Agents of Shield Short Stories

Skyward + Visiting Ward's Cell

It hung like an elephant in the room. No one wanted to bring the topic up with Skye. Everyone knew how close she had been to him, how much she had trusted him. No one knew the feeling of betrayal quite like Skye. They had kissed. She had believed that he was a good guy. But Ward was HYDRA and now he was in the basement of the base that they were staying in, in a cell...because he had killed people...nearly killed Fitz and Simmons. 

Needless to say, Skye wasn't keen on going down to talk to him. Orders were orders though, she thought bitterly as she walked down the steps leading to Ward's cell. After learning the controls for the tablet that controlled the conditions in Ward's cell, Skye was left alone in the empty room. Slowly, she sat down in the chair and flicked the lights on inside the cell. 

The sight she saw wasn't one she was expecting. Well, Skye didn't know what to expect at all, but what she saw definitely shocked her. The young woman rose to her feet and moved closer to the yellow line.

"Skye?" 

His voice sounded awful. It was rough and raw from disuse. The look in his eyes when Ward stared at her was enough to make the young girl nauseous. He was looking at her like she was still his world. Like he was in love. 

"I didn't think you'd ever come to see me."

Skye shook her head quickly, turning so that she wasn't looking him in the eye anymore.

"Believe me, I don't want to see you," Skye replied. 

She took a deep breath, forcing away her emotions like May had been teaching her. Once she was sure she wasn't going to crack again, her eyes flitted back to the former SHIELD agent's face. 

"We need to know what you know about Carl Creel."

"I've missed you," Ward told her instead of answering what she had demanded. 

Inwardly, Skye wanted to scream at Ward, but she kept her expression neutral. Just do what May taught you, Skye thought to herself. Don't let him rattle you. Keep a cool head. 

"That's great, Ward, but it's not what I'm here for. What do you know about Carl Creel?"

Ward rubbed his wrists absently and the movement caught Skye's attention. Her expression must have twisted because Ward looked at her with something akin to alarm. Rather than hiding his wrists from view, Ward held one up for Skye to see clearly. 

"They didn't tell you, did they?" he whispered. 

Skye shook her head minutely in response. There was a pained look to Ward's eyes as he glanced at his own wrist. 

"I uh...got low after they locked me up. I was alone and it didn't look like anyone was going to come for me, like no one cared...like you didn't care," Ward said hoarsely. 

Skye was unable to say anything. There was a cold feeling settling in her gut and a lump rising in her throat. There was no way that what he was going to say was what she was thinking. Ward would never try to kill himself. 

"There was a button...on my pants. Sharp enough if there's enough pressure applied. They took it away from me."

His voice had grown cold, detached as he spoke, like he was giving a mission report to Skye. It unnerved her like nothing else. 

"Paper can make sharp edges if you fold it just right. It wasn't that hard. They took that away too. And this," Ward broke off to wave at a bruise near the top of his forehead. "This was from running into the wall."

"You should have run faster," Skye replied coldl before she could stop herself. 

That wasn't what she had meant to say. It was petty, trying to inflict emotional pain on Ward. The expression on his face grew tighter at that and Skye nearly gagged at how awful she felt for even saying it. His eyes grew sad, more upset than Skye had ever seen. Even when he spoke of his brothers he didn't look as upset as he did now.

"If that's what you want."

"I'm sorry. I didn't- Ward, I didn't mean to say that. Please don't- don't be stupid," Skye pleaded.

There was a long moment of silence after she spoke. Ward's expression slowly grew more hopeful as he took a small step closer to the yellow line.

"Skye... I love you. And I want you to know that I'm never going to lie to you again. I'm never going to hurt you again, Skye. You mean everything to me."

The young woman took a slow step backwards. Don't let him get close, May had told her. 

"I love you too, Ward. But this.... It's not going to happen. I can't. You... I just can't."