Man of Iron, I do not understand why you act like this"

Grace had run straight to the elevator when Pepper and Thor had entered, leaving the others to explain what had happened. Pepper had been shocked, tears brimming in the corners of her eyes.

Thor had been at first confused, at the fact that the lovely maiden was the daughter of the man of iron. Which tony had taken offense to

But now that he realised what had happened, the usually loud god had been unusually quiet.

"You don't understand?!"Tony exclaimed

"You are angry towards the young Lady Grace… yes?"

Tony nodded, why was he even asking?

"Of course I am! Isn't it bloody obvious?"

"Do you not think that such anger is misplaced?" Thor paused a moment " Should you not channel your anger and take down who is responsible for what has befallen the Lady Grace?"

It was at this point, that Natasha noticed Steve slink towards the elevator, unbeknownst to most of the others

Clint of course had noticed, and looked quizzing at his partner.

Where the hell is he going?

Natasha raised an eyebrow

Where do you think?

Clint raised both his eyebrows in surprise.

OH!

He glanced back at Tony then back to the red head

Does he has a death wish?

Natasha simply smirked in response, much to the archer's annoyance

"Of course I want to do that!-"

"Then that is what you should focus on." Thor stated simply, as if the answer was obvious.

"Damn it Thor, it isn't that easy! She didn't tell me! She lied to me! If you had a daughter, wouldn't you react the same way?"

Thor's gaze hardened

"If such had befallen my own daughter there would be no realm that such scum would be able to hide in." He took a deep breath.

"However, You must remember. Lady Grace is the victim here, such anger should not be directed upon her" It was then that Tony's anger faded and he slowly sat on the sofa. In his anger of being deceived and lied to.

He'd forgotten how she must had felt. He wasn't the one who had been hurt.

She had.

How could he have been so selfish? She'd finally told him, and he had just yelled at her, calling her stupid. To make matters worse… he'd hurt her, he'd said he shouldn't have bothered with her. He hadn't even tried to comfort her… had he told her that it was going to be okay, that he was going to protect her?

No…all he'd done was blame her.

Tony looked as if he was about to cry, and hadn't even reacted when pepper hugged him.

He had royally fucked up.

"Grace could you open the door?" Steve wasn't sure what had compelled him to go find grace, and he found himself on her floor

"You like her." He narrowed his eyes as Natasha's smug tone filled his head. However before he could ponder her feelings, she spoke

"Um c-could you come back later… please?" Normally, Steve, without hesitation would have done just that… but for some reason he felt couldn't leave her alone.

"I'm not leaving Grace" He stated firmly. She didn't respond this time.

"I'm coming in…"he opened the door, and took in her suite.

Most of the walls as he entered were white and he realised she hadn't really decorated it. She had the standard Kitchen and TV system that Stark had put in all the suites, He noted though that she had a large bookcase beside the TV

He found Grace sitting on the counter of the kitchen, her bear held to her chest, and an abandoned cup of coffee beside her. She was wiping her eyes, and he assumed that she had been crying.

"Grace?" He called out to her tentatively, and she flinched slightly, before looking at him. Her eyes were watery as she looked at Steve sadly, as if she was holding back tears.

"Steve… i-is there a reason you're here?" She landed lightly off the side, as she smiled weakly at him.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay"

"Oh." She paused for a moment "I'm fine" Steve frowned at this, as he walked towards her. He didn't believe her in the slightest, but decided not to push her. He smiled at her

"Alright, then I guess you don't mind watching a movie with me?" Grace blinked confused, wondering why the super solider was not trying to push her. With "Phil" still in her arms, she followed Steve to the sofa, as he chose a dvd.

Despite the beginning of Lord of the Rings appearing on the screen, Grace found herself not paying the slightest bit of attention.

"He's names Zac "Steve hadn't been paying attention to the strange film either, but was surprised when Grace started to talk.

"…I met him at University, and he… he actually wanted to be my friend." She said this as if was unbelievable, as if her having friends was something strange.

"He was persistent, a-always following me, and talking to me. He…made me feel important… So it wasn't surprising that I fell for him. W-we started going out, and... I thought l-loved him." Her eyes were distant, her thoughts dwelling on a time with Zac, she could never get back.

