Six years later

Bucky didn't remember he had a soulmate for a long time.

Didn't make the connection between the odd bruise and scar and a soulmate. His brain was so scrambled, so disjointed, he was lucky if he could string two thoughts together. It wasn't until after Shuri recalibrated him that his thoughts could turn to a mate. It wasn't until then that he began to remember.

There was the time they woke him up and he had bruises all along his ribs. Or when he bore the scars from three gunshot wounds that weren't his own. Scars that had healed far faster than they should have. Then there were the scattered conversations amongst the agents and scientists. But anytime the Winter Soldier showed too much interest in a possible soulmate, they'd erase him and start over. Make him forget they existed until the next time a wayward scar or conversation caught his attention.

That was the part that bothered him the most. Hydra knew. They knew his soulmate was out there somewhere and it was too much to hope that they wouldn't use that to their advantage. He was surprised they hadn't already. Maybe they already knew where his soulmate was and they were biding their time. Making him suffer from the anticipation. Or maybe Hydra had already captured them and were planning the best way to use his mate against him.

Now that he remembered they existed, he needed to find his mate. The problem was, he had no idea how to go about doing that. He was going to have to ask for help and Bucky hated asking for help. Especially since Stark was probably his best option and they still hadn't worked out all their issues.

But his soulmate was more important than any of that. When he ended up with a side full of bruises along with a couple of scars he feared were knife wounds when he hadn't done anything more strenuous than go for a jog, he had Jarvis call a meeting of whoever was currently in the tower. He tapped metal fingers against the table while he waited for everyone else to file into the conference room.

Bruce and Tony were the first to arrive. "This better be important. I was in the middle of something," Tony grumbled and Bruce nudged him with an elbow before offering Bucky a small smile.

Bucky ignored the billionaire and shifted his attention to Steve as he walked in. He took one of the open chairs near his best friend. Natasha and Clint were close behind.

"That is all of the team present at this time, Mr. Barnes," Jarvis announced.

Buck gave a nod of his head. "Thanks." He clasped his hands together on the table and kept his attention on them as he leaned forward.

When he remained silent, Steve cleared his throat. "What's going on, Buck?"

Muscles worked in Bucky's jaw as he clenched his teeth. Finally, he glanced at the others in the room. "I need your help."

Tony snorted. "This ought to be good." He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Once again, Bucky ignored the other man. It was the best way to deal with him. Besides, the super soldier had earned every bit of grief Tony wanted to give him.

"I have a soulmate."

Steve straightened in his chair. "Are you sure?"

Buck nodded. "That was one of the things Hydra tried to remove from my brain completely but I started getting memories back after Shuri fixed me. Plus, there's been some bruises. Scars. Some rather nasty ones today."

"What sort of bruises and scars?" Natasha asked.

"Does it matter?" he asked.

"Just answer the question, Barnes," Clint snapped earning raised eyebrows around the room.

Rather than answering verbally, Bucky stood and lifted his shirt to show off the wounds in question. Clint and Natasha shared a look before setting their jaws and nodding to indicate they'd seen enough.

"If you're done showing off your abs, I have a question," Tony said. "Why do you want to find them?"

"What kind of question is that?" Steve asked. "Wouldn't you want to find your soulmate if you had one?"

Bucky laid a hand on his friend's arm to calm him down. "Hydra knows about them. I'm afraid they'll use them trying to get to me. I can't let that happen."

"What if they already found them?" came Bruce's soft voice.

The thought made Bucky's stomach churn with anxiety. "Then I have to save them."

"Okay, I'll help. Them, not you. Just so we're clear."

"Really, Tony?" Steve asked.

"It's fine, Steve. I don't care why he helps as long as I find them."

Tony clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Okay. Jarvis run a search on all the soulmate forums, chat boards, postings, etc. Start with the most popular and work down to the lesser ones. Use our record of Barnes' scars for the parameters."

"Yes, sir."

"Don't expect much. It could take—"

"I already have several results if you would like to view them," Jarvis interrupted.

Bucky's heart pounded though he didn't know if it was excitement or anxiety. It had never occurred to him it could be this easy.

