"Hullo?"

"Tony… it's been almost two months. I'm worried about them."

The man rolled over, seeing it was barely five. He had gone to bed after three and hadn't been planning on getting up any time soon. Sleep didn't come easily to the man. Tony cherished the small, quiet moments when the world was at peace.

He quietly eased out of bed, careful not to wake the woman next to him, and took his phone call in the bathroom, "They're fine. If they wanted to be found, they would be."

"What if something happens to them?"

"Dallas, they're fine." Tony moaned as he put her on speaker so he could splash cold water on his face, "She's perfectly capable of taking care of the both of them."

The woman on the other end of the line hummed, then muttered, "Aren't you more worried about him?"

"No. Not in the least. Right now, all I'm worried about it getting sleep, but since you've so rudely awakened me, I don't foresee that happening."

He massaged his temples, not wanting to admit that he was awake, or that he'd been desperately trying to track the two former Avengers for the past six weeks. For two weeks, he let them go. The third, he started looking, and by the fifth, he knew he wasn't going to find them.

Dallas sighed, "Get some rest, I'm at LAX about to board a red eye. Will I see you upstate anytime soon?"

Tony shrugged, even though Dallas couldn't see him, "Doubtful. But never say never."

"Alright, well, I'll see you soon I guess." Dallas mumbled, "Take care, Tony."

"Fly safe, R2." Tony grumbled before hanging. Neither realized that would be the last time they spoke to each other.

As Tony hung his head and blew air through his lips, Pepper appeared from behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle, "Come back to bed, Tony. Nothing is happening that can't wait until later. You can call her back on the way into the city."

He turned and kissed her softly, humming against her lips, "Since we're already awake, I could think of a few other things we could do."

"Steve, we have to go."

"Just another moment, please, I'm so close."

"Steve-" Natasha's cry was cut off by Yelena's words in their ears asking if they were in position. Steve grunted and allowed Natasha to climb off of his lap and shove open the rear passenger's door of the car. She smoothed down her dress and walked confidently across the street and into the flower shop. Steve groaned loudly as he zipped up his jeans and followed her, looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody had seen them.

Yelena scoffed into the comm, "Sorry rescuing Tania is cutting into your hanky panky time. Maybe if you were better at sex you could finish at a decent rate. It's the least you could do to be helpful, Steve."

"She's on the move! Yelena, do you have eyes on her?" Natasha called as she sprinted out into the street behind a young African-American woman. Yelena jumped to her feet and started sprinting towards the edge of the building, tossing a grappling hook over the side before diving over it. Steve moved down the alleyway as Natasha chased the other Black Widow around the corner, right into their trap.

Steve appeared in front of Tania, blocking her path and causing her to pause long enough for Yelena to spray the antidote in her face. She stumbled back a step, and Yelena reached out to grab her, "Hey… hey Tania… you're okay."

Natasha grabbed Steve's hand as Yelena spoke softly to Tania. "We did it. We've gotten to almost everyone who's left." Nat told him softly as he stroked her knuckles. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed it, wanting to get back to their previous activity, but Natasha swatted him in the stomach, "It's dinner time. There's plenty for that later." She muttered as he slung his arm around her shoulders and led her back to their hotel.

The cobblestone streets of the small Irish town were charming, and a lot safer now that the rogue Black Widow had her mind back. Now, the only thing the locals had to worry about was the young pickpocket who had learned a trick or two from her Auntie Lena when her father wasn't looking.

Denver wandered through a small café, looking up and around with her lips pursed. "Ты видел мою маму?" A young woman looked from her coffee to the little girl in alarm, then to her husband, so Denver cleared her throat and asked in broken English, "Have you looked at mother?"

"Oh, um, no?" The redheaded woman answered nervously before raising her hand to the waiter, "Excuse me? She's lost her mother."

An older woman scurried over to Denver and knelt down to be at her level, "Hello, what is your name?"

Denver blinked, then looked around, pretending not to understand, "You looked at mother?"

The waitress stood, looked around, and when her back was turned from the child, Denver reached up and plucked money from her apron. She looked back at Denver, and she looked over the tables and pointed, "There!" before scampering away to the outside patio. She stood next to an empty table, then swiped the money from it before ducking under the railing and sprinting away.

