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Chapter 31: Bucky Barnes – Goldilocks
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Spray lube.
Brush grime.
Hear door open.
Scramble to hide everything.
"Time to have new cushion covers made…. Again."
"What? Why? I didn't even do anything," Valeriy huffed, coming into sight from around the shelf corridor.
Arms crossed. Lips pouting. Left foot clinking every time it met the floor.
'She's supposed to be asleep.'
At 0411, she was usually asleep.
"…You're not hiding food under that cushion, are you?" she asked, pale gray eyes drifting to my right and down.
I couldn't help but push my elbow down. Wanting to discreetly smooth out the bumps from the objects underneath.
"…No… I wasn't eating," I mumbled. Had the last of the cinnamon bun 73 minutes ago.
Valeriy carefully navigated over Zephyr's sleeping body. Swaying a bit to keep most of her weight off her left leg.
Pull foot. Swing body into corner. Target incapacitated.
At her stumble, I shot my arm out to steady her. Stop her from landing on Zephyr. Couldn't hazard him to sink his teeth into her.
With a shrug, she decided to squeeze into the little space between the dog, the higher layer of the couch and my arm.
"Is it porn…?"
"Wha –?"
"Wrong kind of lube. I don't even want to figure out how porn could lead to that particular cushion cov – That failed. I need to go delete the last three minutes or so."
Valeriy peered under the cushion.
I needed two hands to stop her. Or I had to pull her away. I couldn't risk hurting her.
"Why are you hiding guns, Bucky?" She glanced my way and smiled softly. "Aw, it's not like I'm a little kid. I'm not going to shoot myself."
She picked up two pieces belonging to two different guns and tried to slot them together. She didn't force them in place. Even traded a part for another. Still the wrong gun.
"…Uhh, cross that out. The thing about shooting myself…? That's a lie."
"I was wondering if you remembered darting your own face. By accident. Twice."
At those words, I scrambled to grab the parts from her. She didn't fight me on it. Opening her hands.
"If I remember, you pulled one of those triggers. It's why you can't pull anymore triggers on your own," Valeriy huffed.
I fitted everything back into place. Tucking all of it out of sight. Behind me. Under the cushion we sat on.
"I don't get why you feel the need to hide all of that from me. It's not like I haven't used them before…."
None of this felt right.
A part of me wanted to keep her from all of this. But I couldn't.
Not with the dangers that surrounded her. Not when Hydra could drag her away.
If I turned on her… a gun might be her only hope.
I didn't want to think about it until I had to, so I asked, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
Valeriy didn't answer.
Not with words.
Her back twisted until she leaned against my side. Her head tilting to the side, resting on my shoulder.
I cautiously wrapped my arm around her. Making sure to keep the pressure light. Waiting for the sting of a slap. She didn't ask for a hug. But under unsettled churning in my gut, this felt right.
My nerves settled when she returned the gesture. Still turned away. But her arm bent behind and held me close. Her fingers drawing senseless lines on my back.
Ignoring the occasional twitch from her healing hand, the movements to it wasn't what I was used to. Not the calming touch. An anxious tick.
It unsettled my nerves.
My hand tucked under her legs, and I pulled my own legs out from under Ixie and Zephyr to stand up.
A squeak escaped Valeriy. Her arms scrambling to cling onto me. A panicked heartbeat pounding away for six seconds.
I stopped in front of the silver machine. The one that spat out drinks. One I haven't used before.
No buttons to press. No screen to tap. No way to interact with it.
A mug rose up from a hidden opening in the stone counter. Hums and clicks filled the silence. All on its own.
That had Valeriy's attention. Before she could twist and strain her ribs, I turned my back to the machine, so she could watch it.
Might I offer a mug of steamed milk? I hear it helps with sleep.
The text appeared on the stone counter of the island for a quarter second.
I shook my head.
I wouldn't be sleeping any time soon. Not 23 minutes from now as the A.I. ghost would nag about.
Not when I was needed.
I snatched the mug from her fingers mid tip. Held it out of Valeriy's reach. Not the first time she tried to drink freshly made steaming liquid. Far from the first time she'd burn her tongue on it. Doubt she'd learn from those mistakes.
The mug filled only two thirds full. Filled enough that the little malfunctions to the arm wouldn't spill the contents. Couldn't stop her attempts without my arm she sat on.
Settling in another area of the couch. Away from the guns. I carefully sat us down. Made sure not to drop her.
