “Nothing significant, at least.”

“Well, where did you grow up?”

“Um...all over. Kind of.” Skye shrugged.

“That doesn't answer my question,” Tony frowned.

“St. Agnes?” Skye said softly.

“An orphanage?” Tony gasped. “You were raised in an orphanage?”

“It's okay.” Skye replied. “I don't remember a lot of it.”

“Where was it? Nearby, right?”

“Here. I mean, New York. But I didn't always stay in New York.”

“Foster homes?”

“Foster homes,” she smiled.

“How long were you at the orphanage?”

“I don't know? The normal amount of time?” Skye shrugged.

“Skye. How long?”

“Not that long. I spent a lot of time in foster homes.”

“You got adopted?”

“Nice couple came for me.” Skye nodded.

“That's good.” Tony sighed. “Tell me about them. What were their names?”

“Dave and Susan Brody.” Skye replied, throwing up a small smile. “They took good care of me.”

“Raised you right?”

“They tried their best.”

“Where are they now?”

“Dead.”

“Oh. I'm sorry.” Tony winced. “When did that happen?”

“Long time ago.” Skye shrugged. “Don't really want to talk about it.”

“Okay.” Tony nodded. He got that.

“What about Howard?” Skye asked, unwilling to call him her father. She hadn't come to terms with that yet.

“What about him?” Tony sighed. “He was an alcoholic. Spent most of my childhood looking for Mr. Rogers over there. Then he died.”

“Car crash?” Skye confirmed.

“Yeah. Car crash.” Tony nodded.

“No wonder you and Steve don't get along that great.” Skye murmured, running her fingers through her hair.

“We're way better now.” Tony chuckled. “The first few weeks...months, even...eh. Not so great.”

“He stole your dad.”

“Our dad.”

“I didn't know him.”

“You didn't know me either, doesn't make me any less your brother.”

“I know you now.” Skye shrugged.

“We can go dig through some of his stuff.” Tony offered, grinning. “See if we can find some embarrassing pictures.”

“Of him or of you?” Skye laughed.

“Okay, rapid fire questions. I made a program. I'll hit the button to randomly pick a question to ask, you answer.”

“You have to answer too,” Skye argued, flipping through Tony's childhood pictures. Most of them were of him and his nannies, but his parents were present in some of them. “Fair is fair.”

“Deal.” Tony agreed. “Favorite food?”

“I have to choose one? French fries. Soft ice cream. Pizza. Sushi. Broccoli Cheddar Soup.”

“That's more than one. Scotch.”

“Scotch isn't a food.”

“Eh, I snack. Blueberries?” Tony shrugged. “Favorite color.”

“Blue.”

“Red and Gold.”

“Iron Man,” Skye sighed loudly.

“Iron Man,” Tony nodded. “Have you ever built a snowman? What kind of question is this?”

“It's your program.” Skye sighed. “And yes, like once. Jack and I liked to stay south during the winter. Don't like the cold.”

“You don't say. I have never built a snowman.”

“We can fix that this winter,” Skye grinned.

“What's the worst thing you've ever done?”

“Next.”

“Skye!”

“Next.”

“For me, I would say selling weapons. That was a bad choice. When that bomb landed next to me in Afghanistan, whoo. Real eye opener. It literally had my name on it. Our name on it? Hmm, you're a Stark.”

“I don't know how I feel about that.”

“I was looking over some stuff last night,” Tony groaned, leaning back to slump heavily in his chair.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“You gonna tell me what? Or can I go back to bed?”

“I'll get you more coffee,” Tony offered, leveling her with a serious expression. “You don't have to want for anything, not anymore.”

“I'll never turn down delicious coffee,” She murmured her agreement. Tony told Jarvis their order and then looked back at his sister.

“I mean it though,” Tony repeated.

“I'm good at taking care of myself,” Skye replied with an easy shrug. “And I don't need a lot.”

“I didn't say need, I said want.” Tony reinforced. “Technically, half of Stark Industries is yours.”

“No,” Skye denied instantly. She pushed away from Tony and put the couch between them. “No, I don't want it.”

“It's not about what you want,” Tony replied.

“Yes, it is. I don't want it. I don't want half. I don't want a third. I don't want it.” She repeated, looking panicked.

“Okay, relax,” Tony reassured, trying to wave her back into her seat.

“Tony, I don't want it.” Skye repeated, still shaking her head. “If being a Stark means I have to, then I don't want to be a Stark.”

“Skye, I'm not going to make you.” Tony sighed. She reacted exactly how he thought she would. “I would much rather have you as my sister than as a business partner, if I had to choose between the two. If you want no part in SI, that's fine.”

“Give Pepper my share,” She offered easily.

“That's a very generous offer,” Tony grinned. “But it doesn't work like that. Ignore the company. Just...” Tony waved behind him, “It's behind us. Done. Boom.”

“Okay,” Skye nodded slowly, sitting back down when the new order of coffee arrived. She smirked up at Tony over the top of her mug. “You didn't seem very surprised.”

“We're a lot alike,” Tony shrugged. “That being said, you still have Stark money. Use it, don't use it, I don't care. It's available to you for whatever.”

“That's very kind of you,” Skye dismissed. Tony grinned and shook his head.

“God, we're so much alike.”

“That's a lie,” Skye giggled. “I can't picture you ever saying that's very kind of you to anyone. At least, not without being super sarcastic about it.”

“We may deflect in different ways, but we still deflect,” Tony shrugged. “Must be a Stark trait. You know another Stark trait? Being a genius."

"You're so modest," Skye giggled.

"I mean it!" Tony sighed. "I want you tested. I want to know."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Why wouldn't you want to?"

"I don't want to hurt your feelings when I'm smarter than you," Skye smirked.

"Ha, ha. You're not smarter than me." Tony retorted, crossing his arms. "I'm setting up the test."

"Whatever you say, brother."

They went back to flipping through pictures. Tony hadn't looked at them in years, so it was a nice refresher for him. Skye kept giggling at pictures, holding them up so he could offer the explanation behind them. She had laughed for a full minute at his robot costume for halloween one year. He looked maybe four or five, and his robot was made out of cardboard boxes. Tony had explained that he wanted to build it from scratch. His nanny hadn't had the heart to tell him it was terrible.

“So, did you find what you were looking for in your blood?” Tony asked casually. Skye froze over the box of pictures.

“You knew?”

“Bruce is quite particular about his lab,” Tony nodded. “He noticed things were not quite right. We both immediately suspected you. Which begs the question, when in the last 35 years did you master lab techniques like that? Bruce was impressed.”

“Eh, picked up some odd jobs over the last thirty some years,” Skye shrugged.

“You didn't answer my question.”

“I wanted to confirm with Bruce.”

“Confirm what?”

“My sample now reacts the same way as the other samples of magic blood,” Skye admitted softly.

“So you've got magic blood now?” Tony asked, his eyebrows high.

“Maybe?” Skye offered softly. “I trust Bruce's results more than my own.”

Chapter Text

“Are we going to confirm her tests?” Simmons asked Bruce. They were re-watching the footage of Skye in the lab, trying to piece together what she had done.

“This one, for sure,” Bruce nodded, pointing to the paper that Skye had given him earlier.

“This virus? I've never heard of it,” Simmons muttered. “Why did you have it?”

“I ordered it on rush when Skye told me about it.” Bruce replied. “Wanna run this with me?”

“Heck yes, I do!” Simmons beamed, sidling closer to Bruce's side.

“Guys, I'm trying to stalk my sister,” Tony grumbled two hours later.

“That alone should be reason to stop,” Bruce replied with a grin. “Isn't that what you keep telling Steve? Let her be her own person?”

“You know what, Big Green?” Tony snorted, crossing his arms. “I think your lab might be getting a funding cut.”

“But then we won't have the resources to re-run your sister's tests,” Simmons interjected with a worried smile.

“Speaking of which,” Bruce smiled, waving Tony closer. “This will interest you. I promise.”

“Good interest or bad?”

“Hmm, good. I think.”

“Yeah,” Simmons grinned. “They used an almost identical serum on Skye as they did with 47.”

“Their blood is remarkably similar.” Bruce remarked. He pulled up two images. “See, this is what we took from the sample Jack used. This one is Skye's. See these markers? This must be the serum.”

“They have the same ones.” Tony nodded.

“We thought they might be the same sample, actually.” Simmons mused, looking the images over. “Unfortunately, Jack's medicine had no white blood cells, so we can't compare the DNA.”

“She's not 47.” Tony sighed. He had seen her wrist.

“Then the serum is identical.” Simmons shrugged. “It's amazing though, the way it blended with her DNA. It looks totally organic in a way I wouldn't expect it to.”

“Is that why she's got that healing...thing? Because 47 does?”

“Probably.” Bruce nodded. “It's curious really. We still can't explain why it has such amazing healing properties. Neither blood sample is elevated in any of the normal reading ranges.”

“But there's that weird thing that happens when the virus is introduced,” Simmons continued. Tony made an annoyed sound so she elaborated. “The serum? I guess we're assuming it's the serum? It morphs into something strange when the virus is around. It...well, it basically eats the virus.”

“Show me.” Tony demanded. Bruce smirked and pointed to the screen; the footage of their microscope already pulled up for his viewing pleasure. Bruce handed Tony the drawing Skye had given him, then hit play. Out of nowhere, her blood cells morphed and encircled the virus cells. It happened so quickly that if he didn't know what he was looking for, he wouldn't have caught it. Bruce played it again, this time at half speed. “What the fuck---?”

“Exactly,” Bruce nodded. He and Simmons exchanged an excited look. “We've got a genuine mystery on our hands.”

“So she's got magic blood?”

“She's got magic blood.” Simmons confirmed.

0-0-0-0-0

“Steve, Steve, Steve, Steve!” Skye shouted, jumping on his bed. “Guess what day it is?”

“Jump Day!” Steven shouted in response, jumping right along side her. Steve smirked at the pair, then slowly shook his head.

“Is that the camel commercial?” He asked.

“I'm all better. I have some things due to me,” Skye crowed, trying to jump higher. “Dude, this bed sucks for jumping on.”

“We can go to the trampoline place!” Jack shouted through the open doorway. He and Fitz had been playing internet videos on the TV when Steve got back from his run.

“Are you going to behave better than last time?” Skye shouted back. Jack just laughed loudly.

“What did you eat for breakfast?” Steve asked, catching Skye as she launched herself off the bed and into his arms. She squirmed in his hold until he placed her back on her feet, then grinned up at him.

“A muffin.”

“Three muffins!” Steven corrected.

“Chocolate chip, blueberry, and orange cranberry.” Skye moaned. “Oh, my God. The caterer makes the best orange cranberry muffins I've ever had in my whole life.”

“And coffee,” Steven added.

“Oh, the coffee,” Skye moaned again, throwing her head back. “It was delicious.”

“So you've had sugar and caffeine.” Steve summarized with an affectionate shake of his head. “Swell.”

“The trampoline place will burn all my extra energy!” Skye giggled, throwing her hands up. “Don't say no, Steve. We're going anyway. You can't stop us.”

“I can't stop you?” Steve asked with a dubious eyebrow lift.

“Can't.” Skye repeated with a cocky smirk.

“Gym.”

“Bring it.”

“Ooooh, boy!” Steven crowed, launching himself off the bed and following Steve and Skye from the room.

“What's going on?” Fitz asked, looking up with a shy smile.

“Steve and Skye are gonna duke it out!” Steven shouted, launching himself around the room. Jack intercepted him and tossed him over his shoulder.

“Trust me, you're not going to want to miss this.” Jack muttered, dragging Fitz up.

“So, what happens when I win?” Skye asked, her face pure and innocent. Steve snorted. He had learned the lesson about that face, even if he had to earn it through Clint losing his bow.

“When I win, you have to take it easy today.” Steve retorted. “Not bedrest, but not launching yourself off elastic either.”

“When I win,” Skye countered, “I think you will have to come to the trampoline place with us. Snacks will have to be provided.”

“How are we judging this?” Fitz asked, ever fair.

“Typical bout, sissy?” Jack asked with a grin. That should have been Steve's first red flag. Skye pursed her lips and looked Steve over critically.

“Steve, think you can pin me in less than five minutes? Or do you want ten?” She asked finally. Steven giggled and squirmed to sit on Jack's shoulders.

“Steve, I don't think five minutes is enough time.” Steven laughed.

“Oh, I can do it in five minutes,” Steve argued. He never could turn down a challenge. “Either way, I think you're all better.” He said significantly. Skye's whole face lit up and she grinned enthusiastically.

“Okay, no pinning,” Skye offered. “If you can prove I'm all better, you win.”

“I think we're missing something,” Fitz whispered to Jack.

“I really don't think we want to know,” Jack whispered back, noticing Steve's smirk.

“Now I definitely am going to win,” Steve informed Skye. She sighed loudly.

“See? That attitude right there? That's why you're going to lose,” She replied.

“This is either going to be awesome or terrifying.” Fitz winced.

“Let's go with awesome,” Skye laughed. She reached up and pecked Steve on the cheek, “For good luck.”

“You're going to need it,” Jack chortled, patting Steve's shoulder.

“I'm not going to hurt him,” Skye offered. “I'll do Jack mode.”

“Oh, no.” Steve interrupted, shaking his head. “Skye mode. I want to see Skye mode.”

“Really, Steve...”

“Skye mode,” Steve interrupted firmly. Jack shrugged and dragged Fitz and Steven clear.

“Don't say I didn't warn you,” Jack called from the sidelines.

“Let's make things clear,” Steve said softly, stepping closer to Skye so he could have the conversation quietly. “You have to stay away from me for five minutes. If I get close enough for long enough, I get to prove that you're better?”

“You really should have taken more time,” Skye giggled.

“I need you to say it, doll.” Steve said just as softly, but seriously.

“If you can catch me, you are allowed to kiss me, Mr. America.” Skye smirked.

“Great. Now that that's clear,” Steve lunged at Skye, hoping to take her by surprise. He really misjudged her speed. She twisted away from him, then flipped back twice to put distance between them.

“Naughty, naughty,” Skye grinned, wagging her finger at him. Steve didn't bother apologizing for his cheap shot, he just lunged again. Again and again, she slipped away from him before he could even touch her.

“He wanted Skye mode!” Jack called from the sidelines.

“This isn't Skye mode?” Steve asked, changing his strategy up to try and corner her instead.

“This is Jack mode,” Skye laughed. “He's like...99% defensive.”

“Skye! I'm delicate. I can't punch people!”

“He's also a whiner,” Skye grinned. Steve was breathing hard, but she hadn't even broken a sweat. “You really want Skye mode?”

“Doll, I want everything you've got,” Steve replied, then instantly flamed over when Jack and Fitz collapsed against each other, laughing so hard they were clutching each other to stay upright. Skye's eyes roamed down Steve's form, then back up to his eye. She was completely unashamed when he raised his eyebrow at her obviousness.

“Ask and you shall receive,” Skye replied, then switched from defense to offense. Steve was fast - fast enough that she still had to play some defense against him. In this short of a bout, Steve was almost evenly matched with her. With about a minute left though, it was clear that Skye had the upperhand. She started licking Steve every time she got close enough, which was surprisingly often. Fitz started counting down from twenty, and Steve still hadn't pinned Skye. He couldn't stop her from licking him and he couldn't get close enough to kiss her. He growled with frustration and a little bit of disgust. Leave it to her to pick something as gross as licking to prove her point. With five seconds left, Steve found himself smashed into the padded wall. Skye had managed to trap his arms behind his back in a way that he couldn't break free without dislocating his shoulders. He could do that, but it would be pointless. Jack, Fitz, and Steven were cheering from the sidelines:

“Trampoline, Trampoline, TRAMPOLINE!!!”

“Sorry, Stevie,” Skye said sweetly, pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades. “I told you that you were just making things harder for yourself.”

“I changed my mind,” Steve admitted, resting his forehead on the padding. “I shouldn't have teased you. Please, don't make my same mistake.”

“What mistake?” Skye asked softly, loosening her hold on his wrists and thumbs subconsciously. Steve broke free with a growl of triumph and slammed them both to the floor. He wrapped his arms around her on the way down, breaking their fall with his arms.

“Teasing me,” Steve replied with a cocky smile. Skye grinned at his trick, but didn't let him press his advantage. She pulled closer to him, then tucked her ankle behind his knee and flipped them easily.

“I don't think teasing you is a mistake,” She grinned. She made a show of wetting her mouth, then dragged her tongue up the side of his face. “A grizzly bear kiss is almost as good as the real thing.”

“That's disgusting,” Steve groaned, trying to dry his face on his shoulder.

“Later, Stevie,” Skye laughed, skipping away from him.

“Well, that's embarrassing,” Clint laughed from the rafters.

"Shut up, Clint."

0-0-0-0-0

“I can do my training at the trampoline place!” Jack pouted.

“Are you actually going to do it?” Skye asked, sighing wearily. Jack saw that she was worn down and grinned at his victory.

“Sissy, of course I'm going to do it.”

“You better.” She threatened. “I need to change quick, meet you back here in five?”

“Yes, ma'am!” Jack saluted. Steven giggled and hurried to his room to change as well. Pepper had come down to help him organize all the clothes Jack and Tasha had bought for him – helpfully sorting out the more outrageous outfits. In less than two minutes, all three were back in the shared space waiting impatiently for Steve.

“Jarvis!” Skye moaned, “Tell Steve if he doesn't hurry up, we're going to leave without him.”

“Steve got called away,” Tasha informed them, stepping off the elevator. “Won't be long. He said you could wait for him, if it's that important that he goes with you.”

“Or we could go again another day,” Jack offered up quickly.

“Wifey? Wanna join us?” Skye asked, fluttering her eyelashes. “Who knows what kind of trouble we might get into without a responsible adult to supervise us?”

