THIEF | BUCKY BARNES

ONE HUNDRED AND ONE

TALKING
❝She knows that it can't be all rainbows and sunshine.❞

Odessa noticed the way that Karli visibly tensed once she and Sam watched the funeral. The brunette listen carefully fo what the girl was saying. For the most part it was about Donya, but she knew that some of what she was saying was aimed at the two of them.

"I saw you back there." Karli spoke up as Odessa ans Sam entered the room. They waited until everyone had said goodbye to Donya to be respectful.

"We came alone. We just wanna talk." Sam announced as he placed his hand on the small or Odessa's back.

"Bold of you." Karli commented.

Odessa's eyes dropped to Donya body, which was converted in a thin sheer sheet. It reminded her of her parents funeral and how she felt. Just from looking at Karli, Odessa could tell that she was hurting.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Odessa stepped forward slightly.

"Don't condescend to me. I'm not a child." Karli snapped angrily.

"I'm not condescending." Odessa paused. "I know what it feels like to lose someone. I lost my parents at a young age."

"No, you don't. Not like this." Karli looked across to Donya's body, letting go of a deep sigh.

"It doesn't have to be a war, Karli." Sam instructed, his eyes softening as he looked towards her.

"They started a war as soon as they kicked us out of our new homes and onto the street. People all around the world need me. Millions of them." Karli insisted.

Odessa understood that Karli thought that what she was doing was right. That she was doing a good thing for people who needed help but were too scared to ask for it.

"Right, I can't speak for millions, but I understand you. I understand your frustration. I understand your helplessness." Sam spoke softly as he looked towards Karli.

"So, you want me to stop because people are gettin' hurt, right? But, Sam, Odessa-" Karli began.

"It's Dessie."  Odessa cut in before Karli could even continue.

Karli gave Odessa an apologetic look for getting her name wrong. She didn't want to upset the girl further than she already have. In a weird way, Karli and Odessa were like the same person. Both wanted the best for others, but never really went the best way around it.

"What if I'm making the world a better place?" Karli continued as she eyes flickered between the pair.

She was almost positive that she hadn't ever seen Odessa without Bucky beside her. It felt strange to see. It's like the pair were almost attached at the hip.

"No, it's not a better place if you're killin' people. It's just different." Sam turned to look at the girl, who seemed slightly taken back by his response.

"You're either brilliant or just hopelessly optimistic." Karli couldn't help but smile as she jumped onto one of the tables to sit down on.

Odessa narrowed her eyes at the girl, she was just a kid. She had the hopeful and innocent look in her eyes and a smile that was so incredibly contagious.

"Well, can't I be a little bit of both?" Sam questioned with furrowed brows.

"No." Karli shook her head in response. "Your friend here, she knows. She knows that it can't be all rainbows and sunshine. That it can't be different."

"Yeah Sam, I know better than you." Odessa playfully stuck her tongue out at the man before going to sit beside Karli.

Karli seemed taken back once Odessa sat beside her. Truthfully, she had expected it to be a trap, to be a way to distract her until someone came in and arrested her. Odessa slung her arm around Karli's shoulder and smirked at Sam.

"This guy I know, who knows more about Super Soldiers than anyone else on the planet, he says you're a supremacist." Sam stuck his middle finger up at Odessa before taking a seat next to Karli.

"Me?" Karli seemed shocked at the accusation.

"Yeah." Sam hummed in response.

"That's ridiculous. Everything I do is to end supremacy. These corporations and the beasts who run them, they're the supremacists." With every word, Karli got angrier.

Odessa slowly removed her arm from around Karli and began to fiddle with Bucky's dog tags that hung loosely around her neck. He had given her them to wear after her nightmare, hoping that it would bring her some sort of comfort.

"Let me ask you. You have more serum, right?" Odessa questioned as she turned to face Karli.

"So?" Karli asked, her bottom lip trembling slightly.

"Are you going to increase your army?" Sam spoke, turning to look at her with a warm and reassuring smile. "You're killin' innocent people."

"They're not innocent. They're roadblocks in my journey and I'd kill them again if I had to." Karli said without any sort of hesitation.

Odessa nodded, she knew that Karli didn't mean it like that. It sounded worse than what she intended. She's a good kid with good intentions, she's just going about it the wrong way.

"Wow." Sam gasped.

"No, no. I didn't mean it like that. You tricked me into sounding like-" Karli panicked at how it sounded.

"Like what?" Sam asked as Karli jumped off of the table and away from the pair.

Karli let out a sigh before looking between the pair. She knew that she needed to make them understand her way of seeing things. That she wasn't a bad guy.

"The people I'm fightin' are trying to take your home, Sam. Why are you here instead of stopping them?" Karli raised her brow questioningly.

"You know, my sister's waiting for that exact same answer." Sam paused.

"My siblings too, but I'm still in the process of trying to be their legal guardian. I can't do that until this fight is over." Odessa stepped beside Sam. "We're not your enemy. I agree with your fight. We just can't get with the way you're fightin' it."

Everything went silent for a moment, nobody said a word or even moved a muscle. Karli was in shock that they agreed with her cause.

"And I'm sure she wouldn't either." Sam pointed over to Donya.

"Karli Morgenthau, you're under arrest." John stormed in, causing everyone to tense up at the sound of his voice.

"So this is what it was?" Karli questioned angrily as she looked between the pair and John. "Tricking me until you're back up arrived?"

Odessa pushed John back, hoping that it would gain Karli's trust back. But instead, John just pushed her to the side and into Bucky.

"I'm okay, go get her." Odessa whispered, as her hand gripped Bucky's bicep and Karli hit Sam and John to the ground with a loud thud before running off.