Archive of Our Own

Tony takes off his sunglasses to pinch his nose, letting out a measured breath. As he looks out the window at the typical Monday afternoon traffic, Gloria asks from beside him, “Everything alright, Mr. Stark?”

Working his jaw for a second, Tony checks his sunglasses in the light and puts them back on to look at her. “On the surface, yeah. I know you and the team did everything right, and you’ll cover our backs it it goes South. It’s just…”

Gloria lightly tilts her head. “Still got the jitters?”

Tony scoffs under his breath, fixing his sunglasses. “That’s one way to put it.”

With an understanding smile, Gloria tucks the pen she’s holding behind her ear. “Anyone would be nervous, sir. What you have to remember is that we’ve been planning this all weekend - and you’re right, my team is too good to let anything get in the way.”

Tony musters his own wry smile, snapping his fingers at her. “That kind of confidence is why you’re head of PR.”

“Oh, I know.” Gloria beams and swipes at the StarkPad tucked in her arm. “I’ll do one last drill with Mr. Grace before the announcement, but he’s taken to his media training well.”

“Meaning he has a dozen ways to say ‘no comment’?”

Gloria stifles a laugh behind her hand, nodding. “That’s the long and short of it, yes. I’ve also double-checked that only the approved tabloids will be allowed to publish anything, and if needed, Legal has a collection of ‘cease and desist’ forms itching to be put to use.”

Tony never doubted that for a second, but hearing the words still drains some of the tension from his shoulders. “I really can’t thank you enough. I know this is…new territory, for all of us.” He gestures vaguely before putting his hands up. “Not to say I’m all that surprised you could pull it together so fast.”

“It has been quite the challenge, if we’re honest - but also an honor.” Bowing her head, Gloria gives him another smile. “On behalf of SI - and not just PR and Legal - we’re all very happy for you. Mr. Grace is one of us now, and we protect our own.”

Letting himself appreciate that for a minute, Tony returns the smile and throws a hand out in a shrug. “See, I know you’ll just refuse it if I try to give you a raise-”

“I’m glad we understand each other, sir.”

Tony barely gets a chance to laugh before Gloria adds, glancing off to the side, “But now that that’s all settled, it looks like you have a visitor.”

“What-?” Tony spins around and startles at the sight of Rhodey coming over. “Platypus! Thought you were stuck in, uh, negotiations.”

“I managed to duck out for a late lunch.” Rhodey grins, leaning in to clap him on the back. “It’s a big day, you really thought I’d miss it?”

“You know I wouldn’t have been mad if you did. It’s not like we’re going to prom or anything - oh, but that reminds me-” Tony perks up, looking at the nearest camera. “FRI, schedule an appointment with Rafael.”

FRIDAY says, “Already on the books for the upcoming gala, Boss.”

“You’re the best, baby girl.”

Tony looks back just in time to see Rhodey’s incredulous eyebrows. “Don’t tell me you’ve already got Grace set up with your tailor.”

“Would you believe me if I said I haven’t been waiting for them to meet? Grace only has one suit.” Tony lifts his hands in another shrug. “Who do you take me for?”

Gloria adds, “Our image consultants already have a color palette for him. We’re all doing our best not to overwhelm him, of course, but this is an adjustment period for everyone.”

Tony hits his thigh, gesturing to her. “Thank you, Gloria. I don’t particularly care how he dresses, but the vultures will.”

Rhodey flashes a smirk as he rolls his eyes. “Oh, I’m sure your opinion has something to do with it.”

“Ah-” Tony points. “Don’t go spreading that around. We’re trying to keep him humble for the cameras.”

“Pfft! Sure you are, Tones.”

FRIDAY chimes back in then with, “Boss, you should know Peter and Mr. Grace are on their way up.”

Tony freezes, and he sees Rhodey and Gloria doing the same. They both look at him for a second, until Gloria shakes it off and ducks past Rhodey to scurry away. “I’ll catch them at the elevator. Two minutes to showtime!”

She vanishes around the corner, which leaves Tony to let out what’s left of the tension with another breath. Rhodey instantly moves to put a hand on his shoulder, clapping it slightly. “Stay with me, man. You got this.”

Working his jaw a little more, Tony claps his hand in return. “Thanks, honeybear. I’m good.”

Rhodey pulls away, but he doesn’t step back - which part of Tony is honestly grateful for. Instead, Rhodey nudges him with his shoulder and says, “So someone finally managed to tie you down, huh?”

Even if it’s obvious that was the point, Tony chuckles under his breath. “Don’t call it that.”

