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

Chapter 16: Bucky Barnes - Pretty Peach Dress (Part I)

Author's Note:

I don't know why, but I wanted to point out that there are a number of bad coping methods and toxic relationships in Mosaic. They're not all horrible, but I'm not making much of a distinction as to what's healthy or toxic...(yet). I'm just portraying things in the eyes of my characters, and none of them have studied much of psychology (neither have I) so they're not supposed to have much a clue as how to help someone, let alone themselves.

They have more of a cover it up and it'll go away type of "dealing" (running away).

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I'm always trying to improve my ability to pull a person into a character's headspace or feel their emotions, and your feedback will help me know if what I'm trying for is working or not. Even an emoticon or button smashing tells me something useful and can influence what I write more or less of.

I respond to all comments and it's always fun to hear your thoughts ^^

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"What?" I demanded. The nerves under my skin shrinking and curling more and more at every second of frozen silence that passed between us. "...Valeriy?"

"Hmm?" A grin split her face from the wide eyed look she'd been sporting. Hands still clutching onto a horrifying beige mess she'd been trying to pull out of the biggest box.

"Did I do something... wrong?"

"No, no. Not at all. Just wasn't expecting you to shave?"

"Was I not supposed to?" I asked, rubbing my jaw self-consciously. Hiding behind my hand. "Women don't regularly sport facial hair from what I've seen... and recall."

"Didn't expect you to have such a... a boyish face? You knocked about ten years right off. Hahaha, you look like you're about to start uni!"

Valeriy collapsed onto the bed, clutching onto her stomach in a fit of giggles. Took three seconds for her to devolve into fighting her braided hair, squealing about it tickling her neck.

My cheeks burned at the laughter. Waiting for her to calm. Waiting for her to peel herself off the bed. Waiting for it to be too much and I try slipping under the bed frame.

"Bucky?"

Humming my response, I looked up from my notebook to find a cross eyed Valeriy glaring at locks of her hair tangled with her fingers.

"Do you have braids in your bag of spells? This isn't – fuck this.... It's going to take days to get all this hair in tiny braids." She quickly finger combed out the mess of knots.

My shoulders shrugged. Nothing was coming to mind. But I placed my notebook of scattered thoughts down on the night table, taking a seat on her bed. "What do I do?"

"Uhhh, take three locks of hair. About this much, and – Youtube. Youtube. Yup. Youtube," she chanted. Navigating her phone before handing it to me. A video playing on the screen.

Clueless, I picked out three locks of hair. While watching the video. By the end of it, I was staring at three braids. Somehow. My fingers flying through a fourth. As the other three slowly unraveled themselves.

"...Do you have something to tie it off?" I asked over her shoulder.

Without looking up from her tablet, Valeriy plucked a clear bag off the bed containing a bunch of tiny black rings. Elastics. So small I couldn't get my finger through one. She plucked the one I was trying to stretch with a huffing laugh.