She made a beeline for the hotel, pausing to grab a wallet from a man talking on his cell phone on the street corner. When Denver reached the door, she pulled two bobby pins from her hair to shove into the lock, and was almost in when her father's voice startled her, "What are you doing?"

Whipping around and smiling innocently, the five year old answered, "Nothing, Daddy."

"Hmph." Steve grumbled as he reached over her head and pushed open the door, "Looks like breaking and entering."

"It's our room."

"And why were you out of it?" Steve asked sternly as he let himself in. Denver looked around, realizing that Nat and Yelena were nowhere to be found, "Don't look for them, why did you leave the room? I left you specific instructions not to. You're smarter than that."

Denver sat on the bed and pulled the money from her pockets before handing it to her father, "I heard you and Aunt Nat talking about how we didn't have money. I wanted to help."

Steve took it and flipped through it, then sighed before kneeling below his young daughter, "I want you to be a kid, not worry about money. I'll worry about the money, you worry about studying and having fun. I'll take care of the rest, I promise."

"But Dad-"

"No buts, and no earning your keep until you've at least mastered Algebra." Steve leaned down and kissed her blonde hair that was pulled back into a tight braid that hit her shoulders, "Did Yelena teach you to steal?" Denver twisted her lips to the side, giving Steve the answer he needed, so he didn't press her more, "She did your hair nice. Wish she'd teach you something more useful than being a hooligan."

"What's a hooligan?"

"Don't know, maybe you should look it up." Steve told her teasingly before grabbing the tablet they'd acquired from Mason last year. "Nat and Yelena are bringing dinner back. Clean up your stuff. We'll be moving on in the morning."

Denver kicked against the edge of the mattress as she stared up at her father with her big blue eyes, "Where are we going now?"

Steve hated how sad she sounded. He hadn't wanted this life for her, but she enjoyed it. A little. "I don't know, Denny. Where do you wanna go?"

Her eyes lit up, and Steve knew where she'd ask to visit. He sighed, and her expression fell. Steve pulled Denver to his chest and hugged her, kissing her hair lightly, "I love you so much. I'm sorry that things… aren't better." He settled on, because he didn't want to admit that her life was hard. He didn't want to admit that Brooklyn was right, and having him as a father ruined any chance of her having a normal, good life. Over the past two years, as they traversed the world, Steve began to wonder if Denver would have had a better life with Brooklyn than him. Perhaps she should have never interfered, and she'd be here now instead of him.

He should have left her with Dallas. She could have everything. A normal life. Nice toys and a bedroom of her very own. She would have wanted for nothing with Dallas- the Avengers would have made sure of that. Bringing her was a selfish decision, but Steve loved having his daughter with him, even if he was distinctly aware of the life he was denying her.

"It's okay. I understand." She mumbled into his neck, too wise for her age. She was still growing rapidly, her mind sharper than the average five-year-old. Steve blamed it on the serum, but Yelena and Natasha reminded him that by her age, they were already being trained by the Red Room.

Steve's phone began ringing in his pocket, and he pulled it out, expecting to see Natasha's name, but his stomach dropped when he saw it was Sam. He flipped his phone up, walking away from Denver to peek between the window shades, "Hello?"

"Steve, somethings happened."

Natasha burst into the room with Yelena close behind her. Yelena grabbed Denver's hands and gave them a squeeze before grabbing their things quickly. Steve watched her mill about the room, but Natasha approached him slowly with Denver's tablet in her hand as he waited for Sam to elaborate.

"Tony is gone."

When Steve raised his gaze to look at Nat, she turned the tablet towards him to show the shaky cell phone footage of a giant ring suspended above New York. He swallowed, registering how big of a threat this was, "What is that thing?"

"Banner is back. Says Thor is gone, and a madman is after the Infinity Stones. Tony answered a call from Pepper from the ship, then the signal cut out."

"Infinity Stones?" Yelena asked from where she sat beside Denver, but Steve ignored them in favor of staring at Natasha. He tried to study her expression, but it was blank, as if she hadn't decided how she felt about the matter yet. Whether it was the matter of Tony and Thor's demise or Bruce's return, Steve wasn't so sure.

