➢+ 𝗔 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗥➢

『 Ooh, love, ooh, lover-boy
What're you doin' tonight, hey, boy?
Set my alarm, turn on my charm
That's because I'm a good old-fashioned loverboy 』
―𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯, 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘖𝘭𝘥-𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘺

⟶𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 20: 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈⟵

𝙏𝙍𝙄𝘼𝙇 𝘼𝙉𝘿 𝙀𝙍𝙍𝙊𝙍.

-𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟎𝐓𝐇, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑-

𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘

𝐔𝐏𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄, 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐘𝐎𝐑𝐊

"OKAY, HERE WE GO. TIME TRAVEL TEST NUMBER ONE."

"Scott," the now 'smart' Hulk calls out from behind a table of a lot of equipment, "fire up... the, uh, the van thing."

Ant-Man, dressed in his quantum suit, opens the back doors of his vehicle to reveal the Quantum Tunnel, shrunk down and saved by Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. Inside the Facility, in the afternoon, will be the first official testing of said 'Time Travel', through the science and knowledge of physics... well, quantum physics, as Scott Lang explained it.

Wish them the best of luck. 

They are gonna need it.

"Breakers are set. Emergency generators are on standby." Steve Rogers in a white-collared long sleeve shirt assesses, striding over to where Bruce Banner works.

The larger man murmurs, "Good. Because if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose, uh, 'Tiny' here in the 1950s."

Scott stops fiddling with his helmet in order to question, "Excuse me?"

Natasha Romanoff tapping on her device luckily swoops in, reassuring, "He's kidding. You can't say things like that."

"It was a... it was just a bad joke," Bruce stammers forcefully.

But his eyelids dart across the room in a sense that promotes untruthfulness, deceit... and in order to mellow out the atmosphere, an eighteen-year-old steps forward.

"It certainly was!" Dani Rockland insists through pearly-white smiling teeth, powder blue sweatshirt having rolled up sleeves due to the fact that she is sweating―she is very unsure about this current idea at hand.

Though with some touching of her long dark hair, she puts on a facade, saying truthfully, "And Uncle Bruce has never been too good at telling jokes, so there's no need to worry!"

Scott gives a simple nod before turning around, and that grants the opportunity for the girl to speak directly to one of her surrogate uncles, "You were just telling a joke... right?"

"I have no idea," Bruce turns to the two females, Natasha tensing in her green jacket, "We're talking about time travel here..."

"Either it's all a joke, or none of it is."

He flashes a big thumbs up to Ant-Man, lying, "We're good!"

Dani and Natasha both fake smiles.

"Get your helmet on."

Oh no.

Steve circles around and stands behind the two women while the fully-clothed and glasses-wearing Hulk starts to direct, "Scott, I'm gonna send you back a week... let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Make sense?"

Dani's eyes squint as she tries to do the math herself, but fails, "I don't get it."

"Perfectly not confusing!" Scott's response is better.

Looser... Oh, jeez.

Captain America decides to instill some confidence into the 'throwaway' man, encouraging him, "Good luck, Scott. You got this."

"You're right. I do, Captain America."

Dani emits some faith as well, although in a different way, "Right. I mean, if you accidentally survived before, I'm sure you'll be fine now..."

Gazes in the room fall upon her in question, and she shrugs, "What? It's logistics, people."

Some sighs are entailed, including one from Danielle herself. She isn't too sure about this. I mean, were they really the ones most qualified to be tampering with this kind of stuff? The technical laws of reality... Was anyone?

Gosh... She is so glad she is not the one doing this. Even though Dani had originally volunteered, to be helpful, both her Co-parents were against it. Natasha and Steve aren't even sure of this themselves if it's going to work, it's out of their field, out of Bruce's field... they just hope that Scott comes back in one piece.

And, after three seconds, he does... it's just not the same kind of piece as before.

