The Soldier and the Child

Chapter 3: A Different Fate

"How a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is." - Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt 

The hunger gnawed at him as he sat on a bench in Central Park, the Avengers Tower looming over him as it was being rebuilt.

He still had some money, but if he was going to last on the streets Percy knew he had to be smart about how he spent it, and there wasn't much left and he couldn't get more unless he compromised his morals that has been long installed into him by his mother.

Apparently, stealing was one of those things that were on his moral list surprising enough but not turning in the man that murdered three teenagers and later saved him from being kidnapped by some sort of organization.

He glared at the ground, and if he concentrated enough could see the invisible lines to everyone else that showed only to him where exactly he was via coordinates. They were most clear when he was in the water, but sometimes when he concentrated enough he could see them on land too.

It helped that it was just pure instinct that he knew exactly where he was in the world, it was a nicer feeling to actually see it. Plus, with his dyslexia, sometimes he just wanted to stare at numbers that weren't confusing to him for some reason.

40.7829° N, 73.9654° W he whispered to himself as he looked at the lines and felt they were true. None of this helped his hunger, of course, just helped take his mind off of it briefly.

He felt someone sit beside him, a black cap on their head and a long black jacket and gloves covering his arms and hands.

"You know, Kid, we should stop meeting," the man spoke, his voice soft and raspy like he was still getting used to talking.

Percy looked up and connected with hazel brown eyes. "Probably," he murmured back to the man that had felt like years ago been sent to kill him.

"Come on, I've got some food back at my motel," he gruffly said as he stood up from the bench.

"Pretty sure that might be a line Pedophiles or Kidnappers use," Percy told the man back as he got up from the bench and grabbed his backpack.

They met roughly a week ago, the man helping Percy get out of another fight with some older gentlemen who realized he had tried to pick their pockets. Let's just say, the knife that they brought out deemed enough of a threat to his life for his new friend to apparently save.

"Why are you helping me?" Percy asked once again on their way back to the motel that his friend had been crashing at. While there were two beds there, Percy knew better than to assume anything with his friend, especially as most motels rooms contain two beds.

"I don't know," The man grumpily said as they walked. And it was the truth, neither knew why the other kept gravitating toward the other, but they weren't complaining much.

With Percy always knowing where they were, and the man seems to always have money on him (something Percy tried not to think about too much), they sort of had a system going on of helping each other as Winter (as Percy tends to call him for now) doesn't seem to know anything about New York or where he generally is.

Especially since his missions were always drop off in a certain radius and then find his way from there with a memory wipe afterward. It helped the kid had a certain aura around him that drew the Winter Soldier to him and help the kid out.

Percy didn't know any of this, of course, just that his new friend that happened to be an assassin was staying close and helping him out in his tough situation.

Neither talked as they ate the sandwiches and chips Winter had bought earlier, both just staring at the wall in silence as the tv that sat between them was broken.

With his stomach full, Percy felt the lull of sleep pull at him, it was hard, sleeping, while in the streets without feeling like someone is going to kill you while you slept. It was starting to take a certain toll on the child.

"Sleep," The man stiffly said as he grabbed their plastic plates and threw them away.

Percy blinked but knew not to object to his friend, so he threw off his sweatshirt and put it over the pillow that smelt like it was bathed in mud and sewage water, and let the scent of the ocean that always seemed to stick to his sweatshirt lull him to a deep sleep, his trust in his friend helping him relax.

The Soldier stared at the sleeping boy, slightly surprised he had accepted his command. He expected some sort of sass from the child as he seems to take with others, but it seems the boy respected, trusted his mind whispered, him enough to fall asleep in his presence without any objection.

It was an odd feeling, he decided as chest slightly hurt, but he knew there was no pain, just some sort of emotion he knew he doesn't remember. There was just something about Percy Jackson that made him trust the boy he was told to kill just a few months ago. That caused him to disobey his orders and to make sure they stayed that way, kept away from his handler.

He knew him targeting the men trying to take young Percy away from his home would eventually come back to bite him. But he felt no remorse. The weapon that was once destined to kill him now killed the people he used to work for.

Hydra was going to be a problem, he knew, but for now, his only goal is making sure Percy Jackson lived to see the next day. And perhaps, in time, he would remember why this black-haired, green-eyed child reminded him of the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy in his snapshot moments of memory he tries to cling to.

His face relaxed and some tension left the shoulder he still had as he took a seat next to the motel door, the only entrance and exit of the room, placed his silenced pistol next to his hand, and let his body fall into a light slumber in case anyone tried to enter their room while they slept.

Hydra was a problem for another day, right now he had to make sure Percy stayed alive and lived. Which included making sure neither stayed in one place too long or become predictable in their travel plans.

He remembers the Athens posters in young Percy's room that he knew his mother gifted him, perhaps the boy would like to see them in person.