Changing Tides

It was supposed to be one mission, nothing more – keeping a Portugese scientist with leading research in genetics away from HYDRA's clutches. It seemed simple enough at first, but soon proved to be more than what S.H.I.E.L.D. could handle at the moment, so Coulson brought him in, first only for intel, then, pulling him from his cell, as an operative. They had an agreement – if Grant tried something during the mission, he'd get a bullet in his head within a moment's notice; if he didn't, and decided to walk afterwards, Coulson'd look the other way.

The mission ran longer than he'd anticipated, forcing them the run around the continent for almost a week before they were finally able to place the scientist in a safehouse on Copenhagen. During these six days, Grant relished every moment he could spend with the team, not matter how awkward and painful they were. And although there were moments when he almost let himself hope – Fitz forgetting about himself and clapping him on the back; Simmons fussing over his wound when a bullet grazed him; being cooped up in an abandoned apartment with Skye for six hours, actually having an honest conversation –, in the end he decided to take Coulson's offer and walk.

He didn't even say goodbye; he just grabbed his bag and while the others were helping the professor settle in, he walked straight out of the door. But he barely got to the middle of the square when he heard somebody yell after him.

"Ward!"

The voice was so familiar, so dear to him, that he stopped and turned around. Skye was running towards him, her jacket hastily thrown on, the collar sticking up, her hair billowing in the wind. (He just couldn't stop the small, nostalgic from forming on his face.)

"Where the hell are you going?" she asked him when she reached him, stopping barely a step from him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Away from here. Start a new life, maybe."

"Why don't you… you know, stay?" she said in a small voice, almost looking like a saddened child as she looked up at him. He almost felt like laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"Because that would make everybody so damn happy! I can just see you guys welcoming me back with open arms, not wanting to stab a knife in my back whenever I turned around." He adjusted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. "Good bye, Skye! I'll miss you," he added the last part as an afterthought as he turned to leave.

But before he could have taken a step further, she put her hand on his arm and pulled him back. He wanted to snap at her and tell her to let him go, to stop pretending, he wanted to be harsh and cruel, but he never got the chance to. Because as soon as he was facing her again, her hands was on his neck, pulling him down as she raised herself on the tip of her toes, and the next moment she was kissing him.

It was slow and sweet, almost like their first kiss, shared in the janitor's closet in the Hub, only longer, and without the urgency of their almost-certain death. It shocked him so much that it took him seconds to respond to her touch, and when he finally moved, she was already pulling away.

"Here's the deal, Robot," she told him, her eyes a little dazed, but her voice full of confidence. "We don't want you to go – because yes, I've talked it over with FitzSimmons, and they agree with me. And Coulson said it's cool, sure, you'll be on probation or whatever, but who cares? We want you back, so we can give you another shot. Because damn it, Ward, you more than proved during these last few days what a good man you can be if you try. I have a feeling that this is the real Grant Ward, and if I'm right, and I'm sure I'm right, I want you around to get to know him better. Remember that once you told me that someday I'll understand? Now I do. So I've decided to forgive you. But now you have to prove me that I'm not making a mistake." She took a deep breath. "Do we have an understanding?"

He merely nodded at her, not really sure whether he should be smiling or not.

"We do. Now how do you want me to proceed?"

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

"Well, for starters you could come back to the house with me for Coulson's briefing, because he's gonna take my head if I'm late." He almost chuckled at this, finally daring to smile. "Wait, no," she added suddenly. "I changed my mind. You should start with giving me a kiss, really."

And that's what he does.

A/N: I have been asked a couple of times in the las few days whether picture submission is still open for this story. The answer is yes! Submission is open until further notice – in fact, I'd like publish at least a hundred chapters for this story, and up until now, I've had fifty-eight submissions. So there are still a bunch of slots open. (Also, if you have qualms about submitting a pic to Tumblr, give me a line, we can work out some other method.)