2013 ― Sweden

Grant Ward and Audrey Fury were in the lab with Fitz-Simmons. They were working on what they called the 'night-night' gun, but Audrey knew that needed a new name. The pair decided that they would keep their romantic relationship to themselves for a bit and carry on as normal in front of the team. They didn't want to tell the entire team until they talked to Coulson first. Although there are no rules or regulations against Agents dating, they are on the same team, they're partners in the field, and Coulson is technically in charge of them. He should know first. But they wanted to make sure that the transition from platonic to romantic was on solid footing before they told anyone. They don't want their relationship to mess with the group dynamic if it doesn't last.

"I only get one shot, and it has to knock a person back as well as out," Grant said to Fitz.

"Which is why we're perfecting this little beauty. 45-caliber cartridges, semi-automatic. Each mag contains eight therapeutic rounds of dendrotoxin." Fitz said as he loaded the gun.

"In case you miss," Simmons said. Grant and Audrey both gave her a look because they never miss a shot. If they ever do miss a shot, it was purposeful to whatever they were doing. "Or if you have multiple assailants." Simmons quickly added in when she noticed their looks. Grant reached out and tried to take the gun from Fitz, but he pulled back.

"Yeah, we're gonna have this new night-night pistol working in no time, okay?" Fitz said.

"Great," Grant responded.

"One thing though, we're not calling it that. We desperately need a new name for it," Audrey said, and Simmons' face lit up.

"Ah! I told you." She said. Audrey smiled at her. She and Grant walked out of the lab just as Coulson was coming down the stairs.

"Have either of you seen Skye?" He asked.

"Not since weapons training," Grant said.

"Has she stopped saying 'bang' when she pulls the trigger?" Coulson asked.

"Mostly. Now, if she could just learn the difference between the safety release and the magazine release, we'll be making real progress." Grant said. Coulson nodded his head and continued down the stairs while Audrey and Grant went upstairs and into the main cabin.

"Also, she was one more 'bang' away from me shooting her with that night-night gun that needs a new name," Audrey said, and Grant laughed.

"Sometimes, you can be really charming, Rey."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The team got a new mission. They would be investigating a string of heists, and the latest hit was Sweden. While May, Coulson, and Skye went to the scene of the incident, Audrey and Grant were also gathering intel on those who were involved. May, Coulson, and Skye were back, and they were in the command room waiting for Grant and Audrey.

"Swedish customs confirmed that Amador left the country using an alias on a Swedish passport. She flew into Belarus and bought a train ticket to a town called Zloda." Grant said as he pulled up her former S.H.I.E.L.D. ID.

"We've also put together a list of individuals who could fence that many diamonds," Audrey said as she pulled them up on the big screen. "There's been no contact or activity." She said.

"Maybe she's saving them for a rainy day, buying something special. Let's focus on finding Amador." Coulson said.

"I'll let HQ know she's alive so they can assist with the manhunt," May said. Coulson immediately turned to her.

"I'd like to hold off on that until we know more. Contact Belarus authorities. Find us a place to park The Bus." Coulson said. May nodded her head and walked off, then he turned to Grant and Audrey. "Put together a list of inns, hotels, and pensions near Zloda. There can't be that many of them. We'll find her." He said. The pair nodded.

Then they all went their separate ways.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"How exciting. I've dreamed of visiting Zloda since I was a schoolgirl." Simmons said from the backseat of their vehicle. Grant was driving, and Audrey was riding passenger since she was his partner. Fitz-Simmons, Skye, and Coulson were in the back.

"Zloda, Belarus? A dream come true? Really?" Fitz asked.

"I gotta agree with Fitz here... this is an interesting dream traveling spot," Audrey said.

"It's the birthplace of Nobel Physicist Zhores Alferov. I mean, technically, he's from Vitebsk, but that's less than an hour from here, and I'm a bit disappointed that Fitz didn't know that." Simmons said. Fitz quickly shook his head.

"Well, no, of course, I know who that is. Father of heterostructure transistors, thank you very much. We're all well aware of that. I'm just a little bit preoccupied. Our first and only other time in the field wasn't exactly a picnic, was it?" Fitz said.

