Date

Time passed and Melinda found herself becoming more and more intrigued by what Grant was planning for later that night. He had been in the kitchen for almost three hours, stirring, mixing and chopping anything and everything that he had in his hands. It was smelling good, whatever it was. Occasionally, she poked her head in to see what he was doing, but she never got a good look before he shooed her away.

She couldn't help but smile. Seeing him running around her kitchen, hands flying over most of her utensils, multiple pots and pans occupying the eyes on her oven, one would have thought that he was on one of those cooking competitions. But no, he was just trying to make dinner for her.

It was sweet. The last man to cook dinner for her in this sense was Coulson. Now, there was a man who could command a kitchen. Whether Ward had the same attention to detail as he did or not remained to be seen, but he certainly had the sense of urgency.

Maybe he'd calm down if she left.

But then, she would be going against her plan, which was to not leave the house unless she had to. And it wasn't like he told her to leave. Besides, there wasn't much out there more attractive than a man who could cook, and she wasn't going to miss out on that.

She sighed and opted to lounge on the sofa until she needed to get ready. Certain questions that she didn't think she'd have to consider in this relationship… arrangement?… relationship starting cropping up. What should she wear? Something conservative? Sexy? Somewhere in between? Should she wear heels, or no, since they were in her house? What about jewelry and her hair? Oh God, her hair. It probably looked like a unkempt shrub.

She sighed and walked to her bedroom. If she was going to look like she appreciated all of his hard work, she had better have gotten started fixing herself up early.

As she was sifting through her closet for a suitable dress, Phil called. "Hello, Phil."

"Hi, Melinda." Hearing him sound so out of breath brought a knowing smirk to her face.

"Partaking in strenuous exercises, are we?"

He cleared his throat, which only made her smirk more. "I, uh, yes. But she has a show tonight, so I'm starting to get ready for that. Just thought I'd give you a call to check in."

"Everything's going better than a few days ago."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yes. I have a date." She mentally cursed when she couldn't hide her excitement.

"That's great. You sound really excited."

She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, as if he could see. "I'm… intrigued. Ward is making these big plans for tonight, so we'll see."

"Ward? So, you two finally kissed and made up, huh."

She didn't appreciate him making light of that very delicate situation. "It was a lot more than that, but yes, essentially. I still plan on having that talk with him to explain myself."

"Good, good. I hope everything goes well. I really don't want any unnecessary tension on my plane. Sexual or otherwise."

"There you go again," she said with an eye roll. "Your plane?"

She could tell he was smiling. "Fine, May, your plane. Still, I don't want any tension on it."

"That's more like it. And I agree. There won't be any from Ward and I. …So, how are the kids?"

"I don't want to talk about them," he answered immediately and in a pointed tone, making her raise an eyebrow.

"They in any trouble?"

"They went to Vegas. Simmons called me yesterday to confess everything they did the night before another time. "Simmons broke the number one rule for Vegas."

"I know, but I didn't have the heart to tell her. Skye can be quite… demonstrative when she's drunk."

She didn't reply, but she was already making mental notes to pry as much information on the subject as she could. It sounded like a good story. "Well, anyway, what should I wear?"

"Sounds like you're trying to cheat."

"I'm not cheating; I just have no idea what to wear when having a formal dinner date in my house."

"Okay, then." He paused for long moment to think it over. She assumed, anyway. "A dress."

"No shit, Phil. What kind? Formal, casual, sexy… what?" she asked, completely serious up until he started laughing.

"That's one word that I never thought I'd hear come out of your mouth."

"Never had a reason to. Now, stop stalling Coulson."

"You seriously want my help with this. …what about all three?"

"You are of no help to me at all," she lamented with a scoff. She rummaged through her closet until she found one that strangely fit his blase suggestion. "I think I found something."

"Your welcome."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the mounds of help and support, Phil. Should I wear this pearl necklace you gave me?"

"You sure Ward will be okay with that?"

