verb.
To fall back under pressure. To shrink back physically or emotionally.
noun.
The kickback of a gun upon firing.
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It takes a stubborn mind to cling to their humanity when the world seeks to strip it away.
It takes a desperate soul to reach f...
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"You alright, Katie?"
"Hm?"
"Are you okay? That's the third time you haven't heard me today." Gavin gave her a concerned frown as he leaned on the counter of the rental shop the next day, watching as she had been absently staring at the gears of the bike she was kneeling in front of in the middle of the floor.
"Yeah- sorry. Just got some stuff on my mind."
"Thinking about a boy?" The teasing comment came from the shop owner, Magda, as she puttered about, rearranging the helmets on the back wall. A tiny woman whose age was impossible to place, she often reminded Katie of a bird – all twiggy limbs and constantly hopping back and forth – and she was never seen without a pair of garish rubber clogs on her feet. She was a practical creature with a thick accent, a strong dislike of modern technology, a love of her city and a bitter rival of the café next door. Not for any good reason, but she seemed to enjoy her morning routine of kicking the outdoor tables out of her way as she wheeled bikes past. Katie had liked her from the moment she had set eyes on her.
"You'll make me jealous." Gavin chuckled as he pushed himself up to help his employer reach a top shelf, "I thought I was the only man in your life."
"Oh believe me, it'd be so much easier if you were, Gav." Katie laughed humourlessly as she shook her head, "No, just- I heard from an old friend last night, kind of."
"Old flame?" Magda grinned mischievously, the expression creasing the soft lines of her face and exposing a row of teeth yellowed by years of smoking.
"Not quite." She smiled wryly, spinning the wheel of the upturned bike in front of her.
"Eh- we'll see." The older woman shrugged, pulling a packet of cigarettes from inside her jacket and shuffling to the open storefront; "You're too smart for Gavin anyway – finish up kids, it's nearly closing time."
"You're breaking my heart, Mags." Gavin called after her with a laugh, bracing his hands on his hips and shaking his head. Katie didn't really hear any of the light-hearted banter as she lost herself in the blur of wheel spokes as the tire before her face spun. It was one of those days where she didn't really remember how she got to work, or any interactions she had throughout the day. Nor would she remember packing up and heading home. Her mind was still turning last night's conversation over, examining it from every angle as she tried to make sense of it all. As she tried to figure out her next move.
Sam hadn't told her everything, but he had told her enough. That he was working with Steve Rogers – Captain America, he had explained, as if she wouldn't already know. She might have been on ice for twenty years, but she hadn't been living under a rock for the last three. She knew there had been a past there, between Barnes and Rogers, but Sam elaborated. Childhood friends, brothers in arms; Barnes was the nearest thing Rogers had to family in this century, and that worked both ways, supposedly. Captain America wasn't trying to track down the Winter Soldier to settle old scores, he simply wanted his best friend back. He needed to know his friend was safe.
