A/N: For those of you who follow me know that I've been including the AoS gang in the past few stories I've written. I love the show and wanted to start writing fics about it. This is my first Agents of SHIELD fic, so please enjoy and review :)

Match of the Century

There were days in every person's life where opportunities came up that just couldn't have been ignored. They were the kind that couldn't fail, that were almost a 100% guarantee to payoff.

"This must happen."

Today was such a day for Agent Grant Ward. A day where the map to a gold mine was just placed in his lap. And there was absolutely no way he was letting that treasure go unmined, so to speak.

The opportunity was too perfect in Ward's mind to let pass.

A few minutes ago, Coulson informed the team that Agent Natasha Romanoff was going to be boarding the bus the next day to aid them with an upcoming mission. Out of everyone, Ward and Fitz were perhaps the most excited. Fitz because Romanoff was the "prettiest woman I've ever seen". Simmons wasn't too keen on that comment. It was about to be a long day for the junior agent.

Ward, on the other hand, was excited for a radically different reason.

He, like everyone else at SHIELD, had heard of Natasha's hand to hand skills. He had seen them first hand while reviewing footage of the Battle of Manhattan. He had even faced them first hand and had gotten his butt kicked in quick order. Her skills had quickly become legend, and that had only grown in the months since the Battle of Manhattan. She was called the 1B best combat expert in SHIELD.

Melinda May was the legend that she was often compared to, for good reason. Melinda May was 1A. Ward had also heard and seen May's hand to hand skills in action on numerous occasions since joining the team. He had even faced them first hand and base gotten his butt kicked in quick order.

There was a common denominator between these two, and it wasn't giving him a butt kicking. They were the two best fighters in the whole organisation and they were going to be in the same place at the same time. It was a fight that needed to happen.

"What must happen?"

Ward quickly spun around to found Coulson staring him down with a bemused frown. "Nothing," he answered quickly. Coulson didn't appear to buy it. "Fine. Romanoff is going to be here to help with a mission. I just thought it'd be cool if she and May fought. Just once."

Coulson considered him for an uncomfortable moment before smiling. "That would be nice."

Ward sighed with relief. With Coulson on his side, nothing could stop him from inciting the greatest martial arts fight since Bruce Lee vs Chuck Norris. "Glad you're with me on this, boss. I just need to figure out how to get them to actually do it."

"Just ask them," he suggested as he turned to leave. "They're a match made in heaven."

Coulson walked out leaving Ward bemused and perplexed. He shrugged and quickly left toward the cockpit. Whatever he meant, it wasn't important. What was important was planting the seeds within May early. That way, she'd already be thinking about it when Romanoff arrived the next day.

He crept through the halls quietly. No one needed to know of his mission, lest they figure it out and tip one of them off.

When he arrived at the cockpit door, he knocked twice, just loud enough for her to hear him coming in. "Hi, May," he greeted in a friendly tone. Predictably, she only grunted in reply. "So, how's it going?"

She grunted again. "Fine," she added tersely. "Throttle is sticking a little."

It amazed him every time that she could say so much in so little words. Nodding, he slipped into the co-pilot's seat. "Sure the techs can fix that." She hummed softly. "So, you know Romanoff is coming by tomorrow." A statement, not a question.

She hummed again. Ward also noticed that her grip on the steering wheel faltered for a scant moment. The reaction he was hoping to see.

"I'm really looking forward to seeing her again, you know."

"Seeing her, or staring at her?"

Ward rolled his eyes at her smirk. "I'm not a pervert, unlike Fitz. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing her again because she beat me the last time we spared. I'm sure she cheated, but I'm still jonesing for a rematch. They say she's the best."

May's jaw tightened slightly, and then relaxed.

May had an ego like everyone else, it seemed. She didn't seem to like having been replaced from the top of the fighting food chain, no matter what she said. "That's what I heard," she replied.

"I don't believe it, though. I've fought against the both of you. I can say with total confidence that you're the best." He smiled and patted her on the arm.

She looked down at his hand, and then at him. "You trying to get laid?"

"No, of course not! Just giving props where they're due." She observed him for a little while longer before nodding. "And for the record, if you two fought for some reason, you'd totally win."

May smirked and breathed out a soft chuckle. "Maybe."

"More like definitely. She's all flash, no substance. Lots of flips and jumping and all that garbage. You've got real skills."

A ghost of a smile appeared across her otherwise stern face. Too easy, he thought. It should have been a crime to be this good at manipulating people. He was called arrogant. It was hard to be humble when he was this damn good. "Well, I won't hold you up any longer. See ya around, Melinda," he said, referring to her by her first name to solidify the pretense of a friendly conversation.

"Goodbye, Grant."

The look on her face as he left could only be described as her having thoroughly enjoyed having her ego stroked. He couldn't blame her; he also enjoyed a good stroking. Of his ego, that was.

At any rate, she heard what he said, and appeared to believe it. "Phase one is complete," he muttered once alone. He rubbed his hands together and thought ahead to tomorrow. Natasha would be there, and then it would be the same thing. Butter her up and get her ego so inflated that she just had to go and fight May. And he would be right there to watch.