“Where are you going?”

“Indoor trampoline place,” Steven grinned, bouncing in place. “Please, please, please come.”

“How am I supposed to say no to that?” Tasha asked with a small smile.

“You're not.” Steven replied, dragging her back to the elevator. Tasha laughed and draped her arm around Skye.

“We've got to keep these boys in line.”

“Oh, Jack will be in line,” Skye smirked. “Apparently he hasn't been doing his exercises.”

“Oooooh,” Steven laughed, climbing Jack to hang on his back. “You're in trouble!”

“Shush it,” Jack snorted.

“Let's steal Tony's favorite car,” Skye grinned.

“His favorite car wouldn't fit all of us,” Tasha replied easily. She grabbed a set of keys off a hook, then unlocked a black SUV with deep, tinted windows. “This however, will have to suffice.”

“Not as fun,” Jack grumbled.

0-0-0-0-0

“Again, Jack.” Skye sighed. “It's only been two weeks.”

“Almost three!” Jack retorted, like it made a difference.

“If Steven can do it, you owe him your dessert tonight.” Skye threatened. Steven bounced over upon hearing his name, pulling flips every other bounce.

“What do I need to do?” He asked, beaming.

“Don't do it!” Jack huffed.

“But, I like dessert.” Steven replied. Tasha and Skye laughed at that.

“Okay, Steven,” Skye sighed, pointing to a small box hidden in the rafters. “You get three bounces to get the box down.”

“Three?” Steven asked, looking the obstacle course over critically.

“Three.”

“Done.” Steven nodded. He composed his face, turning serious and focused. He shook his hands out and rolled his neck. Skye winced a little.

“If you can't do it, you're not in trouble, okay?” Skye told him in a whisper. She could see he was focusing, and she didn't want to disrupt that - but she needed to be straight with him too.

“No punishments?” Steven asked, stilling.

“Never.”

“Even if...”

“Never,” Skye repeated firmly.

“I didn't even ask yet!”

“Doesn't matter. My answer is still the same.”

He looked over with a shy smile, then focused on the task at hand. “Do I have to start from here?” He asked with a cocky smirk.

“Nope. Wherever you want,” Skye laughed. Jack had thrown his hands up and fell back onto the mat.

“Well that changes things!”

“Jack, you got the exact same instructions.”

“Whatever.” Jack moaned dramatically. “I see it now. You love him more than me.”

“Cry me a river,” Skye chortled. Steven jumped on Jack's stomach, making him groan and sit up halfway.

“{I still love you a whole lot, cool older brother,}” Steven whispered into Jack's ear.

“Thanks,” Jack laughed. “Go show me up.”

“I think I can do it in two,” Steven nodded, his game face on again. He ran to a knotted rope and climbed it about two-thirds of the way to the ceiling. He glanced down, then started swinging the rope. Once he had a good arch, he let go of the rope and fell feet first onto the trampoline. He used that bounce to propel him on top of one of the obstacles, then bounced from that to the rafters where the box was. He grabbed the box and slid down the wall. He ducked his head and offered Skye the box with a shy smile. “It's three if you count the last fall.”

“Hmm, you better open it.” Skye replied, shrugging her shoulders with a dry expression. He went to Jack and plopped down at his side. Jack helped him open the box, then they looked in together.

“Ice cream!?” Steven half-shouted.

“Steve's gonna flip,” Jack laughed.

“Nah, we'll eat ice cream here and burn it off before we go back to the Tower,” Skye laughed, tugging both of them to their feet.

“Tasha, can I buy you an ice cream?” Steven asked, sidling up to her.

“Does it come with sprinkles?” She asked right back.

“Anything you want,” Steven grinned, flapping the gift certificate in his face like a fan.

0-0-0-0-0

“I leave you guys alone for two hours,” Steve moaned, dragging his hand down his face. “Two hours! How did this even happen?”

“Ice cream!” Steven and Skye shouted back at him from across the trampoline court. They glanced at each other, then bounced once. They launched themselves at Steve, Jack and Tasha counting their flips as they went.

“Seventeen,” Jack called out for Skye.

“Nineteen,” Tasha called out for Steven.

“Aw, man!” Skye groaned, plopping down on the trampoline.

“Don't worry,” Steven reassured her, “You'll do better when you have practiced more.”

“Pop Top!” Jack laughed, then jumped near her, launching her into the air. Skye giggled and flailed midair.

“Steve, come join us.” Skye invited. “Tasha was telling us about your acrobatics. We would love a demonstration.”

“Tasha!” Steve grumbled. “It was one class. For charity.”

“We're charity and we want to see it,” Skye retorted quickly. “Please, Stevie?”

“Yeah, Stevie,” Tasha smirked.

“See if you can get the box down,” Steven laughed, laying flat on his back as Jack and Skye bounced him into the air. He pointed up towards the rafters.

“You get three bounces.” Jack was quick to add.

“Three?” Steve asked, kicking his shoes off.

“Three,” Jack confirmed, holding his hand over Steven's mouth so he couldn't give him any clues.

“Rules?”

“Get the box down.” Jack shrugged. “Within three bounces.”

“That's it?”

“That's it.”

“Psh, pie and cake.” Steve grinned, bouncing a few times experimentally. He used his three bounces to get high, trying to bounce straight up into the rafters. He ended up needing four bounces, not that anyone noticed. By the time he got to the box, they had hidden in the course. “You're not funny, guys!”

“Open your box!” Steven shouted back. Steve shook his head and opened the box. There was a small piece of paper inside. All it said was: You're it.

“Oh, you guys are going down.” Steve announced, free falling back onto the trampoline. He used the height to scope out the obstacle course, immediately spotting Jack. “Oh, Ja-a-a-ack!” He teased, bouncing over a wall to land right near Jack. He forgot about the bounce though, cause Jack laughed as he was propelled out of reach of Steve's outstretched arms.

“Gonna have to do better than that, Stevie.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, so I'm clearly better.” Skye teased lightly, from the backseat of the SUV. Jack and Tasha were sitting up front. “We need to go to Shield. I need to see the kids. As discretely as possible.”

“What, you don't want to see the Director?” Steve teased right back.

“Not if I can solve the problem on my own.”

“Hopefully there is no problem,” Steve agreed. “I spoke with the agents that were with the kids, and I spoke to the director about reassigning better agents.”

“But we're still going, right?” Skye asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. “If you don't want to go, I can take Gertrude.”

“I love that you named your van Gertrude,” Steve laughed, pulling her into a hug.

“Gertrude is a good, solid name.” Skye defended.

“Yes, it is.” Steve agreed as they pulled into the Tower. “Lets see who else wants to go to Shield. Maybe Clint can fly us instead.”

“Flying?” Skye asked softly.

“No flying?” Steve asked back. “Do heights apply to quinjets? I guess I assumed if you couldn't see the height, it wouldn't be an issue.”

“I can do it,” Skye dismissed. “Jarvis, where's my Archer?”

“Can I stay here with Tony?” Steven asked softly, wringing his hands.

“You definitely don't have to go back there,” Steve agreed easily, ruffling his hair. “You're going to need a haircut soon.”

“Skye? Will you cut my hair? Jack said you always cut his,” Steven asked, twisting back to see Skye.

“Absolutely,” Skye agreed easily. “Jack is overdue.”

Chapter Text

“I feel like I'm twelve again,” Skye grumbled lightly.

Being the smallest of the group, she had been volunteered for the jump seat when Agent Coulson's team got called back to headquarters for a mission. It had taken Trip and Ward to get Simmons from Bruce's lab, because as hard as she resisted her kidnapping in the first place, she really liked working in the Tower. Ward had tired of arguing with her, so he hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her kicking and screaming from the lab. Jarvis had alerted Jack that Fitz was wanted for a mission and he had locked down his lab with them both inside. It had taken Coulson forty five minutes to almost convince Tony to override the order, and by then the Director had called Coulson and demanded he get to base. Since Tony was too amused by the situation to offer any help, Coulson admitted defeat and headed back to headquarters without Fitz. Apparently, in that 45 minutes Clint had gotten impatient and left in the quinjet with Tasha – and no one else. So that left Coulson and May sitting up front in the SUV, Simmons, Skye, and Steve in the middle row, and Trip and Ward at the back of the SUV. Needless to say, the mood in the SUV was solemn – at best.

“I can give you another...inch,” Steve offered, trying to scoot closer to the door.

She smiled and patted his knee, “Relax, I've got room. It's just...claustrophobic.”

“You lived in a van and are worried about tight spaces?” Coulson asked from up front.

“You know, you're doing a remarkably bad job at earning your file back, Agent Coulson,” Skye retorted.

“I got the tablet!” Coulson replied back, too quickly.

“You were supposed to bring it to me,” Skye replied, overly patient. “I never got it.”

“You got a shower.” Coulson bartered. “That was on the list.”

“Yeah, but you didn't get me a shower. My brother got me a shower.”

“Can't believe you're a Stark,” May muttered.

“Sorry, what was that?” Trip half shouted from the back row of the SUV. “Speak up! I can't hear back here, especially with Mr. Chatty talking my ear off!”

“I haven't said anything!” Ward whispered defensively.

“That's the point, man.” Trip grumbled.

“Agent May had just commented that it was strange that Skye is a Stark,” Simmons informed him primly. She deliberately kept her head from turning towards Ward. She did not appreciate his handling of her. Skye tried to hide her grin, but Steve's shaking chest gave him away.

“Hey! I should get my file back!” Coulson shouted, making the van laugh. He raised his voice again, “I hand delivered your shower chair. I get my file back!”

“Fine!” Skye laughed, pulling a tablet from her bag, “I'll give you your other file back.”

“Aw, yeah.” Coulson said softly, smirking at May. May raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head ever so slightly. She caught Skye's tone – Coulson wasn't getting what he thought he was getting.

“I can't believe Clint left without us,” Steve muttered. Skye smirked up at him, then continued working on her tablet.

“Anyone want another look at Doctor Coulson before I make him go buh-bye?” Skye asked the van.

“Oh, me. Can I have a picture with him?” Simmons asked, grinning and waving her phone.

“No!” Coulson shouted, trying to reach back. Skye slapped his hand away and grabbed Simmons' phone.

“Say cheese!” Skye laughed. Simmons held the tablet up next to face and smiled at Skye.

“Get in there,” Steve laughed, taking the phone from Skye. “You know you want this documented.”

“Stop being so smart and take the picture,” Skye giggled, smacking Coulson's hand away again before sliding closer to Simmons.

“I will pull this SUV over if everyone doesn't have their seatbelts on!” Coulson threatened.

“Sorry, Dad.” Simmons and Skye chorused, clicking their seatbelts at the same time. Even May smirked at that one, partially because of Coulson's sudden silence and shocked expression.

“I'm surrounded by children,” Ward muttered, pushing back in his seat.

“Son, don't talk to me about children,” Steve informed him in a patronizing grandfather tone. Skye laughed so hard that she snorted, then immediately hid her face in her knees in embarrassment.

“Did you fix my file yet?” Coulson grumbled after thirty minutes of driving in silence.

“Almost,” Skye replied softly, still tapping away at the tablet. She was twisted in the seat, leaning against Steve's side as she worked. He had watched her for a while, but couldn't follow her actions. She had smiled up at him shyly, pulling his arm across her chest so she could rest her head against his bicep. Trip had amused himself by making fun at Steve, poking his shoulder and then wagging his eyebrows at the top of Skye's head. Finally, Steve stuck his tongue out at his friend and watched the road slip by, wondering if this counted as a road trip, when Coulson broke the silence.

“Good,” Coulson nodded. “We're close now. Ten, fifteen minutes at most. I would like to be able to tell the director my file was fixed.”

“Too bad we have a civilian with us,” Ward commented from the back of the van. “Can't use the side entrance.”

“AC, do the side entrance.” Skye replied, sounding distracted. She held out an id badge, which May took.

“Why do you have a Shield ID badge?” May asked, turning towards Skye with an incredulous expression.

“Shield Consultant,” Skye pointed out.

“Answer the question.”

“I appointed myself consultant when I got better,” Skye admitted quickly.

“You don't get to appoint yourself!” Ward yelled from the backseat.

“Well Shield doesn't get to appoint themselves guardians of those kids!” Skye yelled back. She sighed and quieted her voice. “Not without supervision, of course. So...I appointed myself their supervisor.”

“Skye, as nice as that title sounds,” Coulson sighed, “This ID won't be in their system. You'll get arrested.”

“AC, I promise that badge is as good as yours.”

“I'm not dealing with Angry Captain America when his girlfriend gets arrested,” Trip chirped from the backseat. He and Ward chuckled softly to themselves when Steve reached back to swat at Trip.

“AC, please. The side entrance would save so much time.”

“Skye, this isn't a real badge.”

“AC!”

“Skylar Elizabeth Stark!” Coulson said firmly, slipping into a stern, father voice. “You will not get arrested on my watch. Now shush.”

There was a beat of silence in the SUV, then Steve spluttered into his elbow. Soon the entire vehicle was laughing and Coulson's entire head was red with embarrassment.

“Aw, front entrance,” Simmons groaned softly, banging her head against the glass.

“Can I have my badge back?” Skye asked, reaching forward for it.

“Did you fix my file?” Coulson asked back.

“Yes!” Skye replied, grabbing her ID. “I gave you your last file back.”

“This is going to take forever,” Ward grumbled.

“If you could smile every now and then, we wouldn't get picked for the random searches,” Trip retorted.

Skye hurried to exit the vehicle and get to the front of their pack. Steve grinned as she shoved Ward to the side and took his place. Clearly, she wanted to be the first in the building. Knowing Skye, she was going to make a point about her ID badge. Trip noticed the same thing and dropped back with Steve.

“What's your girl up to?” He asked in a low voice.

“I have no idea,” Steve grinned. “But I would wager Coulson's about to get schooled.”

Coulson held the door open for the team, letting them stream passed him before following them into the building. Skye lead them to a side door within the main doors, holding her badge out to security as she did. She turned at the keypad and stared at Coulson with a sly expression. She put on a very fake shocked expression, covering her open mouth with her hand, and slid her badge very slowly down the slot. It flashed red and beeped twice. Instantly there was a voice from security, “Ma'am, please slide your badge more quickly.”

“I know, I know,” Skye hissed, waving them away. “Fuuuck!” Skye moaned, throwing her head back dramatically. Security walked forward, grabbing for her badge, so she swatted him away, “I can do it! It was for dramatic effect and that fucking failed, I get it. I'll do it right. Go.” She stomped her foot a little and pointed back to the guard station, “Go!”

He glanced at the team she was with and decided to agree with her. Security backed up two steps and waited for her to scan her badge again. Steve laughed silently, hanging his head so Skye wouldn't see him laughing at her. Trip was next to Steve, trying to hide his amusement the same way. It just drew more attention to the pair. Ward was standing with his arms crossed, a smug smirk on his face at her failure. Skye frowned and slid her badge through the right way, grumbling when it flashed green.

“What the fuck...” Ward muttered, shaking his head. She pulled the door open and waved them through the door, looking sullen.

“It went so much better in my head,” Skye grumbled to Steve as he held the door for her so she could slip in ahead of him. Trip draped his arm across her shoulders and laughed merrily as he dragged her along.

“My team, head to the Bus,” Coulson ordered. “I'm going to show the Director that my file is fixed. We're supposed to depart for this mission in an hour and a half. Make sure we're ready.” He glanced at Skye and Steve and shook his head, “Just...stay out of trouble.”

“Sure thing, AC,” Skye grinned, then grabbed Steve by the hand and dragged him off.

“And place your bets,” Trip muttered to his team as they disappeared around a corner.

“I bet we are summoned before we depart for the mission,” May said dryly, then headed for the Bus for a thorough pre-mission check.

“But what about Fitz?” Simmons asked, running after her. “If Fitz gets to stay at the Tower, I get to stay at the Tower!”

0-0-0-0-0

“We're not allowed in there.” Steve said softly, trying to pull Skye from the quarantine window.

“Why not?” She asked, looking at the children inside. One waved weakly, so Skye smiled and waved back.

“We don't know what's wrong with them.” Steve frowned. “They're dying.”

“I want to see them.”

“Of course you do. You only have to be stubborn about the difficult things, don't you?”

“Maybe,” She smirked.

“Let's go talk to the Director.”

“Nah, AC's with him.” Skye giggled slightly, “I can bypass this.”

“Just because you can...Skye...ugh, okay.” Steve tried reasoning with her, but Skye was already pulling the tablet out of her bag again. “I thought you wanted to see the kids.”

“Steve, these are kids,” Skye retorted easily. She tapped away on the tablet, then smiled up at Steve and swiped her card. It flashed green and Skye exhaled, “Whoo, really glad that worked. That was so embarrassing before.” She laughed and skipped into the room, “hey, kiddos.” Eight sets of curious eyes swiveled to them.

“You're going to get sick.” One said weakly, trying to wave her away.

“I'm going to make you better.” Skye contradicted.

“They can't even figure it out,” One laughed sarcastically. Steve frowned at the poor humor. These kids shouldn't be suffering like this.

“I can fix it.” Skye grinned. She added something in the mash-up language, which made Steve sigh. He really needed to learn this damn language.

“Bloody hell.” The boy that waved to her through the window struggled into a sitting position.

“Think Simmons has been through here?” Skye whispered to Steve, grinning. They didn't talk like that at the compound. “Now, who's the sickest?”

The children wordlessly pointed to a girl that had been silent the whole time. Skye walked to her side, pulling things from cabinets as she did. She sat next to the girl and looked her over. Then she made loud humming noises and waved her hands dramatically over the girl's body. Despite her condition, the girl smiled and the rest of the children giggled. Skye tapped the girl's nose.

“All done. How do you feel?”

