His stomach ached, the hungry growl making him grit his teeth. His temple throbbed whenever he made any sudden movements and he carefully raised his t-shirt to look over his abdomen. It wasn't as bad as he would have thought and he had a feeling Chip had gone easy on him, merely giving him a hint of what would happen if he disobeyed again. He allowed the shirt to slip through his fingers and cover the darkening bruises once again.

He reached for the glass of water he had noticed sitting beside his mattress, the large gulp eased his empty stomach just a little, it was enough for now. He knew the human body can go 8 to 21 days without food, so he was sure he wasn't going to starve to death just yet.

The red blotches of blood in front of his shirt had dried to brown, the colour was such a heavy contrast against the white. The glass had barely been drained when he heard two heavy footsteps heading towards him.

Ralph had been quiet, mumbling to Fergus one-worded answers, saying he had no time for his games. Even though he was met with silence, Fergus kept asking him tricky questions, trying to converse with the man whose personality seemed to have changed overnight. He was convinced it had something to do with the interrogation day earlier.

As he sat in the claustrophobic room, sleep dust still heavily in his eyes and clothes wrinkled, he tried to ignore the drowsiness that he suspected came with the restrains that banned his magic. His skin crawled, stomach growled uncomfortably and temples still ached, but Fergus was not going to show them that it bothered him. He couldn't, not so soon. It was just his second day. He assumed it must have been very early morning taking into consideration how few people he met on his way to the interrogation room.

The same time Fergus closed his eyes, attempting to get some shut-eye before the frightening day began, two floors up the famous Captain America made his way hurriedly town the corridors, heading towards the underground levels where SHIELD held secret laboratories, holding cells and interrogation rooms. He had just made it back from Europe, Kosovo. It had been a false alarm, some agents had suspected that HYDRA was starting up again, luckily it had just been a starting organisation intending to start making weapons. It had been shut down before it had even started.

“You sure about it, Cap?” the super-soldier didn't even glance over his broad shoulder towards Natasha. The woman was silent on her steps as if she wasn't even there. “Yes, I know that look in his eyes. The kid needs someone.” his tone was determined and eyes locked on the elevator down the hall. They still hadn't changed their clothes and it was barely 6 AM, they had landed the quinjet merely fifteen minutes ago. When Sam had messaged Steve about the situation, telling the kid had been brought in and all Sam's influence on Agents had been ripped as soon as they stepped into the building, Steve knew he needed to come back as soon as possible.

“And you think this someone is you?” Natasha knew Steve had had a soft spot for the kid ever since Axis had killed the blond-haired friend, she knew Steve had kept an eye on the boy as if he was ready to help him as soon as he even stumbled. At some point, Natasha was convinced Rogers was going to adopt the almost eighteen-year-old, she was glad when the boy was taken away. He deserved a new start, but taking into consideration all the mess the kid now was in, Natasha wasn't so sure if the new family was such a good idea. “If there's no else, then why not me?”

“Have you forgotten about your role in society? Do you really think an orphan needs it? Think it through before you do anything rash. Also, I did some research on your way back, the family seems to have disappeared.” the duo came to a halt behind the thick iron door. Steve knew if he wanted to, he could easily punch a hole through it. But it woul restrain normal humans. What he had gathered, the boy might be a little more than meets the eye.

Steve frowned, looking down on Natasha's alert, green eyes. They were always guarded, but through the years of working side by side, he had learned how to look past the guards, Natasha was and always will be an enigma, but she will always be Steves friend as well.

“Any leads?” the woman shook her head, freshly dyed blond hair moving in waves. She's dyed her hair often, helped her blend in different missions she claimed, but Steve had a feeling she liked to doll herself up, playing with guns and agents was her priority, but Natasha liked occasions where she could play with her looks. “I'll get to it soon. Also, Barton informed me that Agent Gonzales roughened him up yesterday. Wasn't their brightest idea if they wanted him to co-operate. He might need some buttering up.” she noticed the way Steves back muscles coiled under the agent attire, jaw ticked and knuckles turned white in clenched fists. “Damn Fury, he tried to keep it from us didn't he.” there was a rough edge to his tone. Her silence was an answer enough, but when Barton is sweeping the quarters there's barely anything that he doesn't miss, Fury should have known better if he wanted to hide the boy from them.

“I'll take your gear up, make him feel less threatened. Following the protocol, they haven't most likely fed the hostage. I'll alert Sam of our arrival.” her voice was void of any emotion as she held out her hand for the gun belt and row of knives tucked into his jean pockets. Steve unbuckled the belts, pulling them off with a little too much force as he gave his weapons to Tasha, he did not fear for his safety. Unless there was a nuclear bomb behind the door, Steve was in no danger. he just wanted to get there already and talk to the boy. Fury had most likely been notified of their arrival and rushed request to see the prisoner. Because the lower level is only granted by a handful of agents, Steve had no chance to meet the boy there, so he had to request the boy to be brought upstairs.

“The cameras in the room have gone off on pure accident, I presume fifteen minutes is all you have, depending on how awake the director is.” Steves shield was heavy and cold in her hands, despite all sorts of grenades and bombs she has held in her hands, the shield of Captain America intimidated her for reason. Her green orbs met his blue ones filled with gratitude. He knew how Nat had gone out of her way for him, being the agent of SHIELD Natasha was always only to follow Fury's orders. But she was not told to not to aid Captain America. And as far as she knew, it could be part of his mission.