The dogs didn't seem to notice we had moved away. Ixie only flopped over. Both still asleep.
"Sorry," she mumbled into my shoulder. "It's just a stupid nightmare…."
"It's not stupid," I countered. Holding her tighter.
The words that left my own lips felt like a slap to the face. For every time the A.I. ghost woke me from the terrors. For the times I wanted to scream and spill all the horrors. For the times I wanted to be wrapped up in blankets and a hug.
For all the times I've told myself that it was all stupid.
"I shouldn't be – Not after so lo…." She huffed and dropped her head against my shoulder with a thud. "…It's tiring."
My fingers tangled through her hair. Stroking down her head. Combing through the tangles. Trying to imitate what she's done for me…. When she hadn't thought I had eyeballs in my hair.
The metal fingers brought the mug to my lips. I blew at the hot drink. Dodged her hand when she tried to grab it from me again.
"It needs to cool down."
She merely grumbled. Hid her face against my neck. Her hair tickling my nerves.
I stamped down the urge to react. Concentrated on my breathing. Needed to cool down the drink. Took a testing sip.
Sweet. Creamy. Cinnamon.
'This… should be okay?'
Didn't burn my tongue. 42 degrees Celsius.
A bouncy upbeat song.
A twirl of green spotted dress.
A hint of butterscotch in the chocolate.
A smack of a wooden spoon.
"Bucky, no. That's simmering. It'll burn you."
'…Why…? Why can't I remember… your face…?'
No matter how I tried….
I couldn't.
I transferred the mug from the metal fingers over to my hand before placing it in Valeriy's. "Don't gulp it down."
"Okay," she chirped, cautiously tasting the hot chocolate. "Thanks."
A little giggle. A content hum. A thud when she knocked her head against my chin. None too gently. It sort of hurt.
"Sorry," she winced out, giving my chin a pat. Thumb catching on the stumble when it stroked over the spot her head knocked.
My palm ended up on her cheek. My thumb tracing over that apologetic smile. Feeling the tremble in her cheek from the forced expression. A mask covering her nerves.
The smile dropped. A brow rose in question. Her breath shortened. Slowly her skin under my hand warmed up.
Her left hand covered a portion of mine. Fingers slipping between mine. Gently pulled my hand away from her face. I didn't resist it, letting them fall to her knee.
Valeriy cleared her throat. Her eyes drifting off to the left of me. "I – um, I need a distraction…?"
"Tetris?"
"Nah. Are you still alright with me nudging you into darting me?"
If it would distract her, "Yes."
"I could really use the sleep," she shrugged with another smiling mask. "If I start growing eye bags… yeah, not going there. Not fun."
She stretched out, winced and slumped over with a grumbling pout.
"I really fucking miss being able to stretch and feel satisfied…. Not feel all the bloody needles keeping my bones in place…."
"I shouldn't shoot at…. I could stay with you until you fall asleep," I offered.
"Eh that's fine. You should be sleeping soon, right?"
"…Yes."
In 11 minutes.
She pulled on a grin, and while she stood up on the couch, she stepped right onto the fireplace. Not caring for the small pebbles under her feet as she crossed it. Her legs lifted over the charred logs in her way. At least the fire wasn't going.
Her metal wrapped heel tapped twice against the side and a fire flared up behind her, hiding her lower half in flames.
The lack of screaming assured me that she didn't catch on fire.
Another large step later, she weaved between Ixie and Zephyr. She bent down behind the flames.
The Five seveN I left under the cushion, it was in her left hand. Her right easily cocked the gun.
I raced after her. Couldn't go over the fireplace with the massive fire. Before I could run around it, a shot rang through the room.
"Thank god a 5.7x28 mm round doesn't do shit to the windows."
Except it ricocheted and buried itself into –
"What part of custom flooring do you not understand is expensive?"
Ixie and Zephyr perked right up. At the young woman's head tilt, they scrambled away. Bounding to me.
Unholster Yari. Aim between the ribs. Target incapacitated.
I jumped between them. Pushing the dogs to keep them behind me. Away from the gun.
Away from her.
Hurl couch cushion at face. Target incapacitated.
"Huh, I thought it'd have more of a kick? At least there's real bullets in…. I'm not going to shoot at you or the dogs. Don't worry about that," she stated lightly, waving a dismissive hand and the fire beside me went out.