She thought for moment. "Guess not. I don't have any other jewelry besides the stuff you gave me."

"Then don't wear any if it makes you uncomfortable. Besides, he might start asking questions."

"I'll have to tell him eventually. That's something that I shouldn't keep secret for long."

"You're right. I hope you have a good night, Melinda. Talk tomorrow?"

A coy smirk touched her lips. "We'll see. Might be busy tomorrow."

Another three hours passed, and it was time for their date. Melinda had already showered and was dressed in a simple yet elegant short black dress. She reached down to pickup the pearl necklace she wanted to wear when she noticed that her hand was shaking. She frowned at it and tried to will it to stop.

Nerves. Why was she nervous? All they were going to do was eat, dance, give/receive a foot rub, and then maybe have sex. All things they had done before. Well, eat and have sex, anyway. They ate together all the time on the Bus. The others were usually with them, sure, but there were times when they were alone. And they've definitely had sex before. It was the reason this whole thing started in the first place.

So, why was she nervous?

"Ugh."

She slipped the necklace on and ran a comb through her hair on more time. She then took a few minutes to make sure her make up was straight, spritzed on some perfume and checked her heels. I hope he likes this dress. Of course he will.

She looked herself in the mirror and smiled. The smile faded and was replaced by an annoyed grimace. "Dammit, look at you. Glowing like you're going to prom." She rolled her eyes at herself and walked out.

If she hadn't already known where the food was, the whirlwind of smells emanating from the kitchen would have led her right to it. "Mmm, smells good."

Grant, who was leaning over the clear glass table decorated with a perfectly cooked pot roast and various greens and vegetables, turned and smiled. "Thanks. You look…," he looked her up and down, his smile growing as he combed over her outfit, "…amazing." He pulled a bottle of white wine from am ice bucket on the counter and poured them both a glass. He placed the bottle down next to the gorgeous floral arrangement in the center of the table.

He didn't look half himself in his black shirt and khaki slacks. "Thank you. I think you've outdone my expectations." He visibly relaxed and pulled her seat out. Soft, tranquil music was playing in the living room.

"I wasn't sure what kind of music you liked other than this, so…"

"It's fine, so long as you have music we can dance to." As they began to eat, she became slightly more reserved and quiet. Not out of boredom, as he had prepared quite a nice meal, but because she was sorting out just what she wanted to say and how to say it. She knew that she shouldn't tell him about Coulson, unless he asked.

"So, you said you didn't know how to tell me that you liked me," he said out of the blue, "care to explain why?"

She sighed. This was a good start. "I like to keep things simple. The simpler the secondary and tertiary things in life are, the easier it is to keep focused on the primary things. When those things become complicated, I risk losing focus on what's truly important. Our relationship prior to… this was simple. We have sex at night, we forget the next morning, we concentrate on our jobs until the next time. Simple. When… things started to come up about a week before our dealings with AIM, they started to get complicated. AIM and Rappaccini only made that worse. When you got hurt, I was forced to face that, and… didn't want to admit that I had allowed things to get complicated. I couldn't handle it, because I was afraid that liking you was going to cause my other, more important work to deteriorate. To the point that I would be forced to end it. So, I did."

He was silent for a while, chewing over what she said. With all of her cards on the table for him to see, she could breath more easily. It felt good to finally have her reasons, her true reasons, out in the open. "So, in a bid to keep things simple, you ended them at the Hub?"

"Long story short, yes."

"Why didn't you just say that, instead of being… well, a bitch?"

She hid her grimace and shrugged. "Then I would have to admit that you got to me."

"Like you did this morning?" he countered.

"Ward, I just said that I liked you. Which I do. Like I do Fitz and Barton." She smirked coyly when he rolled his eyes.

He let out an exasperated huff. "May, why can't you just be honest?"

"Because, like I said, I like keeping things simple."

"You mean having to constantly fight your true feelings for me won't be a distraction? That that won't make things more complicated for you?"

