Chapter Twenty-Three (Can We Start Again?)

(Just Over a Year Later)

Skye stood outside of a small bar, looking at her feet as she waited for someone to come up. She kicked slightly at the gravel parking lot, watching as the small rocks bounced around. It wasn't until she heard what had to be a motorcycle pull into the parking lot and parked that she looked up.

She smiled to see the brutish form of Ward walking towards her. She began to walk towards him as well, meeting him halfway. Ward's hair was spiky once again and he had a decent beard too. And he had donned his brown jacket again.

Ward raised an eyebrow and pointed to the bar behind her, "We haven't seen each other in over a year and you wanted to meet at a bar?" he asked.

Skye shrugged, "I thought that we could finally get a proper drink." she replied with a slight smile. "And what's up with the motorcycle?"

"What, I can't ride one?" Ward questioned. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing. I meant, where the hell did you get it?"

Ward smiled slightly, fire sparking in his eyes, "I have my ways, Skye. And I needed some way to get around, and I'm not a big fan of cars."

"Why, because you're too big to fit into them?" Skye teased. "I'm gonna stick you in a Fiat one day to see what happens."

"Please don't."

"Well, I might." Skye turned around. "Come on, let's go inside before someone robs us or something."

"Why? Skye, no one's going to rob me. I mean, pretty much everyone that sees me is afraid to come around me."

"It was a joke, Robot. And I can't help that you're the Iron Giant and you scare everyone with your height." Skye teased again. She grabbed his arm and started to pull him. "Let's go."

Ward sighed and rolled his eyes, letting Skye drag him into the bar. The two sat down at the bar's bar and Ward got them two beers. And Skye raised an eyebrow at this.

"What happened to you and whiskey or whatnot?" she asked.

Ward shrugged, "Lost its luster." he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, alcohol doesn't affect me anymore. The fire in my veins probably burns it up. I can't get drunk, I can't drink my feelings away anymore. I don't even get a buzz anymore." Ward explained.

"How'd you figure that out?"

"Had a few bad nights, tried to drink everything away. Never worked, even after several drinks." Ward replied. "Again, lost its luster."

"Huh." Skye said, nodding slightly. "Well, that's… Upsetting. So, how has your 'year to yourself' been?" she asked, slightly smiling.

"Quiet. Very quiet."

Skye almost snorted, "Yeah, right. Drop the act, Grant. We all know that you haven't kept to yourself." she stated, looking him dead in the eyes.

Ward's face fell, "Wait, what? Have you been spying on me?!" he exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Uh, hello, SHIELD? Remember? Coulson never kept his eye off of you. But it was mostly to check that you were okay. That you didn't relapse or had Biogen or Hydra capture you. We actually kept some people off of you." Skye explained. "What made you do it?"

"What, go after Biogen again?" Ward reiterated. "Revenge pretty much. And try to stop them from creating anymore monsters like me. They were still attempting the Paragon Program. But I think I destroyed it all." He lowered his voice, "Did you know that they had ties to Hydra?" he asked. "That's how they got the support for the project."

"Figures." Skye said, unsurprised. "It was probably all Hydra's idea anyways. No wonder why Hydra's communications lit up with the name 'Hellfire' for a few months."

"They're a bunch of bastards. A few Biogen 'facilities' were actually joint bases with Hydra. That was hell to break up. Again, a bunch of bastards." Ward said, shaking his head.

Skye smiled, "Then why did you work with them?" she asked.

Ward narrowed his eyes at her, "Don't start that now, Skye. I'd like to forget that." he stated coldly. He took a swig of his beer before continuing, "Why are you really here anyways?" he asked.

Skye bit her lip, "What? I just wanted to see you, that's all. That's not a good enough reason?"

Ward shook his head and laughed, "You want something. I see it in your eyes. Your eyes shine with a weird light when you want something."

"What? No they don't. How the hell can you tell?" Skye asked, confused.

"I spent plenty of time with you before the Hydra crap. You were always wanting something. I tend to learn, Skye." Ward stated. "Now, what do you want?"

Skye shook her head and smiled, "You got me, Grant. You're really good. I guess I can't fool people like you can." she replied. "I do want something. That's why I got you to meet me here. And I thought you had long enough to deal with things. Have you?"

"I guess so." Ward answered. "Powers are doing pretty well. Strength has actually leveled off. I'm not as strong as I was. Must've been a serum thing. But I'm still several times stronger than the average man. Same with my speed." he explained. "And only like a couple rage episodes. Not much."

Skye nodded, "Good."

"Still, what do you want, Skye?" Ward asked, getting impatient. "Just get on with it."

Skye laughed again. "Coulson thinks that it's a good time for you to come back." she stated.