“Might as well, considering - and I say this with love - you are violently allergic to commitment.”

They both laugh this time, and Tony bats Rhodey away as he puts his other hand on his head. “Yeah, tell me something I don’t know. We’re lucky Grace is the same way; I think we balance each other out.”

“It’s about time you found someone who can keep up with you.”

“That’s exactly what Pepper said.” Tony turns to face Rhodey, fixing his collar with still-a-little-twitchy hands. “And you’re both right, is the thing - which, now that we’re here, is a lot easier to admit than it could be. I mean, we just-…” He presses his lips together, his eyes flicking toward the floor. “Give me a second to think of how to put this.”

Rhodey gestures for him to go on. “Take your time.”

Tony nods and looks out the window, trying to find the right words for the whirlwind of emotions in his head. When they finally come to him, he looks back. “It’s like when I first put on the suit, and, well, you remember the icing problem - almost crashed a hundred feet in the air.”

“Yeah, you told me that part.” Rhodey nods along. “What’s it gotta do with today?”

Tony raises a hand. “I’m getting there. I was thrilled that one of my crazy ideas worked - I always am - and then my feet froze, and I hit what could’ve been terminal velocity if I hadn’t aimed right. Now…” He gestures around them and lets his hands fall on his thighs. “I’m stuck somewhere in the middle of all that. I’m happy - God, I don’t know the last time I was this happy - but I’m also scared out of my mind, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Rhodey blinks, but to his credit, he doesn’t really push. He just says, “Okay…How does Grace factor into all of this?”

Staring at the floor again, Tony drums his fingers on his thighs as he searches for more words. “…I don’t want him to leave. I don’t.” He shakes his head as firmly as he can muster. “I can’t describe how much it means to me that he’s willing to throw himself into the lion’s den. And it hasn’t even been that long, that’s the craziest part.” He scoffs out what could almost be called a laugh, a pressure somewhere behind his eyes. “It’s why I could never forgive myself if something went wrong, which has kept me up for two days already - but…”

He looks back up at Rhodey, who tilts his head with all the patience in the world. “But?”

Tony worries at his lip, blinking away the mist coming to his eyes. “I’ve never felt like this before. I love Pepper, and I owe so much of who I am now to being with her, but with Grace…” He briefly glances toward where Gloria ran off to. “It just works, y’know? We understand each other on a level I still can’t wrap my head around. He accepts everything that comes with tying himself to me like it’s not gonna change his whole life, and he won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I had no idea how much I needed that.”

The words sit in the air for a minute - and he’s honestly surprised he could get them all out. He lifts his sunglasses to pinch his nose again as he breathes, until Rhodey taps his arm for attention. Gesturing, he says, “Peter did. He saw how well you two worked together, and he made it his personal mission to get you here.”

Somehow, Tony musters a laugh that sounds a little too much like a sob for his liking. “Yeah, the kid’s full of surprises. I swear he knows me better than I do myself most days.” He smooths back his hair, letting his hand rest on his neck as he sighs. “Grace is so good with him, and that’s really the best part. He says he loves all his students like they’re his own, and I believe him, but it’s still everything to me.”

“I know, man. I know.” Rhodey nods again, sagely. His eyes flick in both directions before he adds, with barely-noticeable hesitation, “…You think you’ll ever actually let him tie you down?”

Tony lets himself absorb the question and exactly what it means. Apart from the lingering nerves, he doesn’t feel any of the apprehension he would’ve used to as he nods back. “Yeah. I mean, he’s apparently digging his heels in, and I’m done trying to scare him off - unstoppable force meets immovable object, you know how it goes.”

He waves it off, and they share a quiet laugh, a warmth to it that helps smooths things over. Rhodey leans in to give Tony’s shoulder one more strong clap. “I’m happy for you. For what it’s worth, Grace fits right in - and you could always use another voice of reason in your life.”

“Pfft! As if he isn’t just as bad as I am.” Tony claps his hand again and pulls it away. “But yeah, that’s worth a lot. Thanks, Rhodes.”

They both smile, just to freeze up again at the sound of footsteps. Tony fusses with his collar some more and gestures for Rhodey to look at his eyes. “I’m not red or anything, right? I can’t afford to answer any hard questions.”

“No, you’re good.” Rhodey gives him a thumbs up and shifts to pat his back. “Go get ‘em.”

Fixing his sunglasses, Tony lets out one last breath and strides over. He raises his arms just in time for a familiar blur to throw itself into them. “Dad!”

