The Most Important Mission (Captain America x Child!Reader)

Part 10

Steve ran straight out of the building, the fresh air hitting him in the face after being stuck in the stuffy underground building. His blue eyes burned as the light filtered through the gray clouds. It was by no means a bright sunny day, but it was certainly brighter than the dark tunnels he just came out from. The intense pain he felt in his chest and head moments ago was nothing but a dull ache as the blonde man paused in his running, catching his breath as his eyes wandered around the area. It was nothing special. It looked more like a driveway path than a secret entrance to a bloodthirsty terrorist organization facility. His eyes scanned over any and everything he saw, looking for something out of the ordinary. At first, he couldn't see anything. There were no broken tree branches, any sign of blood (much to his delight), and no shining bits of emerald anywhere. As his breathing slowed, Steve walked outwards from the door. There has to something that I can track... Footprints!, his mind screamed, thoughts in a scrambled wreck. His head looked down the second he thought of them, desperate. As he walked, he didn't see anything but gravel, rocks, and dust. Every so often he'd catch sight of little bugs crawling around, but he ignored them as they had no importance to him at the moment. It wasn't until he hit fresh green grass that he saw anything. It drew him in like iron to a magnet... A small pair of footprints planted firmly in the damp mud. Steve stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of it, his breathing caught in his throat as his heart leaped with joy. (Y/n) was alive... he knew for sure now. And better yet, judging by the distance from one foot to another, she was still strong enough to run. Steve looked up from the ground, breaking out into a run. "(Y/n)!" he yelled. The super soldier ran without stopping, going farther and farther away from the old base. His feet lead him from the entrance to the facility and into the nearby forestry surrounding it. The woods were shady, with roots twisted and gnarled as they surfaced from the ground. There were no golden streaks of sunlight that filtered through the trees like the park he'd always go to with (y/n) or Sam, only clouded gray light that was just there. The air was cold and damp, making the earth soft so his foot settled into the soil whenever he took a step. Every so often he'd step on the random stick, loudly snapping it into pieces. "(Y/n)! It's me, Dad! Are you there!" he shouted. The only answer he got was his echo. He stood still, listening for a noise. There was nothing, even the sound of the breeze whispering through the trees was absent. There was nothing out here. Steve knew his daughter. She was smart. She was an adult in a child's mind for god's sake! He'd actually be a bit mad if he found out she chose not to run. Steve hung his head, eyes downcast. His blue eyes stared straight out into space, not focusing on anything in particular, just staring ahead. But he didn't have time to wallow in worry, he had a child to find. His child. Steve turned around, facing the way he came. The entrance to the old HYDRA base could still be seen from a distance, but just barely. He took a step, preparing to head back to his team. No doubt they were done securing the building. No, there was little chance (y/n) would stay this close to the facility. If he taught her better, she would run and get help...

"Daddy!"