"You know, I really don't appreciate you poking holes in my logic."

"Then you shouldn't make it so easy."

"I'll have you know that I've already come to terms with my… attraction for you."

"Of course you are. You wouldn't be sleeping with me if you weren't attracted. I'm talking about more than attraction." She didn't look up from her plate until she noticed him looking at her expectantly.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" he inquired, taken aback by her sudden reversal.

"What about you and your not being able to tell me how you felt?"

"Oh. Well, you see, I like keeping things simple. The simpler the secondary and tertiary –"

"Ward."

"Fine. I know that you don't do love, so I hid it out of fear that you'd break things off."

Cute. She smirked outwardly, but inwardly, she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "So, you love me."

"I didn't say that," he replied quickly, but coolly.

"You did the other night." Her guilt was replaced by amusement at his dumbstruck expression. "Three times."

"We had sex?" he asked incredulously.

"Nope. You said it out of the blue, when I was bringing you back to here."

She heard him curse under his breath. "I was drunk."

"Obviously."

"Drunk people say stupid shit."

"That they otherwise wouldn't have the balls to say sober." She learned forward and pursed her lips temptingly. "Do you love me, Ward?" While it may have seemed like she was teasing him, she really did need to know.

He grew more and more flustered as his eyes took in her seductive expression. "I… How did this suddenly become about me?"

"Don't change the subject, Agent. Do you, or don't you? A simple yes or no will suffice."

He rattled expression faded quickly. "Maybe," he answered with unabated amusement.

She leaned back, clearly displeased with his noncommital answer. "Then maybe I love you, too."

"Maybe I'm ecstatic to hear that."

"Maybe I'm absolutely giddy that you're ecstatic." She really was. It was a fight to hide the wide, girlish grin that wanted to appear.

Desperate to change the subject, he changed gears. "What else did I do or say the other night?"

She stifled a laugh. "You got into a bar fight." He groaned, eliciting a snarky chuckle. "Apparently, you won, since you were the only one conscious. By the way, you should thank me for convincing the bar owner not to press charges against you."

He blinked. "Thanks."

"Doesn't make us even, but it isn't worth watching you shrink to Coulson's wrath. Not to mention Fury."

"God. What was I thinking?"

"You said something about defending my honor." She took on final bite of her pot roast. "Good."

"Thank you. Um, you weren't annoyed by that, were you?" She raised an eyebrow. "Right. Of course you were."

"It's not like I don't appreciate the sentiment," she placated. She held her hand out over the table. "And the thought of you getting into a fight because of me is… touching?"

He snorted and touched her hand. "You don't believe that for a second."

"I don't, but you feel bad enough as it is." She finished her only glass of wine and stood up. "Dance with me? I'll tell you about what happened while you were out."

He nodded and led her to the living room. While he changed the music too something more classical, she said, "Before I start, I'll preface this by saying that what happened is all your fault."

"Oh, is that so?" he asked as he approached her and placed on hand on her waist and held the other out.

"Absolutely. I take no responsibility for what you made me do." She placed one of her hands on his shoulder and took the other in her free grasp. Their bodies began to move in rhythm with the music.

"Because I can tell you what to do."

"No. But you did that time. Anyway, it all started when you… when you died. I felt like it was my fault, so I was feeling guilty and wanted to kill Rappaccini. I seriously contemplated torturing the AIM doctor that we captured when they found us."

"How badly?"

"Pulling her eyelids off, breaking a few fingers, making her swallow some of her teeth. The usual stuff. I didn't, probably for the best. We eventually found where Rappaccini was and I…" She found that she didn't want to think about what that monster made her do. The Cavalry, not Ward. She clutched his shirt tightly as she gained a faraway stare.

She didn't even consider them long enough to hear their protests. The only feeling she felt was the gentle strain of her finger pulling the trigger faster and more times than she cared remember.

"Melinda?"