“Hey, Pete.” Tony fluffs up Peter’s hair, pulling back enough to see the kid grinning. “I’m gonna guess school went good. How’s May?”

“She’s fine. You’re really gonna tell everyone about you and Mr. Grace?”

Tony looks up to see Grace coming around the corner with Gloria, who’s quietly saying something to him. Grace nods along, clearly trying to keep up, until his eyes catch Tony’s and he smiles as bright as the sun. Tony mirrors him, for once reveling in how his heart skips a beat or two. “That’s the plan.”

If possible, Peter nuzzles against him even more, resting his head against Tony’s shoulder. Almost too quiet to catch, he says, “I’m so proud of you, Dad. I know this must be really scary.”

Biting his tongue before the mist can come back to his eyes, Tony responds with the first thing that comes to mind. “Yeah, well, a wise man once said some things are worth being a little scared.”

Grace chuckles, glancing at a random point on the floor. “I wouldn’t call myself ‘wise’, but thank you.”

Instantly that has Tony smiling again, and he points. “See, I was just saying we’ve gotta keep your ego in check.”

“Oh, you’ve got more than enough for the both of us.”

Throwing up his hand in mock exasperation, Tony looks at Gloria. “Is it too late to call this off?”

Gloria smirks even as she rolls her eyes. “Unfortunately, yes, Mr. Stark. We still have to issue your statement and arrange your first pap walk.” She turns back to Grace. “Which is exactly what it sounds like, but you’ll get used to it fast. Mr. Hogan and his team are on standby if anyone gets too close.”

It’d be hard to miss how Grace’s shoulders relax slightly. “Yeah, you mentioned that last time we met. But thank you - it helps.”

Peter perks up to look back at him. “Don’t forget Dad has the suit! That - That’s probably a little much, though.”

Tony adjusts his watch, his thumb grazing over the button on the back. “When it rains, it pours...”

Rhodey joins the group, giving him the same look he used to wear listening to Tony’s rambling back in college. “Easy, Tiger.”

He ignores Tony’s glare in favor of turning to Grace. “I just wanted to say congrats before you two make it official. You’ve got a long road ahead of you, but we’re all glad you’re here, and we’re gonna do what we can to make it easier.”

With a particular softness to his eyes, Grace nods. “Thanks. That means more than you know.”

Rhodey looks between him and Tony with a smile that could almost be called proud. “Good luck out there, you guys. Peter, let’s give them some room.”

He beckons, and Peter gives Tony and Grace each another quick hug before bouncing over to him. As Rhodey ushers them back, Peter waves until his hand is almost invisible. “See you soon!”

Tony waves back, but he still mutters to Grace, “We’re not even leaving the Tower yet, and he acts like we’re going on vacation.”

Grace laughs behind his hand. “He’s excited, Tony. Can you really blame him?”

“Oh, absolutely not. It doesn’t change my point.”

Tony almost misses how Grace rolls his eyes as Gloria clears her throat, grabbing their attention. “Are we ready, gentlemen?”

Tony and Grace share a look, one of those silent conversations they have sometimes. When they both nod, Tony gestures for Gloria to lead the way. “After you.”

Distantly, he hopes this doesn’t blow up in their faces - and if it does, at least let it be quick.

///

Tony stares at his watch, waiting for the next minute to pass before he looks back at the elevator. Pepper calls out from the kitchen, “Tony, how much longer are you going to do this?”

“Until it feels like I can stop.”

Pepper sighs with familiar fond exasperation, bringing over two mugs of coffee. “I understand the concern, but it’s already been two days. If there have been any problems, Legal has kept them very close to the chest.” She hands one mug to Tony, adding as she sets the other on the table, “Are you sure Grace will need this?”

“He forgets to make it himself when he’s distracted - not to mention his coffeemaker and the one at the school could never compete with mine.”

“I see.” Studying Tony with narrowed eyes, Pepper gestures. “And why does that mean you need one?”

Tony gives her a simple shrug. “I’m a social drinker.”

He chuckles when Pepper rolls her eyes, taking a sip of coffee. That’s when FRIDAY says, “Peter and Mr. Grace should be arriving now, Boss.”

“Perfect! Thanks, FRI.” Tony throws an arm over the back of the couch, watching as the elevator slides open. Grace walks out first, and Tony grins and raises his mug. “Well, if it isn’t our guest of honor now!”

Grace scoffs out a laugh, shaking his head. “I told you to stop calling me that. Hi, Pepper.”

