"How do you like your blue-eyed boy, Mr. Death?" Death looked down, watching as the little girl skipped happily toward him. In one hand she clutched a rose bloom, and the other she dragged a length of fine golden chain.
Death looked at her, his hood casting shadows down his front.
"Oh, Mr. Death, don't say such mean things. I only want to play with him for a little while. You'll be sure to get him soon enough," The little girl hopped onto the moss covered stone bench to sit beside Death. She wound the golden chain around her thin wrist and smiled brightly, revealing even white teeth and rosy dimpled cheeks. The rose she clutched seemed to glow in the half light of the glen they sat in, and the still water around them eagerly reflected the meager light of the flower.
Death raised a hand, boney finger pointing to the flower.
"Oh no, Mr. Death, I couldn't!" the little girl pouted a moment, her red eyes looking at her friend sadly, "If I give him to you now… all my plans will be undone!" She reached forward to tug at Death's robes, releasing the sickly sweet smell of the graveyard from the thick folds of fabric, "I promise Mr. Death. I just need this one for a little while…"
Death inclined his head, and turned to gaze back into the pool at their feet. The edges of his robes mingled at the waterline in inky tendrils of smoke. In the none-existent breeze they waved and rippled. Lifting his scythe, Death touched the surface of the water ever so slightly, creating only the tiniest of ripples. The ripples coursed over the water, upsetting lily pads and cattails and causing the silt to clear. Just under the point of Death's scythe a picture began to form.
A man, tiny and frail. He stood in line before an Army recruiter, sweating and trembling but with a determined look in his eyes. Death gestured to the picture, slowly, calmly. The little girl giggled,
"Oh Mr. Death, you know why he's important! He doesn't look it now… but we both can see where he's heading!" with that the little girl tossed her flower into the water and the picture changed.
Bombs were falling over Berlin. Planes plummeted from the sky with smoking and burning engines. Paratroopers drifted like dandelion fluffs of the damned toward a war scarred and chaotic battlefield. A single man in uniform stood, issuing orders with calm and resolve; the soldiers following him obeyed without question nor fear. Despite the gunfire, despite the smoke and screams and panic, the man with the star emblazoned shield stood strong in his trench. And those around him stood strong as well.
"See Mr. Death? I need him! You can have him after the war!"
Death simply waved his hand and the image dispersed, settling back on the bench Death looked as though he heaved a great sigh and turned his head away. The little girl squealed and wrapped her arms around him excitedly, thanking him through joyful laughter. She leapt to her feet and knelt beside the pond, the first image of the frail looking man in ill-fitting trousers floating to the surface once again. She held her golden chain just over the water's surface, watching in glee as the man encountered a woman in uniform, her hair smartly curled and her posture proper. As the chain dipped into the water, encircling the man's heart, it glowed.
Death watched as Fate secured her chain to Steve Roger's heart, knowing that even though he would get the boy in the end, it would be a long time in coming.
A/N-This is the first installment in my newest "Blue-Eyed Boy" series. I'm going to be doing a short little chapter like this for each of my favorite blue-eyed (and some will be non-blue eyed too) characters that seem to have cheated Death. If you liked it, review. If you didn't, review. If you want to see a specific character, review and I'll acquiesce. Ta.