"You guys are only here to search for Amador electronically. You won't even need to leave the van," Coulson said.

"Bus to Short Bus." May's voice came through the PA system.

"Go for Short Bus," Audrey responded.

"Next time, I'll decide what we call ourselves, okay?" Coulson said.

"Short Bus wasn't my idea," Audrey said.

"I know, I was talking to your partner," Coulson said, making Audrey laugh. Grant looked over at them because he didn't see anything wrong with the name.

"HQ has requested a status update," May said.

"What did you tell them?" Coulson asked.

"That we're tracking a potential suspect. Nothing more." May said.

"I owe you one," Coulson said.

"More like three," May said. Grant parked as they reached their destination. He pulled off to the side of the road and parked further into the grass. Grant, Audrey, and Coulson would be going into town to look for Amador while Skye and Fitz-Simmons stayed in the van.

"If Amador's here, she'll have to contact her buyer. Scan for cell phone transmissions, encrypted emails, and anomalous broadcast signatures. Call us if you find anything that indicates her presence." Coulson said as he opened the back door and got out.

"Maintain radio silence unless you really need help," Grant said. He got out of the van and walked over to the passenger side to open the door for Audrey. Grant and Coulson were wearing suits, while Audrey was wearing a formal all-black jumpsuit.

"Well, what exactly defines needing help?" Fitz called out after them.

But the door had already shut.

As they approached the town and walked to the necessary building, Grant turned to Coulson. "I can only imagine how painful this must be for you, sir. Betrayed by someone you trained and believed in," Grant said. Audrey had no idea how ironic these words were coming from his mouth.

"We don't have all the facts yet," Coulson said.

"And while that is technically true, we do have to assume the worst. It's not like we're here on a friendly visit." Audrey said as she sighed. "Not to mention she sold out two other agents on her mission. I can't help but wonder what she's getting in exchange." She said.

"I don't know, but until we do, I'm not gonna assume anything," Coulson said as he walked out ahead of them. Grant looked at Audrey, and she shrugged her shoulders, silently communicating that they just needed to fall in line.

They continued on behind Coulson.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

As Coulson was getting information on Amador, Audrey stayed outside of the building he and Grant were in, and her phone started ringing. She pulled it from her pocket and saw that it was Skye. She sighed before answering. "Did you locate Amador?" She asked.

"What? No, not yet. But we've found a broadcast with some weird signal encrypted into it." Skye said.

"Do you think Amador might be communicating on that signal?" Audrey asked.

"Maybe, but I called with an equally pressing question, and you're less intimidating than Ward... sometimes... What are we supposed to do if we have to pee?" She asked, and Audrey rolled her eyes.

"Please tell me this is one of your non-funny jokes," Audrey said, and the line remained quiet. "You broke protocol because you needed a bathroom break?" She asked.

"It was a really, really long drive, and everyone's nervous," Skye said, and Audrey sighed.

"You have two options. Option number one, there is a container in the bottom of the blue chest," Audrey said.

"Bottom of the blue chest," Skye said to Fitz-Simmons. Simmons dug through it until she pulled out an empty water bottle. "Not the water bottle?" Skye asked.

"The very one," Audrey responded.

"Didn't you learn that boy parts and girl parts are different, and as you should know, our parts aren't penises!" Skye said, and Audrey rolled her eyes.

"Option number two is... you're in a clearing in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees and bushes, go outside," Audrey said.

"You cannot be serious," Skye said.

"Agent Coulson, Agent Ward, and I are trying to find a dangerous criminal. So either use one of the two options I gave you, hold it in, or pee on yourself, I don't care." Audrey said, and Skye sighed.

"Well, listen, Fitz wants to know if you packed any snacks," Skye said. Audrey rolled her eyes.

Then she hung up the phone.

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"Dobryy Den." Coulson greeted the receptionist when the three of them entered the hotel that Coulson had received the name of from someone he asked about the location.

"Good afternoon." The receptionist responded.

"I'm Agent Coulson; these are Agents Ward and Fury. We're looking for this young woman." Coulson said as he turned his phone around to show the receptionist a picture of Amador.