Pepper returns his wave with a smile as she sits down on the ottoman. “It’s wonderful to see you, Grace. Tony insisted that I make coffee, so this is for you.”

She gestures to the mug on the table, and Grace holds a hand to his heart with visible relief. “Oh, good, thanks. I completely forgot it this morning - there’s already so much to think about.”

While he sits down to grab the mug, Tony pointedly cocks a brow at Pepper. Before she can finish rolling her eyes again, Peter scurries over to drop his bag on the chair behind her. “Hey, Aunt Pep, hey, Dad!”

Pepper instantly drops her annoyance to give him a smile. “Hi, Peter.”

Tony throws up a hand in his own wave. “How was school, kiddo?”

“Good!” Rummaging through his bag, Peter takes out a textbook and a notebook. “Mr. Grace got everybody to stop asking about you - kind of.” Tipping his head, he drops down to sit on the floor. “He set a limit to one question a day. Seems like that took the fun out of it for most of the others.”

Grace swallows a sip of coffee to add, “Which, not to sound like I want to disappoint my students, is a very good thing. I’m honestly impressed they gave in so fast.”

“Well, yeah, ‘cause you’re awesome. Aunt Pep, can you get my pencil case, please?”

Pepper hands over Peter’s pencil case from his bag, while Grace chuckles. “Whatever you say, Peter.”

With a little pat on Peter’s head that he playfully shrugs off, Pepper turns and folds her legs, gesturing to Grace. “Apart from that, how has your week been so far?”

“Decent.” Grace flips his hand in a shrug, letting it drop on his knee. “My coworkers have made a few comments, but I imagine that’s to be expected. And for a bunch of middle schoolers - even if they were disrupting class to do it - the kids have actually been very respectful with their questions.” He raises a hand just as Peter does the same. “Because I’m ‘awesome’, I know, Peter. We’re not in class, you can put your hand down.”

“I didn’t wanna interrupt.”

“Well, thank you for the demonstration.”

Pepper laughs under her breath, holding both hands to her heart. “Aw.”

Silently, Tony can agree with her - but he knows they have to ask the real questions eventually, so he turns to Grace. “And have you heard what the media is saying?”

If a little reluctantly, Grace nods. “The team has done a great job burying all of the…less-than-polite articles, and I know it’s all taken care of. But it would be impossible to stay completely out of the loop, with the paparazzi around every corner.”

Luckily - because Tony isn’t sure he has it in him - Pepper asks, as gentle as she can, “What have they said?”

“Oh, they’re just throwing buzz words at me, mostly.” Grace waves it off, half-hearted as it clearly is. “Some of them have asked about my time as a microbiologist, and the, um, ‘waste of carbon’ incident. Gloria said that was inevitable, and I had a feeling she was right, so…” 

He tips his head in another shrug, and Pepper frowns with obvious sympathy. “Oh, I’m so sorry. The team really is hard at work shutting all of that down.”

“I know. It’s not…a pleasant experience to relive, but at least whoever writes those tag-lines is enjoying themselves - my favorite, if we can call it that, would be ‘Ryland Disgrace’.” Grace makes quotes with his fingers, wearing a put-on smile. “It’s nothing I haven’t heard before, and still very…funny.”

His voice drops with that last word, and he covers it with another sip of coffee. Meanwhile, Tony’s free hand briefly clenches, but he forces himself to relax as he lets out a resigned sigh. “You see why I call them vultures, right?”

“They really do feast on the dead, yeah. It’s kind of interesting, in a way, learning what infamy is like again - granted, this time it’s the public and not just my academic peers, but…” Glancing off to the side, Grace shakes himself off and looks back. “Semantics. At least now, I can be useful; I hope those articles made a few people some money.”

“Ever the optimist, you are, Grace.”

Grace smiles again, a little brighter this time. “It’s a gift.”

Someone clears their throat, and they all look to see Peter peering up from his textbook. With a small wave, he says, “Hi. Like I said, I don’t want to interrupt - this feels like ‘adult’ stuff that I-I probably shouldn’t be here for - but I have a question for you, Dad.”

“I’m gonna agree that you shouldn’t have heard that - but, well, maybe it’s good that we’re honest with you.” Tony waves it off with his mug. “What’s up?”

“First of all, Mr. Grace, I’m really sorry that happened - and same to you, Dad, for bringing this up. Maybe it could help, though.” Peter presses his lips together, tapping his pencil against paper until he apparently works up the courage to continue. “Isn’t that how SHIELD made you feel? Infamous, but useful?”

