Steve awoke to find Denver snuggled against his chest. He could feel her breaths against his neck and feel the pull of her fists tangled in the thin fabric of his shirt. He tipped his head down to watch her as best he could, wondering if he'd ever find another woman that he loved as much as the little girl he held.
She was big for her age, a clear sign that his blood ran through her veins. Steve couldn't help but wonder if she had any other side effects of the serum, but he guessed that it had something to do with her seemingly heightened energy. Erskine had once told Steve that good becomes great and bad becomes worse with the serum. It made Steve wonder what that meant for his little girl who was born with it.
SHIELD had wanted Brooklyn to abort their child. Knowing this made Steve's blood boil and any remorse over SHIELD's destruction fall away. He wouldn't let a soul touch his daughter without his permission, regardless of her parentage. Whether or not she held his abilities was of little concern to Steve, and he decided then and there that he'd make sure it wasn't a concern for Denver either.
A high-pitched sigh emitted from Denver's throat and Steve saw that she was waking up. He rolled over so she was resting on his stomach and she opened her eyes and a fit of giggled erupted from her rosy lips, "Daddy!"
"Hi, Honey."
"You was cryin so I came to cuddo you."
Steve pushed back her messy curls, watching her rise and fall as she laid across him, "Thank you. That was very sweet."
"I hungwy. We can eat beckfast?" Denver whispered loudly, clawing her way closer to Steve so her face was inches from his.
He let out a hearty laugh, causing her to bounce, "Yeah, we can have breakfast. Let's go." Steve scooped her up and carried her to the kitchen, finding Dallas sitting at the table with a scowl. Steve froze in his tracks when he saw her, setting Denver down to toddle over to her aunt, "Hey, Dallas. Everything okay?"
"You didn't put her in a car seat to bring her over here?"
"I didn't have a car seat."
"Well, that seems like a you problem! You should have called me to pick her up then. She could have been seriously hurt!" Dallas scolded, raking her thin fingers through Denver's hair while she berated Steve, "You at least put her in the backseat, right?" Steve opened his mouth to answer and Dallas put up her hand to stop him, "I don't even wanna know. I took the liberty of gathering a few books for you to read. They are things I read in college and Brooklyn dabbled in them. A lot of it isn't relevant anymore, but, when I realized the sports car out front was yours, I realized you might need a little bit of a guide. I have a job, I can't babysit you babysitting her."
"I got this." Steve assured the woman as she ran a comb through her thick hair. "Can I borrow your van? You can take Tony's car."
"Oh? It's Tony's car?" Dallas hummed as she pulled the drapes aside to look at the royal blue Audi parked against the curb, "Sounds like a fair trade. You can keep the van."
"Then you can keep the car." Steve thrust his hand forward and she shook it, deciding keeping his daughter safe would be worth whatever reaming he'd get from Stark over giving his car away.
He should have, however, asked Dallas to teach him how to strap Denver into the car seat. Steve looked at the instruction manual with one hand while holding down the squirming child with the other. "Daddy, I wanna sit with you like yesday!"
"No, Sweetie. Aunt Dallas says you need to ride in your car seat."
"Auntie Dallie not here."
"Yeah, but she'll know." Steve grumbled as he clipped the straps together, hoping he'd done it correctly. "Let's just hope that Aunt Dallas strapped it into the car correctly."
Steve climbed into the front seat and adjusted the seat and mirrors until his phone began ringing. He put it on speaker and put the van into drive, "Hey Nat, you okay?"
"I am. I wanted to check on you. How's your little girl?"
"She's doing great, right Denver?" Steve called as he slowed to a stop at a red light. The child didn't respond so Steve turned around to check on her, finding her staring out the window, "You okay Sweetie?"
The loud sound of a horn blaring behind him reminded Steve that he needed to focus on the road, and he hit the gas a little too hard. Denver let out a 'wee!' as he accelerated.
"Do you even have a driver's license, Rogers?"
"I do, in fact, have a driver's license." Steve answered sharply, "I've never driven a mini-van before."
Natasha hummed on the other side of the line, and Steve rolled his eyes when she said, "I'd pay good money to see that. Make sure the paparazzi don't see you."
"I don't want them to see her at all." Steve grumbled as Avengers Tower came into view, "When are you moving up?"
"A couple weeks. I just gotta tie up some loose ends. Why? You miss me?"
Steve tried to hide his smile, until he remembered that the one year old wouldn't tattle on him, "Little bit, yeah."
"Then maybe I'll be up sooner rather than later. Take care, Steve. Send some pictures of your daughter."