"Uh... Guys? This... this doesn't feel right," a teenager's voice pipes out of the suit previously housing an adult Ant-Man, and immediately there is pandemonium.

"What is this?"

"What's going on?"

"Who is that?"

Bruce starts pressing buttons and fiddling with the machine, "Hold on."

Meanwhile, Natasha tilts her head to the side in confusion, "Is that Scott?"

"Yes, it's Scott!" the much younger-looking man answers for the older one, and Dani starts to shake her head. 

Whatever mechanizing Bruce had done ultimately resulted in Ant-Man being pushed back into the Quantum Tunnel for one second, and then back out the next. The machine itself whirs as a form is brought out of Scott Lang. Except, it isn't the original one. Still.

"Oh, my back!" the old man complains.

Steve finds himself asking again in a confused voice, "What is this?"

"Hold on a second. Could I get a little space here?"

The giant green man becomes frantic, not a good sign, and Steve complies in clearing the equipment area as he moves near Dani, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you bring him back?"

"I'm working on it," Bruce contests.

Now Danielle really starts to shake her head, "Oh, we're done for."

The action of 'Old Man' Scott being shoved back into the Tunnel causes the girl to jump ever so fiercely, one of her hands each, in turn, grabbing onto Natasha and Steve's, and when he comes back out those hands automatically raise to slap her aching forehead. 

A migraine of great stress settles in when the official third attempt still goes eerily awry, Smart Hulk hitting the computer screen when the former Ant-Man suit practically drowns the person now wearing it.

Or... Infant.

Dangit...

The blonde SuperSoldier wears the same blank look as the young child, raising his brows as he comments, "It's a baby."

"It's Scott," Bruce says with the same amount of bluntness.

One that causes Steve to strengthen his tone, complaining, "As a baby!"

"He'll grow!"

Anxiety courses through Dani, "Not fast enough!"

"Bring Scott back."

"When I say kill the power, kill the power!" Smart Hulk throws out a hand.

 Black Widow curses under her breath, "Oh my god."

Doing as instructed the redheaded woman speed-walks over to the generator, all while Steve and Dani stand motionless next to one another, appalled but almost frozen in time at what they are currently witnessing. What are they doing?!

"And... kill it!" Bruce slams down on a few buttons right as Nat tugs on the handle, shutting down the voltage and everything else.

In time with the real Scott Lang popping back into existence... alive, and, well... his own age.

His normal self is freaked out, though is able to formulate a sentence, a scary one, "Somebody peed my pants."

"Sweet Lord have mercy..." Dani breathes through her nose without instability.

"Oh, thank god..." Natasha secures a hand over her heart.

He's okay. Mostly.

"But I don't know if it was 'baby me' or 'old me'..." Scott ponders.

The fear is ever-present, realistically, "Or just 'me' me."

Shallow sighs of relief fill the open air before it gets cut off.

Bruce raises his hands in the climax of an introduction, "Time travel!"

Silence envelopes after that, Dani looking at Steve and then Steve looking at the ground, shaking his head in dismay, and the eighteen-year-old has to say... she agrees.

This is definitely not an absolute win.

Not with the way they are working.

❀❀❀

Shoes that mindlessly scrape against the outside of the Avengers Compound belong to none other than a very disappointed Steve Rogers. That went... actually, worse than expected considering there was initial optimism behind the idea of discovering the whole concept of time travel. 

But, after an experience like that, a failure, it deliberately eats at the insides of the righteous Captain in being aware of the one opportunity obtainable in reversing... everything, their losses, just isn't a possibility―it's incredibly disheartening.

Not only for him, as when his broad and large shoulders heave an utmost tense of a sigh, now next to one of the poles near the entrance, his sorrow-filled demeanor is also accompanied by an extremely witty one that comes from within.

Within his daughter.

"Well, guess I'm eternally grateful that both you and Natty decided against me being the initial experiment for Time Travel 101. You know... since I avoided turning into a future or younger version of myself. Yuck."

