What would you change?

by SendMeSomeoneToLava

Summary:

This is a completely self-indulgent omegaverse fic. The main character is a reader from 2022 in a universe where the MCU exists. Set in 2014, she has some knowledge of the events of the MCU but obviously some differences. Mainly: the existence of soulmates, alpha/omega dynamics, and a world where all the Avengers live together on the Avengers compound. Oh, and I'm gonna throw in a jealous ex because why not? Sorry if you're a Sharon Carter fan.

Chapter 1

Avenger's Compound-2014

"Come on Bucky, we've been talking about this for months!"

Bucky bit his tongue instead of answering, you've been talking about this for months. "Sharon, I just don't think it's the right time."

"Then when is the right time, alpha?!"

"Watch your tone," he growled, he could only be so patient. The beta cowered in submission, she knew how unwise it was to pick a fight with an alpha, even if he was her boyfriend.

"I just think," she said in a much calmer tone, "that we've been together long enough that we should be ready to move in together by now."

"It's not just about us," he replied in a voice that had clearly had this argument many times before, "you moving into the Avengers' living space would affect the whole team."

"I'm part of the team too!" she pouted. She was, kind of, but it was clear that while she was an agent for the Avengers Initiative, she wasn't an Avenger, and that was a big difference.

"I know," he placated her, "but it's different."

"Just because I'm not enhanced? Neither are Romanov or Barton-"

"They were some of the original Avengers," he rubbed his head, "Fury picked them for the team."

"Well Fury can-"

"What can Fury do?" The man himself strode into the room. Sharon scrambled to her feet to meet the director of AI. Bucky stayed seated. Their responses to Fury was just one of many signs of the difference in their status at the compound.

"Reconsider, sir, about making me an Avenger."

"You're very well suited in your current position, Agent." Fury clearly didn't believe her excuse but chose not to address it. Bucky stilled her hand before she could push it any further. "Barnes, the team is having a meeting in an hour. I expect you'll be there."

"Sure," he said, still lounging on the chair as if he weren't addressing the man who was, technically, his superior.

"See that you are," he gave him a hard stare before marching out of the room, clearly displeased by Bucky's attitude but unwilling to face off against the alpha.

"Bucky," she turned back to him to continue where they left off, "I've known the team for years, they like me, I'm here all the time anyway-"

"So why change the way things are?" Bucky shrugged.

"Because, it'll show that we're in a serious, committed relationship," she sat next to him again.

"We don't need to move in together to prove that," he said.

"I know we can't bond," she looked down at their intertwined hands, "but this would show me you're committed to me the way I am to you."

"I'll think about it," it was the same noncommittal answer he'd been giving her since she first brought up the topic several months ago. She made good points. She was always here and the team probably wouldn't care if she moved in, they practically lived together already. But something was holding him back, something he couldn't explain. He knew deep down that even if she was an omega, he wouldn't have bonded with her yet. He looked down at the mark on his right arm. His sunflower. He'd had that mark since he was born, it showed that there was someone out there for him. She was probably gone by now, but he couldn't let it go.

"Fine," she was clearly unhappy but she wasn't going to convince him, not today at least. "Do you want something to eat? I think Tony had some pizza delivered."

"Sure," he absentmindedly stroked her hair.

...

"So," Tony plopped down on the couch across the room later that night, "Sharon still pushing you about moving in?"

"Drop it, Stark," Bucky said through gritted teeth.

"I don't know why you're holding back," Sam joined in, "you basically live together anyway."

"It's not the right time," he had less patience with his teammates than he did with his girlfriend. He didn't have to explain himself to them. He was getting irritated and Steve could tell.

"Leave him alone, guys," he said, "he's got his reasons."

"Well, how about we discuss more important things," Clint propped his feet on the coffee table while Tony scowled at him, "like what movie we're gonna watch tonight."

"True Grit?" Natasha suggested as Tony shoved Clint's feet off the table.

"How about something more lighthearted?" This came from Darcy, Jane Foster's assistant. Jane was Thor's girlfriend, she and Darcy's living arrangement was a constant thorn in Bucky's side. Sharon argued that they also weren't Avengers and that since Jane was also a beta and couldn't properly bond with Thor, they were in exactly the same situation as she and Bucky. It didn't help that Darcy, the only omega on the compound, wasn't even in a relationship with any of the Avengers and still had her own room in the living quarters. Bucky liked them both and didn't mind their presence, if only it didn't constantly set off Sharon.

"Like Shawshank Redemption?" Clint quipped. Darcy glared playfully at him but had no chance to respond before a bright orange glow filled the room. The Avengers were quickly in a defensive stance as a portal opened up and a cloaked man entered the room, uninvited.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tony growled, alphas were notoriously territorial and overprotective and the stranger's presence in this space was upsetting to both. Bucky, Steve, Thor, and Tony were radiating tension.

"I come in peace," the stranger quirked a brow sarcastically but held his hands up in a show of peace. Bucky didn't trust it, judging by the portal he created, the man clearly had powers that didn't require a weapon.

"Who the hell are you? And what are you doing here?" Tony repeated.

"I'm Dr. Steven Strange," the man finally replied, "I'm the Sorcerer Supreme," (Tony scoffed) "tasked with protecting this planet from threats mystical and otherwise."

"Cut the crap, douchebag," Tony replied, "we're not in the mood to deal with your bullshit."

"It's no bullshit," Strange replied calmly, "how do you think I opened that portal?"

"You could have some kind of advanced technology," Jane piped up before Thor pulled her behind him where he could shield her from Strange.

Strange rolled his eyes, "I hate having to put on a magic show," but he used his hands to create a ball of light that dissolved into a shower of fireflies.

"Nice trick," Tony sneered, "but I could replicate that in my lab."

"I have no reason to lie to you," Strange rolled his eyes.

"Of course you do," Steve spoke up this time, "you broke into our compound."

"If I had any intention of causing harm I would have done it already," he shrugged.

"Then answer my question," Tony repeated, "why the hell are you here?"

"Because," he paused dramatically, "we're all in danger."

"From what?" Darcy's curiosity overrode her sense before she too was pulled behind Thor.

Strange turned to Bucky this time and addressed him, "your soulmate." Bucky lunged at him, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up: a move that would have been more effective if the man's cloak wasn't supporting his weight off the ground.

"What the hell do you know?"

"I know who she is," Strange was still too calm, "and I know that she's in danger."

"You better explain yourself before I use that cloak to strangle you," the scent of Bucky's rage was potent.

"Perhaps you can put me down first," the Sorcerer Supreme requested.

"Buck," Steve carefully put a hand on his shoulder, "maybe we should hear what he has to say."

Bucky dropped him and he gracefully landed on the ground as his cloak settled around him. "You have a soulmate," he once again addressed Bucky.

"No shit," he subconsciously rubbed at the mark that was currently covered by his Henley.

Strange continued, ignoring the interruption, "her name is Jess, she's 29 years old, she lives in Chicago in the year 2022-"

"I gave you a chance to be serious you son of a-" Bucky wound his arm back to punch him but Strange stepped back quickly.

"Have you ever heard of the multiverse?" The change of topic gave them whiplash.

"I have!" Jane's voice came from somewhere behind Thor's massive body, some of the team turned towards her.

"It's not real," Tony said, "just some theory by some crazy lunatic-"

"That's what people said about Dr. Foster's work before the Asgardians arrived on earth-"

"You watch your words, wizard-" Thor growled.

"Back to the point," Strange turned to Bucky, "the multiverse is very much real. In the simplest terms, there are an infinite number of universes with an infinite number of possibilities. Your soulmate lives in one of these, and it is not ours."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"We have a traitor in our midst at the Kamar Taj, someone was working alongside Hydra to find information about Barnes' soulmate. They probably intend to find her and use her to control the Winter Soldier, at least that's what I would do if I were them," he tilted his head.

"Where is she?" Bucky ground out, "bring me to her."

"It's not that simple," Strange shook his head.

"The hell it isn't," he stalked towards him again.

"Your soulmate exists in a universe where we do not exist. At least, not in reality. She knows us as characters in comic books and movies, played by actors-"

"That's it, I'm kicking his ass," both Steve and Thor had to restrain Bucky this time.

"There are no soulmates in her universe, there are no alphas or omegas," he continued, "she has a family there, people she loves who love her back. Bringing her here would mean tearing her away from them. It would mean changing her nature, making her an omega who won't understand her heat, scent glands, mating. She'll have to accept that she has a soulmate who is a fictional character to her. Is that what you want, Barnes?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because it's necessary," Strange seemed regretful, "it has to be done."

"You'll hurt her," Bucky was torn between the intense desire to meet his soulmate and the unspeakable thought of bringing her misery if he did meet her, "you want me to hurt her."

"It is noble that you want to protect her," Strange seemed to approve, "it shows you're a good alpha."

"She'll hate me," Bucky realized.

"It will take her time to adjust," Strange hedged, "but I will bring her to our world with or without your permission."

Bucky once again launched himself at Strange, "you don't touch her."

"She will come here whether we want her to or not. She is your soulmate Barnes, it means that she was meant to be part of this world at some time or another. If we wait and allow the universe to decide when that will be, she could appear somewhere unknown, alone, and confused. Hydra could find her first. She must be placed somewhere where she will be safe. Whether that be here or at Kamar Taj-"

"You're not keeping her-" Bucky growled.

"I think that should be up to her," Strange was too calm, "but I think I should bring her here first. Even if she is confused, having her alpha nearby may be some small comfort. I just need to make sure you'll behave."

"I would never hurt her," Bucky barked.

"Not intentionally," he conceded, "but you'll have to remain calm. I know how," he paused to find the right word, "passionate alphas can be about their omegas. You'll need to show restraint so as not to overwhelm her. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can," Bucky growled in a way that did nothing to reassure Strange.

"Well then, I will be back soon, maybe a few days, maybe a few hours, when I can get the spell together to travel into her universe."

"Just one question," Tony butt in, "if she's meant to be part of this world, why was she born in another universe?"

"I'm unsure," Strange evaded the question, "perhaps she was born in this universe and transported to hers through some other freak event. More likely, she was born in a place where she would be safe from Hydra-"

"So this is my fault," Bucky clenched his teeth.

"Not necessarily," Strange almost seemed to pity Bucky, "she also has knowledge of what may happen in the future, perhaps she can prevent a lot of death in this world. Perhaps that was her purpose." He turned and walked back through his portal, leaving the Avengers and their friends alone.

"Bucky..." Steve couldn't think of what to say.

"Not now Steve," Bucky stormed away into his room.

...

Soulmate. He was going to meet his fucking soulmate. And she was going to hate his guts for tearing her away from her family. She wouldn't understand her place in his world...maybe she wouldn't even want an alpha.

"Fuck!" Bucky picked up his bedside table and threw it, creating a large hole in the wall.

Chapter 2

“So…are we just supposed to believe this guy?” Tony looked around the room, “he could be an enemy, we don’t know anything about him.”

“He seemed honest,” Steve hedged, “but I think we need to be careful.”

“And he’s just going to bring a random omega into the compound-“

“I’d be careful about how you speak about Bucky’s soulmate around him,” Steve warned.

“That’s the thing, how do we know she actually is his soulmate and not just some Hydra plant?”

“He’ll know,” Steve nodded confidently, “he’ll recognize his omega.”

“We should prepare for her arrival,” Sam paced, “she’ll need a den-“

“Won’t she stay with Bucky?” Jane asked.

“Maybe…but it might be a rough start, we should give her her own space, just in case” Sam glanced at Steve.

“I can help you with her den,” Darcy pitched in, “make sure it’s omega-friendly.”

Tony nodded, already making plans in his head for the new addition.

“Who’s gonna tell Sharon?” Clint’s feet were once again propped up on the coffee table. An annoyed groan rose from the group.

…

“Jess.”

A young woman turned away from the large bookcase she was organizing.

“Yes?”

“I need your help, which one?” The speaker, Lily, held up two dresses.

“Hmmm,” Jess tilted her head in thought, “what about a pant suit? Don’t you think it’ll show you mean business?”

“My blazer is ripped,” Lily sighed as she assessed the dresses with a critical eye.

“I can lend you one,” Jess stood and headed for her bedroom, “this is the one I wore to my last interview, John swore it sealed the deal.” She pulled out a sleek black blazer and matching slacks, worn but well taken care of.

“Are you sure?” Lily bit her lip.

“Definitely, they’ll have to give you that business loan with this on,” Jess said cheerily while pulling out a matching blouse.

“Alright, I’d better change, my meeting is soon,” Lily changed out of her comfortable leggings and T-shirt into the borrowed outfit.

“Kill it,” Jess cheered her on as she ran out the door.

“Love you!” her sister shouted before shutting it.

“Love you more!” This time Jess was leaning out the window of their second story apartment as Lily jogged to her car.

“Love you most!”

Jess laughed as she poked her head back in and turned to go back to her organizing. “Jesus!” She shouted as a strange man in a cape stood in front of her. She looked around the room for something heavy to swing but only managed to come up with a large dictionary she’d bought her freshman year of college.

“I come in peace,” she noticed the sardonic smile the man directed at her “weapon.”

“Get out!” She pointed to her door.

“I’m sorry I can’t do that,” he sighed but he took a seat in a stuffed pink armchair hoping it would make her feel less intimidated.

“Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” Jess was inching towards her kitchen counter where her cellphone sat.

“I need to talk to you,” he flicked his wrist and the cellphone went flying into his hand.

“You look like Benedict Cumberbatch,” she realized belatedly, “and you’re dressed like Dr. Strange, are you some kind of creep?”

“I would hope my characterization wasn’t that bad in my films,” he quirked an eyebrow.

“Cut the shit,” she spat, “how the hell did you do that to my phone?”

“Like I said,” he repeated patiently, “I have something to tell you, and you aren’t going to like it.”

…

The Avengers didn’t have as much time as they’d hope to prepare for their new guest’s arrival. Strange had told them it would take him a few hours, maybe days, before he returned with the omega; but in the end he only gave them one hour. He once again caught them talking in a group in their common space, sans Bucky Barnes. This time, though, he was practically dragging a nearly catatonic woman.

“Shit,” Steve leapt over the couch to help him sit her down. He almost touched the woman before a dangerous growl sounded through the room. “Fuck,” he cursed, backing away from her with his palms up as Bucky stalked forward.

“Mine,” he growled.

“Barnes, you promised to behave,” Strange was half shielding the clearly terrified woman.

Bucky took a deep breath and smelled her sweet scent of peppermint and chocolate tainted with the acrid taste of her fear. He hurried towards her, desperate to comfort her and protect her from the untrustworthy sorcerer. Steve and Thor once again attempted to hold him back. It was dangerous to try to get between an alpha and his omega, especially this alpha, and ordinarily both Steve and Thor would’ve been badly injured for even trying, but Bucky held back on his own when he saw the omega cower away from him. He inhaled through his mouth, trying to calm himself and her as well. “I’m sorry,” he addressed her directly. She didn’t respond, simply curling in on herself; she seemed to be struggling to breathe.

“We need to calm her down,” Strange instructed.

“What the hell did you do to her?!” Bucky roared. He winced when he heard her whimper in response.

“I explained the situation,” Strange replied with an edge to his voice, “and transported her to another universe. I warned you that she would need to be calmed down so perhaps you could do as you promised and restrain your emotions?!”

Then Bucky did something he rarely did: he followed instructions and took several deep breaths before he dared to look at the woman with the terrified expression on her face. He yearned to hold her and make her feel safe, but his rational side knew that would not go over well right now. Instead he focused on what he could do for his omega. He watched her clutching her knees and grabbed a cushion. He approached her slowly and handed it to her while maintaining a distance. She clutched it to her chest. Then he took off his hoodie and held it out to her as well. She seemed confused but took it from him regardless. He held back a rumble of pride when he saw her take a sniff of it and relax her shoulders slightly. He was her alpha and he was taking care of her. He took a quick sweep of the room and saw a fluffy throw blanket tossed over the couch. He grabbed that and approached her once again. This time, he walked closer and gently draped the blanket around her. He was careful not to touch her, though his body was burning to do it. Instead he retreated gently once he was done. His methods seemed to work a bit, the edge of fear and panic in her scent receded a bit and her eyes became a little calmer. Instead of jerking around in a panic, she seemed to be considering the people in the room.

