When everyone got home a few days later Steve went and knocked on his daughter's bedroom door.
"Yes?" Skye said.
Steve went in.
"Hi Dad," Skye said.
"Hey, peanut. How's it going?" Steve asked
"Just finishing up school for the day," Skye said.
"Good. What happened at the school?" Steve asked.
Skye let out a breath, "I take it you got a call?"
"I did," Steve said.
"What did Mr. Fields tell you?" Skye asked.
"Told me that you came in there very angry and threw a fit and had to be dragged out by security," Steve said.
"I left on my own accord when my question was answered. Security just happened to be there," Skye said. "No one was dragged."
"Okay. Did you throw a fit?" Steve asked.
"When I was about to enter the office I saw Carly out of the corner of my eye. Smirking. She is back at the school. And he didn't admit it but also didn't entirely deny that I was kicked because she was back. My guess is her dad paid a big amount to get her back in and I'm out whether it is because Carly's parents wanted me gone or because the Dean doesn't want to have to deal with us fighting. So yeah. When I got into his office I dropped the books on his desk and asked him point blank if she was the reason and after a lot of back and forth he didn't answer. But the lack of denial in my mind is admittance," Skye said.
Steve let out an angry breath. He went into the room and closed the door. He sat on her bed, took out his phone, and looked through his contacts to find Mr. Nelson before calling him on speaker.
"Hello," Mr. Nelson said.
"Hi, this is Steve Rogers. And Skye is here as well," Steve said.
"Hi," he said before he let out a breath. "What did Carly do?"
"Nothing. Well, nothing that I'm aware of. Carly is back at the school?" Steve asked.
"She is, yes. But on probation," Mr. Nelson said.
"Were you aware that Mr. Fields kicked my daughter out? And based on the interaction she had when she dropped off some books she still had it seems that her getting kicked out has to do with Carly being back in the school," Steve said.
"What? No. I certainly didn't know that," Mr. Fields said. "Is that what Mr. Fields said the reason was?"
"Not when I spoke to him. He had another reason. But when Skye got to the school and saw Carly and the smirk she was giving Skye. Skye asked Mr. Fields point blank if Carly was the real reason and he did not deny it," Steve said.
"Okay. I had nothing to do with that. Yeah, I got Carly back in the school but I didn't realize that doing so would get Skye kicked out. And frankly, I think that's unfair," Mr. Nelson said.
"You sure your wife had nothing to do with it?" Skye asked.
"Skye," Steve said warningly.
"I'm sure," Mr. Nelson said. "I will talk to Mr. Fields. I will figure out if your being kicked out had anything to do with Carly. And if it did I will fix it."
Steve looked at Skye expectantly.
"Thank you. I appreciate that. And as much as I would like to have not been kicked out if I was kicked out because of something other people did I don't want to be there anymore," Skye said.
"I know there aren't any other schools in the area that are set up to protect high-value students," Mr. Nelson said.
"She is doing school online now," Steve said.
"Well, I will still call the school and get answers. And I'm sorry if Carly getting back in the school led to all this. It was not my intent," Mr. Nelson said. "I know the issues you and Carly had were all caused by her and I wish I did more to prevent it."
"Okay. Thanks," Skye said.
"I will call you back when I have answers," Mr. Nelson said.
"Thank you, Stan," Steve said before they hung up.
Steve looked at Skye.
"I don't know if I believe him," Skye said.
"You are allowed to feel that way. Given everything," Steve said.
Skye nodded.
"Come here?" Steve said opening his arms.
Skye went over and the two hugged tight.
"I'm sorry this happened to you. And you are not in trouble for what happened at the school. I get why you were angry," Steve said.
"Really?" Skye asked surprised as she pulled apart from him.
He looked at her, "You don't think your anger was warranted?"
"Well yeah. But I just meant the fact that I'm not in trouble," Skye said.
"You used your words and not your fists I'm assuming?" Steve asked.
"Yes. I may have used a few words you wouldn't approve of," she admitted.
Steve sighed, "I'm letting it slide given the situation."
Skye nodded.
Steve pulled her back into the hug.
Skye smiled and hugged him again.
"You're a good kid if the worst thing you do is let a few swear words slip I think I can get over it," Steve said.
Skye pulled apart and looked at him shocked, "Who are you and what have you done with my dad?"
Steve chuckled. "I'm right here peanut."
"Uh huh," Skye said. "What happened?"
"Oh?" Steve asked.
"Something happened for you to change your opinion overnight," Skye said.
Steve let out a breath.
"Someone get hurt?" Skye asked concerned
"Nothing serious on our side," Steve said.
"But someone did?" Skye asked.