"Absolutely not." Dani overtakes a whole body shiver of sheer embarrassment when thinking of ever coming into contact or possessing a past persona that previously was hers... she couldn't cope if that were to be the case.

Her present light-hearted one attempts to break apart the frown lines drawn onto her father's face, though unfortunately, Steve's facial features only tighten. His jaw does too when his gaze lowers, and Dani's lips twist up.

Without saying another word, her expression changes, and gently taking one of his muscular arms―the one closest to her, she carefully rests her head against it. 

Dani breathes in and out as a bit of peacefulness overshadows both father and daughter like a big cloud on a sunny, hot day. It gives them the shade, and the time... to let some tranquility sink into one another for a few moments, which is heightened by the presence of each other.

Shortly thereafter, though, Dani and Steve's heads lift in sync when a loud engine courses throughout the entrance of the Avengers Compound.

Throughout the entrance and then back towards them, the graphite Audi R8 speeds right up and adjacent to where the father and daughter stand, even going past them a bit.

Then it backs up.

The window rolls down, revealing the goat-teed face of Tony Stark, who teases them, "Why the long faces?"

"Let me guess," the billionaire pretends to ponder, already knowing much more, "he turned into a baby."

Steve's head looks to the side as he bitterly replies, "Among other things, yeah. What are you doing here?"

Tony ignores his question and instead ignites additional information, "It's the EPR Paradox."

He opens his car door, getting out, "Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang."

"It's tricky, dangerous. Somebody should've cautioned you against it."

Steve looks at him, "You did."

And the other man acts like he did not, "Oh, did I?"

Dani somewhat playfully rolls her eyes.

"Well, thank God I'm here," Tony adds diligently, and with that, the eighteen-year-old cannot help but feel grateful for that.

The Ironed Man gets back on track, turning serious as he lifts up his wrist to reveal some sort of watch, "Regardless, I fixed it. A fully functioning time-space GPS."

Dani's gaze brightens. He did it. 

A smile fills the insides of Captain America's lips.

Iron Man throws up two fingers in the air when articulating, "I just want peace."

"Turns out," he shuts the car door of his vehicle, voice continuing to stay honest on a deeper matter, the one regarding him and Captain America's fallout, "Resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."

"Me too." Dani's father says with complete sincerity, as well, and the two men firmly nod at one another.

A wave of relief flows through Danielle as she feels any and all tension leave the air. The tension between her father and uncle, that was strictly present for years on end―her doing, too... But now that has all been washed over. Finally... Dani is glad.

Tony continues talking with honesty.

"We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities." The evolved persona of Tony Stark declares with much regard, "Bring back what we lost, I hope, yes."

"Keep what I found," he thinks of his daughter and his wife, "I have to, at all costs."

"... And, maybe not die trying..." Tony moves closer to Steve and Dani, mainly locking eyes with the blonde man and emphasizing, "Would be nice."

The SuperSoldier once again understands the true meaning behind Tony's words―who he says them for, and extending his hand in the utmost civil manner, the Captain permits, "Sounds like a deal."

Tony shakes his outstretched head.

Dani smiles.

The two then walk over to the back of Tony's car as an automatic button opens the door. The Ironed Man picks up a circular object that first is covered by a blanket and a stuffed animal but dutifully reveals the red, white and blue shield belonging to Captain America.

The eighteen year old's soft palette lifts, she never thought she'd see that shield again.

It was a symbol of great hope, honor, and leadership... and few would ever be worthy enough to uphold such a profound title. Right now, it belonged to her Dad, or, needed to be returned... to her Dad, but Danielle is only a bit surprised when Steve... initially... refuses to take it back.

"Tony, I don't know." He vocalizes.

"Why? He made it for you." 

There is a reference to Stark's father, Howard.

"Plus, honestly, I have to get it out of the garage before... Morgan takes it sledding."

Restraint still pours from Steve Rogers, and that is when his daughter intervenes.

