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Faith-based fanfics are something I need to see more of!!
I will warn you though, that kinda thing is gonna be hard to insert. Especially in Marvel, where there’s aliens, creatures who call themselves gods whether they have a claim to it or not, and a multiverse (which means Jesus would’ve had to come and die in every single universe, no exceptions)
The funny thing about the multiverse issue is you can’t just say it’s an alternate timeline where the multiverse doesn’t happen because that’s completely contradicting yourself. LOL.
Please don’t take this as me telling you to remove that element of the story. It’s so much more interesting that way.
I kinda had to do the same for my Team Fortress fic, the one I told you about. Throughout the official canon, it’s mentioned several times that characters believe God exists, heaven and hell exist, etc., and it sometimes ties into the sideplots. One of the main characters even claims to see heaven in a near-death experience and actually interacts with his recently deceased parents, who tell him he still has work to do down there–shortly after which he wakes up. The medic who revived him claims said character was just hallucinating cause of the stuff he got injected into his brain to keep him alive, but the character denies it vehemently.
This is all fine and good if these were remotely normal people, but….literally all of the main charries are deadly assassins who may be interesting, but one thing they’re definitely not is model Christians in any sense of the word. Oof, if my mom heard some of the language they’ve flung at each other coming out of my mouth, I’d probably get my device privileges revoked for a solid month. Hence why I bowdlerize it in my own writing.
So I had to split them into several groups:
- pulling the “well many believe you can’t lose your salvation” card for some of them (doesn’t matter whether you or your church/denomination/whatever believes that or not, that has no bearing to the discussion) and say these guys were genuinely saved at one point and lost their way and took up an unappealing line of work. At the end of the canon narrative, they all quit the killing business anyway, so who’s to say newly rediscovered moral convictions didn’t help with that?
- A couple of them seem more like atheists (bad for them but you can’t exactly save everyone, plus it only needs to be at the time if you really really wanna save ’em)
- It could easily be that some were never true Christians in the first place and just kinda have picked up the belief because it’s what everyone around them believes (while probably the most realistic option, it feels like a bit of a copout if I do it to all of them, y’know? and sometimes that view doesn’t make sense character-development-wise)
- and then there’s the two who’s just off their rockers insane, so the only real ethical question with them is “why are they not in an asylum or getting therapy or something helpful and not blowing each other up with flamethrowers or rocket launchers.”
All this and I don’t even touch on it in the actual fanfic lol, which is why I don’t consider it a “faith-based fanfic” at all and more of a normal fanfic that just happened to mention that the charries believe in God because I had to explain the original writers’ wonky plot devices that I couldn’t find a better replacement for.
is this unrelated? I feel like it’s gone off on a weird trail and just became completely unrelated and I feel really bad about that but I also don’t wanna remove it. welcome to my autistic brain.all that weird rant to say, putting Christian themes in a fanfic is SUPER HARD but the end result is worth it if you know what you’re doing.
and don’t listen to me talking about my fanfics, despite the fact that that’s exactly what this forum is for. LOL.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
Thank you guys so much for the encouragement! I honestly didn’t know how you guys would react to a fanfic including faith in it (I even asked my best friend if this was something you’re allowed to do lol)
And to answer your concerns Keilah (which by the way thank you for mentioning them cause I needed to think about these things <3)
I love that you also incorporated things like that into your fanfic!
Because of these concerns and I do think soem characters just won’t be in it lol, like as much as I would love to see Loki find a perfect father in the Lord I just don’t how I could incorporate it, but I couldn’t leave my twins out of course but their powers are from a serum and I guess are more like Steve now in that way and we will just ignore if that’s completely biblical lol
And as for the multiverse thing I guess we’re just going with that… uh, whatever you guys want to assume lol idkAnd without further ado, I give you chapter two
(again unedited, I just don’t feel like waiting to edit through it before yall can enjoy it XD)
ALSO NO I’M NOT TRYING TO REPLACE STEVE WITH GRACE CAUSE THE END SCENE DOES KIND OF FEEL TAKEN FROM CIVIL WAS BUT IT’S VERY DIFFERENT! (don’t ask me how it just is)
Chapter 2
That day was almost a blur, but there were times when Grace would remember some detail that felt like part dreaming and part reality. Now as she stood there watching the day play out she found none of it had been dreaming. She almost felt like she should be crying and even tried to force herself to but all she felt was anger.
That day had started a long road of insecurities and scars that would never heal, that day would later lead to the darkest day of her life, and she couldn’t help but blame it on everyone she saw in that room.
“Well, what do you think?” The holograph shut off, and her brother walked into the room. He looked so casual like the holograph had meant nothing. “I call it B.A.R.F. It’s one of my newest techs that I really don’t see being useful for anything, you know, besides this little pet project.”
“You didn’t tell Dad you loved him did you?”
“Would you?”
“I never knew him like you.” Grace pushed the chaos of emotions down inside of her, knowing now wasn’t the time to say them. “I only remember him being too old to give me piggyback rides like all the other dads.”
“Well, that pretty much sums it up, couldn’t really do the whole dad thing.” Tony went silent for a second as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “But boy there isn’t a day I don’t wish I did.”
Grace couldn’t relate, now and then she wished she could curl up beside her mom on the piano bench or look at all of Dad’s inventions, but as for her dad himself, she didn’t really feel anything.
She still had her parents, but they were more real than those. They had raised her, loved her, and shown Grace her true father in heaven.
“How’s your sister?”
About six months ago, Grace’s adopted sister Julie was diagnosed with cancer again, this time it was stage four. She was married and even had a six-year-old sister, and yet for some reason God had put a timeline on her life.
“Stable, which is all we can really hope for.”
“Really? And here I thought you believed in some high power who performs miracles.”
Grace frowned, though it wasn’t unexpected. “You never miss a chance to bring that up.”
“Just making an observation.” Tony handed her a cup of coffee, she was a bit impressed by how sweet it was, at least he knew her that well. “Can I help you with something?”
Grace felt her muscles tightened as she looked around the sterile room, everything just so. It was obvious that Pepper spent more time here than Tony since his workshop was quite the opposite. Something about the place made her nervous, or maybe she was still a tick shaken by the holograph.
Finally, she calmed herself down and pulled out her recording device. “I need all the information you have on James Barnes.”
“I’ve already given it,”
“Fury wanted me to check again.”
Tony sighed and put a hand to his forehead. “Well, you guys clearly aren’t a trusting bunch, then again, I already knew that.” She raised an eyebrow at this. Tony noticed and grinned. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe you would like to search the building again.”
Six years ago, SHIELD searched Stark Tower for suspicion of illegal weapon manufacturing. Grace happened to be the head of that case, and Tony never let her forget it.
“You know very well that I had every bit of evidence to back up that search.” A conversation with her brother was a long fight of passive-aggressive acts to see who would snap first, it was usually her.
“But did you find anything?”
“Yes, ’cause your hands were so clean back then.” She rolled her eyes. “Look do you have any other information that could help us?”
