Being grounded for a week sucked more than he thought it would (though it meant more board games with Steve, Clint, and Nat, who won at every single game they played). It meant he had to come home straight after school instead of going to see Skye (though she still snuck out to see him after-hours on the roof), and it meant that FitzSimmons couldn't come over (though Steve accidentally brought them home on a day when Coulson was working, and the three of them decided Steve was better off not knowing what he'd done).

Ward did decide, however, that mouthing off at Melinda May was not going to get him there.

He was still angry, of course.

Being a mess doesn't stop just because someone understands you, though it does help.

The Academy was still hanging over his head, Skye was ridiculously happy about the school she was ditching him for next year… but at least Coulson understood. Sometimes he understood too well, however.

It was Friday, three days after he'd been grounded, and he was feeding the new puppy its bottle when Coulson asked him for help with the dishes. He'd retorted impatiently before he thought about it, and Coulson just waited patiently until Ward let out his breath in an angry huff and handed Nat the puppy to feed as he got up to help with dishes.

(Ward needn't have worried about how she would have reacted to the puppy, since she seemed to have decided, quite protectively, that it belonged to her and she was keeping it).

When he and Coulson had finished the dishes, Coulson tossed the dish towel to him. "Agent Hand has a team on the field right now, and she wants me to be there for the briefing when they return. You're on your own for the night, so get to bed early, okay? You said you'd be at Aziz and Amie's first thing tomorrow."

Ward muttered something under his breath about damn curfews and not a kid, and Coulson's jaw tightened imperceptibly. Coulson didn't say anything (and godfuckingdamnit how were you supposed to be pissed off when they wouldn't get angry back at you?), and just stepped past Ward and out of the kitchen.

Ward sulked.

There was no other word for it.

He didn't have a real reason to be pissed off, and he knew it. But being grounded sucked and having Coulson gone for most of the night sucked and not being able to see Skye because of her stupid school sucked and he was so damn tired of waiting for S.H.I.E.L.D. to either accept or reject him.

He got the call that night from the Academy, asking him to come in the next evening to complete tests—one standardized test that all applicants took, including a special proficiency measurement that included different languages, and one physical test with basic hand-to-hand and sparring.

The first test was relatively easy, but when it came to the hand-to-hand combat and hand-eye coordination, he was too nervous and too tired and ended up messing up one of the most basic self-defense escapes he was asked to do.

Coulson had been outside the room and had seen the test. He was there when Ward exited the room.

"You saw it?" Ward asked curtly, clenching his fists on the token—the frayed knot that felt worn and tired in his palm—that Melinda May had given him to cope with stress.

Coulson nodded, and when he saw Ward's expression, he added as they reached the car outside, "You did fine."

"You know damn well I didn't," Ward said sharply, looking out the car window away from Coulson's too-understanding eyes.

May met them at the entrance of the Hub. "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Ward told her curtly, hating the flash of understanding on her inscrutable face.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been looking to recruit you for the past couple of years because of your skills," May told him. "You'll be accepted."

"You don't know that. They could just tell me to reapply after high school," Grant snapped.

"We'll figure it out," Coulson said calmly, placing a hand on Grant's shoulder. "Whatever happens, you don't have to go back to the school in town."

Grant shrugged his hand off roughly. "You wouldn't be trying to make me feel better—or whatever the hell it is you think you're doing—if you didn't think I did a shitty job today."

"I think you did well," Coulson told him. "You're the one who thinks it was shitty."

"Stop," Grant told him sharply. "This. Isn't. Helping."

Coulson hesitated, his lips tightening into a firm line, and then he nodded. "Okay," he said finally, his tone strained. "Agent Hand has another special briefing she needs me for, so I have to head down there now. Are you going to be okay?"

"Yea," Ward said coldly, turning away. "Fine."

Coulson left, and the moment he was out of the door, May's hand closed tightly over Grant's arm and she yanked him unceremoniously into the dimly-lit kitchen.

"What the hell?" Ward demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing," May said angrily. "Do you always make it your policy to treat Coulson like shit, or is it only when he's actively trying his best to help you?"

Ward opened his mouth angrily, and then shut it again, his face reddening.

"He's so patient," May continued, shaking her head. "And he cares. He cares so fucking much. Do you know how rare that is?"

Ward gritted his teeth and looked away, nodding his head just slightly. "Yea," he said in a small voice. "I know."

May's face softened just slightly. "You know, you're a lot like me, kid."

"Yea," Ward said sarcastically. "Minus the legendary badassery."

Her lips twitched slightly. "I don't know about that. I've heard the stories about you, kid. Like I said, we're similar. We think alike. And that's how you know I'll kick your ass if you continue treating Coulson like shit."

Ward raised his eyebrows, smirking just slightly. "I don't doubt it."

May cuffed his shoulder gently and then turned, pointing at the door. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"What?"

"Go," she ordered. "Come on. Off with you. You can catch Coulson before the briefing."

Grant caught up to Coulson on the floor below. Coulson had opened the door to the briefing room when Grant called out to stop him. "Dad," he called, and Coulson turned just as Ward realized what he'd just said and clapped a hand over his mouth.

Coulson waved off the agent accompanying him and waited for Grant. "You okay?"