Dani gives somewhat an approval of her own with a tender touch to his right arm, "Come on, Dad... no one could carry it any better."

Her encouragement is touching, and quite frankly in her mind, truthful, as the once Dani Rockland-Rogers was incredibly proud to be the adoptive daughter of Captain America. Of a man who would do anything but what isn't right. Who would storm whatever obstacles he needed to in order for everyone to be free, for Dani to be free. 

He protected her, adopted her... Loved her, and Dani loved him.

Perched on his left arm is that vibranium shield eventually, and the embodiment of what it entailed surely flows through Steve and both individuals around him. His daughter and friend. They believe in him, and additionally, now have more hope than ever.

Because their Cap... was back.

"Thank you, Tony..." Steve says with his shield sitting on his arm.

"Will you keep that a little quiet?" the other man pleads, adding, "Didn't bring one for the whole team."

He presses a button that shuts the Audi and asks, "We are getting the whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on that right now," Steve tells him, Dani giving a strict nod, and that allows Tony the chance to take in what has happened since he's been gone.

Catch up, and brown eyes travel in-between the two, the father and daughter, "So, you guys finally made up, huh?"

...He's kidding, right? 

Dani doesn't roll her sea-foam eyes in a playful way this time... like he is any above them in that department, the department of forgiving considering he just burned his own bridges... though she answers him straightforwardly, "Yep. Resentment definitely is corrosive."

The man wearing sunglasses presses his lips into a pout briefly before inhaling, "For the record, Steve, I should be getting an extremely large 'thank you' for putting up with 'this'," 

He sends a finger in the eighteen year old's direction, "For as long as I did."

He refers to the almost two years and a half that is what brought Iron Man and Agent Rockland much closer than ever before, when he became her legal guardian... still is, technically. Their matching witty banter strikes back first.

"Oh, really?" Danielle's voice chimes as her hands place themselves on her hidden hips, and her black leggings bend as she goes on to remark, "Well, I think you should say 'thank you' to me for all the experience and preparation you got with that time we spent together..."

That was a good point, a good reply. Tony had gotten some experience one-on-one with what it was like to take care of a child before having one himself, unarguably doing that two other times before Morgan was born... Though right now he thinks about the time he was more than just an uncle 'figure' to Dani Rockland. Dani Rockland, formerly -Rogers.

Steve watches with a very amused expression while the uncle and niece and their quick demeanors continue to play out―Iron Man commenting, "You mean the talking back and mood swings? Yeah, I will deeply cherish every single memory I have."

His words cut a little too deep for Dani to respond, he won for sure, and seconds after her older-looking―but still wholesome―face twists up into a famous pout of her own, both men find themselves undeniably fond of the girl who admits she was a bit of a handful back then... at thirteen years old. 

Tony brings her in close to his left side and plants a warm kiss on her forehead, smile gentle as he asks her, "How you doing, Dan-o?"

"Better now that you're here, Uncle Tony..." Dani tells him truthfully, relieved as she blows out a breath... and both her uncle and father make one last round of eye contact this time, in a shared concern.

Dani and Tony having grown closer during a difficult time proves greatly... stands tall, and Steve will always be respectful of that. 

Understanding just how much they considered 'baby', or, the youngest one of the group, Dani really was to everyone. To him, Tony, Natasha, and many, many others eventually and nostalgically. 

Everything and everyone are all grins and carefree smiles until Rhodey's voice from just returning to the Compound alerts the three, and Danielle turns out of Tony's embrace, "Hey, Dani?"

"Yeah?" She says still with a giddy smile, though soon, very soon... it falls.

It drops to the concrete ground when Colonel James Rhodes from inside his War Machine suit, helmet off, mentions, "There's uh... there's someone here to see you."

"Er... " he corrects himself, "says he knows you, or something."

