Affinity || GRANT WARD [1]

SE 1: EP 5 ― Girl in The Flower Dress

[A/N: this song more fits Audrey & Grant's moments more than the chapter as a whole]

2013 ― Austin, Texas

A few days later, Audrey and Grant were once again in the main cabin of The Bus. They were sitting across from each other in the plane seats, and they were playing Battleships. It's been a few months since Coulson put their team together, Audrey and Grant were still hiding their relationship from the team, but no one could tell. Since their normal dynamic was always teasing/insulting/play-flirting with each other, nobody thought anything different was going on.

"G7," Audrey said. Grant's eyes narrowed as he let out a deep breath.

"Hit..." He said reluctantly.

"Yes! So, explain to me again what this has to do with... well, anything." Audrey said.

"It's important for every agent to evaluate their partner's thought process..." Grant said, and Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Plus, I like playing board games with you. B10." He said. Audrey looked down at her battleships, and she almost laughed when she saw that Grant missed, and he missed by a lot.

"Miss. You suck at this." Audrey said as she laughed and grabbed some pretzels out of the snack bowl they were sharing. "And this isn't thinking, this is stabbing in the dark, but it's always nice beating you," Audrey said with a smirk on her face.

"Well... you don't always beat me. But we are together, and since I can't take you on proper dates right now, I'm improvising. It shouldn't be all work all the time." Grant said, and Audrey smiled. She thought he was right, it shouldn't be all work all the time. She also thought it was nice and sweet that he thought of small things like this as little dates since they couldn't go on real ones since they were almost always in the air.

"You're right... and I like the idea of these being mini-dates until we can go on a real one," Audrey said.

"Plus, I love being able to spend one-on-one time with my best friend, that just so happens to double as my girlfriend," Grant said, and Audrey raised an eyebrow.

"Did you just give me a compliment?" Audrey teased, and Grant rolled his eyes now.

"I take it back now. I made a comment." Grant said.

"Yeah, a kind one... of the highest degree! Did it physically hurt you to do that? Do you need an ice pack?" Audrey asked, and they both started laughing. "Oh my gosh, a compliment and a smile. Who are you, and what have you done with Grant Ward?" Audrey asked.

"A comment." He protested.

"Look, I don't want to ruin the moment because this is honestly so romantic, but I'm going to have to respond with... G4." Audrey said. Grant looked down at his ships, and Audrey watched as his features tightened up, and she knew it was a hit. "Say it, Ward..." She said, and Grant grunted. "Say it, Grant. I want to hear you say it." Grant hesitantly looked at her.