Two hours later, reporters were swarming the outside of Avengers Tower, waiting for the press conference about the attack on the subway line. Steve had showered and changed, his ribs felt better, but his shoulder was still in terrible pain. He knew he should have taken Dallas up on her offer, but he was scared to face that he wasn't invincible. Steve wanted to be invincible for his little girl, because if anything happened to him, who would protect her?
Steve took a deep breath as Tony Stark proceeded to the podium first, throwing out his hands to the side as the crowd cheered and the reporters shouted questions. Thor and Steve followed, standing on either side of Tony while Natasha stayed inside the lobby with Bruce.
Captain America held his head high as he looked out at the crowd, scanning for threats. Bucky had returned empty handed after going after Rumlow, meaning the man was still out there and had it out for Steve. While Cap searched for his attacker in the crowd, his gaze landed on somebody else.
Dallas waved shyly from near the corner of the steps leading up to the main doors. She hoisted Denver up a little higher and the little girl waved at Steve. He waved back quickly before turning back to the crowd, trying to hide the proud little smile on his face.
"Any questions?" Tony asked, causing the reporters to surge forward in an attempt to shove their microphone closer to Stark and get their question answered.
"Do you have any idea who the attacker was?" A blonde woman yelled above the crowd and Tony turned to Steve, gesturing for the microphone for the Captain to answer the question.
He cleared his throat and addressed the reporter clearly, "We believe it was Brock Rumlow. I worked with him on the SHIELD sanctioned STRIKE team. It was discovered that he, along with his team, were working for the terrorist organization Hydra."
"Do you believe this attack was directed at you, due to your history with the suspect?"
"I believe it might have been. He directly attacked me and threatened my team." Steve answered, looking over to Tony desperately. His shoulder was aching, and he was tired. Secretly, Steve wanted to salvage what he could of his birthday.
A young man, no older than twenty-five, pushed forward, "Captain, what were you doing on the subway to begin with?"
"Well, in case you all didn't know, it's Captain America's birthday today." Tony said as he clamped his hand on Steve's shoulder. Steve's cheeks started to heat up and he wished he'd worn his cowl as the cameras began to flash, but Tony kept going, "He was out celebrating with some of the team. Having an under-the-radar kind of birthday, but unfortunately, Hydra had other ideas. Speaking of which, let's let Cap get back to his birthday. He's had enough excitement for the day."
Steve mouthed 'Thank you' to Stark and waved to the crowd before starting to walk away, but a high-pitched voice stopped him right in his tracks as a green blur sprinted up the stairs towards him.
"Daddy!" Denver yelled as she ran towards the Avengers with Dallas gritting her teeth and screeching for her to come back. The little girl didn't answer, instead scuttling forward until she could attach herself to Steve's legs.
A hush fell over the crowd as everyone held their breath, waiting to see who would make the first remark. Stark laughed and gestured towards Steve, "Look at this guy! He's so wholesome random kids want him to be their Dad!"
Steve met Tony's gaze as Denver tugged on his suit, wanting to be picked up. He looked back at Dallas, who just opened her mouth and shrugged, clearly not having any better ideas. With a sigh, Steve picked up Denver and held her against his hip with his left hand, so his shield blocked her from everyone's view.
Stark's eyes widened and he placed his hand over the mic, "Cap? You sure about this?"
Steve nodded and stepped up to the mic, turning a little so the reporters couldn't get a good look at his daughter, and the young man finally called out, "Captain America, is she yours?"
She grabbed his face, patting his jaw happily, as if they were the only two people in the world. Steve rested his head against hers for a moment before turning to the crowd, "Yes. She's my daughter."
A collective gasp fell over the crowd as she fiddled with the neck of Steve's new uniform, clearing his throat to address the people, "Her mother worked for SHIELD. She passed away in April- in Washington." Steve turned to Denver; happy she didn't understand what he was saying. He shifted his gloved hand under her bum to get a better grip, holding her close as he looked back up at the crowd, "We hope you'll respect our privacy at this time. As you can imagine, it's been a hard transition for her."
Steve didn't say anything else, but as he walked away, the reporters screamed questions at him while Tony tried to get control of the situation. Dallas disappeared into the back entryway before Steve reached the lobby, and he knew he'd get an earful from the woman for showcasing his daughter to the world.
As expected, when he got through the blacked-out windows, Dallas approached him yelling, "What the hell were you thinking? Are you insane? Now, everybody knows she's your daughter! We worked so hard, Brooklyn worked so hard to keep her safe and you just out her like that?"
