Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"You can't park here."

Skye stares at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent glaring at her through the van window.

"It's okay. I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant," Skye says flashing him her best smile. "I'm part of Agent Coulson's team."

The agent doesn't look impressed. "You can't park here," he repeats.

Skye sighs. "Fine." She's learned that there's no point in arguing. They've been back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York for almost a week, and she's had to move her van a dozen times. S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters is even more anal than Manhattan about parking, and when she parks it in the city she always get tickets because she can never remember to change to the opposite side of the street.

She pulls out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. garage where she's been parked the past twelve hours and wonders where she's going to go. She wishes that she were back on the bus, and then she remembers the airfield where the bus is currently undergoing inspection. It was heavily guarded during the day, but it's night now. Besides, she only needs a place to park until the bus leaves in the morning.

The airfield is in New Jersey, and it takes an hour fighting traffic before she pulls onto the unmarked dirt road leading out to it. It's barely lit, and the guard at the entrance looks bored as he scans her security badge and takes it from her. As she waits for him to wave her through, she congratulates herself on her resourcefulness until she is suddenly blinded by spotlights.

A voice on a megaphone shouts, "Come out with your hands up."

"Crap," Skye mutters.

*****

Coulson is not happy when he comes to get her out of holding.

"What were you thinking?" he asks.

"I just needed a place to park my van," she says. She crosses her arms defensively. "I'd been kicked out parking at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters twice, and I couldn't park in the city without getting a ticket, so I figured I'd just park at the airfield. I have clearance."

"Not that level of clearance. Why were you staying in your van?"

"I didn't have any other place to go."

Coulson looks genuinely surprised. "You didn't?"

"No." Skye wonders how he can be so oblivious. "Before I was with you guys, I lived in a van in L.A. for two years. I don't have any place to stay in New York."

"Well next time I'll help you figure something else out."

Chapter Text

"Of course you can't stay in your van again," Simmons says. "You can stay with us." Fitz looks a little awkward but nods eagerly. "We don't have an extra bedroom, but we have a couch, and it even pulls out."

"Okay, thanks," Skye says. "Are you sure it's not too much trouble?"

"No, it'll be fun," she says.

*****

Skye is not sure what she was expecting, but it certainly was not this. She mostly sees Fitz-Simmons in the lab, a neat, clean, sterile place. But their apartment in Brooklyn is a mess. The bookcases are crammed with novels and textbooks, DVDs are strewn around the coffee table, and the sink is overflowing with dirty dishes.

Fitz groans. "You said you were going to tidy up before we left," he said.

"It's fine," Simmons starts to say, but by now Fitz is already in the kitchen inspecting the dishes.

"There are things growing in here!" he says, recoiling in horror.

"What? Really? What things?" Simmons runs in excitedly and starts examining the plates.

"Don't study it! Just clean it up."

"Not just yet," Simmons says. "You know molds can have all kinds of fascinating properties. Penicillin can grow on common household items."

"Just get rid of it," he insists. "Skye doesn't want to live in a house full of moldy dishes."

They both turn to look at her, and she feels like the referee at a tennis match. "Uh well, I am kind of hungry," she says. "Maybe we could get dinner soon."

Simmons heaves a great sigh. "Fine. Fine, I'll just get rid of it," she says, mimicking Fitz's disgusted tone. She turns on the water and starts filling the sink with soap and water.

Having won that battle, Fitz goes into the living room and starts picking up the DVDs and putting the discs and pamphlets back in their cases. "You left the Firefly DVD's all over the place -- "

"We were watching them when we left," she says. "Oh maybe Skye wants to watch. Do you like Firefly?"

"That's that Joss Whedon sci-fi show, right?" Skye asks.

"It's a space western," Fitz corrects her. "Let's watch it with dinner."

For dinner they order Indian food and eat on the couch in front of the TV. The food is good, and the show would be enjoyable except that Fitz and Simmons do not stop talking through the entire thing. Skye does not know how they can keep up the running commentary and still get food into their mouths.

"Oh," Fitz says as the spoon he is using to dish more vindaloo onto his plate drips sauce on the floor. "Pause it, will you?"