"Oh, she's my angel." She said.

"Why do you say that?" Audrey asked.

"She has a gift... knows things. She told me to go to the doctor. He found a tumor. I'm having surgery next week. This girl saved me." She said. Coulson looked at Audrey and Grant, they knew exactly what he was thinking.

"It's essential that we talk to her," Coulson said.

"With her gift, I'm sure she knows you're coming."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The team was back on The Bus. Amador attacked Fitz-Simmons and Skye while they were in the van. She didn't shoot at them or kill them, but she knocked the van into a ditch that was near where Grant parked. Grant was fed up, he was tired of Coulson giving her the benefit of the doubt at the expense of their team. He wanted her arrested.

"Sir, Amador attacked you and your people. Whatever regard you hold for her isn't reciprocated. She just kicked us in the teeth." Grant said. He and Audrey pulled Coulson aside because this was the behavior her father told her to be on the lookout for.

"How's the team?" Coulson asked.

"Rattled. No broken bones. We're lucky that she only knocked over the van so she could get away. It'll probably take a while for our folks to refocus." Audrey said.

"I think I can recover the data signature of that encrypted broadcast. I don't understand it yet, but that's how she was watching us." Skye's voice rang from around the corner, and all three agents turned around. "Give me an hour; maybe we can start watching back."

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Grant and Audrey followed Skye out of the briefing room and followed her down into the lab. Coulson and May were right behind them. "Something's wrong. It's the same feed that was watching us in the van. Uh, put it on the big monitor." Skye said.

"Maybe the lens broke when the van rammed us," Simmons said as they all walked over to the holograph table and the bigger screen.

"I hope she broke more than that," Skye said as he put the tablet down on the table, and it reflected onto the big screen. They saw Amador wiping steam from a mirror.

"It's a mirror. Are we recording this?" Coulson asked.

"Uh, we are now," Skye said.

"Whoa," Fitz said.

"How are we seeing this? Where's the camera?" Coulson asked. They watched as Amador picked up what looked like a scalpel and brought it up toward her eye.

"It's her eye... she's the camera," Audrey said. When Amador closed her eyes, the screen switched, and it looked like they were looking at an X-Ray.

"It switches to backscatter when she closes her eyes," Fitz said.

"You're a robot. Can you do that?" Audrey teased as she looked at Grant. He looked down at her, but he didn't say anything. When he looked away, she could see a hint of a smile on his face.

"Who has tech like this?" Grant asked.

"We don't. Not like this. Not this small and internal. That's at least a decade ahead of anything I've seen. Though, now that I've seen it, I could maybe approximate it, the backscatter X-Ray, a micro-transceiver that somehow doesn't fry her brain, an internal power source..." Fitz trailed off.

"All miniaturized. Honestly, it's..." Simmons started to say.

"Genius/That's genius." They said simultaneously. Amador opened her eyes, the feed returned to normal, and they could see her in the mirror again.

"We have to bring her in," Coulson said.

"We have to take her out. She's a weapon. I'll call HQ and see if we can bring a task force to help us." May said as she started to walk away.

"Our team can handle this," Coulson said. Audrey was tempted to pull May aside and tell her to contact HQ anyway because of her conversation with her father.

"I get it... You feel responsible... Maybe you pushed her too hard. But she tried to kill three members of our team." May said.

"If she wanted us dead, we'd be dead," Coulson said.

"We got lucky. You want to risk our lives again?" May asked.

"You told me you were ready for combat, that you had my back," Coulson said.

"Don't ever doubt it. But you are defending this girl at the expense of the team," May said.

"Because we protect our own," Coulson said.

"With all due respect, sir. She's not one of our own. Not anymore." Audrey said.

"Guys!" Skye exclaimed as she noticed something on the screen. When they all looked up, Amador was writing on a piece of paper.

"Why does she have to ask for permission?" Simmons asked. The message on the paper read, 'can I sleep?' and then the response popped up and read, 'stand by.'

"She's not being watched. She's being controlled. We have to find her. We'll take shifts watching the feed. Sooner or later, she'll look at something that will clue us into her location." Coulson said, and then May looked at him.

