A/N: *sighs* I love having some time to write again, and I really am satisfied with how the story is turning out so far. And thank you for your support! I love writing for myself, but I'm really glad that you like what I'm writing too. I haven't said this (I think), but my initial face claim for Clark is Scott Eastwood, but you're totally free to choose which actor you're visualizing Clark looking like.

Enjoy! - C x


Typhoon: The First Avengers

Chapter 10 - Acceptance


The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are stronger at the broken places ~Ernest Hemingway

December 7, 1941 - 12:45 pm CST - Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, United States of America

Grace woke up, bathed in sweat. And it was strangely not because she had had a nightmare (although she had at least one every night), but because of the shouts and increased activity near the otherwise secluded barrack where she and Peggy stayed as the only girls on base. When Grace looked out of the window in her bedroom, she could see that the sun was close to its highest peak, which meant that it had to be around midday. She had a half day off, but she could still not understand why Peggy had not woken her up as she from the get-go had been adamant about Grace getting a regular routine. However, while hosting an inner debate discussing whether she should get dressed and head to the canteen, or lie down to catch a little more sleep, Grace was alerted by shouts outside, "Pearl Harbor's under attack!"

Automatically, without much thought, Grace swung her legs over the edge of her bed, immediately beginning to scrummage through her clothes to find something to wear. All the while, she tried to recall where she had heard the name 'Pearl Harbor' before.

Clark was still a new acquaintance to her although he had been training her for a couple of months now. He was nice and patient, but he could also be strict, valuing punctuality a lot. They were still continuing to work on her close-combat skills while beginning to include the possibilities within her atmokinesis as well. Clark could be a tiny bit awkward when he ordered her to make use of the atmokinesis, but he had never once looked at her as if she was a freak; the only expressions she had caught from him were puzzlement and a slight awe. He was very satisfied with her improved physicality, but they had yet to have a real conversation with each other. Clark was a man of relatively few words unless he bossed Grace around, and she was as shy and secluded as one could get. She was afraid to open up; to show weakness. HYDRA had drilled into her that vulnerability was weakness, and you were punished for showing it.

The only persons she had really opened up to so far were Dr. Erskine and Peggy. Grace was still getting to know Howard and his special personality, but she hadn't bitten him since that day he and Peggy saved them. Slightly bemused, she thought that it was progress.

Having thrown on a presentable outfit, Grace hurried out of the barracks and across the base to the barracks where she assumed she would find some familiar faces; at headquarters. The journey towards headquarters was filled with avoiding being run over by both officers and enlisted men who were running around to who knows where, but the common denominator they all talked about was the attack on Pearl Harbor. Upon entering the headquarters' barracks she fully realized that whatever was happening was huge and serious. Everyone except a front desk clerk were gone from the main area where secretaries, clerks and officers normally would be working among each other. The desk clerk looked up when she entered the building, giving her a quick look-over as Grace approached the desk. Grace recognized him; he had been there since Colonel Phillips first brought her to the base. And the fact that the clerk too recognized her was evident as his eyes held that alertness and weariness most people, who came across Grace, and knew who and what she was, presented when she looked at them. They were scared of her. Grace felt a lump gathering in her throat every single time it happened. Nonetheless, she looked at the desk clerk and questioned politely, "May I ask where Colonel Phillips, Agent Carter or Sergeant Walker is as of now?"

The desk clerk took a look back towards the doors on each side further behind him before turning back to face Grace, answering just as politely yet emotionless, "They're all through the fourth door on the left, ma'am."

Grace would probably never get used to being called ma'am, but she thanked the clerk with a smile nonetheless, "Thank you."

She then walked past the front desk and towards the corridor of doors before her. Approaching, she counted to door number four on the left. Stopping in front of it she listened. She could only faintly hear what sounded like a radio report; no one else were talking. However, she trusted the clerk's word and gave the door three light raps on the wood.

She quietly sighed in relief when she heard Colonel Phillip's gruff voice say, "Enter."

Swiftly, she grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open to reveal a rather somber sight. Spread lightly throughout the small room, Grace saw the only people she had come to remotely trust sit and intensely look at the small radio that were placed on the main desk. Behind it sat Colonel Phillips who was now looking in Grace's direction, a look of sadness in his eyes which Grace had never seen before. Howard Stark was standing by a windowsill, looking lost in thought as he listened intensely to the report.

"While previous statements reported that the USS Arizona had been hit, it is now reported that the super-dreadnought battleship have been bombed extensively by Japanese torpedo bombers and have exploded and been torn in half. The US Navy cannot estimate the amount of casualties at this time. However, the loss of life seems to be devastating…."

"Grace." Peggy's soft voice cut through the reporter's speak. She was standing on Grace's right next to Colonel Phillips' desk. Someone else however, who was almost and ironically uncharacteristically quiet when it came to military news, and not facing her, caught Grace's eye. Clark was sitting in an armchair with his back turned towards Grace. He had not moved an inch since she had entered the room. It seemed like he was listening intently to the radio as he sat crouched over with a hand supporting his face.

She knew that it was not anything good and that it was bad, but Grace still asked in a very timid way, "What's going on?"

"Seems like Japan has just declared war on the United States of America." Colonel Phillips replied in a somber, dark voice. "Which likely will mean that we will enter the war in Europe as well."

