POV: Grace
"That left me with more questions than answers," I set my knives down that I had been throwing at a dart board and look over at Tony who is sitting at his suit, working on it. It has been three weeks since I had tried to kill Steve. He and Natasha are both in Washington D.C., Thor was back on Asgard, Clint is where ever he goes, and Bruce is back at his home. Steve hasn't finished my room, and doesn't want me in it until it is done. That means I'm stuck with Tony. Not that I mind. The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, (that is what he wants me to call him) and I have gotten extremely close. Tony told me he was surprised at how quickly I had grasped modern technology since it had taken Steve so long to understand it and still has issues. Then again, Steve is just an old man at heart.
Because Tony has been catching me up about technology and events in general, I've been trying to teach him Russian. So far all he wants to learn was curse words, but he's been learning simple phrases as well. He finds calling people names in a different language funny, as do I and have been eager to help him out.
In Tony's attempt to help me learn, well, everything, he had played 'We Didn't Start The Fire'. He has had all the time in the lab to fill me in, but truth be told, he doesn't know everything that has happened.
"Do not get me wrong," I begin, "Bill Joseph is a great singer but I am confused. For example who is Richard Nixon and what was Woodstock?" I sit down next to Tony in a AC/DC t-shirt I had found lying around (I'm pretty sure its Tony's) and a pair of leggings Natasha has given me. Most of my clothes were someone else's, but I don't mind.
Tony laughs quietly, "Richard Nixon was one of the presidents and Woodstock was a music festival for hippies with a lot of weed. And his name is Billy Joel, not Bill Joseph."
"What is weed?"
Tony's eyes widen and look at me, "Don't tell Steve I said that."
"сука." I walk over to one of the desks and pick up the book I had been reading, 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. When Pepper Potts learned about my love for books, she found lots of books for me to read in practically every genre. I find the Avenger comics amusing.
When I was about five chapters into the book, J.A.R.V.I.S starts to speak into the room, "Mr. Stark and Ms. Rogers, Ms. Potts has requested the two of you up for dinner."
"Tell Pepper we'll be up in a few minutes. I wanna show Grace something," Tony beckons me over to his suit. He shows me the improvements made. He added armor to where I had tried to stab him. I watch in amazement when Tony puts the suit on and flew a few feet into the air. He lands back on the ground and steps out of the suit. I still find it a little insane that a big hunk of metal could fly. I also know that the suit was more than some metal.
I circle the suit while Tony walks over to a holographic screen. I carefully lift up one of the gloves and look at the thruster in the center of the palm. I touch it gently, as if it would break from a small touch.
"You want a suit, kid?"
I turn to see Tony watching me. "I have a suit," I remind him. My black jumpsuit with holsters and pockets for all her weapons, complete with my red shoes.
"No, no, kid, I mean on of my suits. You, know an Ironman type suit." I feel honored, I truly do. I know Tony doesn't just go around handing out his suits. I don't want one, though. I know what I prefer to fight in. When you train as much as I have, you know what works best.
"No thanks. I'm too good of a fighter to be covered by a hunk of iron," I smirk.
"First of, it's titanium-gold alloy. Second, are you saying I'm a bad fighter?" He puts his hand to his chest in mock annoyance.
"Maybe so."
"You're killing me Smalls, you're killing me."
"Quoting the Sandlot? Really?" The other category Tony makes sure I'm caught up in is movies. All the classics. Top Gun, Fight Club, Die Hard, Indiana Jones, etc.. He doesn't want me uncultured.
"All right fine. If you can take this apart fully," Tony tosses me one of his Ironman gloves, "And put it back together I will spar you." He sticks his hand out and I grab it.
"Deal." We shook.
I sit down at one of the tables and get to work using a toolbox Tony had set down in front of me. After trying to work in the silence for a few minutes, I realize it won't work.
"J.A.R.V.I.S.?" I call out to the A.I.
"Yes, miss?"
"Can you play Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy sang by the Andrew Sisters?" It's one of the first songs that pop in my head. Once Steve had became Captain America, and went on tours around the country, it had became our song.
Tony groans at my song choice but allows it. For the next hour, the two of us take turns choosing songs. when Tony chose Teenagers by My Chemical Romance he said, "Teenagers really do scare the living shit out of me when I saw you fighting Rogers." I had laughed at that. I was almost done with the glove when Pepper comes into the room.
"Where have you two been?" Pepper asks as she walks over to the desk I was currently hunched over. "I wanted you two upstairs an hour ago." I continue working on the glove, using a screwdriver to screw a thing into its' place. "What are you doing?" Before giving me time to answer she asks Tony, "Tony, what is he doing?"
"I am dismantling and putting back together a glove so I can kick this old mans ass," I tell her, not looking up once. When we had first met, Pepper wasn't aware of my situation and didn't understand my heavy cursing, but after being further told about my history, she understood and let it go. She also told me that cussing in a Russian accent is pretty badass.