"We went off-world," Steve said.
"Oh," Skye said.
"To the universe, Loki is from," Steve said. "And I saw firsthand what a variant of you who didn't have any discipline became."
"Well I assume she had some from Victoria," Skye said.
"Victoria in the universe didn't have much to do with her raising, she was around but didn't do much from what I found out," Steve said.
"Why did you go to that universe?" Skye asked.
"Trying to help the good guys there to fix the problem that is Hydra," Steve said.
"Did it work?" Skye asked.
"Not really," Steve said.
Skye sighed, "Why wasn't I involved?"
Steve took a breath.
"You didn't want me involved," Skye said.
"I don't know how well your abilities work in that universe but I made a mistake in that decision," Steve said. "As was told to me many times."
Skye smirked.
"If we go again you will be coming," Steve said.
"Okay," Skye said.
"Anything else happen here while I was gone?" Steve asked.
"Well. I was on a run on the path not far from here and almost tripped over a hurt dog in the path. Pepper and I took him to the vet. He had thorns in his butt," Skye said.
"Oh. Poor dog. Where is the dog now?" Steve asked.
"Foster home place. While the veterinarian tries to find if there is an owner," Skye said.
"Hopefully he has a good family," Steve said
"I hope so too. Or at least hope he finds a forever family," Skye said smiling innocently.
"Let me guess, you have a specific family in mind for that," Steve said raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe," Skye said, "And I mean I am home more often now because of online schooling and when we go away for work things I think Pepper would be okay taking care of him. She seemed to be okay with it just that I needed to make sure you and everyone else around here are okay with it," she said quickly.
Steve smiled.
"Please," Skye said with her best puppy dog look on her face.
"You do that face better than the dog probably does," Steve said with a smirk.
Skye giggled.
"We will talk to the other people who live here and go from there. Deal?" Steve said.
"Deal," Skye said with a smile. "Thank you."
"School work done for the day?" Steve asked.
"Pretty much," Skye said.
"Good," Steve said. "Proud of you Peanut."
Skye smiled and moved back to her desk.
Steve left her room and let her finish.
At dinner that evening Skye noticed Loki wasn't there.
"Where is Loki?" Skye asked.
"He is resting. Why we were away was a hard situation for him," Thor said.
Skye nodded.
"I told her where we were," Steve said.
"Good," Tony said. "She's coming next time."
"I already agreed with that," Steve said.
"Mhm," Tony said.
Skye looked between the two. "You two aren't fighting because of me are you?"
"No," Steve said.
"Not because of you kid," Tony said.
"But you are arguing," Skye said.
"Don't worry about it Skye," Steve said smiling at her.
"He's right," Tony said.
Skye looked at Bucky.
"Don't worry about it, Skye," Bucky said
"Skye, have you told your dad about the furry friend you found?" Pepper asked
"I did," Skye said.
"Furry friend?" Nat asked.
"Yeah. I was on a run on the path not far from here and found a hurt dog. Pepper and I took him to the vet. He had some rose thorns in his butt. He is at a foster home thing while the veterinarian looks for a possible owner. If one isn't found they will look for a forever home for the dog. He is a golden retriever," Skye said.
"The dog took quite a liking to Skye right away," Pepper said.
"She asked me if she could have him if no owner is found," Steve said.
"Why am I not surprised?" Nat asked with a chuckle.
"Would anyone else have any issues with a dog being around?" Skye asked smiling innocently.
Everyone agreed it wouldn't be a problem.
Skye looked at her dad once everyone agreed.
"If no owner is found okay," Steve said.
Skye squeed excitedly.
"But the dog is your responsibility. You are the one who will be feeding, walking, and taking care of him. I will help with the financial side of things but the general care is on you," Steve said.
"Yes. Okay. Thank you!" She said.
Steve nodded and smiled.
"And when you are away I don't mind taking care of him," Pepper said.
"Thank you," Skye said to Pepper.
"You got the contact info for the veterinarian I take it?" Steve asked Skye.
"Pepper has it," Skye said.
"Yes and I called earlier today the dog is doing well and nothing has come up on the search for an owner," Pepper said. "They will keep looking for a month before they move on to finding the dog a permanent home. I will give you the contact information," she told Steve.
"Perfect, thank you," Steve said.
After dinner, Skye went and knocked on Loki's bedroom door.
"What?" Loki said
Skye opened the door a little. "It's Skye. Can I come in?"
"Yeah," Loki said.
Skye went in. "I wasn't given details, but you weren't at the table for dinner because you were dealing with things that went down in your universe."
Loki nodded.