“You’re…” she looked at Bucky, “you look just like…” she couldn’t finish her sentence. Instead she moved on to Steve, who was standing several feet away carefully so as not to encroach on the other alpha’s mate. “You’re…oh my god…this isn’t real,” she shut her eyes as if trying to wake up from a terrible nightmare.

“I’m sorry,” Strange spoke softly, “but it is real.”

“No,” she said loudly, “no this is some kind of crazy fever dream. You’re not real! None of you are real!”

“Omega-“ Bucky began but was interrupted.

“Don’t call me that!” She screeched, tossing the blanket and cushion and scooting backwards until her back hit the wall. “I’m not-this isn’t-“ her eyes looked wild.

“Should we sedate her?” Bruce suggested, concerned that she could hurt herself.

Unfortunately, that only sent her further into a panic, “don’t touch me! Don’t come near!”

“No one’s going to touch you,” Bucky shot Bruce a glare before putting both hands in front of him, maintaining a large distance between himself and his frightened mate. “No one’s going to touch you, doll, I promise.”

“I-“ she gulped, “this isn’t real.”

“It is,” he said softly, “I’m real,” he inched forward. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, flexing his hand so she could see the way the metal moved. Then he rolled up his right sleeve, showing her the small sunflower mark on his skin. “This is my soulmark; you have one that looks like this too don’t you?”

“It’s not a soulmark,” she replied, “it’s a tattoo.”

“I’ve had this since the day I was born, doll,” he smiled boyishly, “it’s no tattoo.”

“Well mine is!” She denied, holding her legs even more firmly to her chest as a shield.

“We’re soulmates, doll,” Bucky said gently.

“You don’t even know me,” she glared.

Bucky turned to the crowd behind him and gave them a look that said “get the hell out,” the team scurried to follow his silent order.

“I’ve known about you since I was born. I knew there was an omega waiting for me-“

“I’m not an omega and I don’t belong to you!”

“You do, doll,” he kept his voice even and gentle, “and that’s okay, being an omega-“

“I’m not some piece of property-“

“Of course you’re not,” he smiled, “you’re mine, but I’m yours too doll. Hell, you’re the one that marked me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” She glared accusingly.

“This mark,” Bucky traced it, “this mark is all yours. You picked it yourself didn’t you?”

“It’s just a stupid tattoo-“

“It’s not,” there was a new intensity in his gaze, “when Hydra had me, they tried everything they could think of to get rid of this. Said my soulmate was a weakness. But you were my strength. Looking at this,” he traced the mark which was surrounded by scars from Hydra’s many attempts to eliminate it, “kept me human.”

“You don’t even know me,” she protested weakly.

“I know enough,” he said softly. “I know things are crazy now. I know you’re scared and that you need to grieve. I don’t expect you to be okay. But, I’m going to keep you safe and I’m going to figure out a way to make you happy if it’s the last thing I do.”

“I just want to go home,” she pleaded.

“I know,” he sighed, “and I’m sorry.”

Chapter 3

Jess took a breath. Fucking Sebastian Stan was calling her his soulmate. She cursed every celebrity crush she’d ever had. She repeated this isn’t real, this isn’t real in her head like a refrain. She needed this to be a dream. When fake Benedict Cumberbatch claimed she was part of the MCU, albeit a twisted version with soulmates and omegas, she had tried to run out the door and find someone, anyone, to help her get away from this lunatic. But instead she was trapped in his arms and pushed through a portal into a room that looked like Tony Stark’s wet dream. She blinked back tears as Sebastian, Bucky, looked at her with something like concern in his eyes. She prayed desperately once again to wake up.

“Doll?”

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there in silence before Bucky spoke up. Maybe he had been speaking for a while.

“Doll?”

“Stop,” she croaked, “just stop,” and she finally let out a torrent of tears. She felt him move away and heard shuffling through the kitchen drawers before he was once again at her side holding a box of tissues.

“Here,” he handed them to her.

“Stop being so nice to me!” She exploded.

“That’s not gonna happen doll,” he said it so sweetly it made her want to slap him.

“I’m not your soulmate,” she said petulantly. He, mercifully, did not respond, just allowed her to sit and cry.

…

Bucky’s heart wrenched. He wasn’t used to being around crying women. Especially not a crying omega. Omegas were rare, even more rare than alphas; he had only met a handful in his life. Darcy occasionally became emotional, but he usually walked out of the room and let Thor or Steve handle it. He couldn’t do that now. He didn’t want to. What he wanted was to wrap her in his arms and make her pain go away. “What can I do?” He hadn’t felt so helpless since he had been captured by Hydra, before they wiped all traces of Bucky Barnes from him. She looked up at him with red rimmed eyes and shook her head. “Can I hold you?” He wasn’t above begging, not for her. She hesitated for a moment but then, miraculously, she nodded. Maybe she had lost the energy to fight, at least for now. He didn’t question it. Instead he picked her up and carried her to the couch. He sat her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He noted for a minute how tiny she felt in his arms: how fragile. Then he felt a deep sense of relief; it was like coming up for air. She went limp in his arms, taking shaky breaths. He pushed his luck and tucked her head into the crook of his neck, exposing his scent gland to her. It was a sign of submission, though she didn’t know that. He had known her for less than half an hour and already he was willing to kill for her, to die for her.

“Buck?” Steve poked his head into the room. Bucky let out a small rumble of warning. “Strange has to go soon, but we need to discuss next steps.”

“Fine,” he ground his teeth, but he didn’t let go of Jess as the crowd trickled back into the room. If they had any opinions about him submitting to his omega they didn’t mention it.

“We need to discuss where Jess will stay now that she’s here,” Strange said.

“She’ll stay here,” Bucky growled, “with me.”

“Is that what you want?” Strange addressed Jess.

“Do I have a choice?” Bucky’s heart skipped a beat. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she asked to go to Kamar Taj; he was afraid he’d lock her up and keep her against her will.

“You do,” Strange replied, “you can come to Kamar Taj with me. We will protect you, if you choose.”

She took a beat to consider, but she leaned back into Bucky in defeat. “No,” she sighed, “it’s fine. I’ll stay here.” Bucky’s heart broke a bit to hear the defeat and resignation in her voice, but he was glad that she chose to stay in the compound.

“Well then,” Strange nodded, “Stark has my information, if you change your mind or need something, you are welcome to contact me.”

“Sure,” she replied absentmindedly.

“I’ll be in touch,” Strange nodded to the group before creating a portal and disappearing from the room. Everyone was silent, unsure what to do next.

Finally, Darcy spoke up. She addressed Jess, “are you hungry?” The omega shook her head. Silence again.

“Well,” Tony spoke up this time, “we were discussing living arrangements-“

“She’ll stay in my room,” Bucky said. She tensed in his arms.

“We were planning on setting up a den- err, room- for her. If you’d want that, of course,” he addressed Jess.

“Yes,” she replied immediately. Bucky tried not to take it personally.

“In the meantime,” Tony continued, “you can stay with Barnes if you need some privacy.”

She seemed hesitant to agree so Bucky pitched in, “you can have my room, I’ll sleep on the couch.” That seemed to calm her a bit and she shakily agreed. “Do you want to go now?” She nodded, so Bucky stood with her in his arms and walked towards his room. He made no move to put her down and she didn’t ask him to. She seemed to have lost the ability to do or say anything. He walked into his bedroom and grimaced at the large dent in the wall and the bare bed with its single pillow and blanket. “I’ll get you more bedding,” he murmured into her head as he set her down on the bed. He shoved the large dresser in front of the hole. She sat where he left her on the bed, staring straight ahead. He worried but he figured the best thing he could do for her now was to get her materials to make a nest. Hopefully, it would help her feel safe. He walked back into the common room to pick up the blanket he had given her earlier. “Jarvis, order an assortment of blankets and pillows. Get the most expensive ones. From that omega boutique Darcy likes. Immediately.” Jarvis confirmed.

“How is she?” Sam asked.

“She won’t speak,” he sighed, “it’s like she’s-“ he struggled to find a word to describe her behavior.

“Dissociating,” Sam filled in, “it’s not surprising. She’s probably going to need a little while to adjust.”

“How long?” Bucky asked.

“There’s no timeline for this kind of thing,” Sam said, “you’re going to have to be patient.” That wasn’t what Bucky wanted to hear. He wasn’t a patient man.

“You ordered bedding?” This came from Darcy. Bucky nodded. “Okay, good,” the omega thought, “you should knock when you go back into the room-“ Everyone looked at her like she had grown two heads. “She needs space,” she sighed, “she only agreed to stay in your room after you said you’d sleep on the couch. You gave her your room, it’s her safe space. You shouldn’t intrude on an omega’s private space,” Darcy explained. Bucky remembered hearing that somewhere, he hadn’t paid much mind to omega habits. He would need to ask Darcy more, she was probably the most prepared to make Jess comfortable.

“Fine,” he agreed.

“Sir,” Jarvis interrupted their discussion, “Agent Carter is heading towards the residence.”

Fuck, he hadn’t even thought of Sharon since this whole mess started. Steve quickly jumped in, “I can talk to her if you want.”

“No,” Bucky shook his head, “I want this dealt with as soon as possible. Nobody goes into my room, you got it?” The team quickly agreed, they had come to an unspoken agreement that no one would deal with Jess without Bucky’s permission. No one wanted to provoke the alpha.

…

Sharon stood outside the entrance to the residence. “Why did Jarvis lock me out?” She complained as soon as Bucky walked out the door. She moved to head inside but Bucky stopped her. “What’s wrong?”

“We need to talk,” he didn’t mean to be harsh, but the emotions of the last couple hours had worn through him.

“What’s wrong?” She tried to hug him but he stepped away.

“We need to break up,” Bucky got straight to the point.

“What? Why?” She reeled back.

“I…” Bucky debated how much to tell her, he didn’t want to compromise Jess’ safety, but he wasn’t sure how long the omega’s presence in the compound would remain a secret. He decided to reveal nothing for now and wait until the team strategized a plan for her safety. It wasn’t that Sharon was a threat but the fewer people who knew about Jess, the better. “I can’t say much, but it’s over Sharon. I’m sorry.” He wasn’t, really, now that he had met his soulmate he realized that he had been seeing Sharon mostly because there was nothing else to do, not because he had strong feelings for her.

“What? What kind of explanation is that? We’ve been together for over a year Bucky, I deserve more than that. What the hell changed since I saw you this morning? And,” she took a deep breath, “why do you smell like an omega?”

“Enough,” Bucky growled, “I don’t owe you an explanation, we’re over and I trust you’ll keep this conversation to yourself.” He was being a dick and he knew it but Jess needed him and this conversation was keeping him away from her.

"This isn't over," she seethed as she turned and ran down the hallway toward the agents' chambers. Bucky sighed but decided he'd deal with whatever trouble Sharon tried to stir up when the time came. He wasn't afraid of her.

...

"That was fast," Tony remarked drily as Bucky walked back into the room.

"I have other things I need to take care of," Bucky shrugged, "Sharon isn't a priority."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Sam asked. Maybe it was, but Bucky couldn't bring himself to care right now.

"Jess is going to need to eat soon," he changed the subject, "what do I do if she refuses?"

"Bring her something light, some fruit or yogurt for now, then ask her if she wants something else," Darcy said. She was turning out to be a lifesaver. Bucky nodded and went to the kitchen to prepare a plate of fruit for her. He picked up a couple of water bottles as well.

"I'll get started on her den," Tony promised.

Bucky nodded and walked back towards his room, he remembered to knock before walking in. He got no response. "Jess?" He tried to keep the panic out of his voice. He debated how long to wait before breaking through the door but he heard a weak "come in" from inside and sighed in relief. "I brought you some food," he held out the plate, "and a blanket."

"Thanks," she was still staring vacantly at the wall.

He approached her slowly and laid the blanket down on the bed. He held out the plate but she didn't take it. "Do you want something else instead?"

"I'm not hungry," she shrugged.

"You've gotta eat, doll."

She looked up at him, there was a small flash of annoyance in her eyes before it faded back into indifference. "I don't want anything."

He fought to control his temper, "you can't just starve yourself." She shrugged and looked away from him and back at the wall. "Please doll," he couldn't remember the last time he'd said the word 'please.' She heaved a sigh like it was the hardest thing she'd ever done and then looked down at the plate he was holding out. She seemed to consider it for a moment before grabbing a strawberry and taking a tiny bite.

...

The fruit was sweet but it made Jess want to retch. She didn't want to taste anything, smell anything, feel anything. The more she allowed herself to experience this world, the more she let it defeat her. Denial was her shelter right now. She put the strawberry back on the plate and looked away again. She could smell him. It was like she could read his emotions in the air around her. He smelled like pine, like a summer night out in the forest. I've never liked camping, she mused. But he also smelled like burning, she could tell he was displeased and something inside her yearned to make him feel better. What the fuck? She scooted even further from him on the bed.

...

Bucky was squeezing the plate so hard that he almost shattered it. "Doll..." he growled, he was close to using his alpha voice.

"I'm not hungry," she repeated.

That did it, "eat," he commanded.

Her hand shot out towards the plate and she ate one of the strawberries as if without thinking. As soon as she finished the last bite she looked at him with horror. Fuck.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" Her eyes were wide as saucers.

"It's...an alpha command-"

"You can control me?" She screeched.

"It's not-"

"You can force me to do things against my will?!" He could smell her panic and anger.

"I wouldn't-"

"You just did! What else are you going to force me to do? Have sex with you?!"

"NO!" He stood and started pacing, trying to tame his own anger. "I just needed you to eat, you're going to make yourself sick-"

"And what if I do?! That's my choice! You don't get to decide-"

"It's my job to protect you! That includes making sure you take care of yourself-"

"It's not up to you!" She stood on the bed now but even on the bed she was barely taller than him.

"Watch your tone," he growled.

"Fuck you!"

Bucky was seething. No one talked to him like that. "I'm your alpha-"

"Oh, so I am your property then? Everything you said before was just bullshit-"

"Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

"Why do you have to be such a controlling asshole?!"

Bucky took a deep breath and stormed out of the room before punching something. If he went postal on her he knew he would regret it later. She was already afraid of him, punching another hole in the wall wouldn't improve her opinion of him.

Chapter 4

“How do you think it’s going?” Darcy whispered. Bucky had been gone for a few minutes and they could hear the faint sound of shouting from his bedroom.

“I don’t think it’s going very well,” Clint said as they heard the door slam behind Bucky. He walked into the room in a rage, pacing back and forth as if trying to calm himself down.

“I thought omegas were supposed to be obedient,” he growled. Darcy let out a snort but said nothing.

“I take it it didn’t go well?” Tony drawled.

“What gave it away?” He glared.

“What happened?” Nat pushed.

“I…” he looked ashamed for a beat, “I used my alpha voice-“

“You didn’t!” Darcy yelled. Bucky glared at her but didn’t respond as Thor growled in warning. “Using your alpha voice, that’s so…” she tried to find the right word, “invasive.”

“She needs to eat! She’s going to make herself sick!”

“She’s not going to die from one skipped meal Bucky! You probably traumatized the poor girl-“

“I didn’t-“ Bucky paused, hoping desperately that Darcy was wrong.

“I can talk to her,” Darcy offered, “with your permission of course,” she added when Bucky looked at her sharply.

“Talking to another omega might help,” Sam suggested.

Bucky sighed and nodded his permission.

…

Jess huddled in a ball on the bed. She was wrapped in the blanket Bucky had brought her and, to her shame, she was wearing his hoodie. She hated that his smell was so appealing to her but wearing the hoodie made her feel safe and Bucky didn’t have to know. There was another knock on the door and she shouted out, “go away!”

“It’s Darcy,” a muffled voice spoke from behind the door, “I’m-“

“I know who you are,” she sighed.

“Right, movie characters,” she responded.

“What do you want?”

“We thought that maybe it would help if I talked to you, I’m an omega as well-“

She stood and walked towards the door; talking through the door was ridiculous. She cracked the door open but didn’t invite her in. “No offense,” she said mildly, “but I don’t think anything would help me right now.”

“I see you’re wearing his hoodie,” Darcy smirked. “Wait!” She shouted as Jess moved to slam the door in her face. “I’m sorry, I’m not the most tactful person-“

“Why’d they send you then?”

“I told you, I’m an omega,” she shrugged.

“Aren’t there other omegas or…?”

“Nope, omegas are super rare, I think I’ve only ever met one other. Looks like you’re stuck with me,” she didn’t look bothered by Jess’ reluctance to speak to her.