But instead of putting the gun down, she aimed the barrel directly at her right foot. The uninjured one.
I couldn't get to her in time. She could pull the trigger before I could stop her. The dart revolver had found its way into my grip.
That was one of the guns I took from Hydra. Not one of the A.I. ghost's. She couldn't stop this.
Squeeze trigger. Target incapacitated.
Squeeze trigger. Target incapacitated.
A sneeze broke the tension and another shot rang out.
Automatically, I searched for injuries. On her. On the dogs. On my body. For the smell of blood. Anything.
That was her real sneeze. Not the fake one she used on the Hydra agent 27 days ago.
"Could you not have shot the same bloody tile that you ruined?"
"Oops? I missed," she laughed out, lining up the barrel with her foot. Again.
Squeeze trigger. Target incapacitated.
Squeeze trigger. Target incapacitated.
Squeeze trigger. Target incapacitated.
A thud sounded at the body hitting the hardwood floor. The last breath crackling at the bubbles in the blood filling his lungs. The red pool grew, surrounding the body.
A blood soaked yari gleamed from the street light down the alley. A frustrated cry echoed off the brick walls. Running steps splattered in the fresh puddles. A side step. Easy retrieval of the knife from her grasp. Her body fell. Only a matter of time before she ran out of blood.
"Thank you… Bucky," she grinned. Happy.
Her body swayed as she tried to lie down. The gun clattered to the floor before her body followed. Collapsing onto her side. Out cold.
I rushed to her. Taking the Five seveN. Disassembling it. Tossing all the pieces in different directions. Far from her. Far from each other.
I gathered her up, expecting to find a pool of blood growing under her. There wasn't one.
Checked for a pulse. Found one.
Searched for a bullet wound. Had to run my fingers over her right foot to be sure. Couldn't trust my eyes that there wasn't a hole.
There was a little red mark. A burn. On her big toe. Near the top. The bullet barely grazed the skin. Didn't break it. Just grazed it.
Carefully I plucked the now empty dart from her neck. A drop of blood welled up from the tiny hole in her skin.
I should leave.
I shouldn't be here.
She needed to be safe.
But I couldn't let her go.
I held her closer.
Barely remembered not to put pressure on her injuries.
"I'm sorry, Valeriy," I mumbled into the top of her head. "I'm so sorry."
"Can't say I can find any fault with what happened. You stopped her from doing something she shouldn't, which was the whole point of this little… exercise. I didn't think you had it in you. Congratulations on proving me wrong, Mr. Barnes. You got what you wanted. I'll have the weaponry you requested gathered and delivered."
It didn't feel like it.
I didn't want this.
To know I could hurt somebody who –
A wet nose bumped into my cheek. Sniffing. A slobbering tongue raked up my face. A soft yip of a bark sounded right at my ear.
"Ixie…."
She nudged her head against mine. The force behind her almost pushing me over.
A sigh sounded from the speakers, and then a pulse echoed out of all of them. Filling the entire room. Drowned out my own thundering at my ears. Pulsing in time with Valeriy's. So loud I could barely hear anything else. Not Ixie's bark. Not her words.
"She's alive, Mr. Barnes. Her vitals are fine. Her readouts are looking better. No longer stressed and scared. They've been calming down since she took hold of the gun."
Graphs popped up on the windows. Some moved down slowly. Some stayed still.
Cortisol. Oxytocin.
"She needs the rest. The chances of her microsleeping were high for tomorrow's supply pickup…. She'd never find her way of out the tunnels if it happens during that mess…. You didn't kill her. You actually saved her in the long run."
"Did you know?" I growled out, unwilling to let go of Valeriy.
The heartbeat lowered in volume.
"Apologies. I missed that. I haven't mastered gritted teeth lip reading."
"Did you know she was going to shoot herself!?"
"Can't say I'm particularly surprised. This has crossed my mind when she offered to… manipulate you into darting her, but we only talked about how manipulating you would make the whole thing moot. Seemed she found a way around it.
"If it makes you feel any better, she had faith that you'd stop her before shot herself. The usual uptick of cortisol when she knows she's about to do something painful wasn't there, even though, knowing her, she had every intention of following through."
"It doesn't."
I don't feel any better.
Even if my heart rate slowed from the panic. The sound of hers forced mine to slow. Couldn't hear the fear in it. Only a steady beat.
"…I could have killed her."