“The same.” The girl said hoarsely. Skye fake slumped, earning her more giggles from the children. Steve grinned at her dramatics.

“Guess we'll have to try the gross approach, huh?” Skye whispered.

“Needles?” The girl whispered back. Skye frowned and nodded.

“Only one. If it helps, I really don't like them either.”

“You're not afraid of anything.”

“Everybody is afraid of something,” Skye replied loftily. She grabbed a rubber tube and tied her own arm off. “See that big guy back there? You know who that is?”

“Yeah, he got me out.”

“But do you know who he is?”

“Captain America.” The girl whispered reverentially. Skye leaned forward and tied the girl's arm off as well. Steve took a few steps closer so he could see what Skye was doing.

“He's totally afraid of butterflies.” Skye confided.

“Nuh uh,” The girl giggled.

“Steve, aren't you afraid of butterflies?” Skye called over her shoulder. She began the blood transfusion to the little girl without pausing her banter.

“At least I'm not afraid of rubber duckies,” Steve replied easily, knowing she was keeping the girl's mind off the needle. He sat behind Skye on the bed, resting a hand on her hip. He knew how much she hated needles and he didn't like the idea of her passing out and hitting the floor.

“Hey! I told you that in confidence!” Skye gasped, looking offended. The other children in the room were laughing, which drew the attention of the staff in charge of the room. One of the medical agents rushed into the room just as Skye was withdrawing the needle from the girl's arm. Steve went to run interference while Skye smiled softly down at the girl.

“See, that wasn't so bad.” Skye murmured, brushing her hair away from her face with hands that shook. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the girl's clammy forehead. “I want you to sleep now.”

“But 'm scared.” The girl mumbled.

“There's something special in my blood. It made me better and it's going to make you better, too. I promise. You don't need to be afraid anymore.”

“Are you going to make them better too?” She asked, yawning.

“Do you think I should?” Skye asked, biting back a smile.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, then I will. You sleep and I'll fix up your brothers and sisters.”

“Will you still be here?”

“Yes, ma'am.” Skye promised softly. She stroked the girl's head until she drifted off to sleep, which only took a few moments. She was clearly exhausted. Only then did Skye remember the medical agent running into the room. She turned to see Steve arguing with a short woman wearing a plastic suit.

“It's not sanitary!” The woman was whisper shouting. “All sorts of diseases could be transmitted...”

“At least she'll be alive for you to treat them,” Skye interjected, stepping up next to Steve.

“I'm getting my superior,” The woman threatened, then turned and left.

“Is AC still here?” Skye asked, grinning up at Steve. He glanced at his watch and nodded. “Good. Simmons is probably on her way. I haven't seen her in ages.” Skye turned to the children. “Now, who's next?”

The children exchanged looks and frowned at her.

“We don't want to get you in trouble.”

“I haven't used up my trouble quota for the day!” Skye laughed, tossing up her hands. “What fun is that? Now, who's next? If you don't tell me, I'll just pick someone. You're all getting some anyway.”

“With a break and some food in between, right?” Steve whispered. He knew it was important to her to save these children, but there were a few that were obviously better off than the others. She could take a break before doing their transfusions. Skye frowned and looked like she was going to argue. Steve wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. He bent his head down and whispered in her ear, “You can't help them if you're passed out on the floor.”

“You would catch me before I hit the floor,” Skye replied, rolling her eyes. “Point taken though. I promise, I'll stop when I get dizzy.”

“Good. No loopholes on this.” Steve said firmly. Skye sighed.

“Fine! No loopholes, unless there is a legit medical emergency.”

“Agreed,” Steve smiled. His smile turned into a frown when he noticed her hands though. He took her hands in his, feeling them shake gently. Skye made a face and tried to pull her hands away, but he didn't let her. “Are you sure you're okay?” He asked gently.

“It's just the needles,” Skye admitted softly, so the children wouldn't hear. “I'm good. I promise.”

He glanced towards the suspiciously quiet children and saw them watching the interaction with carefully hidden gleeful expressions. One of the older boys murmured something in the mash-up language, making all the children and Skye laugh. Steve didn't know what he said, but he could guess based on his tone.

“They making fun of us?” Steve asked, twisting so his back was to the children. Skye grinned from the crook of his arm and winked at him.

“Threatening you, actually.” Skye laughed. “He said one of my brothers is going to have to give you the talk.”

“You're not from there,” Steve pointed out.

“It's the principle of it.” Skye shrugged. “I can't wait to see who they send.”

“Does that make me your boyfriend?” Steve whispered, blushing. “Your brother informed me that there's a whole conversation that needs to happen?”

“How about we do that later?” Skye suggested. She looked past him to the children who were openly giggling. “In private?”

“Hmm, yes. Blood transfusions.” Steve nodded decisively. The sooner these kids were better the sooner he could have that conversation with Skye. Skye giggled, like she could read his mind.

“Wanna get me some clean needles? I'll prep...him.” Skye pointed to the kid that looked the sickest. The other children nodded their agreement.

With Steve's help, Skye was able to finish his transfusion before the medical agent was back.

“See! She's done it again!” The woman hissed, pointing to Skye.

“Oh no,” Skye whispered, shaking her hands in fake fear. The remaining children giggled.

“Oh yes, Agent. Captain America is going to let her do irreparable harm.” A British voice sighed.

“Hey, Simmons.” Skye grinned, scooting over to sit on the next bed. She didn't even look up at the doctor.

“Wanna tell me what you're doing?” Simmons asked, sitting down opposite Skye.

“Fixing me some kids,” Skye replied, using a gangster inflection. She threw up some gang signs. “You hear me, dawg?”

“I swear, sometimes you don't speak English.” Simmons laughed, rolling her eyes. “I know how much you hate needles, want me to help?”

“Okay.” Skye agreed easily.

“How many have you given blood to already?” Simmons asked, getting up to put gloves on. Steve helpfully handed her a pair.

“Just those two,” Skye answered, pointing to the two sleeping children.

“You're not doing all of these children at once,” Simmons ordered sternly. Steve grinned at Skye over Simmons' shoulder.

“Don't worry, Steve already gave me that lecture.” Skye smiled, waving off their concern.

“Two more.”

Skye turned to inspect the children, judging their health.

“We'll be fine,” One offered, looking down at his hands. “You're more important.”

“What?” Skye gasped. She looked around, looking shocked when all of the children nodded their agreement. Skye went off on them in her mash-up language, moving to sit with each child.

“What do you think she's saying?” Steve whispered to Simmons. Simmons smiled fondly.

“Probably forcing them to believe their own self-worth.”

“She suffers from that too,” Steve whispered. He smiled at scene in front of him – Skye was hugging the boy that had spoken up, letting him cry into her shoulder. After she felt her message was received, she let Simmons come and begin the blood transfusion. She gave to three more children before Steve forced her to stop; Simmons gave it her best shot, but Steve was much more persuasive.

“I promised I would stay,” Skye argued feebly, swatting at Steve's hand on her waist.

“Okay, then let's go get some food in you and we can come back.”

“I promised, Steve.”

“She's not going to leave,” Jack interrupted. “She promised.”

“Well she promised me she would get food and take a break.” Steve retorted, bending over to lift Skye into his arms. The fact that she couldn't escape his grip told Steve how much she needed this break. Simmons watched helplessly from the sidelines. “When did you get here?”

“Right now. I locked Fitz in the Tower. How about you camp out in that chair, and I go get us all some food?” Jack offered, nodding towards a large armchair in the corner. It was covered in medical tissue, but looked comfortable. Skye smiled tiredly.

“I think the kiddos need ice cream for a full recovery.”

The kids giggled and nodded at her suggestion. Jack grinned at them and shook his head.

“I'll go with you,” Simmons offered. “I haven't eaten yet either.”

“You going too?” Skye mumbled, tucking her arms into her chest.

“Nah, you're stuck with me.” Steve smiled, carefully sitting down in the chair. He was pleasantly surprised to realize it reclined. Skye hummed her approval and adjusted against his chest. She blindly reached out for Steve's hand, drawing it up to her chest. The boy that had cried on her whispered something in the mash-up, and the children that were still awake repeated it with fond smiles. Skye laughed softly and tiredly replied. The three remaining children grinned and settled back in their beds. Steve wasn't surprised when Skye's breathing deepened and evened out.

“Damn,” Jack muttered when Simmons and he got back nearly twenty minutes later. “I knew we wouldn't be fast enough.”

“She was asleep within a minute of you leaving,” Steve smiled. “You could have had food on you and still have been too late.”

“Let's see if we can wake her. At least long enough to get some food down. If we can keep her blood sugar up, I might consider letting her donate some more. She's not giving a huge amount to each child.” Simmons added, handing each of the awake children a cup of ice cream. They had forgotten spoons so she passed out tongue depressors.

“We're not as bad,” A boy smiled, digging into the ice cream. “We can wait.”

“Skye won't leave until you're all better,” Jack told him, opening his own ice cream. He grinned at Steve. “I haven't had ice cream straight from the cup in...God, I don't even know. When we first got out, we went to an ice cream truck. The ice cream was half melted, but we had wooden scoops like this.”

“Wait, you're with Skye?” The oldest boy asked, frowning.

“{She's my sister,}” Jack mumbled around his ice cream.

“Are you aware of this?” The boy asked, raising his eyebrows and nodding towards Steve. Steve laughed at Jack's confused expression.

“They told Skye earlier they were going to send a brother to give me the talk.”

“Good thing I did that already then, huh?” Jack laughed.

“You never told me that,” Skye mumbled, adjusting against Steve's chest.

“Sorry, doll.” Steve murmured, adjusting his hold on her.

“Hmm, 's alright.” Skye yawned. “You're just a little bumpy when you laugh. Do I smell french fries?”

“Got it in one.” Jack grinned, pulling up a doctor's stool next to the chair. “Meany Simmons won't let you have any until you eat something healthy though.”

“Potatoes are a vegetable.” Skye pouted.

“That's what I told her.” Jack said, shooting Simmons a pointed look.

“What? Don't look at me like that. Eat some soup, or some of this sandwich. THEN you can have your french fries.” Simmons was in doctor mode, standing with her hands firmly on her hips.

“Ugh, get Bruce.” Skye sighed, making Steve laugh.

“He's good at getting her out of doctor mode, huh?” Steve whispered into her hair. Skye laughed softly and nodded.

“What about half that giant sandwich, then french fries. Oh, ice cream?” Skye shot up. Only Steve's quick reflexes kept her from tumbling to the floor. Jack rolled back and defended his ice cream.

“You can get your own damn ice cream. This is mine. Mine!” Jack replied, throwing in a hiss at the end for good measure. The children giggled and hid their ice cream too.

“Simmons...” Skye pouted, pushing her lip out.

“You'll have better luck with Steve,” Simmons laughed, rolling her eyes. “You eat the sandwich and you can have ice cream.”

“And french fries.” Skye clarified.

“It'll be nice and melty for you to dip in,” Jack grinned. “Now shut up and get eating.”

“Fine, fine.” Skye yawned, pushing away her hair. She cut the sandwich in half and gave Steve the other half. Simmons looked like she was going to argue so Skye jumped in before she could, “Shush. We can share the other one too.”

Skye took a big bite of sandwich, then promptly spit the unchewed bite back out into her hand.

“Ew, Skye.” Jack moaned.

“Ew, ham, Jack.” Skye moaned back, tossing the uneaten bite. She pulled the ham off her sandwich and offered it to Steve.

“You don't like ham?” Steve asked, suppressing a grin.

“I loathe ham.” Skye replied, wiggling the ham in his face. “You want this or am I chucking it?”

“How do you hate ham?” Steve grinned, taking the ham and shoving it into his mouth.

“It was all they fed us for a few years.” Skye admitted softly, then deliberately took a bite of her bread and topping sandwich so she wouldn't have to answer any more questions. Steve and Jack exchanged a look over Skye's head but continued eating their food. Skye never talked about her time at the orphanage. If she only had tidbits like that to share about her childhood home, it was no wonder that she didn't like telling people about it. Skye finished eating her sandwich and cut the other one in half. She offered Steve the other half, reclining back against his shoulder as she chewed.

“How long do they have to stay here?” Skye asked Simmons, breaking the extended silence.

“Depends how fast your freak factor heals them.” Simmons shrugged.

“Freak factor?” Jack asked, tossing bread at her. “That makes her sound like an alien from outer freaking space.”

“Hey!” Simmons yelped, trying and failing to dodge the bread. The children grinned and set their ice cream cups aside.

“She's not a freak.” Steve agreed.

“How do you know?” Jack asked suggestively, raising one delicate eyebrow. Skye giggled and threw the balled up cellophane from her sandwich at him. Steve grinned, reaching over for one of her french fries. His cheeks were still tinged red from Jack's question. Skye stuck out her tongue and reached for an ice cream cup. As Jack predicted, it was just the right level of melted for dipping.

Skye was letting Steve finish her french fries when the first little girl started crying. She wasn't awake yet, but Skye knew what would follow. She pulled from Steve's arms and tried to stand. She was still a little wobbly, but she made it to the little girl's bed with minimal help from furniture near her. She carefully lifted the girl enough to slide her onto half of the bed and slid into the bed next to her.

“Skye, she may be contagious...” Simmons started, then sighed and shook her head. They all knew she wouldn't listen anyway. Skye tucked an arm behind the girl, drawing her close. The little girl burrowed into her chest, clinging to her shirt.

“Need anything before you're asleep again?” Steve asked, smiling at the pair.

“Hmm, a blanket?” Skye replied, nuzzling her nose into the girl's hair. Steve draped one over her and she mumbled her thanks. Within minutes, both girls were asleep – each holding tightly to the other. Steve pressed a kiss to Skye's forehead and sat back down in the armchair.

"Skylar Elizabeth!" Coulson whisper shouted, storming into the room.

"Shh, they're sleeping," Jack shushed dismissively.

"She promised!" Coulson groaned, flapping a piece of paper.

"What did she do?" Steve asked, smiling.

"She said she was going to change my file back! I've still got the Hello Kitty file!" Coulson whined, showing Steve the paper.

"Guess you should have asked for your original file back, not your last one," Jack laughed lightly, popping M&Ms into his mouth.

0-0-0-0-0

“I think someone is in the vents,” Steve said softly, eying the vent opening above them. There was soft but definite thumps coming from inside.

“I'll call security,” Simmons nodded.

“No, wait.” Skye said softly. “Don't call them.”

“You're too light of a sleeper,” Steve smiled. “Who do you think it is?”

“Jack?” Skye asked, glancing up at the opening. He nodded and put a chair under the opening, but even with the added height he wasn't tall enough to open it. Steve laughed and waved him down. He opened the vent and peeked inside. There was a child, huddled in the vents. It was dark in the vent, but Steve caught the reflection of tears on his face.

“Hey, it's alright.” Steve said softly. “You're not in trouble. Why don't you come out and tell us why you're hiding?” The boy shook his head rapidly and tried to scurry away.

“{Come out and talk to me,}” Skye called out. The boy froze, then turned back to look at Steve.

“I understand why you don't trust me, but Skye would love to talk to you.”

“{Come down. It's safe here.}” One of the three remaining children called out. That convinced the boy. He still didn't smile, but he let Steve help him down from the vents – even if he did scramble away the second his feet were on the ground. He was older than Steven, so he was probably Group Upsilon.

“{Who are they?}” The boy from the vent asked softly.

“{I'm Skye. I'm helping your brothers get better.}” Skye replied, cutting out the middle-man.

“{She saved us,}” Jack added, smiling.

“{But...that was 47...Wait. He's 47?}”

“{Nah.}” Jack grinned. “{She's not 47. She's my sister. You can trust us.}”

“{That's what they said.}” The boy growled angrily.

“{What are they doing?}” Skye asked. The boy glanced at his group members for confirmation. When they all nodded, he went off in the mash-up. Steve could tell this boy was older than Steven, just by the fluency of his mashup. His tone was angry, but also scared. Skye's face contorted with anger as he told her. She started to pull away from the little girl next to her, waving the boy to her side.

“{Switch me.}” Skye told him, holding the blanket open so he could slide into her place.

“What's wrong?” Steve asked, instantly on his feet. “Please tell me what's going on.” Steve practically begged, watching Skye slip free from the girl's hold. “Where are you going?” Steve asked. She wouldn't leave for food, but she would leave now? What happened? He had never seen Skye angry – not like this.

“Need to fix a staffing issue.” Skye practically growled. She softened her expression slightly as she turned back to the children. “{I'll be back. I'm not breaking my promise.}”

“You don't have to do this for us.” The boy from the vents said softly, his own anger diminished when he saw the anger on her face.

“Yes, I do.” Skye replied. The boy didn't argue with her after that.

“I'm coming with.” Steve frowned. “Simmons, would you stay with them?”

“Of course.” She stammered. Like she could even consider turning down an angry Skye and Captain America. Steve hurried to catch up to Skye. She was barreling down the hall, clipping anyone stupid enough not to get out of her way. Steve didn't have a chance to question her further before realizing where she was going. The other children's room was down this hall. He wondered if Fury had indeed gotten the children new staffing; he hadn't thought to double check.

Skye slammed the door open angrily, storming into the room. Steve closed the door behind them, figuring they may need some privacy. The children inside stopped abruptly with Skye's entrance. They stood quietly, looking from Skye to the Agents, like they didn't know who to look to for instruction. The difference between Skye and the agents was night and day. Skye was in her favorite: leggings and flannel shirt. The agents were in standard field uniform: black cargo pants, black t-shirt, and black jacket over the top. Skye's hair was loose and wavy – their hair was cropped short and gelled into a slick line. Steve recognized one of the agents as the jerk from Steven's temper tantrum.