"I will." Steve said quietly before the line went dead. He looked up in the rear-view mirror, seeing Denver staring up at the skyscrapers again, "What do you want to do today?"
"I wanna sim."
"I think we can handle that."
According to Tony's disembodied voice that he called JARVIS, Steve had disappeared with Denver sometime in the night. Bucky wasn't alarmed, because he didn't think he knew Steve well enough to know if this was abnormal, but he was anxious to be wandering around the tower by himself.
Asking the JARVIS for help, Bucky found his way to the kitchen and rifled through the pantry for something to eat. Hydra didn't feed him well, but they worked him hard. He was used to pushing through the hunger, but Bucky hoped that it would be easier to find food in this new life.
He wasn't disappointed.
"Where is the Captain? I was hoping to see him when I returned!"
Bucky pulled his head out of the pantry to see a massive blonde man in metal armor approaching with Tony Stark. Bucky pulled out a bag of bagels and stepped to the side, silently watching the conversation between the men.
Tony gave him a quick glance before pulling open the fridge and grabbing a carton of milk, "He left sometime last night. Took my favorite casual car." Tony took a drink and leaned against the counter, "What about you, Buckaroo? You know where Cap went?"
The large blonde turned to Bucky and smiled broadly, "Are we enlisting new Avengers? I think Lady Sif would be a great addition-"
"We aren't enlisting new Avengers. This is Cap's old war buddy from the forties. My tower is turning into a retirement home." Tony huffed, "So how bout it? You know where Rogers went?"
"No." Bucky said quietly, carefully pulling a bagel from the bag before twisting the tie again, "Is this okay?"
Tony blinked slowly, as if Bucky had asked him a question that he had no reason to know the answer to, "Yes? Why wouldn't it be?"
Bucky didn't open his mouth, he just looked to the side, unsure of how to respond. Because I wasn't told to eat? Because I haven't had free will in seventy years? Because this home is all I have, and I don't want to mess it up?
"Mr. Stark," JARVIS called, "Captain Rogers has returned to the premise with his young daughter."
"Where are they off to, J?"
"They appear to be heading for the lap pool, Sir."
Bucky chuckled to himself, then cleared his throat to pretend he hadn't as he ate his bagel quickly. He gave a sharp nod to excuse himself and power-walked to the elevator as the JARVIS asked him where he wanted to go. Bucky shifted uncomfortably, pulling down the sleeve of the leather jacket Steve had given him before answering, "The lap pool?"
"Of course, Sergeant Barnes."
When the doors opened, Bucky was surprised to find Denver practically flying over the slick floor towards the lap pool, but today, she had little balloons on her arms to keep her afloat as she leapt into the water. She went under for a moment and gasped dramatically when her floaties brought her to the surface, "Daddy! Daddy sim!"
Bucky looked to his left in time to see Steve scrambling towards the water in black swim trunks that actually fit. He hopped off the ledge and grabbed a hold of Denver before whipping around to see Bucky standing just inside the room, "Care to join us?"
"I better not." Bucky grumbled, kicking his boot against the tile as he stared down. His hair was long and greasy, and he felt like he should shower. He'd only come down to see Steve and make sure he was okay; he didn't have any intention of staying.
Steve held Denver by the waist and spun her around as she giggled loudly, but he kept turning to look at Bucky with mild concern, "Are you sure? There's nobody around besides us…"
"I don't want to scare her." Bucky said quickly, taking a step back. Steve stopped spinning Denver to gaze up at his best friend with big puppy eyes that made Bucky feel worse than he already did. "I'm an assassin, Steve. I know that you remember me from before all that, but it doesn't change anything. I killed people. I killed- I should go."
Before Steve could argue, Bucky turned and stormed back into the elevator, requesting to go to his floor. He didn't want to see how disappointed Steve was that he didn't remember their friendship, and he wasn't ready to put his past behind him.
Once Denver was petered out from swimming, Steve changed her back into her little jumpsuit and pulled a clean shirt over his head. He toweled off his hair while she sat on a bench in the men's locker room, gazing up at him with big, curious eyes. Steve hoped she never lost that sparkle because it was his favorite feature of Denver's.
He wondered what she thought when she looked at him with those blue eyes. Did she understand who he was to her? Dallas had tried to explain, but could the child comprehend that he was half of what made up her? Would she ever get to the point where she wanted to be with him above everyone else, or would he always be her favorite babysitter before she went back to Aunt Dallas to wait for Mommy?
"Captain Rogers," JARVIS called from the speakers above, "Thor has returned from London and requests your presence whenever you are free. Mr. Stark asks that you meet them both on the Party Deck at your leisure."
