That Would Be Enough~ Hamilza Oneshots

~The Man Who Owned the World, Part 2 {Marvel AU}~

  Trigger warning: Violence I guess? I'm not good at writing these warnings...

  The day dragged on forever, and soon melted into two days, three days, just another white chalk mark on the cave wall above his bed. He had woken up one morning a king, the next a prisoner. 

  He lay on his filthy bed in his shared cave bedroom with George, staring at his new "heart." It was an electromagnet, George had explained. It kept his heart beating and free of the metal shrapnel threatening to kill him. For as long as he would live, Alex would have to have battery inside of him to stay alive. 

  "Have you ever played Backgammon?" George suddenly asked, taking out a dusty old box.

  Alex turned to George, squinting in exasperation. Was this guy for real? 

  "I haven't had anyone to play it with in so long."

  Alex rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. What could he possibly have left to lose? "Alright, George. Set 'em up."

  Though reluctant at first, Alex quickly plunged into the game. It had been quite a while since he had last played Backgammon, but he wasn't about to lose to this old guy. But George gave Alex a run for his money, and finding victory was much more difficult than Alex had expected. 

  "Are you going to move?" George asked, almost teasingly. "Or are you did you fall asleep with your eyes open?"

  "You're distracting me," Alex retorted, not taking his eyes off the board. As he finally moved a checker, he ventured, "So... what're you in for?"

  "He wanted another engineer and a doctor on site," George replied, moving his own checker in less than half the wait time Alex had moved his. "I'm both in one. He attacked my town and..." he fell silent.

  "Do you have a family?" Alex asked him.

  George's smile returned, his eyes glimmering with hope. "I'll see them again soon. Now about you, Mr. Hamilton? Do you have a family?"

  Alex shifted in his seat. Family... did he have one of those? He had lost his parents years ago.

  "No."

  "How about that," George remarked. His words were earnest, concerned almost, with no humor or sarcasm behind them. "You have everything, and yet you have nothing."

  These words sank like a stone in Alex's heart. He was alone in the universe. Just a few days ago, he had been riding in a car with good soldiers, good people, and their young lives had been heartlessly cut short. They probably had parents, siblings, and loves that they left behind, and for some reason, he was kept alive. And if he died here, he would die with no one remember him. Sure, the world would mourn, probably have a televised memorial, but then they would move on, and  would just be another dead celebrity, lost in time. 

  George removed one of his checkers from the board and set it down on the table. "Your move, Alexander." 

  When they finished the game,  Alex crawled back into bed, the empty feeling resettling in. This whole thing never would have happened if had listened to Eliza. 

  Eliza... he missed his faithful secretary. What was she doing right now? He had definitely missed his conference meeting. Eliza had told him this wasn't safe, and he hadn't listened. Clearly he needed a lot more supervision than he realized. If he ever got out of this place alive, the first thing he would do was tell Eliza she had been right all along, and thank her for looking out for him. 

    He was about to close his eyes and drift off to sleep, but he was quickly pulled back into the world by the sound of George's voice. 

  "Alexander. Wake up. I have an idea."