Tony’s eyes widen, flicking from an equally surprised Pepper to a confused Grace. In the silence, Peter taps his pencil a few more times. “…Also, do you know the capital of Switzerland?”

“Bern. You’d think Zurich, but it’s Bern; I spent half a summer there once-” Tony cuts himself off, throwing up his free hand. “What am I saying? What kind of question is that?”

Peter is already scribbling down an answer, shielding his head. Tony drops his own head back against the couch, pinching his temples. “Have I told you you’re gonna be the death of me?”

“…Yeah…”

“Good.”

“Um-” Grace chimes back in, evidently unsure. “Maybe I shouldn’t keep this going, but…what?”

A tap on Tony’s knee has him lifting his head to see Pepper, who says, “Tony, from what I understand, you haven’t really shared anything like this yet. I think Peter is right and it could help for Grace to know you’ve been through something similar.”

Thinking back to his conversation with Rhodey on Monday, Tony figures she has a point - as much as part of him wishes she didn’t. So, despite his hesitation, he nods. “Okay. Story time, then.” He knocks back more coffee and leans over to put the mug on the table, pointing with it. “For everyone but Peter, who I know has a geography test next week.”

Peter flips to the next page in his textbook. “I’m studying! I’ll be quiet.”

Tony narrows his eyes. “Hm.” He clears his throat and shifts to turn properly toward Grace, throwing his arm back over the couch. “So you know SHIELD, right? Super not-so-secret government organization that had a not-so-little snake problem?”

Grace blinks, putting his own mug down. “Yeah…”

“Well, before the Avengers, there was just me, and they weren’t shy about sharing their opinion.” Somewhat unconsciously, Tony puts a hand over the reactor. “My file had its own little tag-line. ‘Iron Man, yes; Tony Stark, not recommended’.” Even after this long, he has to tempter the dry sort of disbelief in his voice. “I was a consultant and, as far as they were concerned, nothing more.”

Grace looks downright baffled, which isn’t too surprising. “How does that make any sense?”

Tony chuckles, and if it sounds bitter, he can keep that to himself. “Oh, I never said they made sense.” 

He glances back at Pepper, meeting her encouraging eyes, as she gestures for him to continue. “It’s your decision, but I do think you should tell him the full story.”

Peter nods along - until Tony shoots him a warning look and he gets back to writing. Grace leans into view to ask, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t the full story?”

With more gesturing from Pepper and another small sigh, Tony turns back to him. “No. She’s right, in order for this to work, you should hear everything.” He traces his thumb over the grooves in the reactor, reminding himself to stay in the moment. “The original arc reactor - or, technically, but let’s not split hairs - it ran on palladium, which-”

Grace stares him down over top of his glasses, catching them before they can fall off. “Means you had a heavy metal powering your heart?”

Tony presses his mouth in a thin line, limply throwing his hand up in a shrug. “Of course you know that.”

“Yeah, I-I know that. Frankly, I don’t want to imagine what it must have done to your body.”

“Oh, I can promise you don’t. I’m never gonna forget how chlorophyll tastes.” Seeing how Grace’s eyebrows shoot up, Tony nods to himself. “That was too much. Can we agree to table that part?”

“Sure…”

“Alright.” Tony claps his thigh a few times, getting back into the story. “So what you have to understand is, SHIELD didn’t care that I was, y’know-” Glancing at Peter through the corner of his eye, he makes sure to drop his voice. “Dying.” He clears his throat again and continues normally, “I was bordering on manic and pushing everyone away - plus chronic pain gets you a little irritable, I think that’s a given. And they knew all of this, but they had Romanoff profile me anyway - allegedly, she’s good at it; we might be ‘friends’, but I still have my doubts.”

Pepper remarks with obvious contempt, “I’ll never understand how she got through clearance.”

“I know, Pep. We were still rattled after what happened with Stane - it’s nobody’s fault.”

“Hm.”

Grace looks between the two of them. “If ‘Tony Stark not recommended’ was SHIELD’s final decision, then what did the profile say?”

Tony rattles off the answer without thinking twice. “Compulsive tendencies, self-destructive behavior, textbook narcissism, to name a few things. All true to varying degrees, but let’s remember the heavy metal poisoning - it’s not the best judge of character.” He tips his head toward Peter. “Point is, like the kid was saying, ‘infamous, but useful’ is something I can understand.”

Grace gives him a once-over, glancing about the room. “That is…a lot of information to process in five minutes. Um, thank you for - for being honest…I need more coffee.”