"Can't it wait?" Simmons asks. "We're in the middle of the show."

"It's just going to take a second -- "

"Is it really the end of the world if we wait ten minutes -- "

"There's more than ten minutes left, it's more like fifteen -- "

Skye sighs, jumps up, grabs a paper towel from the kitchen, and wipes up the spill herself.

When the episode is over, Fitz wants to watch another, but between a long day of work, the Indian food, and the two beers she drank, Skye is too tired.

"Do you want to pull the couch out?" Simmons asks.

The three rise, and Fitz bends down to pull on the bottom of the couch. A cushioned platform rolls out from under the couch and springs up so that the L-shaped sofa now forms a rectangular bed. "Brilliant, isn't it?" he says proudly.

"It's pretty cool," Skye agrees.

"I"ll go get you some sheets and things," Simmons says, running off to her bedroom. She returns with an armload of sheets, pillows, and blankets, and the two women make up the couch together.

"Thanks," Skye says. It's surprisingly comfortable, and wide enough that she can actually stretch out.

"Do you need anything else?" Simmons asks. "A towel?"

"I was going to take a shower in the morning," she says, rummaging through her bag. "Oh no, I forgot my toothpaste."

"You can use mine," she says. "It's on the bottom shelf in the medicine cabinet. And feel free to use any of the soap and shampoo and things in the shower."

"Thanks." She starts to head for the bathroom, but Simmons stops her.

"I think Fitz is in there now."

"He is?" She realizes she can hear voices from inside the bathroom. "What's he doing in there?"

"Taking a bath. He loves baths."

Skye listens carefully. "Is he watching Firefly in there?"

"Probably. He always watches TV in the bath."

"How much longer is he going to be in there?"

"Well he usually watches one show, so probably another half hour."

"Oh." Skye sighs a little and sits back down on the couch with her computer. Usually she can entertain herself indefinitely online, but at this point she just wants to pee and go to sleep. By the time Fitz comes out, Skye is so impatient she rushes inside without even saying good night. She is moving on auto-pilot up until she starts brushing her teeth.

"Ugh!" She spits out the mouthful of toothpaste and looks at the tube more closely. Anise. Who uses anise-flavored toothpaste? She considers asking Fitz is she can use his toothpaste, but she is too tired, so she just finishes brushing her teeth as fast as she can and makes a mental note to buy some toothpaste tomorrow.

*****

Before this Skye thought she could live anywhere, but after three days with Fitz-Simmons Skye is dying to go back to the bus.

"It's like a nightmare," she insists to Ward when they are having lunch in the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria. She glances towards the table where Fitz-Simmons are regaling their analyst friends with tales of life in the field to make sure they can't overhear her. Despite everything she doesn't want to hurt their feelings. "The apartment is disgusting - full of dirty dishes, dirty laundry, mold! Fitz is constantly nagging Simmons to clean it up, but she refuses. She just wants to study it."

Ward grimaces a little but continues eating.

"And they talk constantly. I can't get a word in edgewise."

Ward finally looks up from his sandwich. "You?"

Skye tosses a french fry at him. "Don't make fun of me. I'm really suffering here. I don't know how much longer I can take it."

"Relax, rookie. We're going to leave tomorrow."

"And what about the next time we're in New York?"

Ward shrugs. "I'm sure Coulson will figure something out."

Chapter Text

"Why can't she just stay in temporary housing?" Ward asks.

"I tried that, but S.H.I.E.L.D. won't approve it for her because she's just a consultant." Coulson gives him a meaningful look.

Ward tries to stay strong. "No. No way. She can stay with Fitz-Simmons again."

Coulson shakes his head. "She hasn't stopped complaining about staying with Fitz-Simmons since the last time. Even May's had to hear about it."

"My place isn't really set up for a visitor," Ward says.

But Coulson is not budging. "It's only for a few days, Ward."

*****

Ward's apartment is even more sparse than Skye thought it would be. It's a modern building in a nice part of Manhattan, but when Ward opens the door Skye wonders if he's been robbed. The only things in the living room are a barcalounger and a punching bag suspended from the ceiling.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" she asks staring at the otherwise empty living room floor.