"I know how much it can suck when the people we thought we knew turn on us. So if you want to bitch I can listen. Or if you need a sparing partner I'm around too," Skye said.
"Okay. Thanks," Loki said. "I will let you know."
Skye nodded before she left the room closing the door behind her.
She went to the living room, flopped on the couch, and scrolled on her phone.
Nat came and sat next to her, "what are you looking at?"
Skye smiled and tilted the phone so Nat could see too, "Just Instagram."
"Have you spoken to your friends yet?" Nat asked when a picture of the three of them showed up on the feed.
Skye shook her head, "They haven't made any attempts to contact me either."
"Maybe they are waiting for you to contact them. Maybe they want to make sure you are ready to talk about it," Nat said.
"If it was them I would be at their house the day after I found out checking on them," Skye said.
"Weren't they told to wait to contact you so your dad could talk to you about it first?" Nat said.
"Yes. But at this point school has started like they know I know. And they haven't texted or called me or anything," Skye said.
"I'm sorry Skye," Nat said.
"I don't even know if Anna is allowed to be in contact with me anymore," Skye said.
"Oh?" Nat asked.
"My dad talked to her host family and they didn't have any issues but had to ask her parents and I don't know if they said they didn't want her near me because of what I did," Skye said. "Ivy and Lily's parents are okay with it."
"Text Anna and ask? Gives you a good way to start the conversation," Nat said.
Skye closed out of the Instagram app and opened the text conversation with Anna.
"Hey, just wondering if you are still allowed to be in contact with me," she sent
"So, what are my dad and Tony fighting about?" Skye asked.
"Ask your dad," Nat said.
"Come on you know he's not going to tell me," Skye said.
"Then I guess you are out of luck," Nat said.
"So not fair," Skye said.
"Maybe Tony will tell you," Nat said.
"Tell you what?" Tony asked as he came into the room.
"Why you and my dad are fighting," Skye said.
"We had a disagreement about something. It's nothing you need to worry about," Tony said.
"Please Uncle Tony," Skye said.
"I'm not going to tell you. It's up to him if he wants you to know," Tony said.
"This is bullshit," Skye said getting up and going to her room.
Tony shook his head. "She really thinks that is going to get her what she wants?"
"I think she realizes she won't be told anything and doesn't care to act respectfully," Nat said.
"It should be her dad telling her," Tony said.
"I don't disagree. But we know he won't," Nat said.
Tony nodded. After about fifteen minutes he got up and went and knocked on Skye's door.
"Yeah," Skye said.
Tony opened the door and crossed his arms leaning against the door frame.
Skye sighed, "Sorry."
"Are you? Or are you just saying it because you know I'm not happy with you?" Tony asked.
"I'm sorry I was disrespectful," Skye said.
"Okay," Tony said. "I know your dad likely won't tell you what we disagreed about but it is not my place to tell you. That has to come from him or you will just have to deal with not knowing."
"I understand. I don't like it but I understand," Skye said.
"Good," Tony said. "You show disrespect to me like that again and the conversation will include my hand to your butt. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir," Skye said.
"Okay, it's forgiven," Tony said.
He left her room closing the door behind him before going and finding Steve in the gym lifting weights. "Your daughter has asked both Nat and myself what you and I did not see eye to eye about. Neither of us told her but I figured you'd want to know."
"Thanks, Tony," Steve said.
Tony nodded and went to go.
"I can't not first think about protecting her," Steve said putting the weights down.
Tony stopped and looked back at him. "I get it, Steve. I have told you from the beginning I understand your fear. And I'm sure if Morgan decides when she is older she wants to become an Avenger I will worry the same. In this situation, I don't think there is anyone else who can capture her variant. She is just too strong, And we agreed we would help that universe. You were wrong to keep her from this mission."
Steve let out a breath, "I know she's very strong but we also know her abilities don't work the same on her variant in that world."
"Skye has a suit that her variant doesn't," Tony said.
"I know. And that will protect her but doesn't mean she will be able to do anything to her variant," Steve said.
"We can't know unless we try. We don't know what happened that day she went with America. We don't know what the situation was. We also don't know how her abilities will work in conjunction with others helping as well," Tony said.
"I know. I was wrong to keep her out of it. You were right. I've apologized," Steve said.
"I know," Tony said.
"Skye give you a hard time with the questions?" Steve asked.
"Got attitude when I said I wouldn't tell her. But I talked to her about that," Tony said.
"Okay," Steve said before he left the gym and went and knocked on Skye's door.
"Yes?" Skye said.
Steve went in and closed the door. "Two things. One. I do not care who it is. The adults in this home get your respect. I don't care what the situation is, you respect them."
Skye nodded a little.
