i have finished my exams! SO I CAN NOW FREELY UPDATE!
Hope you enjoy this chapter, and any comments or ideas are welcomed!
Thanks!
Girlwithnosoul
Grace soon found herself back at the tower. The ball had been cancelled due to a 'fire emergency'
She stopped crying now, but now she was just numb. She'd never killed anyone before, nor had she ever attacked someone in such a brutal way.
She'd punched a man to death, slamming his head into the sink with a strength she didn't know she possessed.
But she just felt empty, and she wasn't sure that was normal.
Shouldn't she feel guilty? Angry?
She didn't feel anything.
She noted that Bruce was in front of her, talking to her father, and she may have heard the word "Shock" but it was as if she couldn't hear anything.
It was as if everything was in slow motion, her mind moving faster then what she was seeing.
She needed it to stop.
Sluggishly, Grace stood up, her eyes almost vacant as she trudged to the bar, not seeming to care about the surprised looks she received from the Bruce or her father.
Scotch. Her dad usually drank that. She remembered.
She'd also tried Vodka once with Za-
Blinking she grabbed a bottle of her dad's scotch, the vodka now another reminder. Grabbing a glass she poured her drink, and downed it quickly. The burn down her throat made her feel less numb, with the warm feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.
"Grace?!"Tony felt helpless as he daughter began to imitate him.
He drank his problems away, he always had done.
But he never wanted his daughter to do the same. This empty shell in front of him wasn't his daughter.
He didn't know who this was. And he wanted her gone.
She finally seemed to register he had called her name, and she glanced at him. Her eyes puffy and swollen from crying, tear marks had streamed down her cheeks. She hadn't gotten changed, or cleaned up so her knuckles were still bloody with her blood and Zac's staining her hands
"I'm going to my room "She muttered, and without waiting for their reply she walked away, a bottle of scotch in hand, her glass abandoned on the bar counter.
Tony didn't say a word, and sighed, collapsing into his seat, as if he had lost the strength to hold himself up.
"Aren't you going to stop her? Bruce exclaimed, once Grace was gone.
"What right to I have to stop her Brucie?"He laughed humourlessly "Who do you think gave her the idea that alcohol helps?" Bruce was silent at that, knowing the answer "She used to hate me doing it, she even tried to hide the alcohol so I wouldn't drink any" Her attempts had failed, but he had tried to cut back at the time, to show his daughter he understood her concern
"Then why would she resort to alcohol if she didn't like you doing it?" Tony looked at his close friend.
"Because she wants to forget" Tony simply stated
She wanted to forget how broken she was.
And he didn't know how to help her
Eventually the other avengers returned, and though they were concerned with the younger stark, they all reluctantly followed Bruce's advice to let her be, and not to overcrowd her. With no one in the mood to talk, they retired to their own quarters, trying to sleep.
Steve after what felt like hours, decided to that he needed to make sure that Grace was okay, so made his way to her room, only to find it empty
"Jarvis where is grace?"
"Miss Stark is currently in the main living area sir" He wasn't sure if it was possible, but the AI seemed almost worried, so he quickly made his way down the tower, only to find Grace in the kitchen. Strangely she was scrubbing at her hands. From what he could see they were clean, in fact she was only aggravating her swollen knuckles as she scrubbed her hands raw.
Empty bottles of scotch lay next to her on the counter…
"Grace…" she hiccupped, and turned to see Steve, her eyes wide
"S-s-teve i-it won't come off!" She wailed. "I thought it was off but it won't come off" Steve grabbed her hands, so small in his own, and rubbed the tops of her hands with his thumb
"Grace, there isn't anything on your hands" By anything, he meant blood, knowing that must be what Grace was referring to.
She looked at her hands in his, and blinked, her eyes taking in her clean hands in his.
However she quickly pulled away.
"No, just stop it!" She stared at Steve angrily, her dark eyes cold "Stop treating me like this!"
Steve at his moment was lost. How had he made her angry with him?
"Grac-"
"Why are you so nice to me all the time" She complained "You'll just raise my hopes up!
A strange flutter almost filled Steve's chest, and he tried to keep his expression straight.
An intoxicated Grace, seemed to have no problem telling him how she felt.
"Hopes up for…whatever this is" She gestured towards the pair of them. "I always do this! Get my hopes up for nothing. Well"She hiccupped "I've h-had it!
Steve really tried.
Really tried…But Grace angry and hiccupping and pouting.
It was adorable, and he couldn't help the smile that slipped across his face.
She seemed to notice his amusement, and childishly she stomped her feet in her anger.
"D-don't laugh at me! I can't believe I like you!" This wiped the smile of Steve's face. His heart skipping a beat
"You d-don't know happy I-I was when y-you asked me to go with you *hiccup* tonight. A-and t-then w-when *hiccup* we d-danced t-together and i-I almost got lost in those beau*hiccup*tiful eyes of yours! I mean you're a superhero, and you're kind and brave and you make me feel special whenever I'm with you. *hiccup* you're perfect alright?!"
Steve felt his face go red at her compliments.
Grace actually liked him!
She turned away from him, towards the window.
