Humans have always been storytellers. From the day they were able to write, humans have recoded stories and shared grand tales of creatures larger than life. Myths and legends explaining how the world was created, how humans came into existence or w...
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Steve upheld his promise.
He spent the next two days never too far away from Julianna's cell, even when he was preparing to leave for Switzerland, occasionally stepping in to try and get her to talk to him.
He sat with her, speaking to her quietly. He'd tell stories, recount old memories, tell her about his day, anything to try and elicit a reaction out of her. He'd even brought down her box of books given to her by Peggy, placing them against the wall within her reach.
They always remained untouched.
Steve knew Jules wasn't doing this to hurt him, she'd told him so, but to create a barrier between herself and him to keep him safe. She viewed herself as a danger to him, and despite Steve's best efforts, he began to doubt there was anything he could do to change her mind and get his Jules back.
She was stubborn, she always had been. Once Jules set her mind on a goal, there was little that could deter her. And her decision to distance herself from him was no different. Not only did she physically isolate herself by turning her body away, forcing herself to look only at the bricks of the wall, but she mentally closed herself off. She had shoved the world— Steve, out. Had it not been for the occasional eye movements in his direction when he spoke and the nervous fiddling of her fingers, he'd figure she was nearly comatose, if not entirely.
Jules simply couldn't find the strength to move.
She remained in the same position every time Steve visited her; Knees pulled up tightly to her chest and held there by her hands clasped overtop, facing away from the door. She couldn't even bring herself to readjust her body after the thick steel collar began to rub painfully against the skin on her neck.
Steve noticed how her skin was continuously rubbed raw and then tried to heal, making the sides of her neck look heavily agitated and tinted scarlet throughout the day. He wanted to help her, to get that damned collar off his best friend but every time he moved in her direction she'd flinch away, breaking him further.
It's for your own good, Steve.
He brought her food multiple times a day, always returning later to find it completely untouched. The entire 48 hours she spent in that cell she didn't eat a thing and didn't seem in the least bit fazed, which concerned Steve greatly. The super soldier was pained when he realized that Schmidt and Zola had probably routinely starved her. She was used to having no food, so even with her increased metabolism and seemingly bottomless stomach, she could hold out longer than most people without touching a crumb of food. However, when Steve noticed the skin around her eyes start to darken and her lips crack from being so dry, he reached his breaking point.
