Saving Grace

Eighty Four

Morgan wanted to play outside again after lunch, so everyone went out, and they played different games, Morgan's favorite being a combination of tag and hide and go seek. She eventually got tired, even though she wouldn't admit it, and Grace persuaded her to go inside and play a board game instead. She picked Connect Four, as she was pretty good at it.

Once she got bored of that, she decided she was going to go upstairs and play in her room by herself, and Grace didn't complain, then settling on the couch to read Northanger Abbey until dinner, which was homemade pizza.

And now that dinner is over, Tony and Grace are washing dishes in the kitchen while Pepper gets Morgan ready for bed. Grace is drying while Tony washes. He sprays a plate down with the sink hose.

However, he manages to turn the hose around and spray water up towards the ceiling, and Grace tries to shield herself as droplets hit her even though she's on Tony's left and the water is on his right. He manages to get it under control, though, even through their laughter.

"Dad!" Grace says.

"It just got away from me!" he replies, chuckling as he passes her the plate, and then dries off the counter. He moves to the floating shelves, and Grace looks over when he stops, the picture of Peter catching his eye. He pulls it off the shelf and begins wiping off the frame, and Grace smiles softly, though it aches a little.

"You still miss him?" she asks.

Tony glances over at her, then looks back at the picture fondly. "'Course I do."

"Glad I'm not the only one..." Grace trails off, going back to the dishes.

Tony continues looking at the picture, at Peter's goofy face. "He was a good kid."

Grace smirks. "And a good kisser."

"Stop!" Tony exclaims, lightly shoving her shoulder, making wrenching noises. Grace laughs for a few moments, then turns serious as the laughter fades, looking at the picture still in her dad's hand.

She sighs. "You know, Dad, I don't there's anybody in world quite like Peter Parker — in the universe, even."

Tony smiles, sets the pictures back down, though he still looks at it. He thinks of what Grace said, Pepper coming to mind. "I know what you mean."

Grace frowns. "Sometimes I don't think I'll ever get over him."

"You don't have to get over him, necessarily," Tony says, wrapping his arm around her comfortingly. "Just... move on."

"Well, I can't do that entirely. He's the first boy my age that I ever met — after Harley, I guess. And he wasn't just some boy, either..."

"Yeah..." Tony goes back to doing the dishes then, in contemplation.

"He was my..." Grace thinks for a moment "... endgame, you know?"

Tony nods, humming in response. "Mhm."

"I always pictured my future with him."

"Honestly?" Tony says. "I did too."

After a silent moment, Grace waves it all off. "Ah, well. We're on a new path now. Just have to... try to get used to it." She smiles and gestures to the stairs, referring to Morgan. "Booger up there really helps."

Tony chuckles. "Yeah, she does."

But he knows that, even if Grace is better, even if she's happier now, she's not like she was before. She was in love — the kind that could never be replicated again, the kind that may never go away, not fully, even if she'd feel better for it. The kind that never really moved on.