Chapter Ten:

Steve woke up at six AM on the dot. He grunted, sitting up straight. He stretched, and glanced at the ground. Blue was curled up on the ground, still fast asleep. His mouth was open and thin line of drool stained his blankets under him. Steve smiled, and got out on the other side of the bed.

Steve quickly showered and dressed in the bathroom. He stepped out of the room and glanced at the digital clock again ― 06: 22. "JARVIS," He said softly, pulling his shoes on. "Tell me if Blue wakes up ― don't make any noise," He said, before the AI could respond. "Blink the lights once if you understood." The lights blinked and Steve nodded. "Thank you."

Steve slipped his other shoe on, and looked back at Blue, who was still curled up and snoring lightly. A smile tugged at Steve's lips, and he walked out of the room

Steve spent an hour in the gym in the Tower. He was later joined by Natasha, who insisted on sparring with him. After duelling for twenty minutes and not quite deciding who was the winner, Steve moved to sit down, opening his water bottle and drinking it.

"How's the kid coming?" Natasha asked, moving beside him.

"It's a process," Steve replied. He set his iPod down behind him. "I think he's warming up to me, but. . ."

"Did something happen last night? I heard screaming."

"That was him. He woke up on the couch and somehow managed to cut his forehead. Tony was in the kitchen and tried to help him. When he opened up the wipe to clean the blood, Blue had a fit."

"Is everyone alright?" Natasha asked, her eyebrows creased with worry.

"You see, that's the thing," Steve ran a hand through his hair. "Tony and I were having an argument, and Blue jumped on Tony. I swear he would've killed him if I hadn't said anything."

"Why did he attack Tony?"

"I didn't get it either at first, but when I asked him, he said 'Tony hurt Steve'. Nat, he was protecting me."

Natasha stared at him, her eyes narrowed. ". . . But, he's supposed to kill you."

"Exactly!" Steve sighed, rubbing his face. "Why would he go out of his way to protect me when he was sent here to kill me?"

"Maybe he got confused," Natasha suggested. "He forgot his mission to make sure you were safe."

"Or, he wants to be the one who kills me," Steve shrugged. "He's a mystery. . ."

"Yep," Natasha stood. "It's eight-fifteen, are you going to wake the kid up?"

"Yeah," Steve stood up too, and stretched a bit. "I'll see you at breakfast."

"No you won't," she replied. "Clint's cooking." Steve laughed at her long-standing grudge of Clint's cooking, and left the gym.

с·и·н

When he came back, he found Blue just as he left him ― curled up and sleeping. Steve chuckled and walked over. He bent down. "Blue? Time to get up." He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, and immediately regretted it.

Blue jumped, his foot coming flying at Steve's face. It landed in his chin, making his head snap to the side. Steve grunted, touching his face, but the boy wasn't done.

He tackled Steve, his fangs bared as he hissed. Steve looked up at him, "Blue, wait―!" The sound died in his throat as he stared at Blue, or really his eyes.

He never noticed before, but Blue's eyes weren't black, like he suspected, but simply a very dark shade of blue. It almost reminded him of the night sky, that indigo shade, but a few hues darker. His eyes, Steve noticed, were beautiful, Steve couldn't help but stare at them, his body relaxing. They mesmerized him, they took up all of his attention.

Steve blinked slowly, almost not wanting to blink at all, a second away from looking at his eyes wasn't something he wanted to do. Blue's claws sank into his shoulder, and his fangs nearly bit into his neck, when suddenly, Blue was tackled and held away.

His ears felt like they were filled with cotton, but he was sure someone was calling his name. "Ste. . . Steve!"

He snapped up, looking over at Natasha, who had been watching Steve, her eyes narrowed. "Steve, what the hell!?"

Blue was struggling in her grasp, but as soon as he saw Steve, he stopped. Then, he blinked, as if clearing his head. "Steve?" Blue asked.

Steve himself was still a bit out of it. He shook his head, rubbing his jaw, "Ugh."

"What happened? Why were you just lying there?" Natasha demanded. She was still holding onto Blue, but he wasn't moving.

"His eyes. . ." Steve muttered, "He's an Enhanced. Geez. That's what Tony meant last night." Blue whined in Natasha's arm, he stared at Steve, regret and worry in his blue eyes. "You can let him go, Nat. He's not a threat anymore."

