Skye had been having a rough week. She had spent the past four days tracking down a lead on Iron Man and the next big weapon to come out of Stark Industries. She was halfway to New York before the Rising Tide had pulled her from the assignment and told her to go dark. Knowing this meant someone hadn't been as undercover as they were supposed, she turned her van around and drove to the first place she could think of: a tree just outside of Cincinnati.

Skye had been staying in a hotel across the street from the little park she remembered playing at as a child. She could see the tree from her balcony window, which is where she sat now. Laptop open and charging, she went on a deep dive into the Internet.

With the Rising Tide's almost unlimited access, Skye had been digging through government files, CIA documents, and FBI debriefs looking for some trace of her birth parents. All she had wanted was a birth certificate, but she couldn't even find that. Skye wondered if she was looking in the right places.

Her phone buzzed with a text message.

Hacking into your life again?

A picture of her was attached to the text. Skye's head shot up, glancing around at the numerous buildings surrounding her hotel. A waving man on the other side of the street caught her eye. Her phone buzzed with another message:

Figured you'd end up here. Meet me in the park in 10.

Skye shook her head as she packed up her laptop and threw on some shoes. She should have known Miles would follow her. Ever since she joined the Rising Tide, he had become somewhat of an older brother to her- always overprotective and worried about her safety. If Skye was being honest with herself, she had a bit of a crush on him, but she knew that he wasn't one for relationships. She really wasn't either.

The hotel elevator dinged, signaling Skye that she had reached the lobby floor. She made her way out the front doors, zipping her hoodie up in a poor effort to block out the chill of fall. Skye took in the changing leaves on the trees around her as she crossed the street into the park.

Families were out playing on the playground or throwing a ball around in the many open spaces around the playset. There were a few people running or pushing strollers along the track. Skye spotted a few kids playing under the tree and found herself reminiscing on the days when she did the same thing. The tree had gotten much taller now, with its branches twisting out in every direction. She hadn't realized she was walking so close to the tree until the faces of the children playing under it turned from smiles to worried expressions. She apologized as she made her way to the nearest bench, not ready to part with her favorite place just yet.

Skye took a breath as she settled into her spot on the bench. It had been a couple years since the last time she was here... Lincoln had been here, too. She knew that she could easily find him with all the resources of the Rising Tide, but Skye felt it wasn't right to track him down. What would she even say to him? Did he even remember her?

Skye was pulled out of her thoughts by a warm presence sitting next to her.

"What is it with you and this tree anyways?"

Miles had taken the spot next to her, holding out a hot cup for her to take.

"Coffee or cocoa?" Skye pointed to the cup, not wanting to drink it without knowing what was inside first.

"Cocoa. I'm not an idiot." Miles grinned as Skye took the cup from his hand and sipped it carefully. Her face softened as a small smile painted itself on her face.

"Thank you." She said simply. "This is nice."

Miles nodded in agreement before speaking again. "You never answered my question."

That was Miles. Always so straight to the point, not wanting to be in the dark about any information.

"It's where I used to hide as a kid. I made my first friend here. He was sweet." Skye smiled at the memory, wondering not for the first time if that little boy grew up into the teenage Lincoln who had given her a name.

"Never would have pegged you as a sentimentalist." Miles took a sip of his coffee, scouting the park around them.

Skye shook her head. "I'm not."

Miles gave her a pointed look, but chose to brush off her comment. He stretched an arm up and settled it around Skye's shoulders. She froze for a moment, not sure what to do in this situation. Before she could overthink, she moved back, making herself comfortable in his embrace.

A small smile made its way onto Miles' face as he pulled her in closer. "This almost seems normal," he said finally. "Sitting on a park bench, drinking coffee with a pretty girl. No one would know we were actually hacktivists working for a secret organization."

Skye glanced at a Miles quizzically. "Hacktivists?"

The smile on Miles' face grew wider. "Yeah! That's what I call us. Cause we're activists for the right to have information, but we hack people to get the information. Get it?"

"Yeah. I get it. Hacktivist," Skye said the word softly, trying it out. "I like it." And then she grinned along with him.

Moments of comfortable silence passed before either of them spoke again.

"So, you still looking around for your birth certificate?" Miles turned towards Skye, trying to get a read off her emotions.

She nodded. "I feel like I've searched through everything the US government has!" Skye was starting to get frustrated. Where could her past be hiding?

"Well, what about other governments?" Miles asked nonchalantly, taking another sip of his coffee.

"What?" Skye turned towards him now, the wheels in her head turning.

Miles nodded and gestured towards her. "I mean... you're not exactly white."

Skye playfully hit him and scoffed. "Way to be racist, Miles."

The boy held his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm just saying! Maybe one of your parents was from another country."

Skye sat back against the bench, mulling that thought over in her mind. "Probably an Asian country... I could start with China and work my way through the smaller countries..." Skye's brain was spinning now and she pulled out her phone, furiously typing notes to herself to look back on later.

Miles let out a quiet chuckle at the sight of Skye muttering to herself. "You really never thought of that?"

Skye just waved him off, too caught up in her thoughts to play along with him. Her thumbs moved quickly for a few more seconds before she looked up at him.

"Do you wanna help me with this? I mean, while you're here and everything..." Skye's voice trailed off, but her face twisted into a smirk.

Miles gave her a knowing grin as he stood up from the bench, extending a hand toward her. Skye took it and they walked hand in hand back toward the street crossing.

"You're place or mine?" Miles asked with a cheeky smile.

Skye just shook her head at the boy, pulling him in the direction of her hotel and free wifi. She was going to find her parents tonight. And maybe something else, too.

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I'M SORRY FOR THE LONG BREAK! I was having major writer's block yikes but now I have the next couple chapters outlined so hopefully more updates will be coming soon :) thanks for being patient loves! Hope you liked this chapter!