He'd been wandering the streets, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, his baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He was searching for an alley or a sheltered place to sleep for the night, the previous alley he's been sleeping in being discovered by the people who worked in the building adjacent to the place. The sun was beginning to slip below the horizon, and the Winter Soldier buried his face into the collar of his dirty jacket, the beginning of spring doing little to relieve the chill in the air.
There are very few people out on the street, and for that, he's grateful. He wonders why there are less people crowding the city than usual. Obviously today was important in some way, he just couldn't remember, barely even wanted to remember. If he tried, his head began to pound and ache, bits of memories flashing into his mind that were two much to bear.
Suddenly the boisterous sound of someone laughing cut through the evening air, the sound so foreign to the soldier it made him stop. He heard the sound again, this time revealing itself to emanate from one of the brightly lit houses lining the streets. He stood there a minute, the sound of the laughter stirring up emotions he wasn't familiar with.
Curiosity won out. He crept up the to window and peered inside. The house was full of light and warmth. A family was gathered around a large table, two kids, parents, and grandparents, laughing and eating. His empty stomach cramped as he saw and smelled the food they were eating. The little boy was clamoring to sit in the father's lap, and he was laughing and picking him up and twirling him in the air. The mother left the room and returned a few minutes later with a pie and two chocolate pieces in the shape of rabbits, which she handed to the two kids. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves, delighting in each other's company.
The soldier kept peering through the glass, this image so foreign that he couldn't stop watching. He couldn't remember ever seeing people like this, so completely happy and content that they didn't have a care in the world. He wondered what day this actually was, to bring people together like this.
Suddenly a memory scratched at the edge of his mind. A basket filled with colorful eggs. A scrawny kid grinning and offering him a chocolate bunny. Running through the streets collecting eggs, fighting over who reached one first. Him giving an egg to the scrawny kid 'cause he hadn't got nearly as many as him.
He backed away from the window, gritting his teeth and pressing his hands to his temples. The memory was too much to bear. He pushed his back into the brick wall, sinking down, hot tears pricking his eyes. An extreme longing to join that family mingled with the pain of the memory. He so much wanted to feel what they were feeling: joy, happiness. But he didn't know how, these feelings were lost inside him, lost or beaten out of him by HYDRA until all that was left was the ruthless killer known as the Winter Soldier.
Opening his eyes, he noticed an alley near the apartment that was vacant. He crept inside, selecting an area covered by a few trashcans that would be safe to spend the night. He lay down on the ground and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ignore his empty stomach and aching heart, the laughter of the family still wringing in his ears.