“Besides the fact that Steve has a creepy obsession with him, Nat definitely has a crush on him, and he uses too much eyeliner?”
“I wish you’d take something seriously for once,” Grace knew it was a waste of time, she had told Fury that, but he had insisted.
Grace knew that even though she left without a goodbye, they would have a family dinner next Friday and pretend that nothing had ever happened. It was how their world worked, their parents had passed it down to them.
When she reached the hallway her phone buzzed in her pocket, seeing that it was Fury, she answered. “Hello?”
“Did you’re brother have much to say?” his words came out fast and half caringly, like this wasn’t the topic he really wanted to talk about.
“No, but you just made our next family dinner awkward.” She expected to hear some snarky comment about how their family was already dysfunctional but she didn’t.
Instead, Fury almost made her scream by saying “We found the location of the Winter Soldier.”
“Where?”
“Bucharest, Romania, I’ll send you the address.”
“Who else knows?” Grace was already preparing by slipping off her fancy black heels and putting her hair up in a high ponytail.
“Nobody yet but I’m getting a task force together.”
Grace felt her muscles tighten as she spoke the words her brain yelled at her not to. “No, I’ll go, if you send an army he’ll be running before you even ring the doorbell.”
“He’ll kill you in less than a second.”
“Which is why I have my ring.” When Grace signed up for SHIELD Tony gave her a gift, it wasn’t a shock cause he usually bought overpriced gifts instead of ever showing up, but this one was actually quite useful and dangerous. With one press of a button, she could have more than ten assassin drones by her side in less than ten seconds. Thankfully the button could only be pressed by her fingerprint and you had to hold it for five seconds, or else with her clumsiness she would’ve already pressed it.
Still, if she was being honest, her want to go was slim. After all who wanted to go alone to meet one of the most deadly assassins?!
But she also knew this was the only way.
Fury didn’t say anything for at least a minute and then with a sigh, he said. “What about Rogers?”
“What about him?” As much as she sympathized with Steve for his want to protect his friend she also knew that his emotions would get in the way.
“You better stay in contact.”
And with that Fury hung up and Grace was on her way to Romania, but first, she needed to change, so carrying her heels by her side she made her way to the car to grab her bag.
~*~
With a plane borrowed from the Avengers, the flight to Romania was incredibly quick. She had landed in a small field just outside of the city and then taken a bus and a taxi to the apartment building.
Bucky certainly lived in a more poor part of town and Grace was already feeling fearful just by some of the shady parts she walked through.
Now she stood at the door to the winter soldier’s apartment, she was ready to turn back at any time, but something in her told her she couldn’t, not with this much at stake. “Lord, give me courage and strength, help me, Lord.” It was a quick prayer but she knew those to be just as effective.
With a final breath,h she picked the lock and opened the door. When she entered her gun was in one hand and her thick black ring in the other, but she was shocked to find the place empty.
It was a small apartment, with a bed, kitchen, and bathroom, it wasn’t messy but instead, there was a bag right next to the door, he must’ve been ready to leave at any second.
Grace found herself relieved and also even more terrified cause the empty apartment just prolonged the meeting of a deadly assassin.
She slipped the ring back onto her finger and began a search around the room. There was nothing of usefulness to her in the place, and when she got to the counter she was about ready to say somebody didn’t even live here.
Then the door opened and closed behind her, and she heard footsteps. Her heart pounded, and she felt every inch of her cover in goosebumps.
I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1Note!!
About six months ago, Grace’s adopted sister Julie was diagnosed with cancer again, this time it was stage four. She was married and even had a six-year-old sister, and yet for some reason God had put a timeline on her life.
she has a six year old daughter!! Not a sister
I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1@smiley I love it!!! 😍😍😍 BUCKYYYYY
And I also love her dynamic with Tony 🤣🤣
@keilah-h it’s kinda interesting that you bring this up, bc it’s at least hinted at in the MCU that Steve was raided Christian“There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
And Thor and Loki, tho seen as “gods” aren’t actually technically gods in the MCU, but were rather seen more as that by the people on earth esp back in the past
And in the comics, it was Canon that Steve was raised Catholic by his Irish mother, and I also found it really interesting when someone brought up once that Steve never misuses God’s name in the MCU except once, when he whispers: “Oh God” at the end of Infinity War, and that was pretty interesting to realize.
So I just thought it was interesting that you brought all of that up😂💜
it’s kinda interesting that you bring this up, bc it’s at least hinted at in the MCU that Steve was raised Christian
“There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”
And in the comics, it was canon that Steve was raised Catholic by his Irish mother, and I also found it really interesting when someone brought up once that Steve never misuses God’s name in the MCU except once, when he whispers: “Oh God” at the end of Infinity War, and that was pretty interesting to realize.
Yep, I noticed that. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying it’s hard to reconcile it with many fandoms (which are often based on a distinctly secular assumption). Which is why it’s so exciting when someone does it and does it properly.
Slightly off topic but I’ve actually read up on the implications of multiversal existence from both Christian and non-Christian scientists and authors, and it’s quite interesting. Of course, Marvel’s version is pretty wonky compared to the official theory anyway.
And Thor and Loki, though seen as “gods” aren’t actually technically gods in the MCU, but were rather seen more as that by the people on earth especially back in the past
That’s how I always saw them tbh. I was also thinking guys like Ego from Guardians of the Galaxy. Although at least he pointed out “Well, if you wanna call me a god it’s more of the ‘little g’ kind” in one of his lines, so he has that going for him.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
Okay yall I got two more chapters for yall!!
But there is an trigger warning, some violence and deep pain for the Bucky fans here (and it’s just beginning)
Also, I feel like I need to address this, no I don’t hate Tony but he does kind of come off as a jerk in the fourth chapter but to be honest his actions in the earlier years of the avengers and even before that were irresponsible and were bound to have consequences
And one of the ways I’m showing that is through Grace
But there is hope for him of course
Chapter 3
Eleven-year-old Kennedy watched her father repair the tiny chain of her cross necklace. It had been a gift from her parents two years ago and had broken a few different times, but her father repaired it with perfect diligence every time. He carefully twisted the needle-nose pliers so that the clasp locked around the diamond-studded cross.
After finishing it, he held it and showed it to her. “There, how does it look?” He gave one of his precious smiles, which always made Kennedy feel joyful. It was probably her favorite part about him.
“Perfect.” Her gaze went around his office. Red, white, and blue were the main colors, and everywhere she looked, she saw some Captain America-themed item. It was one of her favorite rooms since it was where he could always be found, and he never minded when she came in and distracted him from his work.
“Careful, the only perfect thing is the man who died on this cross.” She laughed but also agreed. She turned her back to her dad so he could put the necklace on her.
It had been over two weeks since her father had taken a vacation for her mom who was sick. She spent most of her time in bed and doctors came in and out of the house almost every day. Her mom hated hospitals and she heard that her dad was paying a lot of money to have the doctors come here. Her dad never told her how she was doing, but her brother always filled Kennedy in later, and from what he had recently said, it wasn’t looking very good.
