I don't own Agents of SHIELD nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.
Grant Ward had a huge problem he was trying to ignore and it wasn't working out very well for him - he was becoming attached to the team he wasn't supposed to care about (a weakness echoed John's voice in his head, and he cringed). He was startled out of his panic (fuck, he wasn't supposed to do that either) when Fitz came up to him and tapped his on his shoulder. He tried not to flinch and plastered a fake smile on his face. "What's up, Fitz?" he asked him.
"We're planning a movie night and wanted to know if you'd like to join us," he explained, grinning and hoping Grant would take him up on their offer. He didn't participate in very many movie nights but Fitz, Skye, and Jemma were hoping that'd change. They had even roped May and Coulson into tonight's festivities.
Grant wanted to decline but the hopeful look on Fitz's face stopped him in his tracks. He sighed and gave in. "Fine," he grumbled. Fitz's grin lit up the room and he smiled back before following him into the lounge.
"Come sit next to me." Skye patted the empty spot next to her on the couch and grabbed onto the popcorn she nearly dumped onto the floor.
He gladly did so and stole some of the popcorn when no one was looking. Skye caught him during his second attempt and snorted. "I thought popcorn was bad for you," she teased.
"I'm allowed to cheat sometimes," Grant tried.
"Sure." Then she turned to Jemma and Fitz. "So what are our options?"
"We could vote?" Jemma suggested. "That way, it'll be fair and no one has to watch something they don't want to."
"You're still going to argue." Everyone turned to stare at May, who shrugged. "It's the truth. We can't get through anything without a fight. Remember the last game night?"
"Maybe they'll surprise us." At least Coulson hoped so - he didn't feel like breaking up an argument tonight. He just wanted to relax and enjoy himself.
"We're not going to argue!" an outraged Jemma sputtered, glaring at all of them, her hands on her hips.
"You're trying to argue now," Fitz pointed out. He scooted away as fast as he could when Jemma made a move to lightly slap his head.
"Watch the popcorn!" Skye squawked.
"See, arguing," a slightly amused May deadpanned.
"Damn it, Melinda. You're evil," Coulson groaned.
"Can we all just shut the fuck up and watch a movie?" Skye was enjoying the entertainment currently playing out in front of her but she really wanted to watch something instead.
"You heard her! Let's get on with it," Grant urged, resisting the urge to roll his eyes when Jemma started throwing popcorn at Fitz.
"Stop wasting the popcorn!" he yelled.
"Okay, that's it!" May stood up and glared at all of them. "Nobody gets to watch a movie if this continues. Jemma, your plan to vote on what to watch is good. Now sit your asses down and don't even talk to each other." She sat back down and ignored Coulson laughing at her. "Shut up," she hissed.
"I didn't say anything, Melinda. This wasn't amusing at all."
"That applies to you both," Grant told them as Jemma and Fitz started rifling through all the DVDs currently on the floor.
Soon enough, the team had settled back and watching a movie they all surprisingly agreed on. And they only had two more arguments in the course of an hour and a half!
Two weeks later, the suspect in their latest case injured Grant and he was forced into bedrest on the Bus. Unfortunately, his bunk didn't provide much rest. "I can take care of myself, Skye," he told her as she hovered over him.
"You don't have to," Skye replied with a frown on her face. The fact that he didn't want anybody to help him worried her a lot.
He sighed and gave in. "Fine. But I don't like it."
"You don't have to like it, Ward. You are hurt," she reminded him.
"Don't think I'm going to forget but thank you." He softened when he saw how worried she was but hissed when movement jarred his swollen, sprained ankle.
"And that's why we're taking care of you. Just accept it. You're stuck with us, Grant Ward. What is your middle name anyway?"
"You're not going to leave me alone until I tell you, will you?" Or else she'd hack into his file - he wouldn't put it past her.
"Nope!" Skye waited expectantly for his answer as she started tapping her foot on the floor.
"It's Douglas. You happy now?" Grant asked but he couldn't help but beam at her.
Fitz and Jemma suddenly barged in and interrupted them. "We're here to help! Now would you like to watch a movie?" Jemma questioned.
"Are we going to fight like last time? Because I'm not interested if that's the case," he answered.
"We promised Coulson and May that we wouldn't fight because it'd upset you. He threatened to ground us! And he was being serious!" Fitz scoffed and stared down at his shoes.
It warmed Grant that the team cared this much about him but it also shook him to the core - they actually cared about and wanted to take care of him! Nobody had ever wanted to before (John usually told him to buck up and get back to work. If he was so badly injured he needed to be hospitalized, it usually ended in punishment). This was fucking with him in ways Grant did not expect. "Guys, I'll pick the movie and then you can all shut up," he teased, trying to calm down.
"Sounds like a plan," Skye agreed, laughing at the dual looks of outrage on Fitz and Jemma's faces.
But the three of them sat down on Grant's bed, careful not to jostle his injuries, and did shut up. Grant enjoyed the movie but he got lost in his head as he pondered his growing attachment to the team and what that meant. It truly scared the shit out of him.
Three days later, when Grant was allowed out of his room as his injuries started to heal, he observed May and Coulson in the kitchen. His stomach churned as he considered talking to them about John and Hydra. Could he actually betray the man who had saved him from hell? But lately, he had been wondering if that was truly the case since the team treated him better than John ever did and actually cared about his well-being. It was a whole new ball game and he was floundering. Grant was totally unprepared for it. He loved the whole team, something that had completely thrown him off his game. "You having fun spying on us, Ward?" Coulson questioned, mostly serious.
"I wasn't spying. You'd know if I was spying." Okay, Grant had been spying but he wasn't about to admit that to either of them. He fled back to his room as cowardice started to overtake him. He couldn't do this.
But just a few hours later, he stood outside Coulson's office and willed his body to stop shaking. He loved this team and wanted to actually be a part of it. But betraying John was absolutely terrifying. After a few minutes, Grant took a deep breath and knocked on the door as he tried to prepare himself to change the course of his life forever.