A/N: So, had a funny thing happen. I had someone go onto one of my other stories (a story for Naruto, no less) and ask me to update this story. This one, 'Pivotal Moment' on the SHIELD fandom. I stared at it with my head tilted for about three minutes, trying to figure out why... Then I had to congratulate them (who unfortunately just used 'guest' instead of a name so I can't tell them in person) for honestly surprising my and I must say, that was the most original plea for an update I've ever seen.
So, I said hell with it and I came up with this. Enjoy mysterious guest reviewer.
Avenger Tower: New York City
Five and a Half Months Ago
This was a bad idea. Such a bad idea, terrible really. Who's idea was this anyways? Oh yeah, Barton's. Stupid Barton and his stupid ideas and what made it worse was that he actually listened to Clint's dumb ideas. And Natasha was backing him up too, the traitor. Though to be fair, she would side with Barton if she was ever forced to choose, every time.
Still, Ward had hoped she might've at least discouraged this insane plan.
It hurt just to be standing here, in the well lit hallways and staring at the closed door in front of him. 'It's just a door,' he told himself but it didn't make him feel any better. There was still that ache in his chest, like a large piece of his soul had been ripped out. Barton thought that this would help him fill that void; thought that if he went through with this, maybe it wouldn't hurt so goddamn much.
What Ward didn't tell Clint was that the gaping hole felt like it had already been filled with lava and acid and poison and all the things that hurt in this world.
With a hand that trembled more than he felt comfortable with, he knocked twice on the closed door. Every room in Stark Tower was soundproof, but he imagined that all conversation on the other side of the door stopped. Briefly, Ward wondered if Clint and Natasha told them he was coming. Knowing those two, they probably didn't.
At least JARVIS let him in the building. (Ward was still a little disconcerted about a building that talked, much less one that knew who he really was) It had been strange when that voice in the ceiling asked if he wanted 'him' to inform the others that he was here. Ward simply said that Natasha already knew he was coming to visit.
Only a few seconds passed before the door was opened from the other side. To his relief, the one that answered the door was Clint. Ward tried not to notice all of the people in his peripheral vision, and instead focused on his foster brother.
"I half thought you wouldn't show up," Barton mumbled, without the usual smile that was almost always on his face.
There was no smile on Ward's face as well. "Nat threatened to hang me by my toes if I didn't," he answered. Clint gave a little huff, a semblance of a chuckle but neither of them gave the effort to actually smile at the joke.
"That is something Tash would do…" Shaking his head lightly, he moved aside to let Ward enter. "C'mon, I promise this won't be as bad as you think."
Grant seriously doubted that.
"Be nice," Romanov warned all of them, but her eyes were more aimed at Tony Stark. At the warning obviously being directed at him, Tony threw his arms up from his sides. "Why are you lookin' at me?" he asked incredulously.
Beside him, Pepper slapped a hand across his shoulder," Just listen to her, Tony."
Natasha continued as if Tony never spoke," It took a lot of convincing just to get him to come. So I expect you to be on your best behavior, and not ask him too many questions. He gets really defensive when it comes to his personal life."
"Umm, excuse me?" Tony held up a hand as if in school," But am I correct in the assumption that you invited a stranger to my tower?" Pepper hit him again. "What? We don't even know who it is, and she's the one telling us to be nice?"
This time, it was Steve who spoke up," That's because you have no manners, Stark." There was a condescending frown on his face as he sipped from his morning coffee and leaned against the counter. Then his eyes roved over to Natasha who was still scowling at Tony. "But he's got a point," he added," Who is at the door?"
Her eyes flickered towards him, and for an instant Steve thought he saw a hint of vulnerability on her face. "He's family," she said quietly, and the entire room fell silent.
Well… that was entirely unexpected. Not only did none of them think she had any family other than Barton, but that she was willing to let them meet him was on another level. Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton were the most secretive of the entire bunch of them, and it had taken them two whole weeks for them to even accept Tony's invitation to live at Stark Tower (affectionately nicknamed Avenger Tower).
