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Peter shot up. He looked around at the moonlight illuminating the beds that surrounded him. He couldn't figure out the reason for his rude awakening. He had been having the best dream ever, a man that he somehow recognised as his father despite never having met him. He couldn't sleep and so desired to climb out of bed and go for a walk. Despite living at the orphanage for four years, Peter had barely set foot outside of the building. He stayed inside, hiding from the older children who would push him over and punch him, causing welts and black eyes. One day it got so bad a rib broke, he went crying to the man who ran the orphanage, leading to an expensive trip to the hospital, ten minutes of being screamed at by the owner and a hour spent crying under his thin duvet in the corner of the shared room. There were around twenty boys crammed into a room meant for ten but since Peter was the youngest and smallest, he was forced into the corner by the broken window.
it must have been the freezing winds that woke him up from his happy dreams. He was afraid to go back into the room and so snuck out of the building entirely, dragging with him a blanket that he had been found in as a baby, the only link to his past he had. He was hoping to find, he didn't know what but he had to get out of there and somewhere warm and hopefully kind. He knew he needed it after being denied it for so long. He had never met his parents but had been dumped on the doorstep of the orphanage at a tender 12 months. He only saw snippets of kind voices and lullabies sung in a foreign language, of names whispered lovingly as he drifted off to sleep. He carefully pulled the front door open, trying to avoid the creaky squeal it made and slunk out onto the street. He soon realised his mistake when the biting air made his teeth immediately start chattering. He turned to open the door and let himself back into the orphanage but realised that the door locked when you shut it and he couldn't get back in till the morning. It was 2AM.
Peter decided to attempt to find some kind of shelter or warmth anywhere in the city, no matter now far from the orphanage he had to stray. He pulled his thin blanket around his shoulders to try and pull some warmth from it, but to no avail. The cold was settling in fast and Peter didn't know just how long he could stay awake for. He stumbled through the empty streets and tried to catch sight of any kind of light or warmth. He didn't know what time it was when he heard dogs barking and, scared straight, ran into an alley and hid, tucked behind the dumpster. There, against all his might, he succumbed to the cold and closed his eyes.
~
It was 2AM when CIA agent Everett Ross strode out of a restaurant, arm in arm with the Princess of Wakanda and with the General of the Dora Milaje following the pair. It had been a delightful night as it always was when Shuri came to visit. She had promised to fly him back with her the next day for a two week long holiday. He was both excited and apprehensive for the trip as he knew just what kinds of madness Shuri might concoct for his time staying with them. It was just as they were heading back tot he hotel that they past an alley and just as they walked past this alley, Ross seemed to hear a faint sniffling, like some kind of animal. He had lived and worked for long enough to know it wasn't an animal that made that kind of broken sound, it was a child. He halted and turned, leaving Shuri and Okoye to follow after him confusedly. He strode down the alleyway, and there behind a dumpster curled up a small boy, had to be only four years old, in a pair of thin pyjamas and a threadbare blanket, lips already turning blue from the cold New York air. He immediately leapt into action and pulled off his blazer, wrapping it around the inert figure and pulling him into his chest, trying his hardest to chase away the cold he could feel. Shuri crouched down next to him, pulling her scarf off as well and wrapping it around his neck. The boy shivered but leant into the warmth and slowly but surely began turning less blue and more pink.
"He'll be fine." Shuri spoke, with an air of certainty that followed her around everywhere she went.
"I hope so." Ross said, still worried the John Doe they had found wandering the streets.
~
Peter slowly opened his eyes, surprised to find he was not freezing cold but somewhat warmer than when he had fallen asleep. He realised he was wrapped in a jacket and scarf and was leaning against someone's chest. He sleepily blinked his eyes and looked up to see a strange man with grey hair staring down at him. "He's okay." the man said with a smile.
"Of course he is coloniser. I said he would be and I am never wrong." a girl sitting next to the man spoke with a strong accent that Peter had never heard before. She turned to Peter and asked , "You feeling alright kid? What were doing out here in the cold?"
"I had a nightmare and wanted to find my daddy." Peter replied, grinning despite the cold, "Who are you guys anyway?"
"My name's Shuri, this is Everett Ross and the lady behind me is Okoye." Shuri said, smiling at the boy.
"I'm Peter." he spoke, waving at everyone in the immediate vicinity.
"Why were you wandering around in the middle of the night in the middle of winter Peter?" Ross asked the kid.
"I wanted to find my daddy Mr Ross." he stated matter of factly
"Where did you come from?"
"The orphanage but my daddy is still alive and I just need to find him."
"Well do you know what your daddy looks like? Maybe we can help you find him?" Shuri asked, already pulling out what looked like a fancy tablet from her bag.
"He has brown hair and a shiny arm. Oh and he calls me снежинка" Peter stated with a smile on his face.
Shuri turned to Mr Ross and smiled wider than he had seen her smile this evening. The scary lady behind them also seemed to light up at the description. "Peter, this might seem scary but we know where your daddy is and you'll have to come with us to see him. Are you okay with that?" Mr Ross asked him
Peter nodded rapidly and tried to get to his feet but slipped slightly on the icy ground and almost fell when Mr Ross caught him and lifted him up onto his back. "Thank you Mr Ross!" Peter cheered, excited by his new vantage point.
"That's fine kid, Why don't you take a nap and we'll wake you when we get there."
Peter sleepily nodded before drifting off to sleep.
~
Peter woke to someone shaking his shoulder, "Peter you might want to wake up, we're almost there." Peter sat up and looked out of the window of the plane at what seemed to be an endless jungle. He stared in awe at the birds that flew around them and as they reached the centre of the jungle, the sky seemed to peel back on itself and they flew through into a bustling city, full of spires and towers. In the distance he could see a huge panther carved out of rock, from which a waterfall flowed.
The plane flew past the city and came to a rest on a seemingly empty field, where two people waited for them: a woman wearing a stately dress and a man wearing purple clothes and a silver spiky necklace. Peter gripped Ross' hand tightly as they descended from the plane to stand in front of the pair. "Mama! T'Challa!" Shuri shouted with excitement, running towards the pair. After she greeted what seemed to be her mother and brother, she turned back to the visitors and beckoned Peter forward, "Mama, T'Challa, this is Peter." Peter gave a little wave to the pair of them. "We found him on the streets and it turns out he's the son of the White Wolf."
The lady crouched down next to Peter, "Do you want to see your father little one?" she asked, to an excited nodding from Peter who still clutched his blanket, The lady smiled and taking Peter's hand she led him down the hill towards a small hut with a goat pen outside of it. Outside there was a man carrying bags to and from the pen. He had brown hair and only one arm but Peter knew who he was.
"Daddy!" he shouted, letting go of the lady's hand and running down the rest of the hill before skidding to a stop in front of the man. He looked down at Peter and recognition seemed to cover his face. He crouched down and wrapped Peter in the biggest hug he had ever received. "снежинка" he almost whispered. James Buchanan Barnes had found his son again.