Cold Enemies, Warm Romances

Chapter Twenty-One - WB039

Jessie watched Ward walk out, then sighed. "He hates me, doesn't he?"

"He'll come through," Coulson replied, holding out his hand. "Sorry about that, by the way. Phil Coulson, though I bet you already know that."

Jessie laughed, shaking it. "Yeah, I know. Jessie Nightshade."

The brown-haired woman she had thought was the amateur stepped forward next. "I'm Skye. Currently unknown last name."

"That means you can pick!" Jessie joked, and Skye cracked a grin at that.

The sciency-looking guy held out a hand as well. "Leo Fitz. Mostly called Fitz, though."

"We call those two FitzSimmons," Skye said, grinning.

Jessie smirked. ""That's a lot easier."

Simmons nodded. "Yeah, and the woman piloting the jet is Agent Melinda May. The guy punching bags - "

"Grant Ward," Jessie finished, heading for the doors. "I'm going to see if I can get to him."

"Might not be a good idea!" Coulson called.

Jessie smirked. "I've handled Steve and Stark. I'm sure I can handle him."

***

Punch.

Punch.

Punch.

Ward kept punching the bag, feeling the jet engines rumble under his feet. He heard the doors to the lab slide open, and he sighed, unwrapping the tape from his hands. "Not interested currently, Skye," he called up.

"It's not Skye."

He froze, closing his eyes. "Agent Nightshade."

He could practically see her smirk as she descended from the stairs. "Agent Ward."

"What do you want?"

"Why do you hate me?"

Ward looked at her, eyes narrowing. "Mutants have too much power. Sometimes too much for them to handle. Who's to say they won't try and use it to take over the world?"

A thoughtful expression crossed Nightshade's face. "Never thought of it that way," she said thoughtfully, tilting her head. "Huh. That's an eye opener." She looked at Ward. "The thing is, I've never even had the urge to take over the world."

Ward walked over to the table, sticking the tape there. "Really."

"Really." She jumped on the table. "Have you actually even tried to know a mutant before, Ward?"

He shot a glance at her. "You're kidding, right?"

She didn't wither under his gaze like some would. "No. I'm not."

He sighed, leaning against the table. "No, I haven't actually."

"So how would you know if you really hate them or not?"

Ward smirked at her. "You're really trying to change my mind, aren't you, Nightshade?"

Nightshade grinned at him. "Is it working?"

Ward snorted, holding out a hand. "Start again?"

She smiled, shaking. "Start again."

***

"There's really not that much to tell," Jessie said as she returned to the control room with Ward later in the day. She let herself smirk at all of the surprised looks Coulson, Skye, Simmons, Fitz, and May gave her and Ward as they stood next to each other. "Loki's brought together the Frost Giants of what's-it-heim - "

"Jotunheim," Simmons supplied.

Jessie waved a hand absently. "Yeah, yeah, that place, and the Chitauri. Basically, we're going to have another New York on our hands. New York isn't their only goal, though. They want me and Saleen."

"Icicle, right?" When Jessie nodded, Coulson folded his arms. "What I don't understand is why they would want her."

"DNA, for one," Skye guessed.

"But they already have the Frost Giants," May cut in, looking as expressionless as ever. "Hwh would they want Icicle?"

"OK, first off, her name is Saleen," Jessie threw at the Asian woman, tapping her fingers on the table. "Second of all, we get along with the Avengers. Loki already tried luring us away with Bruce and Clint. With us in his hands, they'd do anything to get us back. Maybe something drastic."

"With Loki, he always does something drastic," Coulson muttered.

Jessie snorted. "Tell me about it. How're you still alive anyway?"

Coulson sighed. "Tahiti's a wonderful place."

Jessie raised an eyebrow. "OK then."

"He tried to find out," Ward whispered in her ear as May went back to the cockpit. "That file was locked even when he had Level 8 clearance."

Jessie watched as the rest of them left the room. "So the Avengers aren't the only ones Fury is keeping secrets from."

Ward shook his head. "No, apparently not."

Jessie's phone buzzed, and she took it out, seeing Saleen's number on the screen. "Nightshade," she answered, putting her phone to her ear.

"Stark is absolutely insisting on taking us to that shawarma joint close by the tower tonight," Saleen said dryly. "You've got until seven to get here."

Jessie snorted and checked her watch. "Seven? That's fine, I've got - " Her eyes widened when she saw the time: 18:47. "If I run through every single building, I'll make it." Ward snorted next to her in amusement, and she mouthed "Shut up!" at him, which only made him snicker.

"Have fun," Saleen laughed, and hung up.

Jessie muttered a few unpleasant words as she put her phone up. "Shawarma it is, then," she sighed, heading for the door. She paused halfway there, then turned to Ward. "Grant?"

He looked up from the control panel. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for giving me a chance."

Ward gave her a small smile. "Don't blow it, Jessie."

As Jessie bolted down the ramp and ran like the wind towards the city, she realized that was the first time Ward had called her by her first name.