“Great,” she sighed.

“It’s not that bad,” Darcy shrugged, “there’s been a lot of positive change over the last few decades-“

“Being an omega sounds like being a woman back when they were still the property of their husbands-“

“I am not property,” Darcy put her hands on her hips.

“Do you also have an ‘alpha?’”

“Nope,” she popped the ‘p’, “omegas can be single, we can even have jobs-“

“How progressive,” Jess rolled her eyes.

“It is, actually,” Darcy said defiantly.

“I’m sorry if I’m not thrilled to be part of a group that can be controlled and forced-“

“Alphas rarely use alpha commands, it’s usually only during a heat or if their omega is in danger-“

“So it’s just Bucky who’s abusing his power then? Great,” she rolled her eyes.

“He didn’t mean to,” Darcy continued at Jess’ incredulous look, “look, he’s new to this too. Like I said, omegas are rare; he’s never really had to interact with one-“

“Don’t you live together?”

“Yes,” Darcy conceded, “but we’re not that close. I usually stick by Thor and Jane and I leave the compound during my heats-“

“Oh god I forgot about that,” she groaned.

“It’s not that bad,” Darcy grinned, “with an alpha around it can be very fun.”

“I thought you said you don’t have an alpha?”

“Not as a mate,” she shrugged, “but I have a heat partner. We only really spend time together during my heat.”

“Am I going to have to sleep with Bucky?” Jess had opened the door by this point and Darcy was lounging on the edge of the bed.

“You say that like sleeping with him would be a chore, have you seen him?” She smirked.

“That’s not the point,” Jess glared. Though she blushed, she couldn’t deny that he was hot as hell.

“He’s not going to force you,” Darcy shrugged, “but I suggest you let him help you through it, it can be brutal on your own. And toys just aren’t an adequate replacement-“

“So I’m just going to be a feral-“

“Look, I promise, once you get used to it you’ll see that being an omega isn’t a bad thing. Bucky would do anything for you-“

“Except let me make decisions about my own life-“

“You can’t seriously be angry that he won’t let you starve yourself-“

“It’s my choice-“

Now it was Darcy’s turn to give her an incredulous look. “He cares about you, he just wants you to be okay.”

“Well I’m not okay! None of this is okay! He’s a fucking fictional character. So are you! I lost my family; they think I’m dead! Do you know what that feels like? To know my family is in pain?!”

“No,” Darcy conceded, “but Bucky does.”

“What-“

“His family thought he died in the war, he never got to say goodbye to them. Then he spent decades being tortured-“

“That’s,” Jess couldn’t come up with a response.

“It doesn’t take away your pain. You have every right to be angry and sad,” Darcy said gently, “but you’re not alone. Bucky cares about you, that means we all do.” She patted her on the shoulder as she stood to leave, “if you need anything,” she opened the door, “you just have to ask.”

Jess fell back onto the bed after Darcy left and began to cry all over again.

…

Bucky stood when Darcy walked back into the room, “how’d it go?” he asked anxiously.

“Well, I didn’t make it worse,” Darcy shrugged, “but I think she needs time to process.”

He wanted to scream. Not at Darcy but at this whole mess. “This is a disaster.”

“Let me ask you a question,” Sam spoke up, “would you rather things go back to how they were?”

“What?” Bucky stared at Sam.

“If you could, would you go back to before you met her? Make it so that Strange never found her and she never came here?”

Bucky didn’t even hesitate, he knew he wouldn’t. He knew it was selfish but now that he had met her, had breathed in her scent and felt her in his arms he wouldn’t trade it for anything. He shook his head.

“Then trust the process,” Sam said.

…

It was dark outside. At some point she had fallen asleep but she wasn’t sure how long she’d been out. There was another knock at her door. “Who is it?”

“It’s Bucky,” the voice behind the door replied, “can I come in doll?”

Her instinct was to reply that he shouldn’t bother asking since he was going to barge in anyway but she bit her tongue. She’s not the only one whose life had been turned upside down in the last few hours and she should be more patient with him; he didn’t know what he was doing either.

“Yeah,” she finally responded.

He popped his head in, “I just wanted…” he looked at her mournfully, “I just wanted to see how you were doing and…and to apologize.”

“Apologize?” She lifted her head and truly looked at him for the first time since he entered the room.

“I shouldn’t have used my alpha voice,” he said softly, “there’s no excuse but,” he swallowed, “I’m just so worried about you doll-“

“Promise you won’t do it again?” She said it so softly he probably wouldn’t have heard it if he didn’t have enhanced senses.

“I promise,” he nodded.

“Okay,” she said.

“Okay?”

“Okay, I…forgive you, I guess,” she sighed.

“Thank you,” he smiled softly, “can I get you anything?”

“I don’t know,” she sounded so defeated and unsure that it broke Bucky’s heart.

“Can I hold you?”

She hated to admit it but earlier in the day when he had held her in his arms she had felt…safe. She decided to give into the feeling, “yes,” she whispered.

He rewarded her with a beautiful smile before he crossed the room and wrapped her in a firm hug. He took a deep breath of her scent gland and she felt herself relax against him. He picked her up and rearranged them so that she was sitting on his lap while he leaned against the headboard. “I’m gonna take care of you doll,” he whispered, “I promise.” She didn’t respond. Instead she let his steady breathing lull her to sleep.

…

Bucky sat with his omega pressed firmly against his chest until her felt her fall asleep. Then he gently eased her off his lap and onto the bed; he wrapped the blanket around her. He longed to crawl back into bed with her and pull her against his arms again but he felt that he would be crossing a line. Instead he left her to sleep undisturbed. He had promised to sleep on the couch and he would do exactly that. The rest of the team had gone to bed hours ago. He laid down and passed out surprisingly quickly.

Chapter 5

Jess woke up slowly, she shut her eyes tighter to avoid the light filtering into the room. Something was wrong, she knew it, but as long as she was in bed she didn’t have to face it. Lily could handle breakfast today. They were supposed to go visit mom later, she would have to make sure to get her laundry done before then. Maybe she should do her grocery shopping too. She groaned at the thought of lugging the heavy bags home. She wished she could afford to have her groceries delivered or, better yet, a car. She and Lily had been saving up but with Lily’s shop opening soon, most of their cash was gone before they’d had a chance to spend it. What time is it? Usually Lily would’ve been clomping around the kitchen by now. She was an early riser, something that constantly irritated Jess; she believed weekends were meant for sleeping. She snuggled deeper into the covers. They smelled funny, like a Christmas tree? There was something she was forgetting. The mattress was too hard, the sheets were too rough. She peeped one eye open. This isn’t my room. The walls were painted a dull gray color and the sheets were a deeper shade of gray to match. There were no posters on the walls, her collection of trinkets from her travels were gone. No photos of her family. This room was bigger than her living room. What the fuck?! She tried to stay calm and regain her bearings when- Oh god, the Marvel thing. Benedict Cumberbatch broke into my house. Bucky Barnes thinks he’s my soulmate. They say I’m an omega- thoughts spun around her mind like a hurricane. She sat bolt upright in bed and before she had a chance to plan her next move a knock sounded at the door. She sat still, a desperate and fruitless hope that whoever was on the other side of that door would walk away if she didn’t make a sound. Another knock.

“Doll?” His voice sounded through the door, “Jarvis said you’re up?”

A flash of anger lit through her and before she had a chance to reflect she jumped out of bed and opened the door. “Are you spying on me?!”

…

Her eyes were still crusty with sleep and her hair stood out at odd angles. She was fucking perfect. Her scent was incredible, despite the anger coursing through it. She had clearly asked him a question.

“Sorry, what?” He asked dumbly.

“I said,” she stood as tall as she could, though she still couldn’t reach his shoulders, “are you spying on me?!”

“What? No!”

“You said Jarvis told you I was awake! You’re having it-him-monitor me!”

“I just wanted to see if you would have some breakfast,” he rubbed his forehead in frustration.

“You didn’t answer my question,” her hands were on her hips now.

Good god, this woman is a handful. “I just asked when you were awake, not every detail of your private space,” he snapped.

“Well it’s none of your business!”

“I just want you to eat some breakfast, why are you so difficult?!”

…

Jess remembered for a moment that this was the man who had held her tenderly in his arms last night as she drifted to sleep. Then she remembered that he had no respect for boundaries and was entirely too familiar with her.

“Don’t worry about me, you’re not my father,” she huffed as she tried to slam the door in his face.

He held it open easily and growled, “I know I’m not your father doll,” his eyes darkened and flashed to her lips for a moment, “I’m your alpha, and you’re gonna be good and eat your fucking breakfast.”

To her horror, she felt herself get just a little wet listening to him. His grip tightened on the door.

…

God is that her slick? Bucky gripped the door to prevent himself from taking her then and there. He smirked, so she can be submissive.

…

“What are you smirking about?” She stepped back to create some distance between them. She hated how much she liked the look on his face right now.

“Do you like it when I talk to you like that omega? If you eat your breakfast I’ll call you a good girl and give you a reward,” his eyes darkened.

Fuck no. She scowled, “don’t talk to me like that you condescending-“

“I know you like it doll, I can smell it,” he growled.

“No you can’t,” she was horrified; but even as she denied it she knew it was true, she could smell how much he wanted her too. The bastard didn’t respond, he just smirked at her again. “Get out!”

He took a breath to calm himself down. “I’ll leave you alone if you eat breakfast,” he replied in a much more even tone of voice.

Her stomach growled and he grinned in triumph. “Fine! Now get the fuck out!”

“One day I’m going to punish you for that mouth, omega” his voice was dangerous and thick with lust.

“Don’t threaten me,” her eyes were wide as saucers.

“It’s not a threat, sweetheart, it’s a promise,” he glanced at her lips once more before turning to go, “I’ll have someone bring you breakfast. You better keep your side of the deal.”

She didn’t bother with a reply but her knees were shaky as she sat back on the bed.

…

Bucky paused just outside the door. Fuck, this woman will be the death of me. He hadn’t even had a chance to think about sex since she’d arrived yesterday. Her scent had been intoxicating then, but it was calling to him for protection and comfort. Just now though, her reaction to him had been pure lust. Just for a moment her body-her nature-had peeked through. She wanted him too. At least, her body did. He allowed himself to imagine her writhing under him, calling him alpha while he knotted her. Fuck, he gritted his teeth and went in search of a bathroom to take care of himself.

…

There was a second knock on her door about a half hour later. This one was more timid and soft. “What?” She was still lying in bed-she wasn’t sure what else to do with herself.

“It’s Darcy again,” the omega called from her door, “and I brought Jane too.”

She sighed and went to open the door for them.

“Hi,” she said before stepping back to allow them into the room.

Darcy was carrying a tray overloaded with food. “We weren’t sure what you liked so we brought you everything,” she gestured towards the plates.

“We brought you some clothes too,” Natalie Port-Jane set a large bag next to the bed, “we figured you might want to change and clean up.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, “for bringing this.”

“You’re welcome,” Darcy smiled brightly, “us girls gotta stick together.”

She hesitantly took a bite of the waffles on the tray, “this is good.”

“I made it,” Darcy smiled brightly, “Sam made the eggs, he makes the best eggs.”

“Sam Wilson?” Jess wasn’t sure why she asked, she already knew the answer.

“The very one,” Darcy smiled, “you’ll love him, he’s looking forward to meeting you-“ she trailed off at the frown on Jess’ face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she shrugged as she took another bite.

“You can talk to us,” Jane said gently, “I know we’ve just met but we all want to help you adjust.”

“That’s just it,” Jess looked at her, “you’re a famous actress! You were in Star Wars! This is all so strange.”

“Maybe that’s how you know me,” Jane said carefully, “but here I’m just a scientist-“

“A brilliant scientist,” Darcy grinned.

Jane blushed, “and all of the team-“

“They’re the Avengers-“ Jess cut in, “even if I forget that these are celebrities I’ve watched from afar for years, they’re still superheroes! And I’m just-“

“You’re one of us now,” Darcy cut in, “so eat your breakfast and change so you can meet the team.”

Jess shrunk back, “I can’t-“

“Are you planning to lock yourself up in this room for the rest of your life?”

“Maybe,” she shrugged.

Darcy chuckled, “look, I appreciate a cuddle in my den as much as every other omega, but you’ve got to go outside sometime. Besides, Bucky’s room is the worst,” she crinkled her nose, “so cold and lifeless.” That was one thing she could agree on, but facing the others was too much right now. She said as much to Jane and Darcy. “Well, finish eating and get changed then maybe you’ll feel a little better.” She agreed.

…

"What's got you all riled up?" Sam was leaning in the doorway as Bucky pummeled a punching bag in the gym.

"Are you seriously asking me that?" Bucky looked at him incredulously, "my soulmate was dropped on my doorstep yesterday. She's from an alternate universe, she doesn't want to be an omega, and she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you-"

"I'm pretty sure I've lost count of how many times she's told me to go fuck myself," Bucky punched the bag one more time.

"And she's still alive?" Sam tried to joke but Bucky growled in warning.

"I would never hurt-"

"I know you wouldn't," Sam cut in, "I was just kidding. It's just-I've never heard of anyone talking to you that way and getting away with it."

"She's different," Bucky punched the bag again, "she has me wrapped around her goddamn finger and she doesn't even have to try."

"And you hate it?" Sam crossed his arms.

"Fuck you, Sam," another punch.

"It's gonna take time," he reminded him.

"I know," this time the bag went flying off the hook.

...

She did feel better after breakfast and a shower, but once she changed she found herself pacing inside Bucky's room. She didn't know what to do with herself. She tried to read one of Bucky's books but she couldn't concentrate enough to get through more than a couple of pages. Bucky didn't have anything else in his room to entertain someone. He didn't even have a fucking TV. She sat in an armchair facing the bed for a while and tried not to think about what her mom and sister must be thinking happened to her. Would they think she was kidnapped? Murdered? Human trafficked? She wished she had a way to tell them she was okay-well, not okay but alive and physically unhurt. Bucky knocked on her door a few hours later.

"Yes?"

"I see you ate," he looked at her, "and showered. I'm glad."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm glad you approve."

"What have you been up to?" He tried to make conversation.

She shrugged her shoulders, "nothing. There's not much to do. You don't even have a TV in here."

"I don't watch much TV and when I do I usually watch TV in the common room. Didn't really see a point in bringing one in here," he looked around the space, "I could bring you one if you'd like. Though you're welcome to come and watch in the common space, this is your home now too."

"It's fine," she slumped her shoulders and plopped back into the chair.

"It's not," he said softly, "I want you to be happy. Tell me what I can do to make you happy-"

"There's nothing-" she closed her eyes, "my mom and my sister, they probably think I'm dead-or worse. I miss them, I miss my job, I miss my home," tears began to fall from her eyes.

He knelt in front of her so that he could look into her eyes, "I know," he said softly, "and I would do anything to change it-"

"You could! You could have him send me back-" she pleaded.

"I can't doll," he sighed, "you were meant to end up here. If it wasn't now it would've been soon and who knows where you would've shown up. Hydra's after you, we need to keep you safe." It was clear she wasn't listening anymore.

...

"I called you in here to talk about Jess," Steve stood at the head of the conference room table while the others sat around the room. He glanced at Bucky, "we need to come up with a plan to keep her safe."

"We can lock down the residence-no non-residents in and she stays here at all times. Her presence in the compound will be strictly confidential, just us and Fury-" Natasha was cut off by Sam.

"She's not a prisoner," Sam said, "and expecting to keep her a secret is unrealistic. People are going to ask questions. Sharon already smelt her on Bucky-"

"I agree with Natasha," Bucky said, "she's safest in the residence where she's always with one of us if there's trouble."

"You can't keep her locked up, Bucky-eventually she'll want to go outside and get some fresh air," Clint chimed in.

"Security is more important-" Steve piped in.

"She'll be miserable! Is that what you want?" Sam looked at them.

"If that's what it takes to keep her safe-" Steve continued.

"There has to be a middle ground-" Tony threw in.

"She's not your omega-" Bucky growled.

"She's not your prisoner, Bucky-" Sam cut in.

"Do you think I want to do this?!" Bucky exploded, "Do you think I want my omega hidden away like a secret?! What do you expect me to do? Let everyone at the compound know about her? What if there's a mole?!"

"Do you plan to bond with her?"

"What?"

"Do you plan to bond with her?" Tony repeated his question.

