Mosaic (Bucky Barnes X OC / Winter Soldier x OC)

Chapter 25: Bucky Barnes - Arachnid (Part I)

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This was a far cry from sleeping in trees, atop rooftops and beneath bridges.

I couldn't move my legs since the dogs' heads were on them. A compromise when Valeriy started shoving Zephyr in her sleep. Had to move them over and the only way to stop them from piling on top of her again was to offer my legs.

I couldn't lean back since Valeriy wormed her way behind me. Still hanging onto my hand. My arm still sported faint teeth marks from when I tried to go upstairs for my bowl of blueberries.

She reacted in her sleep. Yanking my hand closer to herself and then proceeded to bite, claw and kick her way until I stopped moving.

I dare not move.

Watching a family of bears walk by. A mother and three cubs.

I suppressed a flinch when the young woman behind me bolted upright.

"Eve!! Why was I asleep?!" were the first words out of her mouth.

I quickly held onto her right hand before her desperate searching caused more damage. "Valeriy."

She turned to me. Moments from falling into panic. "Amber. Where – ?"

"She's on one of the jets. I don't know which one. But they're all on the way back. I watched the whole time... until the feed was cut...."

The young woman just deflated, letting gravity drag her into the space between me and the couch. "I'm a bloody awful friend..." she mumbled into my back.

I had to twist my torso to give her head a pat. "Nothing happened to her. You were.... I'm just going to grab you a glass of water...."

She didn't stop me from leaving. She merely went for her phone, fingers dancing across the screen.

Ixie joined me in the kitchen area. Her head insistently nudged against my side.

Zephyr took my spot, though he ended up using Valeriy as a cushion for his bottom. His tail happily wagging against her arms.

"Doesn't seem like there's anything unsavory on any of the jets' paths," she grumbled.

"There are a lot of them. The jets."

Twenty of them.

"Oh fucking stop tail whacking me, you little shitball!" she huffed, arms swinging about against the white fluffy tail. "Amber always travels with eight or more pairs of our latest jets modified to be combat ready. Always in pairs. Always different routes. Always randomly picked via rice roll right before leaving. The rest play decoy."

"So, if a shitty friend does all this... what did you have planned originally?" I asked, holding the glass of water out to her.

"To be there," she huffed before chugging the glass. "Taking Eve's best people, having you watch, hav – yes, Amber had the best people dealing with – I cannot let her down.... Not again."

I pulled her to me, my hand patting the back of her head, while tugging the glass from her fingers. "Nothing happened to her. The tar – your friend is safe. We can watch the plane routes."

"I have that handled," the A.I. ghost cut in.

"I... should be showing you the mountain," Valeriy mumbled into my shoulder. "The paths and areas to avoid. Important things."