Her mom was going to die, she was going away forever. Before she knew it tears were welling in her eyes, and she hated herself for letting them fall.
“What’s wrong?” Her dad asked setting a hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t-”
“Dad!” Their heads both snapped to her brother who looked crazy with messy hair and a red splotchy face. Kennedy’s dad stood up and was already running out of the room. She gave a confused look to Austin. He wasn’t even two years older than her and most people thought they were twins, both of them having blond hair and brown eyes. “It’s mom.” He said with tears falling down his face.
Kennedy felt the sob welling up in her throat and with one look from her brother, she knew what was happening. She jumped to her feet and almost shoved him out of the way just to get there.
Walking into the room she found her mom lying on bed with what looked like even more tubes connected to her, the two doctors rushing around each other, and her dad holding mom’s hand.
Like nobody saw the two kids they began discussing what was happening.
“Your body is slowly giving up.” one of the doctors said sadly, but not sad enough in Kennedy’s mind, this was their mom he was talking about!
“I know, I know what’s coming.” her mom said with a soft and firm voice. The words looked like they were killing her dad, and she could see him squeeze her hand even tighter.
“Mom?” Austin was the first to say something, his clutched fists and wrinkled face showed a desperateness that she had never seen before.
“Oh, my dears.” her hands gestured them over and they both came without questions. Tears trembled their way down both of their faces and Kennedy let out one of the many sobs she was fighting to control.
“It’s okay Mom, if you have to le-,” another sob came out, and Kennedy struggled to stop from running out of the room and screaming into a pillow.
She had always been an old soul, at least that’s what her dad said, but she sometimes wished she didn’t feel the need to be strong.
“But I love you so much… and you’re my favorite person in the whole world.” Kennedy bit more tears back, trying to be like her dad, who was also putting on a brave front. The best she could do was show Mom her appreciation for her.
Her brother didn’t even try but instead sobbed his heart out as mom held him in her arms like he was still a toddler and not twelve.
“Kenny…” Her mom lifted a gentle hand and set in on Kennedy’s cheek, and immediately she grabbed the hand and held it for dear life. She desperately wanted to tell her to never go and never stop calling her Kenny. “You don’t need to be strong.”
It was like she could see right through her.
“Yes… I do.” a tear slipped from her eye but her mom wiped it away.
For a second, it felt like there were just the two of them in the room and that her brother, dad, and doctors weren’t all intruding on this.
Her mom’s hand traveled from her head to the center of her chest. “Never lose that heart of yours, God did such a good job of making it.” Her mom’s voice grew weaker and it looked like every movement was a strain on her.
The night passed slowly, with everyone refusing to leave the room, knowing that at any second, it could all be gone. At some point, the doctors went to get everyone blankets, and they even got the crocodile stuffed animal Kennedy had requested.
Then at 12:37, her mom breathed her last breath, and then like he had been caught off guard, her dad broke out in sobs so loud and so pain-filled that you couldn’t help but cry just hearing it.
“No!” sobbing, “Come back to me!” sobbing, “Alyssa! Please!” Still more sobbing and it became too much for Kennedy to hear so she took off to her room and curled up in the bay window looking out at the city lights.
Cars drove by, skyscrapers still had lights on, and the traffic lights still switched between green, red, and yellow. The whole world was still going while Kennedy couldn’t even imagine how she’d get out of bed tomorrow.
It wasn’t fair.
And then like she was away from listening ears she sobbed. Her eleven-year-old heart sobbed till she couldn’t even breathe completely.
She panted, waiting for her lungs to stop hurting, and then when they did she directed her attention to the one in control. “Why?! I still need her! Why take her?!” her prayer to God was cut short by more sobs. They were so hard that she fell off the bench and began tearing off the blankets and throwing the pillows just trying to find some source of sanity. “She’s mine! S-she m-mi-” Her head tilted back in more uncontrollable sobs as she spread out on the carpeted floor, unable to make out what was even going on.
It was all just chaos.
Finally, she found no strength to go on and gave one last silent prayer.
Hold me, God, I have no one else. She’s gone.
~*~
Yelena moved swiftly and precisely, leaving no room for faults in her red room routine. Maybe she should have moved on from it now, but parts of it felt so familiar, like home. Her feet followed a narrow line, trying to walk to walk a balance beam that wasn’t there. Her arms made the movements with the plastic gun like someone might breathe.
“Harder, Belova!”
Her sore muscles now ached as she lifted the weight, down and up switching between arms. Heart pounding, breath heavy, and sweat dripping down her face. Some girls looked pretty when they were working out but not her, she usually looked red and sweaty, but not pretty. Yelena really didn’t care too much, there were a lot of other things to think about besides the idea of romance or family.
“Head out of the clouds, Belova!”
The red room had fed the girls a perfect diet that gave them all the nutrients needed to be at their very best, and now that she was out she found herself still sticking to it. Some days it was eggs, other days a salad with vegetables most people chose to avoid, but none of it was very flavorful or very good but to Yelena it was all she knew.
“Red Room is your home now.”
Avengers training was her least favorite. In the Red Room, you spent your time compared to the girls around you but Yelena had learned how to be the best. Now she had no way of competing against people like Wanda or Steve. She pushed her legs further, just trying to even compete with them. They said it wasn’t a competition but she knew deep in her heart it was. Nobody got love, respect, or a job freely.
“Look at the other girls around you, Belova, they’re not struggling.”
“I know.”
“Yelena!” Clint’s voice barely broke through the pounding of the punching bag. Yelena gave a final punch and then walked over to Clint.
“I’m so sorry, I couldn’t hear you over the-” She gestured to the bag hanging from the ceiling.
“Yeah I noticed, you were really going at it.” Clint was looking at Yelena speculatively. “Can we talk?”
Clint was Nat’s best friend, even above Steve, she didn’t know what made him so great but the twins also had a love for him. He seemed like an average guy, he had a family and farmhouse and didn’t even have any powers.
She found no excuse to say no so she nodded. “Sure,”
She followed Clint to the living room which was currently empty, although she could hear Wanda cooking in the kitchen. She took a seat on the couch across from Clint and held a throw pillow tight between her arms to ease the anxiety of this “talk”.
“What are you doing here?”
Yelena gave her usual sarcasm. “Well, currently I’m here cause someone wanted to talk.”
Another odd look, and then a small laugh. “I mean in this building,”
“Well, this is where the Avengers live.”
“So you’re an avenger, what else?”
Yelena opened her mouth to say something sarcastic and then closed it. Tears were coming close to her eyes but she focused on the black and white painting on the wall in front of her. “I don’t know.”
“When SHIELD found me, I was nothing like who I am today, neither was your sister. I wasn’t in the circus anymore, and she wasn’t in the red room anymore, but we hadn’t truly left it.” Clint’s eyes went to his clasped hands, he was nervous. “When are you gonna leave the red room, Yelena?”