The oldest children were on the far side of the room, looking angry, frustrated, and frightened. Another group of children had been running laps, but now were frozen in place. Both groups' eyes kept straying back to the center of the room. The agents' eyes snapped towards Skye as she stormed towards them. Steve only noticed the children on the ground when the agents turned. They were crying, obviously frightened of something.

“Cap,” Skye called out, not looking away from the agents. “I need you to take the kids out of here.”

“They're not going anywhere.” The jerk retorted. “You're not Shield, you can't order us around.”

“Captain.” Skye ground out, waving towards the children. They had stopped running, but weren't heading towards the door. The oldest children shook their hands, showing Skye the restraints holding them back. She growled at the Agents as she stalked through them, shoving them aside with rough shoves as she headed to the oldest children. Steve ushered the kids that had been running to the door, having them wait for him there. He strode over to the guards to discourage them from going after Skye while her back was turned to them. She flipped her watch open and quickly picked each lock, freeing the oldest kids.

“{Are you guys okay?}” She asked as she worked. “{Why are these on you?}”

“{We tried to help...}” One of the oldest admitted. She growled her annoyance and freed the last child.

“{You're going to take the younger kids and go with Steve,}” Skye told them firmly. They looked like they were going to argue, so she shot them a look that stopped their retorts. “{I'm going to fix this. I'll take care of the Agents, but I need you to take care of the other children.}”

“{Who are you?}”

Skye didn't reply, just turned and shoved the Shield agents aside, speaking to the children on the ground in the mash-up. One guard growled his annoyance, but a stern look from Steve held him in place. The smallest children were on the floor, surrounded by the Agents. Steve thought about Steven, the smallest of all of them, and couldn't help but feel grateful that he got Steven out and guilty that he didn't do more for these children. Skye called a few older kids over and handed off the crying children. The last child clung to Skye as she murmured to her. Finally, she calmed the girl enough that she could hand her off to one of the older children. She turned briefly to the kids, telling the group something in the mash-up. She slipped into a calm demeanor as she talked to the kids, smiling warmly at the ones that were the most upset. That smile slipped off her face as she turned to the guards who were approaching her from behind. The children hurried to Steve looking scared and anxious, but also a little awed.

“So, you like to pick on children?” Steve heard Skye ask as he closed the door behind the last child. The children were all looking at him expectantly.

“So, how about we go get some ice cream?” Steve asked, rubbing his hands together nervously. The agents deserved everything Skye was about to dish out, but that didn't mean the children had to be around to hear it. He ushered the children down the hall, trying to hurry them along when he heard the first pained yell. Steve pulled out his phone and shot a text to Clint. He knew Tasha and Clint had followed them to headquarters.

“...going to be okay?”

“I don't want...”

“...he doing that for us?”

“...should go help.” The children around Steve talked over the top of each other, expressing their anxiety of the situation. Steve tried to smile as reassuringly as he could.

“I promise she's going to be okay.”

“But sir!”

“I promise!” Steve repeated. Jack cut off the rest of his response, running through the children.

“She's going to fucking kill them, Steve!” Jack hissed, trying to whisper. “Why would you leave her alone in there?”

That reassured the children more than Steve's promises. They trusted one of their own more than a man that worked for the agency that had been treating them like machines, like science experiments. Clint and Tasha came running down the hall a second later. Clint was grinning manically.

“I can't wait to see this.” Clint beamed, rushing past Steve and the children. He was on the phone as he ran past. “Tony! Find the footage from the kids' room. For right now! Skye's giving the guards a...” Clint rounded the corner and he couldn't hear any more of the conversation. Steve was torn. He wanted to see too, but the children shouldn't be exposed to that. He sighed and gestured ahead.

“The ice cream is that way.”

0-0-0-0-0

“I really hope Tony got the footage from that,” Clint groaned, heaving an unconscious Agent onto his shoulders. Tasha was less concerned about being careful and, as a result, the two agents she was dragging along behind her kept running into the corners of the hallway, doorways, and any obstacle that they came across. On accident, of course.

“It was pretty good, wasn't it?” Tasha grinned. There were no other agents around; the three in their presence were unconscious and therefore couldn't see her grin. Her stony mask slipped back into place when they turned a corner and were in front of the med unit.

“I've seen good.” Clint scoffed, depositing his agent onto a chair. “This was epic.” The med agent looked startled at the assassin pair dropping off unconscious agents.

“Training got out of hand,” Tasha shrugged as explanation. She swallowed loudly and nodded her acceptance before scurrying away. She certainly wasn't paid enough to challenge an Avenger. They went back and dragged the last two agents into medical, then hurried back to the room. Steve had been on his way to bring the children back and they wanted to see how Skye handled this. They weren't fast enough. Steve was lounged in a beanbag chair that hadn't been there when they left. Clint grinned and dragged another one over to sit by him.

“What are they doing?” Clint whispered. Skye and Jack were at the center of a semi-circle, talking animatedly in the mash up. They were doing something with their fingers.

“Um, something about a story?” Steve whispered back. Tasha plopped herself on Clint's lap, grinning at him. “I've been trying to figure it out, but I can't follow it. The fingers are important though, somehow.”

“The kids love it.” Tasha smirked.

“They love Skye,” Clint corrected, nodding towards the group. They were watching her with bright eyed eagerness, following her actions with their own fingers. The little girl that had been reluctant to release Skye when the agents were around was sitting on her lap, giggling when Skye blew a raspberry on her neck.

“Can you blame them?” Steve smiled.

“Your heart eyes are showing,” Clint muttered, then broke into laughter when Tasha chuckled.

“Hey, stop ogling us!” Jack called out loudly. The kids were all watching them already. Skye grinned and shot Clint an amused look.

“You could come join us, Archer. Wifey. Face Plant.”

“Why is Captain America, Face Plant?” One of the older boys asked, grinning.

“Let me tell you a story,” Skye began. She laughed and let the children defend her when Steve growled playfully and charged them, trying to stop her from telling the story.

“He's so fucked,” Tasha grinned at Clint.

“Royally screwed,” Clint agreed.

Chapter Text

“{New game,}” Skye announced with a grin. “{You're going to teach me what they're like.}”

The children's heads swiveled as one, following her finger. She was pointing at the drawings of the scientists they had worked on for Jack.

“{That doesn't sound like a fun game,}” One of the oldest kids offered slowly.

“I don't want to play,” the oldest child told Skye stubbornly. He crossed his arms and shook his head. There was a murmur of agreement from the kids. Skye sighed and nodded slowly.

“Let me level with you,” Skye told the kids, switching back to English when the kids did. “They're here. Like, in this building, here. I want to go see them, but I also really want to kick some booty. So I need you to tell me what they're like so I can make sure they're punished for everything they did.”

“Can we just add it to the pictures?” One of the youngest asked, holding up a marker. “I don't want to be them...”

“Yes, pictures. Give it to me,” Skye smiled, nodding eagerly. “In English though, okay?” The girl with the marker squirmed onto Skye's lap, which inevitably lead to a group of children rushing her – seeking out her reassurances. Skye frowned and pulled as many children closer to her as she could. “Should Jack tell you what he remembers first?” She offered softly. “Then you guys can fill in the rest?”

“Can we do something fun when we're done?” The girl asked, clinging to Skye's chest.

“How about I come back after speaking with the scientists and we can all do something fun?”

“If you're not kicked out,” Steve muttered softly. Skye turned to him with a grin.

“But I have you to back me up,” She cooed, reaching out to pinch his cheek. “I thought you were going to keep me safe, Face Plant.”

“Is it reasonable to expect me to protect you from yourself, though?” Steve asked, shooting her a pained look.

“Shh, Capsicle,” Skye retorted, waving him off like she had seen Tony do. “Jack, you talk to the kids? Tell them what you remember about Delta and I'm going to go check in with the kids in the infirmary. I'll be back when I'm done talking to them.”

“You're helping them, too?” A boy asked, looking hopeful. Skye grinned and nodded.

“Uh duh,” she teased, bopping his nose. “Alright, everyone off the old lady.”

0-0-0-0-0

“What's up, my kiddos?” Skye whispered, swaggering back into the lab. The three children that were still awake (two that were sick, and the boy from the vents) looked surprised to see her.

“What are you doing back?” One asked softly, looking miserable. He was obviously downplaying his illness because he composed his face and most signs of discomfort disappeared from his face.

“First, I promised. Second, you're not better yet!” Skye replied, smiling warmly. She came to sit by the boy, running her fingers through his hair. “I think you're next.”

“I don't need it,” the boy denied.

“Well, see, that's the thing,” Skye sighed dramatically, “I don't believe you.”

“I don't need-”

“-you need to get better!” Skye interrupted. “Now, listen to your elder and shush it, sir.”

“You're not that old,” he replied back with a shy smile at her teasing.

“Older than you,” Skye retorted. “Now, gimme two minutes to find...”

“Here, Skye,” Steve offered, handing her the things she would need for the transfusion. She turned to the boy with a surprised expression.

“I think he's a mind reader,” Skye whispered to the boy. “Freaky.”

“He's just strong,” The second boy contradicted. “His serum didn't give him abilities.”

“Does your serum give abilities?” Steve asked, settling behind Skye on the bed. He held her hip as she set up the transfusion, knowing better than to offer help.

“Well, not ours.” The boy shrugged.

“Which, then?” Steve pressed.

“I don't think it ever worked,” The boy shrugged. “They found a guy with abilities. He stayed with us for a while.”

“With your group?”

“No, he was a few groups back.”

“What kind of abilities?” Skye asked, glancing back at Steve. He looked just as surprised as she felt.

“Um, fire?”

“Like, he could shoot fire?” Skye asked.

“Kind of. He could turn his body on fire. But when he got really mad he could project it out.”

“What happened to him?” Steve asked.

“Something bad,” The boy whispered.

“{Will you tell me?}” Skye asked gently, running her fingers through the first boy's hair. He was fighting the sleep, but it was pulling at him.

“{They set him on fire and stole his blood,}” The boy whispered. He glanced at Steve and frowned. He offered Steve a small smile and switched back to English, “They needed his blood to keep us from burning.”

“Is he dead?” Skye asked softly, stepping away from the first boy. He had finally fallen asleep. Steve walked with her to the boy's bed, resting one hand on Skye's hip and the other on the boy's knee. He looked distinctly uncomfortable.

“When they stole his blood, whatever protected him from burning was taken away,” The boy replied. “He burned. You know,” he sidetracked quickly, pulling his arms under his blanket, “I think I'm feeling a lot better now.”

“Hmm, so you don't need any needles?” Steve teased lightly.

“Nope, I'm good,” The boy confirmed with a very fake, very chipper smile. Steve shook his head and glanced down at Skye. She looked frustrated with his lack of cooperation.

“You know, this isn't even as bad as you get.” Steve commented. He tried to hide his grin, but Skye's narrowed eyes told him she saw it anyway.

“What happened with the other kids?” The boy from the vent asked.

“Steve got them some ice cream,” Skye replied with a smile. “You've missed out. We'll have to correct that later.”

“What did you do while Steve was getting them ice cream?” The boy pressed.

“Nothing the Agents won't recover from,” Skye replied without looking up. She was dragging the boy's arm out from under the blanket.

“You didn't really hurt them, did you?” The second boy asked.

“They'll recover,” Skye reiterated.

“I think they learned a very important lesson today though,” Steve added, smirking.

“Yeah, don't fuck around with my kids.” Skye huffed. The boys exchanged a wordless look, so Skye took advantage of his distraction and started the transfusion.

“Ouch! Hey!” The boy shouted, growling. “{I don't like needles.}”

“{No one likes needles,}” Skye retorted, completely ignoring his tone.

“{I. Don't. Want. It.}” The boy growled again, his body shaking in anger.

“I hope you're good,” The boy from the vents said softly, scrambling away from the boy.

“Why?” Steve asked. “What's he doing?”

“The serum is a little...unstable?”

“The blood will fix it,” Skye muttered, forcing the needle to stay in the boy's arm despite his protests.

“I don't want it!” The boy shouted, his entire body turning red.

“You're okay,” Skye soothed. “I promise, it won't hurt you. It'll only make you better.”

“That's what they said!” The boy screamed. His screaming brought the medical agent back into the room, but Simmons had been clear with her – the woman (whose name she still wasn't clear on) had full access to the kids. Steve waved her off, so she quickly left.

“Oh, this is bad,” The vent boy gulped. He glanced up at the vent, like he was considering his escape options.

“I think you get a little extra,” Skye told the boy firmly, pinning him to the bed when he struggled against her.

“Don't hurt him.”

“I promise, promise, promise, I'm not hurting him,” Skye told the vent boy, shifting on the bed so she could rest next to the squirming boy in her arms. She pulled him into her chest, simultaneously restricting his movement and offering him comfort. “My blood will make him better. Should help stabilize the serum. Hopefully.”

“You're sure?”

“At the very least, it won't make anything worse.” Skye shrugged. The boy under her was calming. More like he was passing out – but he wasn't resisting any more. He let his eyes close and soon he was asleep. His red skin faded until it was pink, and then returned to normal. Skye exhaled slowly, relieved, and shifted him against her so she wasn't holding him as tight.

“Well, that was interesting,” Steve winced. Skye giggled, which made the last boy (the boy from the vents) laugh nervously along with her. “How much more does he need?”

“Hmm, let's give him another minute,” Skye told Steve, checking the blood line to make sure they hadn't damaged it with all their moving. “We're going to go talk to the scientists,” Skye told the boy from the vents. “I would love to hear your input.”

“My input?”

“Yeah. What do I need to punish them for?”

“Oh,” The boy replied, a giant grin spreading across his face. “Can I come watch?”

“Uh, no.” Skye laughed.

“Someone should probably keep an eye on these lazybones,” The boy agreed grudgingly.

“Steve, will you check their vitals?” Skye asked softly, trying not to wake the boy in her arms. “Just read me the numbers off?”

“You've got it, doll.” Steve agreed. He checked each child, reading Skye the numbers she requested. “All good?” He asked when he read off the last chart.

“Very good,” Skye nodded, smiling. The boy from the vents looked surprised.

“What's in your blood?” He asked Skye. “What did you give them?”

“You know how 47 is, like, the gold standard?” Skye asked by way of answering. The boy frowned and nodded. “Well, he's got special blood. Something went right with the serum, I guess.”

“47 broke Delta out,” The boy muttered. “Jack is Delta, he told us.”

Steve corrected softly, “Skye broke Delta out, but she had blood from him. The blood is special. Magic, even.”

“You gave them the special blood?”

“Yeah,” Skye whispered. “The scientists took me too. I ended up with the special blood.”

“They took you?” The boy asked, his face falling hard. Skye smiled at his concern.

“I'm okay,” She comforted him. “The point is, they're going to get better.”

“That's more than these people could do,” he muttered.

“Well, that's not fair. They just found out about this stuff,” Skye smiled. “Cut them a little slack.”

“Even after they've treated us like this?” The boy asked, looking angry.

“Cut the medical people some slack,” Skye corrected. “They're doing their best for you.”

“I'm not cutting the other people slack.”

“Good. Don't.” Skye agreed. “Now, anything you want to tell me about the scientists?”

0-0-0-0-0

“Wait, wait, wait.” Skye muttered, shaking her hands out. Steve paused outside the door, giving her a minute to compose herself.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Steve asked softly. Tasha and Clint were behind Skye, watching Tony approach from the end of the hall. Tony was bouncing as he walked – he had been waiting days for this. Skye made a small distressed sound in the back of her throat, but nodded her head.

“Got to do it,” She murmured, bouncing her weight from foot to foot as she pumped herself up. “Can't let them see.”

“I'll distract them if you start cracking,” Steve offered. “Jack didn't want to come – you don't need to be here either. We can make sure they get their punishment.”

“Hell yes, we can.” Clint chimed in, tossing his arm around Skye's shoulders.

“No, then they win. I need to do this,” Skye denied, shaking her head. Tasha pulled her into a hug, grinning proudly.

“Just remember, you're a badass lady,” Tasha murmured. That broke a shaky laugh out of Skye.

“Let's do this,” Skye told her friends, pulling away from Tasha. “By the way, don't mention Jack. They think he's dead.”

“I thought he was your fuck buddy?” Tony teased. Skye shoved him with a disgusted look.

“Just because Jarvis can read lips doesn't mean he should.”

“Ready?” Steve asked, his hand on the door handle. Skye exhaled slowly, squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin. Tasha and Clint both watched with proud expressions. They knew how hard this was for her. Skye glanced at Tony.

“Pull me out, if I'm getting out of hand.” Skye requested softly.

“You got it, sweetheart.”

“Why are you asking him?” Steve muttered.

“Cause he's more likely to let me go for longer,” Skye replied honestly. Tony smirked and nodded his agreement.

“Don't kill them,” Steve reminded her. “You would get on Shield's radar, in a bad way.”

“Yes, sir, Captain America sir!” Skye saluted. He grinned and opened the door. Tasha and Clint followed her in, then Tony. Steve brought up the rear – giving himself space from Skye so he didn't give anything away to the scientists about their relationship. He also needed a minute to make sure his Captain America persona was in place. These people didn't need to see Steve Rogers.

The room that the scientists were in was remarkably like the room the kids were in, complete with guards standing in the corners in full tactical gear. A few older men were lounging in the bunks, reading or sketching. Some were pacing and muttering to themselves. The rest were watching the news. Skye zoned in on the television. The kids didn't have one – why did they? She snarled and shoved the TV over, shattering it against the floor.

“Line it up!” Skye informed the scientists, pointing to a line on the floor. She deliberately used the words they used with the kids. More than a few faces fell as they recognized her words. Skye waited a beat, but when they made no move to line up, she lost her temper and shouted at them, “Line it up! Right fucking now.”

The scientists scurried to the line. Skye folded her hands behind her back and paced in front of them, seemingly considering her options. Finally, Skye stopped in front of Mr. White – the asshole that stabbed her with the scalpel.