He pulls a sleeping bag out of the closet. "Here you go." It smells vaguely of smoke and hot dogs.

"Thanks," she says somewhat insincerely. She puts the sleeping back in one corner of the room with her bag next to it and pulls out her laptop. Perching herself on the rolled up sleeping bag she calls to Ward, "Hey Ward, what's your wi-fi password?"

"I don't have wi-fi."

"How can you not have wi-fi? I had wi-fi in my van."

Ward shrugs. "I've never needed it before."

Skye glances around the apartment. In addition to not having wi-fi there's also no television, stereo, or books. "What do you do for fun?"

"Work out. Go running."

"Why am I not surprised," Skye mutters.

She is not surprised later when she goes to get a snack and finds no food in his apartment. They order in pizza, and then Ward goes to sleep early citing an early morning. Skye stays up. She hacks into his neighbor's wi-fi and stays up checking some of her favorite blogs. Before she goes to bed she puts the pizza in the fridge. There's enough to be a decent breakfast in the morning so long as Ward doesn't eat it first.

The next morning she is awoken at 5 AM by the sound of Ward hitting the punching bag.

"Hey! I was sleeping!"

Ward ignores her complaint. "Want to get some practice in before work?"

Skye buries herself deeper into the sleeping bag. "I want to get some sleep." But she finds it impossible to go back to sleep with the sound of Ward thwacking the punching bag and gives up after a few minutes. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes she goes to the kitchen. There is not even a coffee maker. At least she has her leftover pizza.

"Hey Ward, we're going to need to stop to get some coffee before work." She pulls out the pizza and is surprised when it's not even cold. "There's something wrong with your fridge." She puts her hand in the door experimentally. Inside it's just as warm as the apartment. "It's not cold."

"I don't use it, so I unplugged it to save money."

Skye rolls her eyes. "I'm going to take a shower. Wait - you do have a shower, right? With hot water?"

He points towards the bathroom. "Go ahead."

Not only is the water nice and hot, but his shower also has decent water pressure. She realizes that she has forgotten soap and shampoo again, but figures she can use whatever Ward has. After two years living in a van, she is not picky. Unfortunately after she hops in she realizes that there's no shampoo or conditioner, nothing except for a bar of white soap. She grimaces as she uses the bar soap to wash her hair as best she can. When she hops out of the shower onto the cold tile floor - of course he doesn't have a bath mat either - she realizes that there's only one towel hanging on the hook. A quick survey of the cabinet over the toilet reveals no second towel. She sighs and hops around in the tub to try to dry off before putting on her clothes.

He doesn't seem to notice that her hair is dripping, and she's shivering from the cold as they walk to the subway. He refuses to let her stop for breakfast on the way to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, so she doesn't even have coffee to warm her up.

*****

Ward swings by the computer terminal where Skye is working promptly at 7 PM to bring her home. On the way he is almost completely silent except for asking if she wants to get pizza again. They pick up another pizza at the same place as before. It was good, but Skye wonders if it is the only thing he eats.

When they get home they sit on the floor with the pizza box between them.

"Why don't you have a table and chairs?" Skye cannot resist asking.

"I never needed it." When she gives him an odd look he says, "I've been doing international assignments for a while. I spend most of my time out of the country. I barely use this place."

Well that explains why there's nothing here. As if sensing that she is bored, Ward asks, "Do you want to do something?"

"Like what?"

"We could go for a run."

Skye gestures towards the window. "It's dark out, and we just ate pizza."

"We could spar. I could give you some pointers."

Skye shakes her head. "No way."

Ward looks around as if trying to figure out what else there was to do. "We could play a board game."

"What sort of board game?"

He gets up and goes to the hall closet. It is filled with old board games. He has them all: Parcheesi, Backgammon, Sorry, Connect Four, Monopoloy, Risk, Twister, Operation.

"What do you want to play?"

She studies each one. "How about ... Jenga?"

"You're on."

Ward is freakishly good at Jenga. "Steady hands are a good thing to have when defusing a bomb," he tells her.