"…killed them."

"You killed someone?"

She nodded slowly. "A dozen. At the AIM base in Colorado. Hand left it out of the briefing. Out of respect, I guess." She swallowed and kept her gaze to the floor, on his chest, anywhere but his eyes. Shame filled hers, and she didn't want him to see it. "They were on their knees, surrendering. I killed them when they couldn't defend themselves."

She felt him pull her closer to him. She didn't resist. "That's… in the past now. I'll help you move on when you're ready." She was grateful that he didn't say something patronizing. He understood, better than most, what she was dealing with. The guilt of the past molding their presents and trying to pave a new path to the future. "You helped me. I'm going to help you."

"Thank you, but I'm not finished yet. When I found Rappaccini, I lost it. I wanted to kill her and I very nearly did." Her voice quivered and shook, making his rub her lower back. She didn't like showing weakness to anyone. It colored the image she worked so hard to build; one of the tough as nails woman who didn't cry or bow to anyone. Here, in his arms, it felt right to finally let go. To finally show the weakness that she fought so hard to hide. Because he understood, because she had seen his own weakness. They didn't judge one another because they were alike in so many ways.

"If it had have been me, there wouldn't be a very nearly," he replied, voice dark for just a moment.

She smiled softly. "It was a good call for you to take my place. But, for as much help as she provided, it wouldn't have made a difference."

He smiled back. They grew silent, allowing the music to flow through them and dictate the sway of their bodies. She breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent. He smelled like oceans again. She hummed softly. "Can I ask why you decided to do all of that?"

"I couldn't handle the guilt. I was angry that you were hurt," she answered easily. Too easily.

"The whole truth, Melinda." His hand wiggled out of her grip and joined its companion on her lower back. She felt a fire beginning to pulse in her chest.

She swallowed and breathed in shakily. "I missed you," she said quietly. "I missed you and I didn't know how to handle it." She felt him gently press his lips to her forehead.

"I'm here now, so you don't have to try and handle it anymore."

"Yes I do. Hand took me off of the mission, so I stayed behind and was in your room for most of the time. I was afraid for when you would wake up."

"Why?"

Her arms went around his back so she could hold him tightly. "Because when you woke up, you'd… I'd have to confront everything I was trying to hide. I couldn't do what I wanted to do to you when I saw you because that would have brought with it things that I wasn't ready for." The pulsating fire was growing hotter and more concentrated with each word. She kept her eyes down, because the urge to do something very stupid was growing by the second.

"What would you have done?" She didn't answer, because once she did there was no going back. "Melinda," he whispered softly. He reached over and tilted her chin upward so she would look at him. She looked into his eyes. They were clouded with the same thing as before. Want. Lust. For her. Only for her.

"I…" She couldn't stop the red flush from spreading over her cheeks. She leaned up and pressed her lips against his. And then, something snapped inside her. All of her restraint and control when around her broke and melted away into a sea of lust that engulfed her life a floating piece of wood in a tidal wave.

Her arms flew around his neck and pulled him down to her level so she could deepen their embrace as much as possible. For as much as she had wanted to do this, her thoughts and fantasies paled in comparison. He was an amazing kisser, just like she hoped he was.

His fingers carded through her hair and slid down her shoulders until they reached and tugged on the zipper on the back of her dresser. That, plus her lungs' cry for air, made her break the kiss. Their eyes met, but they said nothing. They both wanted the same thing, so there was no point in wasting time. They kissed again, this time harder but more briefly. She broke it again, and then kicked off her heels and walked to the bedroom while he turned off the music and the lights.

She sat on the bed and he was on top of her almost immediately. "So, that's what you would've done," he said breathing heavily.

She just nodded.

He placed a few butterfly kisses along her neck. "My turn to do what I want to you," he whispered huskily in her ear. She hummed softly.

"Fuck me," she whispered back. He grinned pruriently.

A/N: Obviously, the next chapter will be M rated.