Project 43: Healing

The fuck's that?

"Stark ordered some food for everyone so that should come in at any moment. Do you want me to show you the living areas or do you wanna get settled here" Steve asked after a while of Elias examining the room. Steve couldn't blame his brother for doing a thorough check of the room after everything he had been through. Elias had checked every drawer in the bedroom, bathroom, and closet, looked under the tables and surfaces, and thrown the mattress off of the bed to check underneath it.

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind leaving this dancehall," Elias said slowly turning around. He knew it was most probably paranoia, but he felt so uneasy in the room, he had to check it.

"And when I get back I'll rip the cameras off of the ceiling," Elias continued walking past Steve and out of the room. Steve just nodded impressed that Elias had noticed the cameras built into the ceiling.

"This is the big living room," Steve said as the elevator doors opened. It was another huge space with floor-to-ceiling windows displaying the city of New York like another art piece. There was a big cluster of couches in the middle of the room and a full bar to the side, bigger than any Elias had seen even with the years he spent working as a bartender. Elias couldn't make out which floor was which with glass stairs rising from one big platform to the next.

"I can see that," Elias said impressed with how modern a space could be.

"The dining room is just down there with the kitchen and the living room we use most of the time," Steve explained.

"What's up there," Elias asked pointing in the opposite direction. There were big glass windows looking down on the space from another room Elias couldn't see into.

"That's one of Stark's workshops. He's there most of the time so if you wanna stay clear of him, keep out of there," Steve said jokingly but Elias continued to stare at the window. It was similar to the one they had at Hydra. Of course, it hadn't been as clean, modern, or light but it felt the same. A bunch of scientists would stand behind a glass, observing as Subject 43 went through another one of their countless tests. It didn't matter if it was fighting against one man or a dozen armed soldiers, they never did anything, just watched down from their safe pedestal and took notes.

Elias didn't talk a lot. He mainly looked around and sometimes stared off into space as Steve walked him through the tower. Steve could almost see the mechanic process his brother was going through, examining the surroundings, making sure it was safe. There was something so sad about watching Elias. He looked scary and dark, but Steve could see how deep down Elias was just a wounded animal, scared of a lion jumping from the bushes. After so many years of being afraid, he had simply learned to mask it while still being ready to fight or flee at any given moment.

Steve had known Elias wasn't the same person he had left eighty years earlier. He knew that after everything the man had gone through Steve would be lucky to see even a glimpse of the happy little kid he once knew. Still, it saddened him to see his brother in such a state, knowing that if he had just done the right thing, he could have prevented it all from happening.

"So this is the living room we actually use," Steve explained with a light chuckle. It wasn't easy for him to get used to it all. He still found himself feeling confused and alone through most days with all the new things he found out about the world.

Big white couches laid in a semicircle facing a fireplace and the biggest TV Elias had seen. One entire wall was once again a floor-to-ceiling window facing the Hudson River. Elias was trying to get used to the modern, sleek look but struggled to see the building as anything other than a futuristic spacecraft. Even something so traditional as a fireplace was nothing but a window and flames dancing behind it. There wasn't even wood to burn.