After losing three games in a row Skye wanders back to the board game closet. "Let's play something else." She picks up a game she has never seen before called Axis and Allies.

"Have you ever played it before?" he asks.

"No. Is it fun?"

His face lights up. "It's great. It's - well, have you ever played Risk?"

"Yeah."

"It's kind of like that but set during World War II."

Normally she is not that into strategy games, but he looks genuinely excited to play it, so she says, "Sounds like fun."

*****

A few days later she is having lunch in the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria when Coulson joins her.

"So how's it going?"

She knows that Ward is trying, but that makes his sorry excuse for an apartment even more sad. "I can't wait to get back on the bus," she admits.

"That good?"

Skye choses her words carefully, "His apartment isn't really set up for a guest. He doesn't even have a couch."

"So where are you sleeping?"

"In a sleeping bag on the floor." She tries to hide a yawn. Between sleeping on the floor with no pillow and Ward's extra workouts she is exhausted.

Coulson looks sympathetic. "Well, we'll be leaving in a couple of days," he says.

Skye knows the others like coming back to New York, but she hopes they stay out in the field as long as possible.

Chapter Text

"No, sir," Ward says, "I told you it wasn't a good idea last time."

"You really don't own a couch?" Coulson asks.

"My apartment's not set up to have someone else there. I barely have enough stuff for me. She can't stay with me."

Coulson wonders how hard it could be to host a twenty-something-year-old woman for a few days.

*****

Skye does not know how to tell Ward or Coulson that she does not want to stay with Ward again, so she is relieved when Coulson offers to let her stay with him this time. His apartment is in a nice, older building, but Skye immediately notes two major drawbacks: there is no elevator or air conditioning. She is sweating by the time they get to his apartment, although he does not seem uncomfortable at all. She wonders if he ever looks uncomfortable, or even if he ever sweats.

Inside is nice, certainly a lot nicer than Ward's apartment. It has all of the normal furniture: couch, TV, table and chairs, bookcase. There's even a wi-fi router in the TV stand. But it's very blank. The walls are white and all of the furniture is black or gray. The only splashes of color come from the framed Captain America poster on the wall and the bookcase, which is filled with books, DVDs, and various memorabilia. She has seen his S.H.I.E.L.D. memorabilia in his office in the bus, but she did not expect him to have even more stuff at his apartment. Nothing S.H.I.E.L.D. related - that would probably be a security violation - instead everything is related to either Captain America or baseball.

She is about to pick up a signed baseball from the bookcase when Coulson says, "Don't touch that."

She withdraws her hand guilty. "Sorry. Uh, what is it?"

"It's a baseball signed by Carlton Fisk." Seeing her blank look, he adds, "He was a catcher for the Red Sox. He was the 1972 American League Rookie of the Year, and he was on the 1975 World Series team…" Skye is still looking at him blankly, so he trails off. "He's in the Hall of Fame. The Red Sox retired his number."

"So you're a Red Sox fan?"

"I'm from Boston," he says like that is a sufficient answer.

*****

S.H.I.E.L.D. has her analyzing threats to their data stream in a cubicle while they are at headquarters. She expects Coulson to come get her at the end of the day to take her home, but by 9 PM she just cannot wait any longer. She is starving. She goes upstairs and finds his office. He is engrossed in some files on his computer and does not even look up until she knocks a few times on the door.

She feels awkward bothering him while he is so busy, but she cannot stay at headquarters forever. "Hey Coulson, are you going to be ready to go soon?"

"Probably not. What time is it?"

"9:00."

He looks surprised. "Sorry, I didn't realize it had gotten so late." He fumbles in his pocket for his keys. "Here, why don't you go back to my place."

She looks at him gratefully. "Thanks, but don't you need your keys?"

"No. I'll give you a call when I'm home so you can let me in."

When she gets back to his apartment she checks the refrigerator for something to eat. The only things she finds are stacks of American cheese slices, a half-eaten loaf of bread, coffee, mustard, and a bunch of chocolate-vanilla pudding snacks. She wonders if any S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have real food in their homes.

She finds an Italian place with good reviews online and decides to get takeout. They offer delivery, but she feels weird ordering delivery to his house when he is not there. Besides, she needs to get out of the apartment for a while. Without air conditioning it is hot and stuffy, and the windows are sealed shut.

