The Soldier and the Child

Chapter 7: A Memory's Past

"Emotions are what tethers us to reality, without them, we are a shell of who we used to be" -SamanthaPerry0, The Soldier and the Child

They didn't stay in Italy long, this time Percy knew better than the argument as the last time ended up with them being found by Hydra.

Percy shivered at the memory of the shack and everything that happened. He didn't want something like it to happen again.

Readjusting his hat, Percy carefully looked around, upon spotting no one, he entered the alleyway across the street and ducked into the nearest break in it.

Following it down to a few more alleyways, Percy climbed one of the ladders quickly and waited at the top, far above that if someone wasn't looking for him, they wouldn't find him.

Watching the watch that Winter had gifted him, Percy watched as minutes passed. His legs tensing in their place as his hands grew cold in the New York cold. Shifting slightly and holding his hands to his mouth, he waited impatiently as ten minutes passed.

When nothing showed up down the alley, Percy slowly made his way back down the ladder. Careful of the rust that made its home along the side. Letting go of it and feeling better than no one was watching him, Percy went down a few more alleys and quickly climbed another ladder before his hands grew too cold.

He entered the third floor and waited at the window of the hallway. Listening for any footsteps, Percy shimmied the window up just a bit further and slid into the slightly warm building.

It wasn't the worst place they've stayed, but it also wasn't the best. Percy didn't really mind, anything was really better than living with Gabe, and Winter was certainly way better than his stepfather.

Not that Winter had to do much to be better than the man that tried to sell him to an organization that either wanted to kill him, or use him as some type of weapon.

Considering the devastation he left in Athens, Percy had slowly been breaching the other part of himself. He didn't know if he was a mutant or something else considering aliens existed.

He just knew that he wasn't normal, and he wanted to train himself to help protect himself and Winter, the man that was risking his own life for Percy for no reward.

Slowly going up to the fifth floor, Percy knocked two times fast, one time slow then reached for the key in his pocket and slid it into the lock.

Knowing if he tried to turn the lock Winter's defense mechanism would quite literally blow up in his face, he slid the credit card long stolen from someone toward the edge of the bottom of the door.

Feeling the resistance from the pin down there, Percy slid the card up until he felt the tension release. Knowing he disengaged the mechanism, he finally fully unlocked the door and slowly pushed it open.

It wouldn't do well for him to have felt wrong and his face would be blown off, he didn't particularly want to see if some type of immortality was part of his weirdness.

Sliding the backpack of food he had gotten by the cabinet just next to the door, Percy shut the door behind him and reengaged the pin.

Turning around, Percy blinked in slight surprise to see Winter still sleeping on the couch. Usually, the man would wake at the slightest of sound, maybe he was finally getting used to Percy's presence and how he knocked.

Shrugging slightly, Percy just took the moment to look at the sleeping man with a frown. It seemed even while resting, Winter couldn't catch a break. His brow was furrowed, his lips twisted downward, his face lightly pinched around the edges.

When the man gave a full-blown flinch in his sleep and his mouth slightly opened, even with no sound, Percy couldn't help but move and touch the man's shoulder.

Twisting away from the hands that reached out, quite literally for his neck, he scrambled backward as Winter finally spoke with slightly red eyes. "Steve!" he called out.

His hands reached for an invisible object, his face twisted in shock.

Winter gave a full-body shiver as recognition slowly came back to his eyes that had seemed unseeing.

Percy let him come back to himself as he watched the man run a hand through his hair and slight beard he was growing. His real hand shaking as his savior stared at his metal arm.

"Who's Steve?" Percy finally had the courage to ask after a few seconds, moving to sit more comfortably than on his butt from where he fell on it.

Winter was quiet for a moment, his eyes looking between his arms.

"I don't know," he slowly said, his tone soft and lost.

Well...that just wouldn't do.

If this man was invading his friend's mind and causing nightmares, Percy certainly wanted to know more about it.

"Can you describe him?" Percy asked, ready to take in all the details the Winter could remember.

"Blue," Winter finally said after shaking his head initially then hesitating.

Confused, Percy asked," Blue?"

"Blue eyes, with a hint of green. Like a river," Winter finally told him.

Percy nodded.

Right, a blue slightly green-eyed person named Steve. That should be an interesting search result.