“You know who I am,” Skye stated softly. She didn't need to speak any louder. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Mr. White nodded quickly. Skye turned to look down the line, “You all know who I am.” There was a broken smattering of agreement from the scientists. “Then why are you looking at me?! Eyes on the floor. Feet apart. Shoulders back, and hold.” Skye ordered, slipping into drill sergeant mode. “Number off!” The scientists hurried to count off, though they did it nearly silently. They knew what was coming.

Skye moved amongst the scientists, ordering them into groups and then giving each group an assignment. Soon, each group was busy either running laps, doing a rope course, scaling a climbing wall, or trying to defend themselves against Skye with a stick. She was careful not to seriously damage the scientists, but made sure that each one felt her wrath.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Tony asked softly, turning his back to the scientists so they couldn't read his lips.

“I'm really tired of holding back,” she admitted softly. “This isn't even a fraction of what those kids went through – but I honestly don't think they would hold up under any more demands.”

“I brought those vials you requested,” Tony replied. “Bruce was concerned, to say the least. Now I'm really curious.”

“Oh, well, let me fix that for you,” She smirked. She turned back to the other scientists, “Line it up! Double time, move, move, move!”

“Here's where it gets interesting,” Tony muttered to Clint with a smirk.

“Mr. White,” she pointed to the scientist that had stabbed her with the scalpel, “You can go wait over there.”

“Let me escort you,” Clint offered, shoving the man roughly towards the corner.

“Tony, Steve,” Skye called out, glancing back at her boys as the scientists hurried to line up, “He's all yours.” She smirked at them and reminded them, “Remember, don't kill him.”

“Survival of the Fittest,” Tony argued. “He picked the wrong people to fuck with.”

“I haven't done anything to...” The scientist jumped in, his tone begging.

“No, you haven't done anything to us,” Steve agreed, seeing where the scientist was going, “But you've tried to kill someone very important to us.”

“It's not worth your time,” The scientist informed Steve. He seemed to find his backbone and rallied – turning to face Steve with a haughty expression.

“It's test day!” Skye informed the remaining scientists, turning away from the man in the corner. “Mr. Green, Mr. Brown, Mr. Orange, Ms. Teal, and Ms. Maroon,” Skye called out, pointing each scientist out as she went. She waved them forward, separating them from the rest of the group. “It's been brought to my attention that you are Team Fearscape. Clint, you can bring in the medic.”

“The medic?” Ms. Teal asked softly.

“Oh, it's time for a taste of your own medicine,” Skye grinned. She waved the medic in, and let her dose each scientist with the same chemical concoction that they gave the children to heighten their perceptions and scare them before testing. They obviously recognized the black liquid and fought to keep the fear from their faces. “Clint, you can escort them to the Fearscape.”

“You got it,” Clint grinned. His grin turned feral and he wordlessly pointed to the door. The scientists went without arguing. Skye waved Tasha to her side.

“Mr. Red, Mr. Black, Ms. Grey, Ms. Violet, and Ms. Urine...I mean, yellow,” Skye called, waving those scientists forward. They knew what was coming and swallowed hard. The women grabbed each other's hands, seeking to comfort each other. Skye noticed and stormed over. She smacked their hands apart, then slapped each woman. “You're not people. You're things, and things don't get to touch other things.”

“Please,” Mr. Red begged softly. Skye didn't let him finish.

“Hello, Team Isolation.” She smirked. “Would you like to know where you're going?”

“It's not good, for humans,” Ms. Grey argued.

“If you can do it to children, I can do it to you.” Skye informed her. “Isolation for...”

“Humans can't be treated like-!”

“You don't get to inject those kids with your fucked up serum and then decide they're not human anymore,” Skye snarled, shoving the woman back to the floor. “Tasha, isolation rooms.”

“How long?” Tasha asked, not even bothering to hide her anger and disgust. Was that really how those kids were talked to?

“Until I decide otherwise,” Skye retorted. She knew better than to give the scientists a goal. Isolation was so much worse when you didn't know how it would end.

“Yes, ma'am,” Tasha nodded. She escorted those scientists from the room, ignoring their pleading.

“Retrieval Team, step forward,” Skye called out, looking over the remaining people in front of her. She frowned and looked back at Steve and Tony. Four people stepped forward, four people Skye recognized but wasn't familiar with. “Where are they?” Skye sighed. A small woman with thick glasses shrugged lightly. “Clint, take these four out. Just...somewhere else.”

“What are we doing with them?”

“I'll get around to that,” Skye shrugged. “Need a group meeting first.”

“You got it.”

“Team Serum, why don't you step forward?” Skye asked, patrolling in front of the remaining line of scientists. There was no movement. “It'll be worse if I have to pull you myself,” Skye threatened softly. There were a few more beats of silence, then the last five scientists stepped forward. “I hear the Retrieval Team brought Team Serum a gifted. Would anyone like to tell me who he was?”

There was silence. A long, uncomfortable silence that Skye seemed content to let hang. Tasha and Clint came back and Skye was still waiting for an answer. Finally one of the women sighed and straightened her shoulders.

“Group Rho, Number 752.” She informed Skye steadily.

“What was his name?” Skye pressed.

“It doesn't matter!”

“It does matter!” Skye shouted. “Chan Ho Yin was a person, and you killed him.”

“Chan Ho Yin?” Tony asked Steve softly. Mr. White was cowering on the ground, his entire body trembling as he tried to curl himself into a ball. Steve had needed to take a step back, to distance himself from the situation.

“For science, though?” The woman offered softly.

“Medic!” Skye shouted. The young agent scurried back into the room, this time carrying syringes with red liquid inside. The scientists took a step back as one. Skye laughed and waved the first man forward, “Don't worry. I'm not stupid enough to give you the serum. I am, however, pissed off enough to tamper with it for you.”

“What are you giving us?”

“Only the good parts,” Skye smirked.

0-0-0-0-0

“Can we find some food before I go back and check on the kids in the infirmary?” Skye asked, slumping as the door closed behind her. She would need to return in a few days, to follow up, but for now she was done with the scientists.

“What was that frown, before?” Tony asked. “When you called the retrieval team forward?”

“We can talk about it later,” Skye hedged. “Essentially, that's the background crew. The actual, in the field, retrieval team isn't here.”

“Fuck.” Clint groaned.

“We can worry about it later,” Skye shrugged. “It's been long enough that we've lost whatever advantage we might have had. We'll find them when we find them. Now, food. I need some food.”

“Are you going to throw a fit if I suggest a place outside of headquarters?” Steve asked. His words were playful, but his tone wasn't. He knew she didn't want to leave the kids, and he knew she was down playing the missing retrieval team, but he let it go (for now). “Or, we can order something in. Some of the kids looked pretty shaken up.”

“Ice cream and a movie?” Tony suggested.

“We did that last time!” Clint muttered. “I could go for pizza. Let's get like...a hundred pizzas.”

“I like pizza,” Skye chimed in with a grin.

“You like everything,” Clint chuckled.

“Not ham,” Steve said softly, scuffing the floor with the tip of his shoe. Skye laughed and shoved him playfully.

“Pizza it is,” Tony agreed. “You know, we really need to shake things up. We've been eating a lot of pizza lately.”

“At least it's not shawarma,” Tasha muttered softly.

“How about Skye and I go check on the infirmary and you three head to the other kids? See what kind of pizza they want and call it in. Skye and I will join you when we're done.”

“Or, I could go with Skye and you could do pizza.” Clint offered nonchalantly.

“Well, fuck that.” Tasha rebutted. “I could go with Skye.”

“I win,” Tony announced. “I get to take my sister,” (Tony leaned forward to whisper the word), “to the infirmary.”

“You can't pull that card!” Clint huffed.

“Team leader, guys.” Steve argued, pointing at himself. “I'm taking Skye, you're doing pizza.”

“Or no one is taking Skye,” Tasha laughed, watching Skye skip around the corner. Steve groaned and pointed a finger at his team.

“I mean it guys, pizza. We'll join you soon.” Then Steve was running after Skye.

0-0-0-0-0

“You're back,” The little girl that Skye had cuddled with noted immediately.

“Of course,” Skye smiled. “Sorry I left. I needed to check in with your brothers and sisters.”

“I know,” The girl smiled shyly. “903 told me.”

“We've got to get you guys names,” Skye sighed.

“You weren't kidding about the blood being special,” One of the boys muttered, twisting to look at his chart.

“Feel better now?” Skye asked.

“Jesus, Skye,” Steve groaned, jogging into the room. “You can't just walk off...”

“Then you guys shouldn't have been arguing,” Skye shrugged. Steve huffed out a laugh.

“I should know better than to argue with you.”

“Yes, you should,” Skye agreed easily. She turned and shot Steve an amused look. “I was like...20 feet in front of you.”

“Tony's going to order pizza.”

“Oh, pizza?” The vent boy asked, looking excited.

“Eh, you don't want any of that,” Skye shrugged, sitting by the girl.

“Yes, I do!”

“Steve, I don't think he wants any pizza,” Skye said blandly, looking over at Steve with an innocent expression.

“But I do!” He shouted, making the children that were awake giggle at him.

“I don't know if I've had pizza,” The little girl said slowly.

“It's terrible, nasty stuff,” Skye told her with a grin.

“It's not! It's delicious! Skye!”

“Fiiiine, as soon as your brothers are awake.” Skye agreed.

“{Wake up! Skye's taking us for pizza!}” The vent boy announced to the room, effectively waking the last two sleeping kids – the last two boys that had received the blood. Skye threw back her head and laughed.

“{Hey, is 1027 with you?}” One of the boys asked Skye.

“{He's with him,}” Skye replied, nodding towards Steve. “{He's being taken care of, I promise.}”

“{Good. He's the youngest, you know. Of all of us. He might need a little extra...well, just extra.}”

“{Noted,}” Skye smiled. “{Jack was the youngest of Delta. We'll make sure he's taken care of. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear you're asking about him. We'll have to set up a day out. I didn't want to bring him back here.}”

“{Captain America took us out,}” Another child chimed in. “{We had a picnic and baseball and a water balloon fight and tag and bus songs and...}”

“{It wasn't just Captain America.}”

“{No, but he set it up.}”

“{Guys, don't fight,}” Skye smiled. “{And please, call him Steve.}”

“Is that why 1027 picked Steven as his name?” 903 (vent boy) asked, laughing. He had noticed Steve's lost expression and switched back to English for his sake. Steve joined in the laughter, especially when Skye pushed herself onto his lap.

“I hear you took the kids out,” Skye whispered.

“A bunch of us took the kids out,” Steve replied. “They hadn't been outside.”

“They loved it,” Skye smiled. “Thank you, for doing that.”

“I didn't do it for you,” Steve replied. “But you're welcome.”

“What do you say we sneak these kids out of medical?” Skye grinned.

“Oh, yes please!” A chipper voice called from behind Skye. She giggled and stood.

“We'll have to be careful, Simmons is gone now.” Steve cautioned.

Chapter Text

“Shh,” Skye shushed the kids, swatting at them playfully. There were a dozen strung out in the hall behind her, all pressed close to the wall. The shh got passed along the line until the kids were all giggling (and trying to muffle it in their palms). Skye exhaled loudly and mock whispered to the kids, “What happened to ninja mode?”

“Shh!” They all shushed her back, grinning. Skye made a face at them and rounded the next corner. There were more agents in this hallway – and they noticed the kids immediately. Skye hummed a spy themed song and tiptoed along the wall, sliding her arms out on either side of her to press herself closer to the wall. The kids were giggling and following her lead. Most of the agents watched them pass with ill disguised amusement, especially when the kids froze and pretended to be invisible until the agent was passed. One, however, did not ignore them.

“What are you doing, agent?” A man asked, standing in front of Skye to halt her progress.

“Engage ninja mode!” Skye gasped, then turned away from the agent and pressed her eyes closed tightly. He crossed his arms and waited her out. Skye left her eyes closed but whispered loudly, “Is he gone yet?”

“No,” they giggled.

“Where is your badge?” The man pressed, shifting back onto the heels of his feet. He could wait her out. Skye huffed and took a step away from the agent.

“Engage...run mode!” Skye whisper shouted, then vaulted the agent in front of her. The kids either ran around him or flipped over him like Skye had done, then they were disappearing around the corner – running full out to get away from him. The sound of giggling followed them, both from the children and from the other agents in the hall.

“Shut up,” He defended hastily. “You know they're not normal.”

“Normal's boring,” Skye ground out, then punched the agent in the face and ran to catch up to the children.

0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, let's play a game.” Skye grinned, waving the kids in closer to her. She pointed to the last boy she gave blood to, “You're going to sit out. Why don't you go sit by Tony?”

“Which one is Tony?” He asked, his face falling. Skye looked annoyed and pointed again.

“Follow my finger. Who am I pointing to?”

“Computer guy?” The boy asked, his voice trembled as he spoke.

“Hey, leave him alone,” The rest of the kids in his group called out. A few surrounded him, hiding him from her view. They glared at her while comforting him.

“Fine, you guys can go sit out too.” Skye shrugged. “This is your fault, you know.”

“I'm sorry,” The boy whispered.

“You should be.” Skye agreed. “You can earn it back.”

“Can I earn it for them?” He asked, nodding to his peers.

“If you do a good job,” Skye agreed. The boy pushed free from his friends and approached Skye slowly. He was trying to look strong, but he was failing. He had just been terminally ill, after all. “Five minute bout,” Skye told him. “If you can pin me, they get to play.”

The children were all staring at Skye like she had grown an extra head. He was supposed to beat her? They glanced past her to the Avengers, but they looked just as dumbfounded as the kids felt. Skye carefully avoided their eye contact and waved the boy forward.

“Everyone to the side,” Skye called out. “No interfering.”

“I'm ready,” The boy told her, slipping into a defensive position. Skye had him pinned in about five seconds.

“Is this you doing a good job?” Skye asked, her tone mean and teasing. “Cause it sucks.”

“I'll do better,” The boy growled.

He gave up the defensive position and rushed Skye. Over and over, he rushed Skye and she evaded him long enough to get him into a restrictive hold. The boy was getting frustrated with his failure and with her attitude. The other kids loved her – so why was she treating him like this? Skye slammed him into the mats, knocking the wind out of his little body, then grabbed his wrists and pulled his arms around his back so he was trapped in her arms.

“Sweetheart, I would love to know what you're doing,” Tony said softly. The boy was struggling in her hold, his face turning red with the effort he was exerting.

“Get back, Tony.” Skye told him, tightening her hold slightly when the boy nearly broke free. “Now,” Skye turned the boy's wrist to her so she could read his number, “870, I want you to break free.”

“I'm trying!” He cried, struggling in her hold. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.

“No, you're not. Try harder,” Skye told him, annoyed.

“I've been sick and -” 870 was crying now, “I've been sick and you were nice and now you're not and I don't like this!”

“If you don't like it, then do something about it.” Skye told him firmly. The boy redoubled his efforts, but remained trapped. Skye could feel him breaking down and nearly relaxed her hold on him. He was pissed, frustrated, scared, and annoyed.

“You're like them,” 870 whispered angrily. “Pretending to be nice so you can stick more medicine in me.”

“That's the best you've got?”

“I bet everything about you is a lie,” He snarled, twisting in her arms. “I bet those people aren't your friends. They're your captors, cause you're too dangerous to be out with people.”

“Feel better yet?”

“I don't want you to be 47!” He shrieked, losing what little self control he had left. “47 is supposed to be perfect and a role model and you're not! You're just mean. You're a bully and I hate you!”

“I'm not 47,” Skye whispered.

“Good! I'm going to find him and he's going to kick your butt for treating us like this!”

“Good luck with that,” Skye muttered. The boy was getting more and more frustrated with her barely there responses.

“{I think you've made your point,}” Jack told Skye, coming forward to sit by her. “{Now tell him why you're doing this.}”

“{Cause he likes to torture children!}” 870 muttered grumpily.

“{What would have happened if we did this a week ago? A month ago?}” 903 pressed, coming up to sit with them. Once Jack stepped in, 903 knew exactly what Skye was doing.

“{No one is stupid enough to do...Oh.}” He turned and looked up at Skye with a wince. Her warm smile was back and her arms had relaxed around him while the boys spoke.

“{I'm really, really sorry we had to do that,}” Skye told him softly, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “{I swear I'm not normally mean like that. I just needed to know that it worked and I didn't think you would get mad if you knew what I was doing.}”

“{So, I'm better?}” 870 asked softly.

“{There was nothing wrong with you to start with,}” Skye replied seriously, “{but you shouldn't have any more issues with the stability of your serum.}”

“{Shouldn't?}”

“{Well, I can't promise it's going to stay forever.}” Skye admitted. “{I'm not sure how long it will last.}”

“{But if it comes back...}”

“{Then you get some more blood,}” Skye shrugged.

“{You would do that?}”

“{Oh, honey. Of course, I would.}” Skye replied firmly. “{Now what do you say we surprise the old people back there?}”

“{How are we going to do that?}” 870 asked, grinning.

“{Jack, unlock the stash!}” Skye called over to him. He grinned and ran for the wall by the kids. She grinned over at them and told them, “{Let's see who can get the old guys the wettest.}”

Jack banged on a door and Fitz came out, pushing large tubs. The children quickly surrounded the tubs, grabbing ball sponges from the water. Soon there was a full out water war in the room, with the Avengers teaming up against Skye, Jack, Fitz, and the kids.

Chapter Text

“Can I ride back with you?” Skye asked Tony softly, looping her arm through his.

“I thought you didn't like flying?” Tony asked.

“I don't like falling, Anthony. That was a fall, not a fly.”

“Now you're just scrabbling for details,” Tony smirked. “But yes, you can definitely ride with me.”

“How did Jack get here?”