"Who is it?" Steve asks in an authoritative voice this time a little protective, not initially sending nerves up Dani's back as she at the moment could not possibly think of who it was―she had other things on her mind.

But once her other uncle figure moves out of the way, the figure revealed is one the eighteen-year-old totally recognizes... instantaneously, and Dani almost chokes on air.

Chestnut brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, and skin that is tanned rotate into the view worn by a tall and athletic figure.

Experiment #123 from the FORCE Headquarters.

Dante.

He waves. Dani's irises widen.

"Oh... sugar."

The sight of the handsome, well-built teenage boy strikes an immediate chord through Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, both men both straightening and stiffening as their voices chorus in dropping to lower octaves―they ask at the exact same time, "Who is that?"

Danielle's light green irises widen, and her pupils dilate, "Uh..."

Dante gives a nice wave when noticing her looking at him. Her cheeks flush a beat red.

She swallows harshly before setting off, ignoring any and all questions or abashed expressions and just merely squeaking out, "I'll be right back."

Dani marches over and grasps tightly onto the boy's hand, sounds of pain escaping his lips as he is evidently dragged inside the Avengers building and to a secure location, the whole time her face caked red like a tomato.

❀❀❀

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Dani! Dani, please!" the grimaced voice of Experiment #123 rings out as #124 drags him down the hallway until they reach a vacant room.

Dani roughly shoves Dante inside, her finally letting go of his hand.

His brown eyes cast down at the red marks formed on his wrist that feel like fire, waving rapidly as he breathes out, "I forgot how strong your grip strength was..."

Dani doesn't find the time to shut the door behind them and instead presses with stress to her tone, "What are you doing here?"

Dante still looks at his hand, holding it delicately, and while doing so explains himself, "I came to check on you... you said I could!"

"48 hours, remember?"

His gaze eventually tips up to meet hers, and it is full of realization...

"Oh yeah," Dani blinks, inhaling.

Then she squeezes her eyelids over her eyes a mere moment later, groaning.

"I wasn't really... uh, in the right headspace when I gave you those directions." She manages to get out after a few seconds of straining, and Dante does not deny it.

Instead, he tells her, "That's why I wanted to come."

"To see if you were okay, after Matthew... a-and Deborah,"

Dani holds her hand up insinuating that he stops speaking of the past, though that hand with lack of confidence goes down as she bites the insides of her lip nervously, her whole stance now very wobbly.

"Are you?" Dante asks her through a sentence, slowly, "Okay?"

With genuine care, he looks at her. His brown eyes struggle to find her green ones, her doing not his, and so he patiently takes one of her dainty pale hands in his palm. 

Dani looks up at him and is suddenly grounded now.

She is... okay, now?

"Yeah," Dani says.

Her next sentence is of the utmost sincerity in proclaiming, "Now that I'm home."

Her own words slightly shock her as she stutters in signifying, feeling immediate guilt, "N-Not that London isn't,"

"It's okay, D," Dante's face replicates anything but actual agony from hearing the girl's statement, and his much bigger hands enclose her smaller ones, insisting wholeheartedly, "I understand."

Dani cannot help but relax as she sighs in relief, most of the anxiety temporarily being tucked away and her chest caves as she leans forward, forehead touching Dante's for a few seconds before moving away.

She questions with emotional engagement, "How are they?"

The Efficient's. Her friends, people she spent the majority of the past five years with...

The one here with her right now, the one she'd undoubtedly grown the closest to, answers with a bright, warm smile that makes the inside of her tingle, "Good. Looking at new places after theirs got a huge hole in it."

Dani laughs and Dante insists, "They miss you, like crazy."

"I miss them too," she replies, before inhaling once more.

She feels she must explain the reasoning for the extended 'company' about to arrive at the Avengers Compound, of the remaining Avengers.

And so she tells Experiment #123, "We think there's a way. A way to... undo everything."

"To bring everyone back..." the nineteen year old's eyes widen as the eighteen-year-old talks, adjusting to the matter of what he is hearing.

