Marvel Oneshots

Art is Chaos (Grant Ward)

Written for Fictober 2022 on Tumblr!

Prompt: "Adaptable, I like that"

Summary: Ward's going undercover in his nightmare scenario - as a hippie art teacher named River. He'll need all his training to pull this one off, but the combination of a pretty girl and a terrible coincidence of his co-art teacher being named Grant might be too much for even Agent Grant Ward's training to manage.

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Grant's POV

"I'm going undercover as an art teacher? Sir, you've got to be kidding me."

"What's the matter? Don't think you can pull it off?"

I scoffed and crossed my arms, looking at Coulson still sitting behind his desk. He just stared back at me, his face completely blank. I hated how easy it was for him to get under my skin.

"Of course I can do it," I replied, knowing full well I was giving him exactly what he wanted. "I just don't think 'art teacher' is really my type."

"What is your type, Agent Ward?"

I fell silent, unable to come up with an answer that didn't sound like a five-year-old would say it. I huffed and looked at the ceiling, then turned back to Coulson with a slight scowl.

"Fine. We'll stick with the planned cover. But if Skye or FitzSimmons says anything, I'm throwing the nearest can of paint in their faces."

The corner of Coulson's mouth quirked up. "Duly noted. Now get going, we don't have a lot of time. The sooner you get teaching, the sooner we catch our target trying to arrange an illegal technology buy in the middle of your class."

"Yes sir."

I nodded and headed out of the room, trying not to look too bothered as I passed Skye on my way to grab my bag. The last thing I needed was her or anyone else asking questions about my cover.

The world outside the bus was about to meet River West, the hippie art teacher from Portland, but I didn't need anyone on the bus besides Coulson to know about him.

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Y/N's POV

I smiled to myself as I pulled open the door to the painting studio just a few blocks from my apartment. It had been open for a while now, and had been offering art classes for months, but today was the first time I'd actually gotten around to taking one.

The studio was bright and airy, with tables and easels set up all around the room. Several of the easels were already taken, and two men stood chatting at the front. I wandered over to an easel in the middle, which stood right beside one a friendly-looking woman already stood at.

"This easel taken?" I asked as I approached. She turned to me with a friendly smile and shook her head.

"Not at all, be my guest."

I nodded my thanks, then dropped my bag and took a second to look over the various art supplies piled around my canvas. I hadn't painted in a long time, but I'd seriously loved doing it when I was in high school, so I couldn't have been happier to have the chance to do it again.

Once I was satisfied with my setup, I turned back to the woman next to me with a smile.

"I'm Y/N, by the way," I said, holding out my hand for a shake. She took it and smiled back at me.

"Sarah. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Sarah. So, have you taken one of these classes before?"