"I'll take the first watch."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

May was able to locate Amador, and they brought her back to The Bus. They transferred the feed from her eye into a pair of glasses that Grant Ward was currently wearing, so her handler would think Grant was her. He and Audrey were going to complete her mission, and Skye was with them since she was the main one who intercepted the feed, while Simmons and Fitz were going to find a way to deactivate the kill switch in her eye.

"Where are we?" Skye asked when Grant put the car in park.

"Todorov building. I think it's research, not military." Grant said.

"It looks like a prison," Skye said.

"Are we wireless yet?" Audrey asked.

"Yup... ready to detach," Skye said as she reached up and grabbed the wire that was connected to the glasses. When her fingers brushed up against Ward's neck, he jumped slightly and was about to turn around, but Skye quickly grabbed his head and pushed it back forward before he could fully turn around. "Don't look at me. They need to think you're her." She said.

"Oh my goodness, who would've thought Grant Ward was so ticklish? Thanks for the intel, Skye." Audrey said, making Skye laugh.

"Always happy to help." She said. Grant was about to turn his head toward his girlfriend, but Audrey caught his cheek and pushed his face forward so he couldn't.

"I know I'm irresistible, Ward, but you can't look at me either. As Skye said, Amador's handlers need to think you're her."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"It would suck to live like this," Skye said when the first message on the feed popped up for the mission. "Wondering if someone's watching."

"Testing backscatter," Grant said. He tapped the side of the glasses and looked out of his car window, and then he faced forward again and switched it back to normal view.

"Good to go," Skye said as she handed a device to Grant.

"Remember, I can't look at either of you, much less help you," Grant said.

"Got it, don't count on you for help," Skye said.

"Not that I've ever needed his help anyway." Audrey teased. Grant chuckled a bit. He wanted to roll his eyes, but he couldn't, and he also couldn't look at Audrey.

"Alright, Rey... you ready?" He asked. Audrey nodded her head, and they opened their doors, and Skye sighed.

"I'll be watching."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

"Hey, remember, you have man hands, so don't look when you scan the card," Skye's voice rang through the comms. Grant entered the building first. Audrey let a group of people pass in between them, and then she followed behind. She also had an ID badge Fitz-Simmons made for her to get inside with Grant.

"I know," Grant responded. Audrey continued to follow behind Grant, keeping about 4-5 people between them so she could blend in and not look like an obvious tail. "Approaching Delta 3." He said. Grant scanned his card again. A few moments later, while walking by, Audrey scanned hers too. "Are you still with me, Rey?" He asked.

"Don't worry. Not too far behind you." She said. They were both walking down a hallway, and since there weren't that many people in this hallway for Audrey to keep between them, she kept her distance behind him.

"Careful, mirror," Skye said. Audrey watched as Grant slightly lowered his head when he walked past a guard that was standing next to a mirror.

"Don't need your help," Grant responded. Audrey continued to follow Grant until they were in a more secluded area with office buildings. "Rey, I'm about to turn around, hide somewhere," Grant said.

"Got it," Audrey said as she ducked behind the wall. Grant turned around after looking inside one of the offices.

"What do they mean target?" Skye asked. Grant received a message from the handlers saying that the target was confirmed.

"It's never good, especially for the target. Let's hope it's a knockout and not a kill." Grant said.

"You two should get out of there," Skye said.

"I've come this far. I'll finish whatever it takes. Rey, you can circle back to Skye, I can handle this." Grant said.

"Shut up, Ward. You're my partner; if you're seeing this through, then I'm seeing it through with you." Audrey said. Grant looked in again, and then the message from the handler popped up.

'Seduce him.'

"Help..." Grant said.

"I'm sorry, did you say help? Because a minute ago, you said you didn't want or need my help." Skye said.

"That was before they asked me to go all Mata Hari on this guy... I'm just gonna knock him out." Grant said.

"Ward, wait. We may need them to get through the next door. Remember, it said seduce, not kill." Skye said.

"I don't think I'm his type," Grant said, making Audrey laugh.

