Steve watched as (y/n) ran down the steps of the school as fast as she could, no doubt wanting to get out of the building and go home. It was Friday, so it wasn't just (y/n) that was eager to get out. The blonde super soldier smiled as his daughter crashed into him, hugging his waist as tight as she could. "Let's go home!" she exclaimed in an impatient tone. Steve silently chuckled her as he let her to the car. Steve never needed nor wanted a car since he'd woken up from the ice. The patriotic Avenger preferred to ride his trusty motorcycle than a car. But after a mere three days of having to ride in Luis's taxi, he figured a truck would do just fine. Plus, it's not like he couldn't afford to or something. He WAS an Avenger. He wanted to take (y/n) on his Harley Davidson but figured she wasn't old enough in his opinion. But that didn't mean he wanted to take her for a ride any less. It was one of the things he wanted to do if he ever got kids back in the forties, but never thought he'd get the chance. And now he did, h just had to wait a little longer. Someday Steve, someday, he thought as (y/n) got in the back seat while he started to pull out and drive. "So how was school?" he asked her. "It was fine. No one understood me when I talked in science. Now they say I'm an egghead" she told her dad as she began to dig through her backpack. "Is that bad?" he asked her. "I don't know. But the teacher got mad because she doesn't like name calling" (y/n) said. "Well, that's good. Is Ms. Keeler nice?" Steve asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror. She was still digging through her backpack, a pile of papers next to her as she pulled out more before adding it to the pile. What in the world is she looking for?, he asked himself, going back to looking at the road. "Uhh... She scares me" (y/n) said in a hushed voice. Steve smiled at her response. "You and me both kid. So what makes her scary?" he asked her. "Well, she's always watching me more than the other kids. I know you guys told her to keep me safe, but she just is creepy. Is it true that Aunt Natasha picked her out?" she asked her father. Steve let out a long breath that he didn't know he was holding within him. "I'm sorry, afraid so. I hope it gets better... Hey, what are you looking for?" he asked him. "I drew you a picture as you asked me to daddy," she said. He heard the sound of papers and other things being moved and rustle around from her backpack until she pulled out a single sheet of paper. "Here it is!" she exclaimed in a bright voice. Out of Steve's peripheral vision, he could see her sliding a piece of paper onto the center council. "What's that? Did you get in trouble?" he asked, a small swing of fear bubbling up. What could she do to land herself in trouble? For a second he guessed she might have used her powers, but decided against it. She was good at keeping them under wraps when she needed them to be. "No! You told me to draw you a picture. So I drew one of our family" she told him. The blonde haired super soldier immediately calmed down at his daughter's words, mentally thanking God. He couldn't handle trouble in the first week of school. "Thanks, sweetheart. I'll have to look at it when we get home" he said with a small smile.

==========================

Steve looked down at the picture in his hands, a warm-hearted smile on his face. (Y/n) was a very good artist for someone her age, and that was without attention to detail. He was always amazed at how well her pictures turned out. This one was no different. She drew something that looked like a family portrait, with Tony, Clint, Thor, Nat, Wanda, Vision, Bruce, and himself with (y/n) all together holding hands. It made him smile at two things. The first being that there was no way in hell a real family portrait would look as nice as the one in his hands. The second was just seeing the whole team through the eyes of the small child standing next to him in the elevator. "I'll put it in my room, ok?" he asked. (Y/n) nodded her head in reply, a small smile on her face. It was only a few more seconds before the bell ringed, letting them know that the door would open.

"Yes, it was very traumatizing, but at least I brought back Banner"

"I still don't think I lost though"

"Well you did"

Steve knew those voices! He'd recognize that rustic yet regal voice anywhere. "Thor! You're back!" Steve exclaimed. As he walked into the room, he noticed that along with Thor and Bruce, Tony and Natasha were also there. Steve heard a small gasp as (y/n) ran across the room to see her Uncle Thor. The blonde man couldn't remember the last time he saw Thor, as did (y/n). The last thing the God of Thunder did on earth was tell him and Tony about going to help the nine realms, and off he went with his magical hammer lifting him into the sky. But that excitement immediately died when he actually saw the blue eyed god. "Shit" Steve whispered to himself. "Language! There's a child present" Tony said in an authoritative tone. But Steve could care less about that at the moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he faced the ground. "You cut your hair" Steve said. Thor gave him a confused look. It was obvious his hair was gone, but why did it matter? In fact, he thought Steve would like it. "Yes, my hair is cut, but why does that matter-". "His hair got cut! Why did you have to get your haircut Uncle Thor!" (y/n) cried as she ran out of the living room in tears. The whole room was in shock at her outburst and an uncomfortable silence washed over the room, all eyes looking down the hall that the little (h/c) haired girl ran down.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Thor, you big dumb idiot, you made her cry down the hall again. WHat the hell man?"

