Weapons | Bucky Barnes x OC

17. TENDER HANDS

Warnings: swearing and strong language. Use of very dangerous weapons. Anya being a litte stubborn, annoying ass.

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Anya was kneeling on a pillow, in front of her Josuke was in the same position. A low wooden table separating them held up two bowls of rice, two glasses and a water pitcher. Lastly, two pairs of dark wooden sticks, each resting on a support from their pointed ends. She had already seen them in the farmhouse, but the family had been kind enough to make her use a regular set of cutlery.

Josuke picked up his pair of chopsticks, using the tips of his thumb, index and middle finger to hold one like a pen. The other was placed between the palm and the base of the thumb, using the ring finger to support the bottom of the stick. Then he glanced at Anya, only to see her a little perplexed.

"Sosan desu ga, dohzo o-meshi agari kudasai. (Though it's a poor meal, please try it.)" said humbly Josuke.

But the meal wasn't the problem, Anya was truly grateful indeed. The only problem was that she had no idea how to use chopsticks. Her breath seized in her throat as she grabbed her chopsticks.

She tried to hold them like Josuke, carefully observing the technique he was using, but the only thing she got was that the sticks were shaking and moving constantly between her finger, as if they had a mind of their own. Now not only her eye was twitching, but her hands were shaking as well, making them difficult to control.

Add to it the fatigue for which she had adopted a crooked and incorrect posture too, and that food which really didn't want to be picked up. After a few other tries, she stabbed one of the salmon slices, but as she finally brought it to her mouth, it fell back onto the plate and Anya dropped the chopsticks onto the table, defeated. As she was about to grab the food with her hands, Josuke interrupted her.

"No, no, no!" Josuke said desperately, placing his chopsticks on their own stand. "Chopsticks are an extension of human fingers. Whatever fingers can do, chopsticks can do, too!"

"Well I can't do it, as you can see." Anya said, visibly upset, so much that a vein on her forehead swelled and she could feel her heartbeat pounding into it.

"If you want to eat like a dog, you can live and sleep outside like a dog. If you want to live and sleep like a human, pick up those sticks and try again." it was not a lecture. It was more like a way to spur her on and not let her give up.

"What about the cat? I'm pretty sure Momo doesn't eat with chopsticks and sleeps inside anyway." she challenged, pointing with her thumb at the cat.

"Leave the cat alone, I'm pretty sure he'd be able to do it. Now try again. Just like this." he said patiently and showed her where the chopsticks had to be placed.

"Listen, I think my nervous system is severely damaged and I don't think I can do it. And you said you knew how to cure me, by the way. I'm still waiting." Anya accused him harshly.

"I know, I know. What I don't know is how you ended up like this, but you're going to be just fine. I promise. Now, please.." he promised.

Anya let out a big sigh to calm herself down and then tried again. It took many tries: rice splashing everywhere and promptly being licked off by Momo, chopsticks slipping, and Josuke who couldn't stop laughing at Anya's concentrated face, who was trying really hard. In the end he advised her to use her left hand to keep them still, and use them as a spoon to take a handful of rice.

"See? I told you." Josuke said proud of her. "When you will lift a single grain of rice with chopsticks, then you can say you really know how to use them."