A month passed. You'd had several more dates with Bucky while managing to avoid discussing your past or his. You'd seen more of Wade than ever as he attempted to ingratiate himself with your teammates. And you hadn't spoken to Fury since the day you discovered your empty apartment. You found it oddly peaceful. Though to be fair that might have more to do with the fact you no longer worked for SHIELD than the absence of your favorite cyclops.

You were currently on your second mission as an Avenger though it was your first with Bucky. Steve paired the two of you up and you were clearing your assigned section of the Hydra base. So far you had encountered very little resistance.

"How you doing, doll?" Bucky asked in your earpiece as you swept one of the labs.

You rolled your eyes thankful he was in another room. "Same as I was doing three minutes ago, Barnes."

He made a noise of disgust. Most likely because you'd used his last name. He hated it almost as much as you hated his hovering. Steve was going to have to split the two of you up next time or you might shoot your soulmate yourself.

"This room's clear," you told him. "I'll take the one at the end of the hall then we can meet up with the others."

"Okay. I'm almost done here. Be careful."

You didn't bother to respond. You'd been doing this a long time and knew how to take care of yourself without the reminder.

You tried the handle to find the room locked. After placing a small explosive on the door, you backed up slightly before detonating it. A quiet pop and a bit of smoke and you had access. You crouched and pushed the door open. Silenced shots zipped over your head and you grinned. Finally some action.

You pulled back, placing your back against the wall. Twisting to take a quick look into the room you counted the hostiles you could see. Shit, they apparently all decided to group in this room. There had to be a reason for that.

"Barnes."

"Coulson."

You shook your head even as your lips curved into a small smile. "I've got at least eight hostiles in the room but it's a big ass room so I'm sure I missed some."

"I'll be right there. Wait for me."

You didn't respond to that. He could catch up when he got here.

"Damn it," he hissed in annoyance with your silence. "I'll be there in less than a minute. Just stay put."

As soon as Bucky stepped into the hallway to join you, you took another quick look in the room to pinpoint your first targets. You spun into the room keeping your head down as you went. Two quick shots put down both men. You crouched behind a conveniently placed stack of containers.

Bucky entered the room in much the same manner though he took the time to scowl at you as he joined you behind your cover. You peeked out to plan your next shots only to have him jerk you backward. "Keep your head down," he snapped.

"Fuck off." You popped your head out to take three shots in quick succession before returning to your cover. When you moved to do it again, Bucky pulled you down then took two shots of his own.

Before you could contemplate pushing your soulmate into the line of fire, bullets sprayed the front of the containers you hid behind. You closed your eyes picturing the layout of the room. You pulled one of the explosives from your belt and activated it before tossing it into the room where it would be the most effective. It detonated two seconds later and you moved from cover to take out the rest of the enemy while they were disoriented from the explosion.

Bucky reached for you with the intention to pull you back once again. You planted a foot in the middle of his chest and pushed him back. "Quit being an ass and clear the other side of the room, Barnes."

The two of you made quick work of the remaining soldiers. A quick scan told you that there had been thirteen in total.

"What do you think they were all doing in here?" Bucky asked.

Pissed off at his interference with your job, you ignored him. "This is Coulson," you said into the comms. "Heavy enemy presence at our location has been neutralized. We could use some help figuring out why they were gathered here. Tony, there's some sort of lab along one side."

"Be there in five, Junior."

You shifted your attention to Bucky. "Check the computer. See if there's anything different than what you found before."

He shook his head. "How would I know? I just copy it. I don't understand it."

"Fucking Barnes," you muttered as you pushed past him to reach the computer. You hooked up the device to break the encryption and waited for it to do its job. It wouldn't take long as it was Stark improved SHIELD tech.

Bucky cleared his throat. "Listen, can we—"

"Nope."

He sighed and raked a hand through his hair. Tony, Nat and Steve stepped into the room before he could say anything else. You gave them a nod in greeting. Tony pressed the button to shed his new nano suit and rubbed his hands in anticipation as he approached the lab. You huffed a laugh as the computer beeped as you were given access.

You slid a USB into the slot and entered the command to copy the hard drive as Nat joined you. Bucky moved over to talk to Steve and Nat's gaze darted between you and your soulmate. "Everything good?"