He blindly grabs his mug and downs what’s probably half of it like a shot. Tony huffs out a dry laugh, gesturing to him. “Believe it or not, that’s a pretty tame response.”

Pepper taps his knee again to quietly ask, “Should we give you the room?”

Tony glances from her to Peter, matching her tone. “I mean, if you want. He obviously needs to…process.”

Nodding, Pepper gets up and waves for Peter’s attention. “Peter, why don’t you finish studying in your room? I’m not quite as well-traveled as your father, but I’ll see if I can help.”

Peter doesn’t even blink before he shuts his books. “Okay, Aunt Pep.”

Pepper helps him grab everything, and then off they go down the hall. Tony waves after them and looks back at Grace, who’s staring into his coffee. Drumming on his thigh, Tony asks, “…This is not what you’d expect from a public relationship with a celebrity, is it?”

“One who isn’t a superhero, maybe. I wouldn’t even call myself ‘shocked’ in the traditional sense, but more…” Grace searches for words with his hand. “Overwhelmed?”

“Which is fine.” Tony leans back slightly, raising his own hand. “I should remind you, I didn’t want any part of this.”

“No, but-” Grace gestures toward the hall. “Peter has a way of pulling these conversations out of us, doesn’t he?”

Tony gestures himself, more grandly. “He’s gonna rule the world one day, and I welcome it with open arms.”

Grace laughs somewhat nervously, dropping his head in his hand. “Yeah…” He lets out a breath, running that hand through his hair - even if it just falls right back in his face as he looks at Tony. “I have my own question.”

“Shoot.”

“Can you guess what my letter of dismissal said when I was fired?”

Tony blinks for only a second before he narrows his eyes. “Some shade of ‘self-destructive’ and ‘narcissistic’?”

“Add on ‘reactive’, ‘volatile’…” Grace gestures vaguely and drops his hand on his knee. “We really do have the worst things in common.”

“Aw.” Tony shifts his arm over the back of the couch to prop a fist on his cheek. “Look at that; it’s like you were made for me.”

Grace all-but wheezes out a laugh, putting a hand over his - noticeably-turning-red - face. “You can’t just say things like that.”

“Why not? It’s a free country.”

“This is why I said your ego is big enough for both of us.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

Possibly for the first time, regret doesn’t pull at Tony’s heartstrings with those words. He lets himself appreciate that, along with the soft look in Grace’s eyes as he says, apparently just as surprised, “Tony-…”

Tony drops his arm back over the couch to sit up. “Grace - no, screw it, that’s too impersonal-” He quickly shakes his head, dropping his voice again. “Ryland…Listen, I have a hard time believing in fate, or whatever, but what I do know is I’ve never been happier than I am with you. And that’s just the cliff notes version; Rhodes can give you more, if you ask.”

Grace cracks a wry little smile, but the warmth in it is clear. “‘I’ve never been happier’ is what you call cliff notes.”

Biting back a laugh, Tony points. “Shut up. I’m not finished.”

“Don’t let me stop you, then.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.” Tony settles himself a little more, his hand going back to the reactor before he can think twice about it. He traces another one of the grooves, and it helps him get the words out. “I almost said this last week, but now is probably a better time for multiple reasons…I love you.”

It’s been a long time since he last said those words, and he can’t be surprised how his voice wavers just a touch. He watches a ray of emotions flicker in Grace’s eyes, tilting his head. “Yeah, that’s about what I expected. Just so we’re clear, you did say ‘I think we’re already there’, so-”

Suddenly Grace’s lips are on his and, for a hot second, he forgets how to think - but then he melts, which he will never admit out loud, and leans into it. They’re both sort of struggling for breath when they pull apart, until Tony manages to say, “…I let you stop me.”

Grace chuckles in a way that sounds almost sheepish, fixing his crooked glasses. “I don’t know if ‘let’ is the right word.”

“Since when do you have that in you?”

“Apparently since now. That was kind of an instinctual response.”

“If I get a vote, I think you should listen to your instincts more often.”

Grace laughs, and it doesn’t take long for Tony to join him. Once they’ve calmed down, Grace puts a hand where Tony’s used to be on the reactor, gentle like it’s something precious. “I love you, too. And I’m so glad you’re still here.”

Tony lets the words sink in with a slightly shaky breath, blinking away that familiar pressure behind his eyes to smile instead - wobbly as it may be. “God, if Peter doesn’t kill me, you will.”

And as he cuts off Grace’s next laugh with another kiss, there’s a thought lingering in the back of his head that he knows he can’t ignore: no one has touched the reactor since Stane, because it usually makes Tony nauseous when someone gets even a little too close. Which means it’s not just love.

