Project 43: Healing

Go easy

Elias shot up, his chest rapidly rising and falling as the air finally filled his lungs. He was once again covered in a layer of cold sweat and filled with panic. He tried to look around the dark room and remember where he was but couldn't place it. He wasn't in his cell like he had been just a second ago. He wasn't bleeding and Master wasn't watching him with a haunting grin.

The soldier ran his hands through his hair which now reached over his ears even tho it hadn't been that long since Agathe cut it. Elias smiled a bit remembering the woman he had grown to see as a mother figure. He hoped she was fine and not too shaken up after seeing him on TV fighting with robots. It felt like the whole world had seen the 'freakishly strong boy'. During the Avengers press conference, the reporters asked about Elias multiple times, but each time Steve shut them down.

Elias couldn't run anymore. Even if he wanted to, his face had been plastered on every screen on earth. He was a huge mystery, an unsolved case everyone seemed to have a go at. If he ran, he might get recognized and posted somewhere. The second his face was on any camera in the world, Hydra could come crashing through the windows.

"Do you have a minute?" Wanda asked as Steve was about to walk past her.

"Sure. What is it?" Steve asked. He hadn't talked with the young Sokovian a lot. Of course, they had all talked about what had happened and taken down every piece of information she had on Ultron. Other than that, Natasha had looked after the girl.

"Can we sit down somewhere?" Wanda asked nervously. She wasn't sure how to act yet. She had fought with the Avengers and Clint had told her she was an Avenger herself but even tho all of them seemed to accept her, she was still unsure of her place in the tower.

Wanda had spent most of the night crying once again. Natasha was around a lot but whenever the Sokovian was alone, she could feel the void that her brother used to fill. That morning, however, she had decided to do something. She was going to figure out a plan for what to do about Elias. She didn't want him to hate her and she didn't want to be scared of the man.

"How can I make Elias hate me less?" Wanda asked as the two sat down in the living room. Steve was a bit taken aback by the unexpected question but tried to think of an answer.

"I have been trying to figure that out myself for years," Steve finally chuckled but Wanda could see the pain behind his laugh. She didn't understand what the relationship between the two men was but it was easy to see how hard Steve tried.

"I think what I'm trying to do now is to give him space. It helps that he has to work with me," Steve explained trying his best to help the woman. He felt bad for her.

Elias didn't know what to do. He had no idea where anything was or if there was anything to do in the tower. He knew the way to the living room, but that was pretty much it. Still, he wanted to move. Even tho he had been stuck in a small cell for the better part of sixty years, the second he got out he wouldn't stay still for too long.

After hours of sitting in the closet, Elias decided to walk to the living room, just in case there was anyone there who could point him toward the nearest gym or a running track. He opened the door after listening for a while, sure that the hallway was empty. Elias walked out and retraced his steps from the night before.

"Hey mini-Cap," Tony chirped as the elevator doors opened. The man was typing away on his phone, only looking up for long enough to recognize Elias who stood there in shock. In his mind, there were two possible explanations. Either Steve had told everyone about their brotherly relationship, or Stark had decided to call Elias by his military rank.