"I don't-Of course I want to but that's-"

"So how will you explain her mark on your neck? Eventually, people are going to find out that you're mated to an omega," Tony pointed out.

"You're assuming she'll agree to bond with him," Natasha cut in.

Bucky growled at her but she didn't cower.

"We'll cross that bridge if we ever get to it," Bucky turned to Tony, "for now she's not anywhere near wanting anything to do with me," his heart squeezed as he said it, "and if keeping her locked away is the only way to keep her safe then that's what I'm going to do."

"What if she asks to go with Strange then?"

"If that asshole tries to take her from me, I'll-" the table cracked where he was gripping it too tightly.

...

There was another knock on her door around lunchtime. She opened the door and Chris Evans-Steve Rogers was outside her door.

"Um, hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hi?" She raised her eyebrows. "Bucky's not here-"

"I know," he said evenly, "I'm just delivering this," he gestured to a huge television sitting right behind him. "Tony's going to come and set it up in a minute, Bucky's just picking up-" as he spoke Bucky himself walked into the hallway carrying massive shopping bags.

"Hi doll," he gave her a lopsided smile, "I brought you some things in case you want to make a nest-"

"What the hell is a nest?"

"It's like..." Bucky struggled to come up with the words, "omegas-well, some omegas, like soft bedding and pillows to surround themselves with. It makes them feel safe-" He trailed off at her incredulous look.

"And you call it a nest? What am I? A bird?"

"No," he huffed, "it's just what it's called. Look, you don't have to use them I just thought-"

"It's fine," she rolled her eyes. "You didn't have to bring the TV-"

"You said you were bored," he gave her a cheeky smile, "can we come in?"

"Sure," she stepped aside as they lugged in their cargo.

"Hey team," Tony walked in carrying tools. A robot with a claw was rolling behind him. The air in the room began to feel oppressive: like there were too many people. She shrunk away from the three of them.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Bucky's voice became concerned as he noticed her distress.

"I think we're overwhelming her," Steve said gently, he was trying to make himself seem small and unthreatening, "three alphas invading her space-"

"Fuck, I didn't even think of that-I'm sorry doll, I-" she whimpered softly so he pulled her into his arms and the tension in her shoulders began to melt away. "We can leave," he said softly, "and do this later, or the two of us can go to the common room while Steve and Tony get this set up."

"Doesn't matter," her voice was muffled as she buried her face into his chest.

"Common room it is," he picked her up bridal style before she had a chance to protest and nodded to Steve and Tony who began to mount the TV in his bedroom.

...

"Do you want something to eat?"

"Are you asking or is this your way of telling me to have lunch?"

He was the one who rolled their eyes this time, "is every meal going to be this way?"

"Never mind," she turned away and breathed. "Fine, let's eat something."

He smiled, "what do you want?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "what is there to eat?"

"Anything you want," he smiled, "just tell me what you want and I'll make it or have it delivered."

"You don't have to go through any trouble-I can just eat whatever's in the fridge-"

"It's no trouble, doll. I want you to have anything you want. What's your favorite food?"

She paused to think. "Sushi," she said then added, "and tacos," another beat, "and pizza."

He laughed, "sushi, tacos, and pizza it is then."

"You don't have to order everything!"

"It's fine, the team will eat anything you don't finish," he glanced up at the ceiling, "you got that Jarvis?"

"Yes, Sergeant, I have placed an order at Sir's preferred restaurants."

"Perfect," he grinned at her. She couldn't help it, she melted just a little seeing him smile like that.

Chapter 6

Clint walked into the kitchen just as Jess and Bucky began to tuck in.

“Jarvis says there’s food? I’m Clint, by the way, we didn’t get a proper introduction.”

“I know who you are,” Jess mumbled and ducked her head.

Clint nodded and headed towards the food but Bucky swatted his hand away, “this food is for Jess, you can have the leftovers.”

“It’s fine,” Jess said softly, “I probably won’t have any more,” she gestured to her full plate which she was currently picking at.

“You only got the one plate-“ Bucky began to argue.

“Not all of us have a super soldier’s metabolism,” she shrugged, “I don’t usually eat this much.”

Clint had been waiting at a distance for the conclusion of their discussion but when Bucky reluctantly nodded at him he began to fill up a plate. “So Jess, if you’re interested Natasha and I usually play some video games in the afternoon-“ he stopped speaking when Bucky glared at him. “I mean, if that’s okay with you Bucky-“

Bucky winced. Fucking Clint.

Jess raised her eyebrow and looked obviously displeased. “I need his permission to play video games?”

“What? No, I didn’t mean-“

“Shut. Up.” Bucky ground out.

“No, let him talk,” Jess glared at Bucky, “or maybe you can explain, do I need your permission to talk to your friends?”

“Of course not, doll,” Bucky sighed.

“Really? Because Clint seems to think-“

“Clint is an idiot-“

“Hey!” Clint shut up when Bucky directed a murderous glare in his direction.

“Why were you giving him the stink eye when he invited me to play then? I’m not an idiot Bucky, I notice things.”

“I just don’t want you to feel overwhelmed-“

“Unbelievable,” she huffed before leaving her mostly untouched plate of food on the table and marching towards Bucky’s room.

“Fuck!” Bucky kicked the countertop and glared at Clint.

“I’m sorry man, I didn’t mean to presume-“

Bucky held his hand up to silence him and followed Jess to his bedroom.

…

Thankfully, Tony and Steve had finished mounting the TV by the time Jess arrived. She didn’t have to deal with their presence but the various scents in the room made her uncomfortable. She hated how every scent invaded her senses. Tony and Steve didn’t smell bad but the evidence of their presence in the room Bucky had ceded to her felt wrong. They were intruders and their scents didn’t belong there. It doesn’t matter, she shook her head to clear her thoughts, there are more important things to worry about. She didn’t get a chance to move on, however, because Bucky quickly marched into the room behind her.

“Don’t you knock?” She sneered.

“I do,” he curled his lip, “but we’ve gotta talk about this now, I don’t want to let it fester between us.”

“So talk,” she stood with her hands crossed over her chest.

“I’m not trying to control who you talk to-“

“But that’s not true, is it?” She interrupted him, “you’re telling me there’s no rules? I can just walk out of this building as I please and talk to anyone? I’m not an idiot, Bucky, and I deserve to know what decisions you’ve made about my life without my input.”

“I’m just trying to keep you safe,” he bit out, “you’re free to talk to the team, in fact I hope you do. That thing with Clint was just a gut reaction, I don’t want you to feel pressured-“

“But?”

“But there are going to be some rules, doll. You’re in danger-“

“What are they?”

“What?”

“What have you decided? Don’t beat around the bush.”

“For now,” Bucky steeled himself, “we’ve decided to lock down the residence. No outsiders except for Nick Fury. Your presence here is confidential. And-“ he knew this wasn’t going to go well, “you’re to remain inside at all times-“

“You’re locking me up-“

“It’s for your safety!”

“That’s easy for you to say!” She shouted, “you get to breathe fresh air and go for a walk and not be surrounded by the same small group of people every day!”

“You haven’t even left the room since you got here! I had to carry you out to the kitchen! Now all of a sudden you want to go for walks?!”

“Well excuse me for needing some time to accept this lunacy! I didn’t know that I was ceding my right to fresh air-“

“It’s not forever, doll-“

“Oh really? Until when then?”

“I’m not sure,” he sighed.

“I want to talk to Strange,” her voice was like steel.

“Doll-“

“No,” she cut him off, “he said I have a choice and I’m choosing to go with him-“

“He’ll have rules for you too-“ Bucky tried to reason with her without losing his temper.

“At least they have a fucking courtyard and people I can talk to! What the hell am I supposed to do here all day?!”

“Doll, you can’t go with Strange-“

“Why not?!”

“BECAUSE I NEED YOU!” Bucky took a deep breath, “I need you here. The thought of you out there without me to keep you safe- the thought of not being able to see you, or hold you, even if you’re yelling at me, it kills me doll.”

Jess stared at him, mouth agape. “We’ve barely known each other a day,” she said weakly.

“I know,” he said, “and it’s fucking terrifying what I would do for you.”

“This is too much,” she shook her head as a tear fell down her cheek.

“I know,” he walked toward her tentatively and wiped the tear from her face, “but you’re my soulmate doll. I can’t-please don’t go with Strange.”

“I can’t be locked up here Bucky,” she shook her head.

“It’s not forever,” he said softly, “just until we can make sure you’ll be safe in the compound-“

She looked away, “fine,” she sighed. Bucky could tell she was unhappy, and it broke his heart. “I want to be alone,” she pulled away from him. He didn’t fight her, he left the room. She waited until the door shut before she broke down and sobbed.

…

“Manchurian Candidate,” Tony yelled as he walked back into the common room. He had meant to go to the gym to take out his anger on, well, anything.

“What?” He was exhausted and not in the mood for Tony’s bullshit.

“We’ve gotta get started on your omega’s den. I can’t bring a construction crew in here for obvious reasons so it’ll have to be an in-house project.”

He sighed, he didn’t want to be around the others but Jess would be happy to get out of his room and he couldn’t help but admit that sleeping on the couch wasn’t ideal. “Fine, how can I help?”

“Love the enthusiasm,” he clapped his hands, “we picked a secure location, it’s next to Darcy and away from the entrance. Darcy’s here as our omega consultant,” he gestured to her and she waved, “I don’t suppose Jess has thoughts on the interior design?”

“I doubt she wants to think about that right now,” he pictured her heartbroken face.

“Ok,” he nodded, “for now we’ll just focus on setting up the space, we can talk paint colors later.”

The room Tony had chosen was already a suite meant to accommodate any future team members so all they had to do was adjust it to make it more comfortable for an omega.

“You’ll need to cover the windows,” Darcy pointed to the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the entire wall of the bedroom. There was a beautiful view of the lake from them.

“No one can see in through this glass,” Tony knocked on the thick wall, “she should be nice and private and then she’ll have a good view.”

“It’s too open,” Darcy explained, “even if no one can see her, she’ll feel exposed.”

“I never thought of that,” Tony placed his hand on his chin.

“You alphas don’t think about a lot of things when it comes to omegas,” Darcy rolled her eyes. “Maybe some floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, build her a window seat where she can read and we can hang up some nice drapes so she can shut herself in during her heat.” She nodded and looked around the space. “Get this bed out.”

“Why?” Tony seemed fascinated by the process.

“It’s in the middle of the room, too out in the open. You should do a built in bed in the corner of the room. Build it like a conversation pit and fill it with her bedding and pillows. Large enough for her and Bucky to fit comfortably but not too large,” she nodded at Bucky.

“I doubt I’ll be needing to fit anywhere anytime soon,” he grumbled.

“Maybe,” Darcy shrugged, “but that’s the goal, right? Besides, she might need you for her heat, even if it isn’t ideal.”

“I’m not going to force her!” Bucky growled at her.

“I know,” Darcy said simply, “but her body may not be able to handle it without you, there might not be a choice. Put in a drawer for toys and snacks, maybe a built-in fridge she can reach from the bed,” Darcy moved on without giving Bucky a chance to dwell on that thought, “and a TV on that wall,” she pointed, “so she can watch movies in bed.”

“You’ve thought a lot about this,” Tony commented, “is this your way of asking for a renovation?”

“Maybe,” Darcy said cheekily, “but it’ll have to wait.”

She led them into the bathroom. “Put a bathtub in the en suite,” she pointed to the giant shower and didn’t elaborate, “get some bath-bombs and fluffy robes and towels. Bucky, you should put a few of your clothes in here,” she nodded to the closet, “even if she hates your guts your scent will comfort her.”

“Tactful as ever, Darcy,” Sam cut in.

“That’s me! I’ll try to talk to her soon to see if she has favorite books or colors that we can use to decorate. We should hang up pictures or posters, make this den feel like a real home.”

“Give her a few hours,” Bucky instructed, “she’s not in the best mood right now,” he glared at Clint.

“What happened?” Steve glanced between them.

“I told her about the safety precautions,” he rubbed his forehead.

“I take it that didn’t go over too well,” Sam crossed his arms.

“No,” he grit his teeth, “it didn’t.”

“Well, I hate to say ‘I told you so’-“

“Then don’t,” he growled. Sam dropped it.

“Right,” Steve clapped his hands, “looks like we have a plan, we should get to work.”

“I’ll order the materials,” Tony was already working on a digital diagram of the room, “we can start as soon as they arrive.”

Jarvis interrupted, “sirs, Director Fury is requesting a meeting.” They glanced at each other, it was time to make Fury aware of the new development.

…

Nick Fury was not happy. “So, you’re telling me you’re now harboring an omega-“

“Watch your tone, Fury,” Bucky growled.

“I’ll say whatever I want to say,” the other alpha snapped back, “you know this won’t last, don’t you?”

“We can make it work, with a few precautions-“

“You live in a complex surrounded by highly trained spies; you all interact with them everyday. You don’t think they’ll question why the residence is off limits all of a sudden? Why you’re all walking around smelling like omega? What about Carter? What are you planning on telling her?”

“Nothing,” Bucky replied, “I ended it.”

“And you think she’ll let it go without any explanation? Sounds to me like none of you thought any of this through-“

“So what do you suggest since you know so much?” This was the second time Bucky gripped the table so hard it cracked; Tony made a note to build one out of a sturdier material.

“She can’t stay here at the complex-“

“That’s non-negotiable-“ Bucky growled.

“We can get her to a safe house, choose our most trusted agents-“

“She stays with me,” Bucky stood and crossed his arms over his chest with his shoulders thrown back. “If you’re suggesting she leave the compound, I’m going with her-“

“You’re both staying here,” Steve cut in, “she’s better off with all of us guarding her-“

“You can’t keep this secret if she stays here!” Fury roared. “This is too dangerous, for the organization and for your omega-“

“She’s not leaving my side-“

They stopped speaking abruptly when Agent Hill entered, “we have an alien attack in Manhattan, we recommend all Avengers attend and all agents who have been cleared for Class A emergencies. We have quinjets being prepared, you should be ready to leave any second.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Fury growled, “you might want to spray yourself with something before you go out there,” he nodded at Bucky, “you smell.” He left the “like omega” unsaid.

…

“We have to go Bucky,” Steve placed a firm hand on his shoulder as he strode towards the residence.

“I’ve got to talk to her before I leave,” Bucky grunted, shaking him off easily.

“There’s no time,” Steve insisted, “you can talk when we get back.”

“I’m not leaving without talking to her,” Bucky grunted, “I’ll be quick, you can waste more time trying to stop me or you can go get yourself ready.” Steve didn’t try to pull rank, it wouldn’t work on Bucky, especially when it came to his soulmate; he let him go and went to change into his suit.

Bucky had the sense to knock this time.

“What?” Jess asked as she swung the door open.

“I’m going on a mission. Aliens in Manhattan,” Bucky said, “in case you need anything, I’ll be back soon.”

“Aliens?! Bucky are you gonna be okay?”

“Are you worried about me, doll?” Bucky couldn’t help himself, he grinned.

She looked away, “no-well, it’s aliens-“

“I’ll be fine,” he reassured her, “I’ll be back in a few hours so you can yell at me more, deal?” He turned her head so she was looking into his eyes.

“Yeah,” she sighed. He stroked her chin one last time then began to walk away, “Bucky!” He smirked as he turned. She bit her lower lip, “be careful.” He jogged back and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and ran off to change before she had a chance to respond. If the spot on her cheek tingled from where he kissed her, she wouldn’t mention it to anyone.

Chapter 7

Bucky marched to the equipment room. He didn’t like this. Leaving his soulmate in the compound without any of the Avengers for protection didn’t sit well with him. He thought about what Fury said: they were surrounded by world-class spies, the best of the best, and any of them could be working for Hydra. What if they found out about her? What if they broke into the residence while the team was gone? What if Jess did something desperate and tried to run? What if he died without giving her the protection of his claiming bite?

“She’ll be fine,” Steve attempted to reassure him as they geared up. The team could feel the waves of anxiety coming off of Bucky now.

“Here,” Bucky caught a spray Bruce threw at him.

“What is it?” He stared at the unmarked bottle suspiciously.

“It’s some extra strength deodorant, we don’t want anyone to smell Jess on you.”

“Good idea,” he mumbled, though he didn’t like the thought of washing her scent off him. He wanted to show her off and he hated that Hydra continued to take away his ability to enjoy his life. Meeting his soulmate should’ve been a happy experience not the mess it had become. He sprayed himself regardless. The team walked together to the hangar and Bucky cursed to himself as he saw Sharon among the group of elite agents joining them on this mission. She glared at him for a moment; then she tilted her chin up, threw her shoulders back, and approached him.

