Delilah stood backstage, waiting to be introduced.
Her phone rang and she answered. "Hello?"
"Hey, sweetheart," her father said.
"Dad?"
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your mother passed away a few minutes ago."
Delilah gasped softly and whispered, "Oh my God." She raised her voice slightly. "How soon do you want me back in Harrisburg?"
"As soon as you can. I'm so sorry, dear."
"Thanks, Dad. I love you."
"I love you, too."
She hung up and threw her phone into a chair nearby.
Anthony came up next to her and asked, "You ready?" He noticed her sullen expression. "What's wrong?"
Delilah met his eyes, saying nothing. She noticed Sebastian walk up next to her and said, "I gotta go back to Harrisburg as soon as I can."
Sebastian tilted his head. "Why's that?"
"My mom."
Instantly, he pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I'm so sorry, Del. Do you want to do the panel?"
She shrugged. "Yes, no, I don't know. I just want to be home. Devin and my dad are already starting to make arrangements, and I should be there with them but I don't want to go. But I do. You know?"
"Tell you what. Come onto stage with me and Anthony, and if you can't bear being on stage, just give me that look that lets me know that you want to leave and we'll get you backstage."
Delilah nodded slowly. "Okay. Thank you."
Sebastian rubbed his hands up and down her arms. "You ready, sweetheart?"
She took his hand and licked her lips to try to calm her nerves. "Mhmm."
"Delilah, are you sure you're up for this?" Anthony asked.
"No, it's okay. The fans want to see us and I don't want to disappoint them."
"Your mother just-"
"I know my mother just fucking died!" Delilah snapped, letting out a sigh. "Just... I want to go on stage. I'll let you know if I can't bear that."
Sebastian and Anthony exchanged a look and nodded.
The three made their way onto the stage and started the panel. Towards the middle, things began going downhill.
Anthony said into his microphone, "Who else has a question?" He pointed to a boy in a Spider-Man shirt and said, "Come on up."
The boy walked up to the microphone and said, "I just wanted to say that I really like seeing Sam and Bucky together. But adding a character in, like the directors did, isn't cool. Gail Richards was from a different universe and I don't see why she has to be in the movie."
"Believe it or not, it was actually Chris that suggested it. Bucky's trying to move on with his life and who's to say he didn't meet someone."
Sebastian glanced at Delilah and smiled. "I mean, I've already fallen for her and I'm sure Bucky would too."
"She's not that pretty and she's not that great an actress."
"The Internet's going to be fun for you tonight."
"Yeah it will. You know why? Because I'm going to-"
Anthony cut him off. "You're going to what? Dismiss my friend's capability to act on the big screen? I for one think she did a great job."
"Says the guy who's been in all of three Marvel movies, and you were barely in one of them. Delilah shouldn't have been put in any. Who agrees with me?"
A thud reverberated and Delilah abruptly stood. She glanced at Sebastian as her chest began heaving and she ran from the stage.
Anthony covered his mic and said, "Go help her. I got this."
Sebastian nodded and made his way backstage to find Delilah.
When he found her, she was seated on the floor, curled up, knees to her chest.
He sat in front of her and said quietly, "Don't listen to them, Del. You're a great actress. He's just jealous."
Delilah glanced up, blinking away her tears. "They say such hurtful things. Don't they think before they speak? We're people too. I don't need this. Not today."
"I know, printesa. Sometimes people don't think, and I wish they did. Are you gonna be okay?"
Delilah nodded. "Yeah. Go finish the panel."
"Del, are you sure? I don't want to leave you-"
"I'm positive, Seb. Go. It's almost over anyway. I'll work on finding a flight to Harrisburg. Should I get one for you too?"
"Please. You shouldn't be alone, even if you'll be home with family."
Sebastian kissed her forehead and stood. He made his way back on stage and the audience cheered.
Anthony glanced at Sebastian to ask if Delilah was okay and he nodded.
Sebastian held his microphone to his mouth and said, "Making comments like that about people is a shitty thing to do. If anyone makes a comment like that about my wife again, we're gonna have a serious conversation. Delilah is one of the best things to happen to me and if you can't respect that, keep your mouth shut."
"They're a great couple and I, for one, liked the idea of Bucky and Gail," Anthony said. "Delilah did a great job and I hope she'll have the opportunity to be in more movies."
A girl walked up to the mic and asked, "Is Delilah willing to come out here? I have something I want to say to her."
Delilah, who'd overheard, walked back onstage with crossed arms and an icy expression.
The girl smiled and said, "I first saw you in your show about ballet and I fell in love with it. You actually inspired me to start dancing. I know first-hand how hard anxiety can be and you and Sebastian are an inspiration to me to keep on pushing through. I just wanted to say thank you. And to give you this." She held up a painted picture of Bucky and Gail. "Seeing you two sort of portraying your love story brought me so much joy. You two are one of my favorite couples and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for your characters. I really hope your characters get married because that would be adorable."
The girl walked to the stage and handed Delilah the picture.
Delilah knelt down and took the picture.
As she did so, the girl said, "There's always going to be people who don't like a character you play. It all depends on how you choose to see it. Are you going to run and hide or are you going to defend your role?"
"Thank you," Delilah replied quietly. "For this and the reassurance. And great choice of outfit. I see you've, if I'm right, gotten inspiration from Gail."
The girl nodded and smiled as she walked back to her seat.
Delilah stood and walked back to Sebastian and Anthony before saying, "Let that be a lesson to you all. We're all human and it's not okay to say hurtful things about someone else. Think about what you say before you say it."
Anthony scanned the crowd for the boy, found him, and said, "You just unleashed the Winter Soldier. You're lucky he's not wearing his metal arm."
"Ooh I'm so scared!" the boy retorted.
"You should be, because one of the few things that brings out the Winter Soldier in real life is when someone goes after Delilah."
"Delilah! Delilah! Delilah!" most of the crowd chanted.
Delilah's face flushed and she moved closer to Sebastian who wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
As soon as the panel ended, Delilah rushed backstage and began crying.
Sebastian noticed Delilah had disappeared and went to find her. He heard soft sniffles from a room and walked up to her. "Del?"
Delilah met his eyes, trying to blink away the tears. Sebastian dried her tears with his thumbs and pulled her into his arms before saying softly, "It's okay to cry."
That seemed to be all she needed, because the tears she was holding in began falling.
Sebastian's arms tightened around Delilah as she sniffled quietly.
He kissed her head before saying, "I'm here, Del."
"I know," Delilah replied. "And thank you."