Annika Rodgers has always felt like she was kept in the dark by her father. She wasn't a little girl anymore. She just needed her dad to see that.
I don't own these characters except for Annika. AU - This is set as if Tony didn't die and Steve didn't go back to Peggy.
Annika walked out of the school with Peter Parker as they headed toward the buses. Peter was one of the few people in Annika's life that could understand her unique situation. After Peter's Aunt May had gotten married to Happy, Tony had basically become his adoptive father and looked out for Peter like his own son, especially since, unlike Annika, Peter actually got to go out and fight with the Avengers from time to time which always put May on edge.
They got dropped off at the gate to the Avengers compound where happy was waiting in a golf cart to drive them up the long driveway to the compound itself. Without the golf cart, it was a good two mile walk. They both sat in silence through the duration of the short ride, neither of them were super talkative after school as it was and this day was no different. They pulled up to the big glass doors and both of them, with their backpacks slug over their shoulder headed into the compound and to their perspective areas.
Tony had created the compound with rooms and living spaces for each Avenger and their families. Annika and her father along with Peter, Tony, and Pepper lived at the compound most of the time while the other Avengers were in and out as missions and other circumstances allowed. Clint still had his family and his farm so any time there wasn't a mission he tried to be with them and Thor spent time on Asguard when he wasn't needed on earth. Vision, Wanda and Bruce were a bit of a wild card and you never knew where they would be at the compound or not along with the rest of the Avengers.
Today the compound seemed unusually quiet.
"Friday?"
"Yes Miss Rodgers"
"Where is dad?"
"Your father and Mr. Stark were called out on official business. Ms. Potts is at the office and Ms. Parker is on her way back from work."
"Sounds about right" Peter said tossing his backpack on the couch in the great room and grabbing the remote.
"You know a text would be nice" Annika commented back sitting down opposite Peter.
Annika always hated when her father would be called out to do things for the Avengers and simply disappear for who knows how long. She knew he was doing it to protect her, but it only made her feel vulnerable not knowing when or if her dad would ever return home.
"Come on Anna, you know they are going to be fine" Peter said noticing the cloud hanging over Annika.
"I know Pete, I just hate no knowing when or if they are going to be coming home"
"Don't say if, they always come home"
"But what if they don't Peter? I know that they are super heroes and all that crap, but they are still human, they aren't immortal" Annika protested before throwing herself against the back of the couch.
"I know...I know. I worry about Tony too. I know he's not my dad, but..."
"It's okay Peter, He might as well be your dad, you don't need to apologize or downplay your feelings for me"
"I know..."
They both sat in silence for a little bit. Peter would never say it, but if anything happened to Tony, he still had his Aunt May and Happy. If something happened to Steve, Annika was alone. Sure, the Avengers were her family, but she didn't have any other blood family that she could turn to, and Peter knew that it weighed on her that she could loose her only family member without ever getting the chance to say goodbye.
"I'm going to go work on my homework. Friday? Can you let me know when dad gets home?"
"Of course Ms. Rodgers"
Peter watched her walk to the elevator and fell back on the couch running his hands through his hair once the doors closed. He always thought of Annika as his little sister. She was three years younger than him and he felt like it was his responsibility to look out for her. He just wished that he knew what to say to her to help her feel better about all of this. He knew though when she got like this that she needed her space, so he turned his attention back to the TV and tried to distract himself.
Annika laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling as all the what if's ran through her head. She had seen the footage of past avengers battles, she knew the risks that her father was taking. She wished that she could rest easy in just feeling like Peter did that they were going to come home every time without question, but Annika didn't have that luxury. Her dad was all she had, and she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without him. She knew how much her dad meant to the world, but sometimes she wished that she had a dad with a normal 9-5 desk job.
At some point she fell asleep and was awoken by a knock on her door and hearing it open. A world of relief rushed over her to see her dad standing in the door way.
"Hey kiddo, fell asleep already?"
"Dad!" Annika jumped up and ran to hug him.
"Hello Sweetheart" he said leaning down and placing a kiss on the top of her head. "How was school?"
"Boring"
"You always say that"
"And it always is"
"Come on, at least one interesting thing had to have happened"
"Well, you weren't here when I got home" Annika threw in with a bit of biting sarcastic tone. She had had enough of his constant disappearance and she finally decided to address it.
"Honey..."
"No dad! What if something had happened to you? What would I do?"
"I know...I'm sorry" He said has he pulled her in close. He hated leaving her. Every time he got a call it ate him alive to have to leave without giving her any warning or being able to say goodbye. He wasn't naive, he knew that every time he went out to protect others he was putting his own family at risk. He hated that, but he also knew that he had a responsibility to the world to protect the innocent.
"You know I love you right?"
"I know"
The father daughter duo stood there in a silent embrace for a few minutes before the girggling in Annika's stomach broke the silence.
"Hungry?" Steve asked with a bit of a laugh.
"Yea, I fell asleep before I got to eat dinner"
"Well let's go get you some food" Steve said as he shifted to his arm around his daughters shoulder and directed her toward the kitchen.
