Post Ep2

[in_revision]

The Bus is... grounded, for the forseeable future. Not surprising, with a giant hole blasted in the side and the interior destroyed by the all-out brawl that had followed. Ward is actually surprised they've all walked away from this one with barely a scratch. Even the science twins seem to be over the trauma of the hijacking. Last he heard from them, they were gleefully designing a fish tank to go in the rebuilt plane.

He really hopes they don't end up with a fish tank.

Ward does have a bigger problem than whether or not he's going to have to deal with pets on board the Bus. Namely, his problem is Skye.

Or rather, how best to ask if she really does want to become part of S.H.I.E.L.D. He's fairly sure she's interested in becoming more than a consultant. If she is committed, he's pretty much her only option for Supervising Officer. After all... May has been stunningly in the background on this mission, Coulson has enough to do without taking on training, and no one else is likely going to take on Coulson's 'consultant'.

It's a problem.

Ward's in favor of straight-forward answers.

He raps on her door sharply, his hands already properly wrapped, a pair of boxing gloves slung over his shoulder. Since it is only her first day of training, he's going easy on her.

After all, he let her sleep in until 0530. It's practically afternoon.

Comments

[morecurious]

Skye's bed is - really soft and really comfortable. She was fond of her van and everything, but a fold out cot in the back of it really doesn't compare to actual beds. She is, right now, having one of the best night's sleep she's had in a long time. Which is fortunate, because she was up past midnight staring at her laptop screen.

Except now she's apparently awake - which makes no sense because her phone tells her it's only 5.30. She scowls at it, like it's its fault she's awake, and turns the screen off again, rolling over to try and get back under.

Must be something about sleeping in a new place. She's still got time for another couple hours before the others will be up.

[in_revision]

Ward stares at the unopened door and debates his next step. He could just open the door, the emergency over-ride should work. But she's... well. What if she doesn't know to wear something to bed that is suitable for emergency evacuation? It should be fairly obvious, but she's a civilian.

Sometimes civilians are weird.

He could bang on her door, call her name... but the science twins are sleeping nearby and May's just up the hall. He's pretty sure it wouldn't be appreciated.

So he knocks. Again. He'll just take the difference out in more crunches later.

[morecurious]

Skye jerks further awake. Yes, yes that definitely was a knock. At her door. At 5.30 in the morning. And there are no alarms and no one is shouting her name and it doesn't sound like an emergency. Just like someone knocking (really impatiently?) at her door.

It's another few seconds before she opens the door. And double takes, because it's Ward, and he has boxing gloves? Why does he have boxing gloves?

"What?"

The good news is that she's in sleep shorts and a T-shirt. If you're not sure when some traffic cop is going to ask you to move along, and you grew up in orphanages and foster homes with an unreliable standard of privacy, you don't get into the habit of sleeping naked.

So there's that.

[in_revision]

Ward gives thanks for small mercies and hands over the gloves once she gets the door open.

"You'll need these. Come on, time for a warm-up." He's trying, he's really trying to hit the 'warm yet stern' tone he's heard other SOs use. Not his, obviously, Garret was... different, but others. He has heard other people do this.

[morecurious]

"Um."

Skye takes the gloves and blinks at them, not quite sure she fully understands why she's been handed a pair of boxing gloves at 5.30 in the morning.

"Can I put some clothes on first?"

Can whatever it is that involves boxing gloves please also involve underwear?

[in_revision]

Ward isn't entirely sure what other clothes she might need, as she is wearing some already. He debates whether he should just tell her to come along now, and then she'd learn and remember the failures of her attire fairly permanently... but no. It's her first day, she's a civilian.

"Gym. Ten minutes." He fails to hit 'warm' but finds he doesn't care, at the moment, as he turns to head aft.

[morecurious]

Primarily what she thinks she needs is a bra, because nothing that she can imagine that would take place in a gym (with boxing gloves) is something she wants to deal with without a bra on.

She's still got the boxing gloves in one hand, and scrubbing her half-open eyes with her other, when the door shuts and she stares at it for a couple of seconds before she thinks to actually get those clothes.

It's twelve minutes later when she meanders, at least a little more awake, into the gym.

"Why am I in the gym at five thirty in the morning?"

With boxing gloves?

[in_revision]

He looks at ease. This is a lie. He wants to read her the riot act on timeliness and importance of meeting deadlines and dedication and...

And she's a civilian.

He hopes the bar has been restocked.

"I have been told that you are interested in doing more with S.H.I.E.L.D. than just being a consultant - if so, you need to train."

[morecurious]

Skye shakes some more sleep out of her head and blinks hard. By 'doing more' he doesn't mean hacking into SHIELD's database, does he? She's not been that transparent.

But he's right, she does want to do more and - okay, she'll admit, being able to break out at least a few of May's ninja moves or being able to punch a Peruvian soldier without getting tied up, would definitely be useful.

She starts to smile.

"You're going to teach me how to fight?"

If she were more awake, she'd think this was awesome.

[in_revision]

Ward is beginning to suspect May doesn't like him. Why else would she so quickly duck out of this?

"No." It is, frankly, the blandest, most 'you are clearly out of your mind and I'm not rising to your crazy' no that has ever been uttered.

"I am going to train you so you have the muscle strength so that you can be taught to fight. Someday." Go on, Skye. Guess who is going to become best friends with that heavy punching bag Ward hung while waiting for you to get out of bed?

[morecurious]

OOOH OOOH SHE KNOWS THIS ONE.

"Buuut," Skye shifts her weight on her feet as she draws out the word and lifts up the boxing gloves, "with these, right? Because I don't really see myself lifting things."

It's still not 6am yet, but she's beginning to be almost approving of the idea of learning to hit things.

[in_revision]

Ward's eyes narrow - he's pretty sure that she's not taking this seriously enough. Training is serious, it's what keeps you alive at the end of the day.

However, he can't just say now 'no, no boxing for you, that was just a prop' because that's ridiculous.

"That will happen too. But you need to warm up first." Even if it would be immensely satisfying for the moment to send her to the free weights first, he's pretty sure May will give him hell forever if Skye pulls a muscle her first day.

[morecurious]

"Fine."

She rolls her shoulders into a dramatic slump, and drops the gloves to the floor just to the side of the gym. She has to take a moment to yawn, but comes out bouncing lightly, half natural energy, half because she's seen Rocky and there was bouncing there.

"How do we warm up?"