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Once inside, Valeriy's hand rested on metal plates of the arm. "Why don't you get cleaned up first? I'll put everything away."

Glancing down, I saw just how muddy I got my boots and pants. With a quick nod, I hurried to the back, placing the bags down on the counter before closing the bedroom door behind me. A sniff at the clothing, and I decided another shower was needed.

The cool water kept it short. Didn't want to stay in the cold. But it still washed the stress away with the dirt and sweat stuck to my skin.

The wind from the air conditioning unit made everything colder. Even with clothing on. It cooled the water soaked fabric stuck to my skin. The hoodie helped blocked some of the cold.

The moment I opened the bedroom door, Valeriy started talking over the running water of the sink. "How does dinner in bed and a relaxing movie sound?"

'Bugs,' the word popping up in my head on its own.

"Bucky?" Her face peeking out from around the corner. A smile pulling at her lips.

"Hmm? Sure," I replied, ignoring the thought.

"Let me finish rinsing the fruit and I'll set up the movie."

Instinctively, I rolled up my sleeves, pausing when I started on the left one. I didn't want it to be seen... but she didn't seem to mind the arm. Still, I made sure to slip into the spot to her left.

With a soft laugh, she shuffled over a step to make room for me at the sink. Which was tiny compared to the one at the house. Not enough room for four hands.

"...I don't think this is enough food..." I pointed out.

"Got more calories in the freezer."

I did not like opening the freezer. It's cold. Even worse with wet hair.

Boxes of frozen pizza laid inside. That should be enough.

Pepperoni. Quattro Formaggi. Pepperoni pesto. Funghi. Pepperoni. Spincaci. Pepperoni.

'Pepperoni.' Quickly plucked out from a metal arm's length away.

"I'm going to go get the movie setup. We can pause and grab the pizza later," Valeriy chirped over her shoulder, walking to the bedroom with a plateful of baked goods and a couple cans of cola in her arms.

While waiting for the oven to heat up to temperature, I double checked the instructions for how long to leave the pizza inside. The A.I. ghost wasn't around to tell me when the pizza was done. Thirteen minutes. Six less than the average time I've waited on the A.I. ghost's instructions.

Before I could contemplate on it further, I gathered some of the fruits into my arms. The berries and plums.

Haphazardly tossed in the middle of the freshly made bed was part of our dinner. Valeriy stood in front of a blindingly bright blue television screen, prodding at buttons. Standing back a step and searching the screen in confusion.

"Got no idea where I lost the remote.... This is so much easier to do with Eve controlling everything.... Come on. Settle in, Bucky."

Stiffly, I perched at the edge of the bed. Food still in hand. The left side. Closest to the door.

"Eve, where have you gone? I need you. Come back to me. We want to watch a movie..." she partially sung to herself. "...Bucky, you're warming up the fruit...."

Instinctively, my facial muscles pulled towards the spot between my eyes. Disgust filling me. My brain unable to provide a reason for the reaction.

Warm fruit.

Valeriy climbed onto the bed. "You're going to –" Arm wrapping around my torso.

Grab Gerber Yari II under the mattress. Slice throat. Target incapacitated.

"I was going to say that you'd slip off, but I'm a little late on that," she laughed, backing away and crawling to the foot of the bed. "Seriously though, put the fruit down before you heat it up."

Straightening my legs from the semi squat in my attempt from falling to the floor with her arm, I added the fruits to the pile of food on the bed. I couldn't risk not being able to stop my reflexes around her, and carefully climbed to the headboard, settling down on the left side. Closest to the door. With the weapon farthest from her.

"So," she started. Yellow text changing from one word to the next with each click of a button. "We have the option of English audio, or Japanese audio with English subtitles. Do you know Japanese?"

"I have no idea." I doubt it'd be a skill I learned before....

"Hmmm.... Actually, I don't feel like reading anymore today. English dub it is."

With that decided, the screen shifted to a shot of a castle with fireworks around it before another blue screen showed up with a drawing of two rabbits. Studio Ghibli.

Valeriy buried herself under the pillows and comforter. Holding out a cinnamon bun to me while munching on a handful of strawberries.

Festive music blasted from the speakers all around us as a little white bunny marched across the blue screen. A sack upon its shoulders leaking little white dots in its wake. The dots grew into more bunnies. Nine of them. Morphing with holes in their bellies.

Enjoying the song, I bit into the cinnamon bun. Different from the previous versions she's brought. This one had more cinnamon than the others.

Two girls and their father moving into an old wooden house. That may or may not be haunted as the girls had suggested when they laid eyes on the building. Soot gremlins.

"I'm going to get the pizza," I stated when thirteen minutes was up. Shuffling out of the blanket cocoon I ended up in.

"'Kay," the young woman chirped from beside me.

With a click, the screen paused on the girl in yellow having found the stairs they've been searching for.

Peering into the oven, I realized why the extra six minutes were added. 'This doesn't look very golden....'

"Pizza?" Valeriy questioned, coming out of the bedroom. Still munching away. Though this time on a croissant.

"It's not ready.... Did you...."

"Did I?"

"The kid. The one who lived across the street.... The one with... abusive father...."

"Wondering if he got away from Hydra alright?"

I gave a nod.

'Is he safe? Is his mom safe? Are they having an easier time traveling than we were? Do they like where they ended up? Is he making friends? Is his mom healing?'

"The last report Eve sent said that they're at one of the safe houses in England. Last night we were trying to figure out where to place them.... We decided on one of our closed campus community thingies? They'll be living with two of Eve's semi dormant Puppets. Both are great fighters and one is medically trained. So the mother will have someone there at all times as she heals. They can stay there as long as they like. It's a happy home, Bucky, with twins."

"...Would he get along with them?"

"I believe so? They're all the same age. The boy's a little more than shy? But he sticks to his sister like glue and she becomes friends with everything that crosses her path. The kid should be fine there. I'll make sure they'll all be in the same class for when school starts up."

"Is that the same school you went to?"

"I wish. That school's awesome. I had to go to old schools with well-established histories, and me going to a school we own is kind of a.... It's not going to look good..." she ended with a shrug of her shoulder.

I couldn't help but go over her injuries. Remembering how she got each of them. Searching just to be sure she wasn't hurt trying to buy food. She might not be so lucky next time.

"Have you ever been taught how to fight?"

"I had a self-defence session with Sparks way back when? Broke my fingers in the first hour.... Exams have never been more annoying to write.... And then my schedule got in the way.... The ones at school were just the instructors trying to humiliate the martial artists in class to stroke their egos? I think Devon was going to teach me some things as a date but never got around to it... since we're forgetful shits."

"What if I taught you?" I blurted out faster than I could stop the words.

Instead of the offended anger or caution I expected, Valeriy's eyes, her body language, everything lit up. "Yeah! I'd love to learn!"

"After you're all healed."

"Sure!" she chirped, grinning from ear to ear. "And the pizza smells like its burning."

"Shit."

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Author's Note:

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