“Shit,” he heard Clint mumble behind him.

“Sergeant Barnes,” he could hear the disguised anger in her voice.

“Agent Carter,” he matched her forced formality and nodded brusquely.

“I assume we are still pairing up for this mission? Or has something else changed without explanation?”

Bucky and Sharon had begun pairing up on joint missions soon after he joined the Avengers, even before they began dating. He wondered now how he never noticed that he never felt fear for her safety during those missions beyond that which he felt for any other team member. Bucky had no reasonable excuse for not wanting to pair up with her; she was an excellent agent and she hadn’t done anything wrong. Still, he knew once they were alone she would have questions for him that he would rather not answer. He decided it would be more suspicious to refuse to partner with her than to deal with her questions.

“Nothing’s changed, Agent, we’ve been pairing up since I got here, I see no reason to change the teams.” Sharon didn’t look happy with his answer: she didn’t want to pair up with him, she wanted a fight.

“Good,” she nodded and marched towards the quinjet.

“We can switch partners Buck-“

“I don’t want to draw more attention to myself,” Bucky cut Steve off, “I can deal with her, this is just work.”

…

Jess paced her room, in all her personal drama she had forgotten that this universe regularly got invaded by aliens. Was Thanos involved? Was it too early for him? Strange had said that some of the future events would happen as she remembered them from the films, but Jess didn’t know how that was possible. There were so many differences from the stories she knew, it couldn’t possibly be the same series of events. Who cares? Bucky’s in danger. Anxiety roiled in her gut. Why should she care? Bucky is a grown man with super strength and ridiculous combat training, he does this all the time; he’ll be fine. Even knowing this, even knowing that she barely knew the guy and they had spent most of their time together fighting, she was still worried. She turned on the television to watch what was going on in the city.

…

“I’m glad we can still work together,” Sharon began as soon as they took their seats.

“Of course,” Bucky replied, trying to sound nonchalant, “we’re both professionals.”

“We are,” Sharon replied, “but we still have feelings. At least I do,” the first hint of resentment peeked out.

“Sharon,” he sighed.

“I just want to know what happened,” she turned to him, “what changed? You just ended it so suddenly-“

“This isn’t the place to talk about this,” Bucky hissed under his breath, nodding at the agents surrounding them that were trying to appear as if they weren’t listening to their conversation with interest. Of course everyone in the compound already knows, he rolled his eyes.

“Where can we talk about it then?” She spit back. “You banned me from the residence and you haven’t been answering my calls.”

“I’ve been busy,” he ground out.

“With what? You haven’t been at training. None of the Avengers have, what’s happening?!”

“This is none of your concern, Agent,” Bucky reverted to formal titles, trying to use both his rank and alpha presence to get her to back off.

“It is when you made a fool out of me in front of the entire compound!” She hissed.

“The only one making a fool of themselves here is you,” he spit back. An agent somewhere on the jet snickered and Sharon shut up. She was silent the rest of the way to Manhattan.

…

Jess jumped when she heard a knock at her door. She had been transfixed by the coverage of the huge tentacled creatures running around the city. It looked like mostly property damage for now but she loathed to think of how many people would die today. What if Bucky’s one of them?

“Yeah?” She called through the door.

“It’s Darcy and Jane,” the omega replied.

“Come in,” she turned the volume down.

“I see you heard,” Darcy nodded to the television.

“I thought you wouldn’t want to be alone,” Jane approached her, “every time Thor goes on a mission I get so stressed. I can’t calm down until he’s back here with me.”

“It’s not-“ Jess blushed.

“It’s okay to be worried,” Jane smiled softly, “he’s your soulmate.”

“We just met,” Jess mumbled.

“Fate is never wrong,” Darcy held out a chocolate bar. She took it, as well as a bag of chips she was eyeing from Darcy’s snack stash. “So,” she changed the subject abruptly, “what’s your favorite color?”

…

The fuckers were slimy, Bucky cursed as he tried to comb his fingers through his hair. It was coated in a thick layer of goop and had become a tangled mess. The mission was relatively successful. They managed to corral and eliminate the aliens before they caused too much damage. He and Sharon hadn’t spoken much during the mission, the ride home, or the debriefing that followed. He wanted to see Jess as soon as possible but he thought she may be asleep by now. He rushed through his shower just in case. He heard the gym’s shower open and smelled Sharon’s soft vanilla scent before he saw her.

“What are you doing here?” He reigned in his temper as she walked into the water. He made sure to keep himself away from her.

“I guess I’m just a creature of habit,” she strode towards him, swinging her hips, “this is our post mission ritual right?”

“Was,” he emphasized the word, “before, we’re not together anymore.”

“Oh come on Bucky,” Sharon shrugged, her nipples were hard as water drops rained down her chest, “what’s different now from two days ago? Maybe you’re just stressed-“ she reached her arms up to wind them around his neck.

He grabbed her wrists, forcing her arms down. “I told you we were broken up, you need to let this go.”

“Not until you tell me why!” She stomped, “what the hell happened yesterday? Something is going on that you’re not telling me!”

“You don’t need to know! All you need to know is that I’m dealing with something right now and I don’t want to be in a relationship with you anymore.”

“So do you just need time? To deal with whatever your issue is? I can wait Bucky, I-“

“Don’t wait,” he cut her off, “we won’t be getting back together.” He wrapped a towel around his waist and left the locker room. He hastily dressed and walked back to the residence. His hair was dripping water behind him as he went.

“What’s wrong?” Steve asked, they had just seen each other at the debriefing and he wasn’t sure what could’ve set Bucky off between then and his shower.

“Sharon,” he bit out, “cornered me in the shower.”

“I can have her moved-“

“We don’t have a legitimate reason to ban her-“

“It’s sexual harassment-“

“Maybe, but it’ll just spread the gossip even more. Just assign her to a new mission partner. You and I can switch training schedules.”

“Do you think she’ll just leave you alone?” Steve seemed doubtful.

“She better,” he growled. “Is Jess-?”

“Darcy says she’s asleep, she ate dinner though.”

Bucky swallowed down the pang of disappointment at not being able to see her again today but headed to the common room to crash on the couch.

…

Jess peeked out of Bucky’s room the next morning. She had fallen asleep early, as soon as Jarvis told them the battle was over and there were no casualties. Jane told her the team usually spent hours debriefing and cleaning up and the stress of the last two days had exhausted her. It was barely dawn. She figured no one else was up but she was hungry. I guess Bucky will be happy I got my appetite back, she thought wryly. She decided to go to the kitchen herself. As she passed the common room she smelled Christmas trees. Bucky was draped on the largest couch in the room. He was lying at an awkward angle. That can’t be comfortable, she thought. He began to stir so she tried to retreat to the kitchen quickly but she heard him call for her.

“Doll?” His voice was groggy with sleep. She noticed that he had bed head and smiled to herself.

“Hey,” she half waved, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, I was just going to get something to eat.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” he replied quickly, “you’re welcome to be here whenever you like.”

“But you were sleeping,” she said sheepishly.

“Yeah,” and then he gave her a smirk that made her belly swoop, “and this is the best sight to wake up to in the world.” She blushed, her mouth was open and she didn’t know what to say. He chuckled and began to get up.

“What are you doing?” She backed away a few steps as he came towards her.

“I’m getting you something to eat?”

“I can do it myself,” she insisted, “you should go back to sleep.”

“It’s okay,” he assured her, “I’m hungry too. I crashed when we got home and didn’t have any dinner.” He was pulling out a carton of eggs from the fridge. “What’s your breakfast of choice?”

“I’m not picky,” she didn’t want to inconvenience him.

“I want to know,” he rested his chin in his hand and gazed at her.

She sighed, “it’s too much trouble-“

“So is it that you’re not picky or that you don’t want to bother me?”

“I-“ she sputtered.

“Because it bothers me more when you lie to me or withhold information.”

“It’s just breakfast food,” she rolled her eyes, “it’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me,” he replied, “I want to know everything about you, even the little stuff.”

She sighed, “I like bacon, sausage, and crepes or waffles, I eat eggs but they’re not my favorite, I usually have orange juice. Happy?”

“Yes,” he smiled at her, “crepes coming right up.”

“You don’t have to-crepes are a pain in the ass to make-“

He grabbed her hand and led her to the stool behind the island, “just sit while I make you breakfast.” She blushed again when he wouldn’t stop looking into her eyes.

…

He couldn’t help the rumble of pride as he watched her eat. He was providing for her. There wasn’t much he could do right now that could make up for their shitty situation but the crepes made her smile and her smell was content for the first time since he’d met her. He treasured this small moment before someone came by and ruined it.

“Good?” He smiled when she blushed at her empty plate.

“Yeah,” she smiled back, “you’re a good cook.”

“Don’t tell anyone,” he winked, “or I’ll be stuck cooking for the rest of those creeps.” She laughed, she has a beautiful laugh, and her eyes shined for a moment.

“I won’t, I promise.”

“Good morning,” Natasha’s voice cut through the bubble they had briefly been cocooned in.

“Morning Nat,” Bucky tried not to show his irritation.

“Morning,” Jess looked down at the counter.

“I’m Natasha,” the redhead held out her hand.

“I know,” Jess shrunk back. Natasha kept her hand out and Bucky was just about to tell her to back off when Jess finally stuck out her hand as well.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Natasha smiled at her-Bucky wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Natasha smile- and Jess smiled back. “If you ever need anything, even someone to talk to, I’m here alright?”

“Oh-okay, thank you,” Jess seemed startled by the offer. Bucky tried to school his facial features. Jess’ interaction with Clint yesterday had been a disaster because of him and he didn’t want to ruin Jess’ integration into the team again.

“You alright Buck?” Of course Natasha could see right through him.

“Yeah,” he nodded nonchalantly.

“So,” she turned back to Jess, “do you have plans today?”

“No?” Jess thought it was an odd question. What plans would I possibly have?

“Well, I was thinking that maybe we could talk to Bruce and give you a rundown of the whole omega deal, so you’re not surprised by anything-“

“We didn’t talk about this-“ Bucky began to interrupt her.

“That’s because it’s not about you,” Natasha was unbothered. “Besides, you and the boys have your renovation to work on right?”

“Renovation?” Jess asked curiously.

“Just something Tony wants help with in the garage,” Bucky lied. He wanted to keep the den a surprise. Natasha smirked at him. “But yeah, I guess learning more about your biology would be good. If you want that is-“

“Yeah,” she nodded, “it sounds like a good idea. This whole thing is…” she tried to come up with the right word without hurting Bucky’s feelings, “weird.” Good job, she cringed. Bucky seemed unbothered though.

“Well, then I guess I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Yeah,” she smiled at him.

“Perfect,” he stroked her hand once before heading towards the gym to get a workout in before the others were ready to start construction.

Chapter 8

"So, you're all alphas?" Jess asked Bruce and Nat.

"No," Bruce replied, "only Bucky, Tony, Thor, and Steve. The rest of us are betas. Except for Darcy, of course."

Meeting Bruce had been a little different than the rest of the team so far. He was quiet. Kind, but not overly friendly or forward. He seemed a little...wary of her. Once they began their discussion of biology, though, he seemed to relax and jump right into the facts.

"Right. How can you tell?" Jess blushed, "or, I mean..."

"Alphas and Omegas have more distinct scents," Bruce replied, "you'll notice once you get used to your new sense of smell. That's the main way. Of course, there are ruts and heats..." Bruce began to blush.

"Aw come on Bruce," Nat teased, "you can't be such a prude."

"I'm not!" He protested.

"Right," Jess seemed just as uncomfortable, "what are ruts...and heats?"

"Didn't Strange explain?" Nat looked concerned.

"I didn't really process a lot of that conversation," Jess said, "I was kind of in shock."

"Well, omegas go into heat about four times a year. It's the time when they're most fertile and lasts about a week. During a heat omegas become extremely, well, for lack of a better word-"

"Horny," Nat jumped in.

"Like a dog?" Jess looked horrified.

"Kind of," Bruce glared at Nat. Be a little more sensitive, his eyes conveyed. Nat had the decency to look chastened. "But not-not that you're a dog, or-"

"It's natural," Nat jumped in, "your body temperature will rise and you will feel some discomfort but that can be easily fixed with a willing alpha-"

"Oh, god," Jess groaned, "that's what Darcy was talking about-with me...and Bucky."

"It doesn't have to be Bucky-" Nat began.

"Nat!" Bruce glared at her.

"I just want her to know she has a choice," she spoke plainly, "there are alternatives. You could also use toys..."

"Though they're not as effective and-"

"And?" Jess cut Bruce off.

"Since you've never had a heat and you're of quite an advanced age-"

"Hey!"

"I just mean, most omegas have their first heat in their teens-I'm nervous that you won't be able to handle it without a partner. And Bucky is your best bet, he's your soulmate after all-"

"What do you mean when you say I couldn't handle it?" Jess asked nervously.

"I mean, you could hurt yourself from the pain, forget to eat and stay hydrated, your fever could get too high-" he stopped speaking as her scent began to turn bitter with fear.

"It's going to be okay," Nat broke in firmly.

"You don't know that," Jess whimpered. She gulped, she needed to move on, "and...what's a rut?"

"It's kind of similar to heat but for alphas. During their ruts, alphas become aggressive unless they have an omega to-"

"But I thought there weren't many omegas? How do Bucky and them handle them? Does Darcy-"

"No," Nat said firmly, "they deal. It's not as bad for them since they don't have mates-" Nat broke off once she realized that was no longer true for one of the alphas.

"So Bucky...he's going to be aggressive unless he and I-"

"He won't force you," Nat jumped in before she spiraled, "he can control himself."

“And when will I go into heat?”

“There’s no way to tell,” Bruce rubbed the back of his neck, “could be months, could be days.” Jess began to look a little green.

“Strange said something about bonding?” Jess was desperate to change the subject.

“Yeah, alphas and omegas can bond, it’s like marriage but…more, like your souls are connected. They say bonded pairs can even feel each other’s emotions and obviously they can’t bear to be separated for very long.”

“That sounds intense,” Jess said.

“It is,” Bruce didn’t sugarcoat it.

“So…how does it happen? Bonding?”

“We’ll, the alpha usually bites the omega-“

“Excuse me?!”

“Well, they bite each other-“ Bruce rushed to explain but this didn’t make Jess feel any better. “It’s not what it sounds like-well, it is but I’ve heard it’s beautiful and most bonded pairs are very proud of their marks. They share each other’s scents and it prevents most other alphas and omegas from trying anything-“

“Most?”

“There’s always assholes who don’t respect a claiming bite,” Nat shrugged, “but they’d have a death wish to try anything with Bucky’s mate.”

“Do you-does Bucky expect me to mate with him?”

“I’m sure he wants it,” Nat said matter-of-factly, “but you don’t have to.”

“I’m gonna be sick,” Jess ran into the corner and snatched up the bin. Bruce averted his eyes as she vomited.

…

Construction was quick. The alterations weren’t that extensive and, with half a dozen enhanced Avengers, the room soon looked like an omega’s paradise.

“She’ll love it,” Tony grinned proudly as they finished painting. Bucky hoped so.

…

Jess was lying in bed. She hated this. She hated that she would become some feral sex slave and that Bucky wanted to bite her neck and, and-

“Doll?”

Her head jerked up as she heard Bucky knock on her door, she hadn’t seen him all day. “Yeah?” She answered warily.

“The team is having dinner soon, I thought maybe you’d like to join?” Bucky sounded cautiously hopeful. She tiptoed to the door and answered it. “Are you okay?” He frowned at the expression on her face.

“I spoke to Bruce and Nat,” she didn’t elaborate.

“And?” Bucky prompted.

“This is insane,” she dropped her head into her hands, “heats and bonding and your-“

“My?”

“Your rut,” she whispered.

“Doll,” he breathed, “you’ve gotta know I would never-“

“They said you would become aggressive-“

“I would never do anything to hurt you,” Bucky looked devastated.

“I-I know,” she stumbled. And she did know, she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but it didn’t make her less afraid. “But you’ll be suffering-“

“Don’t worry about me,” he broke in.

“I don’t want you to suffer,” she shook her head, “and I-my heat,” she took a deep breath before continuing, “Bruce said I might not be able to handle it-“

“I’ll be there anyway you need me,” her head snapped up before he added, “I don’t mean sex doll. I’ll take care of you, but I can control myself.”

