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𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋 with her arms crossed as she watched her nephew maneuver through the sea of reporters who all wanted to ask the now-free man a question. A shadow loomed over her as a man stood beside her and she let out a breath.
"Agent Coulson." She looked over at the man and he pursed his lips. "Are you here for me or did you want to talk to Tony?"
"Your nephew, ma'am," he replied and she nodded, looking back at Tony who was talking to Obadiah Stane. "We have to debrief him about the details of his escape."
"Agent Coulson, promise me that he will not find out about SHIELD and my involvement in it," Grace said, glancing at the man beside her. "I will tell him, he deserves the truth... I just don't know how to tell him that his father and aunt founded a secret organization that the world doesn't know about."
Phil nodded. "I understand, ma'am. Director Fury sends his wishes, by the way. He would've come himself, but he had a meeting with the Council."
"Naturally." Grace let out a breath and gestured to the strawberry-blonde who was standing in the back of the crowd. "That's Pepper Potts. She's his personal secretary — possibly something more, but neither will admit it. She can help you speak to Tony."
"Thank you, Miss Stark."
She smiled lightly and ran a hand over her face. Grace Stark was not one to like secrets. Her brother had kept them for years, continuing even after his death. She had been kept in the dark about so much that she vowed she would never do the same. Yet, here she was.
Grace would be the first to admit that when her brother approached her about founding a secret organization, she laughed in disbelief. It had taken him nearly five years to realize that she had a talent for inventing. Yet he wanted her help to run SHIELD?
To her, Howard had positively lost his mind. But nearly fifty-eight years later, she was the only founding member still involved in the organization. Howard and Colonel Phillips had died; Peggy had retired and was living in an assisted living facility; and Grace was keeping secrets from her nephew.
"Well, let's get this started..." Obadiah said, clearing his throat and Grace refocused on the podium.
"Hey, would it be alright if everyone sat down?" Tony asked before sitting in front of the podium. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and..."
"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey asked Grace and Pepper, who had joined the brunette. Grace shrugged and Pepper looked exasperated.
"Don't look at me," she replied. "I don't know what he's up to."
"Good to see you," Tony said, looking around at the sea of reporters. Grace bit her lip and began tapping her foot. "I never go to say goodbye to Dad. I never got to say goodbye to my father." Pepper and Rhodey glanced at the woman beside them but her eyes remained focused on her nephew. "There are questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did.