The Avengers were reassembling, to try and fix their loss.

Dante doesn't initially agree with it, "So... you're back to saving the world again?"

His skepticism can be interpreted as overprotectiveness, and worry, but there is little to no need in Dani's opinion considering what she's already achieved, the powers unlocked. Besides, the girl has participated in many potentially world-ending conflicts before, she knows the precaution needing to be taken. As well as the consequences.

Giving Dante's hands a tight squeeze before letting go, the strong young woman admits, "It'll be dangerous, but I'm gonna do it. I have to... it's my job."

Her confidence and determination never fail to strike Dante in a way that shuts him up, fully aware that Dani Rockland at the end of the day... down to the built-in core, was going to fight. She was going to put her life on the line if it meant protecting or saving someone she cared about. In this case... to save everyone.

Easier said or envisioned than done.

The orphan experimented boy just says what he considers best in this scenario, a way so that he could be by her side in some capacity, to heal her whether figuratively, or, literally, "How can I help?"

Stay, Dani is thinking as she starts to smile, though the request does not fill her mouth as a sudden tingling sensation course throughout her left arm. She gasps.

"What?" Dante asks, immediately wanting to be of assistance.

The girl feels sweat drip down the center of her chest as eagerly she goes to pull down the powder blue hoodless sweatshirt sleeve that previously covered her arm, her tattoo for Matthew... that with a few more fizzles completely vanishes into her skin. The area looks smooth and clear.

Definitely... no more tattoo... and Dani finds herself suppressing a groan, "Great. It healed."

"Probably was gonna happen sometime soon, anyway," Dante comments, his seemingly extended knowledge of the ordeal better than Dani's, causing her to rapidly focus her gaze on him, and he relays, "Kayla didn't burn it into you because she probably thought you were weak enough... looks like you're back up to strength now."

Dani's eyes enlarge as she inspects herself, turning her arm over to ensure that there are no scars, no wounds, nothing... he was right. She is completely healed.

Never could scar anyway, except for the one Thanos gave her, still on her left thigh, but of course, Dani should have expected that it would be the same for tattoos. After all, the numbered one she was supposed to get like the others also healed once she was injected with her power, so isn't that fantastic?

There is some gratitude in the sense that she was never open with it around Natasha and Steve, God knows the Captain surely saw it the other night and decided not to say anything about it... but Dani perceives he probably feels a certain way about it. Nat wouldn't care, but maybe Dani does. Maybe... she didn't want the tattoo?

"Wait," her eyelashes flicker in realization, glancing at Dante, "Are you saying... that there's a way I can permanently engrain it into my skin?"

Dante nods, "We figured out a way to sever the nerves which connect our abilities to the healing process, and therefore..." he lifts his shirt to reveal a much smaller marking, a filled-in flame of fire on his lower chiseled abdomen, "Yeah."

Dani shakes her head to snap out of a trance from the sight just having been shown to her, before interjecting.

"Then there is a way you can help me."

❀❀❀

"All right. So basically, we can see through most things and our own aura's just by using our eyes," Experiment #123, minutes later, demonstrates the bright orange of his own energy source igniting the color of his irises, and through it, he can see the name-tat on Dani's left pale arm.

The girl sits down as she has her bare arm that looks smooth from an outside view.

"I'm gonna put this on your skin," the eighteen-year-old just barely suppresses a wild flinch at the miniature gas lighter that blue flames emit, indicating that it was going to be hot, and, "-And it's going to hurt like hell."

"Probably if not the worst pain you're ever going to feel."

Dani reacts to Dante's statement by bunching her shoulders up, "Okay. Do it."

The nineteen-year-old doesn't hesitate with the firm voice the Success sends his way. He tries to be quick in hovering the flame over Dani's skin, and the girl slowly loses all composure had from a few seconds ago.