"She seems to mourn my hair more than I did... What did I miss?" Thor asked in a quiet voice, not sure if he truly wanted to know the answer. "That's my fault" Steve said. All eyes turned to him, and the super soldier could feel the glares practically drilling into his head, and razor sharp daggers piercing his skull. And that was without describing the amount of unholy rage inside Natasha's eyes... He felt like a dead man standing there on the floor with everyone glaring at him. "What do you mean it's your fault?" Natasha asked, slowly walking toward him. Steve's eyes widened as she got closer and closer to him. The feeling was similar to how a rabbit felt in a corner as a bloodthirsty wolf that knew sixty ways to make a man disappear stalked towards him. Desperate to live, Steve looked towards the other three men in the room for help. His blue eyes bore into their own, internally pleading for help. But he was sorely let down when they simultaneously shook their heads furiously. Well, screw you too. Best friends indeed, he thought. "Hey!" Natasha exclaimed, snapping her fingers and pointing towards her head. "Don't look at them, look at me," she said slowly. "Now, what was it you said? And don't let out a single detail Rogers" she told him. And so he told them the story of how he was working late, how (y/n) had had a nightmare, and how he comforted her with his promise. He made sure that he told all the detail that he knew Natasha wanted to hear. She was already mad, he didn't need to add on to the list. "And so, I told her that the day Thor got his hair cut would be the day HYDRA took her back for good" he said, completing his "report". "Why on Asgard would you tell her that? That sounds like a bad idea, even to me" Thor criticized in a chastising tone. He sat at the table with Tony and Banner while Natasha leaned against the bar counter and the super soldier paced in the kitchen area. "I thought you loved your hair more than I love America, I'm sorry! Besides, what was I supposed to say? I couldn't let her think that it was possible for Hydra to come back after we destroyed them," Steve said, stopping to turn around and face his friends. But he got no reply. The whole room was silent as a grave. Steve's posture disappeared, and his arms hung at his sides as he eyes narrowed slightly, though they still held a look of disbelief in them. He stopped breathing, holding it in his lungs like his throat was closed up. "They're gone... We haven't seen them in months... Right?" he asked. Natasha sighed before she walked up to the group. "Yes, HYDRA is gone, it's destroyed... but their people aren't" she said carefully like she didn't know how he would react. "What do you mean?" Steve asked. Nat looked down at Tony, nodding her head ever so slightly. Tony let out a long breath before he looked up at the ceiling. "FRIDAY, bring up file 0-89-7BS" he called out. "Here you go sir" the AI said before holographic screens appeared from the mini projectors on the ceiling. Steve walked over to them to get a closer look at the images and information that was on them. On them were a few murder cases as well as a list of suspects. But on picture stood out from all the rest. A red emblem of a skull with multiple arms coming from it. "Now wait a minute, I thought you took care of these guys, what happened?" Bruce asked, leaning in to look at the screens better. "We did, Wilson, Steve, and I destroyed their organization. But we couldn't really track all their followers down without SHIELD to help us. But the agents are still out there, and it looks like they want the band back together" the redhead explained. "And you didn't tell me any of this?" Steve asked, his words laced with anger. "This hasn't been happening for more than a few days. What do you think Clint is doing right now? He's going to one of the old HYDRA bases to get anything he can find. We didn't want you to worry. If you worry, (y/n) will notice, and it'll only be a matter of time before she finds out why. I don't want her to lose her voice again Steve" Natasha spoke in a stern voice. Steve took in a deep breath as he felt his anger bubbling up. He couldn't lose his head right now. Ignoring the fact that he wasn't told about HYDRA attempting to rise from the ashes, Nat was right. He couldn't let (y/n) find out. If she did, it would break her. "Fine, but we'll talk about this later tonight" Steve said. "Wow... All this because some creepy old man cut my hair" Thor said. Steve's body froze at his words, (y/n)'s voice filtering into his mind.

"I'm not lying! Some creepy all-powerful old man CUT UNCLE THOR'S HAIR!"

"W-what did you say?" Steve asked, stumbling over his words. "Me? Oh, some creepy old man cut my hair before I fought Banner- And won!- in a gladiator fight" Thor said, holding his finger up as if to drill it into Bruce's head. "Was he all-powerful?" Steve asked, his words seeming to blend together with the speed of his voice. "What? Who?" Thor asked, a confused look on his face. "The old man, was he powerful?" Steve asked again, going slower this time. "Well, he looked like a frail old man, but... I could have sworn it felt like I was in the presence of the creator of the universe" Thor said. Tony, Bruce, and Natasha all gave him a judgemental look. "What? I did!" Thor said. "Umm, I'm going to check on (y/n). She should have calmed down by now" he told them as he rushed out of the room. Things are about to heat up really quick, Steve thought.