Chapter Text
Chapter One - The Stealing Of a Dog.
The Soldier stood in the middle of the room, frozen, blue eyes glued to the animal growling from the entrance hallway, it's only functioning eye glinting in the darkness. The man couldn't understand how he had made such a stupid mistake as he observed the apartment as to not notice that the dark-haired woman - Kate, the man called her - had not taken the dog along with them when they left. It wasn't like him to make any kinds of mistake, so he decided to blame his sloppiness on his hunger. Excuses would not make the situation any easier, though. He needed to distract the blind dog, so he could finish his task. Such task consisted in taking all the food, clothing and medical supplies he needed. After leaving the blond man from the hellicarrier - the one who called him James Buchanan Barnes, a friend. - somewhat safe by the river's side, the Asset's sole mission had been survival. And, if surviving meant he needed to steal things from people who forgot their window open when leaving, he was more than glad to compliant, specially if keeping his mind focused on the self-ordered task meant he didn't need to think about the Smithsonian exposition he had visited just a few hours prior.
The canine growls and barks, but makes no move to attack, which the intruder takes as a good sign. Not wanting to startle the animal, the crouches down to the floor, flesh hand extended in front of him, metal hand gripping the hunting knife nestled on his back, just in case. The dog approaches him carefully, teeth still bared, and takes his time while sniffing the strange man before licking his hand and wagging the tail. With the phantom of a smile dancing across his lips, he reads the tag on the animal's collar, and snorts at the distasteful phrase written on it. Lucky ('also responds to Arrow. Do not call him that.' written under it in small letters) barks again, but it almost sounds playful this time around. The Soldier lets go of his knife, using the metal fingers to tug at the name tagging instead, ripping it from the collar with a flick of his wrist. He nods to the animal solemnly, as if he had just saved it's life before standing up, throwing the retorted tag onto the kitchen counter. Now confident that he isn't under attack, the brunette makes his way around the small apartment, choosing what sustenance he thinks would work better for him, and one or two shirts that seemed a bit bigger than the others, and might fit him, even if a tad tighter than he was used to. While digging through one of the rooms - Messy and clearly owned by a male, he believes it to be Barton's - the Soldier comes across weaponry. Several different types of arrows, bows, crossbows and very few and fairly new-looking pistols. He takes the pistols, along with all the ammunition he can carry, but his mind starts to wonder who exactly Kate and Barton are. As the Asset starts to leave, Lucky whines, his head resting over dingy paws. The Soviet wraps his flesh arm around the dog's rib-cage, jumping out of the window a couple of seconds before Barton waltz into his home, bleeding and injured, with a screaming Kate hot on his wheels.
It takes a whole of five seconds for the Winter Soldier to regret stealing the dog. He's made base of a vacant house conveniently away from the city, but there was still people living in proximity, and the quieter he could be, the better. The dog was not quiet. Lucky barked a lot, had the heaviest breathing the man had ever heard, and the click of his paws against the floor echoed throughout the empty house. It bothered the long-haired man that he was ready to pick up the animal and return it to Barton's apartment, but the way it curled up around his legs before falling asleep was more than enough to change his mind. With an awkward pat to the dog's head, he leans back and, for the first time in four days, allows himself to fall asleep.