"…B-but he changed. H-he got possessive. Telling me what to do, what to wear, where to go. He n-never left me alone." She remembered being so foolishly in love with him, that she had been blind to him controlling her, she had simply thought that he felt the same. That he never wanted to leave her side.

"…The f-first time he hit me… was when he saw a g-guy talk to me. I-i'd dropped my folder, and he gave it back to me…When we got back to my flat… H-he…called me a w-whore…and h-hit me" she hadn't see it coming and it was as if she had reverted to her weak younger self, it was as if things had never changed.

She bought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. She didn't know why she was telling him this. Maybe because he wasn't pushing her for answers. He was this calming presence, and she felt safe with him next to her.

"It got hard to talk to dad, I had to do it when he was away. He didn't like me talking to him, and I obviously didn't have any friends to ask for help."

"…Why didn't you leave him? You could have come back here "Steve tried to say this in a calm voice, as not to startle her. But he found himself wanting to hurt this Zac. No one deserved to be treated like that, least of all Grace. He got angry just thinking about it. This punk had put Grace on edge, she was jumpy and he'd her hurt to the extent that she felt she couldn't tell anyone. His mind flashed to her crying in Clint's arms…

Yes, Zac was a dead man walking.

"I t-tried "She hiccupped "He just hurt m-me more. I even called the police" That got Steve's attention.

"And? "He asked softly.

"A-and they didn't do anything… They said they didn't have enough e-evidence, not enough to do anything anyway. He put my arm in a c-cast after they left."

Steve didn't say anything to that, though he thought that was strange. Surely the police wouldn't just dismiss a case like that… it was suspicious…

But he found himself wrapping the girl in his arms as she sobbed. He couldn't do anything for her, but he could at least give her a shoulder to cry on. And maybe it was for his benefit as well.

Maybe he just wanted to hold her.

"It's okay, you're safe now "He whispered these words of comfort to her as he held her.

He wouldn't let anyone hurt her again

"What the fuck is this"

Steve groaned as he opened his eyes, as he tried to think where he was. He'd actually had a good night's sleep! Yet he realised he wasn't in his own room either, which he found odd. He also noticed that there was something warm on his chest.

Looking down he noted a bundle of brunette hair sprayed across him. Grace was cuddled up against his chest, looking so peaceful, a look he hadn't had the privilege to see across her face. His arm was wrapped across her waist, and he found himself to be quiet comfortable, despite being on the couch.

However he then remembered the words he had just heard. They sounded calm, but had an undertone of anger in them.

And it sounded a lot like Tony.

Turning his attention to the door, he noticed an eerily calm tony, and a smirking Natasha, who was holding what looked to be a phone, a smug look on her face.

"Tony?"

"I suggest you get away from my daughter, Steve. Now" the lack of the usual nickname's that the older stark usual used, unnerved the super solider slightly. And it then clicked what exactly was happening

Tony had seen him and Grace cuddling.

And he wasn't very happy about it.

Now normally, Steve would have shot up immediately, however, with Grace sleeping so soundly, he found himself, not wanting to disturb her. He glanced at the red head hoping that she would help him in some way, but she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the scene before her.

"Tony, this isn't what it looks like!" He rushed quickly, his face getting warmer by the second.

"Oh really?" Tony all but snarled "Is that a fact? Because it looks pretty self-explanatory"

The talking above her caused the brunette to stir, and she let out a small groan, which didn't help Steve calm down at all. She rubbed her eye and blinked as she sat up, Her Hand resting against Steve's chest. It took only a few moments, but then she remember her crying in Steve's chest, and the fact she had slept on him. Her face quickly heated up as well as she noticed that her dad and Natasha were there.

Not being able to speak, due to her embarrassment, all she could do was let out a horrified squeak as she quickly slid off Steve. Despite the satiation she was in, she found herself missing his warmth

"I- a- er-"

However before the pair could explain themselves, they were interrupted by a booming voice

"Man of iron! Pray tell where you hold the Pop Tarts" Thor paused as he looked in the doorway. He noticed the pair's closeness as well as their embarrassment, and a large grin spread slowly across the gods face.

"Ah, are congratulations in order?"

Sorry for the slow update guys, i had writers block! please keep the reviews coming,and thanks for still reading!

Any ideas you have will also be appreciated

Thanks

Girlwithnosoul