"Why?"
"We made a bet that if Red here could take apart and put together a glove, we would spar," Tony explains, "But, it seems Pepper here wants us upstairs then we have to go up. I guess that means I win." Tony has his back away from Pepper and I and doesn't see what is sitting in front of us.
"Oh I wouldn't be so sure about that, Tony," Pepper smiles down at me while I put the glove on. He turns around and sees me with the glove on, giving him a smirk.
"Wh-what? How?" Tony is practically speechless at how I managed to do that in an hour.
I shrug, "You made it seem more difficult than it was. теперь мы сражаемся." now we fight. Tony and I both rush to the door, but are stopped.
"No, no, no, no," Pepper stands in front of the doorway, stopping us, "It is time to eat. Actually it was time to eat an hour ago," She stares us down.
"But Pepper," I whine, "We can't fight on a full stomach. One round. Please?" I draw the last word out and attempt a pouty face. I nudge Tony in the side to get him to pout as well.
Pepper looks between the two of us and lets out an exasperated breath, "One round. Then dinner."
"YES!" We high-five each other and run to the training room. Pepper follows us and shakes her head, smiling.
~~~~~
After winning the match pretty quickly, I sit down at the kitchen island as Pepper places a pizza box between us. Tony winces in a bit of pain from a kick to the ribs (from yours truly) and reached for some pizza. I tried to go easy, per Pepper's request, and I thought I did, but they think otherwise.
"я сказал тебе, что выиграю." i told you i would win. I smile at Tony and grab the orange juice carton, pouring myself a cup.
"Yeah whatever, I don't know what you said but I'm sure you are gloating in Russian," He chomps on the pizza in his hand, "I'm sure I last long. J.A.R.V.I.S., how long did I last?"
"You lasted exactly 43.34 seconds, sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. tells him, "I would recommend working on your endurance." Pepper and I laugh at the A.I..
Haha, very funny, Twinkletoes. Speaking of that nickname, go look on your bed." I eye Tony suspiciously as he continued to eat his pizza.
I walk out of the kitchen to the room I've been sleeping in. What could Tony had gotten me? He had shown me so much kindness already. I'm extremely thankful HYDRA sent me on the mission to kill my brother, otherwise I wouldn't be here.
When I was in HYDRA, I had no thoughts or feelings. Everything I did was for them. I didn't feel anything when I killed, but now I'm filled with regret. Maybe if I was stronger, I could've fought the brainwashing off. I brush the thought off. Steve, Tony, and Nat had all told me it would've been almost impossible to fight off. Which was true. In the beginning, when it was easier to not be brainwashed, I was put in that damn machine. It wiped my memories more and made it easier to be brainwashed. I hate that machine. It felt like my skull was split in two when it was used. I never want to go back and have that used on me ever again.
I open the door to the room and find two boxes sitting on the bed. I open the black one on the left. I move paper aside and see a pair of red Converse hightops. Tony must've bought them when I said something about having no shoes.
I sit down on the bed and slip the shoes on, feeling thrilled. I tie them and walk into the bathroom to see them in the mirror. I smile at the shoes, already loving them. Even if the red shoes were because of HYDRA, they could still be my signature thing to wear.
"Are they ok? I looked at your shoes that you wore when you first came here, but they didn't have a size so I guessed." I turn to see Tony leaning against the bathroom door with his arms crossed. "If they don't fit then I can buy you some new ones and if you don't like them-"
I interrupt Tony by hugging him. I feel him stiffen for a moment but then he relaxes and wraps his arms around me. "Спасибо." thank you. I mumble into his shirt.
We stay like this for a few seconds before I drop my arms and he does the same. "What was in the other box?"
"Why don't you go and find out," Tony says, moving out of the doorway. I rush to the bed and open the other box.
"Боже мой." oh my god. In the box was a pair of pointe shoes. (a/n: yes i know, pointe shoes depend on a lot more than just shoe size but this is wattpad so they are magically perfect for her.) There is also a pair of toepads, which I have never used. In the Red Room, toepads were a sign of weakness. They thought dancing without them would strengthen us.
I turn and face Tony, my face deadpan, "You didn't."
"Oh, but I did." He give me that signature Stark smirk, one that I had seen on his father many times before.
I feel like I want to scream. I was ecstatic, I can barely explain it. Dancing was one of the things I have always loved. Even in the Red Room with the horrible instructors that made us do the same routines over and over and over until our toes bled horribly. Once I had danced long enough, I got callouses to protect my feet. I also got stronger on pointe and more fearless in general, so maybe the instructors were onto something.
"Thank you, Tony!" I give him a big smile before heading to the door, shoes in hand. "I'm going to go practice!" I notice that whenever I got more excited or upset my accent became thicker.
