The Angel and The Billionaire

Thirteen

Grace

Last week Tony and Rhodes brought Sharon to do some tests with me on behalf of SHIELD. She's sensational, we became friends right away. I feel comfortable with her in a way I only ever felt with Tony and I've actually met a lot of people this week. Rhodey. Fury. An agent called Maria. Another agent called Bobbi.

Sharon has been getting me out of the house, going to coffee shops and stuff like that. Carter also made it her personal mission to teach me to drive so I can use one of Tony's cars to go to SHIELD headquarters, where we have our training sessions. It was her idea, but Tony agreed. He said it's good for me to learn how to exist outside his house.

We also had a few movie nights at Sharon's place on Queens and she told me all about the drama between her and a guy called Steve.

I started to have flashbacks about my childhood. My mom had long dark hair and her eyes were exactly like mine. I'm an only child and I lived in a city called Bristol. I'm British. That feels weird to write. I probably moved to the US at a young age because I have no accent. 

And there's also whoever this woman is. I remember her face and I have a vivid memory of her yelling at me to grow up, but I don't know why.

As usual, no names or anything like that, but her flashes are more concrete than the ones with the guys. Yes, I wrote guys, there's a new one.

The one on the right appeared before, but the other and the girl are new. I remember the sound of the laugh of the blond guy and I think at some point I went dancing with the one who has dark hair. It's like watching a movie sometimes. It's not me, I'm just watching.

Except it is me. And that's fucked up.

Tony

It's been a week since Sharon did the evaluation on Grace and Fury called me this morning to inform me of his plans, which he had already discussed with her. Sharon has been helping Grace be more independent, and I can't thank Carter enough for taking such good care of her. SHIELD's plan, or rather Nick's plan, is that Sharon will continue to train Grace, as they have been doing every day since the evaluation, and hopefully, she'll get a full-time job as an agent.

Grace wasn't thrilled about it, and she has been on edge since we found out about the super soldier thing. I'm not sure why she's so surprised, it's not like the experiments on her were a secret, but it must be a tough pill to swallow either way. Maybe she just doesn't want to work for SHIELD, which is fair.

- Hey. - Grace sits in the chair near the door.

- Hi. - I step out of the roof and plop down next to her.

This attic is not very used since the only things here are boxes, my mother's piano, and the entrance to the roof. I'm not sure why I came here today, the dust is making my nose itch.

- What's in the boxes? - She gestures to the bigger pile in the corner of the room.

- My parents stuff. - Most of it, some of my father's stuff is actually in a museum. He doesn't have an exposition like Rogers, but he's there. - I keep telling myself I'll go through them, but I don't.

I never managed to open a single box that had my mom's name on it.

- Is that a piano? - Grace sees the instrument covered in a big white blanket. - Can I take a look?

I want to say yes, but I hesitate. This piano means a lot to me, as stupid as that may sound. My mom used to play it for me and it's one of the best memories of my childhood.

- Just please be careful.

- I promise.

Grace stands up and slowly removes the blanket covering the grand piano, studying it for a second. Her fingers trace the engraving "Maria Stark".

- I think I can play it. - Her eyes run over the keys. - I'm not sure how I know it...

- Go ahead. - I drag my seat so I'm closer to her. In a few motions, Grace sits and starts playing a soft tune, looking surprised by it.

- Ok... So I can do that. - She turns to look at me, silently asking for permission to play more.

I give her a short nod, so she takes a deep breath and her fingers start dancing around the piano keys. It's a simple melody, basic even, but it might be the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed.

The memory of my mom doing the same thing as a warm-up before moving on to the most challenging pieces makes me smile.

The scene is so comforting and soothing, I remember my father telling his in-laws about my mom playing. He would say it was an experience that reminded him of how much he loved their daughter every single time. It was the only few times my old man said something nice, we both loved to watch her play.

A tear escapes me when Grace stops, but I'm quick to clean it, making sure she doesn't see it. She stands up, carefully puts the white blanket back in place and we take the stairs to the living room in silence. It's not until we're sat on the couch that she decides to break the quietness.

- Are you ok?

- Of course. - I force myself to smile. - Why do you ask?

- You don't look ok.

- Well, thank you for that. - I exclaim sarcastically.

- Come on, Tony. - Grace rolls her eyes. - You know that's not what I meant.

- So you do think I look good?

- I have memory issues, I'm not blind. - She counters, grinning.

The comment surprises me. It's not common for her to speak with any traces of sarcasm or mockery. Grace is already cute, but when she's sassy, she's hot as fuck.

- Good to know, angel.

She looks down, blushing. This has been going on since she found out about being a super soldier. For some reason it made her crawl back into the shell she was barely starting to get out of. If there was any hope for another moment like the storm, maybe kissing for a little longer, she started to run from it.

My brain keeps trying to pinpoint exactly why Grace changed her behavior but I can't. Whatever is going on with her, fucking hell, one person should not do so many things to me at once. But here she is.