𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 ━ steve rogers

chapter twenty-two

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𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 bright lights as she got out of her car and walked toward the benefit. "Miss Stark." She let out a breath at the sound of the voice and turned around to see Phil Coulson standing next to her.

"Coulson," she replied shortly while smiling at the guests who had greeted her. "I didn't know you would be here tonight."

"I'm still looking for your nephew, ma'am," Phil said and she nodded, waving at a guest. "I suppose he would be here?"

"Well—"

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Grace let out a breath and nodded, gesturing to her nephew.

"Yes," she said. "He is here. If you must talk to him, not a word of me being a founder. He doesn't even know about the organization let alone my involvement in it."

Phil nodded. "Understood, ma'am."

"Then, there he is," she said, pointing at the man. "Good luck, Agent Coulson." She turned around and her eyes fell on the strawberry-blonde woman. "Pepper, you look very nice. Blue really is your color."

"Thank you. Your nephew actually got it for me as a birthday gift."

Grace nodded with a knowing smile. "Right. Well, I was unaware that Tony had such an eye for fashion."

"Well, that's rude," Tony said and she chuckled. "You look fantastic," he said to Pepper. "I almost didn't recognize you."

Grace patted his shoulder as she walked away. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." She smiled softly at Pepper. "Ah, young love."

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𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 bed with her sketchbook open in front of her. She was working on her latest design and didn't notice that Steve was standing in the entryway of her tent. "I thought you would be with your brother."

She looked up at his voice and shook her head, returning to sketchbook. "Why?" she asked with a sigh. "Because it's the anniversary of his company's founding?"

Steve shrugged and sat down on the foot of her bed. "For starters." She pursed her lips and he frowned. "Are you okay? You've been quieter than usual this whole week."

"Well, Howard is throwing a party in the middle of a war for his company," she said with a shrug. "He's done it every year since he founded it. I don't like them."

Steve nodded and she glanced up at him from her sketchbook. His eyes found hers and it felt as though every worry she ever had melted away with just one glance. She had secrets of her past buried deep down but he made her feel comfortable enough to share.

"He was eighteen," she said quietly, playing with the end of her pillow. "I was sixteen when he left for Europe. He always wanted to own his own company and he finally had his chance as soon as he became an adult.

"Our mother had died only a few days earlier and from that moment on... our father became a different person. He..." She pursed her lips and swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "He had this belt. We always called it his favorite. If Howard was disobedient, he would bring out the belt. If I did something he didn't like, he brought out the belt.

"Mother was always able to convince him not to do anything. He listened to her more than anybody..." Grace trailed off, thinking about her late mother. "After she died, he fell into a hole of despair. Nothing happened while Howard was home. But when he left... suddenly it was just me and him. The daughter who looked too much like his late wife. Hard liquor was his favorite."