More than anything, he feels safe.

///

Tony holds up the treat between his fingers in one hand, pointing with the other. “Sit.”

Rocky sits down on the grass, and Tony drops the treat for him to catch in his mouth, leaning over to give him a few scratches. “Attaboy, rockstar.”

Picking up Rocky’s leash, Grace says, “I told you he wouldn’t bite. Rocky-”

He whistles, and as Rocky stands to go back to his side, Tony narrows his eyes through his sunglasses. “I never said he would.”

Grace responds with a half-shrug. “You did sort of act like it, though.”

“You can’t prove anything. Sit down and be quiet.”

Grace laughs, but he does lead Rocky over to the nearby bench. “Alright, come on, boy.”

Tony follows them, and as they both sit down, Rocky parks himself right at Grace’s feet. Instead of pointing out his attachment issues again, Tony just shakes his head and looks around the park. “This is our first time here when it’s busy.”

Adjusting his hold on the leash, Grace tips his head. “Well, together, yeah.”

“How do you feel?”

Grace blows out a breath, slumping a little against the bench. “I don’t know. I’ve had paparazzi chasing me for a week, and I think my coworkers are still staring at me when I’m not looking…but that’s what happens when you fall in love with Tony Stark, isn’t it?”

He looks over with a half-smile, and Tony grins back at him. “I wouldn’t say either of us fell - ‘tumbled’, maybe.”

As he tips his head, Grace stifles another laugh and nods. “Yeah, that sounds about right. Rocky, stay-” He pets Rocky when he tugs at the leash, looking up just enough for Tony to see the warmth in his eyes. “I hope you understand I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

Tony nods back even before the message really sinks in. “I know.” Through the corner of his eye, he spots a woman and a little girl coming over and perks up. “And I think we’ve figured out what’s got Wonder Dog frazzled.”

Grace mirrors him. “Oh, that - that’s different. I actually haven’t met a lot of your fans yet.”

They watch as the woman quietly talks to the girl, a hand on her back. About half a foot away, the woman smiles and waves. “Excuse me, of course we don’t want to bother you, but we were wondering if Mr. Stark could spare time for an autograph?”

With his usual dramatic flourish, Tony pulls out the pen tucked in his breast pocket. “Absolutely.”

“Oh, wonderful - thank you. Go ahead, honey.”

At her mother’s beckoning, the girl - who, now that she’s this close, looks about Peter’s age - takes a small plush Iron Man from behind her back. Tony flicks his sunglasses down, wide-eyed, while Grace looks like he just won the lottery. “They make those?”

Shooting him a glare without any real gear behind it, Tony fixes his sunglasses. “One for every original Avenger, yeah. These and the action figures. Thanks, kiddo-” He grabs the plushie as the girl offers it to him, clicking the pen. “And who can I make this out to?”

The girl toys with the ends of her braids. “Emma.”

“Emma! That’s a great name - simple, I like it. Alright, I’m just gonna get this down here-” Tony scribbles his signature down on the plushie’s arc reactor, holding it up for her to see. “There we go. Isn’t he so much more charming this way?”

Emma giggles behind her hand, and he smiles and gives the plushie back. “Put him somewhere nice when you get him home, huh?”

“I will.” Emma nods like it’s a solemn vow, squeezing the plushie to her chest. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

“Oh, it was my pleasure.”

That should be the end of it, but then Emma’s mother pats her shoulder. “Wasn’t there something else you wanted to ask?”

Emma looks up at her, and her mom gestures for her to speak. Toying with her braid some more, Emma turns her attention to Grace. “Are you a biologist?”

Grace blanches, catching Rocky’s leash when it almost slips from his hands. Clearing his throat, he seems to remember Gloria’s training as he straightens up. “I used to be, yeah. I was a microbiologist.”

Suddenly there are fresh stars in Emma’s eyes. “Wow…”

Her mother laughs softly, stroking her hair. “Emma wants to get into biology when she grows up. She’s always been so interested in how the world works.”

There’s something disarming about the way Grace tilts his head, which Tony has seen him do with Peter - meaning he probably saves it for his students. “Well, how old are you, Emma?”

Emma adjusts her hold on her plushie. “11.”

“That’s amazing! I didn’t know what I wanted to be at your age. And you know what that means?”

“What?”

Grace gestures from Emma to himself. “You could be in my class next year! We just finished our biology unit, and not to toot my own horn, but it really is some of my best work.”

Emma gasps, bouncing on her heels. “You could be my teacher?!”

