X marks the spot

The Only Light in the Darkness

Grant Douglas Ward sat in front of his team. Shirtless. Aaron rolled his eyes slightly. He didn't see the appeal that apparently it had on other people. Namely Skye. Aaron didn't know much about romance or sex. Both made him want to vomit if he was honest. But he could see the way her eyes changed around Ward.

In conclusion, it made him still want to fucking vomit.

But he held it in, for their sakes. The man had scars on his face. But other than that, he seemed fine. He seemed ok. He was alive, that was all that mattered.

"I'm afraid this might scar." Jemma said as she dabbed a piece of cotton on his face with disinfectant. Being as gentle as she could be.

"On the upside you look badass, dangerous." Skye joked. Fitz leaned in, questioning on whether or not Ward would actually be ok. Jemma was quick to snap at her best friend. Telling him to give her some room to work.

Ward recounted his tale. About how, by the time they got to the fridge, it was too late. Overrun with HYDRA agents. They were just too outmanned. They couldn't stop them.

"What were they after?" May asked.

"Everything. They took weapons, alien artefacts. Anything they could grab."

"I assume that means the prisoners are no longer prisoners?" Ward only nodded at Coulson's question. Making the man sigh as their defeats just stacked and stacked.

"So... Ian Quinn?" Ward looked at Skye first, before Aaron as he spoke, "I'm sorry guys, he's out." Aaron felt his breath leave himself for a moment. He froze. He was back there, in that room with Quinn. The man taunting him. And the genuine fear that he had when he left to deal with Skye.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He jolted a little, before relaxing when he saw that it was Skye. And that she was fine. Shaken by the news, but not how she was before with Quinn.

"We're ok, bud. We're ok. He's never hurting us again." She promised shakily, he found himself nodding along numbly. Gulping slightly. She squeezed his hand that was in hers as he placed his other hand on her own that laid on his shoulder.

"And Garret. Did he get away?" Fitz continued the questioning. Ward gave them the one good piece of good news that they had. Garret was dead. Ward put him down at least.

Fitz got knocked down a peg by Fitz as Jemma cleared Ward. As Fitz went to explain what one of the injuries was, Tripp had joined in. The two men having a stare off.

And another win for team SHIELD occurred. The hard drive was still ok. One that contained all of their data.

The blood clung to him. He scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Some came off, other parts opened up new and fresh wounds. He didn't complain whenever that happened. He just scrubbed more and more on those parts. Having some sort of feeling come from it. The water was red, or slightly red. With more lumpy parts all swirling down the drain.

Once he had done what he could, he finally let himself dry. Taking himself back to his room on the BUS. He found some clothes, a shirt from the suit he wore. It was a nice shirt. A white one.

It would be stained by the end of the day.

Placing it on, he clenched his teeth at some of the pain that the shirt going over some old wounds gave him. But he managed to put it on.

A knock on his door made him spin round, seeing Coulson. The man gave him a once over.

"You look like an actual agent." Coulson smiled a little, telling the boy that it was praise. Aaron found himself having one too for a moment. Before it dimmed at the chances of that ever being true.