This is a fan made story. I don't own the rights to Captain America, any of its characters or any characters within the MCU… Much to my disappointment. This will have some violent content and possible triggers. Steve/Bucky Established Relationship. Constructive criticism is welcome but if you don't like it simply because you don't like the line of thinking, please don't attack me for it.
Author's Note: Apologies for the delay. I have been distracted due to stress because of our oh so wonderful Idiot-in-Chief. I will attempt to keep up a more regular posting from now on but if things go downhill, I might have another lull.
Chapter 12: Press Conference
Clint and his family managed to arrive just an hour before the press conference. His first order of business was a quick introduction of his three children to the others. Cooper and Lila were around Rebecca's age and they all seemed to size each other up but seemed to accept the presence of new people their own age. Nathanial was only slightly younger than Sarah and the two seemed to instantly click.
"Maria, I hear you are going to be the one leading the team packing up the farm. Take this, it's a list of where all the traps are," Clint handed the woman a folder stuffed with papers. Hill rolled her eyes but didn't complain. It would have been stranger if the man hadn't gone to extensive lengths to protect his family. Stark was already building more robots to protect his daughter and he had known the girl existed for all of two days.
"Right. So, Natasha went through your floor and secured anything that might be dangerous if toddler hands got on it. Go ahead and bring your stuff down. The press conference is being held in the lobby here so that we don't have to travel anywhere with the kids," Tony stated bluntly.
Clint stared at Tony for a few seconds, "Are you sober? Like, completely sober?" The man asked stunned at the possibility.
"Yes, well… I decided that I will not be like my father when it comes to my own child. My father was a raging alcoholic, because of that he got into a car accident that killed him and my mom. So, that means no alcohol," Tony looked away slightly, fidgeting a bit. "It's a new rule. If you want to know where any is, you'll have to ask Steve because I literally do not know, nor do I want to know, where he hid it."
Clint looked over to Natasha and Steve in disbelief only to have them nod in confirmation that it was true. Natasha shrugged at his raised eyebrow. Steve actually spoke, "I went through every place we could think of and collected it all. Believe me when I say, I have never seen so much alcohol at once before. He even ordered F.R.I.D.A.Y. to deny him access to any available options."
Clint stood in awe for a moment before commenting, "You know, I have thought that the world was coming to an end a few times before but now I am certain of the apocalypse being in our near future." With this he hustled his family onto the elevator with the bags they had brought with them.
An hour later, Tony walked onto a makeshift stage in his lobby that was filled to the brim with reporters and journalist. The last few times he had held press conferences he had announce some rather outrageous things but this one would really put a new level to the crazy. He waited until the fell silent before speaking.
"Hello, I know you are all excited to be here and the learn about the latest and greatest news I have to offer. That being said, I really need to ask you not to ask any questions until I, myself, and the rest of the Avengers finish speaking. After that, if you can be patient we will open things up for some questions, which, I'm sure by that point, you will have a lot of. Thank you," Tony began, trying to be polite for once in the hopes that he got that returned in kind.
"Three days ago, Captain Rogers was contacted by Sargent James Buchannan Barnes. Sargent Barnes, as you might know, was a prisoner of the terrorist organization known Hydra since WWII. He was controlled using mind control. However, after the events that occurred last year, with the fall of both SHIELD and the sleeper organization Hydra within it, Sargent Barnes broke free of that mind control and began attempting to recover his memories while simultaneously attempting to remain out of the hands of Hydra. When he contacted Captain Rogers three days ago, Sargent Barnes had recovered enough of his memory to know that Captain Rogers was someone he could always trust and that the Avengers could provide him with aid," Tony paused taking a sip of water before continuing. Thankfully, the reports were absolutely silent, sensing he wasn't finished.