Grace's eyes widened, and she looked up at the adults in the room with an uncomfortable look. She didn't say anything, but merely looked down at the slightly muddied shoes she had thrown on in a hurry. The next time she looked up, Colonel Phillips stood by Clark's side. Grace's brows furrowed and her stomach churned strangely at the look in Colonel Phillips' eyes. It was very rare, but this was one of the times where she saw the Colonel genuinely upset and sad, which also became evident when he put a gentle arm on Clark's shoulder. "I am truly sorry, son. Stay here for as long as you need, and let me know if you need anything."

Grace's heart sank as all kinds of scenarios involving this news of Pearl Harbor that could involve Clark. Did he have family there? Friends? Instantly, a flashback of dialogue she remembered between Clark and Peggy at their first meeting in that park echoed inside her head.

"What were your previous placement if I may ask, Sergeant Clark?"

Grace's train of thought was interrupted by Peggy placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, saying, "Let us let Clark have the room, hm, Grace? I know it is going to be a boring task running around from briefing to briefing, but…"

"It's okay," Clark's voice sounded hollow. "She can stay with me if she wants to. We were supposed to be training now, anyway."

Peggy was about to protest when Colonel Phillips said, "Carter." The two adults seemed as if they were having a silent conversation between themselves before Peggy proclaimed uncertainly, "Very well. Do you want to stay here with Clark while the rest of us run some errands, sweetie?"

One part of Grace wanted to be as far away as she could from this all this hurt and emotional turmoil Clark clearly was going through, whatever the reason which Grace had forgotten again. Another part inside her pulled her towards Clark, the strange sight of seeing the man she had gotten the impression were invincible and collected suddenly wasn't anymore, making her want to make him feel better if she could.

"Sure." She managed to say convincingly enough for Peggy to let go of her with a satisfied look in her eyes, before the young agent turned her attention towards Clark.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss, Clark." She said compassionately to Clark's figure still seated in the chair.

"Yes, I am sorry too, man," Howard spoke up as he walked past Clark, giving him a light clap on the shoulder. "Let us know if you need anything."

Clark acknowledged them both with half a smile and a light wave of his fingers. Peggy was the last one to leave the room and when she did, she and Grace made eye contact.

'Talk to him if you want to' Peggy mouthed with a gentle smile before she closed the door. Before Grace began to think too much, she briefly closed the distance there was between her and Clark, as she abruptly lifted herself up to sit on Colonel Phillips' desk (now where he clearly wasn't there to tell her off), suddenly facing Clark who had shifted slightly at her movements. He was staring at the radio still, listening to its reports.

Silence ensued as the two of them just sat there, each lost in their own thoughts and fears. Grace had just turned her head to look out of the window to see that, slowly but surely, there were less activity outside now than there had been before.

"I served on the USS Arizona…before I came here to train you." Clark finally spoke. "There are…were a lot of good men on that ship."

Grace blinked; in one way she tried to keep the tears at bay, in another she was trying to fathom what Clark in reality had just said. If he hadn't been reassigned, he had most likely been on the USS Arizona, which meant that he most likely had been one of many who wouldn't return home to their families. That guilt that Grace recognized it as, she felt too, and she couldn't fathom why. She couldn't remember.

As she processed all this, all she could manage to let out, however genuinely, was, "I'm really sorry, Clark."

Clark's lips pulled upwards, nodding his acknowledgements that he had heard her. Then, almost shockingly to Grace, he reached out and grabbed the radio, turning it off. He then proceeded to stand up before proclaiming, "We're running late on our schedule for today."

Grace watched him with furrowed brows, concerned for her instructor's sudden change in behavior. In fact, she didn't realize that she had said his name, made him turn around, and barely also registered the very mature words coming out of her mouth. "It's okay, Clark."

The two of them just stared dumbstruck at each other, Grace's cheeks turning slightly red. She had never meant to say it, but she could just feel, what Howard had talked to her about called survivor's guilt, was rolling off Clark in waves he was trying to suppress.

"It's okay, what?" He questioned the young girl before him warily.

Grace's heart sank as she quirked her lips, half shrugging, "To grieve."

Clark looked like she had hit him across the face for a moment before he composed himself. Grace looked back at him like she had just been caught red-handed sitting on Colonel Phillips' desk by the man himself.

Clark cleared his throat, motioning to her shoes. "Something tells me that you were in a hurry this morning."

Grace had the urge to roll her eyes at Clark avoiding to respond to her statement, but resisted as she simply rebutted, "Something tells me that you are not very keen on sharing your feelings."

Clark fixed a look at her saying 'really?' before he walked the last few meters to the door, pressed down the handle, opening the door and countered, this time in a half-jokingly, light and airy manner, "You'd better get off that desk before Colonel Phillips sees you."

Clark was, half sluggishly, halfway out of the door when Grace's voice stopped him, "Clark?"

Grace had remembered something that might give them some common ground, and she wanted to test if it would affect his mood for the better when he clearly wasn't keen on discussing his feelings, at least not with her yet. As Clark looked at her in a questioning manner, Grace sent him a timid smile, "You said you were from Staten Island, right? The first time we met?"

Clark smirked lightly, "Yes. I did."

Grace smiled genuinely, "That's rad," before she swiftly jumped down from the desk and in an impressively fast manner had passed by Clark by the door. As Clark looked at the back of the retreating girl, he sighed lightly before he with a small smile shook his head and thought to himself whether he would ever fully understand that girl. She had made him smile, but had also confronted him head-on, having looked right through him. Clark honestly didn't know whether to feel intimidated or impressed by this girl. Only time would tell, he guessed.