Steven Rogers (ex_stevengro92) wrote in spinningcompass, @ 2013-11-06 16:54:00 |
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Steven was walking slowly as he left the building with the doors. His hair was dyed a dark brown and almost hidden under a fedora. He carried a broken pair of glasses in his hand. He kept his head down, hoping the hat would hide his black eye and split lip as he walked. At least he had gotten to see his mother. Even if the whole thing had ended badly. Howard had been out for a walk, wondering if he might by chance see Luna later on, when he rounded the corner and saw a figure come out of the building of Doors. As he came closer he recognised the Steven he’d known before Abraham’s treatment, and had met at the hospital. “Steve, wait up,” he called out, feeling a little guilty he hadn’t visited the man since that day he’d been discharged from the hospital. “It’s me, Howard,” he said, starting to sound a little puzzled when he saw Steve trying to hide his face beneath a hat. Steven sighed and stopped. He couldn’t ignore Howard. He did his best to try to keep his face hidden, though. “Hey, Howard. How’s your day going?” He cleared his throat, the broken glasses visible in his hand. Howard’s eyes darted down to the glasses, then back up to try and see the man’s face. “A lot better than yours I’m going to guess,” he told him, taking a hold of Steve’s shoulder and twisting down to see his face. “What door have you been arguing with?” he asked, eyebrow arched and brow furrowed when he caught a glimpse of Steve’s face. Steven sighed again and this time looked up, pulling his hat off his head. He looked completely different with the dark hair. “I went to Brooklyn.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to see my mom.” “I see,” Howard said, surprised at what he saw under the hat. “Now, if my memory serves me right, and the files they had on you were accurate, it wouldn’t have been your mom who did this, right?” Steven shook his head. “Dad came home early from the bar.” He bit his lip, then winced. “He got mad and….I kind of got in the way. I couldn’t just stand there and let him hit her. And I could actually kind of do something about it. Not really because he’s like twice my size, but I had to try.” He looked down. “Especially since little me was watching from the other room…..” Howard frowned, his mouth twisting up as he recalled some of the things Tony had said about his own treatment of his family in the future. Or at least his future, but Tony and Maria’s lives. “I see.” He turned and put his arm around Steven’s shoulder and started walking him toward the hospital. “I hope you managed to at least land a few blows,” he said, looking down at the man’s face. They were only a year apart in age, originally, but Steven had always been such a strong character that his body had never quite caught up to, until Abraham’s treatment. It pained Howard a little to think that the man beside him had gone to tackle someone who sounded like they would best be met by the man Steven became. “I got one good one in. He’ll have a shiner in the morning.” He smiled a little, almost proudly. “But I’m really scared about what he’s going to do to Mom because of what I did.” He shook his head. “He could take it out on her and….he’s bad enough when he’s just drunk but when he’s mad and drunk…..” He blinked back some tears. Howard patted Steven’s shoulder as they walked toward the hospital. “Let’s get you fixed up first, and then we might have to go and see what Cap is doing, hmm? Might be time this dad of yours met the man you really are on terms that are a little more fair.” Steven stopped and shook his head. “I don’t need to get fixed up, it’s fine. I’ve had a lot worse than this. Just need some ice, that’s all.” He smiled. “I don’t know if Steve could really help set dad straight.” He cleared his throat. “The only thing that ever stopped him was when he died….” Howard stopped and looked at Steven. “Look, I don’t know how much what we do in those worlds will affect the future, but I also don’t want to think we left your mother in the hands of a bastard like that. Maybe we can get someone over there to threaten him, tell him to lay off her, or else…” It angered him that he didn’t know what ripples it would send through the future, interfering, and deep down he knew it was also a way he could at least atone for some of the things he did in his future, to his son and wife. “Let’s talk to Steve. He’s...he’s actually bigger than dad. At least he’s broader. Maybe he could scare him or something.” Steven scratched the back of his neck. “Lil’s going to kill me.” He made a face. “I kind of didn’t let her know I was doing this…” He ran his fingers through his hair. “But maybe we could get somebody else to scare him too.” His mind was going all over the place. “Mitchell!” He grinned. “Mitchell could really scare him.” “Mitchell?” Howard said, not sure of who Steven meant. “But Steve would have a good reason to do it. Do you want to talk to him? Or do we go and find this Mitchell character. What is it about him that would put the fear of God into your father?” “He’s a vampire.” Steven nodded. That said it simply enough. “But I think we need to talk to Steve first. He witnessed first hand what dad can be like. And since we’re the same guy, then he knows how badly I wanted to protect mom from him but I just couldn’t.” He sighed. “And when he called me a disappointment of a son because of how sick I was….” After digesting the information on Mitchell, again Howard winced. Suddenly having a father who believed children should be seen and not heard, and lived up to that motto didn’t seem so bad. Not hearing anything from the man other than bane platitudes would be preferable to abuse. “Can’t imagine Abraham’s serum would have removed those memories,” he muttered. “So let’s go talk to him first. If he’s up for it, maybe he can scare the living crap out of dad and get him to stop hitting mom. If he’s not, then...I’ll need to learn better fighting skills I guess.” He made a face. “Or we can get somebody else.” Howard nodded, patting Steven on the shoulder and checking out his eye. “And if I know Peggy at all she will have ice and no end of advice and fussing to do over seeing this,” he added before turning and starting them toward the cottage on the outskirts of town. Steven nodded. "I think she's pretty convinced that I can't go ten minutes without getting hurt. As of yet, I haven't given her any reason to think otherwise." He chuckled a little. As they walked he put the broken glasses in his jacket pocket. There was no reason for them now. It didn't take long to get to the cottage and Steven knocked on the door, clearing his throat and glancing over at Howard. |