It is not until she gets back that she realizes that he does not have any clean forks. At least he has a silverware drawer, unlike Ward, but he only appears to have two of each utensil, and both forks are in the dishwasher. She debates washing one by hand but cannot find any dish soap. As she stares at the silverware drawer and wonders if she can eat spaghetti with a spoon and/or knife she spots two sets of chopsticks peeking out from beneath the knives. Perfect. It turns out chopsticks work well for spaghetti, though they are a little ungainly with the meatballs.

After dinner she puts everything in the dishwasher and stays up watching Firefly online until she is so tired that she cannot keep her eyes open any longer. Coulson still is not home, and she does not know where to find any sheets, blankets, or pillows. As she falls asleep on the couch with her towel draped over her she realizes why The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy says that a towel is the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.

She wakes up when she hears her phone ringing.

"Hello?" she mumbles.

"It's Coulson. I'm outside."

She glances at the clock on her home. "It's 2 AM."

"Can you let me in?" he asks calmly as if it were totally normal to be getting home from work at 2 AM.

Skye groans as she gets up to unlock the door.

*****

By the time Skye wakes up the next morning, Coulson is already up, showered, and dressed in a suit. The smell of coffee fills the apartment, and she is relieved to find enough for both of them. She digs out a mug from the cabinet. He has several - more than he has silverware - and they are all decorated with either Captain America or Red Sox logos.

"Do you want some breakfast?" he asks.

"Sure," says Skye, "but I don't think you have any food."

"I always have something." He goes to the refrigerator and pulls out the bread and cheese. "Do you like grilled cheese?"

"Don't you need some butter and a pan to make that?"

"No." He pulls out an old fashioned toaster and puts it on its side. He puts slices of cheese between the bread and slides the sandwiches into the toaster.

"Isn't that going to catch on fire?"

"It'll be fine." In a few minutes they have two perfectly toasted grilled cheese sandwiches. He hands one to Skye.

"Not bad." It is surprisingly good, but given the lack of pots and pans in his apartment, she cannot help but ask, "Is this the only thing you can cook?"

"I can also make hot dogs."

*****

A few days later Skye joins May and Ward for lunch in the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria.

"How's it going with Coulson?" Ward asks.

"I've barely seen him. The guy is like a robot. He's always at work, and I have to hang around his apartment to let him in at whatever hour he comes home. The first night I had to get up at 2 AM, the next night was 1 AM, and he didn't even make it back last night. He came home at 6 AM just to shower and change his suit."

May raises her eyebrows slightly. Ward clears his throat awkwardly and says, "I saw Coulson leave work at 6 PM yesterday."

Skye giggles. "I wonder where he was then?"

Ward grimaces. "I'm not asking him that."

Chapter Text

When Skye hears that they are going to be returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters for a few days, she puts her foot down. She knows they mean well, but being shuffled from place to place reminds her of being in foster care.

"No thanks," she says. "I'll figure something out. I can sleep in my van." She tries to avoid Fitz-Simmons' hurt expressions, but Coulson and Ward do not seem insulted. It may be her imagination, but Ward even looks relieved.

Coulson says, "The last time you slept in your van, you were detained for questioning by S.H.I.E.L.D."

Skye groans. "Fine then, I'll just stay at headquarters."

"You can't," Coulson says, "it's a security risk." He gives May a look.

"You can stay with me," she says.

*****

She is not sure what to expect, but after staying with the rest of the team, Skye knows to come prepared. Before she leaves the bus she grabs everything that might come in handy for the next few days - soap, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, a towel. She considers packing a hairdryer too, but it does not fit in her bag, and she lived without one when she was in her van.

She is stripping the sheets off her bed and shoving them into her bag with a pillow when May walks by her bunk.

"What are you doing?"

"Packing."

May gives her an odd look. "You know I have those things at home. You don't have to steal them from the bus."

"Oh. You know, Ward and Coulson don't. Ward only has one towel and one pillow, and I couldn't find where Coulson kept that stuff."