"What was I supposed to say, Dallas? She got away from you, I wasn't expecting to have everyone see her!"
"Tony was spinning her as a stranger, you could have played along!" Dallas screamed back and Denver shrunk into herself in fear.
Steve took a step closer to Dallas, nostrils flaring as he glared down at her, "She's my daughter. I'm not going to pretend she's some random kid, I'm proud of her. I love her, and I'm gonna protect her!" Steve bellowed down at Dallas, clenching his jaw as his temper simmered a little, "Rumlow could have killed her today because we were trying to hide, now we don't have to."
Dallas crossed her arms and huffed, glaring over at Natasha and Banner, who were doing their best to stay out of the argument, but Dallas wanted to drag them right into it, "Well. What do you two think of it?"
Natasha sighed and moved closer to Dallas, "Listen. There's no winning. If she's in Steve's life, she's going to be put in danger. If you want to hide her away, she can't be around him, and that's not fair to either of them. Maybe having the public attention will discourage people from going after her."
"But she's a child!" Dallas cried out, turning around when she realized someone had snuck up behind her, but she continued to point accusingly at Steve as she snarled at Bucky, "Where is he now? We don't know, but he had an idea that she was Steve's and now he knows for sure. How are we going to keep her safe?"
"We're not gonna let anything happen to Denny, you know that." Bucky said calmly, trying to soothe the woman. She stomped her foot and screamed through clenched teeth before storming to the elevator.
"That was dramatic." Natasha rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder as Tony and Thor entered the building.
Steve leaned his head against Denver and sighed, "She had to grow up faster than she should have. She didn't ask for any of this. She's just trying to keep her family safe." He paused and looked over to Bucky, "It's what Brooklyn was trying to do."
"Hey Denny," Bucky said, changing the subject by approaching the child, "Do you wanna come to my room? I got something for you."
"Me?" Denver asked excitedly, looking to her father.
"Sure, go for it." Steve put her down and Bucky dropped his right arm for her to grab his hand, tugging him towards the elevator. Steve held back for a moment, then jogged to the elevator before the doors could close. Bucky shot him a questioning look, and Steve just shrugged, "I don't like fighting with my family."
"You said it yourself. She's just trying to do what's best for her favorite niece." Bucky said as the doors opened and released them onto his floor. Bucky led Denver to his room, but Steve took a left to the closed door belonging to Dallas.
He knocked firmly, only to be answered with Dallas yelling, "Go the fuck away!"
Steve chuckled, leaning his forearm against her door, "You're lucky I don't have Denver with me."
She opened the door, and Steve could see she'd been crying. She sniffled, betraying her fierce scowl, "Where is she? Did she get kidnapped?"
"That's not funny." Steve barked as he let himself in, "She's with Buck. I wanted to talk to you alone."
Dallas left the door open, but stayed by the doorway, giving Steve the impression she was considering running away, "Okay." She finally said, dropping her crossed arms to shove her hands in her pockets, "What do you want to talk about?"
"I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"Well, I yelled at you first." Dallas grumbled as she kicked at the floor, "I'm just mad at myself because she wiggled away from me. I should have never had her there to begin with, but she wanted to see you after everything."
"Seeing you two made that shit show bearable." Steve said with a gentle grin and Dallas fake gasped, "Captain! Language!"
He just shrugged, "I'm not the prude everyone seems to think I am."
"Well," Dallas pulled her phone out of her back pocket, "I don't think anyone thinks you're a prude anymore."
Steve's brow shot up as she handed him her phone, pulled up to an article about the press conference, "Captain America has a child. Ten reasons this is the first we've heard of it."
"My personal favorite is the article on Cosmo that, when you click on it, the tagline is 'That's right ladies, Captain America fucks'." Dallas placed her hands out in front of her, as if reading the tagline from the air. Steve's stomach flipped as he scrolled through the dozens of articles about him and Denver, feeling nauseous at how his private life had become the bigger story of the day.
Dallas leaned her head to the side and rubbed his shoulder, causing him to wince, "Uh huh, I see that's worse than you let on. Did you at least clean it?"
"I did." Steve grumbled, handing back her phone and looking up at Dallas from beneath his lashes, "How am I gonna regroup from this?"
"I don't know. Be a good dad? Be a good Captain America and a good Avenger and people will forget all about your child out of wedlock."
"Do people still call it that?" Steve grimaced, feeling like a trash boyfriend for getting his girlfriend pregnant and then forcing her to hide it from him.
