Time passed.

You and your soulmate spent more time together. Went on more dates. And you were happy. You really were. Even if part of you still didn't trust him completely. Even if part of you was waiting for the day you looked in his eyes and found nothing but the soldier staring back at you.

So you held back. Just a bit. Just enough to guard your heart and keep your head about you. Enough to feel safe and in control.

After a lot of procrastination, you had been making progress repacking the jumbled boxes that held your life with the help of the Avengers. Mainly Bucky, Steve, Nat and Clint. You were wrapping breakables and sorting contents into new boxes labeled by room. Some things you left out, others you tossed or donated. You had no idea you and your dad had so much worthless shit in your apartment. Currently, you were sorting through kitchen utensils while Nat and Clint worked on their own boxes.

The three of you were laughing at some story Clint was telling about his kids when his voice trailed off. "Oh. Oh no."

You turned to him with wide eyes as you searched for the problem. He looked between the box he'd been sorting and you. He shook his head and stepped back to make room for you.

Your stomach churned as you glanced inside, afraid of whatever he'd found. It took you a moment to realize that that the assorted pieces of plastic and glass had once been your small snow globe collection. A blanket on the bottom of the box seemed to have soaked up all the liquid.

Oh.

For the most part they were cheap plastic with only a couple of nicer ones thrown in. But they had been a tradition with you and Phil. It had started with him bringing back the most bizarre, cheesy snow globe he could find when he traveled without you. When you started traveling together you made a game of which one of you could find the best/worst one. Despite all the traveling your job entailed, the collection was still relatively small. It wasn't often you got to more besides get off the jet, do your mission and get back on. But that only made the ones you did have all the more precious.

A hand on your shoulder brought you back to the present. You cleared your throat. "Thanks for the help today," you managed to say. "I need...yeah, I just need a minute."

You didn't look at them. You didn't have to, to know that Nat had to pull Clint from the room. She'd always been good about your space and he'd always been reluctant to leave when you were upset. They left the door open but you didn't care. There was nothing but storage on this floor and you were unlikely to be disturbed.

Your hands gripped the edges of the box and your shoulders rolled forward as you tried to curl in on yourself in your grief. Despite the time that had passed, your misery over Coulson's death was still raw. It didn't take much to drag you back into those dark days that immediately followed the loss.

Hot tears rolled down your cheeks and you left them for a bit. You weren't entirely sure if they were from grief or anger. The nature of your lives meant that your moments of normalcy were rare. Fury's tantrum had cost you a little of that and the memories that went with it. Gods, he was such an ass.

"You okay, doll?" The voice coming from the doorway startled you and you were annoyed with yourself that you hadn't heard him approaching. Sloppy.

You licked your lips tasting the salt from your tears but you didn't turn to face your soulmate. You didn't want him here. Not right now when you were already vulnerable. "I thought you were training with Steve."

There was the shuffle of a step as he moved closer. "I was. Nat came and found me. Only told me you might need me."

You huffed a laugh. "Yeah, well, she was wrong."

He didn't say anything. Just hovered.

You sighed and wiped the tears from your face. "I'm sorry. That was shit of me. This isn't your fault."

"S'okay."

"No, it's not, Buck." You turned around and his gaze ran over you. It was clear from his appearance that he'd come straight from training when Nat found him, probably worried about you, and you were acting like a complete bitch. "It's not okay for me to take my issues out on you. Just...start calling me out on my shit. I don't people well."

One side of his mouth curled up in a grin. "Yeah, okay." He leaned forward to kiss you and you turned at the last moment so he got your cheek instead of your lips. His smile fell and his brow furrowed as he looked you over.

"I'm not in a good place at the moment," you said by way of explanation without meeting his gaze. You needed space. Time. Someone you didn't need to put on a front for. You gestured to a box you'd sat aside earlier. "Could you carry that upstairs for me? I'll take this one."

The two of you took the boxes up to your bedroom which was still in between Clint and Nat. Bucky had been trying to get you to move into an open room on him and Steve's floor but you'd resisted thus far.

"I appreciate you coming to check on me but I need to be left alone for the moment. I need some space and I can't take the hovering right now." When he said nothing, you added, "I need to make a phone call."

Bucky hesitated a moment before nodding and leaving, closing the door behind him.

"Jarvis, video call Nick Fury." You sat on the end of the bed facing the large screen on your wall.

"Of course, miss."

"Coulson?" Nick said as soon as his face appeared in the screen. It was the first time you'd initiated contact since the day he kicked you out of your apartment. His gaze ran over you and his eye narrowed. "Everything okay?"

"I have a question for you. When you had your minions pack my shit did you order them to be as careless as possible or do they just suck?"

He frowned. "What?"

"Let me simplify it for you, old man." You tilted the box in his direction so he could see the mess at the bottom.