"Almost done," Dante etches the lettering Kayla beautifully did a couple of days ago and soon enough the blue aura seeps underneath her skin and hence brings back up the black-colored 'Matthew' previously healed, "There!"

The flame shuts off, the boy putting it to the side as he reaches to tend to Dani, who whines a few times in much pain and agony as the fizzing feeling of fire travels up and down her arm muscles... pulsating.

Tears brim the corner of her eyes and they are instantly brushed away by eager and tanner hands, Dante pulling her close while shushing, "Shh, Dani, it's okay. It's over, you're okay."

The two are only a few inches apart from one another, just like last time, and the boy distracts her by showing off her left arm, "Look."

The girl hides her face in his chest, shaking a bit, though eventually, Dani finds the willpower to peel back, in order to not make him feel bad for hurting her even though she asked him to do it... Dante's expression does not represent that at any amount. No, his features have settled.

Soothed, and he nearly does the same to Dani's as when raising her scalding-feeling arm to his face, his soft lips plant a lingering kiss there, him intentionally 'kissing' the damaged spot better. Dani cannot hide the mad blush that creeps onto the side of her cheeks, the sudden dizziness that overtakes her upon a solacing atmosphere now overcoming her... one never felt before. With Dante... because of Dante.

"Uh... Dante?"

"Yeah?" His lips retract.

Unintentionally having kissed her arm a little too much 'better', "It healed again..."

His face falls as he looks to the side, at Dani's once again... bare left arm.

"Shit."

"Sorry." His eyes from being triggered that way flush away from being orange and back to his comforting brown ones.

They are inviting, and the girl feels herself slipping away as their faces begin to get closer to one another, Dante leading it, and Dani gulps in much apprehension and nervousness. 

They are so close that breath travels across, so close to their lips making contact when—

-When Dani's sea-foam green eyes whilst doing their normal anxious wandering pick up on the figure of Steve Rogers standing in the doorway of the room in the Avengers Facility. 

His face and brows are pulled together, yet look so ghastly at the same time as his mouth is agape.

Like he was about to pop a gasket.

First he is mildly shocked but polite, "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Dani makes an expression of pure mortification as speedily she pulls away and distances herself from the teenage boy, eyelids touching just below her eyebrows as they remain wide open—startled, and quickly she macgyvers up a response, "No! No, not at all!"

"Dad," she does the courteous and well-practiced thing, "This is... Dante."

By introducing, "Dante, that's my Dad."

Captain America uncrosses his brawny arms to shake the tan hand outstretched by the nineteen-year-old orphan boy, whose features replicate one of true smugness, "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Steve Rogers says with a straight and solemn face.

Steve Rogers lies with a straight and solemn face. 

His dislike is more of a growing discomfort in the realization of what he thinks was going on between this 'Dante'... and his young daughter, Dani.

Dani, who has a lot of explaining to do. Or, maybe none at all.

The SuperSoldier forces himself to relax, believing that as a valid possibility, and releases any and all tension from his body while seemingly most of it is sucked right back into the eighteen-year-old across from him.

She tries to combat it off, turning to Dante—her voice sweet, "Uh, you know what? Make yourself feel at home with any room that's open upstairs. Do you need me to show you?"

"No, I think I'm good," the boy picks up his things, nodding to her still very flustered stance that despite the fact is very comfortable and at peace in the current setting.

In his presence.

 "Okay." She affirms in a voice still a bit high-pitched and breathy, and the bright blue sharpening eyes belonging to the blonde Soldier undoubtedly follow him out.

Dante's body language does not in any capacity, represent fear. 

If anything, he adds a little smirk.

One that makes the father's jaw clench.

It un-clenches when turning back to his innocent—for the most part—child, Dani forcing a friendly smile of her own before preparing to maneuver out as well, but an expansive figure steps into her way.

Steve's demeanor is much less broad now. But his arms are crossed.

"I think we need to talk." 

There is a twitch of confusion on Dani's face, and she resorts to looking back up at the ceiling, "I... thought we already did."