"He said you two talked and you apologized?" Steve asked.
"Yes," Skye said
"Good. Second thing, Tony is right. It's my choice if you get told what he and I disagreed about," Steve said.
"Well I knew you wouldn't tell me," Skye said.
"Did you ask me?" Steve asked.
"Well, no," Skye said.
"So how do you know?" Steve asked
"You never tell me anything," Skye said.
"That's not true," Steve said. "In the beginning maybe but I have come around to telling you a lot of things that I haven't always wanted to."
"Okay, will you tell me what you two fought about?" Skye asked.
"Disagreed. Not fought in the way you have in your head," Steve said. "And well your involvement in the mission."
Skye sighed, "You didn't want me to and he did?"
"Yes," Steve said. "I was wrong."
Skye bit her lip to keep from smirking.
"When we go again in a week you will be coming with," Steve said.
"Okay," Skye said.
During the entire conversation, Skye was playing with a charm bracelet on her wrist.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked
"Yeah, why?" Skye asked.
"You don't usually play with your jewelry like that," Steve said
"It was a gift on my fourteenth birthday from the twins and Anna. They have matching ones. I'm just thinking about them," Skye said.
"You have talked to them since you got kicked out right?" Steve asked
Skye shook her head, "They haven't texted me. I did text Anna about half an hour ago no response as of yet. I asked her if she is allowed to talk to me since I don't know."
"I'm sorry Skye. I thought they would have contacted you by now," Steve said.
"Same," Skye said. "Has Mr. Nelson called you back?"
"Not yet," Steve said. "Have you told Tucker about all this?"
"He knows I was kicked out, he thinks it's about the video," Skye said.
Steve nodded slowly.
"I'm going to tell him. But when I see him," Skye said. "Which I don't know when that is going to be with his schedule. He is in his last year of high school and working at least thirty-five hours a week."
"That is a lot," Steve said.
"I know," Skye said. "And the only way I can think to help him is to not add any drama on his plate."
"I get that, but what happens when he finds out some other way? What if Carly decides to contact him somehow and tell him?" Steve asked.
"He has a restraining order against her. She would be back in juvie if she did that," Skye said.
"Wow," Steve said.
"She did contact him not long ago and when he told her to leave him alone she showed up at his job and caused quite the scene," Skye said.
"So she hasn't changed. The fact that he saved her life means nothing to her," Steve said.
"Apparently not," Skye said.
Steve sighed and shook his head.
"But he still says he doesn't regret doing it," Skye said.
Steve smiled, "he's a good young man."
Skye smiled, "agreed."
Steve took a breath.
"What?" Skye asked.
"This is not a topic I love the idea of having but I know you are growing up and if you want to take the next step in your relationship if you haven't already I want to make sure you are safe," Steve said.
Skye's cheeks reddened. "Dad. I'm not having this conversation with you."
"Skye I don't want there to be any conversations that you are uncomfortable talking to me about," Steve said.
"Well sorry. This will always be. I will say no we haven't but when we do I will be safe," Skye said.
"Okay," Steve said. "If you won't talk to me about it please talk to someone about it."
"Okay," Skye said.
"Skye. I know you're growing up. And when you make that step. I'm not going to be angry. I trust that you won't make that step before you're ready. So don't be afraid to talk to me about it," Steve said. "I want you to also remember there are laws in this state."
"He's not eighteen yet," Skye said.
"Age of consent is seventeen. Meaning if you two choose to have sex before you are seventeen and law enforcement finds out he could be in trouble," Steve said.
"Okay. Noted," Skye said. "If we did and you found out would you tell?"
"No," Steve said.
"Okay," Skye said.
"You finished your schoolwork?" Steve asked changing the subject.
"Yes," Skye said.
"Good," Steve said, "And it's going well?"
"I don't know. I know I miss the structure of going to a school where there is less distraction," Skye said
"If the distractions become too much let me know and we can work on it together," Steve said.
"Okay," Skye said
Skye's phone dinged and she reached for it and had a text from Anna.
"Yes. I can still talk to you. My host family told my parents you aren't a threat to me and they trust them so it's not a problem. How are you? Where are you going to school now?"
"I guess Anna can still talk to me," Skye said
"Good," Steve said.
Skye nodded and responded. "I'm okay. Online schooling. How are you?"
She looked back at her dad. "So the wedding is this weekend."
Steve smiled, "yes it is."
"You excited?" Skye asked.
"Yes," Steve said. "I've waited a very long time to marry him."
Skye grinned. "I know. Too long."
Steve chuckled "I will let you go back to whatever you were doing," he said before he left the room and went and found Bucky in their bedroom.