Even Tony, the master of inappropriate sarcasm, had nothing to say at this moment. The only one who spoke was Bruce, who calmly set down the newspaper before asking Natasha," Is there anything specific we should know?"
She opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment Clint walked back in, followed by a man none of them knew. He stopped in the doorway, literally halting in his steps and unable to enter the dining room. Even when Barton paused and turned to gesture for him to come in, he just shook his head.
He was… well, exactly what one would expect from a super secret spy organization. Tall and well built, wearing all black and to be honest, looked ridiculously handsome. (Tony briefly wondered if good looks was a job requirement in order to work for SHIELD) At another time, he also might've looked tough, but with the wary expression on his face right now, he just looked… scared.
"Everyone, this is Grant Ward," Clint clapped a hand on the newcomer's shoulder. With the hand on shoulder, he steered Grant into the room and started introductions. "This is Bruce Banner-" Bruce waved with one hand "-this asshole is Tony Stark-" There was a shit eating grin on Tony's face, as if he thoroughly approved the adjective attached to his name "-and Pepper Pots." She smiled sweetly at Ward, who just nodded in acknowledgment to her, unable to muster up the will to smile back.
Then Barton steered his foster brother over to the last occupant of the room. Steve Rogers politely set down his mug on the counter and straightened up to greet the soldier. It was clear to him that Grant Ward was a soldier, it was something military men always seemed to pick up around others, the ability to pick out who their soldier brethren were. It was in the way Ward carried himself, despite his obvious unwillingness to be there. "Hi, I'm Steve Rogers," he tried to smile encouragingly at the younger man (even though physically they appeared to be the same age) and held out his hand.
That's when everything went wrong. Barton saw it first, saw how Ward paused midstep, literally freezing when he locked eyes with Captain America. Yet it was Steve who saw the whites of Grant's eyes, saw his pupils contract as he sucked in a shallow breath, then hold it. The next thing anyone knew, Ward turned on his heels and booked it through the door.
"Fuck," Clint swore and ran after him, turning to Natasha just before the doorway," You were right: seeing his dad's hero reminded him."
Usually, Natasha liked it when someone told her she was right, but in this instance she just sighed and hung her head. "Damn it," she swore under her breath, but they all heard her just the same," I hate being right."
"What just happened?" Tony was the first to ask.
"Wait," Steve was the next to speak up, his head whipping around look inquisitively," Did he say 'his dad's hero'?"
A guilty look crossed Natasha's face. "Well…" she began, glancing at Bruce, who like the others was looking at her expectantly," Remember when you asked if there was anything specific you should know?"
"Yeah?" he crossed his arms and nodded.
"…You just met Coulson's son…"
Somewhere over Central America
Present Day
Coulson paused in his steps as he passed the lounge on his way to his office and bedroom. The reason for such was lounging on the couch, his feet propped up on one armrest and his head on the other end. Ward had a hand behind his head while the other comfortably held his phone in front of him, the movie Terminator 2 displayed on the screen and the volume down low.
"Ward," Coulson called and walked over to the couch and its movie watching occupant," It's one in the morning, what are you doing still up?" His approach did not surprise Ward, which was nothing new really; he had a scary good sense of situational awareness and no doubt knew the instant Coulson entered the room.
Without taking his eyes off his phone, Ward answered," Waiting for you actually." At that, Coulson raised an eyebrow," While watching the Terminator?"
Ward just shrugged. "Clint suggested I watch it," he said, then pausing his movie he sat up so he could look properly at his mentor," Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." His face was grim and serious, as it was wont to do, but even Coulson could tell that there was something weighing heavily on Ward's mind. Unfortunately, he had a brief suspicion what it might be about.
With a deep exhale, Coulson crossed his arms," Look, if this is still about Skye, I've made up my mind. She stays."
