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Grant Ward shows up a few days after the infiltration of HYDRA's base, and runs into Jemma Simmons on the corridor.
"How are chances you'll let me alive, when I tell you I need to talk to you?" The tone of Ward's voice is light and casual, but his body is tense. When the usually sweetest and kindest member of your team wants to kill you, it doesn't leave you cold.
"I'm quite busy right now, and my time is pretty limited," Simmons says coldly as she passes him by.
"Jemma, please! You wanted to kill me! At least give me a chance to change your mind." Ward follows her to the lab and manages to slip inside the room before she can shut the door in his face.
"I come in peace, I promise." He holds his hands up, while she demonstratively ignores him, looking at her tablet, her back turned. "If it's still about Skye," Ward remembers her words back from when his brother's people escorted him away. "her and me, it was just pretending. I know it, she knows it and I thought you'd also know, by now..."
"It's not about Skye." She is still not looking at him. "It's also not about you jumping off the Bus to save my life, but I'm glad you've made it clear. You're really good at pretending. I wouldn't want Skye to get hurt just because she trusted you."
"I deserve all of that," Ward admits, trying hard not to flinch, because that hurt. "I deserve all of your anger, Jemma, but I've changed..."
"Oh, you've changed!" Furious, she puts down the tablet and turns around to face him now. "That's what I thought. What I hoped for. Is that why you've brought Kara with you? So we all can get to know your girlfriend?" Jemma manages not to get loud, but her icy distance is as painful as her words, when she continues. "Who probably has no idea how much Fitz's presence distracted you during the briefing?"
Ward looks away for a moment, to hide any signs of guilt, because Jemma is right and he feels stupid for thinking she wouldn't notice.
Occasionally seeing Fitz when Ward drops by is one thing; working together like nothing had ever happened, is a completely different matter. With Kara added to it, he finds himself in the middle of a mess he can barely explain. Even to himself.
"It was the quickest way to gain her trust," he tries to explain anyway. It was also nice to have someone who trusted him again. "Because all I wanted, was to bring her in, so you could de-brainwash her. She doesn't deserve to have HYDRA destroy the rest of her life."
Jemma watches him intensely now, thinking about his words.
"Too many people got hurt by this way of thinking." she says. "I won't let him suffer again." The look she gives Ward tells him that it's not a slip up.
"I know," he agrees immediately. "I've seen it and that's the last thing I want. I've hurt all of you. I won't even try to talk myself out of it. It's a fact. But I want to try and make up for that. Starting with Kara."
***
"You look great! Not being under HYDRA's influence suits you!" He catches Kara just as she leaves her quarters, with a duffle bag over her shoulder.
"Baby!" She beams at him and hugs him close. "What an awesome surprise! I was just thinking of you!"
"You going somewhere?" Ward wants to stall a little longer before coming out with the truth.
"Director Coulson transferred me to Washington, where I can make a fresh start! I'm on my way out, so your timing is great!" she tells him as they slowly walk towards the exit. "I have to report to a Maria Hill," Kara continues. "Do you know her, maybe?
"She works for Stark Industries now," Ward remembers. "And she's a great agent." He is happy to see Kara happy with how things are turning out and glad that Hill's going to have an eye on her.
"And now I thought you could get transferred there with me, so we can be together!" She looks expectantly at his face. "What do you say?"
Ward takes in a deep breath, and eventually lets it out with an "I can't" before he continues. "Coulson's team just let me in again, and I still have a lot to do here... "
"I see." Disappointed, Kara cuts him off, dropping her bag to the floor, because the exit is like three feet away. "So, how about seeing each other as often as we can? We can make it work, right?" she suggests, hope flickering in her eyes once more.
"A clean break and a fresh start is only possible if we won't see each other." Ward hopes he is doing the right thing. "We would constantly remind each other of HYDRA, and..."
"Do you really think I would be able to forget HYDRA at some point?" She speaks quietly, her voice filled with pain and anger. "You and me, Ward," Kara gestures angrily between them. "we are permanently scarred in every way by what HYDRA did to us. Or what we did in their name. Just admit you weren't as serious about us as you said. Admit that you used me!" Even now she manages not to yell or scream at him, but her voice is pressed.
"I wanted to get you out of HYDRA, no matter what." Ward says what he told Simmons before. That's the truth and Kara deserves it to be able to move on. To get away from all of it and leave it behind. "The rest just happened. I should have stopped it, but we both needed someone..." he says, ashamed. "I didn't know you would develop real feelings for me until it was too late."
"You pretended to *love* me because you *needed* someone?" she says, shaking her head with disbelief, before looking away from him. "Was I your consolation prize?"
"It's not that simple, Kara..." Ward starts, but then he realizes that in fact, it was that simple. All in all.
"It's *him* you want, isn't it?" When she looks at him again, her face has turned into Fitz's, thanks to that damn nano mask.
"Stop." Ward steps back, equally surprised and appalled that she knows.
Bucky knows, but only because Ward wanted him to know. Simmons knows, apparently, and Ward is not sure what to think of that. It's been none of Kara's business and he has no idea how she found out. She must be bluffing.
"It's okay, Ward." She still looks like Fitz. "I forgive you, Ward," she continues, mockingly. "Is that what you want?"
"You have every right to be pissed. Send me to hell, if you want to, or try at least," he says through gritted teeth. "but *stop* this!"
"Enjoy it while it lasts." Kara sounds very pleased with herself now. "It's probably the closest you can get to the real deal." With that, she grabs Ward by his leather jacket, stretches, and kisses him, Fitz's face still plastered over her own.
It lasts only a second before he pushes her away.
"Enough!" He pulls out his gun from behind his back, and she changes back into her usual face when he points it at her. "Just go! If you don't, I'll shoot you!" Ward yells, as furious about her behavior as he is about himself, letting her to get to him.
"Now now, Ward, Team Coulson wouldn't like that," Kara says with a fake smile, and picking up her bag, she walks for the door.
"They wouldn't know." he says loud enough for her to hear, aiming at the back of her head and releasing the safety. "So don't tempt me..."
He sees her back and shoulder tense up and knows that she heard his words and the clicking. That she is aware of a weapon still being pointed at her.
Ward takes it down when the door closes behind her, and it takes all of his willpower not to go after her and turn his words into action.
He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and exhales slowly when he hears a faint buzz behind his back.
When he turns around, there is Fitz, of all people, picking up one of his 'dwarves'.
"I'm testing the dwarves," he explains, matter of factly, fidgeting with the gadget in his hands.
Ward nods, considering asking Fitz how long he has been standing there and how much he had seen, but somehow he can't. He is just standing there, wanting nothing more than to pretend that none of this happened.
"You wouldn't really have shot her, would you?" Fitz asks nervously, and Ward shakes his head.
"No." Then he adds an "I don't think so," because that's closer to the truth.
"Good." Fitz looks relieved, yet his fingers are still running nervously across the edges of whatever it is exactly that he was testing. "How does kissing a nano mask feel?" he suddenly wants to know. "Is it like kissing the real person, or more like an artificial surface?"
Okay, Ward didn't expect that question. "It felt like Kara," he says cautiously after a second.
He also wants to say that he can't draw any comparisons, because he's never kissed Fitz, but the situation is awkward enough already, so he doesn't.
"Interesting." Fitz nods, and clutching the technology to his chest, he adds. "I'll put it away, then..." With that, he leaves, quickly.
Ward stays where he is, fighting the urge to hit his own head against the wall.