“Oh, your little shit of a brother stole my favorite car. That's how he got here,” Tony huffed, his face shutting down immediately to scowl at Jack.

“But it's so much fun!” Jack shouted, not even bothering to hide the fact that he could hear him from the back of the group.

“Did Fitz ride with you?” Skye asked Jack. He nodded and bumped hips with Fitz. With Simmons and his team gone, Fitz seemed a lot more at ease. He knew the entire Avengers team knew about him and Jack, and they were all accepting of their relationship. While he couldn't see anyone on his own team reacting badly, he wasn't ready to share the news with them yet. He didn't think he could take it if they did react badly. “Tasha? How'd you get here?”

“Oh, Clint and I grabbed the first car in the garage as soon as you guys started squabbling,” Tasha smirked.

“You stole a car, too?” Tony pouted. “I should have taken a car. We could have raced.”

“We could have died,” Skye muttered.

“Wait, I thought you guys took a quinjet!”

“You okay?” Steve asked softly, coming up beside her. She was being awfully quiet.

“Yeah,” Skye nodded, smiling softly.

“No lying, remember?” Clint added, coming up beside Steve. They both looked concerned.

“I'm okay, Archer.” Skye reiterated.

“Steve, I'm stealing her,” Tony said protectively, pulling Skye closer to his side. “You get to ride with the 'sassin duo.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed, even though he shot Skye a look from the corner of his eye. She was silent, so he grabbed Clint and fell back to Tasha. The five broke away from Tony and Skye to head to the garage. Tony pulled Skye to a stairwell, heading to the roof where he had stashed his quinjet. Strictly speaking, Shield wasn't aware that he had stolen the plans for the cloaking.

“So, what's up buttercup?” Tony asked, looking over at Skye as she carefully avoided looking out the windows. Her grip on the armrests were tight – tight enough that she was ripping the material. “Are you okay? I thought you said flying is okay?”

“Just shut up for a minute,” Skye ground out, her eyes pressed shut tightly. After they had taken off and were cruising comfortably, Skye relaxed considerably. She looked over at her brother apologetically, “Sorry, for snapping.”

“You're going to have to try a lot harder to offend me,” Tony chuckled, engaging autopilot.

“Is that a challenge?” Skye teased.

“Only if you want it to be,” He teased right back. He settled more comfortably in his chair, waiting for Skye to tell him whatever was bothering her. After far too many minutes of quiet, Tony decided to broach the subject. “So, what about those kids, huh? They were so mad at you when you trapped that kid.”

“I know,” Skye nodded, ducking her head. “It was mean, but I had to know.”

“I think he forgave you,” Tony grinned. “If nothing else, the ice cream won him over.”

“I needed to repair our relationship,” Skye smiled slightly. “I may need him to trust me one day.”

“The agents though...” Tony offered, guessing the reasoning behind Skye's quietness.

“They're not good with the kids,” Skye nodded. “I don't know what they're trying to accomplish by putting them right back into a regimine like that – don't they know what the scientists did to them?”

“Probably not,” Tony admitted. “I mean, they got the same information that we did, mostly, but they probably didn't take the time to read through it all. There was a lot of information there, sweetheart.”

“They have teams of analysts. Teams of medical professionals. They could share the load,” Skye told Tony, swiveling her chair to look at him more directly (and less out the window).

“Maybe you should educate them,” Tony suggested.

“Steve said he yelled at your director, after they hurt Steven. Told him to get new staff for the kids. Better staff.”

“Unfortunately, Shield has bigger priorities – don't look at me like that, Skye!” Tony huffed, trying to wipe the frown off her face. She licked his palm when it was over her mouth, but he just laughed like he was delighted she did that. “You're such a child.”

“Says the man child.”

“Well, we are related.” Tony grinned. “You still haven't taken that IQ test.”

“I don't want to, Tony.”

“But I want you to.”

“You don't always get what you want.”

“I do.” Tony admitted, nodding at her with a serious expression. It was only the humor in his eyes that kept her from smacking him. “Really, you don't understand. What I want, I get. It's part of being a Stark. You better get used to it.”

“Well, I want those kids to have a chance at a relatively normal childhood, not some military, underground, training camp that's going to fuck with their heads even more than the scientists already have.”

“Sweetheart, you know they're not normal right? Don't look at me like that! Let me explain. Jesus, you're sensitive.” Tony hissed when Skye reached over and smacked the back of his head.

“Get to the explaining then, baby brother,” Skye smirked. She knew she had the upper hand when she played that card. Tony threw back his head with a loud groan.

“You're always saying normal is boring, so why do you want them to be normal?” Tony asked finally.

“They don't know what to do with the kids,” Skye sighed, slumping in her chair. “They can't treat them like kids, because they're so much more advanced than that...but, they also can't treat them like soldiers. They're mature kids, but they never got a chance to be kids. It doesn't have to be normal, it just needs to be better.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, obviously you have some sort of solution in mind or you wouldn't have brought it up.”

“Tony, they handcuffed the kids to the wall.”

“I know.”

“The kids told me about the drills they have them run. The Marines don't train like that, Tony.”

“I know.”

“They take their food. Their toys – that's why your beanbags and movie stuff keep disappearing.”

“Shield did that?”

“Yeah. One night, they took all of their blankets because, as a whole, they didn't pass some training milestone. And...AND they've all been in the same clothes! They were each given one shirt and one pair of shorts. The kids have been showering in their clothes so they don't smell.”

“Jesus.”

“They single out the youngest because they know the older kids are protective of them and can therefore be coerced into doing more things. Ugh, especially Tau. They're so passive it's crazy.”

“I can see that.”

“Tony...”

“Skye, what's your solution? All of that, every bit you just told me, is wrong. Like so wrong I want to go hack into Shield and leave a nasty virus. But you, we, can't blame all of Shield for a few agent's mistakes. That'd be like assuming all Asians are sneaky ninjas because the four of you in my life are.”

“Were you serious about the Stark money?” Skye asked softly, slowly. She wasn't used to asking for money and she didn't like the way that it made her feel. “Because I can totally hack into some shady accounts and...”

“Skye, you have money – to use on whatever you want,” Tony interrupted. “You don't have to ask for it.”

“Can we make a joint Stark venture?” Skye asked softly, peeking up at Tony from under her hair.

“What did you have in mind?” Tony repeated.

“I want a house. For the kids. A really big house.”

“I'm sure we can find something to suit their needs...”

“No,” Skye interrupted. She winced, but Tony waved her off. “I don't want some giant concrete building. I want a house. A place that they can call home.”

“You can't leave 50 kids alone in a giant house,” Tony replied.

“I know,” Skye smiled. “I figure we have some time to find some good staffing options.”

“If we're doing this, and I think we definitely need to, we're doing this right.” Tony told her firmly, surprising her. She had grand plans for the kids, but she didn't expect Tony to go along with them. She expected him to whittle down her list to make the cost as low as possible. “That means we're buying a piece of land and building from scratch.”

“I want it close enough that I can...that we can...visit whenever,” Skye agreed. “Steven needs some friends his own age. There's no reason he shouldn't get to see the other kids. They think of each other as siblings.”

“They'll need tutors – high quality tutors.” Tony added. “Jarvis, are you making notes?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“How about you give me a few days to look for some land options and you draw up a rough sketch or make a list of what you want, and then we can meet and start designing this thing.”

“Just like that?” Skye asked shyly.

“Just like that.” Tony nodded. "And in the meantime, we can send some clothes - kid clothes, not Shield clothes - and toys for the kids. We can't fix it all right now, but we can do that much."

“Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?” Skye asked rhetorically. She was smiling, but it was soft and warm and approving and nobody ever smiled at Tony like that. They smiled because he was making a fool of himself or someone else, or they smiled because they wanted something from him. Technically, Skye wanted something from him too...but it was different. It was a family matter. (God, did he love that he had a sister). The money was hers. She didn't have to ask for it. Tony shot her a look out of the corner of his eye, stealing another glance at the smile on her face.

“Jarvis, you recorded this right?” Tony asked finally. It was time to break up the sap moment, as Skye liked to call them.

“Yes, Sir.”

“You got Skye's declaration of undying and unconditional love for her favorite brother?”

“Baby brother,” Skye corrected, almost absentmindedly. She turned to him with a grin when she realized what she had just done. “Baby brother, I'm starved.”

“I think I liked you better when you were on the Ensure diet,” Tony sighed loudly.

“I'm whittling away into nothing!” Skye sighed back, just as loudly. “Feed me! Tony, brother, feed me!”

“Are you trying to turn this into a Lion King moment?” Tony asked, laughing when Skye's last sentence took on Mufasa's tone of voice. She wasn't good at the whole voices thing, like Jack was.

“You've seen Lion King?” Skye asked, bouncing in her seat.

“Have you seen my collection?” Tony asked, clutching his chest.

“You have a Lion King collection?” Skye asked, her mouth open in delighted shock.

“No.” Tony corrected easily, “I have a Disney collection.”

“Can we have a brother-sister movie night sometime? What about tonight? Or tomorrow night? Or during the day? It doesn't have to be at night.”

“Yes, Yes, Yes, and Yes.” Tony agreed quickly. Too quickly. He swallowed and glanced over at his sister, trying to figure out if she caught on to his eagerness. She was a hard person to get alone.

“And food?”

“Yes.”

“And popcorn?”

“Popcorn is food.”

“Eh, it's really not.”

“Can we add M&Ms?”

“Yes! And peanuts?”

“Yes!”

“Oh, God. We really are siblings,” Skye laughed.

“Wanna swing by the store with me?” Tony asked, waggling his eyebrows. “We will need to get supplies for movie night.”

“In this?” Skye asked, patting her torn arm rest. She seemed to notice that she ripped it and glanced up at Tony with a wince and an apology.

“It's an easy fix, sweetheart.” Tony dismissed, waving his hand easily. “This thing gets blood, dirt, Hulk, sweaty Steve, drunk Clint...”

“...drunk Tony...”

“Hey, Jarvis is a very responsible driver!”

“You're ridiculous.” Skye grinned. He looked over with a matching expression and they said in unison, “Normal is boring.”

“Snacks, Skye.”

“Yes, brother.”

0-0-0-0-0

“Skye, what are you making?” Tasha asked, wiggling a bowl of brown liquid in the fridge. The other five Tower inhabitants had returned from Shield headquarters a short while ago; Tony and Skye had beaten them back by a wide margin, even with their trip to the store. Tony had gotten paged by Pepper with some issue at SI that she needed his assistance with, so he had taken off to see her. Skye had kissed his cheek and promised a reschedule for the movie date. Jack and Fitz had immediately bee-lined for his lab, eager to finish up the project that they were working on. They wouldn't tell anyone what it was, but they were excited about it. They had been working around the clock to get it finished.

“Pudding.” Skye said absently, tapping on her phone. Since she was only using one finger, she was probably playing a game. The master assassin cocked her head at the bowl, then turned to look at Skye again. She couldn't decide how to bring up her concerns.

“Doesn't look like pudding.” Tasha remarked finally.

“It's just taking a while to set, is all.” Skye replied, glancing up.

“Is this what you made?” Tasha asked, holding up the small box.

“Yep.”

“This says it's instant. How long have you been waiting?”

“I don't know. A few levels.”

“How many levels?”

“23?”

“Maybe you made it wrong.”

“Tasha.” Skye said seriously, putting her phone down to make her point. “It's instant pudding. You add water, stir, and stick it in the fridge. Even I can't mess that up.”

“Except it calls for milk.” Tasha replied, putting all of her spy skills to work to keep a straight face.

“Nuh uh.” Skye retorted snarkily. “See? It says right here on the box. Add...water...to the powder...”

“It definitely says milk.” Tasha cut in, smirking slightly.

“I disagree.” Skye huffed, snatching the box from her friend and heading for the exit.

“It says milk!” Tasha shouted after her, then burst into laughter.

“The fucking instructions changed!” Skye shouted back. “Stranger things have happened. There have been aliens in New York!”

0-0-0-0-0

“Fitz, mission.” Coulson sighed, stepping off the elevator and into Jack's lab. Tony had finally agreed to give Coulson the access he needed, mostly because he was in the middle of solving the problem at Stark Industries and he needed the agent off his back.

“But...sir!” Fitz moaned, holding a pair of tweezers in one hand and a small spray bottle in the other.

“We just got done and we were going to test them and COULSON!” Jack whined, stamping his feet. “You have the world's worst timing.”

“Jack, your project will be here when Fitz gets back... Besides, you've already gotten yourself more time with that little stunt with the lockdown.”

“BUT WHO KNOWS HOW LONG YOU'RE GOING TO BE GONE!!!” Jack cried.

“I'll just be...upstairs...” Coulson muttered, backing away from the hysterical man. “Fitz, ten minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Jack, are you okay?” Skye asked, rushing into the room from the stairwell. She saw the tears on his face and turned on Coulson. “What did you do?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Coulson backtracked, holding his hands up. “I didn't do anything to Jack. I just told Fitz we have a mission and...”

“Skye! We didn't get to test it in the field yet!” Jack sobbed. Coulson winced but Skye just sighed and relaxed her aggressive posture.

“Jack, why don't you and Fitz each wear one? They can be field tested for distance and you still get to talk to each other.” Skye offered reasonably.

“Where's the mission?” Jack asked Coulson, sniffling. He winced and inched back another few steps.

“Um...Peru.”

“Peru!” Jack sobbed, breaking down again.

“AC, just get out of here.” Skye sighed, shaking her head. “You're just making things worse.”

“Okay,” Coulson agreed, and all but ran from the room. That got a watery chuckle out of Jack.

“You know, they're not looking for you anymore.” Skye said softly, pulling her brother into a hug. “The only thing keeping you here is you. You can decide to leave anytime you want.”

“But I want to go with Fitz,” Jack mumbled tearfully.

“Gimme some time, I'll make something work,” Skye promised. “Now, go tell your boyfriend bye. We can hack into their plane later.”

“Okay.” Jack agreed, sniffling. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Skye smiled. “Fitz, please be safe on your mission. Now, I'm leaving before things get R rated.”

“Skye!” Jack and Fitz both moaned.

0-0-0-0-0

“I have something better than pudding,” Tasha smirked, wiggling a tub of chocolate mousse at Skye.

“I'll share my blanket and movie, if you share your chocolate goodness,” Skye offered, trying to work her puppy eyes. Tony still wasn't back, so she didn't feel bad replacing her date for movie night.

“You're going to have to work harder than that!” Tasha laughed, plopping down next to Skye on Steve's couch.

“Um, I'll give you that training session you want?”

“Deal!” Tasha laughed, handing off one of the two spoons. “What are we watching?”

“I was just channel surfing,” Skye shrugged. “What do you want to watch?”

“I don't care, you can pick.”

“Help me narrow down the category at least?” Skye asked, twisting so she was closer to Tasha. She listed off her fingers, “Comedy, action, horror – eh, no. I nix horror. Okay, comedy, action, sci-fi, mystery, documentary, romance?”

“Comedy,” Tasha shrugged. They had enough action, sci-fi, and mystery in their lives. She didn't need to watch it on screen, too.

“Parent Trap?” Skye asked, flicking channels on the TV.

“Sure,” Tasha shrugged. She just wanted to turn her brain off for an hour or two. Skye selected the channel, set the remote down, and then took a spoonful of the chocolate mousse.

Twenty minutes in, it was clear that neither of them were really watching the movie. Skye pulled the blanket up around herself a little tighter and snuggled closer to Tasha. Tasha smiled and wrapped her arms around her thin frame.

“We've got to get more meat on your bones,” Tasha commented lightly.

“Then stop eating all the chocolate,” Skye retorted easily. The mousse had already been devoured – the empty container and two dirty spoons were on the small table in front of the couch.

“We could call Clint and have him bring us more.” Tasha grinned.

“Nope, that interrupts girl time,” Skye argued, shaking her head quickly. “Do you know how long it's been since I've had a girl? A girl friend, of any type?”

“I don't,” Tasha replied. “Do you?”

“Hmm, the last girl from Delta was Emily. Number 92.” Skye replied, after a second of thought. “So, four and a half years? Give or take?”

“Was she the last of Delta, besides Jack?” Tasha asked, twisting to face Skye. The movie played on in the background.

“No. There was another boy after Emily. Harrison – but I called him Harry,” Skye replied softly. “He was a real sweetheart. Jack took his loss hard; they were close. I mean, all of us were. We had to be. It's just been me and Jack now for...just about four years.”

“Was it weird?” Tasha probed lightly. “With Delta?”

“Having so many children around me?”

“Yeah. Well, and the whole running with them all the time. How did that even work? You and Jack are a tight squeeze in your van. I can't imagine you cramming all of Delta in there.”

“No,” Skye giggled softly. “Gertrude came along later. We started out in a school bus.”

“That's fitting,” Tasha smiled.

“We converted it, painted the inside, made it home.” Skye smiled back. “The outside still had to look like a school bus, because that was our cover most of the time. We made a fake school and would go out on outings.”

“That's a good way to get around with a group of kids,” Tasha agreed.

“Eventually that bus got blown up and we were due to downsize anyway...so we got an ancient RV. Like, ancient, Wifey.”

“Ancient?” Tasha laughed.

“I'll find pictures.” Skye promised.

“But was it weird?” Tasha asked again. “I mean, I can only imagine how stressful it was. How did you feel about that?”

“Oh, I was in way over my head,” Skye admitted with a self-depreciating laugh. “The first month? Hmm, bad. We broke into a library and the kids did a bunch of reading while I found the parenting section.”

“Did you feel like a parent?” Tasha asked, dropping her smile. They were heading into dangerous territory with that question, and she knew it.