“Bruce said we’ll be like wild animals-“

“Bruce is an idiot,” Bucky growled.

“But it’s true isn’t it? I’ll beg you Bucky. What if I’m in so much pain and I beg and beg?”

“Doll, I-“ he didn’t know, he wasn’t sure he could stand to see her suffer like that. He also knew she would hate him for taking advantage of her vulnerability though. “I won’t touch you. If you don’t give me permission while you’re still in your right mind, I won’t do it, no matter how much you beg.”

“But,” she let out a cry, “what if it’s too painful? What if I can’t-“

“You can do it,” he grabbed her hand and squeezed it, “I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Isn’t it weird?”

“What?”

“Talking about us having sex like this?”

“No,” he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “it comes with the territory. It’s biology honey, it’s normal and nothing to be ashamed of.”

“It doesn’t feel normal,” a tear rolled down her cheek.

“It will,” he wiped it away. “Anyway,” he coughed to dispel the awkwardness, “I have something to show you. We were going to show you after dinner but maybe now’s a good time.”

“We?”

“The guys and I,” he grinned.

“What is it?” For a moment she forgot about their heavy conversation.

“Come with me,” he grabbed her hand and tugged her along behind him.

…

It was…beautiful. The room was painted in warm colors, there were soft duvets and blankets and so many books, Jess ran her hand through them in disbelief. “This is mine?”

Bucky smiled at the look on her face, “yeah doll, all yours. Thought you might’ve been getting sick of my room-“ he blushed, he knew how inadequate his room was for an omega.

“I-I love it,” she stuttered.

Bucky beamed. “Really?”

“Yeah,” she smiled softly, one of the only genuine smiles Bucky had ever seen on her. He wanted to make her smile like that every day.

…

The team was pleasantly surprised to see Jess walk into dinner with Bucky. Especially Bruce and Natasha, who had expected her to hide away after their unfortunate conversation in the morning.

“Thank you,” she smiled at each of them. They smiled back and threw out “you’re welcome” and “don’t sweat it.” They smiled at her so much that Bucky let out a small growl which he quickly bit back at her shocked look.

“Sorry,” he mumbled as he pulled out a seat for her. Tony snickered from the end of the table.

“Sergeant Barnes,” Jarvis interrupted, “Agent Carter is requesting access to the residence.”

“Sharon Carter?” Jess asked. “What does she want with you?”

Bucky was seething. “It’s nothing doll,” then he addressed Jarvis, “tell her it’s after hours and if she needs anything she can talk to Steve.”

There was a pause before Jarvis responded, “she says it is personal, sir, she has questions about your breakup.”

“Breakup?” Jess looked confused.

“It’s not-you don’t need to worry doll-“

“Were you dating Sharon Carter?” Jess wasn’t sure how to feel. Sharon was supposed to be into Steve right? But this was a different universe and the script had been completely thrown out the window. The thought of Bucky and Sharon together didn’t sit right with her though.

“It was before I met you,” Bucky squeezed her hand, “and I ended it as soon as I did.”

“But that was only a couple days ago!” She didn’t mean to sound so upset but she couldn’t help it.

“Doll, you gotta believe me-“

“I think I’m going to my room,” she stood and ran out without saying anything to the rest of the team (who had been uncharacteristically quiet).

Bucky stood but marched towards the entrance. I’m gonna kill her.

Chapter 9

“What the hell Sharon?!” Bucky stormed in hot.

“Woah, why are you so angry? I just want some closure!” Bucky knew it certainly wasn’t all that she wanted but he let the comment slide.

“I told you not to come to the residence,” he said through gritted teeth. He took deep breaths to keep himself from snapping.

“Where else am I supposed to talk to you?! You missed training AGAIN and you won’t answer my calls!”

“I think I’ve said all I need to say.”

“Bullshit! Something happened and you’re not telling me. After more than a year together I deserve to know what happened to my boyfriend!”

“I told you, I can’t tell you anything.”

Sharon took a deep breath as well, trying to reign in her emotions. This wasn’t how she wanted to play this. She had intended to be calm and get some answers but Bucky’s rage set her off. If anyone had a right to be angry, it was her. Unfortunately for Bucky, her deep breath got him in trouble. “You smell,” she wrinkled her nose, like peppermint and chocolate and, “omega.” Her head snapped up and she looked at him in disbelief. “Did you leave me for an omega?! Is that what it is?! You found yourself some pathetic omega pussy to-“

“Enough!” Bucky roared, his arm had twitched. He would never hit a woman, but he had been tempted for a second. “You are to keep your unfounded theories to yourself, agent. That’s an order.”

“No,” she shook her head, “I’m right, I know it. That first day you smelled like her too…how the hell-“ she stopped talking and her eyes widened. Her eyes flickered to his right arm, where a sunflower was hidden by his long sleeve shirt. Sharon Carter was a good agent, the best, she could put two and two together. “You found her-“ Bucky’s poker face flickered for just one moment. She could see his fear and panic. Yes, she thought, this is definitely it. The rage came back in full force, “I can’t believe you would throw everything away for some stupid omega who doesn’t even-“

“Don’t say another word,” Bucky’s voice was cold as steel. “You are not to say anything about this to anyone. If you do I’ll have you dismissed from the compound, do you understand?”

Sharon nodded angrily. Bucky could see in her eyes that this wasn’t the end.

…

Jess paced the floor of her new room. It was beautiful but the excitement she felt upon first seeing it was gone. Did Bucky build her a room because he wanted her away from him? Does he miss Sharon? Her mind was full of disconnected and illogical questions. Bucky had shown her that he cared about her, right? He feels obligated to take care of you, she told herself, it doesn't mean he wants her. And why should it matter if he wanted her? She didn’t want him. Right? She could smell it now, the burnt chocolate smell that signaled her distress. How strange that you can smell an emotion.

…

“She knows.” Bucky ran a hand through his hair. He wanted to rush to her room and comfort her, but her safety was more important.

“What?!” Steve stood.

“She figured it out, she smelled her on me-“

“This is bad,” Clint mumbled.

“No shit,” Tony snapped at him.

“She’s a professional. She’s part of AI, surely she wouldn’t compromise the safety of the facility-“ Bruce tried to reason.

“She hasn’t been very professional the last few days-“ Bucky growled.

“Well, you didn’t exactly handle the breakup in the best way-“ Bucky turned to Sam with murder in his eyes.

“What are you suggesting?”

“Maybe if you just have a genuine conversation with her? You’ve been angry and aggressive with her since Jess got here. None of this is Sharon’s fault and her feelings are hurt. Maybe if you explain and apologize-“

“Sharon is-“

“Is what?” Sam challenged.

“She’s not going to drop it just because I apologize,” Bucky grumbled.

“It might be worth it to try,” Nat said.

Bucky didn’t like it. Alphas didn’t apologize. But…if it kept Jess safe-

…

“You wanted to see me?” Sharon had agreed to meet Bucky in the conference room, that was a start at least.

“I need to explain-“

“Took you long enough,” Sharon snapped. She wouldn’t usually speak that way to him…then again, she didn’t usually have this kind of leverage.

Bucky swallowed his pride. This is for Jess. “My omega-“

“What’s her name?” Sharon interrupted.

“That’s not important,” Bucky didn’t want to share any more information about her with Sharon.

“It’s important to me, I’d like to know the name of the woman who stole my boyfriend-“

“We found her the day we broke up,” Bucky pushed through, “I had just met her when you came to the residence. I was upset and stressed and I didn’t handle it well. I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry?” Sharon’s emotions were hard to read. Say what you will about her, she’s a damned good spy.

“I shouldn’t have been so short with you. I couldn’t tell you about her, she’s in danger-“

“You don’t trust me?” Sharon didn’t look hurt, she looked angry.

“It’s not that,” Bucky’s nails dug into his palm, “we hadn’t decided how to handle it yet. In the end we decided to only inform Fury. No one else knows.”

“I’m part of the team-“

“You’re an agent for AI, we couldn’t tell every agent-“

“I’m not just any agent.” That was the wrong thing to say, Sharon had always had a chip on her shoulder about not being a “real” Avenger.

“I know,” Bucky conceded, “but the fewer people knew, the safer she was. I need you to keep this confidential-“

“You can only keep this a secret for so long,” Sharon pointed out, “you reek of her.”

“I’m working on it,” Bucky grit his teeth, “I need your word that you won’t tell anyone. If not as my friend,” she flinched at the use of the word “friend,” “then as a trusted member of AI. Her safety isn’t only a personal issue, it could compromise the entire agency.”

“I’m not a mole,” Sharon seethed.

Bucky nodded, that was as good as he was gonna get, “thank you, Sharon.”

Sharon nodded and marched away. Bucky knew that somehow this wasn’t over.

…

"You okay?" Jess was surprised to see Darcy on the other side of her door.

"Does Bucky know you're here?"

Darcy smirked, "I don't need his permission. The rest of them may be afraid of him but I'm not. That's the thing about alphas, they think they have all the power but they're suckers when it comes to omegas," she shrugged her shoulder as she let herself into Jess' room. She whistled, "this place is nice. I'm glad Tony took my suggestions-"

"You helped?"

"How do you think they figured out how to make you comfortable? A bunch of clueless alphas probably would've put in a skylight so you could feel completely at one with nature," Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Thank you," Jess murmured, "it's beautiful."

"Don't sweat it," Darcy sat down in a plush armchair. "You didn't answer my question."

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

"I...I don't know. I didn't know about Sharon, in my version Sharon and Steve are together-"

Darcy cackled, "Sharon and Steve? They have no chemistry-" she stopped laughing when she looked at Jess, "not the point, continue."

"Well, I was just surprised is all."

"Really? You have no opinion about this at all?"

"Did I ruin his relationship?" Jess sounded uncertain. She wasn't this person, she was usually...she would've never called herself insecure before.

"I mean," Darcy paused to think, "he broke up with her because of you if that's what you're asking."

"You certainly don't have to spare my feelings," Jess said sarcastically as she plopped down on the couch across from Darcy.

"BUT, if you'd let me finish, I don't believe he was ever that into her in the first place. She's been practically begging to move in here since they started dating and he never seemed to want that. If you ask me, he was just bored and looking to get laid-" she stopped talking abruptly. She was afraid she'd said the wrong thing.

Jess felt a pang at the idea of Bucky with another woman, but it's not like she was a virgin either. Besides, she reminded herself, he's not yours. "It's fine Darcy. I didn't expect Bucky to be a virgin or anything."

"Maybe," Darcy conceded, "but I figured maybe since it's so recent and they still work together. Never mind, I'm just making it worse, I'll shut up now."

Darcy's bumbling attempt to make her feel better was actually working though. At the very least, Jess enjoyed laughing at the ridiculous. "It's okay," she murmured, "he doesn't owe me anything. I just...my life got ripped out from under me. I keep forgetting that I literally blew up his life-"

"He wouldn't change it," Darcy said firmly, "he wouldn't give you up for anything-"

"You all keep saying things like that," Jess threw herself back on the couch, "but he barely knows me-"

"His soul does," Darcy said. "Wow, that was deep."

Jess rolled her eyes, "soulmates aren't real."

"Yes, they are," Darcy yanked her hand towards her and pointed at her tattoo. "Even if you don't believe it, you can't pretend you don't feel anything for Bucky."

"Only because he keeps insisting that I'm...I don't know."

"You'll get there," Darcy smiled. "Don't worry about Sharon," she stood and patted her knee, "she's no competition for you."

"You're leaving?"

"I don't really want to run into Bucky when he comes looking for you."

"I thought you said you weren't afraid of him?"

"Anyone with sense is gonna be a little afraid of him. I just wanted to make sure you're okay."

"Why?"

"Because," Darcy said as she opened the door, "you're my friend."

Jess smiled as the other omega waltzed out her door.

...

Bucky steeled himself as he knocked on Jess' door. "Doll?" She opened the door. He was surprised to see her calm. If he were being honest, he was a little disappointed that she wasn't more jealous at the thought of him and Sharon. Then he felt ashamed of himself for that thought. "I just-"

"I'm fine Bucky," Jess interrupted.

"You are?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You're allowed to have a life," she looked away, "I'm sorry if I ruined your-"

"You didn't," Bucky cut in. She raised her eyebrow incredulously. "What I felt for Sharon, it's nothing like what I feel for you. Sharon was a distraction, you're my life."

Jess inhaled sharply. "That's a lot of pressure."

"It's the truth," he said, "I'm not saying it to pressure you or...I just need you to know, nothing matters to me more than you."

"You don't even-"

"Know you?" Bucky's eyes twinkled at the familiar refrain, "I know you smell like Christmas. Peppermint and chocolate," he took her hands, "I used to save up to buy my sisters peppermint bark as a kid. You've been so brave," she looked like she was about to argue, "you have, doll. It's only been a couple of days but you've still managed to smile so beautiful it took my breath away. And," he smirked, "no one has ever had the guts to tell me to go fuck myself before." She laughed. He squeezed her hand.

"You smell like Christmas too," she said softly.

"I do?"

"Yeah," she blushed, "like pine trees." He smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her. There was so much going on-I wasn't trying to keep things from you-"

"It's okay," she squeezed his hand gently, "I've had a lot on my mind. Ex-girlfriend drama wasn't at the top of my list either-" she chuckled.

"Wanna go back to dinner?"

"Ugh," she groaned, "it's going to be so embarrassing. I never make scenes like that."

"Don't worry, everyone else here does."

Chapter 10

"So," Tony said casually as Bucky and Jess walked back into the dining room. The team had assembled for dinner again as if nothing had happened in the last hour or so. "Did any of you catch the game?"

"What game?" Steve raised his eyebrow at Tony.

Tony shrugged his shoulder, "just starting a conversation Capsicle."

"Since when do any of us watch sports?"

"I don't know your life," Tony shrugged.

"Can you two stop bickering?" Bruce cut in.

"It's called repartee," Tony grinned, "what about you kid? You like sports?"

"Me?" Jess glanced around, the attention was now focused solely on her. She shrugged but replied, "not really."

"Then what do you do for fun?"

"I read, watch movies, I was a big Marvel fan-"

"Marvel," Tony tilted his head, "that's us, isn't it?"

"Yeah," she said sheepishly.

"Who was your favorite Avenger? You don't have to lie to spare Robocop's feelings," he winked.

Jess rolled her eyes, "I refuse to answer."

"It was me, wasn't it?" Tony gave her a cheeky grin. Jess pointedly said nothing, which Tony interpreted as a "yes." "You have good taste, kid."

"Leave her alone, Tony," Bucky said threateningly.

"I'm fine," Jess looked at him sharply, "I can handle myself."

"Sorry, doll." The Avengers stared. Bucky Barnes never apologized and he had now done so twice in one evening. "You have something to say?"

"Nothing," Clint said smoothly, "so...these movies," he glanced back at Jess, "what are we like?"

"Do we have to talk about this?" Sam tried to change the subject.

"Come on, you have to admit you're a little curious. Besides, Strange said she could have information-" Clint shut up promptly.

Jess glanced at him, "you think I know the future?"

"Well, some of it at least," Clint went on bravely. Bucky forced himself not to interfere.

"I don't know," Jess bit her bottom lip (Bucky thought it was adorable), "everything here is so different from the movies, it's hard to imagine anything plays out like the stories I know."

"How about we compare what we know up to now?" Bruce went into scientist mode.

"You don't have to talk about this," Bucky looked at her with concern.

"It's fine," Jess shrugged, "it's a distraction. What year is it anyway?"

"2014," Tony replied. Jess took a deep breath. That's 8 years of films to catch up on.

...

"It sounds like most things pretty much align up until the Triskelion," Nat said at the end of their conversation.

"I mean, there's no compound. No alphas, omegas, soulmates..." Jess listed.

"Yeah but those are all ancillary," Nat shrugged, "the main plot points are there."

"So?"

"So, maybe some of what you know will happen here," Bruce hypothesized.

"Strange said it would," Nat nodded.

"So you want me to mess with the future?" Jess felt a sense of panic, "even if I can, it's dangerous, it could be catastrophic-"

"Tell me," Tony cut in, "is the future good for us now?"

"No," Jess looked at him specifically.

"Then we have to try," he nodded.

"Doll," Bucky looked at her, "don't feel pressured."

