A/N: anonymous asked: ""I don't love you, I'm just here for the chocolate." And I'd like it for Ward and Simmons. Thanks!"
Follows from previous chapter.
Grant figures there's a fifty-fifty chance of his invitation being entirely ignored, so he's beyond pleased when he hears a knock at his door at exactly seven o'clock.
"I don't love you," Jemma says without preamble as she sweeps past him. "I'm just here for the chocolate."
He uses the excuse of closing and locking the door to hide his smile, and makes sure to keep a suitably understanding expression as he faces her again.
"Fair enough," he says, rather than bringing up how a) she's completely capable of buying her own chocolate and b) there's sure to be some kind of event happening at the Playground right now, since Skye is very much the type to insist on a team party to lift spirits. If Jemma isn't ready to accept that she's here because she wants to be—if she still feels the need to hide behind excuses—he's perfectly willing to accommodate her.
He's just glad she's here. It's a sign of how much progress they're making; this time last year, she would have laughed in his face if he'd invited her over for a date on Valentine's Day.
He's wearing her down—or maybe she's wearing him down; it's hard to say. Either way, she's here and she's obviously gone to at least a little trouble to look nice, wearing a red dress and the necklace he got her for their second anniversary. That's an encouraging sign, too.
Maybe she doesn't love him right now, but they'll get there (again) eventually. It'll just take patience, and Grant's got plenty of that.
If there's anything he's good at, it's the long game.