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

Chapter 28: Bucky Barnes - Oasis (Part II)

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It's been five days since I last saw her smile that wasn't forced. This expression suited her better.

That bright smile when I first spotted her wolfing down a pulled pork sandwich.

87 days ago....

A white paw swiped through the air between us and smacked Valeriy's hand off my face. Zephyr even ended up trying to sit on her stomach until I moved him away. Before the two of them could get into some fight that involved tail whacking and flailing arms.

For now, he settled down and the full grown woman glared at him. She huffed and tapped on her phone screen until the A.I. ghost's laughter finally stopped. Then it was back to working on the binder. Something about different flight mechanisms from what she managed to figure out.

A fresh red mark could be seen on her left forearm. Darkening in color. It wasn't the only mark. Thick long bruises scattered across her arms and legs. Some purple. Some green. Some yellow.

'Did I used to be so fragile?'

Most of them from the dogs. They were rather rough with their limbs.

The little one on her forehead had barely faded. She learned not to leave her head above the binder rings in case she dozed off.

I traded the tablet and class summaries for one of the hand bound notebooks again.

Managed another smile (3) today. They're feeling less heavy. Easier when the situation allows for it.

Valeriy had a ridiculous theory that I had eyes on the side of my head. The reason behind the odd hair touches.

(I'm glad they didn't add eyes on me.)

I wouldn't know how I'd handle any more changes to my body at their hands....

Thunk.

Her head dropped.

Again.

This time, it didn't lift up repeatedly to bash on the binder. She was asleep. Passed out over her work.

Done often enough, it either had to be a bad habit, or she hadn't been sleeping as of late.

I pulled back her hair from her face, so she wouldn't wake from the irritation.

I pulled away Zephyr from her lap, so she wouldn't wake from trying to kick away the heat.

I pulled off one of the blankets she piled on me and wrapped it around her shoulders, so she wouldn't wake from the air conditioner's wind.

With a satisfied nod, I returned to the tablet and class summaries. Making notes on what was interesting and the prerequisites to each class.

The list was fast turning into a tangled web of arrows and words.

Don't tell Val about this program. I made this long before she started struggling with her scheduling. Never showed it to her or let her use it.

The words flashed up on the tablet screen. The A.I ghost.

My notes disappeared, and before panic could set in, I stared at the screen in confusion.

The classes were sorted by levels. The ones I wanted to take were in blue. The ones I needed to take for them were in red. The gray text might be classes I've met the requirement for if I took whatever's on the list already...?

On the side was a note of what degree I would be headed towards and the requirements still unfulfilled.

It's tweaked for your needs. All you need to do is input what you're interested in taking, and I'll set up the rest.

I pulled up the on screen keyboard and typed in a quick Thank you.

The program made it a slightly less confusing.

Slipped her mind to tell you, but Val had you set up to have all limits and penalties removed. You're welcome to take as many classes as many times as you wish and drop them whenever you please.

And that opened all the doors. Given enough time, I could take all the classes. Whatever the A.I. ghost deemed safe.

I added any class that sounded remotely interesting. Filled the program until that looked as messy as my attempt at sorting them.

A hum from above pulled my eyes from one screen to another. The A.I. ghost was lowering the television from its housing in the ceiling. I took a deep breath, waiting for whatever she wanted to communicate to me without waking up Valeriy. Whatever it was, she felt the need to use the television instead of taking over the tablet again.

The black screen lit up to a face. An Asian face. An Asian with a scarred smile on a blank expression. Lips parted, as if to say something, but no sound came through. Her dark eyes narrowed a tad before a series of clicks came from the speakers. Taps on the keys.

The white noise from the television muted and text appeared at the bottom of her image.

She asleep?

I gave a hesitant nod, opening my mouth to call out to Valeriy. It was her best friend on the screen.

Not yet.

Instead of typing more, she merely stared.

And stared.

And stared.

I held back every movement under her analyzing stare.

I couldn't help my eyes from glancing at the eight petalled flower. It kept bouncing down into the screen from the upper left corner. Not at a consistent rate. Nothing regular about it. Had a slight sway to its movement.

As if it was staring too.

The Asian woman's eyes suddenly looked to the side. To the right. Her lips moving. Talking to somebody. Either somebody close by and at least 325 centimeters tall or the A.I. ghost.

Make sure she doesn't do anything stupid.

(She means don't let Val dash off and go driving in a blind rage.)

The soft white noise started up again and, with an eerie grin, "Hi hi!" blurted through the line.

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Author's Note:

If you enjoyed this part, please consider leaving a vote. They're very much appreciated. ^^

And a big thank you to TinselA/Bunny Carrot (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/7591081/) and the Anonymous Fifth Beta for Beta-ing this chapter.