“I never wanted to,” Skye shrugged, picking at the blanket. “Jack called me mom once. It was an accident, but all the kids turned to look at me and they all had these matching expressions of hope and eagerness and I just...I don't even remember leaving. I just turned and ran. Had a massive panic attack in some alley – puked up my lunch, which I was pissed about – and then bawled my eyes out. By the time I got out of my own head, I realized that the kids were on their own. I knew the retrieval team was close, not that the kids knew that, and almost had another panic attack. I knew right then I couldn't be a mom. Moms are supposed to put the kids needs first, but I freaked the fuck out...over a word. One word. I was a sitting duck. The retrieval team could have picked me off during my attack and I wouldn't have even known they were close. I put myself before them. Moms don't do that – but sisters are allowed to make mistakes.”

“They never expected you to be perfect,” Tasha murmured, brushing Skye's hair out of both of their faces.

“What about you? Did you ever want to be a mom?” Skye asked, changing the subject.

“Sure,” Tasha shrugged. “Why do you think I'm with Clint?”

“Oooh, Tasha!” Skye laughed. “I'm gonna tell him you said that.”

“He knows he's a child,” Tasha snorted.

“That's probably true.” Skye agreed. “You sidestepped my question.”

“Probably a skill I learned from you.”

“So you either really, really want to be a parent or you really, really don't.” Skye figured.

“Or it doesn't matter either way because I can't.” Tasha admitted softly. Skye made a soft sound of understanding and pulled her friend into a tight embrace.

“That makes two of us,” Skye admitted, even more softly.

“What? Really?” Tasha asked, frowning. “I thought the magic blood fixes...”

“It can't fix what's not there,” Skye shrugged. “That's what Bruce and Simmons wanted to talk to me in private about. I don't have any eggs. No eggs, no kiddos.”

“Did they... Did the scientists... When did...” Tasha stammered out words, trying to piece her thoughts together into a logical sentence. She wasn't sure why she was so shocked – but she was.

“I don't know,” Skye admitted. “With the weird healing Simmons couldn't give me an accurate timeline. I never had reason to look before, so she thinks it's possible I just never had any...”

“But?”

“But there's scarring? Marking? I don't know, tool marks, maybe, on my reproductive system.”

“The whole system?”

“Ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus.” Skye nodded. She tried out a smile, “besides, babies are terrible. Who wants something that screams, shits, eats, pukes, sleeps, and then repeats on an endless cycle? Not me.”

“I think I would have liked a chance at a normal family,” Tasha admitted back. Skye had shared something deeply personal and she felt the need to reciprocate. “They sterilized me. Us. So we wouldn't get distracted. It wasn't a big deal at the time. I didn't really understand what was going on, and I was so deep in the training that I would have let them do it anyways, but I think having known since I was a teen that I couldn't...well, I think I kind of accepted it. Can't change it now.”

“Well, shit.” Skye huffed. She reached over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I'm sorry they took that choice from you.”

“I probably would have ruined it anyway. I think we need more chocolate,” Tasha informed Skye. Her tone was light, but her eyes were heavy. Skye nodded eagerly.

“Jarvis, will you ask Clint to bring his two favorite ladies some chocolate?” Skye requested.

“And ice cream,” Tasha added.

“Peanut butter ice cream.”

“Oh, hmm, cookie dough. Let's go all out and piss Steve off,” Tasha smirked.

“He is a little health freak, isn't he?” Skye moaned. She grinned at her friend though.

“Is he any other kind of freak?” Tasha asked, nudging Skye with her shoulder.

“Wouldn't know,” Skye replied, shrugging. “We're not like that.”

“You're sleeping in the same bed.”

“True. But usually Steven or Jack join us. Plus, I don't usually sleep at night, and Steve gets up crazy early.”

“There's overlap.” Tasha rebutted easily.

“Some,” Skye agreed. “But that's designated cuddle time.”

“Cuddle time or cuddle time?” Tasha teased, thrusting her hips towards Skye. They both giggled at that.

“The first one!” Skye replied through her laughter. They were still giggling when Clint stepped off the elevator.

“Do I want to know what kind of trouble you two are going to get into?” Clint asked, shaking his head at the pair. Skye snorted, which made both of them dissolve into another round of giggles. “I'm not sure you two need any more sugar.”

“Clint! Archer! Food!” Skye begged, extending her arms to him. Well, extending her arms as much as she could. Tasha was still wrapped up in them.

“This isn't food. This is junk.”

“You're a filthy, filthy hypocrite.” Tasha giggled. “Tell Skye what you had for breakfast.”

“Naaat! That's private!” Clint replied, stomping his foot a little.

“Gimme the peanut butter ice cream and no one gets hurt,” Skye threatened.

“Tell her!” Tasha laughed. Clint gave Skye her ice cream and a clean spoon, then kicked at the couch.

“Nat...” Clint whined.

“Do it,” She laughed.

“Muffins.” Clint admitted softly. “I had muffins for breakfast.”

“Oh, me too!” Skye laughed. “The cranberry orange...it was like an orgasm in my mouth. A mouth-gasm? Food-gasm? Eh.”

“With what?” Tasha prompted.

“Chocolate syrup.” Clint muttered.

“And?”

“Sprinkles.”

“And?”

“Whipped cream.”

“And?”

“Jesus, Clint. Where's your stash? This floor is clean. I've checked.” Skye grinned.

“And?” Tasha prompted, a little more firmly.

“AND PIXIE STICKS SPRINKLED ON TOP!” Clint shouted. He huffed angrily and dropped his bag of goodies on the table. The women were silent for a second, then burst out laughing. Clint shot them a dirty look and stomped to the elevator.

“That doesn't even sound good!” Skye giggled at him as he waited for Jarvis to send the elevator.

“They were chocolate muffins,” Clint said defensively. “That basically makes them cupcakes.”

0-0-0-0-0

“I'm pooped,” Skye yawned, talking to no one in particular. Clint had retrieved Tasha from the couch when he was ready for bed. They were basically asleep anyways, laying head to head on the couch. Their feet dangled from opposite arm rests. Steve was helping Steven run bath water and Jack was in his lab talking with Fitz. Skye took the rare quiet moment to consider her life.

It was crazy how much could change because of one action. If Jack hadn't placed that Iron Man hack early, they would probably still be in Gertrude. Just the two of them. Cruising the states to avoid the retrieval team. They wouldn't have ended up in that god forsaken bunker. That had been a last ditch effort when she realized how big of a target they had painted on their own backs. The hit man had gotten damn close to Jack while she was removing her Iron Man hacks from Tony's system. She needed to find that him – and then teach him a very memorable lesson. Pain would probably be involved. Skye smirked and nodded to herself. Yeah, he would pay for his actions.

The scientists would also pay for their actions. Especially Mr. White. She was holding a very personal grudge against him. He had done things to her...things that she couldn't forget. She closed her eyes and saw his face. She fell asleep and she was back on that metal table. Her ankles and wrists would be burning when she woke, phantom pain from the shackles used to keep her in place. Her leg had a faint scar on it from that first scalpel; it was so faint that you couldn't see it unless you knew it was there, but it was there. Her body was covered in faint scars that escaped the notice of everyone. At the very least, Bruce and Simmons hadn't mentioned them and they were very familiar with her body.

Then there were the things he did that she couldn't force herself to acknowledge. She had ruined her chances at sneaking out of their custody because she had needed to erase that footage. Her life didn't matter, but her friends would never be able to get those images out of their heads – and she would cheerfully chop off her hands (and therefore her livelihood) before subjecting them to that nightmare. She could deal with her nightmares alone, like she always had.

Never in a million years had she imagined her life would end up like this – a bonafide Stark with a blood brother, a sorta-kinda boyfriend, a girl friend, and a team that supported her like she had never been supported before. She didn't realize how much she carried on her shoulders until her friends took some of the burden.

Friends. She had never really had friends. She didn't count Delta as friends. They were more like family. They were hers to take care of, not her sounding board when she needed to get something off her chest. That was probably why she was so bad about talking about things, why she was so bad about letting people in – making them aware of her issues. They were private, for years, and then suddenly she had a whole group of people trying to open her up. In some ways it made her very uncomfortable, sharing her problems. It wasn't something she normally did and she was acutely aware of how far out of her comfort zone she was when they forced her to share.

On the other hand, she had never felt this light before. The scientists were in custody, thanks to her friends. Jack was safe and happy, thanks to her friends. He finally had the chance to settle down; she wouldn't make him run anymore. She had convinced the scientists he was dead – he would be safe from them. The kids were out of the facility, and even though Shield wasn't the best place for them, she felt better knowing there was a plan in place, thanks to her friends, brother, and Stark money. She had a lot to be thankful for.

But that was also why she was waiting. Waiting for something bad to happen. This wasn't her life. Things like this didn't happen to people like her. She was a self-appointed weapon. She killed people. Bad people, but people none the less. She didn't really feel bad about it; she only hurt people in self-defense – or in defense of the kids. People like her didn't deserve friends, but people like her were also really selfish. Until she could locate the rest of the retrieval team, she would stay at the Tower. As much as she hated putting her friends in danger, she couldn't run without knowing what she was running from. In the meantime, she used her time to prepare herself for another long term, life-on-the-road lifestyle.

Of course, it would be ideal if she could convince Bucky to come back to the Tower before she had to leave. In many ways, he was just like her. It was probably why he trusted her, even when he didn't trust Steve enough to seek him out. She smirked when she thought about the angry email he had sent her after her friends rescued her. He had used some of the words she had used with him when he had made a stupid decision. (He had tried to run from her; wanted to remove the danger from her life when he realized people were looking for him. (Of course they were looking for him.)) She had tracked him down within two days and then ripped him a new one. His face had been priceless when he turned a corner and she was standing there, blocking his path. The surprise morphed into anger, and then quickly into sheepish embarrassment.

“What is that face for?” Steve asked, dropping down onto the couch by Skye's head. She was still kicking her feet off the end of the arm rest.

“What face?”

“That one,” Steve smiled, waving his finger in her face.

“Just thinking,” she shrugged.

“Steven mentioned wanting to read some Harry Potter tonight,” Steve said lightly.

“I'll download an electronic copy until we can get a hard copy.” Skye nodded.

“You prefer hard copy books?” Steve asked, his mouth twitching up.

“For leisure reading,” Skye nodded. “The books smell nice and there's just something really reassuring about turning the pages.”

“Finally, something I understand,” Steve teased.

“Is he still in the bath?” Skye asked, tipping her head up to look at Steve.

“Yeah. He likes playing with the bubbles,” he smirked.

“Ooh, bubbles!”

“There's a tub in all of these rooms,” Steve smiled. “You can take a bath in any of them.”

“I may take you up on that.”

“You should,” Steve smiled. “I think Tony put bath stuff in every bathroom.”

“Bath stuff?”

“Yeah. Bubbles. Oil. Salt?”

“Ah,” Skye nodded, yawning.

“Let's get you to bed,” Steve smiled.

“No, not yet.” She denied, shaking her head sleepily. “I wanna see Steven's reaction to Harry Potter. Speaking of which, can you hand me that tablet, please?”

“Sure thing, doll.” Steve smiled, grabbing the tablet from the side table near his end of the couch. Skye fiddled around on the tablet, then handed it back to Steve. “Thanks.”

“Welcome,” Skye mumbled.

“I'm not sure you're going to make it to a bedtime story,” Steve teased, brushing her hair away from her face.

“Oh, I'mma make it.”

“Sure you are,” Steve laughed.

“Steven! Hurry up. I wanna hear Harry Potter!” Skye shouted, not bothering to get up from the couch.

“You got Harry Potter already?” Steven shouted back.

“Yeah!”

“I'm coming!” Steven replied. A second later the tub was draining. A few minutes after that, a soaking wet Steven appeared in his doorway. “I'm ready.”

“Did you even dry off?” Steve laughed. The boy's hair was still dripping onto his shoulders and his pajamas were askew.

“Not enough,” Steven replied, tugging his shirt straight. It was hard to get clothes onto a wet body.

“Go dry off, get dry pajamas on, and then we can read.”

“But Steve!”

“I don't wanna cuddle with a wet, little boy,” Skye told the boy, turning her head on the couch cushion to look at him.

“You're gonna cuddle? While Steve reads?” Steven asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

“Can I?”

“Yes! Yes, yes, yes!” Steven nodded. “Give me two minutes,” he said as he turned and darted back into his room.

“I'm going to go change too,” Skye told Steve. He smiled and nodded, but Skye didn't move. Quite the opposite – she let her eyes flutter closed again. Steve laughed and smacked her cheek lightly.

“Go change or I'm reading without you.”

“I thought the Captain was the hard ass,” Skye giggled, rolling off the couch. She hit the floor with a light thump, then pulled herself to her feet.

“I'm ready!” Steven shouted, reappearing. He had dried off and switched pajamas.

“Skye's going to go change,” Steve told him. “Did you brush your teeth?”

“Right now!” Steven nodded, darting into the room again. Skye giggled and wandered into Steve's room to brush her own teeth and change into pajamas.

Five minutes later the three were in Steven's bed. Skye was shivering under the blankets, tucked up against Steven so she could steal his heat. Steve was on top of the blankets, tablet in hand. Steven adjusted between the two, finding a comfortable spot.

“Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much...”

This was much too perfect to be real, but it was real to Skye - and that was all she cared about.

Chapter Text

“Fitz should be here for this.” Jack complained the next morning.

“I know, but he got called away on a mission.” Skye replied distractedly. She stretched up onto her tiptoes to place one of Jack and Fitz's new comms into Steve's ear. It was a small sticker that stuck to the inside corner of his ear canal. Steve ducked his head helpfully, giving her better access.

“These are really going to work?” He asked skeptically.

“Uh, yeah.” Jack huffed. Steve and Skye exchanged a secret smile. He had been grumpy since Fitz got called away.

“Does Clint get a special one?” Tasha asked, fingering her own ear. She could barely feel the sticker; she wagered she wouldn't feel it at all, if she didn't know it was there.

“These don't work like traditional comms,” Jack supplied helpfully. “We'll be able to hear the room and you, by extension, but the comm unit will send electrical currents through your ear so you can hear us.”

“I bet I can keep a straight face longest.” Clint boasted, earning a disbelieving look from Tasha and a chuckle from Steve.

“Wanna bet on that?” Tasha asked.

“Stakes?”

“If you break first, Steve and I get to own you for a day.”

“Fine. If I win, you two are mine for a day.” Clint countered.

“Deal.” Steve agreed. Clint was terrible at keeping a straight face.

“Go, go. You're going to be late.” Skye grinned, shooing them out of the lab.

“Wouldn't want to make the director mad.” Clint laughed. “We're gonna get breakfast on the way in, right?”

“I don't see why Skye's not going.” Jack commented. “She is the one that caused all the trouble.”

“She's not Shield.” Steve replied.

“They can't prove I did anything.” Skye added.

“Oh, God. What did you do?” Clint moaned dramatically. Skye's responding grin made all three Avengers wince – she must have done something besides what they were present for.

“Nothing yet.” She replied. “Guess you'll have to wait and see.”

0-0-0-0-0

“The director will see you now.” The secretary informed the three straight faced agents.

“Show time.” Clint muttered.

“I'm scared of what Skye did.” Steve muttered. Tasha nodded faintly. Skye's corresponding giggle followed.

“More like what I'm going to do. I'm so hacking this.” She announced. “His reaction is going to be priceless.”

“Oh, no.” Clint sighed, pushing into the office.

Fury was sitting at his desk with his fingers steepled in front of him. He indicated that they could sit, but all three remained standing. Clint made sure he was closest to the door.

“Aw, look at the good little soldiers.” Skye cooed into their ears. “I've got eyes over baldie's left shoulder. He's only got the one camera in his office? Weird.”

If Fury noticed all three sets of eyes shift quickly over his shoulder, he didn't comment. He was waiting. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to the three, but he knew it had better be good.

“You know why you're here?” He started, hiding his confusion. Half a dozen of the staff assigned to the children had filed reports stating a small woman with Agent Rogers, Barton, and Romanov had threatened them. None of those agents could explain why they were so terrified of the “small woman”. Fury preferred to think it was the agents she was with. He had also been informed that the same small woman had visited the scientists in their custody, taken the children from the infirmary, and took all of the children out of their designated room. That was a lot of rules to break – even for these three. Okay, even for Barton – Rogers and Romanov usually kept their noses pretty clean.

“You missed us?” Clint offered, smirking.

“Barton, it's been days since you've been in here. Days. I need longer than that to miss you.” Fury replied, his voice firm.

“Fucking narking scientists,” Clint muttered darkly. He still couldn't believe Simmons reported her “kidnapping”. He still owed her lab another ten hours of labor. He kept putting it off, not wanting to be at the mercy of the small scientist quite yet. He needed to get on her good side first.

“It's been longer for me.” Steve offered, hiding his amusement well. Fury could see the humor in his expression though and snapped.

“I've got five agents reporting being attacked by a friend of yours.” Fury yelled, snapping the file down on his desk.

“They must not be very good agents if they're intimidated by her, sir.” Steve commented.

“She is an itty bitty little thing.” Tasha agreed. Fury narrowed his eyes at the three.

“So are you,” Fury growled. “Why was a civilian on my base?”

“She had a tag, sir.” Steve shrugged.

“It wasn't visible.” Skye commented in their ears. “Archer, you're not going to defend me? Poor, little, helpless old me?”

“Sir, she is just looking out for the best interest of the children.” Clint offered immediately. His eyes were not near as serious as his expression. Tasha exhaled slowly, hiding her amusement. Steve, between the two assassins, could hear her – but Clint wouldn't know.

“Aw, Archer, you do love me!” Skye commented. Her amusement was apparent in her tone. Clint shifted uncomfortably next to Steve, drawing the super soldier's attention. Clint shook his head slightly, keeping his smile at bay only with sheer will power. “Archer, I must say – you're holding up fairly well. Let's see if Steve can hold up as well.”