"Yeah, but they'll get over it." Dallas assured Steve as she sat beside him, patting his thigh, "Why don't you get changed, I know for a fact that Pepper had this amazing steakhouse cater dinner for your birthday tonight."
Steve placed his hand over Dallas's, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles, "I appreciate everything you do for Denver and I. You're my last connection to Brooklyn, and it means the world to me that you're willing to help me through this."
Dallas leaned over and kissed Steve on the cheek. When she pulled away, he looked at her sadly, experiencing that heavy feeling in his chest that reminded him that Brooklyn was gone, and he just had all the pieces, "I'm not your last connection, Steve. She is." Dallas gestured towards the open door, and Steve smiled and nodded.
"You're right."
"Daddy! Daddy!" Denver came flying through the open door before launching herself against his calves. She lifted up a new stuffed Captain America shield with little cloth straps that held it to her arms, "Uncle Bucky got me a new shield! Look Daddy! I look like you!"
"You do, Sweetheart!" Steve exclaimed as he picked Denver up and sat her in his lap. She shoved the shield in his face for him to look at it, but he lifted his head to see Bucky standing in the doorway. "Thanks, Buck."
"I think this one's better personally." Bucky admitted, motioning out of the room, "Now, I've heard something about steak dinner?"
"I'm gonna change. What do you say, Denny? Should we put on our comfies for dinner?"
"Yes peez!"
"Alright, see you guys soon." Steve said as he passed Bucky, leaving the pair alone. As he got into the elevator, he cursed himself for getting so close to Dallas. It was clear his best friend had feelings for her, and Steve was just trying to cling to Brooklyn. That said, he couldn't ignore the butterflies that had erupted when she kissed his cheek.
Back in Dallas's room, Bucky was lingering by the doorframe. He leaned his metal arm against it, looking around while he whistled an unfamiliar tune. "Can I help you with something?" Dallas finally asked, tilting her head to the side. Her shaggy hair fell across her forehead, giving her a bit of a boyish look that Bucky found adorable.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You really blew up on Steve back there."
"Well," Dallas started, sliding off her bed to sit at her vanity, "My sister hid away for over a year to ensure nobody knew Steve had a child, and he went and blew it. So, I was understandably pissed."
Bucky nodded, taking a step into her bedroom, and looking around. He'd never been in her room before, and he was surprised how homey she'd made it. Dallas only spent two, sometimes three nights a week at Avengers Tower, but her room had been painted a dark navy blue and had deep mahogany wood furniture. A tall lamp lit the corner of the room while her vanity mirror had little lights around it to illuminate her reflection, somehow making her glow more than she already did. "How are you now?" Bucky asked, turning to the vanity, and catching her eyes in the mirror.
She swallowed, feeling her very soul split in half. He was looking at her with those eyes. He was giving her that look, the one he had earlier when they'd strolled together at Coney Island, before Steve stole him away to ride the Cyclone and Thor proceeded to vomit up his eighty-five hot dogs.
Bucky Barnes looked at her differently than he looked at Natasha or Pepper. She found this look similar to how he looked at Steve, with a sad kind of hope and desperation to not mess up. Maybe he just enjoyed her company, that much she knew, but if Dallas didn't know better, she'd think he liked her.
"I'm better." She answered slowly, looking down at the hand Steve had held. Dallas would have been flattered to have Bucky's affection. He was the type of man she was drawn to. He was dark, brooding, soft spoken. She enjoyed being around Bucky. They had good, easy conversation, but he also scared her.
In reality though, the problem was deep in her soul, because Dallas was still jealous of her sister, and the perfect relationship she had with the perfect Steve Rogers. It wasn't fair that after all the terrible things she did to Steve, he still looked back on her with so much fondness and love that it made Dallas feel guilty, because she felt a twinge of bitterness.
Brooklyn had everything. She played everybody and got herself killed before she could face the consequences of her actions. In a way, Brooklyn had been selfish in the end, because she could have let Steve and Bucky duke it out. She didn't need to run into the fire, but she died, and left everybody else to clean up her mess of lies and deceit.
Dallas wanted to show Steve that he deserved better than what Brooklyn did to him. Partly because he was wonderful, and partly because she'd always lusted after her older sister's boyfriend.
Bucky nodded, shifting uncomfortably, "Good. I'm glad. I'll, uh, I'll see you at dinner?"
"Yeah, of course." Dallas said softly as she turned to look at Bucky over her shoulder. He gave a small wave as he closed her door, giving her privacy to get ready.
Once she was alone, Dallas leaned her elbows on her vanity and blew air out through her mouth, "I'm in so much trouble."