"No," Jess said to him softly, "I'll think about it," she turned back to Tony. "I can't change everything, some things have to happen and I need to figure out what."

"Fair enough," Tony said, "though I'd prefer if you give us all the information. I think we can be the judge of what's necessary and what's not-"

"With all due respect," Jess cut in forcefully, "you don't exactly have the best track record for your judgment."

Tony growled, "careful, omega."

Bucky stood and squared his shoulders with a thunderous look on his face. The rest of the team leaned away from him. "Don't you dare-"

"I can deal with this," Jess placed a hand on Bucky's arm which seemed to calm him immediately. "Does the word Ultron ring a bell?"

Tony and Bruce glanced at each other. Steve caught their glances, "what is she talking about?"

"It's a terrible idea," she looked into Tony's eyes.

"You can't possibly know-"

"Trust me," she pleaded, "please." She looked around at everyone, "if you want my help, I need to know what you all are doing, the things I know about are triggered by certain events. I won't be able to prevent anything if I don't know what's going on."

"Absolutely not," Steve crossed his arms, "that's dangerous."

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Jess crossed her arms as well, "and I'm already in danger," she shrugged. Bucky didn't appreciate how cavalier she was with that sentiment.

"Maybe we can talk more about this some other time," Nat said, "it's getting late."

"Wait," Jess said as they all began to stand, "no. There's something you all need to know. Are you looking for Loki's scepter?"

"Yes," Thor nodded.

"It's in Sokovia, in a fortress. A person named Strucker is experimenting with it. There are two kids, he's brainwashed them, and convinced them to join HYDRA. They're not evil," she said forcefully, "but they are dangerous. Especially the girl, Wanda Maximoff," she looked at Tony, "she can get in your head, make you see visions. She makes you see the end of the world and convinces you it's your fault. It makes you want to make Ultron work even more. You can't let her touch you. She can get in all your heads. It'll fuck you up. All of you need to be careful, especially you Tony, Bucky, Bruce," she glanced at each of them, "she could unleash the Winter Soldier," Bucky flinched, "or the Hulk."

"We have to take them down," Steve said decisively.

"They can be persuaded," Jess said, "you have to convince them you're not the bad guys. Their home was destroyed by Stark weapons," Tony flinched, "they don't know any better. Don't kill them. Make Clint the leader on this one."

"Me?" Clint looked confused.

"You're the only one who isn't phased by her mind control, maybe because Loki already," she gestured to her head.

"Thanks for the info," Steve said, "anything else?"

"Yeah," Jess said, "we need to talk about the infinity stones."

"Can it wait?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah," Jess said as she yawned.

"Okay," he grabbed her hand and pulled her up, "you should get some sleep."

"I'm alright," Bucky looked unimpressed. "Fine" she pouted but she didn't really want to argue with Bucky right now. Besides, she was tired.

…

“You don’t have to walk me to my door you know?”

Bucky shrugged, “maybe I just want to spend a little more time with you.”

She blushed. They arrived at her door, “goodnight Bucky,” she whispered.

“Goodnight doll,” he walked back to the common room after dropping her off.

…

“We should start a plan to get to Sokovia,” Steve said as soon as Bucky walked back in.

“I thought we were done for the night,” Clint’s feet were perched on the coffee table again.

“She’s done for the night,” Bucky said as he sat down next Clint. Tony shoved Clint’s feet off the table as he sat across from them, “we have a lot of work to do.”

…

Jess tossed and turned in her new bed. It was soft, surrounded by warm bedding and fluffy pillows. The walls were painted a warm blue color. There were pictures of her favorite things. But she couldn’t sleep. The room was too…it didn’t smell right. She realized after a while that it didn’t smell like him. Bucky’s room was cold, hard, and empty but it was him. It was only now that she slept in her bed that smelled like nothing that she realized how much she needed his scent. Damn it. She cursed. She didn’t want to rely on him. How pathetic that she couldn’t sleep without his presence surrounding her. She wouldn’t let herself be controlled by some weird biological soulmate mumbo jumbo. She would sleep without his scent.

…

“Sergeant Barnes.”

“Yeah Jarvis?” He looked at the ceiling instinctively.

“Miss Day needs your assistance.” He sprung up immediately, so quickly that the table almost flipped over where he kicked it in his haste.

“She’s fine Barnes,” Tony rolled his eyes at Bucky’s retreating form. Sam chuckled. “What?” Tony asked.

“You alphas think you’re in charge but one word from your omega and you’re running around like a pup.”

“That’s just Barnes,” Tony rolled his eyes, “I would never act like that.”

“Sure,” Sam snorted.

…

“Doll?” Bucky peeked his head into her room. It was silent and still; he sensed no danger. Her head peeked out from under a mountain of pillows and blankets.

“Hi,” she said shyly.

“Jarvis said you needed my help?” Bucky stood awkwardly by the door, now that he saw no immediate threat, he wasn’t sure how to proceed.

“Umm, yeah,” she sounded embarrassed and if the lights were on he would have seen her face was a violent shade of red, “I-I can’t sleep.”

“Oh,” he froze, “is there something I can get you? Is there something wrong with the room?”

“It’s just,” she closed her eyes as if she were struggling to admit a dirty secret, “it…it doesn’t smell like you.”

Bucky’s heart stuttered. He tried, really tried, not to puff up with pride at her admission, but he was a weak man-at least for her. “Oh.”

“Could you,” she gulped, it seemed like she desperately didn’t want to ask for whatever it was she wanted. She took a deep breath, “could you stay with me a while?”

“In your nest?” Bucky felt a warm feeling spread through him. His omega was inviting him into her nest. No, not inviting, asking.

“Yes,” she squeaked, “if you aren’t busy or-“

“Yes,” he didn’t make her suffer any more. He walked in and closed the door. He took his shoes off and crawled carefully into the bed next to her. He made sure she was on the side next to the wall, away from the door. Then he turned to face her a bit. “Is this okay?”

“Y-yes,” she nodded hesitantly.

“If there’s something else omega,” he murmured, “just ask and it’s yours.”

“Could you,” she inhaled softly, “could you come under the covers with me?”

Bucky melted. “Yes,” he didn’t mean to sound so husky. He lifted the covers and laid down next to her, then covered them both. “Is this okay?”

“Yes,” she scooted closer to him and he slowly put his arm around her. She hesitantly laid her head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Anything for you doll.” He murmured into her hair. Then he pressed a small kiss to her forehead.

“Jarvis, can you turn the temperature down?”

“Why do you have so many covers if you’re hot?” He chuckled.

“I like to be surrounded by blankets.” Bucky nodded; that made sense based on the little he knew about omegas. If he were being honest he would admit that the bed was too warm and the mattress was too soft. He would also happily admit it was the best night’s sleep he’d had in decades.

Chapter 11

Bucky was an early riser. He had been an early riser even before the war. Since HYDRA he barely slept at all. The sun was barely rising when he awoke. A weight sat on his shoulders and he was lying on a soft mattress. Jess. He inhaled deeply, breathing in her sweet scent which was untainted by fear or anger. He had only smelled it once before and even then it had been brief. She was curled up next to him, her head still lying on his chest. Her breathing was even and her face was calm. He made sure not to move a muscle. Usually he would head for the gym as soon as he woke up to work off some of his pent up rage and frustration; but he wasn’t going to squander this moment. He could lie here and watch her for hours. He buried his face in her hair and let her gentle breathing lull him back to sleep.

…

“Where’s Bucky?”

“I don’t know,” Steve answered Sam. They hadn’t seen him after he’d left to find Jess. He was usually the first one in the gym. “I think we should take over his training schedule. We can double up for a few days to let him stay in.”

Sam nodded but said, “he’s going to have to come out eventually.”

“Eventually,” Steve agreed, “but we can give him a few days with Jess. She seems to be coming around.”

“Hopefully,” Sam nodded, “I’ll talk to Nat and Clint about rearranging the schedule. Maybe Thor can pitch in as well.”

“I’d like to see the agents square up against Thor,” Steve chuckled.

“Me too.”

…

Jess awoke on something solid and warm. She noted idly that she had been drooling. She must have been deeply asleep; she didn’t even remember dreaming.

“Doll?” She looked up sharply. She was drooling on Bucky Barnes. She sat up quickly and wiped her mouth. Bucky chuckled. “It’s an honor to be your pillow.”

“I don’t usually drool,” she didn’t look at him.

“I think it’s cute.”

Her face was a deep shade of scarlet. She needed to change the subject. “Thank you, for sleeping here.”

“You don’t have to thank me doll,” he murmured.

“It…helped.”

His smile was breathtaking, “I’m glad. It helped me too.”

“It did?”

“Yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I haven’t slept this well in ages.”

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say, especially because she knew exactly why he hadn’t slept well.

“I should get to the gym, Steve’s probably pissed I’m late-“

She interrupted him. “I didn’t mean to make you late!” She felt awful.

“You didn’t doll,” he smiled, “I woke up an hour ago, I just didn’t want to go yet.” More blushing. This has to stop sometime, she hoped. “Besides,” he grinned cheekily, “I dare him to say something.”

“You’re kind of arrogant, aren’t you?” She smiled despite herself. His only reply was a lighthearted laugh as he carefully stepped out of her nest.

“Hungry?” He held out his hand to help her up. She made a face. “What’s wrong?”

“I just feel…” she struggled to articulate her thoughts, “what am I supposed to do here?”

He sighed, “doll, I’m sorry about your home but-“

“That’s just it,” she said softly, “I’m always thinking of home. My mom and my sister and my friends and my job,” she listed, “and I have nothing to do here to take my mind off of it. Maybe if I got a job…”

”You want to work?”

“I think it would help,” she said after considering her answer.

“Doll,” he sighed, “you can’t leave the residence. No one can know you’re here-“

“So I’m just supposed to, what? Lay around all day between meals?” She snapped.

“It’s not-“

“Forever,” she said dully, “yeah you keep saying that.”

“I know it’s hard, but it’s the only way to keep you safe.”

She stood up, ignoring his offered hand. She marched into her bathroom and closed the door behind her.

Bucky headed to the gym: now he really had some anger to work off.

…

“You’re late,” Sam started in on him as soon as he walked through the door.

“You’re late every day-“ he growled aggressively.

“Hey man calm down,” Sam put his hands up defensively, “I’m just busting your balls.”

“I have enough bullshit to worry about without you running your mouth Sam-“

“Hey Buck, calm down,” Steve glanced at the agents beginning to file into the gym. Bucky growled lowly, the agents looked up after hearing the sign of aggression. Steve lifted his chin and called upon all his authority as head of the Avengers, “Buck, there are agents here.” Don’t blow her cover, his eyes communicated silently.

“Fine.” His voice was slightly calmer. “Let’s start the training.”

“Actually,” Steve said, “Sam and I think we should cover for you for a couple days. It’ll give you a chance to…” he fished for a way to avoid revealing too much in front of the others, “deal with your personal issues.”

“I don’t need time,” he aggressively wrapped his right arm. “My issues don’t want to deal with me.”

As he marched towards the trainees Sam remarked, “I pity the poor soul who has to square up with Bucky today.”

…

“What happened with Jess?” Steve asked as soon as the three of them were safely in the residence again. Sam had been right, today’s training had been rough.

“She’s mad about the lockdown.”

“I thought she had agreed-“

“She didn’t agree,” Sam butt in, “she resigned herself.”

“Apparently she didn’t,” Bucky pushed past them to chug some water from the fridge.

“What happened?”

“This morning-“

“You ran into her this early?” Sam looked puzzled.

“I woke up with her,” Bucky smiled for a beat before he remembered he was angry.

“What?! Man that’s huge-“

“Progress?” Bucky cut in, “apparently not. The first thing she did today was ask about the lockdown.”

“How did that come up?” Steve asked.

“She asked me what she’s supposed to do all day.”

“And you didn’t have an answer,” Sam was starting to understand where this conversation was headed.

“She wants to work,” Bucky huffed.

“I know back in your day omegas couldn’t work but these are modern times you Neanderthals-“

“This isn’t about omega politics Sam,” Bucky snapped, “she can’t leave the residence. No one can know she’s here. What kind of job could she do here?”

“That’s why I told you this plan was a bad idea-“

“We’re not debating the safety protocol again,” Steve crossed his arms. “Look, I know what it’s like to have to stand down when you’re too weak to help-“

“Do you? Because you committed fraud several times trying to get into the Army-“

“Shut up Sam!” Bucky shouted.

“Fine. Maybe I don’t. I know she’s unhappy,” Steve sighed, “but she’s safe. That’s gotta be enough for now.”

“That’s no way to live,” Sam shook his head with disappointment at his friends. “Especially indefinitely.”

“I know.” Bucky’s gut churned with guilt.

…

“How’s it hanging?” Darcy burst into Jess’ room where she was idly channel surfing. She hadn’t gone to breakfast, instead she was stuffing herself with snacks from the mini fridge in her room.

“I have no purpose.”

“That’s a little melodramatic don’t you think?” Darcy plopped down on her favorite armchair.

“Really? Because I have nothing to do here.”

“You have books, tv, Bucky-“

“My life doesn’t revolve around my-“ she stopped herself before defining her relationship with Bucky, “it doesn’t revolve around Bucky. I have no job, no friends-“

“What am I? Chopped liver?”

“Darcy-“

“Come on, you can totally build yourself a life here, come with me to the lab-“

“I can’t,” she changed the channel from an image of a large bear tearing into a fish, “I can’t leave the residence.”

“Oh,” Darcy nodded. “Don’t change that,” Darcy nodded to the animated show of a swan singing to a toad, “it’s a classic.”

Jess sighed and allowed herself to be distracted by Darcy’s narration for a bit.

…

“I thought we could get lunch?” Bucky peeked into her den a few hours later. His hair was wet, like he had just showered.

“I’m fine,” she gestured to the bag of chips in her hand.

He grimaced, “that’s not a proper meal-“

“What do you want from me?!” She yelled. “I’m staying in my room where I’ll be neither seen nor heard, isn’t that what you want?!”

“That’s not what I want-“

“Oh, you want me to pretend this is okay?! Is that it?” She was pacing her room now. “Walk around the residence with a smile on my face? Because it’s not! It’s not okay! I feel like I’m just going to rot away here-“

“Doll-“

“Don’t ‘Doll’ me-“

He grabbed her hands and forced her to look at him. “I’m not torturing you for my own amusement. When you’re in pain, I’m in pain. You think I don’t want to announce to the world that I found my omega? Do you think I don’t wish I could take you out and sweep you off your goddamn feet?” Her eyes were wide as his face grew closer to hers. “I would move mountains for you,” her wrists were going to bruise, but she couldn’t muster up the breath to tell him, “I would take on armies for you. I’m going to fix this. I promise. I just need a little time. I’m begging you doll. Just give me a little time. I’ll find a way.”

“Your eyes are so blue.”

Bucky stared, open-mouthed. “That’s all you have to say?”

“No,” she sighed, before she pulled his head down and kissed him.

Chapter 12

Notes:

I’m so sorry for the wait! I’ll try to be better about updating more often! Thank your your kudos and comments, I read all of them and they mean a lot to me!

As quickly as she touched her lips to his, she retreated. But Bucky wouldn’t let her get away so easily, not when he’d tasted her. He wrapped his arm firmly around her waist and pulled her to him. He felt her whimper beneath him and his chest rumbled with pleasure. He was drowning in her; it was overwhelming and miraculous and wonderful. He pried her lips open with his tongue, exploring her. She moaned softly, she was clutching his shirt. She let herself give in to the current of feelings his kiss elicited before she once again pulled away. He let her this time; he had already taken more than he could possibly hope for.

“Jess…”

“I…I didn’t mean to-you were so close and-and-I’m so-”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he murmured.

“This doesn’t change anything,” she began to pull away.

“Oh doll, you have no idea how wrong you are.” He could smell the slick pooling in her panties. He wanted desperately to dip his fingers in and have a taste. She walked completely out of his arms.

“I’m still mad at you-“

“I know,” but he couldn’t stop smiling.

“I still want out of the residence,” she was backing away from him. He stalked towards her, caging her with his arms when her back bumped against the wall.

“I know,” it was as if she had awoken a beast. His alpha, which he had been painfully burying under the surface, was free. It called on him to mate, breed, claim.

“Bucky-I need some space.” His nose was scenting at her mating glam. Her scent was begging for him to claim her. He scraped his teeth along her neck. It would be so easy to clamp down and-

“Bucky,” she whimpered. His eyes snapped open and he pulled away.