"As much as I've hoped you'd have proved me right to her, you haven't. You have about eight much deadlier options to use hidden on you and you picked the dart revolver instead. Besides, if you meant to kill Val, those two would have torn you to shreds as they're supposed to."
That's reassuring.
So long as Ixie and Zephyr were around, she'd stand a chance of surviving if… if I….
"And I hate to admit this, but you might be behind the reason why they haven't been relegated to the usual task of dragging Val's body back after a mishap on the mountain."
I glance down at Valeriy. Had to block a white paw from clubbing her face.
She didn't look dead. She seemed peaceful. Her chest moving with each breath. She's alive.
"Shall I turn up the volume to her pulse?"
I shook my head, getting up off the floor with the sleeping woman.
She didn't turn it off. I didn't ask either.
"Most of us usually leave her there after darting her."
Ixie and Zephyr followed. One of them nipping at my heel as I walked to Valeriy's room. Found myself unable to open her door. Even when it swung open, I couldn't step inside. Stomped down a shiver from the cold air spilling through the doorway.
"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you tossed her inside."
"I'm not going to throw her."
"You're not exactly walking into her room."
"…."
"As much fun it is to watch you wander about trying to find a way to tuck Val in and not let her go, might I suggest you skip to piling up on the couch? And spend the next eight to nine hours waiting for her to wake up while hoping she wouldn't be chewing into your arm again."
With a deep breath in, I stepped through the doorway. Into the cold room. I could feel the frown on my lips.
Stayed away from the glowing wall. The one with the snapping flower. The only source of light in here that didn't spill in from the hall. The sea of stars above likely not enough light for her.
A mechanical hum sounded from the ceiling. A chunk of it sliding away. Her bed. Only lowered to 362 centimeters off the floor.
I rolled my shoulder to shift Valeriy's head. Didn't want it snapping back on the way up.
The bed shook and swung. Jerked under us when the ropes on the left side pulled taut. Halting the bed.
The A.I. ghost.
She countered each movement with the ropes. Pulling and dropping them whenever the bed wobbled. Made drawing back the comforter easier.
'…Where… where do I put her….?'
33 pillows piled on the bed. Some atop of each other. No room to lay her down. Except for the little 23 by 23 centimeters square center of the bed. Framed by the pillows. No way that she'd fit in there. Even if she curled up into a ball.
'What? What does the square mean…?'
A picture on the curved windows lit up the room. A massive overhead picture of Valeriy sleeping. Most of her covered by the comforter.
'…Bottom goes here…? Head… which pillow is that? This one?'
Some pillows were soft. Some pillows were hard. Some pillows were bulky. Some pillows were thin. Some pillows had soft beads. Some pillows had hard beads.
'…No. This one…?'
Three red dots landed on three pillows.
Made sure her hair wasn't stuck under her.
'Arms go…?'
Before I could move them, her limbs slipped between and wound around the pillows. Snuggling down into them until she was half hidden away.
When she used a pillow as a blanket, I pulled the comforter over her. Tucked it around her shoulders.
Had to check that she had a pulse. Even if the A.I. ghost still played it on all the speaker.
There.
I did it.
I tucked her in.
She's alive.
I didn't wander back and forth with her.
I shuffled over the pillows to the edge of the bed. Watching Ixie and Zephyr circling below. Tails languidly wagging as they walked.
Ixie glanced up. Stared for nine seconds and let out a small bark. Her tail a blur behind her. Zephyr sat down, looked up and cocked his head to the side in question.
I turned back to Valeriy. Checked her pulse.
Still alive.
'This is…'
If she rolled too far in any direction….
I yanked off the duvet, heard her grumble, and pulled her to me. Her and the pillow she clung onto. Jumped off the bed. Blocked Zephyr's paws from landing on her.
He kept his front paws on my back, waddling along behind me while we all made our way out of the cold room. Had to shrink and slow my strides so he wouldn't slip and fall.
"That bed's too soft for you. The next one's too hard for her. A bit reversed but neither of us are one to care."
I frowned, staring down at Valeriy tucked in the futon, as the A.I. ghost called it. The one I found in the brother's closet my first night here. It didn't make me feel as if I was about to be swallowed.
It's definitely harder than her bed.
'It's softer than a binder….'
With a sigh, I picked her up again and headed to her room. Couldn't bring myself to jump back onto that unsafe bed of hers, and I naturally wandered back to the only other bed.
