Whoever told you to always look forward to what the future might bring had bullshit spelt all over them. Because as you stared at your best friend, his weapon trained on you with blind rage, a million things you wanted to say to those people ran through your head.

At least, sometime later.

In the present moment?

Not much.

You were completely dizzy, seeing red stars bloom into your vision and disappear before more took its place. You could feel bruises forming all over your body, your lungs heaved desperately for air and adrenaline pumped crazily through your veins, spurring you to take action, to do something, to fight and win.

But, you were exhausted.
Much too exhausted to even pull the trigger of your own weapon.
You wanted it to be done, over with.

Blood trickled steadily from a cut on your cheek and although every part of you seemed to be broken, aching or bleeding, you were unnaturally calm.

Even as your best friend's blaster lit up in preparation to blast the life out of you.

That damned video.

Zemo knew exactly what he was doing when he played it and you had tried your best to keep the peace, but it was too late. Everything had unraveled the moment Steve admitted he knew that Bucky had murdered Tony's parents and when Tony asked you and you'd said you had no idea, he simply nodded and pushed you out of the way to attack Steve. You knew he wouldn't have done anything to you. He was just confirming that you hadn't lied to him, either. You had given up on breaking them apart after you realized your attempts were pretty much useless and danced around the edges of all three of them, throwing in blows of your own only to defend, never to attack as they fought against each other. Unfortunately, they were all stuck on "attack" mode and you were more often than not thrown across the room, earning one of their attentions only to have it drawn back to the fight.

"Get out of my way, Y/N. I don't want to hurt you." Tony said, clenching his jaw tightly. He looked about as beat up as you were and you glanced over your shoulder to where Bucky lay in an unconscious, bloody heap. Steve was behind Tony, struggling to get up.

"You already have. Besides, my winning looks aren't exactly my greatest concern right now." You said sarcastically.
"Y/N, I won't ask again."
"Then, don't! Look, I know he murdered your parents, but that wasn't him, Tony."
"I don't care who it was." He snarled.
"You have to-"
"HE KILLED THEM!"

The both of you stared at each other in defiant silence.
"If you want him...you're going to have go through me."
"No."
"Tony, wa—"

He tried to shove past you, but underestimating your strength, you quickly twisted his arm and flipped him onto his back.

"Listen to me, Stark! For once in your damn life, stop being such a stubborn ass and listen!" You shouted, struggling to keep him pinned. His suit was no help to him, the AI being far too damaged for any support and the anger that had been fueling him seemed to have all but given out. Finally, he stopped moving and you waited for a few minutes in case he tried to throw you off.

"Tony, I know you're hurting. I know you are and I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that what he did hurt you and I'm sorry that there's no way we can possibly fix this. But, you have to understand. HYDRA has brainwashed and used him for years to do things the real Bucky would never do. It's not his fault."

"You don't know him, Y/N!"
"Neither do you!"

Tony began to struggle again and you forcefully pushed him back against the ground.

"He's my soulmate, Stark. And I'll be damned if you lay another finger on him." You growled.

His labored breathing was the only sign that he was listening to you and it felt like an eternity before he finally spoke.

"Ten hours."
"What?"
"Ten hours, Y/N. That's all I'm giving you."

You quickly climbed off of him and he sat up, avoiding your searching gaze. Without wasting any time, you ran over to Steve and helped him to his feet so the both of you could assist Bucky.
You gently wrapped an around his waist and began to walk out when Tony spoke again.

"Leave the shield."

Steve's eyes hardened at his words, but he dropped it without hesitation, the vibranium clanging loudly against the floor and roaring in your ears.

"And Y/N? Let's hope your soulmate finds a better hiding place. For his sake."

The threat was clear and so was the barely restrained anger in his voice. You knew he wanted to shoot Bucky right then and there, but if Tony was anything, he was a man of his word and he had granted you ten hours. As you looked at him one last time, you knew that walking away from your best friend and leaving with the man that had killed his parents was the last thing needed to sever your friendship. You could have fought him for days, maybe even weeks and it still wouldn't matter who won. But, you were leaving, choosing Bucky over him as much as you wished you didn't have to.

And that was a hundred times worse.

"Well, lets hope you can forgive him. For your sake." You said quietly. You and Steve slowly dragged Bucky out of the building and into the Quinjet, laying him carefully on the floor.

"Don't jostle us around, Cap. We can't take any more beatings." You said teasingly as he got behind the wheel and took off before Tony could change his mind.

"I'll do my best."