“Those children are...” Fury paused, uncertain how to finish that thought. They were capable of taking care of themselves, that was true. But they were also a giant pain in his ass. He may be the boss, but he also knew a losing battle when he saw one. The trio in front of him had spent far too much time with the aforementioned children to take negative comments lightly.

“Would you like to tell us why we were called into a disciplinary meeting?” Tasha asked, bringing everyone back on topic.

“You brought a civilian on base.” Fury started.

“Properly though,” Clint interrupted.

“That's got to count for something.” Steve agreed.

“Should we count how many times we can get you off in an hour?” Skye questioned through the comms. “I would really like to test out this whole libido theory.”

“We?” Tony asked in the background. Steve made a mental note to compliment Fitz and Jack on their comms. He could tell that Tony wasn't near Skye, but his voice was crystal clear in his ear.

“Me and Tasha.” Skye agreed. “That's why Steve brought me in. He wanted a three some. Isn't that right, girlfriend?”

Tasha raised her eyebrow at Steve, noticing his face gradually turning red. Clint cleared his throat loudly, coughing into his fist. He thumped his chest and sighed.

“Fuckin' frog in my throat.” He explained to Tasha.

“Uh huh.” Skye laughed.

“...said civilian went on to attack my agents.” Fury finished. Steve scratched his temple, aware that there was a large chunk in the middle of the lecture that he had missed.

“Technically, she was provoked.” Steve muttered.

“God damn it, Rogers!” Fury shouted, tossing his hands up. “You can't just bring people into my motherfucking base and let them tell my agents how to do their jobs!”

“If they did their jobs well, she wouldn't have anything to criticize.” Steve rebutted. “I told you to change the staff. It's not our fault you didn't do that.”

“You know what pisses me off the most about this?” Fury asked, changing tactics as soon as he realized he would lose that argument with Rogers. “I know you had a woman on base, but there's no footage. None. That means someone's been tampering.”

“What are you trying to say here?” Tasha asked, cocking her head slightly.

“Stark's hacking into my servers. Again.” Fury ground out. Of course Romanov would challenge him on this. “The Centipede scientists are locked in rooms that, all of the sudden, I cannot open. In my own base! Their meals have been cut to one cup of oatmeal, three times a day and a quarter gallon of water. The meal slots on the rooms won't open if there is anything extra on the tray.”

“They deserve everything they're getting,” Clint informed Fury seriously.

“They deserve way worse than what they're getting,” Tasha corrected. Clint nodded his agreement, pointing towards her to reiterate to Fury who he was agreeing with.

“Maybe it's a sign that Shield's encryptions aren't as good as they could be,” Steve informed Fury, working to make his voice sound sincere – even if he was laughing on the inside. “I know this great hacker that could work wonders.”

“Oh, I'm not helping him.” Skye chuckled. “Are you guys ready for this? I'm gonna fuck with him.”

“There is nothing wrong with how...” Fury froze, his attention suddenly focusing on his computer screen. Fury's jaw muscle ticked violently against his face. “...my agents are handling those kids.”

Fury reached up and turned his computer screen off. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. It immediately went back onto his pocket. A moment later, the secretary knocked on the door.

“Sir? There's an urgent phone call for you.” She said softly, trying not to interrupt.

“Thank you.” Fury growled, annoyed. He picked up his phone and listened to the person on the other end.

“Jack is pretending to be the president.” Skye mock whispered into their ears. “Steve, he finally cracked a smile.”

Steve ducked his head, needing to look away from Fury to keep a straight face. He really wanted to know what Skye was doing with his computers. He couldn't very well ask though. He raised his head and found the camera, hoping his inquisitive look would ask the question for him. Skye giggled into his ear.

“I'm sure Baldie will show you soon enough.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.” Fury sighed, hanging up the phone. He looked to the three agents in front of him; three agents that didn't look like they were being reprimanded. Instead, they looked like they were trying not to laugh. Damn it, he was losing his touch. “Stark know you're here?”

“Of course.” Tasha nodded. Both of them, Tasha added silently.

“Did you three put him up to this?” Fury asked, swiveling his computer screen towards them. It was Humping Man...except he wasn't humping the screen. He was humping a black man's eye. The eye patch left a tan line on the animated character's face; the patch itself discarded on the bottom of the screen. Having seen Skye's previous work, they knew this was a slap-dash job. It didn't have the details her other animations had – it was just a generic face. The eye patch clarified any misunderstandings about who the character was, though. Clint violently cleared his throat again.

“No, sir. We did not put Tony up to this.” Steve replied honestly.

“Oh, Stevie,” Skye laughed excitedly, “Pushing the boundaries of truth.”

“Oh, my god. Skye, you put this on his computer?” Tony could be heard in the background. He sounded amused, impressed, but mostly proud. Skye giggled her response.

“It's going to follow him around.” Skye chuckled.

“Every screen?”

“Every screen he looks at for the rest of today, and then every screen he can't see for tomorrow,” Skye amended. Clint rolled his neck, fighting the laughter that was bubbling up his throat. Fury was going to have to avoid his “minions” for a day to avoid them seeing his face getting fucked. Skye was giggling again. “Tasha, Steve, you're about to win.”

“Fucking frog!” Clint swore, clearing his throat.

“Maybe my next animation will be Archer fucking a frog...with his mouth.” Skye announced firmly. “Apparently he has a frog fetish.”

“Shit.” Clint muttered, tossing his hands up. “Sir, I need some water.”

“Barton, you will wait until you're dismissed.” Fury growled. He was done with his lecture, but he wanted to be in control. He would take it any way he could have it.

“He sounds like a control freak,” Skye murmured thoughtfully. “Does he have a wife? I don't see women dealing with his personality very well. He's probably gay. Definitely the top. I wonder if his depth perception is off, with only one eye... Maybe he misses the hole sometimes.”

“Skylar Elizabeth!” Jack groaned in the background.

“Fuck.” Clint ground out, still trying to hide his smile from his boss. “I'm out. Sir, I apologize, but I need water.”

Without a backwards glance, Clint hurried from the room. Steve put his fist out and Tasha fist bumped him.

“We so win.” She muttered softly. Fury glared at them, his jaw ticking alarmingly fast.

“Get out of my damned office.”

“Yes, sir.” Steve nodded, spinning on his heel and hurrying from the room.

Fury waited until the door was closed then let out a loud, frustrated growl of annoyance. He grabbed the phone off his desk and dialed a familiar number. “Mr. Stark!”

“Yes, Head Honcho?” Tony replied with a smirk. Skye was standing directly next to him in Jack's lab, her hand slapped over her mouth so the Director couldn't hear her giggling.

“You have something to remove from my systems,” Fury bit out.

“Do I? Do I really?” Tony grinned, bumping hips with his sister.

“Yes! Romanov ratted you out.”

“Oh no.” Tony quivered. “I guess we'll have to have a team meeting about this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Director sir!”

“Stark!”

“Out.”

“You're amazing and I love that you're my brother,” Skye gushed, grinning at Tony.

“Like I could remove your program anyway,” Tony muttered, then started laughing. “We're going to have to record him and make a 'mix tape' for the team.”

“Hell yes we do. I've already got a program made,” Skye agreed. “I'll just tweak it a bit and we're good to go. Oh, and I'm stealing Steven before everyone gets back.”

“Where are you going?” Tony asked. Skye looked coy and shrugged. Tony leveled her a dry look. “Skylar Elizabeth, where are you taking the boy?”

“The boy and I will be out,” Skye retorted, trying to spin away. Tony was expecting that though and caught her by the waist.

“You may be my sister, but I will still tie you to a bed,” Tony threatened. He heard what he said and grimaced, “don't make that gross – it came out wrong.”

“I can't NOT make it gross!” Skye giggled loudly.

“Where are you going?” Tony tried again, smiling at her laughter.

“He's got no toys, Tony.” Skye shrugged. “I don't know where we're going cause he's going to pick.”

“You're taking my card,” Tony informed her, digging out his wallet. “Actually, just keep this one. I'll get another.”

“Tony, I have money,” Skye scoffed.

“You're using the card and it's not up for debate.”

“We're gonna spend all your money,” Skye threatened softly.

“Good luck with that,” Tony laughed. “Besides, it's half yours – remember?”

“I don't want it,” Skye said softly. “I'm already using more than I should. Just, let me do this.”

“He's not your responsibility,” Tony sighed. “Please, I know you don't want the Stark money. Whatever, it's fine. Think of it as a wage, if you want. I know you've been adding encryptions to Jarvis and Agent has made some comments about not Shield approved security on their plane. But, the point, you don't have to use the money on yourself. Get the boy some toys. Just, for the love of God, do not bring home any robots. I swear I will smash them on sight.”

“You gonna be mad if we decorate his room?” Skye asked softly. “Like, painting?”

“It's his room. He can do whatever,” Tony smirked, pulling Skye in for a hug. “Even if that means it's a flour bomb production factory.”

Fury stared at his phone; Stark had hung up on him. No one hung up on him. He was the motherfucking Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He got respect, even if he had to take it. Tony was corrupting his best agents and he was going to put a stop to that.

Right after he could find a techie that he trusted enough to remove the stupid animation without telling the whole base about it.

Fucking Stark.

0-0-0-0-0

“Clothes, kiddo,” Skye announced, plopping down on Steven's bed. He looked up from the laptop that Skye had acquired for him after watching him steal Steve's.

“I have clothes,” Steven replied.

“You have lots of clothes,” Skye agreed with a grin. “But put some on your body. I'm taking you out.”

“No pajamas?” Steven asked, looking down at his outfit. He spent most of his time around the Tower in sweat pants or shorts.

“Nothing fancy,” Skye replied. “I'm wearing this,” she waved to her jeans, boots, long sleeved shirt, and leather jacket.

“That's fancy,” Steven gulped. “Can you approve it first?”

“Sure thing,” Skye nodded. “Chop, chop. I want to go before everyone is back and I have to share you again!”

“I'm hurrying!” Steven replied, scrambling from the bed.

They left the Tower ten minutes later, both of them skipping down the secret tunnel. Steven was wearing jeans and a short sleeve shirt with a tie printed on the front. He had giggled when Skye pulled it from his closet and handed it to him. It would be comfortable for him to wear all day, but it also fit his requirement that it looked fancy.

“You never told me what we're doing,” Steven commented, clutching her hand as they emerged from the tunnel and disappeared into the crowd of people.

“Hmm, it's a multi-pronged mission,” Skye smirked. “One: You need some toys or books or both! Two: Your room needs some character. Three: Food, in our bellies.”

“Um, I don't think...” Steven winced, pulling up short. Skye took the break to shrug her jacket on, then took the boy's hand again. She kneeled down so she was at his level. “You don't need to do this for me,” Steven said softly. “I thought we were just going to see a movie or something.”

“Oh, movie. I like that idea,” Skye smiled. “Maybe after we eat?”

“We can eat now?” Steven offered.

“We're not skipping the best part!” Skye retorted. He still didn't look convinced, so Skye sighed and got serious. “Is it the money?”

“Partially.”

“Okay, well. Here's the thing. I'm a Stark. Tony keeps bringing it up,” Skye replied, rolling her eyes. “Another thing he keeps bringing up? Stark money. Apparently there's a ridiculous amount of Stark money. I want to do this. I kind of need to do this.”

“You don't need to,” Steven argued.

“I need to know that you can entertain yourself if we're all busy. It's bound to happen.” Skye pointed out. Steven nodded his agreement with that statement. “But I would also like you to be able to interact with your peers at some point. I'm not saying you have to get toys for seven year olds because, frankly, you're too advanced for a majority of those toys, but you need to at least know what they are. You don't want to be like Steve and miss references, do you?”

“No,” Steven said shakily.

“More importantly, you're important to me. Like, crazy important. You've squirmed your way into my teeny little heart.”

“Your heart isn't teeny!” Steven defended instantly. She grinned and continued.

“It's important that you're happy. I'm not saying money buys happiness, because that's not the point I want you to take away from this,” Skye teased, bopping his nose lightly. “But you need to know what makes you happy. You don't have to know what that means right now – you don't have to know what things you like or dislike, but I want you to find out.”

“I can just get like...one toy.” Steven compromised.

“You're not getting just one toy,” Skye laughed. “And you're not just getting one book! And we're decorating your room! We can paint it and get furniture and make it yours.”

“Like Gertrude is your space?” He smiled shyly.

“It's very important for a person to have a space.” Skye agreed.

“Jack has his lab,” Steven nodded.

“Yeah, from Stark money.” Skye smirked. She just won the argument and she knew it.

“Fine, Skye!” Steven grumbled. He pouted for two seconds, then threw himself at her with an excited grin. “I saw Clint's drum. Can I get a drum? Or a guitar?”

“You can get both,” Skye grinned.

0-0-0-0-0

“Can we be done?” Steven groaned, dragging his feet. It had been fun and exciting – but now he was just tired. Skye looked just as exhausted as he was.

“Okay,” she agreed easily. “Let me know if you think of anything else you need, okay?”

“Okay.” Steven nodded. He had already learned not to argue with her. He was holding a stuffed Captain America doll under his arm – the one purchase Skye looked more excited about than he was.

“Lunch?” Skye offered, looking considerably more chipper all the sudden.

“I could eat a whole cow!” Steven chimed in with an eager smile.

“What do you feel like?” Skye asked.

“I don't know?” Steven shrugged. “Can we try something I've never had before?”

“Oh, adventurous. I like it.” Skye nodded. “We can head to the park? There are usually food trucks there. We can try something from all of them and then get some vitamin D.”

“Vitamin D?” Steven asked, slipping his hand into Skye's.

“Yeah. You get vitamin D from the sun. It helps your body make serotonin, which makes you happy.”

“Serotonin?”

“It's a hormone. Your body makes it,” Skye replied. “It affects your mood.”

“Oh.” Steven replied, thinking over what she just said. “So basically the sun makes you happy?”

“Yep,” She grinned.

“We'll have to get outside more often,” Steven rationalized. “I like being happy.”

“We can go outside everyday,” Skye grinned.

“Not if it's storming,” Steven replied, frowning.

“We can go outside every day it's nice,” Skye corrected.

“Deal!”

“Aw, your son looks just like you. He's adorable,” A woman smiled, tapping Steven's nose like he was an infant. He shot Skye an outraged look, then he rubbed his nose in his palm.

“He is pretty adorable, isn't he?” Skye agreed with a proud smile. The lady smiled and walked off.

“You didn't correct that stranger, who touched my nose like a weirdo.” Steven said softly, dragging his fork through some pork that was left over from a taco he had eaten.

“It wasn't any of her business.”

“You don't have to do that for me,” Steven said softly.

“Shut up and finish eating so we can check out these trees,” Skye smiled. Steven ducked his head and grinned into his chest. She was good at dispelling his worries without making a big deal about it. He liked that. Steve would have wanted to talk about it and sort it all out. He wasn't used to talking about his feelings (or even acknowledging them, really), so he felt uncomfortable bringing up sensitive things. He didn't know how to talk about it. He had the sneaking suspicion that Skye was a lot like him in that manner. Skye acknowledged his point and moved on with one flippant gesture. He was still in his comfort zone, but he had been heard and reassured. Skye just got him. Jack was lucky that he got Skye to himself for all those years.

“I think I'm full,” Steven smiled, putting one last forkful in his mouth. “Like, super full.”

“Hmm,” Skye nodded, pulling all the dishes to herself. “Whatcha wanna do now?”

“Shouldn't we head back?”

“Dude, no.” Skye replied around a mouthful of food. “I'm bored of that place. Need a break.”

“Okay,” Steven smiled, ducking his head. “I'm really full though. Maybe we can find a movie?”

“Deal!” Skye agreed. “We can go find snacks!”

“Skye, we just ate.”

“Yeah, but movies can be long.” Skye replied.

“You eat a lot.”

“I know,” Skye laughed. She pulled out her phone and handed it to him, “Here, find a movie that sounds good while I finish our selection.”

“Um, I think we need to go burn some energy before we go back,” Steven winced, shielding his eyes against the sun. It was extra bright after leaving the dark theatre. Skye was practically vibrating, but Steven wasn't much better. Skye giggled and agreed.

“So, you like music,” Skye mused. “I know this cool place that has a bunch of instruments and games and...”

“Yes. That.” Steven interrupted, nodding eagerly.

“Forward ho!” Skye shouted, pointing forward.

“Okay, fine.” Skye huffed five minutes later. “We should have looked at directions. Shush it, sir.”

“We just came from this way!” Steven giggled. They were skipping down the sidewalk, ignoring the odd looks they were getting.

“I know!” Skye laughed. “I was distracted and we went the wrong way!”

Steve, Clint, Tasha, and Jack caught up to the pair a few hours later. Tony had tracked Skye's phone, but declined to step out with them. He was already assembling footage of Fury struggling with the hack and was too engrossed to leave.

“What do you think they did all day?” Steve asked, getting out of the SUV.

“Something fun,” Jack replied instantly. “Food, too.”

“I like food,” Clint said, shooting his friends a hopeful smile.

“It's dinner time,” Jack agreed. “Skye's probably hungry anyway.”

“Good,” Steve nodded, “She needs to put some weight back on.”

“Don't let her hear you say that,” Clint muttered, holding the door open to the building. The music was blasting out from inside. It didn't take them long to locate Skye and Steven – they were on the giant piano mat on the floor. They were laughing and jumping from key to key – Skye playing the melody and Steven the harmony. They were both sweaty; they must have been at it for a while. Skye noticed them and waved. She waved Jack over, then hopped off the mat. Jack took her place and she headed over to her friends.

“He's got perfect pitch,” Skye informed them with a proud grin.

Chapter Text

“Oh, gross.” Steve groaned, spitting his bite of banana into a napkin. “What is this?”