"Let's see 'em, J." Tony turned his chair to look at the large screen at one end of the room.

A message appeared from a 23-year-old female searching for her soulmate with scars that matched his. Again and again similar messages appeared though the age fluctuated from twenty-two to twenty-four. Bucky's eyes ran over the words wondering what kind of person she was. Would she want anything to do with him once they met?

"Anyone else thinking this is too easy?" Natasha asked.

His gaze shifted to her. "What do you mean?"

"She means, if Hydra knows about your mate, they could easily be the ones posting the messages trying to trick you," Clint clarified.

Tony hummed in thought. "The varying ages are odd, especially since the messages were posted within a small timeframe."

"So, none of you think this could be her?" Bucky's voice had a desperate edge.

"We're not saying that, Buck," Steve piped up. "We're just saying we're going to have to approach this carefully. There's too much of a chance this is a trap. I know you want to find her, but you won't do her any good if Hydra gets their hands on you again."

Bucky thought for a moment "Is there any way to get more information about who posted the messages?"

"You heard him, Jarvis." Tony glanced at the super soldier. "That may take longer. I'll have Jarvis put together a report of all the messages along with whatever he can find on the poster. I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Thanks." With that, Bucky gave them a nod and left the room.

***

A knock sounded at your door that evening and you opened it to find Nat and Clint on the other side. Clint held up a six-pack of beer while Nat flashed a bag of take out.

You frowned. "Did we have plans I don't remember?"

"Nope. Just thought we'd stop by," Nat answered as she pushed her way past you. Clint followed behind.

"By all means, come on in." You shook your head and shut the door.

You watched in silence as Nat divided up the food and Clint opened your beer. You took a sip then pursed your lips as you looked them over. "So why are you here?"

They exchanged a look. "Can't we just stop by?" Clint asked.

"You can but you don't."

Nat sighed. "We were worried about you. Fury said the mission was a little rough. Thought we'd check up on you."

You weren't certain whether to believe them or not. They'd always been like siblings to you. Then Phil died and they tried to fill that void but they couldn't. No one could. Fury had fussed over you earlier, but it seemed unlike him to contact these two over something so minor. Fuck. Who cared? They were here. That's all that mattered. It had been too long since you'd spent any time together.

You took a bite of your food. "Hydra's growing tired of me slipping through their fingers. They sent more men than usual. I'm a little bruised up and some jackass got a couple of swipes in with a knife. It's half healed already. I'll be fine."

"Maybe it's time to stop with the posts," Clint suggested. "I mean, you've been lucky so far, but maybe your luck is running out. We shouldn't push it."

You tapped a finger against the table as you watched your friend. He didn't meet your eye. Neither did Nat for that matter. "You know for a couple of spies, you're shit liars."

"What lie? What are you talking about?" Clint looked a little panicked and you chuckled.

"Calm down, Francis. I just mean that there is something going on here that you two aren't sharing. Now, what's really going on?"

"I hate it when you call me that," Clint muttered.

You shifted your gaze from him to Nat who was watching you carefully. "What about you, Natalia? Have something to share with the class?"

She shook her head once. "No. I agree with Clint that it's time to stop. No one's seen the Winter Soldier in years. Rumor is that he was rescued from Hydra and they unscrambled his brain. That means you might have an actual soulmate out there, not just some mindless assassin."

Unease crawled up your spine. They were speaking in half-truths. And Nat had never tried to talk you into accepting Soldat as your mate. In fact, she would have kicked your ass not long ago had you even suggested it. "Right," you said as you slid your chair back. You had better things to do than sit there and let them feed you bullshit. "Lock up when you leave." You grabbed your leather jacket from its hook by the door and slid it on.

"Where are you going?" Clint asked.

"Sister Margaret's. I need a drink."

***

A/N: Timeline things. Avengers happened. Hydra never disappeared from sight and continued to operate opposed by SHIELD. There were less infiltrators in SHIELD as a result. After New York, Steve restarted his crusade against Hydra with the help of the others. They found Bucky on one of those missions. T'Challa had made contact with the team as he had tech he believed might help kill aliens. There is no UItron or thanos. In other words, I'm making shit up as I go along.