"But It's not l-like y-you l-like someone l-like me" She cried "B-because i-I'm covered in ugly scars *hiccup* * and I beat a guy to death, *hiccup a-and I don't k-now h-how I d-did it! I get s-scared a-all the time and i-'m probably clingy and *hiccup* annoying. "She sobbed into her hands.
Suddenly she found herself spun around, and trapped against something warm and solid. Something warm was pressed lightly at the top of her forehead. Looking up slightly, she saw Steve was kissing the top of her head.
His hands, which had been wrapped around her waist, gripped the sides of her face, forcing their eyes to meet
"Grace, I like you, so much" He stressed "I don't care about the scars that you have, and I don't care if you get scared, because you're allowed to be scared, but you are one of the strongest dame's I've had the privilege to meet. You've never been annoying to me, and I am probably pretty clingy too, because I don't want to lose anyone else that I care about. And what happened tonight hasn't changed the way I feel about you" Grace clung to the man in front of her, hoping that what she had heard was not a dream….
Grace groaned as her eyes reluctantly opened, her head pounding, as if her head had been kicked repeatedly. On the plus side she felt rather comfortable and warm and she nuzzled into the warm pillow that felt harder then she remembered. In her half-awake state, she felt constricted by her unusually heavy covers. The light from the curtains blinded her and she squinted at the harsh light that peered through the white curtains.
She paused.
Her curtains weren't white…
She tried to gather her thoughts… she'd been drinking scotch (which she vowed she would never do again.) and she'd ended up in the kitchen.
Her eyes widened as she vaguely recollected talking to Steve, hugging Steve, him placing his lips against her forehead…
"It was just a dream, idiot." She reasoned drowsily as she closed her eyes again. Yes that's exactly what it was. There was no other explanation! In her drunken state, she had dreamed up the whole thing and then must have wondered into someone else's room.
Satisfied she had crushed her expectations with her logical explanation, she turned around
Only to find, the blanket seemed to tighten around her.
Now fully awake, her headache and sleepiness forgotten, she kept her eyes shut as she mentally re-assessed her situation.
The pillow that had felt harder than usual hard was a chest, muscular and warm she realised. A steady heartbeat accompanied the pounding of her head and, she was surprised she had missed it, though in her defence she hadn't been fully conscious.
The tight and heavy blanket, she mentally noted was actually two muscular arms, holding her close to his chest, in a warm, safe embrace. Her legs she realised where also entangled with defined, bare legs
And realised with horror.
She was sleeping on top of someone, and based on what she had assumed was a dream. She was asleep on top of Steve Rogers.
Her face heated up and she prayed to Thor and all of the other gods she could think of to spare from the embarrassing scenario she had found herself in
You must not have been dreaming then her thoughts mocked.
No, she could still salvage this, she could sneak out, she thought. He was still asleep!
With those thoughts in mind, she reached for one his hands, holding her down. Gently she gripped his strong hand, only for his hand to slip out of her and place them on top of her bruised knuckle, and gently stroke the top of her hand with his thumb.
"I'm not letting you run away "He murmured, into her ear.
Grace push backed away from him, and blinked, realising that Steve was smiling at her softly.
His blue eyes gazing at her softly
Awake…
"H-h-how long have you been awake!?"She squeaked, her face feeling extremely hot under his unrelenting gaze.
"A while "He looked down at her with a grin "You looked so confused "He laughed, having found the sight of her confusion and the scrunching of her eyebrows to have been adorable. Grace blinked, confused. She have been completely lost and he had laughed at her?!
LAUGHED!
She frowned.
Was he making fun of her?
Steve quickly stopped when he noted the hurt in her brown orbs. He pulled away from her hand, and stroked his hand against her cheek.
"Do you remember our talk last night? "He asked softly. She averted her eyes, from his, not answering him. Which was fine for Steve.
He was no longer afraid of her rejection, because she had confessed she liked him.
And it gave him a new found confidence.
Gripping her lightly by the chin, his blue eyes met hers.
"Grace, I want you to be my girl "She blinked, staring at him widely, his words from last night seeming to echo in her head
Grace, I like you, so much
Closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath, she hoped she was making the right decision
She truly liked Steve, although she was afraid of being hurt again. And it all seemed all to go be true.
But for once she was going to take a risk.
She would trust her feelings for Steve, and she would put her trust in Steve not to hurt her.
"I'll be your girl Steve "She murmured softly, her eyes meeting his. Steve smiled, pressing his lips against her forehead, like he had done that previously night.
"You won't regret it doll "He said into her hair as he held her. The kiss to her forehead, was almost a promise of that.
After a moment he pulled away and his gaze fell on her lips, and unconsciously found himself leaning towards them. Grace felt her eyes widen
HE WAS GOING TO KISS HER!
He was so close now that she could feel his breath on her lips…
"Mr Rogers, I am afraid that Mr stark is on his way his way here as we speak sir" The moment between the new lovers like that was shattered.
"And I might I add sir…He is most displeased"
Steve felt his gaze harden, his grip on his new girlfriend tighten
He now had to face Tony stark…