Yelena’s fingers began to claw at the pillow, working to keep the tears at bay. She frowned. “I don’t know how.”
“Start by making a list, write down anything you want to do, anything the red room didn’t let you do, and then check them off one by one.” Clint stood up and gave one last interrogating look at her. “You’re a lot like her.”
“Old man! What are you doing here?” Pietro came in a flash and put an arm around Clint.
“Wishing I wasn’t.” He said it with a groan but Yelena could tell it was fake.
“Aw but then you wouldn’t get to see your favorite Avenger.”
“Actually I haven’t seen Nat yet,”
Pietro seemed unfazed by this and instead gestured towards the kitchen. “If I were you I’d leave before Wanda makes you eat what she’s cooking.”
“I heard that!” Wanda yelled from the other room which made Yelena wonder if their conversation was overheard.
“Well, she can’t be worse than Laura.” The two started heading towards the kitchen but Pietro turned back and looked at her.
“Wanna come? You could sit by me.” He smirked and she scowled.
Yelena’s List
Smile more
Stop distracting myself with training
Catch up on pop culture
Get a dog
Learn to cook
Meet someoneChapter 4
Grace wasn’t dumb, she knew she was being discussed in the other room, so when she was asked to stay in the room, she didn’t. Instead, she made her way down the hall to Mrs. Helen’s office. The door was closed of course but she went onto her stomach and listened through the slit on the bottom of the door.
“I know it’s not always easy, but surely you could give it a few more days.” Grace recognized Mrs. Helen’s voice, which sounded agitated.
The Marks didn’t want her anymore. She’d been here a hundred times and heard these same conversations every time.
The Marks had said they were her “forever home” What had she done to ruin it this time?
With tears streaming down her face she took off running back to the waiting room. “Ms. Clark! Mr. Hains needs your help finding a folder.” Grace had been here long enough that she knew everyone’s name and who liked who.
Ms. Clark blushed bright red. “Thank you dear, I’ll go help him now.” She quickly left the room leaving the phone unwatched.
Grace walked over and dialed a number she had memorized since six. She put the big gray phone to her ear and crossed her fingers. “Pick up, please pick up.”
You’ve reached Tony, that’s Tony Stark, the incredibly rich guy, it’s seems unlikely that I’ll call back but feel free to leave a message at the beep.
She’d heard it a dozen times and every time it sounded half drunk and girls were laughing in the background.
The phone beeped. “Tony it’s Gracie, the Marks don’t want me and I have nowhere to go! Please let me stay with you! I’ll never get in the way I promise! Maybe I can even help you…” she wrapped the phone cord around her fingers. “I don’t know build something. Just please don’t make me go to a new home. Bye, love you, Tony.” She set the phone back down and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Tony would help her, she just knew he would.
When Mrs. Helen came back, Grace was playing with the blocks that they put out for the little kids.
“Hey, Grace.” Her voice was ever so soft and sometimes Grace wished she could just live with Mrs. Helen. “How are you?”
“They don’t want me do they?”
Mrs. Helen sighed and ran her hand through Grace’s brown locks. “They just don’t think it’s the right time. I’m sorry Grace.”
Grace shrugged. “It’s fine, now I can go and live with Tony, right?”
Mrs. Helen clasped her lips and gave a small nod. “Maybe…” her gaze went to the far wall and gave a small smile. On the wall was a photo of a family with four kids all on swings.
“Grace, how would you feel about some more siblings?”
“How many?”
~*~
Bucky had been sloppy, he had walked in loudly, closed the door without care, and then didn’t even think to grab one of his weapons. Now he stood at gunpoint with a girl who didn’t seem to be a novice.
“Come peacefully and no one has to come to harm.” Her voice was deep and stern and didn’t seem like the kind of gal who liked to be messed with.
“Who do you work for?”
“I’m Agent Tallie of the Avengers.” Bucky took a small step back and she caught it. “Don’t move!”
“Alright…” He took in the surroundings, his apartment was basically empty and there was nothing he could reach for. He cursed himself for not having more weapons at easy-to-reach places but then he hadn’t planned on being found like this. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
He went through the options and didn’t like how the only way out was to fight.
She laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that.” Yet Bucky noticed a bit of shaking in her arms, she was scared of him. The girl with the gun pointed at him was scared of him. What did that say about him?
“I’m not going.”
“I don’t-”
The glass window between them shattered and Bucky’s instinct went off. He caught what he thought to be a rock with his metal hand and with one glance at it he realized what it was.
A grenade.
He threw it faster than his mind could even process it and once it was out the window it went off causing an explosion through the wall.
It was all a blur after that and once the shock waves had come to an end, Bucky found himself acting as a shield on top of the agent. She looked at him with what he noticed to be the brightest gray eyes he’d ever seen, actually just the brightest eyes in general. “Those your friends?”
He sprinted around the room grabbing all the supplies he kept ready to go and was already out the door when she spoke. “I came alone, I don’t know who threw that.”
He didn’t even look back. “Then someone followed you!” Bucky shouted, jumping down the layers of stairs to the fourth floor. He found himself more annoyed than anything else, whoever this girl was she was terrible at her job.
~*~
Grace didn’t know how he moved so quickly, how he didn’t even stop to process the near-death experience or the half-blown-up apartment, which meant she didn’t get to process those things either.
She couldn’t beat him down the stairs since like Steve he had no fear of heights, but that was okay since she had a tracker on him, instead, she was more curious about the thrower of the grenade.
She looked through the blown wall to the buildings around trying to find something, and then she saw it, an open window and a running shadow. She knew deep in her gut that was the person.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she glanced at, Fury. “Give me an update, Grace.”
She sighed and then began her run down the stairs. “Well, currently I’m doing a fun little sprint down some stairs.”
“You let him get away?!”
“You know a lot was going on,” She followed Bucky’s suit and skipped a few floors of stairs by jumping, although not seven floors.
She pulled up the tracker on her phone and found that Bucky was heading towards the other building also. “Lucky for you, Fury, I’m about to kill two birds with one stone, well actually I hope it doesn’t come to death but you never can tell.”
She processed the idea of stealing a car but then realized she didn’t exactly have a right to in this country.
“I’m sending someone,”
“Don’t you dare!” With that, she hung up the phone and continued breathlessly to run.
Once she reached the other building she hurried in to find the whole place abandoned. With a gun in hand, Grace started up the stairs but arms wrapped around her and covered her mouth so she couldn’t even scream.
Finally, she decided to bite the person but almost broke her tooth on what felt like metal.
Bucky.
“What are you doing?!” He practically lifted her off the ground and carried her behind the stairs. Once hidden he let her go like he didn’t want to hold her as much as she didn’t want to be held.
“My job!” She looked for her gun but then Bucky held it up.
“I have it” He didn’t smirk or anything, there was no sign of amusement in this.
She scowled and then pulled out her knife. This time it looked like he was trying not to laugh. He lifted up what she knew now to be the metal arm. “I don’t think that will be much help.” He deadpanned.