"Cap, Vision is powered by the Mind Stone. He and Wanda have been missing for the past two months. He's in danger, and we can't get a hold of him. They don't want to be found."

Natasha chuckled, "Just because they don't want to be found doesn't mean we can't find them."

They had eyes on Wanda for the past five weeks. They kept their distance, seeing the pair wanted privacy. They were in Edinburgh.

Sam's voice sounded strained as he added, "Bruce says this guy, this Thanos guy, he's going to try to wipe out half of all living life across the universe. If he get's Vision's stone-"

"He won't. We'll go to them now. Thanks for the update Sam." Steve hung up, not wanting his old friend to ask any more questions. Sam had promised only to call in case of an absolute emergency. For two years, he'd left them alone, meaning this was it. They needed to come back home.

"So, are you two going to explain what's so important about these stones, or do I just go along for the ride blindly?" Yelena taunted, but Nat shushed her with a sharp glare. The younger widow straightened up, "It's that bad, huh?"

Natasha nodded towards the door, summoning Steve to join her. She closed it and leaned in close to the super-soldier with her back to the door, knowing Denver could hear them if she tried, "We should take her to Dallas. She can't just hide in the jet."

"We don't have time for that. Tony and Thor are gone, if they get to Vision, we're done. I can't risk losing this fight." Steve argued before running his hand over his long, rough beard, "If we can collect Vision and Wanda, we almost double our forces, and they'll never find him with us."

"That's naïve."

"We've stayed under the radar this long-"

"Because they allowed us to." Natasha bit back. She whipped her head to look down the hallway at the sound of the ice machine, causing her bleached hair to fling across her face. She whispered, "If you don't want to drop Denver off, maybe we just give Sam their location and let whoever's left collect them."

Steve grunted, hating the way she emphasized 'whoever's left'. They were just two people, they didn't carry a team of six. But with Thor and Tony gone, and Clint retired, that left Bruce, who had been missing for two years, to stand alone against this threat with, who? Rhodey, Sam, and Pietro? Wanda and Vision were powerful. They could take care of themselves, but if they didn't know an attack was coming, they could be blind sighted. "We need to get to them now. Once we're together, we'll decide from there. Yelena can stay with Denver, and we'll collect them ourselves. Deal?"

Natasha popped back open the door, staring up at Steve with vindictive emerald eyes, "If anything happens to that little girl, you'll be in so many pieces they'll never find all of you."

"I know." Steve murmured. The unspoken truth that lived between the four of them was simple: Natasha was Denver's mother, the only mother she could remember, and the only mother she'd ever really know. Natasha protected her as her own daughter, and despite how they tried to hide it from Denver, the child knew Natasha was her father's girlfriend. Too young to resent Natasha for replacing Brooklyn, but old enough to appreciate having the woman in her life, Denver had a closeness to the assassin that rivaled her bond with her father.

Denver hid behind the bathroom door as they reentered, closing it quickly to pretend to use the restroom. Steve and Natasha shared a glance before turning their attention to Yelena, who just shrugged, "I didn't hear anything, but I'm guessing we go now?"

"It'll be a short flight." Steve grunted as Denver emerged from the bathroom to gaze up at him, "We don't have any time to waste."

The sun had long set by the time they reached Edinburgh. Steve and Natasha gazed ahead while Yelena spoke quietly with Denver behind them.

"You scared?" Yelena whispered, keeping her eyes locked onto Natasha as she swept her gaze over the buildings while Steve looked for a place to land.

"No." Denver shrugged a little, "Are you?"

"I dunno." Yelena admitted, leaning her head back and closing her eyes for a moment, "Ask me again when we see what we're up against."

Suddenly, a beam of yellow shot through the air, split upward and downward before slicing through a truck and causing it to explode. Natasha pointed nearby at a burst of red, "There. It's Maximoff.

Steve quickly swerved the jet, seeking a place to land while Natasha kept an eye on Vision and Wanda's location. "They've been shot down. Looks like the train station."

Denver stiffened, gripping Yelena's wrist as Steve finally got the quinjet to the ground. Yelena stood as Steve and Natasha unbuckled themselves to rise, sprinting towards the back as the door opened. Yelena moved to follow, but Steve whipped around to stop her, "Stay with Denny."