Natasha reluctantly did as told. Blue rubbed his wrist and began to check his wrapped up wounds ― most had healed nicely.

"What the hell was that?" Natasha demanded.

"He's an Enhanced," Steve explained. "His eyes were. . . Distracting me."

"What?" Steve bit his lip, trying to explain.

"His eyes, he. . . I dunno, they just. . . they got all big and I just. . . I couldn't move." Blue stared at Steve, his blue eyes growing with even more horror. He crawled back, scared. "It's okay ― I'm not mad, B."

Blue sucked his teeth and he looked at Steve's bleeding shoulders, and the light marks where his teeth cut Steve's neck. "Don't worry about that, you were scared. I should've been more careful waking you up. I'm not mad at you, you don't have to be scared."

Blue didn't move, but he did relax a little. Steve took this as a sign to continue. "Natasha, can you get him some clothes? I'm gonna see if he can take a shower."

"Sure," Natasha said, and stood. "Oh, and you left this," she tossed him his iPod and ear buds. Steve rose an eyebrow, realizing that he did leave it lying on the gym mat.

Natasha gave a wary look to Blue, who flinched, looking away. "Be careful, Steve."

"I know," Steve said, and she walked out the door. Steve looked back at Blue, who gave a short sniff, rubbing at his eyes.

Steve assessed him. The boy certain had a stink around him, and it looked like his body was covered in dirt and grime and blood, here and there. His hair was short, but it was tangled and Steve suspected that it had begun to lock from lack of care.

"Come on, B," Steve said, stretching out a hand to him. He flinched, not looking up. "You know I'm not going to hurt you. Let's go, you gotta take a shower."

"Shower?" Blue asked and Steve gave a sad smile. Based on the layers upon layers of grime, it wasn't a surprise that he didn't know what it was.

"Yeah, I'll show you," Steve stepped over to grab Blue's crutch and held it out to him.

Blue shook his head. "Leg no hurt," He explained, getting up on his own. Steve watched, proudly and waved him along.

Steve led Blue to the bathroom and turned on the light switch. His bathroom was medium sized, with a porcelain toilet, tub, and countertop for his sink. It was wide enough for him to have a medium-sized cabinet.

"I'm going to show you how to use the shower, then, I'll step out, okay?" Blue nodded, leaning over the toilet. "Good, over here." He stepped close to the tub, and Blue next to him. He gently turned on the water, and flicked the switch to allow it to be directed to the top.

As soon as water came out, Blue jumped, falling on his back, his head hitting the tiled floor. Steve turned around to see him huddled in the corner, ready to fight, eyes blazing again, tempting. Mesmerizing.

Steve tried not to look at it, instead he stared at the spot over his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Steve angry me!" He said quickly. "Steve no angry. Now ― angry, me!"

Steve took a second to decide what he had just said. "B, I'm not mad at you―"

"Steve angry!" Blue insisted, staring desperately. "Hose ― angry me!" Steve watched his fangs slide over his teeth. He held his hands up innocently.

"That's not a hose, B," Steve said calmly. He remembered how close those teeth had been to ripping his throat out. "It's a shower, it doesn't hurt. See?" He put his hand underneath the water, and made sure Blue watched as it bounced off his hand harmlessly. Blue eased and the intensity of his gaze went away. "Are you ready?"

Blue still looked a bit scared, but Steve helped. He reached into the cabinet, pulling out a towel. "Here. You can wash with this, you don't have to get completely in the shower if you don't want to." Blue stood slowly and watched the shower, as if expecting it to come alive and attack him. Blue took the towel from Steve and stayed where he was.

"Take your time," Steve said. "I'll be back later. I'll knock on the door like this―" he demonstrated on the side of the tub, knocking three times. "I'll bring you something to wear too, alright?" Blue nodded, and Steve gave him a reassuring smile, before leaving the room.

b·l·a·u

Steve was waiting in his room for Blue to be done, when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," He called, and the door opened. Tony stepped in his room, his arms crossed. "Stark," Steve greeted, an eyebrow raised.

"Love what you've done with the place," Tony commented, looking around the blank wall and the bare minimum for survival. "Definitely brings the 'detached' feel. Very heartwarming."

"What do you want, Stark?" Steve asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I found something," Tony said, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. Steve rose an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. "His mom is still alive. She's living in Palo Alto, same address as when he left. I've contacted her about Blue, she hasn't responded yet."