“Thank you.” the assassin nodded, turned around swiftly and left the way she had came. Steve turned his gaze away from the disappearing figure, eyes landing on the door. His calloused fingers curled around the doorknob, feeling the soft vibration of the door as it clicked open. He hesitated for a second, hovering near the door as his eyes fell on the teen whose head had lulled on his chest, pieces of midnight hair falling like curtains around the sides of his face. His cuffed hands were on his lap, not a single tense emotion on display. He looked rather peaceful in his slumber, Steve thought. His shoulders tensed as he noticed the busted lip and half-moon shaped bruise under his closed eye, it was partially hidden behind the ink-black hair, but visible nevertheless. Pain flared in his chest as he saw the memories of Bucky two years ago in the exact same position. The difference between Fergus and Steve was that the supersoldier still had his best friend.

The door clicked shut audibly, making Steve gaze at the sleeping teen, he would have thought the commotion would have woken him up, but taking into consideration how early it was for normal people and how much he had gone through, Steve supposed it was no surprise that fatigue had won. He took three large steps and pulled out the heavy chair from underneath the table, sitting on it quietly. It creaked under his weight, the sound too loud in the silent room. There was a beat of silence and Steve wondered what would be the best way to wake him up without startling him further. It must be a terrible situation for such youth, he thought bitterly, his angry thoughts not aimed at the teen, but rather towards the organization and injustice. “Do you know how rude it is to stare? Makes me feel like you're a pedophile. Not that I'd be surprised.”

Steve blinked in surprise, impressed how well the teen was holding up. His breathing pattern had been deep and even, as if he was in deep slumber, not a single muscle in his body had moved. Maybe Steve had indeed underestimated him, but nevertheless, he was not going to judge until he had solid facts. “Maybe I wouldn't have to stare if you'd stop faking.”

That voice sent ice down Fergus' spine, the same voice that had spoken to him when Ref had passed away. His eyes flew open, landing on the man sitting opposite of him and his breath hitched. Steve had almost forgotten how unnaturally green his eyes were. He waited for him to answer, but he just stared, poisonous green eyes locked on sky blue orbs. In a way, his stance reminded Steve of Natasha. For naïve eyes, Fergus looked relaxed, bored even. But if you looked closer, deeper into those apple green eyes you could see those thousands of thoughts running chaotically, assessing, analyzing, debating next moves. Like a wolf waiting for the right moment to strike.

Impressive.

So, he waited, giving the boy time to adjust and sort out his thoughts. Even though Steve felt the time was pressing on them, he stayed quiet. Trying to demand answers would probably make Fergus stay silent and withdraw completely, most likely coil into himself and start seeing them all as enemies. Steve didn't want that.

“If you have to hurt other people in order to feel powerful, you are an extremely weak individual.” there was a touch of bitterness to his tone, but it was only natural for someone in his situation. Steve broke the eye contact, his curious eyes scanning Fergus' pale face, taking in the swelling over his brow, cracked lips and sharp look. His upper body was tense, making Steve believe Fergus was making himself ready to be beaten up again. That was not right, it went against everything Steve stood for.

Underneath the layers of refined facades and thoroughly thought through masks, Fergus was, simply put... Freaking the fuck out. He knew this man, it was one of them. One of the Avengers. Captain America. An icon, a soldier, a man with plan B, C, D... Fergus was most definitely intimidated! Was this part of their plan? Give Fergus a stroke? Because if it kept going on like this, he was going to get a heart attack from all that fear that made his heart beat wildly.

“I'm not here to hurt you and I would like to apologize for the way they have treated you. I know there isn't nearly enough in those words, but I do hope that you and I can come to an understanding of sorts.” slowly, so he wouldn't startle the already suspicious teen, Steve rested his elbows on the table and tried to keep his shoulders in a slight crouch to seem less intimidating. He could remember well those times when he was shorter than Tony Stark and how burly men used to scare him. Even though Fergus was not short, nor did he seem too intimidated but Steve knew better. Facades were easy to come in places like this.

“It's off, you forgot to turn it on.” his voice was emotionless as the super-soldier raised his eyebrow quizically. Fergus nodded towards the camera on the table. “you forgot to turn it on. The man last time filmed with it.”

“I'm not going to film anything, everything is turned off. Including the one in the ceiling. I'm just here to talk.” His words sounded sincere, but Fergus knew better. The spider waits until the fly is stuck, trashing in the web and unable to go away before it comes running to sink its teeth into the poor little fly. And Fergus was not going to end up like a fly in a spiders web. No matter how large the web was.

“So, are you up to a small chat? I just want to understand what exactly is going on. And by understanding the situation I can understand you and find the best way out of this, yeah? This isn't a game, it's serious. And believe it or not, I am trying to help you. We've all done things we aren't proud of, so prove to me that you're worth it to be out of these suffocating rooms. The first step? Is telling me what exactly has happened ever since... Ever since I last saw you. I'm not pushing you to tell me anything you are not comfortable with, but time is of essence here. So, what do you say? Help me help you?”

Was this man insane? For the sake of Fergus' aching temples and freedom that he already missed, he nodded hesitantly, eyeing Steve slightly suspiciously.

Fake it till you make it, pal.

***
2368 words!

P.s Steve is a sweetheart.

I haven't been updating acitvely, because I keep working with everything in the drafts, all at once.

I don't know why I'm doing this to myself but I can't stop. Smh. Anyways, update brought to you 1AM hope you enjoyed it, doodles!

Sincerely
Stranger