𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗢𝗢

𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗛

When I was little and I used to go into SHIELD, everybody would say hi to me.

I think they had to or something. Like how you have to curtsy when you meet the queen. I used to go through all the halls with my backpack and my pink sneakers and every single person I went past used to say hi.

Mostly, it was just 'hello Miss Rogers', like I was a teacher or something. That used to make me laugh. And then the people I kind of knew – like Miss May – would say 'hey, kid', or 'hey Grace', and give me a big smile. There was this one agent who used to shake my hand and slip me a cube of bubblegum every time he did it, like some sort of superspy, but I haven't seen him in a while.

Then, the people I knew the best used to stop and chat with me. Clint used to pick me up and spin me around, even if I screamed, because he knew I secretly liked it, and Maria would stop me, ask where I was going and then walk me there herself. If she was too busy, she used to make one of the trainee agents do it. Those guys were funny. They always looked scared of me, but I think it was just because they were still recovering from Maria.

Mr Coulson used to stop right in the middle of the hallway and ask me all these questions about my day. If my day was going good, he'd just ruffle my hair and say 'see you when I see you, little Miss America', and then he'd leave, but if my day was bad, he'd let me sit in his office and make jewellery out of his paper clips.

Mr Fury was different, though. He always was, in every single way. He'd see me in the halls and it was like he could see inside my head. I used to try and run away, but he'd say my name and I'd just freeze, and he'd raise his eyebrow at me and say 'where the hell's your tutor?' or 'don't make faces at me, kid. It's damn ugly. Let's take a walk.' Mr Fury always figured out when I was sad. He was never very good at talking to me about it, but he used make me walk with him all the way around the building until I felt better again. Then, he'd hand me over to Nat or Maria or someone, tell them I was in a bad mood, and they'd do the talking bit. Like I was a big puzzle that they all shared the pieces for.

Everybody at SHIELD has a little piece of me, I think. Even if it's just my name, or a hairclip I left in their office, I'm everywhere.

The morning after Mr Fury dies, I wake up super early and sit on the floor with Liho and my notebook to think about this. It's kind of confusing, so in the end, I just make a list of everything important I know.

1. Mr Fury is dead.

2. Nat is very sad about it, and she cried last night after she did my bedtime.

3. Mr Rumlow tried to take me away, but my dad stopped him.

4. Nat might actually kill Mr Rumlow if she finds out.

5. I think something weird is happening at SHIELD.

6. I HATE the man with the metal arm!!!

I write the last one in extra big letters and underline it three times, with my special red gel pen that Miss Carter bought for me before she got sick. I don't use it a lot because I don't want it to run out, but this is a very serious list, so it seems like a good time to write with it.

Then, Liho bites my arm, which doesn't really hurt because he's little, but there's blood anyway so I forget about my notebook for a minute and go to the bathroom to find my bandaids. Basically all the stuff in the medical cupboard is mine. I've got heart medication and spare asthma pumps and all my allergy pills, but there's also nicer stuff like bandaids with starfish on and M&Ms that I get to have when I do my eyedrops without making a fuss.