"Lemme see... Cheap haircut, 5:00 shadow. Nope. Odds are you guys play for the same team. You're gonna have to bromance him." Skye said.

"Hold on; the orders are to seduce? Grant... can you get the glasses to me without tipping them off?" Audrey asked.

"It's not a bad idea... it could work. Audrey seduces him, Ward; you could pose as her bodyguard or something, and you both get through." Skye said.

"Okay... Rey, I'm gonna look at the ceiling to allow you to get over here... now." Grant said as he turned his head up. Audrey came out of the corner she was hiding behind, and she walked over to him. She put her back against the wall next to him. Grant slid the glasses off but kept them perfectly angled forward so the view didn't change. Audrey slowly grabbed them, keeping them perfectly angled, and she slipped them onto her face.

"Okay... We're good," Audrey said.

"Please, don't die," Skye said.

"Grant, get behind me," Audrey said. Grant nodded his head and stepped behind Audrey when she turned to face the door. She used the keycard to unlock it, and when they walked inside, the guard immediately stood up and started speaking in Russian. A language both agents were fluent in.

"Show me your identification." He said.

"How about that game last night?" Grant asked. Audrey didn't turn around, but she did stiffen up.

"Your ID." He repeated. Audrey patted herself down and strategically pulled her shirt a bit lower so that her cleavage was showing. She noticed the guard subtly try to look, and she slowly tilted her head to the side.

"It looks like I left my ID at home... that won't be a problem, will it?" Audrey asked as she lowered her voice into a more seductive tone and subtly pushed her chest out more. The guard looked down at her before looking back at her face. Then she noticed he looked at Grant. "Oh, don't worry about him, he works for me," Audrey said.

"Rey..." Grant whispered in English.

"Shut up." She mumbled back in English before she turned back to the guard. "So, what do you say?" Audrey said in Russian. When the guard didn't budge, she got impatient. "Alright, I've officially run out of patience." She said in English. She grabbed his arm, slapped his head on the desk, and knocked him out.

Audrey used the guard's keycard to scan them into the next room. Two men were typing on typewriters and looked up, but they didn't say anything; they just went back to typing. "What now? Are you supposed to grab one of them?" Skye asked because new instructions hadn't popped up. Audrey scanned around the room, and Grant made sure to stay out of her line of sight as she turned. Then she noticed a drawing on the back of the chalkboard that looked like symbols, but she couldn't tell.

When she turned around to focus on it, the glasses took a snapshot of it, and then the words, 'mission complete,' flashed across, and then another message. 'Good luck.' "Good luck... what the hell does that mean?" She asked. Grant shrugged his shoulders, and the two of them walked into the room where the guard was, Audrey noticed a countdown on his computer.

"Figured out what we needed the guard for...-his password," Grant said.

"Maybe I can talk you through a hack; just give me a minute," Skye said. The countdown finished, and then the alarm started to go off.

"Well, no more minutes... and I think I figured out what good luck means," Audrey said. Grant knelt to the unconscious guard and grabbed his gun.

"Rey..." Grant said.

"Don't worry, if I need a gun, I'll grab one," Audrey said.

"Skye, meet us on the south side of the building ASAP," Grant said as they ran out of the room.

"Gotcha," Skye said.

Audrey stayed a few paces ahead of Grant, and she kept her head down as they passed another person, but then the security guard caught onto them, and Grant saw him advancing. "Audrey, run. I got you covered." Grant said. Audrey took off running as the guard started to chase after both of them. Audrey turned down the hallway, and Grant was behind her with the gun, just in case.

Then they heard ringing, so they backed up against the wall. She turned on the backscatter on the glasses and saw four guards inside with their guns drawn. She held out her hand behind her. "Grant, give me the gun." She whispered. Grant placed the gun in her hands, as she moved along the wall, she shot the guards before they had the chance to leave the room.

"Audrey, Ward." Fitz's voice came through.

"What?" Grant asked.

"You sound winded. Is this a bad time?" Fitz asked.

"A little bit," Grant said as he and Audrey went behind a door and hid there as more guards passed them.

"Well, not so great for me either, considering I'm holding a still-attached prosthetic eye that could explode at any second," Fitz said.

