The year was surprisingly uneventful- Tony's health was still poor, but generally stable, and Grace's next visit to Asgard was spent wandering the palace grounds, exploring the balconies, and reading. Loki had not yet tried to talk to Odin, but he had made an attempt to at least begin to repair his relationship with Thor. He was standing when she arrived, taking a few steps while leaning heavily on a cane, his arm no longer bent awkwardly against his chest, his jaw now in the proper place. They spent quite a lot of their time in the library, Loki reading to her while she sketched scenes from the stories. This was how they spent her third and fourth visits as well, Loki's walking more steady each time.
When the day came for their fifth visit, Loki stood waiting beside Heimdall. Thor returned on his own.
"Thor? Where is Miss Grace?"
"She has declined to visit. Anthony is not well."
"Perhaps next week would be better?"
Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder, "No, it will not be. Anthony has very little time left. Grace has spent the better part of this last month in Stark Tower helping Pepper take care of him. She will be by his side until his life passes."
"Ah...so it is that time. I wish I could be with her."
"Do not hold out hope, Loki, but I am going to talk to Father. I do not think I can convince him to let you travel to Midgard, but I will try."
"Thank you. If I cannot, will you please take a message to her for me?"
"If you cannot, yes, I will. She misses you, Brother. She sends her deepest regrets that she cannot be with you this week." What Thor did not tell Loki was that Grace was in desperate need of Loki's company as she struggled with knowing Tony was dying and that she had told him this directly, begging him to intercede on her behalf with Odin. She was putting up a strong front for Tony and Pepper, but every night when she went to sleep, she longed for someone to hold her so she was not crying alone into her pillow. She had told Thor this as well, hoping it was something that would bend Odin's decision favourably towards her.
Thor left and Loki stood very still beside Heimdall, "Can you see her?"
"Yes."
"Please tell me what she is doing."
"Speaking with Anthony. He is in an armchair. It appears he is attempting to make his case about something with both Grace and a woman with red hair."
Tony was indeed very passionately making his case- he had been told that his life was going to end very soon and had things he wanted to do before it ended, "Look, I know it sounds stupid, but if I'm going to die sometime in the next month, I'm not going to do it without doing the Time Warp again. There's a midnight showing tonight and if I don't get one last chance to see men in corsets with better legs than most of the women in French Maid costumes, I'm pretty sure someone's going to have to come up with some black market organs mighty fast. So who's with me? Pepper? Gracie?"
Pepper sighed, "Tony, the doctors said you need to take it easy and rest- your heart-"
"Pepper, what difference does it make if I die bored in three weeks or happy tonight after Rocky Horror? It's not like I'm any less dead, and one of the two ways allows me to throw toast at a movie screen with hundreds of other freaks. I think I'll take my chances."
"Well I'm in."
"And Gracie is the voice of insanity. Good. Which costume are you wearing?"
Grace pushed back her hair, not quite as short as it used to be, "I'll slick this back and find my sequined corset."
"Columbia! Excellent. I'll go find my Eddie."
He left the room and called out, "Better pick your character, Pep, we're going out."
Pepper simply smiled and shook her head, "I guess it's good he's happy."
"I'd rather have a happy brother than a bored and mopey one. He's going to die one way or another and we can't change that. He should enjoy what time he's got left."
"I know...I just want the most time we can get with him. I guess it's selfish to want more time in exchange for his happiness."
"Yeah, it is, but it's not like I didn't think the same thing. I'd rather stretch this out, but...I'd also rather not."
Pepper smiled, "You're a really good sister, you know that?"
"I do my best."
Tony came out with a leather vest draped over his arm, "So...why the lollygagging? Come on, ladies, there aren't a lot of characters to pick from, especially since Gracie's already claimed Columbia. French Maid or 50s sock hop girl?"
"I can guess which one you'd prefer."
Tony grinned, "Of course you can, you're my girl. Now go get dressed, both of you- we don't want to be late for this."
"We won't be late, it's not for four hours."
"Let's get dinner first, then. In costume."
Grace hopped from her place on the couch, "Fine, you win! Columbia, Magenta, and Eddie are going out for eats. Pizza sound good?"
They agreed and were shortly on their way to their favourite pizza place. After eating, they all sat in the back seat of Tony's limo and talked.
"You know, if I die in the middle of the show, I hope it's right when they have Meatloaf for dinner. That would be hilarious. But don't tell anybody if I do, OK? I want everybody else to enjoy the show. It's not like I'm going to get any more dead, you know?"