You draped a thick blanket over Bucky and moved to sit next to his inert figure, taking the time to try and memorize every single part of his face. When you had first seen Bucky after the bridge, sleeping against the vice that held him in it's metal grasp, you wondered what could possibly help him when it came down to such business. How were you supposed to know it'd end up being you to do the honors?

"We can't keep him safe forever, Steve. Not by ourselves." You said, stroking Bucky's hair absentmindedly.
"Don't worry. It won't be forever."
"Oh, really?"
"Plus, I know a guy."

—————

"Feeling sick?"

Bucky's head shot up and a smile grew on his face as you and Steve walked into the room. He was sitting on an examination table with a white wrap around the stump where his metal arm used to be and you struggled not to lock your eyes on his broad shoulders as the tank top he wore did nothing to hide his muscles.
Of all the contacts that Steve had, you'd been surprised that the King of Wakanda was one of them. When you learned that he'd granted Bucky asylum, you had made your gratitude known by tackling him in a hug that completely threw him off and, unfortunately, had you coming face to face with the pointy ends of his personal guards weapons. King T'Challa was a bit ruffled, but he laughed it off and waved the Dora Milaje away before directing you and Steve to the medical facility.

"Pretty peachy." He shrugged as the doctor finished wrapping his hand and began to back away.

You stopped him with a warm smile.

"Thank you."

The doctor inclined his head politely before you turned back to Bucky. His eyes hadn't left you from the moment you walked into the room and you could feel the heart rising in your cheeks as Steve raised an eyebrow at your silence.

"Well, I hate to break up the conversation you've got going..."
You slugged him in the chest and he chuckled as Bucky cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed that he'd been staring for so long.
"You sure about this?"
Steve's somber tone brought about the seriousness of the situation in front of you and Bucky shrugged.
"I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing...for everybody."

You wanted to argue against that, but there really wasn't any way around it. Although it was understandably necessary for him to be put back in cryostasis, you selfishly wanted more time with Bucky. You had just found him after all.

"I'll be outside, Y/N."

Steve's voice startled you out of your thoughts and you nodded as the men gave each other meaningful looks before Steve walked out of the medical facility, leaving you two alone.

"This'll be good, then. This freezer type thing."

Bucky laughed, a sound that made your insides light with the feeling of deep and true affection.

"Yeah. I guess it will."

Much like the first time you'd met him, your mind separated from your body and without quite meaning to, but immensely glad that you had, you walked right up to him, brought your hands up to place on his shoulders and kissed him with all the love and passion you'd been saving for the one-for Bucky, your soulmate. The feel of his muscles rippling under your fingers as he brought you closer made your mind cloud over with longing as he dipped his head to deepen the kiss. He had his hand tangled in your hair and was pressing your lips against his, fighting for dominance against your tongue with so much force, you had to break away to drag in a breath.

"Damn, Barnes. That was one hell of a kiss." You blew out a gust of air and Bucky smirked as you carefully touched your lips, checking to see if they were still intact.

"I still got it." He said proudly.

"Mr. Barnes?"

The doctor that had wrapped his hand waited patiently beside the cryo tank and you stiffened as the glass slid open.

"We're ready when you are."

Bucky's smile fainted just a little as he came down from the table and you slipped your hand into his, letting him know without saying a word that you were there for him. That you'd always be there for him.

You walked him the short distance to the tank and he slowly got in before the glass slid into place. He held up a hand against the
glass, his eyes glistening as you did the same, right over his palm.
"We still on for that date?" He asked.

You could hear the nervousness in his voice and you nodded, fitting a smile onto your face.

"Course we are. The first one was just pathetic."
He chuckled, a muffled sound that you wished you could hear in its full form. You promised yourself you'd make him laugh everyday when he got out.

"I love you." You whispered, tracing the glass as the tank did its job and Bucky succumbed to the cryofreeze. You didn't think he had heard you, but he did. And he made a promise to himself that once he was done, once everything that HYDRA had put in his mind was flushed out forever, he'd take you on that date and the two of you would fall in love with each other as properly as a pair of soulmates could.

Bonus:

"Well, now. I think it's time we found your soulmate. What'd ya think?"
"Nuh-uh."
"I'm serious. You ever try stabbing Sharon?"
"Why would I stab Sharon?"
"I would. For the hell of it. What about Nat?"
"What about Nat?"
"If you try and stab her to find out if she's your soulmate, I'll give you 20 bucks."
"You're insane."
"I know...50."

"Y/N."

"75."

"Y/N."

"Yeah, never mind. She'd probably kill you in ten different ways before you even get within five feet of her."

"Gee, thanks."