Rumlow doesn't listen, which is hardly surprising, but at the same time, it gets under his skin. Not just his presence, but if Rumlow can find him, it means this place isn't safe. There are others that could find him, and no matter how this goes, he'll have to find another city, maybe Italy or France. He'll have to start over; he has some cash in his bag, but not as much as he'd like. It means his papers are probably burned, too. He doesn't have any weapons on him, aside from the knife he keeps on his belt. But he doesn't need a gun to be deadly.
He knows Rumlow can probably read him better than most. He'd always been good at picking out when there was something that bothered him, those little whispers of things he couldn't-quite remember that could incite him to anger, though not disobedience. Not until Steve, until the man on the bridge. Until he'd pulled the blonde from the water. He'd returned to the Hydra safehouse a couple days later, but it hadn't been for reconditioning. He'd killed everyone that got in his way, stolen the gear he needed, and then he'd vanished like the ghost he'd been trained to be.
It was hard. The conditioning was rough on him, and trying to figure out how he was supposed to live, how to move forward felt like trying to put together pieces with the wrong edges. He'd been trained to blend in, but in a limited sense, for a task, a mission, almost always with someone there to monitor him. This was something he hadn't really been trained for, but he was surviving, making it work. Survival. He'd always been good at that.
"Why." He doesn't say it like a question at first, more like an accusation. "Why did you leave them?" He doesn't address the issue of an opportunity, not yet, though there's enough of a flicker of interest there. Enough that he's not throwing him out the window, at least. Rumlow had to know how dangerous coming here, confronting him was, and if he wasn't with HYDRA, that meant that it wasn't because of orders. And while Rumlow might not see a point to it, it mattered to him. Trying to put together the puzzle, decide how much of a risk it was to give him the chance to try and sell him on whatever opportunity he somehow thought might be appealing enough to drag him out of the life he was trying to build.
He couldn't see anything that Rumlow could possibly have to offer, but the man was good at what he did, and without some sort of idea of what his angle was, the very thought of hearing him out seemed dangerous in and of itself. He had a fair idea of what sort of thing Rumlow would want him for, though. The sort of things he'd told himself he wasn't going to do anymore, even if he'd been good at them even before they'd tried to craft him into something new.
no subject
He knows Rumlow can probably read him better than most. He'd always been good at picking out when there was something that bothered him, those little whispers of things he couldn't-quite remember that could incite him to anger, though not disobedience. Not until Steve, until the man on the bridge. Until he'd pulled the blonde from the water. He'd returned to the Hydra safehouse a couple days later, but it hadn't been for reconditioning. He'd killed everyone that got in his way, stolen the gear he needed, and then he'd vanished like the ghost he'd been trained to be.
It was hard. The conditioning was rough on him, and trying to figure out how he was supposed to live, how to move forward felt like trying to put together pieces with the wrong edges. He'd been trained to blend in, but in a limited sense, for a task, a mission, almost always with someone there to monitor him. This was something he hadn't really been trained for, but he was surviving, making it work. Survival. He'd always been good at that.
"Why." He doesn't say it like a question at first, more like an accusation. "Why did you leave them?" He doesn't address the issue of an opportunity, not yet, though there's enough of a flicker of interest there. Enough that he's not throwing him out the window, at least. Rumlow had to know how dangerous coming here, confronting him was, and if he wasn't with HYDRA, that meant that it wasn't because of orders. And while Rumlow might not see a point to it, it mattered to him. Trying to put together the puzzle, decide how much of a risk it was to give him the chance to try and sell him on whatever opportunity he somehow thought might be appealing enough to drag him out of the life he was trying to build.
He couldn't see anything that Rumlow could possibly have to offer, but the man was good at what he did, and without some sort of idea of what his angle was, the very thought of hearing him out seemed dangerous in and of itself. He had a fair idea of what sort of thing Rumlow would want him for, though. The sort of things he'd told himself he wasn't going to do anymore, even if he'd been good at them even before they'd tried to craft him into something new.