He sighed and shifted his focus to a file on his desk. "Invoice me for whatever they broke and we'll reimburse you."

"What do you suppose a tourist trap snow globe goes for these days?"

His head jerked up and he looked from you to the box as his lips pressed into a tight line but he said nothing.

"Pretty sure it was the whole collection. I mean, that makes sense as they were all displayed together." You glanced in the box as if you were indifferent to the destruction. "I figure they just tossed them into the box. They must have because these are utterly destroyed."

Fury remained quiet though you could see the regret that colored his features. The knowledge that he'd pushed this a bit too far.

"It's like they knew the one thing that it would break my heart to lose." You wiped a hand across your mouth. "I was giving both of us time. Waiting until we could move past all this shit. But this? I'm not sure I can forgive you for this."

"Now, let's—"

"End call." The screen went black. "Block any incoming calls for me from Fury for the time being. Thanks Jarvis."

"My pleasure, Miss Coulson."

You had approximately thirty seconds to process the call before your door flew open and someone lunged at you. You grunted as you were flattened beneath a surprisingly heavy Wade Wilson. "Hey, bestie."

Your lips twitched. "Hello, Wade." You shoved at him. "Get off me. You weigh a ton."

He sat up and gasped as he put a hand to his chest. "Rude."

"What are you doing here?"

"Got a message from your favorite archer. Figured you could use a distraction."

You huffed a laugh. "And we all know you are incredibly distracting."

He hopped to his feet and picked you up before throwing you over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Wade!"

"Yes, princess?"

"Put me down."

"No." He swatted your ass then headed for the door.

"Wait," you said to stop him. "I need that box off the bed."

He stepped backward until you could reach the item in question. You grabbed it and told him you were good. You hoped he got to wherever he was going quickly because all the blood was rushing to your head.

A short walk and an elevator ride later and you arrived at the main living area. Several of your teammates laughed at your predicament. Wade walked over to the couch and dropped you on top of it. You bounced with a laugh. "Thanks, Wilson."

"No problem, sweet cheeks." He dropped into a seat next to you and kissed your forehead.

You leaned into his side as you waited for your head to quit spinning. You tossed the box in your hands over to the blond super soldier. "Catch, Stevie."

He caught the box easily and turned it in his hands looking it over with a frown.

"It's dad's Captain America collection. I thought you'd get a kick out of it."

Steve smiled as he sat the box on the table in front of him and opened it. He pulled the contents out and examined them one by one. There were comics, pop vinyls, action figures, and other little pieces of memorabilia. "This is quite the collection," Steve said. "Most of this predates me waking up."

"Yeah. You were his favorite as a kid. Just be glad I didn't bring all the shirts and boxer shorts down with me," you teased, enjoying the blush that colored Steve's cheeks.

Wade snorted beside you. "Forget Daddy Coulson. Let's not forget your own extensive collection of Captain America pajamas and undergarments."

Just when you thought the team leader couldn't get any redder. Your friends laughed as you elbowed Wade in his ribs. "He's joking." Mostly.

Wade shook his head in denial as he said. "Yes. I'm totally joking."

Your gaze found Bucky out of habit to find him looking unamused on the far side of the room. His attention kept shifting between you and Wade who still had his arm around you. When Bucky caught your eye he lifted one brow in question. You rolled your eyes and pushed yourself up from your seat. You needed something to drink.

You grabbed a bottle of juice from the fridge and turned to find Nat and Clint hovering behind you. You startled slightly at their unexpected closeness. After twisting the lid off your bottle, you took a drink. "Can I help you two with something?"

Nat shifted from foot to foot, making you smile. You stepped forward and pulled her into a quick hug. She wouldn't settle until she knew you were alright and not pissed at her for fetching Bucky.

Clint ran his gaze over you as the two of you separated. "You okay, kid?"

You shrugged and he immediately looped an arm around your shoulders to pull you into his side. He kissed your temple. A loud scoff sounded from the sitting area and you turned to find Bucky glaring at the three of you with his arms crossed over his chest.

You leaned closer to Clint knowing immediately that was what this little tantrum was about. "Problem, Barnes?"

"I just find it interesting how you claim you don't want to be bothered, how you just need a little space, I believe is how you put it, and now you're cuddling with these three and flirting with Steve."

"Damn," Sam said with a low whistle and wide eyes.

Barnes stood and gestured angrily with his hands as he continued. "You'll cuddle and flirt and laugh with anyone but me apparently. I'm your fucking soulmate. Not them."

You clenched your teeth and motioned for Wade to sit down when he started to intervene.

"I'm trying here, doll, but I'm going nuts, so just tell me why."

When you didn't answer, he slammed his metal hand onto the counter causing you to startle. "Why!?"

You stepped forward and slammed your own hands against the granite. "Because they never broke me!"