She opened her mouth to say something but then heard the faintest creek on the floor. Bucky heard it too and got in a prepared stance. For a second she thought he looked like some kind of tiger or wolf ready to pounce, but then he put a finger to his mouth and handed Grace her gun.
And then she realized looking at him that he had saved her from the explosion, maybe he was even trying to save her from going upstairs, and for some crazy reason, she had complete trust in him, at least for this.
They began carefully walking to where they heard the sound, and the closer they got the more Grace’s heart pounded.
Then a gun fired and Grace was expecting to be shot but neither she nor Bucky were harmed by it, it was a distraction. And as soon as they turned their head to look at what had been hit someone pounced at her and the gun fell out of her hands.
She screamed and tried to wrestle the person away, kicking and punching but then a searing pain cut through her leg and she felt tears prick at her eyes from the sharpness of it. In this moment she caught a glimpse of the person, a girl, with long black hair in a ponytail and bright blue eyes.
“Thanks for the help,” She showed no sympathy for the situation.
It happened so fast that Bucky couldn’t have helped.
The girl moved on quickly from Grace though once she caught sight of him.
When the girl saw Bucky’s gun pointed at her she smiled and pressed something on her wrist. Dots on the walls on both sides of Bucky lit up and then some sort of electric blast seized
through him. During this time of intense screaming that sounded like pure anguish to Grace, the girl took the time to tangle him up in some sort of grappling hooks that wrapped around all of his limbs and then to the walls.
Once the electricity stopped Bucky examined his situation and fought with the ropes. Grace was still in aching pain unable to help in anything.
“And here they told me you would be hard to catch.” The girl’s voice was sly and arrogant, her accent was also Russian. She’s pulled something from her back, a red leather notebook, and flipped to a random page in the middle of it.“Желание,”
Grace had learned Russian four years ago and she recognized the word to mean “desire”, what did that mean? She stole a glance at Bucky and felt her heartache, maybe it was an issue that she was sympathizing with a known assassin but his eyes showed a fear that you would see in a five-year-old boy who was scared of the monster under his bed.
“Stop.” He said desperately, something was happening and whatever it was, Bucky looked like he was about to get the front of it.
The Winter Soldier was scared.
“Ржавый,” Her voice thicker now and the smile was growing into one that Grace had only seen in her most extreme missions when the criminals were completely mad.
The word meant “rusty”.
Bucky looked to be fighting the words, his face tight in concentration.
The next words came quickly. “Семнадцать, Рассвет-” more words continued and
Screams erupted from Bucky and he fought with the ropes so hard that Grace thought he might actually bring the walls down.
“What are you doing to him?” Grace asked, barely lifting her head off the ground to speak, her voice was so rough it hardly sounded like hers and she could taste blood in the back of her mouth. She knew there were more injuries than just the leg but she didn’t know where.
The girl ignored her and continued.
Grace knew she needed to do something, she needed to save him the way he’d tried to save her. She tried to move but her body revolted with pain that made her want to throw up. “Lord help me please.”
She repeated silently in her head the words “The Lord is my strength.”, and continued to fight against the pain.
She had no weapon on her except a small dagger. With a count to three, she would make her move. One, two, three, she used every ounce of strength to jump at the girl with her knife out, while it felt like a thousand needles were going through her skin.
The girl cried and then kicked Grace hard in the gut, causing even more pain.
But by some kind of miracle, she landed next to the gun she had dropped earlier and before she could overthink it, she lined her shot and fired.
The gunshot was loud and deafening and as soon as the bullet left the gun it all went black.
I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1@smiley AHHHHH I LOVE IT😍😍😍😍
his eyes showed a fear that you would see in a five-year-old boy who was scared of the monster under his bed.
*SOB*
poor Bucky😭😭 not my boi😭
I have another chapter and let me tell yall
I finally understand the Bucky hype, like seriously he’s sooooooo good
Although Steve is still my favorite
I’m excited to write more of him and Kennedy but this chapter is still on Bucky and Grace
Also I do have a question
Do you guys want this to take place during civil war or a few months prior, basically do you want to see a civil war AU or just kind of leave it in the “peaceful months” of the avengers?
Chapter 5
Bucky thought he was past them, thought he could fight them, but the words still affected him, he wasn’t strong enough to fight it. If the stabbed agent hadn’t shot the girl in the leg he was certain he would be a trained killer again.
While the girl was down Bucky made a run for it and feeling like he couldn’t leave the agent who saved his life, he took her with him. Now they were in an abandoned warehouse a few blocks away, and he felt they’d be safe here for a few hours.
The girl was now leaning against the wall, still passed out. He had put pressure on the wound, hoping to stop the rapid blood loss, and while he had the supplies and knowledge to stitch up the wound he was nervous about doing so without her permission.
Luckily the girl’s eyes fluttered open and she immediately groaned, she most likely felt dizzy and had a massive headache.
Certain everything about him was terrifying; he tried to look as casual as he could; handing her a water bottle. She eyed him and seemed hesitant but finally accepted it. “Did I kill her?”
She didn’t bother to hide the emotion but instead seemed to not care about the pain or anything till she knew the answer. He took a seat across from her, sprawling out one leg and keeping the other one bent.
“You hit her leg, it did damage, enough to make her run limping, but no I doubt you killed her.”
She looked pleased and took a sip of water. A grimace covered her face as she tried to shift positions. Then her attention went to her leg. “Did you bandage it? And did you carry me here?”
She sounded upset about these developments. “You bit me,”
It had been an unexpected action and had probably been more of a shock to her that it was his metal arm.
“You were holding me against my will, I think that was fair cause.”
“You were about to go face to face with an assassin.”
She frowned and gestured to his metal arm. It took him a second before he shrugged. “A less friendly assassin.”
She tried to laugh but then gave another groan in pain, her whole body was probably sore from the fight.
“I can stitch up the wound if you want,”
she looked at the leg and then back at him, cocking an eyebrow. “How do you know how to do that?”
“I’ve done it on myself a few times when the situation called for it.” for a second he saw sympathy in her look but then it disappeared like she remembered who he was.
Biting her lip, she nodded. “What choice do I have?”
Bucky got to his feet to find the medical kit, turning his head to her he nodded to her jacket pocket. “Your phone dinged a thousand times and I hope the tracking is off.”
She pulled out her phone and rolled her eyes. “Yes my tracker is off, I’ve had it off for a lot longer than this.”
Bucky found his backpack where it had fallen when he had come in and found the kit. When he came back she was mumbling some words with her head down, he only caught the last words.
“-dear Lord, amen.” It shocked him more than it should have and when he took a seat by her stabbed leg he looked up at her.
“Christian?”
She nodded. “Yeah,” He could feel her watching him, and when he pulled off the gauze she flinched, he thought it was from pain but glancing at her face he realized it wasn’t. “I don’t like blood, not even my own.”
“You might want to look away then,” he reached into the kit and pulled out the needed supplies, truthfully he found the prospect of stitching up skin disturbing also but he was capable of handling it.