"I'll be there in a few minutes." Steve answered quietly. He waited for Denver to react to the voice, but she just swayed a little, blinking slowly in an attempt to stay awake. "You ready for a nap, Honey?"
She nodded and raised her hands for Steve to pick her up. He held her in one arm against his side and she grabbed onto his shirt to give her leverage as she nodded off. Steve decided to bring her to the meeting, figuring she could sleep on the couch while he spoke with Stark and Thor. What he didn't count on, was the excitement on the God of Thunder's face when he saw the child in Steve's arms.
"Captain!" He bellowed, causing Denver to jolt awake. Thor strode across the floor to meet Steve with a beaming smile at Denver, "Who is this?" He gasped happily, reaching out to take her from Steve's arms.
Whatever fatherly instincts Steve had went into overdrive when the man tried to grab his little girl, and he pulled back a little to keep her away. Denver just giggled loudly and wiggled around to get a better view of Thor, though, snapping Steve into reality. Steve saw the hurt look on Thor's face, then turned to Denver to see her staring at the newcomer without an ounce of fear. "Uh, this," Steve paused, shifting Denver to hand her to Thor, "is Denver. She's my daughter."
"It's nice to meet you, Little Denver." Thor cooed as he raised her hand to his lips to kiss it, then gave her a wink before twisting around to face Steve, "Where is your lucky lady?"
Tony dropped his gaze and choked a little, pounding his fist to his chest as the men turned to him worriedly, "Sorry." He gasped lightly, eyes darting between Thor and Steve, "Don't know where that came from."
"It's okay, Tony." Steve smoothed down Denver's drying hair and smiled sadly, "Her mother passed."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Thor murmured without taking his eyes off of Denver, "She is lucky to have you for a father."
Steve saw Denver's eyes began to droop again as she leaned against Thor's armor, and she looked to Steve before closing her eyes. "I'm still figuring out what I'm doing. I'm not a very good dad." He grumbled as Thor carefully peeled her from his shoulder to hand her back to Steve. Once in his arms again, Denver fisted her hands into the thin fabric of his white shirt and began to drool a little on the neckline as he bobbed up and down slowly. "JARVIS said you wanted to see me."
"I was just worried you'd run off again without saying hello." Thor replied as he gestured for Steve to sit on the couch.
"I need to talk to you about our little arrangement, because as cute as this little terror is, I barely sleep as it is." Tony cut in. Steve winced at his words, afraid this would happen, and Stark saw Steve's guilt and played on it, "I get that things are tough, Cap. But we gotta figure something out. She's not adjusting well."
"Her mother died." Steve snarled and Thor raised his brows in surprise at Steve's animalistic response. "I'm trying. I'll figure it out, I'll get us our own place, I'll-"
"So, then she can scream bloody murder in somebody else's building, and everyone will find out that Captain America has a kid out of wedlock? Can't wait to see that media circus." Stark answered and Steve stiffened, huffing as he carefully shifted Denver to the couch cushions. His legs began to twitch, and he felt the need to pace, seeing what Tony was trying to explain, that he was in a tough spot.
Tony took a slow breath and continued, "Cap, I can't imagine what you're going through right now, and I can't imagine what she's going through, but something's gotta give."
"What do you want me to do?" Steve asked quietly, looking to Thor hopelessly. Maybe he could take his child to Asgard where he could hide away and not be Captain America and let her scream into the abyss of space until she understood that her mother was dead and Heaven wasn't a place she could come back from.
Tony pushed himself to his feet and paced to the other side of the living area, picking up a piece of rolled up plastic before unfurling it over the glass coffee table. "I'm glad you asked." He raised his hand from the pad and a holographic model of the tower appeared in front of them, "I have twelve floors worth of living space for you clowns, and last I counted there were only five of you. While you, Banner, and Point Break here have your own floors to deal with," Tony waved his hand in front of Thor's torso to show his point, "all that, but the rest of those twelve floors have extra rooms, meaning we have extra room."
Steve squinted at Tony, then looked to Thor to see if he understood, but he seemed just as impatient with Stark's rambling as Steve did. With a heavy sigh, Steve leaned forward to get a closer look at the model, "What are you saying, Stark?"
"You need some help." Tony said bluntly and Steve's face began to heat up angrily at what Tony was insinuating.
"I'm not getting my daughter a nanny; I can take care of her myself."
"I had nannies and I turned out just fine."
"Stark."
Tony shrugged and zoomed in on the floor beneath Steve's, "Barney's room is one of three on this floor. He doesn't need all that space for himself, so we could convert one to a nanny's room."
Steve huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting like a child but determined not to let some stranger raise his daughter, "Tony. No. I'm not hiring a nanny."
