Ward stayed on the couch next to Coulson, curled up under a blanket while Steve heated up leftovers in the kitchen. When Steve re-entered the common room, carrying a plate for himself and a plate for Grant, Coulson sighed and rose to his feet. "I'm going back to the school to talk about Taksony and negotiating in regards to your suspension," he said, his hand resting on Ward's shoulder.
Ward reached up and caught Coulson's arm as he turned to go, unsure how to communicate what he wanted to say. Finally, he shook his head. "No," he said, squaring his shoulders. "Please don't."
Coulson looked at him in confusion.
"I still hit Burke," Ward said. "You know that. I was supposed to go get my books, and instead I went and found Burke, and I hit him in the face, and when he tried to hit me back I broke his wrist. That wasn't Taksony. That was me."
Understanding flashed across Coulson's face. "I understand that. And I'm not going there to try to get you off free. I just think that, given the circumstances, there are different disciplinary measures the school has, which won't be as detrimental to your academics as forcing you to take six final exams in the space of two days. Okay?"
Ward hesitated, and then nodded. "How long will you be gone?" He clenched his fists under the blanket, once again his nails digging into his skin until his palms were raw. He had been trying to still the shaking in his hands ever since he'd found out about Taksony and Sitwell, but to no avail.
"I'll be home in time for dinner at six," Coulson said, grabbing his keys off the table.
Steve, who had been just about to head to his room, stopped and looked at Ward for a brief moment. "I can go to the school instead. If you want." Coulson looked doubtful, but Steve added, "I know the circumstances, and I know the school administration."
"You mean they're not going to say no if Captain America asks," Coulson said wryly, and Steve grinned.
"Something like that," he said, and when Ward opened his mouth to respond, Steve's expression sobered. "I'm serious. I'm not going to ask anyone to do favors for you because of who your friends are. I'm just going to do what Coulson said. I'm going to ask for a different approach than a week's suspension."
Ward nodded, relieved when Coulson sat down beside him again. When Steve left, Ward looked away from Coulson, staring down at the floor and clenching and unclenching his fists. "I knew they hated me," he said finally. "But why… why did they want me to get kicked out? And why did they think they could take on all of you?"
"I don't think they underestimated us at all," Coulson said seriously, and Ward looked up at him. "I think it's you they underestimated. Your abilities. Your strength. Your loyalty."
"They almost won," Ward said. "They almost got me kicked out of school. I mean, I almost got myself kicked out of school. They did what they set out to do. They pushed me and I snapped."
Coulson was quiet for a moment. "I think what they set out to do was make you desperate enough to choose them. They just never counted on the fact that no matter how desperate you are, you'd still choose better."
"I wouldn't always have," Ward said suddenly. "When I came here eight months ago, I wouldn't have made that choice."
"Eight months ago you wouldn't have realized you had a choice."
Ward looked at him thoughtfully. "What are you going to do?" he asked finally, hating how small his voice sounded. "About Burke?"
"Me?" Coulson asked, leaning back against the couch, his arm across Grant's shoulders. "I'm not going to do anything. Burke was innocent, and even if he hadn't been, you would need to make it right. But that's on you, Grant. What are you going to do?"
Ward looked taken aback at the question. "I don't know," he said finally. "Can we… can we go to his house and apologize?"
"No," Coulson said quickly, and Ward squinted up at him in confusion. "There's a lot you don't know about Burke. And his family. It'd be better for Burke if you don't go over there."
"I know enough about him. I know that he's rich. And I know that he likes to pick on anyone with less money," Ward retorted before he could stop himself, and Coulson shot him a look.
"There's more to the story."
Ward looked up at him sharply, but Coulson did not elaborate. "I'll talk to him at school, then," he said finally, looking away.
Coulson nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. But today… it's still early. Do you have any homework to do?"
Ward shook his head.
"Amie and Aziz were wondering if you could help with that new litter of puppies. You could bring Buddy with you," Coulson suggested, and Ward perked up. "FitzSimmons come home tonight, too," Coulson added. "Lily's been asking if they could come over for a while."
"And Skye? Can she come too?"
"Pepper said she still had an early curfew, but knowing Skye, she'll end up over here at some ungodly hour anyway," Coulson said ruefully.
Ward stood and tossed the blanket aside. "Are we taking Lola?"
"What else?" Coulson grinned, grabbing his keys. "Grab Buddy's leash and we can go."
Later that evening, when Grant was in the middle of bottle-feeding a litter of golden retriever puppies, Steve stopped in. He entered the back room, and Aziz stood up and greeted him, pushing her stray hair back under her hijab and wiping her hands on her jeans. "Good to see you, Steve," she said brightly. "Did you want to feed one?"
Steve grinned—an almost shy grin that lit his whole face; one Ward didn't see on his face very often—and held out his hands for the puppy. The puppy, barely three weeks old, fit in the palm of Steve's hand.
"Steve?" Ward asked. "Can we"—
"Natasha would kill us," Steve shook his head, but Ward could see the longing in Steve's face and he knew it was only a matter of time.
"She's the runt of the litter," Ward cajoled. "She might not make it, you know. Amie and Aziz take care of them all, of course, but this little one needs extra care"—
"Nat said no more dogs," Coulson said, but he had squatted down so he was level with the litter of puppies.
"Nat never has to know," Ward said. "Besides, we could just keep the temporarily until she's a little stronger"—
"It would be good for her," Amie commented, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder and looking at her wife for support. "Aziz?"
"Absolutely," Aziz said. "We give him a bottle every four hours, but he really could use someone who could give him more personal care. You know how busy we get."
"Fine," Coulson conceded. "But only temporarily. When she's old enough, she comes back here. Deal?"
Ward grinned and ducked his head.
"You think you can convince us later, don't you?" Coulson said ruefully.
"Yup," Ward said shamelessly, taking the runt from Steve's hand and crouching so that Buddy could greet the new puppy. "Look, Buddy, I found you a new friend." Buddy sniffed the tiny pup, wagging his tail, and the puppy opened its eyes and made the smallest of growls. Buddy's tail wagged faster and nosed the puppy delightedly. "I think I'm going to name her Natasha."
"Oh, she's actually going to kill us all," Steve groaned.
"Clint will be happy, though," Ward shrugged. "She won't kill us if Clint's happy."
Aziz grinned. "She sounds like Amie."
Amie elbowed her on her way past, and then turned to Ward. "We have extra formula in the kitchen. We'll give you enough for the next few days, and I'll tell you what times to feed her"—
"Every three hours?" Coulson interjected as Ward and Amie reached the door. "Ward has school. I'm not sure he should be up every few hours to feed the puppy."
Ward looked at Steve. "Am I going back?"
He nodded. "They're dismissing the charges because the only evidence was Taksony's word."
"Anddd… Burke's broken wrist."
Steve's expression darkened slightly. "Apparently the boy often comes to school with broken bones," he said quietly. "The school nurse told us he never answers her when she asks where they came from, and he said nothing to implicate you."
"Why would he protect me?" Ward snapped. "That doesn't make any sense. And why the hell does he have other injuries?"
It was their silence that told him.
"Because telling makes it worse. With his dad, right?" Ward asked, his words slow and sharp and brutal. "Fuck. Why didn't you tell me? And why aren't you doing anything about it?"
Steve sighed, and exchanged a look with Coulson and Aziz. "Believe me, we've tried. But you can't convict a wealthy, powerful man on serious allegations when the victims refuse to testify."
Ward set the puppy back in Steve's hands and turned away. "I wondered why he was so slow to hit back," he said finally, his jaw tightening. "And you're saying I'm getting off free for what I did? I shouldn't."
Aziz reached out a gentle hand and put it on his shoulder. "Being suspended does nothing for Burke. Or for anyone."
Ward bit his lip, and Coulson reached for him.
Ward shook his head. "I…I should have known. And either way, I should never have… god. I should never have laid a hand on him."
Coulson nodded. "That's true. But what I said earlier is true. Where you go from now, how you make this right, it's on you. You don't get to change what has happened. You do have a say in what will happen."
"I think we should get this puppy home," Steve said finally, and Aziz nodded.
"We have a heating pad for him tonight, and I'm assuming Buddy will keep him company if he gets lonely?"
Steve raised his eyebrows and jerked his head towards Grant. "Lonely? I don't think that puppy is going to be set down all night."
Ward mustered a small smile as he took the puppy back into his arms and whistled for Buddy to follow him. Amie handed Steve a jar of formula for the puppy's bottle, and Coulson followed with Aziz, who was carrying one of their newer strays, a three-legged dog named Cynthia (Ward had tried adopting her on three separate occasions with three separate but equally susceptible adults along—Coulson, Steve, and Clint).
They had reached the car when Coulson stopped to take a call.
It was a short call, finished by the time Ward had secured Buddy and the puppy in the kennel, but Coulson was standing still as if he was rooted to the ground, his eyes distant and unfocused.
"Phil?" Steve asked. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Coulson said vaguely, the smallest of smiles touching his lips.
"What is it?" Ward asked. "What happened?"
Coulson did smile this time, though his eyes retained that distant look as if he was looking straight past Ward into some memory Ward couldn't see. "I just received news," Coulson said distractedly.
"News?" Steve asked, pulling open the car door. "Good news, I hope?"
"The best," Coulson said. "Melinda May is coming back."