Steve blinked, "That's good," he said, surprised.

"She's been in and out of rehab for the past ten years," Tony said. "Substance abuse."

"Oh," Steve frowned, and Tony made a face.

"I contacted her anyway," He said, moving to lean against the wall. "She deserves to know her son is alive, but. . . if she's not capable of handling Blue, then. . ."

"He's sixteen," Steve frowned, "He'll be in and out of foster care. He won't have anywhere to go. And, he's not equipped with the skills to live by himself ― not with where he's at now."

"I agree," Tony said. "That's why I came to you. I think we should take him to see her, once all this is, you know, sorted out. We can work out what to do. Hopefully, she can get her act together, take Blue in permanently."

Steve nodded, he definitely agreed, but he had grown a bit attached to the boy, even though they had only known each other for less than a day. He was vulnerable, and willing to follow the beck and call of anyone who claimed to be his 'Master'. Not only that, but he was an Enhanced, and inherently dangerous, even when he didn't mean it. His mother was used to a completely different Blue, a younger, probably softer version. Blue has changed significantly in the past ten years, far from what she remembered of him.

But this was his mother, Steve reasoned. He remembered the look on the boy's face when he asked him about it. His eyes getting a bit of a faraway look, his brow furrowing, as if he were struggling to remember something he dreamed years before. He asked him about brownies, something he had completely forgotten that he liked. Blue might not be able to remember everything, but Steve knew he wasn't always like this. Maybe the five-year-old Blue was fun and loved sweets ― probably something unfathomable to the boy now. He wondered what the younger Blue did in his free-time. Did he like to draw? Or played an instrument?

Blue's entire life had been ripped away at an age where he would have been developing himself and his personality. Maybe, if he reunited with his mother, he'd be able to return to that life.

"We'll do it," Steve agreed. "After this is all cleaned up."

"Good," Tony smirked, and then crossed his arms, the look of mischief back in his eyes. "I heard you had a tumble with him this morning."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Nat told you?"

"She said you just lied there," Tony continued, a bit more seriously. He held up a hand, showing two fingers an inch apart. "This close to getting your throat ripped out."

"Is that what happened to you last night?" Steve asked, "You did the same thing."

Tony bristled, looking away. "He caught me off guard."

"It was his eyes, wasn't it," Steve said. "It's hypnotizing."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Hypnosis isn't real."

"Maybe it is, for an Enhanced."

"That's what you think he is?" Tony rose an eyebrow.

Steve shrugged, "Banner said he might have abilities he might not even realize he has. When I told Nat what happened, he looked confused."

Tony's eyes narrowed, "We'll talk to him later, then. Or, have Bruce give him a check up."

"Sounds good," Steve nodded, and Tony grimaced. "What?"

"If. . . Hypothetically speaking, if Blue does have the ability to. . . hypnotize people with his eyes ― which is absolutely absurd and doesn't make any sense to me ― it'll make him a significant threat, if he were trying to kill you again. Even without realizing it, he'd always have the upperhand."

"I wasn't hypnotized when I fought him the first time."

"You were in a dark apartment at night the first time," Tony deadpanned. "Look, all I'm saying is that if Blue proves to be more dangerous than he lets on. . . it might be best to take him to SHIELD or something."

"Why?" Steve frowned. "What would they do with him?"

"Hold him in a secure location until he can get his shit under control," Tony said, and Steve's eyes narrowed. "It's just a suggestion, and it might not happen. I'm just. . . opening up the opportunity of maybe putting the safety of the team first."

"He's a kid, Tony."

"You almost didn't have a throat this morning, Steve," Tony snapped.

"You know he didn't mean that. I scared him."

"If that's how he reacts when he's scared, how will he went he's not? When he first attacked you, he was injured. When he gets better and actually tries to take you out?"

"He won't do that," Steve said. "He tried to help me last night when he thought you were threatening me."

"Yeah, and if he thinks you're the threat?" Steve's eyes narrowed, and Tony sighed, waving a hand in the air. "You know what? Whatever. I'll send you the information for his mom ― you talk to her." Tony turned to leave, but stopped, "Oh wait." He grabbed a bag he left on the bag, and tossed it at Steve, who caught it. "Nat told me to give you that." He closed the door behind him.