//------------------------------// // Italian Respite // Story: A New Brand of Freedom // by Spettro138 //------------------------------// The same day after Steve's rescue of the remainder of the 107th in Austria, Colonel Phillips went through hell filling out thousands of apology letters to the loved ones of the soldiers back in America to cancel out the condolence letters that he had sent to them days earlier. Not to mention he had to send out countless reconnaissance teams back to the former site of the Hydra base to make certain that nothing remained or to bring back any unusual intel or technology that they came across. As a reward to Steve's great deeds, Colonel Phillips gave him and the rest of the 107th a three-day-long leave to the nearby Italian border town of Tarvisio until he gave them the order to return with him back to England for further instructions. Agent Peggy Carter personally took it upon herself to drive Steve and Firebrand into town using her own car, as all of the other remaining vehicles had already been taken. Firebrand seemed to be completely comfortable and happy riding in the car with the two, giggling and pointing at every little thing that he saw. Sometimes, Dugan in the truck ahead of theirs would make silly faces at the colt, causing his giggling to turn into laughter. Firebrand in turn would try making faces at the man, but all he ended up doing was sneezing from scrunching his face too hard. "He seems to be enjoying himself," Peggy said with a small smile. "Well, everybody likes a car ride," Steve chuckled. "I know you certainly do or you wouldn't have pulled that little trick with the flag pole back at your boot camp," she muttered. "What was that?" he asked. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with," Peggy quickly replied. After a half-hour had passed since they left the base back on the border, the little colt's stomach gurgled and growled again, causing Firebrand to squeak and wrinkle his eyes in discomfort. He turned around and whined at Steve and Peggy for nourishment. "Hold on Firebrand, we'll be there in a few short minutes," Peggy said comfortingly as she reached over to rub him on the head. Steve did the same as he looked into Firebrand’s big eyes and gave him a small hug. “Don’t worry, I promised you something good. Just hang on a little bit longer for me okay?” Firebrand nodded his head and became more patient as he listened to Steve’s words. Peggys's small pale hand reached over and gently stroked his golden blonde mane. The action seemed to calm him down slightly as he rubbed into it again as if he were a small house cat. "If I was told three days ago that we would find a red baby unicorn with a large head in one of Hydra's secret facilities, I would have called that person mad, but life throws rather strange curve balls at you I suppose." Steve raised his eyebrow and gave her a humorous look. "Baseball terminology huh? I didn't know you were a fan, Peggy." "Oh, there's a lot you still don't know about me, Captain." A few minutes later, the Italian village of Tarvisio came into view as they passed the next bend in the road. They passed over a small red bridge going out of the Foresta Millenaria di Tarvisio and over a narrow rushing brook filled with fresh, cold meltwater coming down the mountains. Steve could hear the excited cries of the soldiers ahead of them talking about all of the pleasant things they were going to do with their time. “Now that I’m thinking about it; Why hasn’t Mussolini taken this place yet?” Steve asked quizzically. “Isn't it a little risky to take a leave here in enemy territory?” “Thankfully, the Greek and small pockets of Italian and Yugoslavian resistance guard this sector heavily.” She explained. “Along with a bit of our own. Every battalion that has tried to come through here is mercilessly destroyed. Besides, Mussolini’s troops have been having a hard time expanding their grip Northeast, but we still aren’t sure why. The locals seem to appreciate our presence, so there’s never been any ample reason for alarm, but we still keep our guard up rest assured.” "Hydra was working for the Nazis right?" the Captain asked. "Up until we found out that Johann Schmitt killed at least five of their generals and broke away". Once everyone safely made their way inside the village, Peggy drove around until she found a spot to park in front of what appeared to be a small cafe from the outside attached to a large white two-story building covered in tall windows. "What's this?" Steve wondered. "From what I understand from the locals, it's supposed to be one of the best cafes in town. I thought you might want to come here to feed your new little friend." Firebrand giggled in reply, to which Peggy poked him on the nose, causing him to laugh even more. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a small pouch filled with what appeared to be Italian currency. "That's about $400 in Lira. That should give you enough for a little fun. Don't go spending it all at once." Steve picked the money out of Peggy's hand and placed it in one of his pouches. Opening the jeep door, he stepped out onto the cobblestone road and picked up Firebrand who cooed with delight "Thanks. Aren't you coming though? Don't you want to join us?" "Oh, I'd love to spend a few days in the Italian countryside, but unfortunately, Colonel Phillips is expecting me back." The jeep started up again with a sputter and a steady purr as she shifted gears and turned around back toward where they came from. Firebrand waved his hoof at her in the car with a sorrowful face and made a little sad sound. "Bah, Bah." "Don't worry, we'll see