"The main reason Sargent Barnes contacted us was that, in his attempts to recover his memory, he began remembering a young girl from his past approximately three years ago, this girl was, per those acting as his handlers and hers, his daughter that he was being forced to train. Eventually, much like everything else, his memory of her was temporarily wiped as part of the mind control. His recollection of her, however, brought him to the one person he knew he could trust, Steve Rogers. Captain Rogers naturally brought this information to the rest of the Avengers. We then used what information Sargent Barnes could provide to plan a rescue mission of his daughter," Tony took another pause as he shuffled to the next page of the speech Natasha had written out for him.
"Said rescue mission was a success; however, it bore some unexpected fruit in addition to Sargent Barnes's daughter. Hydra, acting in a highly illegal manner, had managed to acquire the DNA of three members of the Avengers, specifically, myself, Natasha Romanoff and Captain Rogers. Using this DNA, they created several more children," At this point Tony had to pause while the room burst into a mass of noise as the reporters all starting asking questions. He waited for them to quiet before continuing.
"As I said, they created several, or four to be exact, more children. One was made using my DNA and that of Miss Romanoff. One was from Captain Rogers. The last two, twins were created using Captain Rogers's and Sargent Barnes's DNA in an as of yet, unapproved and highly experimental process," This brought forth another burst of questions that he refused to respond to. Instead, while the reporters clamored on, he gestured to one of his staff to have the rest of the group join them.
The press went silent once more as the entirety of the Avengers filed onto the stage, along with a larger than expected group of children, Clint's wife, and Bucky, "I would like to present to the public for the first time, Rebecca Barnes, Natalia Stark, Sarah Barnes, George Barnes, and Joseph Barnes. Also, Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, is presenting his own family for the first time." Tony stepped away from the mic and allowed Clint to step up to it.
"Hello, everyone. Unlike the others, I am not in the slightest bit surprised by my own kids. I actually got to participate in their creation," Clint's joke got a few laughs. "Anyways, this is my wife Laura, our son Cooper, daughter Lila and the baby of the family Nathanial and yes, he was named after Natasha."
That earned him another burst of laughter. Tony had already collected Natalia from Natasha and brought the now shy behaving girl to the front of the group, "You can all start with the questions now. We only ask that you direct the questions at the adults and not the kids."
The first few questions were simple, how old they were, their birthdays, and if they were all healthy, the fourth question got stunned silence after it, "Mr. Rogers! Why are all of your children carrying the Barnes name?" The reporter in question was one that Tony actually recognized, she was the blonde Vanity Fair reporter who always seemed to know the most shocking questions to ask.
Steve stepped up to the mic and adjusted it with the hand not holding George, "That would be because Bucky and I are getting married. We thought it would be simpler for all our kids to have the same last name."
Natasha had her head in her hands as she tried to hide her laughter over the uproar this caused. It only quieted when Steve pointed to another reporter, "You're marrying Bucky Barnes? Does this mean that you're gay?" The man asked he seemed to think this was the biggest new story in the history of news.
"I believe a more accurate term would be Bisexual but yes, as is Bucky," Steve answered straight forward once again.
"How long have you and Sargent Barnes been in a relationship?" The next reporter asked.
"Well, I think our first kiss was when I was seventeen so I want to say, if you included the time we were forced to be separate due to various reasons, about 80 years or so. I mean, even with the brain washing Bucky went through and my being in ice we didn't stop loving each other so I'd say that is the best estimate I can give," Steve was forced to stop as Bucky pushed him away from the mic.
"It will be 79 years on Steve's next birthday. It was my birthday present to him," Bucky interjected with a wink. "Not that anyone but us knew, what with the times being what they were."
"Oh, please, my dad and Aunt Peggy used to tell me you two were a greater love story than Romeo and Juliet!" Tony shot at them from behind.
Once more the press went crazy. The next question was directed at Tony. Once more it was Christine Everhart, Tony's mind supplied as she spoke, "Are you saying that Howard Stark and Peggy Carter were aware that Captain America was gay and didn't reveal it to anyone?"
"Actually, from what I recall, the Howling Commandos knew as well. Dad and Aunt Peggy even thought that Col. Chester Phillips suspected it too but didn't call them out on it. It would have been too big a scandal and one they really couldn't afford in the middle of WWII," Tony answered honestly.