I couldn't leave her alone on the floor. Not with Zephyr around trying to sit on her face and Valeriy reacting with the biting.
At every turn I made, irritation spread within me. I wasn't proving the A.I. ghost wrong. I was doing exactly as she said. Wandering back and forth. Over and over. Again and again.
Even ended up on the couches. In a pile.
Ixie and Zephyr asleep on my legs.
Valeriy had been buried under the pillows and blankets I raided from her bed.
Only took her six minutes to worm her way behind me. Curled up against my back. An arm around my waist instead of her pillows. Her mouth against my left side. Her breath brushing over my skin through the fabric of my shirt.
Exactly as predicted.
Except for where I was getting bit. Rather sure it wouldn't be my arm.
It also left me as the only person awake to watch the sun peek over the mountains to the east. Bathing the green and gray in the morning light.
Maybe the A.I. ghost was enjoying the stars flicker out as the skies brighten.
Not a word exchanged between us. Only the tune of Valeriy's pulse filled the air.
Still, I couldn't help but occasionally check for her pulse.
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'Why…? Why I can't I understand this?'
It's in English. It's clearly in English. I understand English. I should understand English….
'Take a break,' I told myself.
Maybe it'd make some sense after. Shouldn't stress over this. Don't want to trigger anything.
Used the break to check Valeriy's pulse. Ignoring the steady thumps playing around the room.
553 minutes since I pulled the dart from her skin.
'Alive. She's alive…. Okay. Back to the problem.'
I understood every word of this paragraph. Simple enough. No big words. But together… I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
I had no idea what this mathematics question was asking for.
'What the hell do I even do with the numb –!'
The body behind me stopped the relaxed breathing. She wasn't breathing. Not a muscle moved.
The muscles of my torso braced. Ready for a bite. A hit. A stab. Pain. Any sort of pain.
Cautiously, I glanced down at her face.
Under the guise of sleep, she was thinking. The slight shift in her brow.
Those gray eyes snapped open, and almost instantly, locked onto mine. For a fleeting second.
A smile broke on her face. The tension draining out of the air. Both of us breathing again. Her arm wrapping tighter around me.
"You can't be any bit comfy like this…."
"He's not any bit comfortable. His muscles are cramped up. My guess would be his legs and maybe some abs."
"I'm fine," I grumbled.
Even if the pins and needles felt like a bunch of grabby hands on my legs. Nothing I couldn't handle. Nothing I wasn't used to.
"Keep telling yourself that."
With the tiniest of sighs, I looped my fingers around the slim wrist of Valeriy's injured hand. The hand she kept dropping on the side of her head. Over her ear.
"Why… why is my heartbeat everywhere?" she asked. "…That's not in my head, right? You hear it too, right? It sounds like I have a massive headache. Doesn't quite feel like my headache should be this loud…?"
"It's in your head."
"It's not," I countered. Shuffling what I could with Ixie and Zephyr still asleep. Twisting my back so I could face her. Move the metal arm further away from her.
Carefully, I plucked the little earbud from her right ear before covering her ear with my hand. Blocking out the noise or muffling it.
"It's not in your head."
"Oh…. Eve, why the fuck are you blasting my heartbeat all over the bloody place?"
"I do wonder why I would."
Tucking a lock of long hair behind her ear, I asked, "How bad is your heada – How did you –?"
"While you were smiling down at me," Valeriy grinned.
That was the dart revolver in her hand. The one I had tucked away in a holster from one of the boxes in the motel room. The one I shot her with.
Even twitching, her fingers easily opened up the dart chamber of the revolver. She knocked it against the stone of the couch. Wincing away from the filled darts dropping all onto her face.
"Seventy seconds. Tad slower than I hoped. But passable."
Valeriy blindly groped around until she held one of the darts to the light. "Eve told you to change out the darts, huh?"
I yanked my hand away. Expected the butt of the handle to make contact to the side of my head.
"What's in the…? What did I shoot you with?"
I quickly gathered up the darts scattered about her head. Before one could end up in her again. Took the revolver from her too.
"Hey, hey. All's good. Nothing harmful. I should have gone over some of the blends with you long before this. Sorry that I haven't."
"I… I thought it went bad. There was something growing inside. There were specks floating in the solution. I-I thought…."
"I never said they expired. Merely suggested that you should change it."
"Seriously, Eve. Stop using him to play your little games," Valeriy huffed. Her arms moving around as if searching for something.
"I'll think about it."