her again pretty soon. Right now though, we should get you something to eat. I hope you don't eat stuff too different from human food. Maybe I can get you some oats or something, I don't know. This kind of thing...is just a little new to me." Steve with little Firebrand hanging on his back, walked in the front door of the white building. The first thing he noticed was how brightly colored everything was. The brightly colored paint made the restaurant seem to glow as the late morning light shined through the windows. Large electric lanterns lined the walls and pillars of the restaurants adding to the already gleaming interior. The walls on the inside were covered with various paintings from local artists and portraits presumably from the owner's family. Four of the soldiers from the 107th were already inside enjoying a meal. Only a few local people from the village appeared to be eating there as well. As soon as they saw him come in the front door, they stood up at attention and saluted him in unison. "Sir!" "At ease guys, I'm just here as a regular person." It took a bit of persuasion on Steve's part to get them to sit back down, but they eventually went back to their business and promised to act as if Steve and Firebrand were not in the same room unless he spoke to them directly. Steve waited a few more minutes, comforting Firebrand as his stomach was growling loudly until a middle-aged Italian man wearing a hot pink shirt and a wine red apron came out of a pair of black doors, which lead to what appeared to be the restaurant's kitchen. As soon as he laid eyes upon Steve, he gave him a beaming smile showing gleaming white teeth as white as the walls of his restaurant. He approached Steve and gave a short bow. "Buona giornata Signore. I am Giovanni Moretti. Owner of the great Osteria Hladik of Tarvisio. How may I serve you today my Americano amico? May I show you to a table?" "A table for two please," Steve asked politely. "I'm with a little boy who hasn't eaten in a few days." Steve silently gestured to his back and the straps where Firebrand was hanging from and Giovanni made a face that showed he instantly understood. "The poor thing. I shall do my duty and give the little one a fine meal that he will never forget and neither will you, my friend. Come with me!" He followed Giovanni to a table near one of the windows where the light entered the restaurant the most. Clapping his hands, he had one of his servers bring out a container filled with fresh breadsticks and a small menu for Steve to browse. Giovanni stood there at his table awaiting Steve's command, as he hopelessly stumbled through the menu that was written all in Italian. After a few minutes, Steve put down the menu and decided to go an easier route. "Do you recommend anything good and soft that a toddler can eat fairly easily?" "Mama's Signature Pasta with Marinara is the perfect thing! She fed it to me every week when I was a little bambino still growing teeth. "I think that will work," he confirmed. "May we have that?" "Absolutely my friend. Two plates of pasta coming right up!" Giovanni declared proudly as he grabbed the menu and dashed back into the kitchen. As Steve waited for the food, several thoughts passed through his mind. Where did Firebrand come from? Why did Schmitt kidnap him? What does Schmitt think he can get from him? Most importantly though, where were his parents? If he had any, to begin with, that is. He wouldn't want to cause any international or any God forbid...interplanetary incidents if he just picked up a child that his parents might have possibly been looking for. It would just cause numerous unnecessary misunderstandings. Steve grabbed a breadstick and started munching on it, hoping that the thoughts would stop circulating through his head. One more question went through his head that seemed more important than any of the others. Who was going to take care of him now that he's all alone? Steve was unable to presently answer those questions as servers came out with two large plates of pasta with marinara sauce and smothered with Parmesan cheese. As soon as they were finished serving Steve, they gave him a deep bow and retreated into the kitchen. "This actually looks pretty good. Hey, Firebrand. Let's get you out of that and get started on your food." As soon as Firebrand heard the word food, he zipped out of Steve's harness and onto the second plate at the other side of the table. He squeaked with delight as he deeply inhaled the smell of the pasta Before he could say grace, Steve saw Firebrand slap his tiny face into the pasta forcefully and eat ravenously which sent marinara sauce and pasta noodles flying in every direction. Some of the sauce even splattered into Steve's face completely covering his head. The only visible thing was his cute little ears that moved around every so often while he was slurping up the noodles and sauce. Cute was the only apropos word. "Geez, you really were hungry." Before long, Firebrand had devoured everything and sat down on his plot with a satisfied smile and a noisy burp. He was covered from head to hoof in a gooey red sauce that was only camouflaged by his fur. He looked into Steve's eyes and happily leaped into his arms with a joyful babble and got sauce all over Steve's uniform as well. Firebrand then seemed to be falling asleep as he started to digest his first big meal. "What am I gonna do with you?" Steve chuckled heartily as he rocked the foal back and forth very gently. Before Firebrand went to sleep completely, Steve heard Firebrand say two little words that changed everything that cool early Summer day in wartime old Italia. "Takoo Dada."