"Is that why you put the plane in the ice, Captain Rogers? Because you believed your lover was dead?" Everhart got out before the noise could escalate again.
"Well, I wouldn't say that it was my reason for running the Hydra plane into the ground. That plane was directed at taking out millions of lives when I put it into the Arctic. I will admit though that it made death a little less frightening to know, or at least believe, that Bucky was waiting on the other side," Steve said this last part hesitantly.
"If I recall correctly, it was always touted that you were a devout Catholic, Captain Rogers. Do you mean to say that you don't think homosexuality is a sin?" Another reporter cut in before Everhart could ask another question.
"Well, believe it or not, not all or even most bibles actually state that it is. If you read the Greek Orthodox one, which I did since Bucky's family had one, it never said anything against being gay, it did have a passage that said 'man shalt not lie with boy as he lies with woman' which is more of a no pedophilia statement than a no homosexuality statement. Actually, many scholars today believe that since the original passage was written in Greek that it was a mistranslation that ended up being given far too much weight," Steve couldn't keep a smirk off his face. "However, I think we are getting a little off topic. This press conference isn't about religious views."
This redirected the questions back to the children, even though a few teetered on the edge of ridiculous, like a question about what faith the children would be raised in. By the time the press conference ended, Steve had a headache, Bucky wanted to punch someone and Tony was wishing that he hadn't given up drinking so quickly. He didn't voice this thought to anyone though, because he hated himself for it almost immediately and if he hated himself for it, everyone else would too. The last question was one that Tony didn't want to answer but it had to be done.
"Mr. Stark, will Miss Potts be involved in the raising of your daughter?" It was a man from CNN asking and Tony resisted the urge to storm out.
"No, she will not. Miss Potts and I terminated our relationship well prior to the events of the last few days. She was informed, as my friend, about my daughter but expressed no interest in being involved in any aspect of Natalia's upbringing. And since you brought her up, you should also know that Miss Potts has also resigned from her post as CEO of Stark Industries for personal reasons. I will once again be the CEO and President of Stark Industries. Thank you for your time. No more questions," Tony finished and turned away with Natalia being held just slightly tighter than necessary in an effort to gain comfort from the small girl.
Everyone else followed swiftly. The press still attempted to get a few more answers but they were ignored in favor of retreating back up to the sanctuary that the Tower had become for them all. No one scolded Tony for his little outburst at the end considering what had brought it about. They didn't even get a chance. The genius didn't wait for them, instead taking one of the two elevators available for himself and Natalia. Once everyone else piled onto the second elevator, Natasha pushed the button for the shared floor.
"Well that went well for the most part. The news tonight and tomorrow should be interesting," Clint commented as they piled out at their destination.
"Sure," Natasha stated non-committal in her response. "FRIDAY, where did Tony take Natalia?"
"The boss took his daughter to the lab. I believe he is working on her miniaturized car now," FRIDAY responded with ease.
"Alright, thank you. Please, remind him to come up at noon for lunch," Natasha requested before letting it go. No one else commented on Tony's behavior or voiced concern over it. They knew full well that the man wouldn't drink himself into oblivion so they assumed that his attaching so firmly to Natalia was an attempt to cope with the new dynamics of his life.
"Well, it will be interesting how the press deal with this. I hope that I am up to handling the reactions," Laura commented as she pulled out the new Stark Phone Tony had given her that morning for her new job as one of his PA's. Steve pulled his out a minute later as well. They had both received texts from the PR department at the same time about a flood of private interview requests. "Steve, how should we handle this?"
"Give them a couple of days to get all the requests out and sort through them to figure out who has the best reputations for being honest and view us in a positive light I would say. Then we pick out a few based on topics we are willing to discuss," Steve suggested with a shrug as he retrieved a bottle for George from Helen and popped the nipple into the boy's mouth.
"Sounds like a plan," Laura nodded in agreement.