For a while, it was silent except for the small whimpers from her when he touched the wound. He wished he had some sort of painkiller or something but he didn’t.
“Do you know what your name is?”
“I saw it in a museum, but Bucky sounds more right.”
“I think that’s what almost everyone called you anyway.” She took a breath. “What were the words? I know Russian and they didn’t make much sense.”
He tensed and tried to steady his hands before continuing. “They’re the Winter Soldier’s code words.”
A moment passed before she tapped his shoulder, and he looked at her. “Did you ever choose to kill anyone?”
Bucky looked at her, hesitating, and then clutched his metal fist. “I don’t remember my days in the war, but no, since then I haven’t.”
“That’s why you don’t want to go with me? Cause you might be forced to fight?” This time there was nothing in her voice but sympathy and he didn’t deserve that.
“I’ll hurt someone,”
“You’re not an animal! You have a choice.”
Bucky was almost done and he wanted to switch the topic. “Who was so worried about you?” He gestured to the phone sitting next to her.
She scowled at the conversation switch. “My siblings, partner, and boss,”
“A lot of people care about you, you should probably get back to them.”
She looked at him and then smiled. “Thank you for saving me, twice, maybe three times, I lost count.”
“I’m not one to be thanked,” he rewrapped her leg and put away the supplies. “But you’re welcome, and thanks for saving me.”
He got up to grab his backpack but she grabbed his metal forearm. “You have a choice.” She said it with all sincerity.
Bucky didn’t know what to say but then he remembered her praying. “I don’t even think God could forgive me.”
“He already has, he just needs you to accept it.”
Bucky gently grabbed her hand and lifted it off his forearm. “I can’t come with you, I’m not whatever you think I am.”
“I don’t believe you,”
Bucky took a deep breath and then walked away. He knelt by his backpack and stayed there for a good five minutes, just thinking, and when the girl came over she looked ready to go. He didn’t want to fight her, not when he was thinking that he liked her, at least a little.
“I’m not going to make you come,” That was good because there was no way she could force him to come. “But I don’t want this to be our last conversation.”
He didn’t want it to be either, but he lectured himself for those thoughts, she shouldn’t waste her time worrying about him.
“Here’s my number, I promise I won’t inform anyone about you, and if you find a phone, call me whenever you’d like.” He looked at the slip of paper and then at her. “My name is Grace by the way.”
Grace? The irony of that wasn’t one he wanted to think about right about now.
“Grace-”
“You saved Steve from the water, and your first instinct was to save me, I don’t believe that you’re a heartless assassin, and I know you’re familiar with God, Steve told me you grew up Christian, so somewhere back there in your mind, you know there’s hope.” Grace began limping to the door and he winced at the sight. She turned her head to him. “Goodbye, and call me!”
Bucky looked at the paper, knowing he should tear it up, but he couldn’t bring himself to.
Hope sounded so good right now.
I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1I have three new chapters!!! Guys this fanfic is literally so much fun to write and I have so manyyyyyyyyyy scene ideas for this fanfic and I don’t know how I’ll fit them all in
The O’Malley series by Dee Henderson has been a huge inspiration (it’s a Christian series that I highly recommend!!)
And also I had a thought and now I can’t help but cry a little, it started with where this series would be during the blip but then I kind of thought that Thanos and the Christian elements didn’t really blend so instead I’m working on a different idea (would love to hear any thoughts if yall have them) but basically in some sort of event (still not sure) Steve and Kennedy lose their daughter and Yelena also dies and leaves Pietro all alone to take care of their kids
But then because I was thinking that it would be the blip, at some point bother their daughter and Yelena comes back (but now they have to deal with fact of being gone for five years)
but now I’m not sure how I’ll be able to do that
anyways let me know if you have any ideas or would like more details about the future avenger families
Now I give you three new chapters
Chapter 6
Kennedy sighed looking at the amount of paperwork, file after file, sorted in blue, red, and yellow. She had already looked through it five times and got nothing every time. Now and then she’d catch a lead only for it to hit a brick wall and she’d have to start over again.
Where’s the ground-breaking evidence, God?
She got up to pour herself another cup of coffee, thinking it wouldn’t hurt just to go through them again. Her phone chimed when she put her mug under the coffee machine.
The court case just got moved up a week ): sorry-David
The news hit her where she was already weak. It meant she only had ten days to find some evidence to prove her father was innocent. The chances of finding what she couldn’t find with her deep search in the last week were next to none.
Her dad would be in prison for life- unless they decided to go further.
Kennedy set her hands on the counter, stopping herself from completely falling. She couldn’t lose her dad, not when he was all she had left.
Justice had always been important to her but now it reared its ugly head. God’s justice was perfect, but people’s justice wasn’t, and her father wasn’t guilty.
She knew David was a trustworthy source of such information since he was a lawyer friend of hers. He wasn’t part of this case but had still given her inside information whenever he could. Right now she wished she’d never met him, although she’d receive such news tomorrow morning anyway.
Her mug was overflowing with coffee, but that was the last of her issues. She walked over to the mountain of paperwork on the kitchen island and picked up the first folder. After reading it over a dozen times, trying to make sense of it with blurred eyes, she gave up and put the file back on the pile. Her head pounded, she had been getting a lot of headaches recently, but that was no excuse. She had to keep working.
She picked up the file again but was interrupted by her phone ringing. She took a deep breath and answered. “Hello?”
“Kennedy, it’s Peter, have you heard about the court case?”
Kennedy took a sip from her dripping coffee and tried to hide the irritation in her tone. “Yup…”
“I’m sorry, Kenzie,” The nickname hurt more now than ever. Kenzie had been her dad’s name for her and Peter had been an old friend of her dad, so he had called her that too but now it stung. “I do have some good news.”
“How good?”
“A suspect.”
Kennedy was scared to get her hopes up but she couldn’t deny the curiosity. She had always been searching for evidence to clear her dad but hadn’t thought as much about who else could’ve done it.
“The fingerprints don’t match a murder, we both know that, and any evidence that could point to the actual murderer is non-existent like it was done by a ghost.”
The Winter Soldier.
“But why would hydra fight hydra?”
“Maybe they were whistle-blowers, I don’t know, but I do know he’s a guy to look into.”
“Got it, thanks, Peter.”
“Do you know where you’ll find answers?”
Kennedy hated to admit it but she hadn’t torn up the piece of paper and he may be the only one she could call. “I have a few guesses.”
“Alright, call if you ever need me,” She was thankful for people like Peter who still believed in her dad’s innocence. “Bye Kennedy,”
“Bye, Pete. ” She hung up and began pacing. She didn’t want to call him, and she didn’t want to admit she needed his help, but she did. If anyone could track down the Winter Soldier, it was Steve Rogers, and she knew that because she knew who the Winter Soldier was.
Kennedy found the slip of paper and dialed the number. He picked up on the second ring. “Hey, this is Ms. Kline, and you offered assistance and I have some files that I need help going over, so I was curious if you wanted to help?”