“There’s always a chance!”

“That’s so cool! Will you please sign him, too?” Emma holds out her plushie. “Then I can show you next time we meet!”

Grace looks at Tony with clear apprehension, but he’s more than happy to offer his pen. “You can’t deny such an adoring fan, Grace.”

“No - No, of course not.” Shaking it off, Grace grabs the plushie with a quiet ‘thank you’ and takes the pen, putting his signature down right under Tony’s. “I’ve never done this on fabric, so bear with me…done.”

Tony leans in for a better view, playing up how impressed he is. “Well, now he’s dressed for a night on the town.”

Grace huffs out a laugh and gives the plushie back, which leaves Emma to hug it even tighter. “Thank you so much! I just have one more question, if that’s okay.”

“Anything.”

“Could I please pet your dog?”

“Oh-” Grace holds a hand to his heart, laughing some more under his breath. “Sure, you can. Rocky, say hi to Emma.”

Rocky yips, and Emma giggles, letting him sniff her hand. “Hi, Rocky!” After Rocky starts licking her, she gives him some scratches. “Good boy! We have a yellow version of you; maybe you’re cousins.”

Tucking the pen back in his pocket, Tony mutters, “I don’t know if I want there to be more of this little terror in the world…”

Grace gives him a plain look through the corner of his eye. “You’re just saying that because it took you three tries to get him to sit.”

“That is defamation.”

“We’ve been talking to lawyers all week. I can promise you, it isn’t.”

They glare at each other, only for a second until they crack up. Emma’s mother waves for their attention and says, “If it’s not overstepping, then congratulations to you both.”

After they’ve thanked her, she pats Emma’s shoulder again. “Say goodbye, honey.”

Emma gives Rocky one more pet and steps back to wave. “Bye! I really hope I get your class, Mr. Grace.”

“Rocky, sit-” Grace clicks his fingers so Rocky will sit down and gives her a smile. “So do I, Emma. I’m sure you’ll be an incredible biologist; we need more people like you who are passionate about science.”

Tony raises a hand to add, “Amen. Now go on and enjoy the rest of your time at the park - you’re only a kid for so long.”

Emma nods, letting her mother lead her away. As they go, Tony almost misses how she says, “I can’t wait to get to middle school…”

Once he’s sure they’re out of earshot, Tony gestures between himself and Grace. “So looks like we have a fan.”

“Yeah, I-I guess we do.” Grace glances off toward where Emma and her mom went. “I never considered that someone might look up to me. I mean, I do my best to inspire my kids, but-…”

Tony claps him on the shoulder. “For every drop of infamy, there’s an ounce of fame. That’s the one thing Gloria couldn’t teach you.”

“Right…”

Noticing how Grace’s voice suddenly sounds pinched, Tony leans over enough to see a familiar look in his eyes. “Wait, are you about to cry?”

“Does it make any difference if it’s happy?”

“Hold on-”

While Tony grabs a handkerchief from his pocket, Grace lets his head drop back against the bench. “Tony, you don’t have to do that - Stop.” He bats Tony away from throwing the handkerchief on his lap. “Why do you always come to the park in a full suit, anyway?”

“I’m usually here after meetings. Really it should be casual Friday, but, well, needs must.” Tony flicks his collar. “I was talking to Rafael about the gala - he has some questions for you when you get the chance, by the way.”

Grace turns his head with another plain look. “Like if I’m a summer or an autumn?”

“You’re actually somewhere in the middle, and let me tell you, the stylists are thrilled to have so much to work with.”

Grace rolls his eyes, even clearly biting back a smile. “I’m glad I made their job a little easier. What does your-” He corrects himself as soon as Tony raises a hand - with obvious reluctance, but still. “-Our tailor want?”

“I am so glad you asked.” Tony puts the handkerchief away. “You’re welcome for distracting you. Now you don’t even need this.”

“I can’t tell if you’re clever or annoying.”

“Pepper would say the answer is ‘yes’.”

Grace scoffs out one more laugh, and while Tony smiles, he says, “Just tell me what’s going on.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely…”

As Tony dives into a recap of what Rafael told him, he can’t help thinking how this is the first time in what feels like forever that someone has been so invested in his life - because Grace absolutely cares, no matter how much he pretends not to. It’s all very domestic, which would have given Tony hives when he was younger, but now he’s just glad everything is out in the open and they can work out how to bring their worlds together. With their shared infamy and all.

They might have the ‘worst’ things in common, but ironically enough, they might just be all the better for it.