"Think about it. I'll get the room set up, so as soon as you're ready to pull the trigger, you'll have a place for them to stay. The peace and quiet of having somebody to soothe your little monster will be payment enough." Tony said as he pushed his hand down the hologram, condensing it back into the plastic before rolling it back up. "Thor, hope you're a heavy sleeper, she's a screamer."
"Oh, I'm sure she's fine. Look at the precious little angel!" Thor borderline squeaked as he gestured to a sleeping Denver, "I think you're overreacting, Stark."
By the time Denver's birthday rolled around, Steve hadn't slept in days. He'd been determined to acclimate his daughter to Avengers Tower, sleep be damned, and her screams echoed throughout the building night after night. After two days, Steve realized that he had to keep her up from dinner until bedtime, and that she'd sleep longer the less he let her nap during the day.
However, she greeted her first birthday with tears streaming over her plump cheeks as she whimpered in her bed, crying for, as always, her Mommy.
Steve sat on the floor beside her bed, letting down the gate and reaching up to wipe away her tears, "I'm so sorry, Sweetheart. I wish I could bring Mommy back, but she's gone."
"I want her come back."
"I know, baby. But I'm here," Steve smiled hopefully, and Denver's lip quivered as she glared at him. That familiar feeling of inadequacy filled Steve at her bitter expression, reminding him that being her father didn't mean as much to her as he hoped it did. "I love you."
Denver narrowed her eyes at Steve, sniffling loudly before muttering softly, "Love you, Daddy."
"Today is a really special day. Do you know what today is?" Denver shook her head so Steve beamed at her, "Today is your birthday. You've been alive for one whole year."
"Okay."
"So, today, we get to celebrate, and do whatever you wanna do."
Denver's face lit up and she smiled, "We can go see Mommy?"
"Well…no. But! We can do anything else you want. Anything." Steve promised and Denver wiggled off of her bed and crashed against Steve's stomach. He stroked the back of her head and asked, "What do you want to do today?"
"I wanna sim!"
Steve swore she'd wrinkle into a little prune if they spent any more time in the tower's swimming pool, but it was an easy activity for them to share. He figured she'd swim without her floaties by her second birthday for sure. "Okay, we can swim. Do you wanna eat breakfast first? We can swim after lunch?"
"Captain Rogers, Miss Wells is here to see you."
"Send her up!" Steve called and stood, allowing Denver to walk around the bedroom on her own, "Aunt Dallas is here to see you for your birthday! We should have breakfast with her before we swim, okay?"
Denver huffed and dropped onto her bum, glaring up at Steve, "Okay."
The elevator doors slid open and Dallas came running out into Steve's room with her arms spread, "Denny!"
"Auntie Dallie!" Denver yelled back as she stumbled to her feet and ran into her arms. "I miss you. Daddy took me simmin"
"Oh yeah?" Dallas asked as she squatted on the floor with Denver, "Have you had fun with Daddy?"
"No."
"No?!" Steve cried out, placing his hands on his hips, "What do you mean no? We've had tons of fun! We've gone swimming every day, we've watched movies, played hide and seek!"
"No." Denver said again, clinging to Dallas's waist. "No fun."
"I'm sure she had tons of fun, she's just being a brat, aren't you?" Dallas asked the child and she giggled, letting go and running behind Steve to hide when Dallas tried to tickle her. "What's the plan for today?"
"She wants to go swimming again."
"Good thing I brought my swimsuit!" Dallas yelled and Denver wiggled between Steve's legs to charge at her aunt again, "Guess what I brought you?"
"What?"
Dallas opened her bag and pulled out a frosted cookie with birthday balloons on it. "Birthday breakfast."
"That's not very-"
Dallas looked up and shot Steve a warning glare as Denver jumped up and down with her cookie, shoving it into Dallas's face to take it out of the protective plastic. "It's fine. It's her birthday."
Steve grunted and pulled open his dresser drawers to grab a button-down shirt and pair of jeans to change into, "Well, I need real food. I think she should, too."
"Denny is always hungry. Her metabolism burns at least twice as fast as the average toddler."
Steve looked up at Dallas, but she was busy chattering with her niece. She'd casually thrown out that information like it was a suspicion, but she had worded it as a factual statement. "How do you know?"
He saw her eyes peer up at him from under her thick, dark lashes, and the coy expression on her face was one her sister wore often with him, "Bee didn't want anyone to study her daughter. That said, she wanted to know how to best take care of her. So, we made a compromise. I took some bloodwork, and I ran a few tests and looked at the results at work. That way Brooklyn knows what her daughter needs, and I can shut down any questions that arise from other parties."
