The Angel and The Billionaire

chapter 53

Tony

The first punch lands on my stomach about .03 seconds after I enter the living room. The second one hits my side and I'm all but thrown into a wall. I half expected it, considering the tear filled voicemail Grace left for me explaining what happened and what Barton said. My head is throbbing, probably from the concussion FRIDAY just announced I sustained.

Despite the loud buzzing in my ears I can faintly hear Romanoff's voice, her and Carter are yelling on top of each other, both gesturing and pointing fingers at Rogers. I should be glad Barnes isn't here. There's some more shouting muffled in the distance, some is losing their shit and there's a lower, more scared voice, trying to calm things down.

- Stark? - Romanoff is becoming a little less blurry, crouched down next to me on the floor while analyzing the damage on the wall. Everyone else is standing on the sidelines, watching as Sharon yells at Steve. Something about a promise.

- How many fingers am I holding? - Natasha asks, holding two right in front of my face.

- It's a peace sign. Not really fitting to the situation at hand. - My voice comes out weak and my back is injured. Fuck, this hurts.

- Jokes are a good sign. - Fury sighs, offering a hand to help me up. - I'm afraid your little secret is out.

- Don't act like the two of you didn't already know. - I scoff, pointing to Wanda. - And so did you.

She shrugs, confirming my suspicion. When my ears stop ringing for good I realize Sharon stopped yelling and one of the other voices becomes clear: Barnes. He's the angry one.

- Don't even think about it...

Even though I'll regret it later, I ignore Romanoff's order and walk to the meeting room, pausing in front of the door. It's ajar and I have a clear view. Grace is crying. Copiously.

Steve followed me but he also stopped when he saw her. None of them realized they have an audience, Barnes is pacing furiously while Grace sheds a few silent tears. Gut wrenching, there's no other way to describe what it feels to see her crying.

- I can't fucking believe this. - Barnes continues to move around in a rather aggressive way. - How could you do that?

- You died! - She snaps, pointing a finger to his face. Her voice is trembling. I can't help but wonder how long she let him yell in before responding. Knowing her, it was too long. - Steve came back and told me you were gone. I spent a month refusing to leave my room, just crying non stop. I went to your funeral!

He pauses, the guilty silence palpable in the air from both him and Rogers. I know a few stories from her life after they died in the forties and things got really dark for her.

- Say whatever you want about me. Call me stupid for falling in love with Tony, an idiot for forgiving him. Fine, I'll take it. But don't you dare imply I didn't love you because you fucking know that's not true. - She takes a deep breath. - I knew you were proposing. I would've said yes.

Well, I could've lived without knowing that part.

- Why didn't you just tell me? - Barnes sighs, lowering his head like it's painful to look at her. He has an expression that clearly reads "you disgust me".

- I did. So many times, I said with every syllable that we weren't getting back together. - Grace gestures with her hands, marking the words. - You overheard me tell Steve I wasn't in love with you anymore. I told you but you didn't listen.