May rolls her eyes. "Men."

*****

Staying with May is amazingly low stress compared to the others. She is pretty reserved, which Skye finds easy to get along with. May gives her an extra key so she can come and go as she pleases, and she does not care if Skye stays up all night reading blogs and webcomics instead of training. Also unlike the other team members, she has what Skye considers to be a true grown-up apartment. The couch in the living room is very comfortable to sleep on, and she has a towel and an extra set of sheets and blankets for her. She also has a full set of kitchen utensils and can actually cook. When May makes her dinner after work Skye stares at her open-mouthed.

"You can cook Chinese food?"

"When I was growing up, my mother just called it food."

Skye blushes. "But still ... you can cook?"

May shrugs. "My mother taught me."

Skye cannot imagine Melinda May being a child or having a mother.

*****

Fitz-Simmons invite Skye out for drinks after work, and Skye feels like she should invite May to join them. She is surprised when May agrees, and even more surprised when she mentions that Coulson will be joining them. Later that day she spots Ward in the cafeteria eating alone and feels guilty. It seems too mean for the rest of them to get together without him, so she invites him too.

At the bar Fitz-Simmons and Skye grab a booth and a pitcher of beer. May is the first to join them and gets a Scotch. They sit awkwardly trying to make small talk.

"So Fitz-Simmons got me into this Joss Whedon show, Firefly. Have you ever seen it?" Skye asks.

May looks thoughtful. "I've heard of it. Never saw it. But I used to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"Oh my god," Simmons squeals. "We love that show."

"What's your favorite episode?" Fitz asks. "We love the one where-"

Before he can finish his thought Ward slides into the booth next to May with a beer and asks, "So how's it going?" He glances from Skye to May. "Did you survive?"

Skye is not sure which one of them he's talking to, but May says, "She was fine. Quiet. I don't know what you were complaining about."

"You were complaining about me? What'd you say?" Skye asks.

"Relax. I just said that you were a little demanding, and you were always sleeping."

"Oh yeah, I had such high expectations: food, wi-fi, a towel, and a place to sleep besides the floor."

Simmons is aghast. "You didn't have a towel for her?"

"We had a towel for you, and a couch that pulls out into a bed," Fitz says proudly.

"I gave you a sleeping bag," Ward reminds her.

"Yeah, that smelled like smoke and hot dogs."

"Didn't you used to live in a van?" Ward asks.

"Don't make fun of my van." She softens. "I guess staying with you wasn't all bad. I liked playing those board games with you."

That piques Fitz's interest. "What board games?"

"We played a few rounds of Jenga, but Ward kicked my ass. Then we played this game called Axis and Allies."

"I love that game!" Fitz says.

Ward is surprised. "You know it?"

"Of course I know it. I was Vice President of the MIT Strategic Games Society," Fitz says puffing out his chest. "We should play sometime. Simmons won't play with me."

Coulson pulls a chair up. "Did you survive?"

Before anyone can say something else mean about her, Skye says, "It was like a whole new world - staying someplace with pots and pans and food -"

"We have those things too!" Fitz interrupts.

"Who doesn't have those things?" Simmons asks.

"Ward and Coulson don't," Skye says.

Fitz-Simmons look horrified. "What's Coulson's place like?" Fitz asks.

"It's very clean. And he has a lot of collectibles," Skye says.

"Captain America? I heard about your trading card collection," Ward says.

"He also has a lot of Red Sox stuff," Skye says.

Simmons looks excited. "I spent a summer in Boston studying LysM-CRE mTOR knockout mice at MIT. My friends there were mad for the Red Sox."

"I'm from Boston," Coulson says. He glances at Skye and May like he does not believe that this could have possibly worked out. "Well, you won't have to worry about where to stay next time we're in New York. I was able to get you clearance to stay in temporary housing from now on."

*****

The next day Skye is packing everything up to get back on the bus. She cannot find her chapstick, so she goes back into the bathroom to look for it. She does not remember using the drawers, but she looks through them anyway just to be sure.

In the bottom drawer, tucked behind a first aid kit and an industrial sized bottle of ibuprofen, she finds a Captain America toothbrush.