Clearly, he didn't teach her all that great. Steve's head swung back to look behind him at an inhuman speed, causing his headache to spike a bit painfully. There was nothing new to see, only the same scene he'd been looking at for the last few minutes. Steve froze in his spot, not daring to move. He held his breath, not even risking the chance that his breath could block the slightest sound. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everything was silent as if nothing had ever broken it in the first place. I'm going crazy, I have to be, he told himself. He stood there, waiting for another sound. Each second that ticked by felt like hours to him, agonizing him from his very core. Releasing a shaky breath, Steve forced himself to turn back and continue on his way back. "Dad! Stop!" (y/n) cried out. "(Y/n)?" breathed, turning around slowly. He was scared, terrified that he was imagining it all, and that she wouldn't really be there. That his mind was playing tricks on him after all the beating he was put through earlier. But he turned around despite himself, the desperation to see his child blinding him of his fear. And the sight he saw almost killed him, his entire body feeling lighter, and the world so much more vivid. (Y/n) was running at him in full speed, tears streaming down her face. He could see mud, dirt, and grim all over any skin wherever it showed. Her (h/c) hair stood up in all different directions, giving her a rough and troll-like appearance. In fact, Steve was pretty sure he saw a twig sticking out in her hair. Her dress was more dirty than ripped, except for a small hole on her torso and a rip in the hemming. It was the same dress she wore when he had dropped her off at school. Her shoes were gone, he couldn't imagine how, nor did he want to. He knew that he wouldn't like it. Her shoes could be replaced, but she couldn't... And here she was running towards him and all he was doing was standing there like an idiot. Steve couldn't take it any longer. Overwhelmed by emotion, Steve ran straighter to her. "(Y/n)!" Steve exclaimed, dropping to his knees as they reached each other. (Y/n) rushed into his arms, her short arms and little hands holding onto him as tight as she possibly could. And Steve did as well, cradling her body in his arms. It was as if everything he went through in the last couple of hours didn't even happen. All of the worry, all of the stress... it all melted away at her touch. Tears fell from the blonde man's face, finally able to let out all the fears and despair inside him, replacing it with relief and joy. (Y/n) shook as she cried into his chest, soaking his suit with tears and snot as she gripped the tough and sturdy fabric of his uniform. "You're ok... Shhh, it's ok baby..." he whispered softly, petting her hair gently as he held her. "I w-was so scared! Alarms went o-o-off, and then it got dark, and Ms. Keeler grabbed me and said to be quiet!" she yelled. "Shhh..." Steve cooed. "A-and I was brought he-here! She's a HYDRA agent Daddy!" the (h/c) haired girl cried. "I know honey, I know..." Steve told her. She shook in his arms, and an unsettling feeling took over Steve, swelling up inside him, causing more tears to fall. How could he have let this happen? He was her goddamn father, he was supposed to protect her... and he failed. He promised her that he would never let this happen again. And now here he was, cradling (y/n) as she cried because he couldn't even do something simple as detect a HYDRA agent. It was his job to do these sorts of things, and this time, his failure cost his daughter being captured. "Daddy? W-why are you crying?" (y/n)'s quiets voice asked. Her voice snapped him out of thoughts, pulling him back to reality. "I'm sorry" Steve breathed. "Why? You didn't do any of this" (y/n) said, pulling away to look at her father's face. "No, but... I broke the promise I made you. I promised that you wouldn't let anything happen to-". "No you didn't" (y/n) spoke up in a matter-of-factly voice. "What?" Steve asked, giving his daughter a confused look. "You never promised any of that" she stated, looking directly into his blue eyes. "Yes, I did. Remember when you had a nightmare? I promised you all that" Steve said. (Y/n) huffed out her breath, a look of defiance and stubbornness on her face. "I remember that night. The only thing that you actually promised, word for word, was 'I promise that nothing will happen to Uncle Thor's beautiful golden hair'. That was the only thing you promised. Sure it didn't work out, but that was because an all-powerful old man cut it for him," she told Steve. The blonde man's mouth opened and closed as he remembered what exactly happened. "But you didn't promise anything else. You stated something. And you kept true to that" she said. "Excuse me?" the super soldier asked, the wheels in his head turning at every word his daughter said. "You said that you would love and protect me until the day you died. And that whoever tried to get me would be put six feet under" the (h/c) haired girl explained. Steve stared at her in wonder, his face in complete awe. He could hear the truth in her voice, shining like a beacon of hope in the dark situation. She had no blame on him for this, and was willing to go as far as to defend her reasoning. She wasn't going to let him blame himself for something that he didn't promise, or had no control over. She simply wouldn't allow it. How he managed to raise a bright, capable, and strong girl like her was beyond him. He raised his hand, resting it on the side of her head. He smiled as she leaned into his touch. "You're going to be a heck of a lawyer someday" he told her. "No, I'm going to be like you. We discussed this last year when I fought that one raccoon at Clint's house!" she said. Steve smiled, a chuckle threatening to be let out, and lifted her up into his arms. "We're going home" Steve said, causing (y/n) to nuzzle her face into his shoulder as he walked back to the jet.