She wouldn’t tell him the real reason over the phone; she preferred talking in person, where she could read the other person’s facial expression.
“I’ll pretend not to be shocked that you called.” His voice sounded slightly humorous but still kind. “Of course I would, Kennedy. When do you want to meet?”
Ignoring the fact that he called her by her first name, she thought about the question. She didn’t have time to spare, not even time to procrastinate meeting with Steve Rogers, again. “Would tomorrow be too early?”
“Not at all, if you wanted you could come here, we have a lot of space here and more help if we need it.” He was asking her to the Avengers Compound, something that would have made her fifteen-year-old dreams come true.
“Uh sure, what time do you want me?”
“How many files do you have?”
Kennedy glanced at the papers piled on her kitchen island, then sighed. “A lot,”
He chuckled in reply. “Alright, then let’s get an early start. Does 10 a.m. work?”
“Yeah sounds good, see you then,”
“See you then,” She hung up and released a breath of relief. He’d help her if only to find his friend.
Chapter 7
Grace had hoped to get in unnoticed, still unsure what she would say about Bucky, but landing a jet wasn’t a quiet task. As she walked through hallways leading to the kitchen she glanced at her watch to see that it was now 1 pm Friday, which was both good and bad news.
David, her younger brother would be here any minute, but she also had a family dinner tonight with Tony. She wondered if she could get David to come with her.
Sam was waiting for her by her bedroom door, which also served as her office. He was her partner, and it was no coincidence on Nick’s part. They both shared a similar past, one with strong sibling relationships, a biblical standpoint, and they’d both lost partners in the past.
She knew he was mad at her for going without him, but she also guessed he’d be more sympathetic to the decision. The truth was that they’d both learned a strong sense of independence since the death of their coworkers, which meant they didn’t call for help from each other as often as they should. It just wasn’t natural for them on the job.
As she approached him she tried to hide her limp, she would need to see a doctor but she could hold off for a while. Bucky had stitched the wound well and there appeared to be no infection.
“You’re limping.” Apparently she hadn’t hidden it well. He came off the wall where he had been leaning and walked over to help her. He didn’t even give her time to protest before he grabbed her arm and threw it around his shoulder, helping her to the office chair in her room. It was completely unnecessary, after all, she had managed to get this far on it, but it was very like him to do so.
Sam was an older brother, and it showed sometimes. Her old partner Austin was also an older brother, and they had been close enough that he’d been declared another sibling in the Tallie family. So, by now, she was used to the fuss that came with being a female agent, and she much preferred this over the guys who flirted with her.
“Why didn’t you call me?” Sam asked, crossing his arms.
“I thought it would scare him off, but I know now I should have.” If Sam had gone he probably wouldn’t have let her give in to her emotions so quickly.
“What happened?”
Grace bit her lip, whatever she told Sam would be repeated to Steve only hours later. She wasn’t a liar, but she couldn’t turn him in, not yet.
“He got away,”
“Did he hurt you?” Sam gestured to the leg and for a second Grace felt angry at the question. Bucky had saved her, he hadn’t hurt her. Yet Sam had all right to ask that question, after all, he had shot Natasha.
“What this?” She looked at her leg, and then gave a small sigh. “No this was from some crazy lady stabbing me.”
Sam winced. “Will you need assistance?”
“No, I already got it stitched up.”
This received another wince, Sam could be a baby when it came to blood, but so was she.
“But he was there?”
It took her a second to realize they were back to Bucky. “Yeah, he was.” In the end, it didn’t matter; he would have already moved by now. Grace just hoped he would get near a phone at some point.
“Good. In a few days, we might have this guy.” She tried to smile at her partner’s enthusiasm, but she felt bad.
“Grace! David’s here!” Pietro called from the other room. Grace stood up, ignoring the pain in her leg, and took off to the elevator entrance in the kitchen. Sure enough, her younger brother stood waiting for her, he had spiky brown hair he never combed except on court days, a clean shave, and bright blue eyes.
He didn’t even hesitate to catch her in his arms when she basically tackled him. It was beyond bittersweet to see him, she knew he’d only come all the way from Washington D.C. if something important called for it, and today that was her sister.
She buried her face in his shoulder and mumbled. “I don’t know how we’re gonna handle it.”
“One day at a time,” He stated but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself.
Now back to the ground she took a few steps back and looked at him. He was getting older and that annoyed her, he was the only brother she got to feel older than, and now he was turning into just another protective brother which she didn’t need another of.
“How’s work?” She asked, hoping to draw any attention from her leg, which he had already begun eyeing.
“Great, busy, a lot of cases, who did that to your leg?”
“A girl stabbed me,” Grace shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing new.” she heard Pietro choke on his water behind her, no doubt trying to hide a laugh.
Truth be told this wasn’t her first injury, it had been a hot second since she was stabbed but just last week she dislocated her shoulder.
“Sam!” Her brother’s shout made her roll her eyes.
“You do know my job is to work with the Avengers, right?”
“Yeah, and yet you’re still getting hurt, explain that to me.” It was a fair point. Sam walked over, he’d already meant David before and apparently, they had hit it off because they did the guy dab and then hug thing. After that was done, David crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Sam, even though Sam was like twice his side. “Your job was to make sure she was safe.”
“And I would have if she had told me she was leaving.” David’s accusing eyes turned from Sam to her.
Grace threw her hands up in defense. “I know it was stupid, I already got the lecture.”
David seemed to accept it and Pietro walked over. “David? I don’t think we’ve met, I’m Pietro, and I’m guessing you’re one of Grace’s many brothers.”
“Yeah, I am, nice to meet.” They shook hands and David smiled. “So what’s your thing?”
“I’m the fastest person that ever lived.” Pietro said with a proud smirk.
“Like just in general… or like at cooking?”
Pietro laughed. “Everything.”
“Ah, good skill.” David looked back at her. “You have family dinner tonight.”
“I do, which got me thinking…” She clasped her hands together and began pleading. “Since you’re family you could come too…?”
“Tell me you’re kidding,”
“Tell me you’re coming.”
He sighed. “Alright.”
Chapter 8
Grace had asked Pepper several times if she needed any help, and every time, Pepper kindly but forcefully forced Grace to sit down. She had never met a stronger woman than Pepper, and that tracked since she was in love with Tony. She was good for him, made him a better person, and was the first to start healing the damage between Grace and Tony.
She liked Pepper, she was funny, kind, and stubborn, all good traits for a sister-in-law, well mostly. Grace’s only issue with Pepper was she was just like Tony in the fact that she’s a major atheist. Her issue with God was based purely on science and while Grace was well aware that nothing in science truly proved anything against God, she certainly didn’t know how to debate it. Grace had never struggled with the science part of Christianity, she knew she felt God’s presence even if science didn’t back up that theory, but Tony and Pepper built their whole lives around science.
One of these days she would find the courage to breach the subject, but she was ashamed to admit that she had no interest in preaching the gospel to Tony. It was her most bitter thought she had and the one she begged God to take away from her but it was yet to happen. The bitterness she held against her brother was like no other and as much as she knew it was like drinking poison she couldn’t get rid of it.