You simply hummed in answer. You didn't want to get into it.

"Hey, Junior," Tony called. "Give me a hand."

You headed to the lab and leaned in the doorway. "What do you need?"

He motioned to a large fridge. "I need one of everything in there put into one of those blue containers. It should keep them cold until we get home. And for fuck's sake be careful. We have no idea what most of it is."

You arched your brows. Okay then. "Well, that sounds fun."

Tony grinned at you as he downloaded files off a computer. You really hoped you weren't the one that had to sort through all the computer shit later. What a pain in the ass. He finished well before you and moved to another cabinet to do the same thing you were with the room temperature samples.

"What the hell were they up to?" you asked.

"That is the question."

"You almost done? We need to get out of here," Steve said from the doorway.

You turned and motion beyond him caught your eye. Clint and Sam were carrying one of the storage containers you'd hidden behind out of the room. "What's up?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Weapons of some sort."

"You know if you take them back to SHIELD they'll just duplicate them." Your tone was conversational despite the words. You finished stuffing the last of the vials between the sheets of foam in the container. You locked it tight and turned back to face Steve to find him studying you.

"We are very much aware of that. All research is done in house now for that reason."

You nodded. "Smart." You glanced over at the billionaire. "You ready, Stark?"

He nodded as he placed the last of his samples in his case. "Let's get the hell out of here. We have enough materials to keep us busy for months."

As soon as the last of your team stepped onto the quinjet, the facility behind you rocked with a series of explosions. Tony took the case you were carrying to stow it away and you sat in the open seat beside Clint. Nat must be flying home.

He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and tugged you into his side as he placed a kiss on your temple.

"You going home this weekend?" You kept your voice low so you wouldn't be overheard. You weren't entirely sure who knew about his family and who didn't.

He nodded. "You coming with me?"

"Not this time. Give them my love."

"Always do."

Bucky sat down in the open seat beside you.

You huffed in annoyance. You moved across the jet to sit next to Tony instead.

Clint crossed his arms over his chest and looked between you and Bucky before turning to the former soldier. "You fussed over her, didn't you? Tried to keep her from fighting?"

Bucky furrowed his brow and nodded in answer.

Clint chuckled as he shook his head. "You are so fucked."

***

When you arrived home you barely took the time to stow your gear before heading down to the gym. You taped up your hands and immediately went to work on one of the punching bags. They were made out of some new material Tony had come up with so he didn't have to keep replacing them.

You pounded into the bag as you tried to work out most of your anger and annoyance. You'd been taking care of yourself for a long time and been fighting for just as long. It was literally what you were created to do. You didn't need James Buchanan Barnes or anyone else trying to protect you.

You needed him less than anyone. Soldat in a new more user-friendly package. A soldier without a war. A weapon without its handlers. Your fucking soulmate. "Fuck," you snarled as you dealt a particularly hard blow to the bag. You caught it mid swing and turned to face the super soldier in question as you'd heard him enter the room several minutes ago.

"You just don't take a hint, do you? Don't need you, Barnes. Never have."

He tossed you a bottle of water and you snatched it from the air. It bought him five minutes.

"Why are you here?"

He licked his lips as he stepped forward. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He shoved both hands through his hair with a groan. "I am so fucking sorry." He halved the distance between you. "I know you don't need me. God, do I know it. But I need you."

Some of the tension that had been keeping your shoulders tight left with his words. Sensing he wasn't done talking, you kept your mouth shut waited for him to continue.

He took a deep breath and stepped closer, his eyes locked with yours. "I haven't had anything to care about for a long time, but I care about you. I'm sorry I let that interfere with our jobs. It won't happen again."

"Alright," you said after a stretch of silence. "I'll give you this one. Don't let it happen again."

He grinned and closed the distance between you. "Alright?"

You nodded once then sucked in a breath as he cradled your face in his hands. He pressed a kiss to your forehead. He pulled back to run his gaze over your face. You hooked your hands around his wrists and studied him right back.

He leaned forward and pressed a sweet, chaste kiss to your lips. Then he moved back to gauge your reaction. Before he could act, you kissed him this time. He immediately deepened it. The two of you only separated when you needed to breathe.

He gave you a soft smile as he laid his forehead against yours. "Alright."