Saving Grace

Chapter XXXIX

"Okay, folks, I've got news," Tony strode into the team dinner twenty minutes late. He walked straight over to his chair and sat down, only to find that his place empty of dishes or silverware. "I, uh, got a call from the mayor. Where's my plate?" He looked around the table as if expecting it to appear somewhere.

"In the cupboard," Grace said off-handedly.

"Pardon?"

"I said it's in the cupboard," she replied evenly.

"Why?"

"Well, when you didn't show up at five o' clock like everyone else, I thought perhaps you were eating elsewhere," Grace answered with exaggerated politeness.

"No, just busy with stuff in my lab," Tony shrugged.

"Oh, I'm sure you were," Grace answered and stood, heading back into the kitchen.

"Cap, you need to rein in your little sister."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"She doesn't seem out of line to me," Steve answered, "She sound outta line to you, Buck?"

Bucky shook his head with a shrug. "Nope."

"Of course, you agree with him, you're his buddy," Tony protested.

"Doesn't mean he's wrong," Nat commented as she sipped her drink.

"Come on, Barton, back me up," Tony pleaded.

Clint shook his head, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "Sorry, I'm with Grace on this one."

"I was busy!"

"So were all of us," Clint replied. "Never mind the fact that she worked for almost an hour in that kitchen on this meal."

"What's your point?"

"She offered to cook for all of us; the least we can do is show up on time," Bruce answered.

Tony waved a dismissive hand at the archer. "Oh, she's got you two wrapped around her finger."

Clint shrugged. "Yeah. So?"

Just then, Grace returned with Tony's dinner: a big plate of chicken pot pie, and a smaller plate for the salad sitting in the middle of the table.

"Smells good, Alice," Tony called after her as she disappeared into the kitchen again. She returned a minute later with a tall glass of iced tea.

"If you would like anything else--"

"A glass of wine would be nice."

Pepper smacked Tony's arm.

"--you know where the kitchen is," Grace said as she sat back down to finish her dinner. "Miss Potts, how did the board meetings go today?"

Throughout the rest of the meal, everyone regaled the others about his or her day until it was time for them to go their separate ways.

"Well, what was your news, Mr. Stark?" Grace asked.

"News?"

"Yeah, when you came in, you said you had news," Steve said. "Something about a call from the mayor?"

"Oh, yeah," Tony answered. "He was asking us to attend some kind of lunch. I said we'd go."

"Us? As in...?" Nat piped up.

"All of us; the Avengers. and our plus ones, of course."

"What kind of lunch?" Bruce asked.

Tony shrugged. "He said something about kids."

"Kids?" Bruce looked alarmed. "I don't really do kids, Tony."

"Me neither," Bucky said.

"Make that three," Nat added.

"They're kids and we are superheroes; smile and wave, and you'll be good." Tony asked. "How hard could it be?"

So, I'm trying to decide if I want to try to bring other Avengers, like Wanda and/or Peter. I can see Grace having a great sister relationship with those two. I just don't know how to because this deviates so far from the MCU timeline. What do you guys think?

Also: I have Pinterest board for Grace!