But Ward was shaking his head. "No, it's not about her," he began, then paused momentarily as if to correct his own words," Well, that's a whole other issue, but I'll bug you about it later-" A smile cracked across Coulson's face; he had no doubt that Ward would bring it up tomorrow for sure. "-but really I just…"
He paused again and furrowed his eyebrows, in the way he always did when he couldn't quite find the words for what he was trying to say. Coulson smiled, happy to know that some things never changed with his foster son. It was comforting… to see the way Grant would glance down and to the side, his eyebrows furrowed and one corner of his lips pursed, in the exact same way he did as a kid.
Truth be told, Coulson was worried about him, even more so when he finally got to see him only a few short days ago. These past seven years hadn't been easy. Coulson did his best to keep his distance, to give Ward the chance to be a SHIELD agent on his own, to make it through the ranks with his own strength… just the way he wanted.
Sure, they had talked on the phone off and on these past years, but it wasn't the same. Coulson, Barton, nor Romanov had been present for any of Ward's official SHIELD missions. They hadn't seen how well or how bad he had done; hadn't been able to sit with him and help him after the particularly hard ones; hadn't been able to congratulate him on a job well done.
When, in Mission Control, he asked if he was supposed to take out the Rising Tide member (whom at the time they didn't know to be Skye), Coulson felt a little bit of his heart break. Where was the young man who hated death, who promised as a kid that he would never kill someone who was good, who had a good and compassionate heart? It scared Coulson, when he asked him that and he honestly flustered at that moment, a tiny bit unsure if this was his same boy.
And yet… today, Ward proved himself. For however much he preached on how necessary it was to shoot Mike, he never took the shot… Coulson knew: Ward had a thousand and one chances to shoot Mike, to take him out, but not once did he fire, not before the Night Night rifle.
With a smile, and the hope that maybe Ward hadn't changed all that much since he left all that time ago, Coulson sat on the couch next to him. Ward himself sighed, getting frustrated that he couldn't get the words out. "I just…" he started, then stumbled again," It's been, well… a while and then six months ago- you know…" Yes, he did know. Six months ago, Coulson died and he knew that it had been hard on Ward. A part of him wondered how he coped those months, how he dealt with his death, and though he knew Clint and Natasha helped, it couldn't have been easy. Especially for Natasha, who had had to take care of both the boys: Grant who had always been emotionally unstable, and Clint who had been possessed by an evil god.
"Agh," a sound of frustration escaped Ward's mouth and he threw his head back to look skyward," What I'm trying to say is-"
"I missed you too, Grant."
It amused Coulson how Ward's eyes shot wide open and he snapped his head back up to stare at him open mouthed. Then his face softened and there was that disbelieving smile and head shake. "You understood all that rambling?" 'All that rambling' couldn't have been more than ten words, so most of it must've been internal and Coulson chuckled. Only Grant would think that a few broken sentences was 'rambling'.
With a smile, Coulson leaned his head on the back of the couch. A deep sigh escaped him," Seven years…"
"Ten if you count the three I was in the academy…"
"Hey, I made it to your graduation," Coulson defended himself, but seeing the grin on Ward's face he knew he was only teasing. 'Brat,' he thought, but still smiled and shook his head.
"But really," Ward continued," You have no idea how much it means to me that you chose me to be part of this team. To be on your team again."
Coulson smiled," I'm glad you came along." Then he stood up -it was way past bedtime- and swiped his hands over his suit to straighten out any wrinkles that may have appeared. "I'm going to bed," he announced," and so should you. We'll be in Peru tomorrow." Ward waved, grabbing his phone again and probably planning on finishing his movie before going to bed.
But before Coulson exited the room, he turned around to add," Besides, can't have a team without 'Baby Brother' Grant Ward."
"Hey!" Ward whisper-yelled after him, but Coulson was already out of sight," I still want my code name to be changed! It's stupid!"
All he heard was an echo of Coulson's chuckle.
A/N: Here ya'll go! I tried to give you some father-son love. Or at least, as much as you can with a robot like Ward. Next chapter will be up soon; just putting finishing touches on it.