Marvel Oneshots

Scrapes and Bruises (Grant Ward)

Summary: Soulmate AU where your soulmate feels all the physical pain and gets all the physical injuries you do. For the past few years, Y/N has had a soulmate getting all kinds of crazy injuries, usually at the worst possible times. When an opportunity to get some payback arises, they jump at the chance, but they might end up getting more than just revenge when they start training.

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I hated my soulmate.

I'd never met them before, but I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I hated them. Whatever they were out doing in the world, it resulted in them constantly getting beat up and, thanks to this stupid soulmate thing, resulted in me getting beat up. My teachers had actually been worried for me my senior year of high school with how many bruises I'd come to class with each week. For most people, sharing injuries with your soulmate was an inconvenience at most. For me and a select other section of the population, it was a constant, legitimate problem.

So, of course, when I graduated high school with an offer to join SHIELD's operations academy, I had to take it. Not only would I become a spy and do good in the world, but I'd also finally have an opportunity to pay my soulmate back for whatever shit they'd been getting up to for the past few years.

After a long processes of orientation, testing, and tedious interviews, I finally woke up from my first night spent at the Academy and started heading to my first training session of the day.

Get ready, soulmate, I thought as my classmates and I formed a line on the mats, waiting for our instructor. It's time for some payback.

"Alright recruits! Listen up!"

We all stood at attention as a big, drill-sergeant looking guy made his way into the room. He paced in front of us, giving us all scrutinizing looks.

"I'm Agent Arlo, and I'll be your regular instructor for your class. I'll be teaching you how to fight, and critiquing you as you go along. But fair warning, I'm not about to be gentle. Only the toughest make it through Operations, and you'll be getting your very first test at the end of the lesson today. Now, pair off!"

We did as he said, walking through various forms of attack and defense and then practicing against our partners. I was actually pretty good at it, which was a pleasant surprise. I held my own against my partner for the majority of the class, although the one downside of that was the lack of revenge against my soulmate.

Oh well. If all went according to plan, I'd have a very long career at SHIELD for all the payback I could hope for.

"Alright, everybody fall back into line!" called Agent Arlo, once we'd all worked through and practiced our moves for more than an hour on end. "This isn't usually how class will end, but you lot are lucky enough to have one of the Operations Academy's best Specialists in the building today. He's going to walk you through a demonstration and test out a few of you who looked the most promising. Agent Ward!"

There were some excited murmurs from the crowd as another agent walked in, this one much younger. He looked to be about our age, and also one of the most handsome men I'd ever seen.

He stood next to Agent Arlo with his back straight and his hands folded in front of him, staring us all down one by one. When his eyes landed on me, I swear I felt a shiver run down my spine.

Once Agent Ward had surveyed the whole line of us, he nodded to Agent Arlo, then stepped onto the mat behind him.

"Alright Ward, who do you want first?" asked Arlo.

"Gimme the best you've got," he said simply. Arlo nodded, then whirled around to look at me.

"Y/L/N. Out of this group, that was you. Let's go."