The next morning Annika woke up to the smell of bacon and cinnamon rolls. She knew that could only mean one thing, her dad was getting ready to leave on a long mission. He always tried to smooth over this kind of news with a big breakfast or some sort of present to try and lessen the sting. Annika pulled herself out of bed and dragged her feet into the kitchen.
"Where are you going this time and how long?"
"Good morning to you too sunshine"
"Just cut to the chase. You never make my favorite food when you are breaking bad news"
"That's not true"
"Battle of New York, Italian. Sikovia, Cheesecake. Where are you going this time?"
"Can't a dad just make his daughter her favorite food without strings attached?"
"Sure, if they aren't you they can"
"Come on Annika, I just want to have a good morning with you"
"Dad, come on, where are you going?"
Cap let his head hang as he took a moment to compose himself. His daughter knew him too well. He hated when he had to leave her, but he knew that he had to fulfill his duty as Captain America.
"It's not going to be for very long"
"Whatever, have a good trip" Annika said picking up her plate and starting to walk away from the kitchen. She was fed up with her dad trying to protect her by keeping her in the dark.
"Annika stop" She did as she was told but still didn't turn around. He took a breath and then walked over to his daughter and gently turned her around and took her face in his hands.
"I know you're scared, but I promise I'm going to be just fine. We're going to Wakanda for a few days and then we'll be back before you know it."
"Can I come? I haven't seen Shuri in a long time and I could help her finish those improvements we were making to your suite!"
Steve smiled at his daughter, he admired her desire to protect those she loved.
"Not this time, but you'll be here with Peter and Sam is coming to stay with you both."
"Why isn't Sam going with you?" she asked. She thought it was strange that they would leave Sam out of something so important.
"This is a small mission, so Sam agreed to be here"
"I don't need a babysitter, I'm 15"
"It just make me feel better to know you have someone here if you need something"
"Friday is here"
"I mean a human" Steve said amused with his daughter's argument. "You like Sam"
"Sure, but I'm getting older, I don't need someone here to look out for me"
"Even still, be nice to him, for me?"
"I guess" Annika said rolling her eyes and pulling her dad into a hug. No matter how annoyed she was at him, he always had a way of making her smile.
"Good, now go get ready for school so I can drop you and Peter off before I have to leave"
School went like usual, and before they knew it Peter and Annika were headed out to the buses to go home when they noticed Sam standing off to the side.
"What up kids?"
"We're not kids" Peter protested. He hated that the other Avengers didn't treat him like a part of the team.
"Sure you are, but come on, I'm gonna take you two home"
"Why?" Annika asked suspiciously.
"Why? Isn't riding with me better than taking that stupid bus?"
"Sure...but I feel like there is more to this than just a ride home from school" Annika protested. She wasn't buying this whole nice guy routine. Sure Sam always tried to be the "cool uncle" and let her do things that her dad didn't, but she felt like this time Sam was hiding something.
"Annika come on! Would Uncle Sam lie to you?"
"If you are referring to the government, then yea, all the time" Peter quipped back. He was starting to pick up on the same uneasiness that Annika was.
"Fine, you two wanna ride the bus, be my guest" Sam said as he put on his sunglasses and started to walk away.
"What do you think?" Annika turned to Peter. She just couldn't shake the feeling that Sam was bating them.
"Let's head toward the bus and see what happened" Peter replied putting his hand on her shoulder and leading her toward their bus. He looked over his shoulder to see that Sam hadn't even stopped to wait for them and continued to walk to the car. Maybe he was just trying to be nice and offer them a ride home after all.
"As they got closer to the bus they both stopped to take one last look back. Sam was still standing by his car but hadn't come after them.
"Let's just get on the bus" Annika said.
"Hey you two, what are you doing?" The bus driver asked them as he saw them start to ascend the stairs.
"What do you mean Mr. Mitchel?" Peter asked confused.
"I got a note that you two were getting picked up. Did you miss your ride?" They both looked at each other and realized why Sam hadn't protested, he knew that the bus driver would say something. Peter pretended to pull out his phone and act like he had missed a text message.
"Oh hey, there's the text. I guess I just missed it. Thanks Mr. Mitchel! Come on Annika" Peter said as they both turned around and headed away from the bus. Something was definitely up.
"What do we do?" Annika asked. She didn't like the game that Sam was playing with them.
"What do you mean? We go and ride home with Sam and hope he tells us why he's picking us up instead of us riding the bus" Peter asked confused. Annika was usually a rule follower so it was strange seeing her talking like there was an alternative option.
"I don't know Pete, i just feel like Sam isn't being honest with us"
"And what's new?"
"He is messing with us so I say we mess back!"
"What? Who are you and what did you do with Anna?"
"Come on Pete! We finally have a chance to make them feel like they make us feel all the time!"
"Annika...I don't know"
"Oh come on! We're practically adults! Let's show them that they can't just keep us in the dark and maybe cause them to sweat a little bit!"
"What do you have in mind?"
Annika's eyes lit up as she laid out her plan to her would be older brother. She was ready to make them worry about her instead of the other way around.