"No, no, no," the man corrects, shaking his head tightly as he reiterates, "I mean I think we should talk..."

"Oh." Her tongue lifts to the roof of her mouth and making herself comfortable by leaning back against the edge of a table, her own arms are crossed, "Okay. About what?"

She is not getting it right away, better yet probably forcing herself not to, and that just makes the ordeal 10x more awkward. For Steve, for Dani... God have mercy.

"Well, uh," Steve's mouth is painfully dry as he intakes a hefty breath, mustering up some of that righteousness and courage in his qualification of being able to pick up the red, white and blue shield... to try and provide this important talk as a father, "You're... you're getting to that age, you know, where uh..."

At this point, Dani is not entirely sure of what he is about to say, and that scares her. Never in any conversation that they had did he seem so jittery, shaky... sweaty.

Another breath and he just says it. He feels he needs to, has to. As a parent.

"Where we should probably talk about things, like," he quits his stalling, "...like your sexual health."

Oh... my god.

Danielle wants to smack her face into a wall... Danielle becomes mortified all over again. No, no, no. There is no need for such a talk especially when that wasn't even on the eighteen year old's mind to begin with! Never! No!

"... no," she starts with a quiver to her lip, firm and terrified.

Steve tries to remain calm, "Danielle."

Her heart rate picks up, and again the girl pleads, "Dad, please. I don't want to have this conversation right now, or ever, if that can be helped."

Neither can escape the dreadful awkwardness, and shutting his eyes very briefly before reopening them the Captain most certainly agrees with her, but his strong instincts pull him to relay what he wants to, "Okay, okay, okay. I-I just want you to know... that I think you're too young to be engaging in those types of activities."

"Mmm," Dani, realizing she is stuck, immediately moves her hands over her ears in a way to cancel sound out, but then she remembers she is an enhanced individual—she can still hear her father stammering, "Okay. Let's make this end."

"-And I also know," 

"How can we make this end?"

"-That you're smart enough not to do something," Steve speaks over his daughter's interruptions, "Just because a boy may want you to."

He emphasizes the significance of what he is conveying, that is something valid when it comes to having a relationship with someone else... late teens and even into adulthood. The often singular desire by men and boys... Not all of them. Most of them.

The last phrase causes Dani's hands to lower from her head, and she rectifies with a furrowed brow, "Dante's not like that."

Something inside Steve clicks.

"So there is something going on between you two?"

The girl suddenly sputters out, "No! No, no, no, I thought you were objectifying him!"

The blonde lifts a brow and insists, "Well, yeah. I kinda was."

"Well, stop!"

The SuperSoldier states through gritted teeth, "Well, I can't help it, Dani."

He emits another defeated sigh as his jaw relaxes moments later, "I just... need to know that you're gonna be safe."

Dani's mouth hangs open, "Oh, my god. I'm getting out of here now."

Her face is entirely flushed to red again, and after that, her body somewhat tosses itself forward as there is a burning desire to scurry away. Away from this topic of conversation as well as the discomfited position her adoptive father has taken on... Gosh.

 Steve is not immune to the dryness in his throat again.

"Just be careful!" He calls out to her as she makes her way out the door, and the eighteen-year-old flashes him a thumbs up.

"Yup. Sure thing. Got it!" 

The rigidness to her voice is complimented by a desperate gnawing on her bottom lip in order to distract, and Steve finds himself again placing his hands on his hips. 

Closing his blue eyes in distress, his long eyelashes tickle his skin as he inhales and exhales more deeply than ever before, in a way to digest the most recent parent and child conversation... Evaluate.

...Will somebody please give him an eight-foot-tall block of ice to crawl back into? He sends his thanks.

Nonetheless, there is no time for that. The Avengers have reassembled, it is time to form a plan.

Reassembling... and then there's the straggler.

─── ❀ ───

Well ... that was fun.