Pepper was on her third glass of wine for the evening and was in no mood to talk about Tony's impending death, "Tony, that's depressing."
"Hey, if I do, that'll be my last wish. You wouldn't deny a guy his last wish, would you? Gracie, sweetheart, make sure they don't stop the show if I die, OK?"
"Alright, Tony." She pulled her knees up to the side and leaned on him.
Tony put his arm around her, "Thank you for giving up your week for me. It means a lot."
"You're my brother, Tony. There wasn't any question that I had to."
"I hope your friend's not mad."
"If Loki's learned anything in the past few years about family, he'll understand. He's got a brother, too, you know."
"Are they speaking to each other now?"
"Mostly. They're certainly not as close as they once were, but they talk."
"Well that's good."
When they arrived at the theatre, there were people in line outside, waiting for the doors to open. Most of the folks waiting were dressed up, some acting out scenes from the movie, others just watching in amusement. They joined the line, hoping to stay mostly anonymous, but knowing that Tony would certainly draw attention one way or another.
During the show, they laughed at the jokes, threw things at the screen when they were supposed to, and called back to Brad and Janet's names along with everyone else. Pepper kept an eye on Tony, her hand in his, as though he really would drop dead at any moment. Grace let go and enjoyed the show as though her brother wasn't dying, giggling with him, teasing him, and being playful like she always was at Rocky Horror productions.
When they arrived back at the Tower, Pepper disappeared into her bedroom. Tony sat at the bar with Grace.
"Gracie, are you doing OK? I know Pepper's not. She's a mess. She's drinking a lot of wine."
"I'm doing as well as I can. It's not great, no, but ever since you did the whole Iron Man thing I figured I'd lose you long before you were an old man. Some shit would kill you or you'd get axed by a bad guy or S.H.I.E.L.D. would do something stupid...or you'd end up run into by a jet. That was always on the table, too. But any way I figured it, you weren't going to get to be a crotchety old man yelling for kids to get off your lawn. It's just happening a lot differently than I thought it would."
"I'm sorry, Gracie. I don't want this, either."
"I know, Tony." She stood and hugged him, trying not to start crying, "I love you. I owe you everything. I don't know what I'm going to do without you."
He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Honey, you'll be OK. You'll live a long and happy life being an amazing artist. JARVIS has all my funeral plans- all you need to do is figure out what you want to show up at. I'd like you to put me in the ground with Pepper, but don't worry about that until it happens and don't worry if you don't want to be at all the public bullshit that's going to happen after- it won't hurt me if you need to stay out of the media's eye. JARVIS will tell you what's going to happen after I'm gone. Pepper will still be CEO of Stark Industries, you're going to suddenly have a whole fortune in your name, and you're going to never forget to be awesome. I love you, sweetie. I'm going to make sure to take care of you long after I'm dead." Grace could no longer keep from crying and once she started, Tony could not hold back tears either. Once she finally was able to take a deep breath and step back a little, she kissed his forehead and wiped his tears. He did the same for her, "You'll be OK, I promise. You can do this."
She tried to smile, "Thanks. Now you need to get to bed- make sure Pepper's OK. I'll be in my apartment if you need me, eating copious amounts of ice cream while watching Wayne's World."
"Sequel too?"
"Of course. Waynestock is a good reason not to sleep, right?"
"Always." He stood and kissed her cheek, "Good night, Gracie. I love you, kiddo."
"Night, Tony. I love you, too, you big lug." She watched him go to Pepper's room and then left his apartment. She changed from her sequined costume to her most comfortable, run down pyjamas, grabbed a bottle of wine and the ice cream and started the DVD, hoping she would see her brother in the morning.
At 10, Grace woke to a knock on the door, "Yeah?"
"It is I, Thor. I come with news."
She opened the door and let him in, still in her pyjamas, "Sorry, I fell asleep late and haven't gotten around to being decent for the day. What's up?"
"I have spoken to Father...or, rather, I have begged him, to let Loki visit. He is considering my proposal. I asked that he allow him to come to Midgard under my watch so that he can learn the value of family by watching someone go through the loss of it and beseeched him to consider your needs as well. I do not know if this will be a successful proposal, but it was the best I could do given that Loki gave up his freedom to travel outside the realm to secure your visits."
"Thank you, Thor. I really appreciate that- do you want some coffee or something?"
"I would like that very much."
"JARVIS?"