"No, they're already here for the stone. They could hit the jet." Natasha argued, pointing out the opening, "Draw their attention, we'll hit from behind. We can't stay here, it's too risky."

Steve looked like he wanted to argue, but Natasha left before he got the chance. He looked down at his daughter, but she interrupted, "I'll be good. I promise. I'll follow directions."

"Okay. Stay with Yelena and Nat, do what they tell you. If anything happens, you run and you hide, but don't come back here, okay?" Steve shoved his phone into her tiny hand, "If anything happens to me, you call Sam, tell him to pick you up, okay?"

"Okay." Denver answered as Steve sprinted in the opposite direction of the two blonde women. She watched him go, then scampered after Yelena to follow Nat.

Denver followed them through the closed train station, overwhelmed by the feeling she was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. There was no sound up ahead, which Denver found odd considering they were here to rescue somebody. She vaguely remembered Wanda. She remembered brushing her hair. She was nice.

She lived her Aunt Dallas, Denver thought. She kinda remembered Dallas. She was tall, and pretty. Her dad said they'd go visit someday, but they hadn't.

The sound of a train rushing through the empty station caused Denver to shiver. Natasha pushed her behind a pillar, "Don't move. No matter what you see, no matter what you hear. Wait here until we collect you, do you understand?"

She nodded, realizing Yelena was already gone. Natasha went sprinting forward as glass shattered ahead, and Denver leaned around the pillar to see what she was running towards. A dark, massive figure stared forward as Natasha approached from its right, and Denver realized its eyes were locked onto her dad.

For the first time in her life, she considered her father dying. They had told her to stay, and to not to move no matter what she saw or heard. She could watch her dad die, and this thing could come after her next.

As Natasha caught the weapon thrown to her by Steve, Denver hid behind the pillar and looked up as tears streamed from her eyes. She shut them tightly and bent over to curl in on herself, holding her hands to her ears in an attempt to shut out the sounds coming from down the hall.

Curiosity got the best of her though, and she looked over in time to see a second figure diving towards Nat, about to kill her before Steve rolled in front and blocked the hit. Denver's eyes widened as she watched her father protect Nat, his teeth clenched as he tried to keep the monster at bay.

Suddenly, Yelena swung in from a grabbling hook, kicking over the monster and sending it tumbling back. Natasha and Yelena pulled their guns in synch, but Steve stood over them, staring down with more anger than Denver could remember seeing. As scary as these tall monsters were, they weren't nearly as scary as her dad in that moment.

A blue light appeared from above and pulled the monsters up before taking Steve's weapon with it, causing him to look at his hand curiously. The moment they disappeared, Denver saw Steve look to Nat, who pointed towards Denver.

He sprinted to where Natasha had pointed, skidding on his knees to his little girl when he reached her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm scared." Denver murmured as he held her tightly. The anger she'd seen was gone, replaced by a worry she was all too familiar with. "Love you."

"I love you, too." He whispered as he held her tighter, then stood as Nat approached with Vision between her and Wanda. Yelena watched the android from a distance, keeping her surprise to a minimum.

"Denny?" Wanda gasped. Denver looked between her and Vision, and he leaned more weight on Natasha to allow his girlfriend to greet the child. She collapsed to her knees and pulled Denver to her chest, "You've gotten so big!"

Denver forced a brave smile, nodding a little as Wanda stood, realizing the child didn't really remember her. Steve cleared his throat and nodded away, then took Natasha's place helping Vision back to the jet.

Once back at the jet, Natasha looked to Steve as she took her seat next to Yelena at the controls, "Where to Steve?"

He considered this for a moment, seeing how hurt Vision was. They couldn't heal him. He needed more than they could give, and if they went on the run, they'd lose him. If he went back to the states, they'd be arrested and he'd lose Denver, but they had to help Vision. Stopping Thanos from getting the Mind Stone was more important than what happened to him after.

But the desperate look in Wanda's eyes reminded him of the helicarrier, holding Brooklyn and praying she'd be okay. He wasn't going to let Vision die the same way he let Brooklyn die.

"Home."