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

Chapter 10: Bucky Barnes - Reflections in the Windows (Part III)

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"What's wrong?" I asked when nothing had changed on the tablet for the past ten minutes and forty seconds.

Nothing except for a twitch with the thin straw that had been spewing out a clear plastic material. The pair of rubberized tweezers clung onto the middle of the metal eyes to keep it in position stayed steady.

I could hear her breathing change with each ticking second. Growing more and more erratic. Even with the pile of pillows on the side of my head.

"Valeriy?"

"I forgot how to move," she mumbled through clenched teeth. Likely not risking movements by using her jaw when talking. "I don't know which way to go to get into position. I just need a moment to figure this out."

I doubt she'd figure anything out with the panic she's diving into. How her tools stayed steady through it was rather impressive.

Too much movement could mean triggering the bomb. Neither of us knew how much leeway it had.

How she was trying to negotiate the space in the arm had to be disorientating. One image on each lens from two different angles.

One view from the back of the shoulder with the snake camera to what she was working on. The other a magnified view from the top of the shoulder with the camera on the glasses to keep an eye on how close her tools were to the trigger wires.

And I could watch it all unfold on the tablet in front of me while my head was stuck between two pillows sandwiched by her head and her lap. Her arms were anchored against my shoulders, so she'd move with any movements I made with breathing.

If this was anything like taking a sniper shot, then, "You need to clear your mind. You were fine for the first half of this. You know how to move."

"This isn't exactly like getting back on a bike after five fucking years," she snapped. "Sorry. Fuck. Now I feel like throwing up...."

'Not good.'

She was stuck with me on her lap, and I was pinned into place by her head on mine. That didn't account for how we were tangled together by the god damn arm of all things.

"How hard is it for you to hold still like that?" I asked after a moment's thought.

"Easy enough. Easier than trying to figure out which bloody way to fucking go."

"Can you keep in place with your eyes shut?"

"I guess...?"

"Let your eyes rest for a bit."

"...'Kay."

And now something to take her mind off her panic. "The fancy windows."

"Huh?"

"What gave you the idea?" I tried.

Her head shifted slightly, and the image from her glasses on the tablet swung about before it refocused. "The windows huh?" she repeated, having found room to move her jaw. "I used to sneak out of the boarding school dorms almost every other night. Dragged Amber with me whenever she'd let me. We were roommates back then....

"Needed a way to not get caught not in our room. We figured that we could mess with the windows. For some reason, Eve helped with the rendering."

"I couldn't stop you from being an idiot as a child. Why would I think I could stop you as teenager? I could only hope you'd grow up. Until then, had to make sure you weren't caught and expelled. Your parents would not be happy to get that piece of news."