in the shadows ? steve rogers

058 ? broken bridges

"It's what they do, Steve," she replied with a sigh. "They see a person who's a threat and they either fight or run. In this case, he and Kennedy did both. You also destroyed a bridge."

"Well, if I had enough money, I would pay for the damages."

Grace smiled lightly and let out a puff of air. "Don't worry," she said. "I already took care of it." She leaned her head against his chest. "Just... don't do anything that would make the government hate you even more. And, frankly, I don't need people telling me that my fiancé is a criminal."

"I promise."

She nodded. "Okay," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. "I'm gonna go talk to Addy. And you..." She turned him around. "Are gonna have a heart-to-heart with Tony."

"But—"

"Steve."

He looked back at her and pressed his lips together. "I'll talk to Tony..."

She smiled sarcastically. "Thank you."

⸻ ~~~ ⸻

"𝐈'𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐃, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 know." Adelaide looked away from the window when she heard Grace's voice and saw her standing in the doorway. "I'm actually more relieved that you are not dead from the bombing," she added, walking toward her.

"Is the government after me, too?" Adelaide asked quietly and Grace tilted her head. "I know Steve is now a criminal in their eyes. Sam, too. Am I also considered one?"

"Addy—"

"All we were trying to do is bring them into custody," Adelaide continued, glancing at the monitor in the corner and Grace followed her gaze. Both Bucky and Kennedy were strapped to a chair to prevent either of them from escaping. "Frankly, I think they need help rather than being strapped to a chair."

"I know they need help," Grace told her gently. "But there's only so much we can do—"

"And why are the Maximoff twins confined to the compound?" Adelaide asked and the brunette furrowed her brows in confusion. "They make one mistake in Lagos and now they're basically grounded?"

Grace opened her mouth. "They—They're what?" She scoffed to herself before shaking her head. "Oh, for the love of—" She looked down when she heard her phone ring. "Happy, now really isn't a good time."

"I just wanted to confirm that you would be free to meet the person chosen for your internship," Happy replied making her knit her brows in confusion.

"My what?"

"Your... internship?" he said, sounding more like a question. "Mr. Stark told me that when he was selecting for his internship, he would take the liberty of selecting yours as well."

Grace nodded slowly. "Right... An internship for what, exactly?"

Adelaide looked over at her. "Internship?" she whispered and the brunette shrugged.

"Uh, inventing," Happy replied. "Did Tony never tell you about this?"

"Of course not."

Happy let out a breath. "I'll be sure to inform her that the internship has been canceled," he said and she opened her mouth. "Enjoy yelling at your nephew. Too bad I'll be missing it."

"No, wait." Grace glanced at the notebooks that covered the nearby table and she walked over to them, flipping open one of them, tracing her fingers over her rough designs. "I'll—I'll do it. Just... once everything over here is all settled and I can get the government off of Steve's back."