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The moment the door shut behind him, the shower ran.
"FUCK!!! EVE!! YOU – YOU ASSHOLE!!! IT'S FREEZING!!!!"
Scrambling out of the stream, I curled up in the corner to get away from the cold spray. Everything was just stupidly cold. I didn't need the shock to the system right now.
"How are you holding up, Val? I know how uncomfortable you are around cuts like that one."
"I don't want to talk about that time, Eve. Drop it," I snapped, peeling off the sopping wet clothes and tossing them in the opposite corner. Watching the water run from red to pink, I took a few deep breaths to calm the twisting knot in my gut. "I'll be fine. As always."
Feeling the water turn hot, I pulled myself underneath and let it just sear off all the unpleasantness. All the tension in my muscles. All the unease in my stomach.
"This temperature is honestly bad for your singed arm."
I groaned at the lukewarm water that now made my shower. So gross on my skin. I'd prefer the freezing after over this. But the stinging in my arm did stop. Quickly cleaning up, I crawled about the room, searching for something to wear.
"Hey Eve? What are we having the pasta with?"
"There's a jar of tomato sauce you can heat up in a pan and mix with the angel hair."
"By the way, who drinks 96% vodka?"
"Sparks enjoys mixing it."
Haven't seen that woman for some time. The timing was almost laughable since she was the one who picked me up after the second kidnapping. Wouldn't be surprised if the woman could handle her hard liquor.
"I keep some around for the houses she stays at."
"How is she? It's been long."
"She is doing fine. Still one of my top people."
"She's not the top anymore?"
"Someone popped up as competition."
'Huh.... A new puppet joins the ranks.'
One I haven't heard of yet....
"How are you feeling, Buddy?" I asked when I spotted him mopping up the cola blood mix.
The young man was dripping with water. His clothing had been changed. At least he wasn't down here cleaning the whole time.
As per usual, he shrugged. "You?"
"Peachy." Popping into the pantry, I grabbed a jar of red pasta sauce and returned to cooking. "Could you set the table when you're finished? I'm going to deal with the pasta."
"Sure."
"Thanks."
Silence consumed the two of us. The kitchen got cleaned. The pasta got served. It still stayed for most of the meal.
Eve wasn't too wrong about my cooking skills. As plain and simple this dish looked like, we were munching on soggy angel hair.
The ex-soldier didn't seem to care, finishing rather quickly. I had to wonder what they fed the guy. Hopefully, it was something edible. Unlikely that it'd be something yummy. He was their weapon as he put it. They'd probably use some care to keep him healthy, even if they taught him to cut himself up as punishment.
"Who are you?" he asked, pushing his plate away.
"Me?"
With all he's seen, couldn't say I wasn't expecting this question.
He nodded, motioning to the space around us. "All this. Safehouses. Being kidnapped."
"Remember, Val. He doesn't remember much before a couple months ago."
"Uhhh.... Well then... where do I even start? I guess the family? Since I'm just a pawn.... Ummm.... Oh! Gramps branched off and started small tech company about 50 ish years ago?"
"54 years."
"He's been inventing stuff for longer. Then about 30 ish years ago? Father took it big with Mother as his right hand and now we're the Ayers Corp, which happens to be one of the biggest privately owned corporations in the world.
"I believe? We're still most famous for our security and... life improvement technologies? I don't know what to call that.... Um, stuff that makes daily life simpler? This house would go under that. With how Eve controls a bunch of things. Though what's mostly on the market isn't as advanced as this. Still some kinks to work out. Mostly the price...."
He frowned heavily, his eyes dropping to his completely covered arm. "This... arm isn't like this house. It's not... simple."
"Quite agreed. This place is rather simple. But it blends in. That's what we need for a safehouse. This isn't what you should judge us by, Mr. Barnes."
"Your arm will be fixed. So where were we?" I asked, switching topics.
They didn't need to be bickering. Eve was Gramps' baby, and being in her house when she gets defensive, not pretty.
"You said you're a pawn."
"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm the useless Ayers daughter. Ain't one of the geniuses. But I'm okay at a few things? Cooking, clearly isn't one of them....
"The main thing my parents use me for is my face? Well my name actually.... I don't know why people think I have any sway in Ayers business, but they do. And so long as they do, I have use?
"I mostly show up at events in place of my parents or sign contracts in their stead. Something about putting the other party at ease that the Ayers are personally backing it. I'm not too sure. I just keep my head down and do what my parents tell me to. So basically, I'm just a pawn."
"Should you have told him all that?"
"I didn't say anything a google search wouldn't turn up. People just don't usually think it's me unless I'm all dolled up. Makes daily life simpler."
I shrugged my shoulder.
"Well except for the pawn thing... and it would majorly suck if he turned around and kidnapped me himself...."
"I-I wou... I...?" my friend started, but his words left him with a massive frown.
"I'm not worried about that," I grinned. "My gut isn't screaming at me to run for the hills. Besides, you could have easily could have mugged people for sandwiches... but you didn't."
