“So, I’m scene. I can’t listen to metal, though. How anyone can listen to that without getting a headache…” Grant shook his head. “I prefer country,” he admitted. That was… boring. That’s what he mostly aimed for when it came to people who were close to him. “Simmons needs to talk to both of you, then.”
“A trial run? That’s a lie. You don’t know how to tone the complaints down.”
“It’s not that bad. Listening to you for weeks prepared me for death metal,” she said. “I highly doubt Simmons has a ‘reasons Ward sucks’ presentation ready, not after you two went skydiving. Isn’t it just so difficult when people refuse to hate you? Woe is you, Grant.”
“It’ll be a joint effort. I’ll try to keep my mouth shut and you’ll try to sleep like a normal person, not a bat. Sounds fair?”
“What in the world is a scene phase?” Grant asked. “All the more reason not to trust me. Agents my level have secrets, look at Coulson,” he pointed out. “Besides, I’m not for friends. Plenty of other stiffs for you to go drinking with after work and watch Netflix. Whatever you kids do these days,” he explained. “You’re just saying that to annoy me and I know who My Chemical Romance is.” He said, just so she’d know he’s not that out of date.
“I’m hardly looking over the place. I’m a professor. Same status as you. I don’t have any medication, because I don’t have a problem.“
“It’s when you dye your hair black, listen to death metal and pretend you hate everyone. Or, are too evil to be loved. You can check off at least two of those,” she said, amusement apparent in both her voice and expression. “I said it to annoy you, yeah, but I didn’t lie. I do trust you.”
“Since it’s impossible to get you to stop self-destructing, how about you do a trial run? Think of it as a favour to me. I’ll even tone down the complaining when we train.”
Grant rolled his eyes. “You may think I’m too old to get that, but I’m not,” he informed her. “Fitz is a fool, then. He needs to be careful on who he trusts. Not everyone is good.” Grant pointed out. “You and Simmons are his friends, you need to explain that to him. One wrong step in this field, and he’s gone. Trust is a leap.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need medication. Sleep comes when I absolutely need it and when I have work, it comes in handy,” he explained. “I also know you don’t keep up the pull-ups when I’m not looking.”
“You’re acting like you’re going through your scene phase. Welcome to your twisted mind and all that. Use logic, AI. Why shouldn’t he trust you? You’re a level whatever SHIELD agent, there’s no reason not to, and, to help your case so much more, you jumped off a plane for his best friend. If he took that leap with me, a hacker you picked off the street, he’ll take it with you,“ she stated. “Now that we’ve established you hate people believing in you, I’m gonna say I trust you, too. My Chemical Romance broke up and you’ve got a team now. Get used to it.”
“Yeah, no.I don’t need you looking over this place when you’re running on an hour of sleep, so you’re taking your medication. And, no, you literally found out just now. Stop lying to make yourself seem composed.”
Grant shook his head. “I don’t need you to answer. Everyone is into me. It’s the mystery. Very bothersome sometimes.” He admitted, not caring how egotistical that sounded. “Dearest friend? What is it with you and Fitz about friends?” he asked curiously. “Nothing caused it. It’s just a chemical in my brain being unbalanced.” Keep it medically correct. Yeah, that was good.
“Yeah, okay. That sounds fake, but okay,” Skye said dismissively, focusing on the more pressing matters. “Fitz considers everyone a potential friend, the pure and loving creature he is, and you’ll have to make him believe he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you the way I make you believe I actually keep doing pull-ups when you’re not looking.”
“Have you been prescribed anything? Don’t be stoic, Ward. ‘Sleep is for the weak’ is a lie the government made up.”
“Insomnia is annoying. Maybe I am ready for that commitment. As horrible as I am with that sort of thing.”
“You’re always calling me a robot. One has to question these things. What do you want to know? Insomnia is a persistent sleep disorder. I’m surprised I need to explain that to you.” Grant claimed just to annoy her.
“Republicans are annoying, but poisoning them isn’t the only way to get rid of the problem. What I’m trying to say with this clever and topical analogy, there are other remedies. Stay gold, Ponyboy.”
“Is that one’s way of asking if I’m into you? Nice try, Ward, but that’s classified,” Skye retorted, imitating the way he’d usually said it to her. Raising an eyebrow at Ward’s provocation, she continued, now with significantly more sarcasm in her voice, “Thank you so much for the enlightenment. Had I ever heard about insomnia before, I’d surely know it’s caused by something and asked my dearest friend about his troubles, but, alas, it’s the first I’m hearing about it.”
“Green Eggs and World Domination? My favorite. You think they’ll give me warm milk and cookies before bed? Oh, gee, do ya?”
“You into robots or something?”
“If you’re okay with the fact their super secret cookie ingredient is cyanide, yeah. I mean, it works, but I doubt you’re ready for that kind of commitment to sleep.“
“You into me being into robots or something? On second thought, don’t even answer that. Tell me what’s up with your insomnia.”
“I don’t know. I think neo-nazis are going to have a hard time killing a man in his sleep when said man has a bad case of insomnia like me.”
“I’m more worried about dealing with detentions than anything. That’s part of being a teacher, right? They probably shouldn’t put me in charge of others.”
“Maybe they’ll read to you. I heard Green Eggs and World Domination is a great Hydra-approved bedtime story.”
“Oh, you’re worried? You, the person who’s probably memorised the SHIELD handbook for fun? You really don’t want to go to them for good judgement, Robocop. They put me in charge of others.”
“I’m not quite sure if it’s good to be back or not.”
“How convenient you don’t have a choice in the matter. Look at the bright side, if you really start to hate it here, the neo-nazis running around can help out by murdering you in your sleep. It’s gonna be fun. Think of all the people you can boss around.”