"What else did you find out?"
"She's developing rapidly, as you can probably tell. She's more advanced than the average one-year old, most likely because the serum is promoting growth in her cells and brain. That said, as with normal kids, I don't think it'll last. She's not gonna be a ten-year-old in a five-year-old body, she's just gonna reach milestones a little faster, and eventually it'll taper off." Dallas explained casually as she stood and wandered over to Denver's dresser, opening it and pulling out a little purple dress with buttons down the front. "It's not like she's gonna go to school and have the other kids make fun of her for being different. She's gonna have a different life, and she's gonna thrive in it."
Steve hadn't realized he was clenching the bathroom door frame until he felt the metal crunch beneath his grip, "I'm gonna change real quick. I'll meet you guys downstairs for breakfast?"
Dallas nodded slowly, "Okay. I'll get her changed and meet you downstairs."
Steve closed the door and locked it, turning on the shower as cold as he could before stripping out of his sweatpants and climbing in. The water pounded his face as he stood frozen, feeling guilty about what Dallas had said. She hadn't meant to hurt Steve's feelings, but he knew she was right. Denver would never have a real life. She'd be trapped in this tower and raised by a bunch of random superheroes and taught by some tutor or nanny. Would she even have friends? Would she even know other kids, or would her only companions be larger than life?
He could enroll her in school when she was old enough, but Steve didn't know how he'd manage that without everyone knowing who she was. Hell, he didn't know how he was supposed to let her outside for fresh air without putting a target on her back. Maybe the best thing he could do was send her with Dallas. Denver wasn't happy at the tower with Steve, and he wasn't doing anyone any favors by forcing her to stay.
When Steve finally got dressed and came downstairs, he was surprised to find Dallas sipping a mimosa while running her fingers up and down Thor's arm while Tony followed Pepper around like a lost puppy, begging her for something. Slight panic overtook Steve as he looked around for his daughter, but he finally caught a glimpse of her in a highchair, eating a piece of cake beside Bucky Barnes.
Not wanting to disturb the moment, Steve lingered in the doorway and watched his daughter thrust a piece of cake at Bucky's face before he carefully took it and ate it. She poked his metal arm and cooed excitedly before doing it again and giggling, "Auntie Bucky."
"Auntie Bucky?" He teased back, leaning forward and began to tickle her lightly, causing her to laugh louder, "I'm not Auntie Bucky! I'm Uncle Bucky."
"Unko Bucky!" Denver cheered and threw a piece of cake in the air with a little more force than anyone expected. It splattered on the ceiling and Bucky watched it for a moment, holding his breath to see how long it lasted.
Steve saw it happen in slow motion, Pepper wandered past Denver and held out a napkin to Bucky for him to wipe her face. Dallas wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention and Tony was too busy begging Pepper for whatever ridiculous thing he wanted to realize that Bucky's gaze hadn't left the ceiling. The sticky, thick frosting did a good job of keeping the cake up, but it couldn't hold on forever, and the cake fell from the ceiling right onto Tony's head.
Denver laughed loudly and pointed as Bucky bit his bottom lip to keep his own rumbling laughter from bubbling out. Steve chuckled under his breath as the cake slid down the front of Tony's face onto his ACDC shirt before dropping onto the floor with a plop. Dallas clenched her teeth and grimaced, waiting for the billionaire to blame somebody.
"Why…is there cake… on my face?"
Everyone looked around nervously, except for Denver, who just laughed and pointed at Tony while Bucky wiped her face with the napkin. "Shh, Denny. Not now."
Stark turned to Pepper, finding her on the edge of laughter as well, "Not a word from you, Miss Potts."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
Tony swept out of the room with Pepper hot on his heels, allowing the others to breathe easily. Dallas leaned her back against Thor and let out the breath she was holding as she looked to Steve, "I can explain."
"Why she's throwing cake at the ceiling during breakfast?"
Another drop of icing fell from the ceiling and landed on Bucky's nose and Denver laughed, reaching out, grabbing the icing, and shoving it in her mouth before any of the adults could stop her.
Steve sighed, "She'll be fine, right?"
"Yeah," Dallas answered, "I've seen kids eat a lot worse than ceiling plaster." She walked over to the table and sat down across from Bucky. She grabbed the diaper bag from beneath the table and pulled out a wet wipe to clean the child's face before turning to Steve, "Stark set me up with a room in the tower. So, I can stay a couple nights a week. It'll be easier for her than going back and forth."
Steve perked up at that, and the subtle smile on Bucky's face from the news wasn't lost on Steve, "Thank goodness. I haven't slept in a week."