Title: The Elixir of Maybe
Challenge #80: Shinies
Fandom: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Rating: G
Length: 100 words
Summary: It was a new day and, for once, the Winter Soldier was in charge of his own future.
Author's Note: Spoilers for the movie.


He wasn't sure why he dragged the target out of the water. It didn't matter what the man said, he didn't know who he was or why he wouldn't fight back. But there was something that clawed its way into his chest as he watched him fall, something that prevented him from letting him drown. He had been blindly following orders for so long it was all he could remember; suddenly he wanted to know something other than the smell of cordite, the sight of blood.

He left his target alive and walked away from his handlers, the future beckoning.