A Girl worth Fighting for
A/N: I have been itching to write a fanfiction about Agents of Shield and Mulan since I found out that Ming Na Wen (Melinda May) voiced Mulan. I also wanted to include an innocent Ward, since in my other AOS story painted him as a bad guy. Happy reading and please review!
For the first time in his life, Agent Grant Ward didn't know what to do. His rookie (whom he failed to protect) was currently recovering from being shot and everyone on the bus- including his former SO, Garrett, and Agent Triplett- have done something to raise her spirits.
Agent Coulson set Skye up with her laptop so that she was allowed to hack to her hearts content, granted that she was not allowed to hack Shield. Agent May- the most surprising of them all- offered to teach Skye Tai Chi once she was back to full health. Fitz programmed one of the D.W.A.R.F.S (Happy, he thinks) to wait on Skye. Triplett and Garrett decided to sit with Skye and tell her stories. What stories they told, Ward had no idea. He did know that they had to be about him because Skye would smile mischievously whenever she saw him. How was he supposed to compete with them?
"Agent Ward," Coulson called out from the staircase above the training mat where Grant was currently practicing his boxing. Ward stops punching and looks up at his commanding officer.
"Yes, sir?"
"I need to see you in my office." Coulson then turns away and walks to his office. Ward sighs, takes the wraps off his hands, and then walks to meet Coulson. He doesn't bother to knock before entering. When he enters, Coulson is sitting at his desk, his hands folded on top of what looks like a stack of DVDs. He motions for Ward to sit down.
"Do you know why I called you here?" Coulson starts.
"No, sir. I don't."
Agent Coulson just smiles. "It has come to my attention that you don't visit Skye as often as everyone else. Why?"
He looks at the superior agent with a baffled expression. It is obvious to everyone on the Bus that Coulson has a soft spot for the brunette hacker. To be more descriptive, they are like father and daughter. Despite their closeness, Agent Ward never expected to have such an odd conversation as the one he is having now.
"To be honest, I don't really know, Sir." Ward says, shrugging. It is a total lie and Coulson knows it. He stares down at the younger agent, obviously waiting for the real answer.
Ward sighs. Why was this so important? "I don't know what I would say to her. I don't exactly excel at comforting or entertaining people."
"I was right then," remarks Agent Coulson, "May now owes me forty bucks." Ward looks at him with befuddlement. Why was May and Coulson betting on this?
"Is this why you called me up, sir?" asks Ward. "To see if you won a bet?"
"No it isn't." He slides the stack of DVDs in front of Grant. The first case says Bambi and has a picture of a deer on the front. As Ward looks through the stack of movies, he notices other titles such as Aladdin, Brave, Up, The Black Cauldron, and Mary Poppins. They were all Disney movies.
"I figured that you could take these to her and the both of you can watch them."
"Why would I take her Disney movies? What about-"
"Skye told me that she never had the chance to really watch them at St. Agnes," Coulson interrupts Ward. Suddenly it all clicks. Agent Coulson is giving Ward the chance to bond with Skye by showing her movies she missed watching as a child. This solves his previous problem of not knowing how to cheer his rookie up.
"Thank you, sir," Ward says as he picks up the stack of movies and walks out. Coulson just smiles. He hopes that his ultimate plan will work and the young specialist will finally realize his feelings for the wounded woman.
Later that evening, Agent Ward stands awkwardly in the doorway of Skye's makeshift hospital room on the Bus. She was previously at one of Shields many medical stations but the free-spirited former rising tide member grew tired of the all-white hospital room and strict staff and begged to be transfer back to the bus under Gemma's care. The hospital staff was so annoyed with injured consultant's nagging that they didn't bother to fight it. Ward, like everyone else on the team, was ecstatic to have Skye back where she belonged but she was like a child; she had to be entertained or else she would annoyed you until you did so.
"Hey T-1000," Skye greets her SO, grinning from ear to ear as she ate her chocolate pudding (courtesy of Gemma). Ward rolls his eyes but can't help grinning. It is good to see his rookie in such a playful mood. He never thought he would miss it until he saw her lying lifeless in a pool of her own blood on the basement floor. Just remembering that memory causes him to shudder.
"What do you have in your hands?" His attention turns back to the still alive Skye, who is eyes the stack of DVDs in his hands with inquisitiveness. Grant lifts one of the cases up to show her.
"I brought movies for us to watch." He slowly walks over to her and sits in the cushioned chair beside her bed, laying the stack of films on her lap for her to look through.
"Are these Disney movies?" she squeals in excitement. Ward just nods. Suddenly Ward finds himself in a tight hug by Skye. Once he is over the initial shock, Grant finds himself hugging her back and taking in the scent of her strawberry shampoo she uses on her hair. He wants to stay in this moment forever, with his Skye safe in his arms and away from the harsh madness of the world. But the eventually have to let go so they can watch the movies.
"So," Skye begins, bouncing like a child that was given sugar, "which movie are we going to watch first?"
Grant smiles. It had taken some time but he had figured out the perfect movie to start with. He reaches over Skye's figure to grab the box that says Mulan, and then places it in the laptop that is on the nightstand and presses play. The beginning credits soon light up the screen and they both settle down to watch the movie.
Neither one says anything until after the scene with Mulan and the matchmaker. "You know," Skye says, putting the movie on pause, "Mulan sounds a lot like Agent May."
Grant looks at her skeptically. "I don't think that May sounds like her at all."
"Who do I or do not sound like?"
Both Skye and Grant look up to see Agent May standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and looking at them with confusion. Grant goes to say nobody, but Skye beats him to the punch.
"I," Skye looks at him pointedly, "think you sound like Mulan."
May looks back and forth between the agent and consultant and smiles a smugly. "You aren't the first to say that." Skye fist pumps. "Simmons wanted me to tell you both to wrap up the movie. Skye needs rest."
She goes to leave but pauses and looks directly at Skye. "And I agree with you." With that, May disappears back into the cockpit leaving Ward to deal with a gloating Skye. A part of him wants to argue but decides against it when he sees her smiling face looking directly at him. That makes it all worth it.