He only frowned more. Not what I expected.
"Your arm will be fixed, Mr. Barnes," Eve cut in. "Even if I have to bring someone else in."
Though the someone may or may not turn in the young man for being the Winter Soldier. Or sell the information to whoever was after him.
"So please calm down."
One quick scan of the man in front of me, and it was easy to tell he was upset about something. But there was an awfully familiar bracelet on his wrist.
"Why the hell is he wearing one of my bloody monitors?" I demanded. "I told you to give him space. Not fucking tag him, Eve!"
"I like to keep my house in order. Can't blame me for that."
Suddenly he stood up. "Your ankle. I'll change the wrappings." He walked out of the room without a limp and I continued with my pasta.
"It's funny how the two of you don't even think about painkillers."
"Oh yeah, that's a thing.... Meh, I don't like it," I shrugged off in an attempt to shake of the unpleasant twist in my gut. "My brain gets sluggish, and I still have to figure out what to tell Mother and Father." Cupping a hand by my mouth, I yelled out, "Hey, Buddy!! Do you want to use any painkillers!?"
Less than a second later, he was walking through the doorway.... I probably shouldn't have screamed.
"It doesn't work. My system burns right through it," he answered and kneeled at my side, gingerly taking my left leg and setting it on his good thigh.
"That sucks."
It really did. I had a choice. He didn't even if he wanted to.
It was surprising how gentle he was, with all those muscles. I could easily see them under the fabric of his shirt. Then again, the shirt wasn't exactly his size. I doubt there were many of Eve's Puppets who were this built.
When he calmed down a bit, I spoke up, "Thanks for doing this, Buddy."
"Bucky..." he corrected ever so softly, I almost missed it. "...My name... my name is... Bucky."
"Alright, Bucky," I grinned and he grunted in response. This was far better than a shrug and I no longer had to awkwardly cover my attempts to use his name.
Boy did my ankle hurt, the steady throbbing that matched my heartbeat. So to push it to the back of my mind, I attempted to wolf down my soggy spaghetti.
Bucky quietly worked away, wounding dry bandages around my ankle. He'd pause randomly waiting for his left hand to stop its spasms before continuing to wrap the bandages.
It wasn't until he was almost finished and I ate all I could stomach of my own cooking that an idea popped into my head.
"Bucky, do you want to talk to someone who knew you? Captain Steven Rogers. I'm sure Eve could find his numb – "
"No!!"
He shot up onto his feet. His eyes widened wide in panic. He looked just about ready to dive through a window, backing away towards a corner.
"Okay! Okay! We won't contact him! Eve can you – "
"Yes, yes I can, and I shall. I'll do what I can to keep everyone away from you. He won't find you."
"Forget that I even asked, 'kay?"
Bucky tried to calm his panicked breathing, and with a single nod, he bolted upstairs.
"And I thought we were making such progress." Eve brought up a video on the glass of the dining table of how to wrap an ankle.
I got to work finishing the compress. "Is he alright?"
"He's not self-destructing, if that helps? And as much as you want to be friends with him, I rather you not."
"You rather a lot of things of me, Eve, and I'm not going to just turn my back on him n – "
"I get that he reminds you of – "
"Do not go there!"
"Can you live with it, Val? Can you live with Hydra coming after you if they link you to him? You'll be on the run for who knows how long. I can do my best to protect you then, but can you juggle your lives when you have no freedom left?"
"I'll manage. I've always managed and you've got my back, right?"
"To the best of my ability."
"I want to do this, Eve. If he wants the help, I'm here. I want to be friends with him. It's the only reason I'm willing to face those demons again. And I can't believe you're the one forcing me to open this fucking door again."
"Don't you miss it, Val?"
"Whatever," I huffed, blowing a lock of hair out of my face. "Besides, it's up to him at the end of the day. I can't make him stay, and I doubt you could make him leave."
"Not with you backing him, and I need him to protect you for now."
"Can't call any of your Puppets?"
"No.... They're all busy with... other things."
"I hate that we're using him. Going by what he said, he's been used more than enough."
Rage was slowly burning through my veins at the idea of somebody forced to do things they never wanted to. It reminded me of things I wished to forget.
"Would you rather Jekyll get to you?"
"..." I secured the wrapping and shrugged. "I don't know, Eve. He has enough on his plate. I'm just a spoiled little brat."
"No, you're a girl who's turned away from who you really are."
"You're looking for something that's not there anymore, Eve."
I knew she blamed herself for those events. It was an old wound we'd pick into at each other to shut the other up. It was sickening every time it was brought up.
'I don't know why you blame yourself for them.... You were under orders.'
Silence.
Absolute silence between us.
It left a gaping hole inside.
I wanted to run away from all this. Be somebody else. But alas, no matter how hard I run, the one person I couldn't escape from was Valeriy Ayers.
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Author's Note:
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