Grace knew God didn’t play favorite and that He loved everyone but it didn’t seem fair that He should meet Tony in his vulnerable moments the same way He had meant her when Tony had been the one to cause those vulnerable moments for her.
Despite these feelings though, she came to the family dinners because it was terribly awkward to work with your brother when the two of you lived in constant hate of the other.
Grace was bored. Tony was running late, which wasn’t unusual, and David had yet to show up. She was now distracting herself with the humming that occurs when you slide your finger around a water-filled glass. David better show up, or she was going to kick him.
Pepper walked over with a pitcher of pink lemonade, Grace’s favorite, and poured both of them glasses. “So tell me about David.”
Grace took a sip and thought about how best to describe him. He was the second youngest of the group and had a cynical look out of life. He called things as he saw it but despite this, he held onto hope better than anyone she knew. He once told her that belittling the things that happen doesn’t make them go away but facing them with God on your side is an instant way to deal with it. It was by far the most profound thing he had said, but she didn’t really live like that. She finally found a way to summarize him. “He’s dry when it comes to humor and he’s a great debater, he loves studying laws, politics, and history which is why he’s such a good lawyer, but most of all he has this ability to be completely honest about a situation and yet still make you feel better.”
Pepper seemed to think about this and then smiled. “He sounds like a good brother.”
“One of the best.” Grace studied the ice in her lemonade, avoiding any eye contact with Pepper.
“I know you prefer him over Tony, Tony knows you prefer him over him.” She didn’t say it like a lecture but instead just stated the facts. The truth was David wasn’t even her closest brother, and he was still a hundred times closer than Tony.
Grace barely looked up at her. “…How hurt is he that I invited David?” Grace shouldn’t have cared but she did.
“He’ll get over it, and besides he knows you’ll be more comfortable with David around.” Grace couldn’t deny it, she was always more comfortable when her Tallie siblings were around, especially here.
Grace opened her mouth, but her phone began vibrating in her pocket. She checked it but didn’t recognize the number. Then she remembered Bucky and thought it could be him. “Give me a moment while I answer this, ” she said, leaving the room. She pressed “answer” and put the phone to her ear.
Grace entered the scenic room, the lack of chairs or appliances told her its only purpose was to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows that showed New York City’s skyline. It was a nice place to make a phone call.
On the other end, she heard loud breathing, it definitely wasn’t a salesperson. “Hello?”
God, if this is Bucky please don’t let me make a fool of myself.
“Grace?”
“You called.” It was a shock, she had expected him to put off calling till a month later. It hadn’t even been a full twenty-four hours.
“There’s a phone in my hotel room and long-distance calls are free here, so I figured it was chance or…” He cut himself off.
“God?” She finished for him.
“I didn’t know if that’s how He works,” He said it in a way that told her he was beating himself up for it already. Steve described him as a helpless flirt, but clearly he had changed since then.
“Far be it from me to describe how He works,” Grace said with a laugh.
He gave a chuckle but it sounded a bit forced, but to be fair she hadn’t really said anything funny.
What felt like ten minutes went by before he spoke. “Listen I called because I wanted to let you know that it’s okay if they send a search party after me, they won’t find me. And-” another breath. “I’m sorry I didn’t go with you, and that you got injured cause of me.”
Grace felt bad for feeling bad, she shouldn’t have expected anything more than that, yet she found herself wishing he would say something sweet like he had called to hear her voice.
Past the initial hurt, she worked on deciphering his words. “The leg wasn’t your fault, after all, I did reveal your location-”
“Possibly revealed my location.” There was a protectiveness in his tone and she thought herself crazy for noticing it.
“Fine, there’s a ninety percent chance I gave away your location, better?”
“More like sixty/forty,”
“Seventy/thirty.”
“sixty-five/thirty-five, no higher.” His tone was so serious it was hard to remember this had been a joke, or had he taken her self doubt that seriously?
Grace avoided that question, and laughed. “You drive a tough bargain.”
This got a real chuckle from him. “So I’ve been told.”
she felt heat rise to her cheeks and she was thankful they were on the phone. There was no reason to blush, but the fact that she found something about Bucky comforting to be around.
The door opened from behind, making Grace jump. She whipped her head to see David enter. He must have noticed the blush because he grabbed her phone before she could even think to stop him.
“Hi, you’ve reached Grace’s personal bodyguard, or her younger brother, your pick, who’s this?” She wanted to slap him, then kick him, and then punch him.
It wasn’t the first time she had ever been embarrassed by her siblings but this time it felt all the more worse.
And to think, she had invited him here.
It was awful only being able to hear David’s replies to the conversation, but so far they had gone from the first hello to hotel food and then to fishing. David even gave his genuine laugh to some of the comments Bucky apparently said.
She tapped her wrist, gesturing for him to wrap this up. David looked at her and then smirked. “Alright James I got to go, so I’ll hand you over to my sister, but next time you come to visit her we should plan a fishing trip.” David handed the phone to her. He had no idea who he was on the phone with.
When she put the phone to her ear she found herself hesitating. “Hello?” She said it a little above a whisper and her brother was laughing like crazy next to her, she was gonna kick him real hard.
“I like your brother,” It was a relief for him to make the conversation and also the fact that he liked David.
Her family meant more than anything.
“Yeah he’s a real pain sometimes, and no, I hadn’t ever mentioned you so don’t ask me where he got half that stuff.”
“Well, when you got a beautiful sister you better learn to be protective.” Her look earned a roar of laughter from David.
“Yeah it’s great when you’ve got one, but I happen to have three, and one of them gave a guy a bloody nose.” David stopped laughing to listen, probably realizing she was talking about him, although Matthew had been the one to give the bloody nose.
“They take it seriously then?”
“Only when it matters I guess,” It would take too long to explain exactly why she and her siblings were so close, but she hoped someday she could. She heard a distant door open and Tony’s voice from the other room, and she knew she should go. “I… have to go now, but if you ever want to call again, feel free to.” Tomorrow would be great, but she didn’t add that.
“Yeah, I may do that. Bye Gracie,” The nickname wasn’t new but it made her smile.
“Bye-” She was about to say Buck but then remembered her brother. “James,”
I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
Isaiah 43:1@smiley wowwww that was great!!
And also I had a thought and now I can’t help but cry a little, it started with where this series would be during the blip but then I kind of thought that Thanos and the Christian elements didn’t really blend so instead I’m working on a different idea (would love to hear any thoughts if yall have them) but basically in some sort of event (still not sure) Steve and Kennedy lose their daughter and Yelena also dies and leaves Pietro all alone to take care of their kids
But then because I was thinking that it would be the blip, at some point bother their daughter and Yelena comes back (but now they have to deal with fact of being gone for five years)
but now I’m not sure how I’ll be able to do that
I don’t know either haha.
"When in doubt, eat cheese crackers."-me to my charries who don't even know about cheese crackers
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