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"Sorry for the scream –...Bucky? Where'd you go?"

I couldn't help but flinch. Pulling Ixie and Zephyr closer. To be smaller. To fill less space.

"The dead guy?" The Asian woman pointed downwards. Having given up the fight against the now thirteen vines.

"Damn it, Amber. His name is Bucky."

My eyes squeezed shut at the approaching footsteps. One clicking against the tiles.

"Hey Bucky," the young woman called out, a scratchy whisper compared to the yelling. "I'm sorry for my outburst. I'm not going to hurt you, 'kay? Or them."

She sat down on the couch, keeping a comfortable distance from me and the dogs. Didn't corner us against the fireplace. She stayed to the left of me.

I could use that arm to block her. The metal plates could handle most things.

"What do you need to feel safe, Bucky? What can I do?" she asked calmly. A slightly forced smile pulled on her lips

Pull arm. Slam head into fireplace. Target incapacitated.

"You're still mad," I noted.

"I'm not mad at you, nor will I be taking out that anger on you. Or the dogs. 'Kay?"

Her smile didn't promise pain. No orders spilled from her lips. An open, outstretched hand. Not a closed fist. Not wrapped around a blade. Nothing sharp around us. Except for the corners of the fireplace.

'She's not them...' I had to remind myself and let go of the dogs.

Ixie barked once, tail wagging in my face.

Zephyr slid towards the windows after a failed attempt to tackle the young woman. Dodged with only a little scoot to the side.

The young woman only gave him a friendly pat on his shoulders. "Go comfort Bucky, will you?"

Both dogs nuzzled their heads against mine. Neither of them any bit gentle with their movements. It was like being buried by 173 kilograms of soft warm fur.

"Amber, I'll call you back in a few."

"'Kay, 'kay," waved the other woman. Hair still clutched by the vines. Another flower joined the group of twenty vines.

With a click, the screen turned black.

A blanket joined the mix, wrapping around me, and Valeriy's face popped up far closer than I expected. She quickly showed her hands, palms out to show me they were empty.

"Nothing will happen to you, Bucky. You're safe here," she assured with a soft smile.

I didn't realize I had reached out to her hand until delicate fingers tangled with mine. Warm against my skin. Her thumb sliding back and forth along mine.

All of it soothing my nerves.

I tugged on her hand and she went with the movement. Arms coming up to wrap around my head. Fingers carding through my hair. Knuckles digging into the muscles at the base of my skull.

And my muscles relaxed into the hug.

It's safe here.

"You're safe," Valeriy whispered against the top of my head. "No pain. No chairs."

She lifted our hands towards her face.

I expected teeth to sink into my skin again.

"I'm sorry, Bucky."

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

But it was a pair of lips pressed against my knuckle. Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

Done so very softly.

"– those after him?" asked a muffled voice coming from behind me. Barely heard over the movements in the kitchen.

"Eve's been running interference," came Valeriy's reply in a soft whisper. Far clearer.

"Wasn't asking what she was doing." The voice of her friend's likely muffled from using the earbuds again. To keep the volume low.

"...I... I'm not doing anything with them...?"

"You're doing nothing...."

"Yeah...."

A doughy scent mixed with cinnamon wafted through the room. Along with the metal clanging against the stone countertops, she was likely having another go at baking.

'The cinnamon buns from the tube.'

"Not even looking into them?"

"Yup. Nothing."

"...I'm missing something. Since when do you not gather information?"

'She wrapped me up again...' I noted, from under a pile of tightly wound blankets. But as usual, she left my hands free to move.

"Urgh, it's driving me up the wall," Valeriy responded with a fwump of the oven door closing. "All I can think about are ways to dig up their little secrets and tear them to pieces. But I can't do much with eight year old info.... And from the sounds of it, they're a far bigger network than I thought.... Their reach is starting to feel bigger than ours."

"Eight years.... That company we looked into before your parents kidnapped me?"

"...Apparently...? At least that weirdo we spied on is one of them."

"What's stopping you? The old man wouldn't stop you if they're after the dead guy."

"His name is Bucky, Amber... and he asked me not to."

"He asked you... not to.... Damn, he's really one of us, isn't he? Okay, fine. I'll help him like you asked of me," stated in a tone that made my skin crawl.

"You're not mad about that?"

"I hate it. I hate that you asked this of me. I hate that I'm the one to do this. But I'm not mad at you for it."

"...I thought you were mad at me," Valeriy admitted barely above a whisper.

"Been busy untwisting our silly little dream, and then the whole dying children and Puppets thing happened."

"Right.... I'll get cracking on the proposals once I get all this oily stuff off my fingers."

"And maybe figure out a way for you to work around him asking you not to look into the six legged octopus gang."

"As much as I want to erase them from existence, I don't know if I want to loophole this one. We're safe here."

The faucet turned on, filling the silence between them.

'She wants... she wants to fight against Hydra...?'

The thought of facing them terrified me. If they didn't have answers as to how to fix what they did to my mind, I'd spend the rest of my days doing everything I could to avoid them.

I couldn't expose her to the horrors that made up Hydra. She'd break and change, and I didn't want that for her.

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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.