Ward raised an eyebrow, "That's what this is all about? Trying to get me to go back to SHIELD?"

"I thought that you were open to it."

Ward snorted slightly and scratched at his beard, "Well, depends on what the conditions are. You're not arresting me and bringing me back in are you?" he questioned. "'Cause if that's the case, I'm out."

Skye rolled her eyes, "You really are an asshole."

"Comes with the package."

Skye sighed, "No, I'm not arresting you, asshole." she retorted. "There's no reason to. Well, at the moment anyways."

"I promise that you won't have to do so again. What are you wanting me to do?" Ward asked, turning his beer around in his hand. Skye could see small flames at his fingertips licking at the glass.

"You know that thing I talked about with you before you left?" Skye asked.

Ward scrunched his eyebrows, trying to remember, "Something about that damn team you're putting together?"

"It's not a 'damn team'."

"Uh, the Private Soldiers? No, or was it something about worms?" Ward asked, joking.

Skye sighed and rolled her eyes again, "Secret Warriors. I don't need the snark, Grant. You can drop it."

Ward shrugged, "Whatever. Are you wanting me to become the walking flamethrower of the team or something?" he asked.

"Something like that. Coulson's been helping me with it and thought that you would be a good fit after everything that happened. Thought you would want to have a chance to release those flames of yours without running around like some kind of vigilante."

"I don't do teams."

"You did until Hydra came up. And I know that you didn't fake that." Skye smiled. "You did pretty well for a robot."

Ward shook his head, "I'm not a robot, Skye."

"But you're still my Robot."

"We're still at that?"

"Maybe. But what do you say?" Skye asked, poking at her beer bottle. "It's a chance at something where you could do more good. And you don't have to risk yourself all by yourself."

Ward pursed his lips, "Hmm, let's see…" He finished off the rest of his beer and set the bottle back down. "If it was anyone else, I would say no. But I can't say no to you, Skye."

Skye's eyes widened and she smiled, "So is that a yes?" she asked.

"Sure. What the hell? I don't really have anything to lose. And being alone isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"So is 'Mr. I Want to be Alone' not really that way?" Skye joked. "Does he really need someone with him?"

Ward shrugged, "I really don't know. But it sounds weird when you put it that way. But you make things sound weird when they're not really so, Skye."

"So it's a yes?"

Ward nodded, "I guess so. Again, what do I have to lose?" he questioned. "Not much."

"Isn't that the truth."

"How did you even get here anyways?" he asked. "I'm surprised that you asked to meet me at the bar close to my apartment."

"Coulson brought me." Skye responded, taking a sip. "The base isn't that far from here. Only about fifty miles, not that far for Lola."

"Still don't know why he named that car." Ward stated, shaking his head. He suddenly came to his feet, towering over Skye, "Well, if you're wanting me to come with you, we should get going before it starts getting dark. That's when the thugs come here."

"Thugs?"

"Trust me, you don't want to see them. Almost got into a fight with a group of them a few months back. They'll run from anything with glowing, red eyes." Ward laughed slightly. "It's quite funny."

Skye sighed and stood up, "Do you want me to get Coulson to come back?" she asked.

Ward shook his head, "Nope. Thought that we could ride around for a bit. I imagine that you know the way back to the base."

Skye nodded, "Yes. But let me know before you decide on going. I need to let Coulson know so he won't have your motorcycle blown up with us on it." she replied. "He likes to know."

Ward took a breath, "Yeah, I know. He's Coulson. He likes to know everything that he can."

"So, we going?"

"Yep." Ward pulled out some cash out of his pocket and placed in on the counter by the empty bottles. "Don't want to be a beer thief."

Skye raised an eyebrow, "You are so weird."

"I'm not stealing beer, Skye. I'm not that petty."

"Well, whatever hothead, let's go before Coulson sends a team to hunt us down. He might end up thinking that you kidnapped me or something."

"I wouldn't do that, Skye. You know me now." Ward said, smiling.

"Actually, I don't." Skye said, taking Ward's hand. She laughed slightly, seeing Ward's face turn red. "But I do know that you're a sucker for me."

Ward grumbled and looked down.

"See? You are." Skye said, poking him in the chest. She started to drag him towards the door, "Let's go, Smokey."

Ward rolled his eyes and followed, their hands still connected. "You don't have to be in such a rush."

"You're the one that wanted to leave."

"Whatever."

And with that, the two left into the now-growing night. And it was also Ward's real chance to start again. Not just with SHIELD and the team, but with Skye as well. And that's what mattered the most to him.

End

Author's Note: I don't own AoS, Marvel does. So that's the end! This was just a fun chapter to end it all after all of the hell that happened in the fic. I really do hope that you enjoyed it! Please leave a review or whatnot if you can! ~AwakeAndAliveSpartan.