The Angel and The Billionaire

chapter 55

Grace

I never thought I'd say this, but entering Tony's room without fear of being seen is weird. Clint made his little scene over a month ago but I haven't gotten used to this. It's different but not the bad kind.

Most people at the compound and SHIELD are ok with us, Fury and Maria even send a message. And since almost everyone already knew, it was hardly a surprise. I was shocked to find out Wanda knew since day one. Oh, and all the times she told me to get back together with James? She was "messing around".

Natasha seems relieved but I haven't dared to bring up her past with James. Barton apologized, explained he was mad at Tony and lashed out at me because his family had to go to a safe house. In a way I understand his anger, but none of this is mine or Tony's fault.

After the Edward Killian revelation everyone sat down to listen to Tony, Natasha and Happy tell the whole story of the first time this cunt appeared. Tony was defending himself and Pepper from a guy that wanted to kill them and take over the world. It's a fair reason for murder.

Steve has been avoiding Tony but I know it's because he feels guilty. Broken ribs take a while to heal, and up until last week my boyfriend couldn't even walk properly. And then there's James. He's outnumbered and he knows it, so ever since that disastrous encounter with Pepper and Michael, he has been keeping it to himself. He also acts like I don't exist unless it's work related but I guess that's fair.

When the dust settled Sharon asked me to be her maid of honor, it was adorable and I cried a lot. The wedding is in less than 2 weeks but the planning, prepping, writing a speech, and throwing a bachelorette party were fundamental to keeping my sanity. 

The party was so much fun, it was supposed to be a chill night in the compound with the girls, aka me, Natasha, Wanda, Val, Carol, and Maria but then Maximoff somehow snuck a stripper in and proceeded to get drunk enough to dance with him, breaking her wrist in the process. And that's the story of how we had to call Thor to pick us up in the ER, drop the poor stripper at a bus stop, and then help me and Natasha put the drunks in bed.

The tension around the compound has been cooling off but it still feels like we're missing something. Edward hasn't made contact since the false video of Tony and these occasional absences make everyone uneasy.

After texting Sharon about our flower appointment tomorrow, I lay down in Tony's bed, staring at the ceiling like it might reveal the answers to my struggles. Bruce asked him to stay after today's meeting to discuss something so he might take a little while to get here. 

- Excuse me, Ms. Jones. - FRIDAY's voice echoes from the monitor on the wall and despite the low volume, it startles me. It always does, even when she tries not to. It tries not to. Fuck, I'm never getting used to this. - Mr. Stark asked me to deliver a message.

- What is it?

The screen glitches for a second before displaying a small text.

Me. You. My bed. 5 minutes.

A burst of low laughter erupts from my chest. It's been a whole fucking month (pun intended) since the last time we had sex. I never thought I'd be one of these people who struggle to be without it, especially considering I spent almost 100 years in celibacy just fine, but my consolation is that Tony clearly feels the same. He has been waking up hard as steel for days now but the doctor said it might hurt him so we don't have sex.

We've been doing everything in between, obviously, but it's not the same. I miss having him inside me. God, I sound like a pervert. 

He had an appointment today so, based on the message, I'm guessing he got an all clear. Or a partial one, because knowing Tony, he won't be able to tell the difference.