"And you, Bucky, don't worry about Eve so much. She wouldn't cause me permanent damage if she has a sway in events."
She believed the words she spoke. That the A.I. ghost wouldn't….
"The blends, anything clear and colorless like water is basically safe. Knock out blends. Memory blends. Sensor blends. Antidote blends. Ones with no risk of lasting damage. If anything is not okay to use, the blends turn pitch black. All of them do," Valeriy rattled off.
The darts set next to me were completely clear and colorless.
The ones I changed out had dark green flakes.
Neither had any black to them.
"The old stuff don't have speckle markings. They're not supposed to be used. But after I drank one of the more poisonous blends on accident…. Seriously, I had no idea. She kept it in our dorm fridge in an unlabelled water bottle. Either way, Amber's been coloring anything not harmless since.
"We use the colors of the liquid and speckle combinations in place of labels. Anybody handling the blends has to pass a bi weekly color test. Umm… the binder on them is…. It's somewhere…."
A heavy sigh escaped her. Her hand giving my lower back a gentle pat.
"…So… I'm kind of stuck here…? Don't have enough room to move without putting pressure on my hand and ribs…."
At that, I pulled my numb legs from under Ixie and Zephyr. They stayed asleep. I carefully tucked my arm around the metal cast hugging her ribs. Lifted her up right.
"Thanks."
An easy smile on her face. Eyes glancing about. Her attention honed in on the mathematics practice exam on the laptop. Her body following her eyes. Fingers navigating the page.
"I can't make much sense of that question," I told her.
"No shit. This is…. Wow…. This comes off like a google translate of a foreign language. What the hell, Eve?"
"I didn't translate that. Found it as is."
"But why give him this quest – wow shit, they're all just as bad. Why?"
"I ran out of practice materials to hand him. Short of creating new ones, this was my other option."
Valeriy gave a laugh. Hand holding onto mine. Fingers weaving between mine.
"Pretty sure you're ready for the final by now, Bucky."
"…Midterm…."
"…."
I wanted to shrink away from those pale eyes. Hide. Wanted to hide even more, when they widened.
I couldn't figure out why she would be excited.
Flinched when she fell against me.
Smash neck into stone edge of the couch. Target incapacitated.
I waited for the arms around my neck to tighten. They did. But not enough to strangle.
"Yay! You did it!"
"I take back the passable grade!"
"Congrats! You shot me with a dart!"
The pulse echoing in the room sped up. Coupled with the happy giggles at my ear… it wasn't fear.
"You failed spectacularly, Val."
Her arms fell around my shoulders again. Her cheek pressed against the side of my neck. Her hand rubbed soothing circles on my back.
"Eve's games aren't all pointless pranks. She was just testing my observational skills. See if I could figure out what happened and how fast it takes me. Or some shit like that."
I leaned into her hug. Lightly. Keeping the weight to myself.
"You should have figured out that he darted you with one of the older blends without any memory of what happened."
"First off, I had other priorities once I figured I was safe. Second, figured the what. Not the how. Slipped on the congratulations."
"You'd be lucky if he'll let you anywhere near a gun."
"Oh…."
Valeriy pulled away enough look at her right foot. The foot she shot at. All five toes wiggling freely.
"Awww, where'd my sixth toe go?"
"…You scared me…" I admitted. "…You weren't moving. I thought… I-I…."
"Okay. Joking aside," she said softly. Head tilting until her ear laid on my shoulder. "I'm sorry I put you through that, Bucky."
Fingers dug through my hair. Soothing away my nerves. Untying the knot that sat in my chest.
"I'm alive, Bucky. I didn't die. I'm alive."
Her arm pushed down on my shoulder. Heaving herself higher.
Our eyes level.
"Have Eve play my heartbeat for as long as you want. Whatever you need to be sure that I'm alive and well."
As gentle as she wasn't with most things She placed my hand on her collarbone. Pressed my fingers three centimeters off from her jugular.
That was until her arm slipped. Her head colliding, none too gently, with my chin.
Again.
"Ow…. I'm sorry…" said with an apologetic smile.
The bend of her index finger tucked under my chin. Lightly moved upwards. I obediently followed the movement, tilting my head back.
"You did good, Bucky."
Punctuated by a soft press of her lips to the side of my chin.
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AN:
A thank you to Bunny Carrot and the Anonymous Fifth Beta for beta-ing this chapter. ^^