"Yes, miss?"
"Is Tony still alive?"
"Yes, he is."
"Fantastic. Tell him to figure out what we're doing today and I will be right up."
"That will be difficult to do, Miss Stark, as he is unconscious."
Grace stopped, her coffee mug midway from the cupboard, "As in 'asleep' or as in 'call the doctor'?"
"The latter. Doctor Carter is on his way."
"You suck at delivering bad news, you know that, right? Is Pepper handling things well enough for me to grab cereal and put real clothes on before coming up?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let me know if Doctor Carter says anything important before I get upstairs."
"Of course, miss."
She put a coffee cup under the single-serve machine, popped a new coffee pod in it, and pushed the button, "Sorry, Thor, but real breakfast is going to have to wait. When the light goes off, your coffee's done- there's cream in the fridge if you need it. I've got to shower and find clothes." Thor nodded and sat at the kitchen table while she ran off to her bedroom, dug a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt from her closet, grabbed her undergarments, and then took a very quick shower. When she returned to the kitchen, Thor was sipping his coffee, her own cup across the table from him, and a bowl of cereal ready all but for the milk- he had even cut strawberries on top for her. She smiled, thanked him, and sat down to eat.
"I cannot stay long today, but I will see you to Anthony's rooms. I must return home to hear Father's decision, but hopefully I will return soon with Loki. He truly wants to be by your side and feels badly that he is not."
"Thank you. And I really really mean that- I don't know that I can do this on my own and it would mean the world to me to have Loki here. And you, of course."
"He is your best friend. Remember that for a spell I, too, lost my brother- when he fell from the Bifrost, we all mourned him deeply, believing him dead. Who stands beside you makes all the difference."
When she finished her breakfast, she brought her cup of coffee with her and they went up to Tony's apartment. No one met them at the door. Thor saw her to Tony's bedroom and then promised to return soon with news. She went in and found Pepper seated on one side of the bed, no Doctor Carter yet in sight. Pepper's eyes were red and she was wearing yoga pants and a tank top, her hair pulled back in a messy bun.
"Hey...did he just not wake up this morning?"
Pepper shook her head, "No...he got up, he made breakfast, we ate together and watched the sunrise. He said he felt a little weak and wanted to go lay down. I came with him, tucked him in, and went to take a shower. When I got back, I couldn't wake him. That's when I called JARVIS and he confirmed that Tony's vitals were way off and called Doctor Carter. He should be here soon."
"I'm glad he had fun last night, then and had a nice morning with you." Grace pulled a chair up to the other side of Tony's bed.
"You're handling this really well, Grace."
"I've always assumed I'd lose him. I guess you probably have, too, but I maybe I've had enough loss in my life that I've gotten really good at hiding the sad and just pushing through. Probably not the best coping strategy, but I'm still standing."
"If he...if this is it, are you going to visit Asgard?"
"Probably not. I'm going to need to figure out life without Tony before leaving."
"JARVIS said Thor was here."
"Yeah. He's trying to convince Odin to let Loki visit me and wanted to tell me he's working on it. Loki feels bad that he can't be here for me. Has JARVIS told any of Tony's friends what's going on?"
"I think so. JARVIS?"
"Yes, Mrs Stark?"
"Did you contact Tony's friends?"
"Mr Rhodes is on his way. His fellow Avengers have been contacted and their travel arranged for, as per Mr Stark's wishes."
Grace managed a small smile, "He told me last night that I wouldn't have anything to worry about- he'd arranged for everything. That all we'd have to do is figure out where we wanted to be. I guess when he said 'everything', he meant it."
"Well Tony is pretty thorough. I know he updated his will a week ago and ran over his funeral arrangements with JARVIS- kicked me out of the apartment to do it, too."
"Doctor Carter has arrived in the Tower. Security will escort him to the penthouse." JARVIS announced.
The two women sat in silence until the doctor arrived, neither saying much while he did his examination, only speaking to answer his questions. Tony still had glitter in his hair from an enthusiastic Dr Frank-n-Furter who had glittered everyone as they had left the theatre the night before.
The doctor shook his head, "It doesn't look very good, ladies. I'm going to work with JARVIS' computer system to monitor his brain function and vitals. Depending on what I see, we might be in the last few hours or days. If there is anything you don't have prepared for the end, you will want to take care of that soon."
He left the room and went one of the tablet docks that was behind the bar to work. Pepper and Grace stayed beside Tony in silence.