Tangled Paths | Bucky Barnes

Chapter 16: They're my Friends

16
They're
my Friends

The three headed back to the hotel and after grabbing some lunch they spent the rest of the day sorting through information that was useful and stuff that was simply just noise.

The next morning Darla woke up around 10:30. She put on some makeup and got dressed in a pair of wide-legged dress pants and a silk baby blue button-up short-sleeved shirt then placed her hair up in a ponytail. She matched the fit with her black oxfords and grabbed an old brown bomber jacket then walked out onto the balcony and headed to Sam and Bucky's room. When she pushed open the door and headed inside papers were scattered everywhere besides the two piles of boxes in the room that separated the good info from the bad info. Bucky seemed to be MIA but Sam was passed out in his bed with a file beside him. Darla quietly walked over to Bucky's bed and grabbed a pillow. She moved back to the corner of the room by the door to the balcony then with all of her might she hurtled the pillow at Sam.

Sam woke up with a gasp and rolled the opposite way off the bed and quickly then hit the floor with a 'thud' as he took cover. He covered his head and took a few deep breaths thinking of his next move when he heard Darla begin to laugh. Sam's expression dropped as he sat up and looked at Darla over his bed.
"Oh you think that's funny do you?" Sam said as he climbed to his feet.
"Oh, I think it's hilarious," Darla replied.
The sound of the bathroom door unlocking filled their ears before the door swung open and Bucky walked out of the bathroom in a pair of jeans, he was shirtless and his hair was wet. Darla couldn't help but stare at his body as he looked between the two of them in confusion. "What happened to you?" Bucky asked Sam as he moved to grab a pair of socks out of his duffle bag.
"Little miss Blondie pants thought it would be funny to throw something at me to wake me up. That's what." Sam said as he sat back down on his bed. A small smirk crept up on Bucky's face.
"She's right, that is funny," Bucky said as he sat down on the foot of his bed to put his socks on. Darla's eyes landed on Bucky's shoulder. Her face dropped slightly when she saw the scarring around the metal. It looked almost as though every time he moved it too far it dug into his skin. She wouldn't put it past hydra to half-ass the job when it came to comfort, It wouldn't have been a priority. She began to wonder how much of Bucky's arm was actually left in that thing. Bucky noticed Darla staring at the arm and cleared his throat. He reached for his T-shirt and slid it on which drew Darla out of her thought.

"Sam get dressed, I got us a breakfast reservation before I went to bed last night." She explained.
"How long do we got?" Sam asked with a stretch. Darla looked at her watch.
"An hour." She replied simply as she leaned in the doorway.
"How far away is it?" Sam asked as he turned to look at her.
"About 30," Darla said with a shrug.
"Oh okay, you wake me up by throwing things at me then don't even give me enough time to shower before I get ready? I see how it is." Sam said crankily as he got up and grabbed his suitcase to get dressed.

The three went for a wonderful late breakfast courtesy of her stark industry's credit card then headed back to the Proudstone. When the three walked in, there were a few people there for happy hour and Ginny had just finished making their drinks. She looked up at them as they entered the bar.
"You three can head upstairs. Grandmas up there." Ginny explained with a small smile.
"Thanks," Sam said as he followed Darla and Bucky through the kitchen and then upstairs.

When they got up into the apartment Betty's daughter was sitting on the couch with a girl with curly orange hair and black roots. When Darla rounded the couch she couldn't believe her eyes.
"Melanie?" Darla asked in confusion.
"Heyyyyyy Darla," Melanie replied in an American accent.
"What? How? Huh?" Darla began.
"Grandma called me," Melanie replied simply. realization smacked Darla in the face. Melanie was Ginny's sister. She knew she recognized the girl in the photo downstairs. Of course, it was in black and white, Melanie's hair wasn't dyed and it was some odd 12 years old. Melanie bared a light resemblance to Ginny. She had brown eyes as opposed to Ginny's blue ones but had similar facial features. where Ginny's hair was thick and wavy by nature Melanie's was tightly curled almost in an Afro.
"You knew," Darla said to Betty's daughter in disbelief as she sat beside her on the couch. The woman smiled with a small nod.
"Don't worry Aunt Darla, your secrets are safe with me." She said.
"Alright I'd hate to break up... whatever this is but can someone explain what the hell is going on?" Sam asked as he stood in front of the fireplace with Bucky.