Grant nodded, his face reddening as he shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't meant to blurt out the word—hadn't even thought about it—but Coulson was smiling just slightly. "I didn't mean to say—um—I"—

"It's okay," Coulson said. "If… if you want to call me that. Or if you don't."

Grant swallowed nervously. "Yea," he said. "I guess… uh, I guess I do. I just came to say I was sorry. For…talking to you like that."

"Did May talk to you?"

Grant's head snapped up, and Coulson was grinning.

"I know her," he said. "And I know when she's pissed off."

"I sort of thought she was always pissed off," Grant said. "But I… really. I shouldn't have…I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

Coulson didn't say anything, just pulled him close. He drew back, smiling slightly. "You'll get into the Academy. I know you will. Or"—

"Or we'll burn this motherfucker down," Nat said in passing as she and Clint walked by, casually carrying two massive assault rifles.

"Something like that," Coulson said, rolling his eyes as they passed. "You should get back upstairs. I'll be back in time for dinner."

Twenty minutes later—after he had stopped to talk to Banner, who had just arrived and was working in one of the labs—he ran into Maria Hill and Brock Rumlow, another high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent he had heard stories of.

"I have something for Coulson," Hill said, holding out an envelope to Grant. "Could you deliver this to him?"

"He's briefing an op right now, but I'll give it to him when he gets back."

"It's urgent," Rumlow said. "He won't mind being interrupted." He exchanged a look with Hill, and for half a moment Grant thought she almost smiled.

Grant nodded and set off back towards the room where he had left Coulson.

Coulson was just exiting, and Grant held out the envelope. "Agent Hill and Agent Rumlow said this was urgent."

Coulson tore open the envelope, and then a slow smile spread across his face.

"What is it?" Grant asked curiously.

"The S.H.I.E.L.D. academy, ops division, is a place for gifted young men and women committed to being the shield to a world that is not always ready for the truth about extraterrestrial life," Coulson read. "We were impressed with Mr. Ward's remarkable grasp on multiple languages, as well as his astounding hand-to-hand skills. It is with pleasure that we welcome Grant Ward as a S.H.I.E.L.D. cadet in our honors program."

Grant nearly tackled Coulson off his feet in his excitement.

"We should tell the others," Coulson said, and Grant nearly ran back up the stairs to their quarters.

When he opened the door, they were all there—Nat and Clint, Steve and Tony and even Bruce, Jane and Thor, Pepper and Skye and Fitz and Simmons, Maria Hill and May and Hand and even Rumlow—and it was Darcy who shouted, "Surprise!" at the top of her lungs.

Someone was holding a cake.

Grant opened his mouth in amazement. "What"—

"We're celebrating, doorknob," Skye informed him, throwing her arms around him while Tony cleared his throat disapprovingly behind her. "You got into the Academy."

Grant turned to Coulson, who was grinning. "You knew?"

"I found out about fifteen minutes ago, actually," he said. "Hand told me during that briefing. It was Bruce's job to keep you distracted, and it was Maria and Rumlow who had to re-direct you back here."

Fitz, who was holding the new puppy and petting Buddy, nearly tackled him with a hug. "We'll all be at the Academy next year!" he exclaimed, bouncing on his heels. "Well, except Skye, but she can always just sneak in"—

Skye coughed loudly in a blatant attempt to cover up his words, and Agent Hand grinned.

"I'm sure we all expect it by now," Hill said, exchanging a look with Steve. "I think we'd be disappointed if you didn't."

"I've decided to intern at the Academy," Darcy announced. "Let's be honest, Jane has a more muscly assistant now. I'm going to be a house parent for one of the girls' dorms. For the ones actually living at the Academy, I mean."

"You're going to be a house parent?" Grant asked, and Skye snickered.

"That's going to be a disaster, and I want to be there to see all of it," Agent Hand said.

"Me too," Hill agreed.

The party went late, and it involved cake—made by Thor and Jane—a rowdy game of Twister in which Fitz almost broke his arm, Nat's announcement that they were officially keeping the puppy, and a glass of champagne from the bottle Skye had snuck out of Tony's wine cellar, much to Pepper's chagrin and Tony's thinly-veiled pride.

It was late that night, after everyone had dispersed to their various rooms or homes, when Coulson found Grant on the roof.

He was sitting at the edge as he usually did, looking out over the Hub base.

"Can I join you?"

Ward looked up, nodding, and Coulson sat down beside him.

"I just brought this," Coulson said, holding out a small package.

Grant took it.

"Open it," Coulson told him.

He tore the tissue paper off.

It was a badge.

"It's your first S.H.I.E.L.D. badge," Coulson said quietly. "It'll give you access to all of the lower floors on the Hub, the practice rooms and the shooting range, as well as the floors you need to access on the Academy."

Grant felt emotion clench at the back of his throat. He remembered briefly a wild boy in the woods of Massachusetts, hearing the word 'home' for the first time, and wondering what it felt like.

Coulson put an arm across Grant's shoulders and pulled him closer. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., Grant. You've earned it."

"Thanks," he said, swallowing hard. "Thanks, Dad."

Author's Note: There will be a part 4, so stay tuned! I may not have it up for a while, because I'm going to take some time. I've been writing a lot, and need a bit of a break. As always, thanks for all your support, my friends! Your likes/favorites and reviews/comments are what keeps me writing. (: