A/N: Hi everyone, so this is just a one-shot, but it's something that I have wished the writers of S.H.I.E.L.D. would include in one of the episodes ever since I found out that Chloe Bennet was a singer for a little while. (Admittedly, I haven't been wishing for that long, I mean – we are only up to week 6, but whatever.)
Anyways, essentially, the song I imagined her singing when I wrote this is one of Chloe's – it's called "Every Day in Between". Hence the title.
I'm still getting used to world of fanfiction, so I apologise if the story doesn't flow well – and also for the length. I don't know, it might be a bit long for a one-shot?
Anyways, I'm rambling. I'll shut up now. Thanks for everything!
Skye was acting suspicious again. Ward sighed as he saw her texting furiously on her phone, clearly trying to hide what she was doing. He knew Coulson had let her take that bracelet off too soon. He couldn't help but acknowledge the wave disappointment that crashed over him. He thought they were passed this. It had been months since her betrayal, and she seemed to have done a complete turnaround. She had been upfront and honest with the team, she had helped them solve numerous cases... hell – she'd even started showing up to training early. He should have known something was wrong.
Skye tucked her phone back into the pocket of her jeans, and began making her way towards him. He glanced away quickly, not wanting her to know he had been watching her. She approached him timidly, looking visibly nervous. "So..." she hesitated. Normally, he would have helped her out: given her a nod of encouragement, or pushed her to continue, but not this time. Nope. Something was up, and he was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it.
After a few seconds of staring at her feet she finally found the courage to meet his gaze again, "We get to go on leave tomorrow night, right?" He narrowed his eyes at her, openly conveying his suspicion. "Yes. Why? Making plans?" He knew he wasn't going to like this. Was she making plans to meet someone? Was she meeting Miles again? Were they still friends? He had to make an effort to control his facial expression; he hadn't been expecting such an onslaught of emotions. What was wrong with him?
She let out a nervous laugh at his question, and continued "Funny you should mention it... I kind of do have...plans" She finally finished and went back to avoiding his eyes and fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. He frowned. Was this going somewhere? Apparently Skye was determined not to be the one to continue with the conversation, meaning that he was going to have to do it for her. He sighed, and cut straight to the point, "What do you want, Skye?"
She met his eyes, and gave him a grateful look; she must have expected him to make her work harder for whatever it is she wanted. Damn. He should have done that! Ugh, too late now.
"I was sort of hoping that you would be able to give me a lift?" He lightened at this. This was good: giving her a lift would give him an insight into whatever it was she was trying to hide. Without even thinking he knew that he would give her a lift to wherever it was she was heading, but he wasn't about to openly admit that.
"That depends" he answered, ensuring he kept his face devoid of all emotion, "where are you going?"
"Oh, it's just a... a bar..." She attempted to sound nonchalant. And failed miserably.
"Why are you going to a bar?" It was becoming a struggle to keep a blank face; the curiosity was starting to eat at him.
"Well... I kind of said I would do a favour for a friend of mine, and I really, really don't want to let her down" She looked him right in the eye when she said it, and he had no doubt that she was telling the truth. And hey, he was pretty sure he had heard her correctly when she said her friend was a girl; ergo, no Miles. Good.
He remained quiet, pretending to contemplate her request. "Please, Ward". That did it. He was gone. He let out a sigh, and feigned reluctance and a scowl as he replied, "Fine. I'll take you, but just so you know, the price is an extra training session this week" Why not, he figured, may as well get something out of this deal.
Evidently she didn't care. A huge smile broke out on her face, and she actually jumped up and down. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She made a lunge for him and before he knew it she was hugging him. The sudden contact was a shock, and he had no idea how to respond – should he wrap his arms around her? That would be nice...
She released him before he could make any such movement, sent him another grin and skipped from the room. Weird.
The following evening arrived, and Ward followed through on his deal. He dropped her off to the bar she had directed him too, and drove away. Okay, maybe not "drove away" as much as "drove around the block".
She had been very quiet during the drive, and had gone right back to her suspicious behaviour from the previous day. He had tried questioning her about what this "favour" was, but she would only offer a sarcastic remark, or change the subject. Also, she was nervous again. He had put her earlier nervousness down to whether or not he would agree to give her a lift, but now he wasn't so sure. She was up to something. And he was definitely going to find out what it was.
He entered the bar, and stuck to the shadows – he didn't want to be found out. He took a seat at the bar, and ordered a beer. He took in his surroundings and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. It seemed like a typical bar: bar stools, bartender, stage, live band; the whole deal. What on earth would Skye be doing here?
He continued to surveil the room, hoping to spot her somewhere amongst the crowd. He was still searching for her when his thoughts were interrupted by someone addressing the crowd from the stage.
The stagehand was young, probably only just 21, and was clearly nervous to be addressing such a large group of people. "Hi everyone! Are you ready for a good night?" The poor kid looked terrified. Thankfully, the crowd responded enthusiastically, giving him enough courage to continue. "So, we have a few bands ready to perform for you tonight; and first up we have "The Tides"..."
Ward went on high alert. A band called "The Tides"? Skye doing a "friend" a favour... He should have known this would have something to do with The Rising Tide. Dammit. They had just gotten past her last betrayal, they couldn't handle another one. He couldn't handle another one.
The stagehand continued, "So, The Tides will be up here as soon as I'm done, but...ah, they wanted me to make this announcement." The kid pulled a crumpled piece of paper from the back pocket of his jeans, and read it aloud into the microphone. "Ally Michaels, lead singer of The Tides is unfortunately unable to perform tonight..." a collective sound of disappointment rippled through the crowd, "So, standing in for her tonight will be honourary band member, Skye"
Ward felt like he'd been slapped. What? Skye? As in, Skye, Skye? Skye could sing?!
He stared open mouthed as the stagehand rushed to get out of the spotlight, and "The Tides" took the stage; and there was Skye. Standing at the microphone, with the same nervous look he'd seen her carrying this whole time. The music started: a piano. Other music followed from the band member working behind the computer. Was that normal? A piano player, a computer technician, and a singer? He didn't have time to figure out the answer, not before she started to sing.
His jaw dropped. Again.
She was good. So, so good. He watched as she steadily began to lose her nervousness and grew comfortable on the stage. It was like magic; she sent tingles down his spine, and he couldn't take his eyes off her for a second.
The song ended too soon, and the band left the stage; he continued to watch her through the crowd when he was jolted out of his reverie by the familiar vibration of his phone. He looked at the screen, and saw a text message from Skye, herself.
"All done. Ready for pickup"
He chuckled slightly as he got up and headed for the exit, abandoning his beer in the process. He sent her a quick reply letting her know he was on his way, and headed for the vehicle. He must have looked like an idiot walking down the street with such a stupid smile on his face, but he didn't care. Tonight, he had learned something new about Skye. Other times, he might have used something like this against her; maybe to embarrass her during one of their bantering sessions. But not this time. This he cherished. This was something he wanted her to share with him, in the future, when she trusted him enough.
He promised himself then that he would make sure that day did indeed come. He didn't realise until that moment how much he really did want her to trust him – probably about as much as she wanted him to trust her. They'd get there, he decided. Miles had been a bump in the road, but they were getting passed it. Yeah, he smiled at the thought; they would get there.
And until they did, he had every day in between to look forward to.