"Are the wires exposed or shielded?" Audrey asked as she turned the corner, and she made the mistake of looking into a mirror. "Cut it now, Fitz! Cut the wires, now!" She exclaimed as she and Ward ran out of the room.

"Skye, we're coming your way," Grant said.

"I don't know what that means," Skye said.

"Audrey, give me the gun!" Grant exclaimed. Audrey didn't argue, and she tossed the gun back to Grant, which she realized wasn't safe, as the guards started shooting at them. Grant shot out the window they were approaching, and then they jumped through it. The agents rolled into their landing, and Grant helped her off the ground, then they ran onto the shipment case in front of them.

They heard car tires coming, so they both jumped down right in front of Skye. She quickly slammed on the brakes, and Grant opened the passenger door for Audrey and then he got in the back. "Let's go."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

The team was back on The Bus. Audrey had showered and decompressed from the mission, Grant had done the same. The two of them were in the main cabin playing poker together. "I'm sorry for that slip-up... I should've been more careful." She said, and Grant shook his head.

"That's not your fault, Rey... We were being chased; the good news is, we all made it out alive." He said as he looked at his cards, and Audrey nodded.

"Thanks for having my back," She said.

"Always... and you had mine first," Grant responded as he smiled. "Have you considered actually getting glasses? Because you looked adorable." He said, and Audrey laughed.

"Well, no... because my eyesight is fine, but I could get fake ones. Also, thank you... You looked good in them too... very good." Audrey said. Grant looked at her with a smirk on his face, and she smiled while shaking her head.

"Audrey Fury, are you flirting with me?" He asked, and Audrey rolled her eyes while shrugging her shoulders, but she didn't answer. She had her comm in her ear, and Skye was on the other side, she was helping her cheat, and she didn't want to reveal her relationship with Ward while Skye was listening.

"I'll call... and raise $100," Grant said as he threw some poker chips in the middle.

"Do you want to know how I'm gonna beat you?" Audrey asked.

"By losing?" Grant asked.

"You have a tell, a psychological tic that lets me know when you're bluffing. If I observe you." Audrey trailed off as she looked her boyfriend in his eyes. Grant raised an eyebrow, but he matched Audrey's stare, and she smiled at him, trying to catch him off-guard as she waited for Skye to tell her what Grant's cards were. Grant was fighting the urge to kiss her as they looked at each other.

"Oh, sorry. Hang on. You know if I do this, not only will I see Ward's cards, but I'll see you without any clothes on?" Skye asked. Audrey didn't care about that. They're both girls, they have the same parts.

"Still trying to see my tell, Rey, or are you just staring at me?" Grant asked.

"Just waiting for you to do it," Audrey said. That was mainly aimed at Skye. "Go ahead... I also don't mind just looking." She said with a small smile on her face.

"Alright. He's bluffing, you've got him. Also, you look great." Skye said. Audrey stifled a laugh because that was the second time Skye has complimented her in some way, but then she looked at Grant, and she put her cards down.

"All you, sweetheart." She teased. Grant looked at Audrey's cards, and then he looked at his cards, and he knew he didn't have the cards to beat her.

"Alright... I fold." He said, and Audrey smirked.

"Always playing checkers while I'm playing chess." She said. Grant rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling as he stood up. "Aw, is someone a sore loser?" She asked.

"Of course not. I'm getting us more chips; we're going again." He said, and Audrey laughed.

"Your pride, Ward!" She exclaimed. Once Grant was out of hearing range, she smiled. "Thanks, Skye. Are you still with me?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah... we're gonna take him down." She said, and Audrey laughed.

"I'm warming up to you already," Audrey said, and Skye smiled.

"I've finally made it," Skye said, and Audrey laughed a little right as Grant came back in with more chips.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing... just thinking about how I'm gonna kick your ass again," Audrey said. Grant shook his head as he sat down.

"You shuffle, I'll deal." He said as he handed Audrey the cards, and she smiled.

"Bring it on."

⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎⇎

even though i have to break her heart a million times,
i really do love grant & audrey.

don't forget to vote/comment.

xoxo.