Ward knew he was being tailed. He hadn't needed to worry about anybody following him for well over a year so the sudden feeling of being tailed surprised him. SHIELD hadn't felt the need to have him tailed for a while now so the sudden decision would've caught him off guard if he didn't know who it was.

She was rather easy to notice, whether or not it was intentional or if it was just because he knew her so well was up for debate. He turned into a nearby diner and sat down at an open booth with his back to the door. A waitress came to his table immediately - she seemed rather eager.

"What can I get you?" She smiled.

"Just a coffee," he said. She wrote it down, glancing one more time up at him before turning away. "Actually, could I get some waffles with that too? Strawberries on top."

"Of course handsome."

Ward sat approximately two minutes and twenty seven seconds before he heard the door open behind him. He knew she'd been waiting around the corner, probably making sure nobody from SHIELD had followed her here and also likely working up the nerve. He was glad she waited because he needed to mentally prepare for this too.

He kept staring straight ahead when she approached and sat across from him. He made eye contact and gave her a tight lipped smile. She looked good. The same as she did when he last saw her.

"Hey Kara."

"Hi."

They didn't say much because neither really knew what there was to say. Ward tried to start things off simple.

"You look good," he commented.

"Yeah, you too."

The waitress from before came and alleviated some of the awkwardness for them. Thank god.

"Okay, your coffee and waffles," she said, glaring slightly at the woman sitting across from him.

"Waffles are for her actually," he said, sliding them across. Kara's eyes instantly lit up at the sight of them. He remembered how much she loved them from the time they spent together.

"Thanks Grant," she smiled. "So, how are things?"

"Things have been… fine," he smiled. Fine wasn't exactly the word for it. He got shot at a lot and had to stitch himself up which was getting pretty annoying. He was getting more and more scars but he wasn't tattered in them. Not yet anyways. "How're things at SHIELD?"

"It's… been a rough couple of months," she said. Her gaze was far away and Ward wondered what could've happened recently that would make her seem this shaken. "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

They spent the next hour talking about everything that had happened recently. She told him about Jemma's dead boyfriend coming through a rock and turning out to have some octopus head. About how he took Skye and used her to try and turn everyone into freakish monsters. She told him about how Skye's boyfriend, Lincoln, sacrificed himself to save them.

He quieted the small part of himself that felt jealous at the mention of Skye having a boyfriend. For one, he was dead, he shouldn't have ill feelings for someone who sacrificed himself for everyone. For another, he didn't have any right to be jealous.

A few years back he wouldn't have believed a word of what Kara had just told him. He'd seen some crazy things during his time with SHIELD or Hydra, he didn't know how to define it, but things like a man with an octopus head possessing a dead body and coming through a rock to turn everyone into monsters would've sounded completely absurd until aliens invaded New York through a portal in the sky.

"Honestly the most surprising thing about that story is that Jemma slept with another man," he chuckled, trying to make her smile seeing as she was in a sour mood. It worked.

"It didn't seem that surprising to me at first but after spending time with the rest of the team it is quite shocking."

"But you said it all worked out for them?"

"It did. Fitz and Simmons are together now and they seem happy."

Ward smiled at that. He knew that Fitz and Simmons both hated him with everything they had, rightfully so, but he still wanted the best for both of them and the best for both of them was each other.

He wished he could apologize to them, properly apologize. He'd always told people that he takes responsibility for his actions, that his family and Garrett made him this way. In a way, he still believed it was true but he'd never said the words 'I'm sorry.' He tried to say it in the briefing room of the bus but he stumbled on his words, the wrong ones came out, and ultimately everyone most likely hated him more after the fact. Kara must've noticed his far off look because he felt her reach across the table to cover her hand with his.

"They talk about you sometimes."

"They do?" Ward looked up hesitantly. "What about?"

"Mainly just bring up what you're doing for them. Taking down remnants of Hydra, tipping them off. Sometimes I ask about what you were like before SHIELD fell and they'll give me some stories."

"How do they talk about me?"

"They're kinda… solemn. Simmons outright refuses to and Fitz only will if he's in the right mood. Da- Skye will tell me stuff about you because she knows we were close."

He caught her slip up on the name but didn't comment on it. He also caught on to something else.

"You say 'them' instead of 'us.'" He commented. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, of course I'm glad to be back at SHIELD it's just…"

"Just what?"

"I'd feel more at home if you were there too."

He shook his head and turned to the window. He saw a couple outside on the sidewalk, the man was in a black leather jacket and the girl was short and wearing a green, plaid, button up shirt. He squeezed his eyes shut, it was a painful reminder of what he threw away and why he couldn't go back.

"I can't go back there Kara you know that."

"Grant, if they just got to know the real you, the Grant that I know then I'm sure they'd come around."

"They wouldn't and they shouldn't. You saw how they were around me when we worked with them. I never told you the things I did to them but they were bad. Unforgivable. I'm lucky they even let me walk free instead of tracking me down and throwing me in a cell."

She went quiet and stared down at her now empty plate.

"Why'd you come here Kara?"

Her head shot up and she frowned at his words.

"What? Do you not want to see me?"

"No, that's not it. Why do you want to see me? I left without a goodbye." He was used to letting people down. He was used to everyone hating him eventually. Why would Kara be any different?

"Grant, you helped me. I have my life back because of you. I came to see you because I missed you and I thought you missed me too."

"I did Kara, of course I missed you it's just-"

"No, don't say it," she interrupted.

"What?"

"I know what you're going to say and no I'm not better off without you."

"It might not seem like it now but you are," he tried to convince her but still seemed like she wasn't. So, he took a different approach. "How many innocents have you killed with SHIELD?"

She immediately closed her mouth at that. The people in the military base weren't bad people and Ward and her took their lives like it was nothing. Just because Ward thought that in the end it didn't matter, they needed Bakshi and he thought it would help her . He sees now that he was wrong and he needs her to see it too.

He could read her like a book. Whether it was from the years of experience reading people or if it was because he knew her so well he wasn't sure. She looked down to her left. She was remembering what they did at the military base. Then she turned and looked around the diner. She was remembering the last time they were in a diner and held everyone at gunpoint. Then she scrunched her eyes closed, now she was remembering the good times together. Then she let out a puff of breath through her nose. He knew that she didn't want to accept it as the truth even though she knew it was.

The waitress came back to the table with their bill, leaving it with them. Ward took out his wallet, intending to pay for all of it when he fumbled it in his hand. It fell closer to Kara's side.

"Would you mind grabbing that?"

Kara reached down to the ground and grabbed his wallet. As she did it flipped open and when she got a glimpse inside she froze. He internally groaned when he remembered the picture he kept in there. How could he be so stupid as to forget?

He saw her swallow as she handed him back his wallet. She avoided his eyes when he looked at her. He left the cash for the meal and got up to leave. Kara got to her feet with him.

"Guess this is goodbye for a while," he said.

She nodded and hesitantly kissed him on the cheek. It wasn't romantic, they both knew that, it was goodbye. Until next time whenever that may be.

She started walking towards the door but turned around one more time.

"You look happy in that picture," she said. "Like… actually happy."

He caught the words she wanted to say but couldn't find the strength to. I wish I could've made you that happy. He nodded, letting her know he understood what she meant.

She turned, wiping at one of her eyes before leaving the restaurant.