I don't own Agents of SHIELD nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.
Grant knew the Playground like the back of his hand but something still felt off about this version of it. Probably because he didn't belong here - it wasn't his universe - but he had been dropped through the portal for a reason (it didn't matter they were still trying to figure out why. He was staying and that was that) and intended to make the most of this new life. Thankful he wasn't an LMD (something they all initially worried about), Grant was definitely struggling to adapt to his new world. It felt like everything had been turned upside down (the team couldn't help but reference Stranger Things every time he said it) and couldn't be righted. Lost in his head, Grant flinched when a familiar, teasing voice interrupted him. "Get lost again?" a grinning Skye asked.
He rolled his eyes at her but couldn't help but beam back. "No." He missed his Skye (despite everything he had learned about her) but he definitely still cared for (loved, a voice in the back of the his head whispered) this one. She was different, had lived a different life, had been betrayed by his other self, but she still cared about him and Grant couldn't understand why despite what he was still going through. It was really fucking with him.
"Well, let's go. It's team movie night and Fitz is demanding your presence." Shocked by Fitz's turnaround on his feelings for Ward, Skye rationalized it likely had to do with his own horrifying actions in the Framework (which included being responsible for that Jemma's death). But the whole team was giving this Grant Ward a chance since he had proven himself and everyone was trying to make the most of this surprising situation (it worked ninety-nine percent of the time).
Grant snorted. "Can't miss that!" He enjoyed these team bonding activities, however, something which surprised the hell out of him. He hadn't been able to trust anybody in Hydra - except for Skye - and those in the Resistance struggled to trust him, even though he hadn't once betrayed him. The fact that he actually had friends now and liked it (maybe even loved them?) was fantastic.
"Come on," Skye urged. She started walking down the hallway and wasn't shocked when Grant trailed after her. They sat down next to each other on the couch despite the fact that there was plenty of space left in various parts of the room.
"You going to share any of that popcorn or am I barking up the wrong tree?" Grant questioned Fitz.
Fitz mocked glared at him. "Get your own fucking popcorn, Ward."
Jemma sighed. "Stop arguing. Elena's currently popping some more in the microwave and she'll be back in a few minutes. Boys," she muttered under her breath.
Elena did appear with several bowls of popcorn just five minutes later, and Fitz pressed play since everyone had finally showed up. About half an hour into the movie, Skye found Grant's hand and gripped it in her own, not even thinking or debating with herself about why she felt like doing it.
Astonished, Grant gripped back and tried to focus on the movie instead of the feeling of their interlocked hands.
The fact that he was now in a world where he didn't have to deal with Hydra anymore - along with its various other activities like random checks for Inhumans - was still screwing with Grant. He was free and didn't have to hide anything from Skye anymore, and it was still really fucking weird. Plus, he was now an official SHIELD agent again, which was throwing him. There was still some anti-Inhuman sentiment but at least they were free to live their lives and not hunted down. To see Skye kick ass as Quake in the field made him proud (and turned him on a little but he wasn't about to admit that). But she was still mourning the loss of her Inhuman ex-boyfriend and had conflicted feelings about him due to the other (real) Grant Ward. He understood and didn't blame her at all. This was a complicated situation all around. "You ready to hunt down this suspect?" Skye questioned, interrupting his train of thought.
"Hell yeah!"
She laughed. "I like your enthusiasm." Panic rose up within her as something familiar - feelings she had tried to bury - started snaking through her body. She couldn't start anything with him. It wasn't right. And yeah, they had had sex once in the Framework as a comfort thing but it wasn't going to happen again. It couldn't.
He suited up, and the team headed towards the Quinjet to locate their suspect. Thanks to Skye, they took him down less than ten minutes after finding him and then returned to the Playground to interrogate him. The Inhuman - a telepath who used people's worst fears against them before killing them - smirked as he awaited them.
Grant walked into the interrogation room. "You're going away for a long time but tell me why you killed a teenage girl. Why did you go after innocents?" he hissed.
The Inhuman - Matthew - just shrugged. "You're terrified you don't fit in and never will."
"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work." Grant refused to let this bastard get to him.
Matthew cocked his head. "You still trust that bitch despite the fact that another version of her betrayed you. Now why is that? Is it because you're pathetic? You can't turn your feelings off and are falling in love with this version. Now how would she feel about that?" he taunted.
Grant wanted to punch him but he settled for walking out instead. His heart dropped upon seeing Skye standing outside the room with a strange look on her face. "Oh fuck," he murmured to himself.
Skye plastered a fake smile on her face and tried to will her body to stop shaking. She could tell he wasn't buying it but she had to try anyway. Unfortunately, her mouth wasn't listening to her brain. "You're in love with me?" she blurted out.
His face paled and although he wasn't proud of it, Grant didn't answer and instead bolted. "What the fuck?" Jemma asked a trembling Skye. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," she lied. "Jemma, can you find someone to take over the interrogation? I need to take to Ward."
"Of course." Jemma wondered if things had finally come to a head between the two of them but hurried off to find someone else to handle the interrogation.
Skye found Grant in his room. She knocked on the door but was greeted by silence. She didn't let it deter her and hacked her way into his room. Despite everything, he laughed. "I should have known I wouldn't be able to lock you out."
She just stood for a few seconds, unsure of what to do next. "So we have a lot to talk about."
"Guess so."
She made her way over to the bed and sat down next to him. "We'll talk about the other thing later. You're still feeling hurt by the other Skye's betrayal?"
Thankful for something that would stall the conversation to its inevitable conclusion (him being rejected), Grant sighed. "I know I betrayed you here but the situation is a little different, right? The woman I love - the love of my life - was on to me and only stayed so she could keep an eye on me. That's why she asked me to move on. How can I move past that?"
"I still haven't moved past my Ward's betrayal. I buried it with hatred and tried to pretend like I felt nothing for him, and he died thinking no one ever loved him. He fucked up and his actions can't be excused but he deserved help. I hope John Garrett is rotting in hell."
"Me too." His Skye had helped him realize Garrett was abusive and he had come out the other side stronger.
"It's okay that you still love her, you know? You shouldn't be upset with yourself, Grant." The Framework had woken her up to regrets she tried to ignore. Now she couldn't bury them again, especially when Grant was back with the team.
Caught up in the moment, a tearful Grant gazed at Skye and leaned closer to seek comfort from her. She surprised both of them by kissing him instead. "Holy shit," she murmured when they pulled apart.
"Pretty much."
"So you're in love with me too, huh?" she prodded. Skye didn't know how she felt about him yet but she thought she was also falling in love with him again.
He reluctantly pulled away from her. "I understand if you don't feel the same way. Everything about this is fucked up."
"I just kissed you, you moron. And yes, it's fucked up in all kinds of ways but we'll just take this slow. You okay with that?" She held her breath as she anxiously awaited his response.
"Definitely." Grant kissed her again and they moved back to the pillows so they could at least relax.
Grant and Skye did take things slow and the team tried to help him once they realized he was struggling to adjust to his new reality. The shock to his system hadn't righted itself yet and it'd probably take a while to do so. Nobody complained (from the team anyway) when he rearranged the kitchen to his liking because he couldn't handle it the way it was. He needed at least one thing to feel normal (Skye helped with that a lot too).
He was heading back to his and Skye's room (God, he missed their apartments. At least they had privacy) when a blinding pain struck him. Holding his head in one of his hands, he grasped for the wall with his other. He sunk to his knees and started screaming. His surroundings disappeared and Grant didn't even have time to panic about it as the pain worsened and memories started flowing through him like lightning. He flashed on meeting Skye in the van for her first time (she had walked into Hydra and demanded their help in the Framework, and he had fallen for her right there and then) and groaned as everything hit him at once.
Grant came to to Skye hovering over him and calling his name less than five minutes later. "Grant! We need medical!" she called frantically.
Although his head was still pounding, Grant shook his head and immediately wished he hadn't. "I'm fine."
"You're not fine! You collapsed and started screaming!" Skye cried, trying to will her hands to stop shaking.
His own body trembling, Grant grabbed onto her to keep steady. "Skye, I remember."
"Remember what?" she asked.
"Everything," Grant stressed. He now had two different timelines in his head and he couldn't think straight (he also didn't understand why he remembered this life now but he was sure Fitzsimmons would figure it out) but he had to make her understand.
Skye blinked at him in shock. "You remember?"
"Yeah."
She burst into sobs and hugged Grant, careful not to jostle him and make his headache worse. "I love you, Grant."
Tears dripping down his own face, Grant echoed her sobs. "I love you too, Skye." Fuck, he needed something to quiet the roar in his head.
"I'm taking you to medical because you don't look so good," she observed, her breath hitching. Fuck, they had so much to talk about but that could wait until later.
"I think I'm going to throw up," he told her, paling.
She moved out of the way and rubbed his back, looking away as he did exactly that. "You feeling a little better?"
"Not really. Let's go." He leaned on her for support and groaned as she helped him up. The two of them slowly made their way down to medical. Against his (minimal) protests, the doctor admitted him and gave him a painkiller.
"It's best if you sleep this off," the doctor informed them both.
"A nap sounds like a fantastic idea. You'll stay here?" Grant asked his girlfriend.
Skye nodded. "I'm not planning on going anywhere," she assured him.
"I'm glad you're with me, baby."
"So am I. Now get some sleep." Skye didn't like how pale he still looked. She guessed it came with the territory.
Grant patted the bad. "Get up here with me." His head was still at war because he had two sets of memories but Skye's comfort helped him more than he could say.
She raised her eyebrow but moved the bar and joined him, wrapping her arms around his waist. The two of them fell asleep together, which is how the team found them half an hour later.
It wasn't going to be easy but the team could get through this latest turn of events together. Grant wasn't the only one who had lost his way the past few years. Now his biggest champion, Skye refused to give up on him this time. And for the first time in a long time, everything was back on track. Although the world was still upside down for Grant, it had righted itself just a bit with the return of his memories.