James Bucky Barnes, the former soldier, doesn't think he's got any gentleness left in him. But Grace Juniper Cunningham, the former child prodigy, strongly disagrees.
;
"𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯."
"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴�...
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"Look who I brought!" Tony called, steering me into the main lab by my shoulders.
Bruce shifted a pair of safety goggles onto his forehead. "Grace!" he said as a beaker in front of him started emitting smoke. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.
"Hey, I—"
"Come here, come here," Bruce said excitedly, not giving me a chance to apologize again for not calling. "Wanna see what I'm working on?"
I nodded eagerly.
That was how I ended up still in the lab two hours later, back in my old spot where my old computer used to be. I liked the middle of the lab, with Bruce to one side and Tony to the other, so I didn't have to yell to talk to either of them.
"Let's say I was to come back," I said now, scrolling through some of Tony's recent notes as he tinkered beside me.
"Let's say it," he encouraged.
"Terms of my employment would have to change. When we're working in the same lab, I want control of the music half the time."
"Half?" Tony spluttered. "I'll give you a quarter of the playlist, and I'm re-instituting the Taylor Swift ban."
"You don't wanna do that, Stark."
"Oh, I really think I do."
"You're just scared. You love Taylor Swift, and that fact terrifies you. Don't think I forgot—"
"Pepper got those tickets, and it was your birthday—"
"—That night was fun and you know it!"
"And now I'm never allowed to forget it!"
"I still see that video of you singing along to 'Look What You Made Me Do' on Twitter all the time," I continued as he rolled his eyes. "You can't limit yourself to one genre, Tony. People will think you're cool regardless."
"I want veto power on Taylor Swift songs," he acquiesced.
"Done. You'll never use it."
"We'll see."
"I'd have to talk to Bruce, too," I said. "Does he still make breakfast, bring it up here, and then get distracted and forget to eat it? I swear I used to find days old oatmeal in the weirdest places."
"Sorry," Bruce called from his counter. It was always a toss up on whether or not he was listening to me and Tony talk.
"Yeah, you're shit out of luck there. He's never gonna stop doing that. It's not in his wiring. But here's a perk for you: you won't be the youngest around here anymore. We've got a new kid, so you'll have somebody to boss around for once."
