Saving Grace

Fourteen

Tony sat there, defeated. Everything around him was destroyed. He had no idea where Pepper and Natalie ran to, but he did know he put them in danger.

At the very least, he thought, Grace wasn't here for all of that.

He actually winced, remembering what he'd said to Pepper.

"Well if you're so concerned, you can take her to a hotel for the night. Go on, get her out of here. Put the room on my card. I don't care."

It was partly the reason Grace was away, but it was so... thoughtless. Careless. Harsh. The opposite of the father he wanted to be.

Only a few hours before he was sitting in her bed with his arm around her, watching The Little Mermaid. And then what did he do? He went back to his old ways. He went back to who he was before Grace. To life she saved him from.

He was ashamed.

So he left.

~~~~

"Sir!" Nick Fury shouts up at Tony Stark. "I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut!"

He's in his Iron Man suit and pair of sunglasses, his helmet completely down. He has a box of donuts in his lap as he lounges in the middle of the sign for Randy's Donuts, which is, of course, shaped like a donut.

Tony looks down, lowering his sunglasses. He recognizes the man, even as he walks into the building under him. Tony rolls his eyes and reluctantly gets off the roof, following the man inside.

He sits in a booth across from the man, putting his box of donuts on the table. The man slides a cup of coffee toward him, holding an identical one. Tony, realizing just how thirsty he is right now, takes it. "Look, I told you I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band."

Fury laughs. "No, no, no — see, I remember you do everything yourself. How's that working out for you?"

Tony looks down at the table, thoughts of Grace in a hotel room somewhere popping in his head. "It's-it's-it's..." He goes to take a sip of his coffee, but stops. "I'm sorry. I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot — do I look at the patch or the eye?" He lowers his sunglasses. "Honestly, I'm a bit hung over. I'm not sure if you're real of if I'm having-"

Fury leans forward. "I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."

"Just my luck." He turns. "Where's the staff here?"

Fury sees the black in Tony's veins, creeping up his neck. "That's not looking so good."

"I've been worse."

Then, a woman walks in in a government agent-type black outfit, fully armed. Her hair is red, curled. She looks down at Tony, but she talks to Fury. "We've secured the perimeter but I don't think we should hold it for too much longer." Fury smiles, looking at Tony.

Natalie.

"You're fired," Tony says.

"Grace wouldn't be too happy about that," she replies, sitting down next to Fury, "so it's a good thing that's not up to you."

Fury sighs. "Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff."

"Hi."