442 words
Ever since getting home, Jemma had noticed that Skye now spent a lot more time in the gym, but not the gym on the base, the small one that they had used on the Bus. Skye was so distant now that Jemma felt like she hardly knew the younger girl, she spent most of her time alone: training, working out, or researching. Jemma missed being able to talk to her friend, and Jemma missed the feeling that one day they might have been able to be more than friends. Inside the rock, there had been absolute nothingness, much like in an isolation chamber. She had hallucinated vividly about anything and everything, but mostly Skye. She had lived through, in her mind, every variation of them together and every variation of them falling apart. Having any of that in the real world seemed worth the risk.
Jemma started her reintroduction into Skye's life slowly. She began by making occasional passes by her on her way into the Bus for something. Then on her way to 'get something' she would stop to talk for a minute. Eventually she would casually join Skye to workout and worked her way up until it was routine. Skye pushed her, hard, and Jemma could barely keep up, but it was worth it for the chance to spend extra time together.
One afternoon, after a hard day of work with Fitz she dropped onto a bench with a book in the Bus gym, not even about to pretend as though she were or had been planning to work out.
"Finally dropping the charade, are we?" Skye asks from her planking position on the floor;.
"What do you mean?" Jemma asks innocently, glancing up form her book.
"I wanted to see how far I could push you until you admitted that you were doing this only as an excuse to hang out with me again. I take it that you weren't ever planning on fessing up, so I'm doing it for you." Skye says with a smile as she lowers herself onto the floor.
"Maybe I only came so that I could watch you do those one-armed push-ups/" jemma said just to be difficult.
"Always an option." Skye shrugs, executing a couple as an example.
"I missed you." Jemma says softly, memories haunting her.
"I missed us." Skye agrees, standing up and peeling off her workout gloves.
"I was so lonely, Skye, but I dreamed all of the time. You were always there." Jemma melts into Skye's embrace, strong arms wrapping around her to remind her that she wasn't alone and that she could feel. God, did she feel everything.