"Ah, ah, ah," Tony grabs my elbow gently, "Finish dinner first." My smile drops but I nod. We walk back into the kitchen. I eat the rest of my pizza quickly and excuse myself.
I head back into my room. since I don't have any leotards or tights left, I opt for black athletic shorts and a black ribbed tank-top. I'm pretty sure they're both from Nat. I grab a thin pair of socks and throw my hair into a high ponytail. I grab my pointe shoes and wireless earbuds, and head down to the training room.
I don't have a phone yet. Not that it mattered. J.A.R.V.I.S. can connect my playlist to my earbuds. Tony invented them himself when he was bored one day.
I put my pointe shoes on and walk into the section of the training room that has a wooden floor. I do a few pliés and relevés on the floor, getting a feel for the shoes. Shaking my head, I call out to the A.I., "J.A.R.V.I.S., can you connect to my earbuds and play my playlist on shuffle?"
"Of course, miss." I put my earbuds in and listen to the opening of Better Than Revenge. Smiling, I begin to break my new pointe shoes in
~~~~~
As soon as I began dancing, I practically could feel my worries melting away. I don't know how long I've been dancing. Or the time. I don't care that my ponytail is falling out or that I'm a sweaty mess. Or that my mouth is drier that the Sahara. Or my breathing was short and heavy. Or my legs and feet feel like I'm on fire. All I want to do is dance until my feet fall off. I let the music take control of my body. I jumped and spun and hopped and bourréed and leaped and twirled, my formations perfect, my movement in perfect timing.
I spin and face the other way and stop when I see Tony standing there. I take an earbud out, "J.A.R.V.I.S., pause." The music stops flowing through the earbuds. i walk over to where Tony is standing and sit on the bench near them. He hands me the water and I take a big swig from it. I sit there panting for a few seconds as he sits down beside me on the bench. I begin to untie my pointe shoes, "Grab the tape and Band-Aides, will ya?"
"On it." Tony walked over to the shelves and grabbed the items. He walks back and watches as I peel the shoes off. He winces when he see my feet. "Guess that's what happens when you dance for three hours, huh?" He hands me the tape and bandages.
I glance up at him confused, "Three hours? It's eleven?" I wrap the bandages around my toes like I did at the Red Room. Even when my feet got used to being on pointe often, I still used tape and bandages on my calluses. It made me feel better.
"Yeah," he looks down at my feet again, "Aren't you supposed to use those cushion things? I don't know any of that stuff. I had to ask Natasha and J.A.R.V.I.S. about this stuff."
I use the tape to wrap my toes together, "I don't like them." I was getting tired which meant my accent was thicker "Don't worry, after a few weeks my feet will be fine. I haven't dance on pointe in a while so my callouses disappeared."
"Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. calls out, "Steve is calling." Tony had J.A.R.V.I.S. tell us whenever Steve was calling in case it was something important- or if he just wanted to talk to his little sister-me. Things had been a little awkward between us since I tried to kill him, but he knew it wasn't technically me, and we had both been trying to get the bond we had back before I fell out of the train.
"Put him on," Tony tells the A.I..
Steve's voice comes into the room, "Hey Gracie, sorry for calling so late but I just got back from a mission." Steve's nickname for me is Gracie, and I call him C.A., or Grant. Sometimes even Steven.
"Its fine C.A., I was just breaking in my new pointe shoes."
"Yeah? Well I'm sure we can find somewhere for you to enroll when you come down here."
"Really!? My room is ready?" I love hanging with Tony, but I want to live with her brother. With most of my memories now back, I wanted the relationship Steve and I had before.
"You bet, Gracie. I finished it yesterday. I was going to tell you, but duty calls." Steve had been working with S.H.I.E.L.D. and they kept him busy.
"Yay! I'll start packing right away!" I grab her pointe shoes and ran out of the training room, going upstairs to my room. I stopped and waited outside the door, to see if they talked more.
"Hey Stark, thanks for taking care of my Gracie. I really appreciate it. I wish I could've spent more time with her these past few weeks but-"
Tony cut Steve off, "Cap-sicle did you not hear how happy she was? Her accent was so prominent I thought she was from Rocky IV."
"What is Rocky?" Steve asked. "Is that like a Russian singer?"
"And that is why I like your sister more than you, Rogers."
I smiled as I walked up the steps, excited to live with Steve again.
*****
a/n: edited
captain america: the winter soldier is up next!!! im so excited i have scenes planned out that i love
fun fact: when grace gets really excited and her accent goes all extreme russian or starts talking a lot in russian, tony calls her rocky IV.
ANOTHER fun fact because im full of them today: the red converse came from me, i wear mine all the time and i thought it was a cool way for her to stand out in the assassin world (i dunno why youd wanna stand out as an assassin but oh well)
word count:3k