“Doll…”

“Bucky…I’m so-so confused-“ she was, he could see it in her eyes.

“I meant what I said, omega. I’m going to fix this.”

“You’re going to let me out?”

“As soon as I’m sure you’re safe.”

“When will that be?”

“I want to find the mole in the Kamar Taj,” he began to make a plan, “I need to investigate everyone on the compound to make sure they’re trustworthy.” He thought carefully. “I’d like you to wear a tracker-“ he continued quickly when he saw her mouth open in protest, “in case you get kidnapped, doll. I need…” the truth was that he would never be satisfied that she was completely safe, but this was a start.

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“But I need out soon Bucky.”

“I promise.”

“Sergeant Barnes, Captain Rogers is looking for you,” Jarvis interrupted. Bucky sighed, Steve has the worst timing.

“We’ll talk later?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. He looked at her lips, desperately wanting another taste, but he walked away without allowing himself to give in to the temptation. Jess wouldn’t admit that part of her was hoping he would.
…

“What could you possibly want now, Steve?”

Steve quirked an eyebrow, “I apologize for inconveniencing you.”

“Just-“ Bucky sighed, he didn’t want to explain to Steve what he had just interrupted. His friend was already getting too hopeful on his behalf. Bucky didn’t need Steve’s endless positivity allowing him to forget everything that stood between him and happiness. “What is it?”

“Tony wants to talk about Strucker, the Sokovia thing.”

“He wants to go now?”

“Not yet,” Steve calmed him, “but we need a plan.”

“Fine,” he crossed his arms, “I need to talk to Stark anyway.”

…

“How’s it hanging old timers?”

“Shut up Stark,” Bucky bit back with very little energy. “I need your help,” he gestured between Tony and Steve.

Tony stuffed his hands into his pant pockets, serious for once. “What is it?”

“I want to run a background check on everyone in the compound. I want to smoke out any possible moles.”

“Everyone here has already been thoroughly vetted,” Tony raised a brow.

“Well I want to do it again,” Bucky said. “I promised Jess I’d…I promised I’d lift the lockdown after we make sure it’s safe.”

“Bucky you shouldn’t have-“

“I can’t see her like this,” he sighed, “Sam’s right she’s-“

“I’m right?” Sam walked into the conversation, “well that’s nice to hear.

“Shut up,” Bucky glared at him anyway. “I just need to make sure the compound is safe and Stark,” the billionaire nodded that he was listening, “I need a panic button for her. Something that HYDRA wouldn’t be able to disable or block the signal.”

“I’ll get on it,” Tony nodded.

“Alright,” Steve agreed reluctantly, “it’s a start.”

“So…the scepter,” Tony redirected the conversation and they got back to work.

…

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit. She paced her room like a caged lion. What the hell had she been thinking? Bucky was so close to claiming her, she could feel it. If he was a little less disciplined, a little less in control of himself he would…and she…

“Miss,” Jarvis interrupted, “Mr. Barton is looking for you in the common room.” She allowed her curiosity to take over as she went over to see what Clint could possibly want.

…

“Hi,” she waved awkwardly from the door.

“Hey stranger,” Clint grinned.

“What’s up?”

“A bunch of the crew are doing some mission planning but I decided to play hooky. They can fill me in later. I was planning to do some target practice, would you like to come?”

“I can’t leave the residence,” it was a familiar refrain by now.

“I know,” he smirked and gestured to the giant virtual target field to his left. She laughed but decided to go with it.

…

Bucky heard laughter coming from the common room after the meeting. He recognized Barton’s voice first. Then it hit him, that was Jess laughing. He had never heard the sound before. He burned with envy towards Barton for being able to make her laugh like that. You should be kissing him for making her happy, he chastised himself.

…

Clint convinced Jess to join the team for dinner. She decided to sit quietly and observe the group. She hadn’t had much of a chance to just be with these people without comparing them to the characters she knew. They were similar but she noticed some differences. Thor and Darcy seemed to mesh in a way they never did in the films. She realized later that it was their alpha and omega natures. Even though they weren’t romantically involved, Thor was Darcy’s alpha by default. He looked out for her and she leaned on him. Jane seemed to harmonize well with both of them. Clint was friendlier than she expected, so was Natasha. Bruce would crack a joke occasionally. It was so rare and surprising that even Jess laughed. Tony seemed to like her very much, perhaps because he had correctly deduced that he was, in fact, her favorite Avenger except…except for Bucky. He was an enigma still. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her but she was unsure at any given time what exactly he was feeling. He was drawn to her, of course, but was it the soulmate thing or would be want her even if they weren’t fated? He was serious and brooding but…but he smiled when she laughed. He constantly insulted Sam but also seemed to deeply respect him. He said he wasn’t close to Darcy yet he still treated her with kindness and respect.

“Someone caught your eye?” She jumped in her seat a bit as Natasha leaned in to whisper in her ear.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The two of you seem to be getting along,” Natasha nodded between Jess and Bucky, ignoring Jess’ attempt to play coy.

“We fought just this morning,” she deadpanned.

“Yet you reek of him.” She smirked.

“That’s not-“

“It’s okay to give in to your nature,” Nat said kindly.

“I’m not…I just met the guy,” Jess whispered.

“Maybe…but you’ve also known about him for years right?”

“From a movie,” she rolled her eyes softly.

“Who knows why the universe works the way it does? I think you were meant to be here,” she gestured to the mark exposed on her arm, “and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you came here knowing so much about him. Tell me, did you like his character back home?”

“I-“ how did she tell her that she had a huge crush on the fictional man sitting across the room from her now without making it a thing.

“Don’t let your grief stop you from being happy.” Nat said before pulling away to answer Bruce’s question.

…

She once again went to bed early. Her body was exhausted from the constant hormones and emotions. She didn’t ask Jarvis to call Bucky and he didn’t come to her. She figured that he was giving her space and didn’t want to pressure her into anything (which was true); but her sleep was restless without him. She drifted in and out of sleep, never quite reaching the peace that his presence brought her.

…

How had he ever slept in this awful room? The blank walls seemed to scream at him and how had he never noticed how scratchy these sheets are? Her smell was already fading from the bedding and he basically crushed her pillow into his face to smell the last traces of her.

…

“Have you found the mole at your compound?” Bucky didn’t like Strange very much, but he needed his cooperation if he was ever going to get Jess her freedom. They couldn’t let her out if the Kamar Taj mole was still out there helping HYDRA.

“Of course we have,” the wizard waved his hand nonchalantly, “that’s how we found out about her in the first place. That’s not the question you should be asking.”

“What is the question then?” Bucky tried to ignore the urge to throttle the man.

“Are there others?” Strange said matter-of-factly. “And that I don’t know, we’re trying to get the information out of him but he won’t talk.”

“Well make him talk,” Bucky said with a steely edge.

“We don’t condone torture in our midst,” Strange said severely.

“Don’t then, just tell him that the Winter Soldier is asking on behalf of his soulmate. And if he doesn’t talk to you, then he’ll have to talk to me,” he growled.

“I think I can stoop to threats,” Strange conceded.

“Wonderful,” Bucky huffed before he walked back through the portal to the compound.

Chapter 13

A few days passed and Jess saw very little of Bucky. He and Steve seemed to be very engrossed in Avengers business. Between his training and strategizing for the Sokovia mission, there was very little time left for the two of them to spend time together. Not that Jess would know what to do if he did have time. If she were being honest, she would admit that she thought he was avoiding her. And a part of her was avoiding him too. Their kiss had thrown her off-kilter. She had become accustomed to the grief, anger, and confusion coursing through her but she wasn’t prepared for an entirely new emotion to surface. The truth was that she wanted him to touch her again. She wanted it desperately. His kiss had awoken something inside of her, a part that had been buried beneath the layers of sadness she constantly carried with her. She realized with a gasp one day as she stood under the spray of her hot shower, one hand had slipped between her legs without her even realizing it, that she burned for him. This wasn’t like the need she felt before, the comfort she drew from his scent and warm embrace that lulled her to sleep. This was raw, burning want. She snatched her hand back, blushing at the wetness she felt that had nothing to do with the shower’s strong water pressure. She wondered dumbly if he could smell her. She knew his sense of smell was horribly strong, she wondered if he knew that every time he was in a room with her a small part of her longed to pull his body against hers and never let go.

…

With a team of enhanced and, frankly, very emotional alphas in residence, Tony was accustomed to replacing the Avengers’ gym equipment very often; but Barnes was beginning to get out of hand. Bucky had lost count of the sandbags he’d destroyed over the last few days. He and Steve were making headway with the background checks on the agents but Strange had absolutely no updates. It had been days since he’d kissed his omega and since then she barely looked in his direction. He cursed his lack of self control, he had almost claimed her for fuck’s sake, she was probably terrified of being alone with him. She kissed you first, he reminded himself. It doesn’t matter, I’m her Alpha, I should be able to control myself.

“You’re gonna have to talk to her eventually,” Sam said as he wrapped his hands for training.

“Shut up.”

He ignored the ache in his chest that worsened every day that he kept himself at arms’ length.

…

“You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks,” Jess was sprawled in her nest, lazily scrolling through her movie options.

“Scoot over,” Darcy had taken to cuddling in her nest with her. She would have kicked her out but she had begun to be comforted by the other omega’s presence. Bucky’s scent was fading, Darcy’s scent was a barely adequate substitute but it was something. “Still clinging to that hoody?” By this point Bucky’s hoody smelled more like Jess than Bucky, but it was the first gift he had ever given her and she had become sentimental over the last few days.

“Shut up.”

“Why don’t you talk to him? What the hell happened?”

“I can’t-“

“Tell me,” Darcy rolled her eyes, “I know. But you’ve been in a bad mood for days now-“

“I’ve been in a bad mood since I got here,” it was Jess who rolled her eyes now.

“Yes but this is different.”

“Oh yeah,” Jess raised an eyebrow, “how?”

“You’re not moping about being locked up,” Darcy began to list her suspicions, “you’ve barely spoken to Bucky, not even to yell at him, you don’t smell like him but you do smell…different.”

“Different?”

“Like you….want something, or someone-“ she stopped talking when Jess buried her head in a pillow and groaned.

“I-“

“Come on-“

“I just, we had a moment okay?”

“A moment?”

“We…there was a moment when I thought…I thought he was going to bite me and….part of me was disappointed when he didn’t.”

“Shit,” Darcy lay back in the nest, contemplating this new development.

“Yeah,” she covered her head again.

“You have to talk to him.”

“I know.”

…

Bucky sat up when he heard the knock at his door. He couldn’t explain how but he knew that it was Jess. He rushed at the door and saw her standing shyly on the other side.

“Hey,” she gave him a small half-smile.

“Hey,” he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“You…” she paused, “are you busy?”

“What? No, no. Do you want to come in?” He opened the door wide as an invitation. She nodded gratefully and entered.

“I-“

“About-“ Bucky cleared his throat, “sorry, you go ahead.”

“I hadn’t seen you in a while,” she seemed so small, Bucky noted, “I was just…about what happened the other day-“

He couldn’t help himself, he had to interrupt her, “I’m sorry.”

“I-what?”

“I lost my control, I almost…I shouldn’t have taken advantage-“

“You didn’t,” she rushed to reassure him, “I’m the one-“

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he cursed himself for his inability to stop interrupting her.

“Neither did you,” she murmured.

“Yes I did,” he hung his head, “Jess I almost- I almost claimed you,” his voice was full of shame.

“I know,” she said softly, “but you didn’t.”

“But I could’ve-“

“You didn’t though,” she whispered, “and I…I know you’ve been busy or maybe you don’t want to see me but I-I miss you.” She had spoken so quickly Bucky almost thought he’d misheard her.

“You do?” His chest felt warm with affection.

“Yes,” she seemed to have run out of confessions for the day.

“I miss you too,” he reached out and touched her cheek. She leaned into his touch.

“I know you’ve been busy with Avengers business-“

“I have been,” he took a step forward, gripping her hips gently; she had to tilt her head to look up at him now, “but I’ve also been trying to give you space. Don’t think I didn’t want to see you-“ he leant his forehead against hers. She stood on her tiptoes and buried her face into his neck. He exposed his scent gland to her again, inviting her to take what she needed. He felt her melt into his arms as his scent washed over her.

“Let’s go to bed,” he murmured into her hair.

“What?” Her mind wandered into dangerous territory.

“To bed,” his voice was husky, “you need to sleep.”

“How do you know that?” She mumbled with no venom in her words.

“I know what my omega needs,” he responded. She squeezed her legs together as she thought about something else she needed. Bucky pretended not to notice her mouthwatering smell as he picked her up and walked to her room. He laid her gently in her nest, crinkling his nose at the scent of Darcy. Jess noticed his expression and laughed. He smiled brightly, ecstatic to finally hear her laugh for him. She held her arms out and he didn’t hesitate to crawl into them, cradling her head to his chest. “Goodnight,” he kissed her forehead.

“Goodnight,” she yawned.

…

Soft. The mattress was soft, Bucky felt as if he were lying in a large cloud. Normally, the feeling would drive him crazy; he was used to hard surfaces, mattresses that were so hard they barely deserved the name. Sharon had been on him for months to replace the mattress in his room. She said it hurt her back. He had never gotten around to it, that mattress had been fine. A small figure curled up on his side stirred gently. Bucky suspected that he could sleep comfortably on a straw mattress if she were sharing it with him.

“Sir, Mr. Wilson would like to remind you that you are late for training.”

“Jarvis don’t make announcements when Jess is sleeping,” Bucky muttered angrily. He glanced down at her; she hadn’t woken. He hadn’t been lying yesterday, the bags under her eyes had made it evident that she had been sleeping as poorly as he was. He hoped she would sleep in today, she clearly needed it. He took his time wriggling out from underneath her, being careful not to wake her. Sam can pound sand for all I care.

…

“Good news,” Tony strolled into the conference room. Late again, Bucky rolled his eyes.

“Thank you for finally joining us,” Nat said lazily.

“Apologies,” he said in a tone of voice that clearly meant no such thing, “I have good news. Strange called while you were all punching each other and whatnot.”

Bucky sat up at attention, “what did he say?”

“They found the mole. The other mole,” Tony corrected himself. He tossed Bucky a small silver bracelet. “And, I have your panic button.”

“And we’re all done with the background checks,” Sam smiled. “So that means…”

…

“Hey,” Jess looked up as Bucky walked into the common room. While she still mainly locked herself up in her own room, she occasionally spent time in the common room when the team was busy or when Clint convinced her to practice her aim on her virtual target range.

“Hey yourself,” she said with a soft smile. Her smile dimmed a bit as she took him in fully; he looked nervous. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” Truthfully, Bucky wasn’t sure that it was. He had made a promise and he intended to keep it, but now that Jess would be allowed to wander around the compound alone…his alpha bristled at the thought of her walking around without him to protect her. “I have some news.”

“What is it,” she asked warily. When he didn’t respond right away she continued, “Bucky you’re making me nervous.”

“It’s not bad. It’s good actually. It’s…we found the mole in Kamar Taj, and we cleared everyone on the compound, and Tony built you this,” he held out the bracelet, her growing smile briefly wiped away all his worries for a moment, “so you can leave the residence now. For now, we want you to stick to the compound and not to stray too far into the woods but-“

He was caught off when she launched herself into his arms, holding him tightly as she beamed up at him.

Chapter 14

Sharon sighed as she walked into the large auditorium along with the other agents in her unit. Fury had called a meeting for the entire organization. Agents were taking bets on what the meeting was about. Sharon had a suspicion but hadn’t shared it with anyone. Bucky’s revelation to her had been shocking. She knew he had once had a soulmate but assumed, like everyone else, that she had lived in the 40s and was probably dead by now. She thought she and Bucky were safe from whatever pathetic omega was bound to him by fate. Instead, he had met the bitch and dropped her like a piece of trash. He acted like he never cared about her at all. Sharon deserved to live in the residence, she deserved to live with Bucky, she had fought and trained for her position at the compound. Now this little whore shows up out of nowhere and steals everything that should have been hers? Sharon was furious, and she wasn’t going to let Bucky get away with humiliating her like this.

…

Bucky stood at the front of the auditorium with Fury and the other Avengers. He looked at every person entering the room with distrust. He saw Sharon enter to his left. Her expression was stony and he had no idea what she was thinking. Fury called the room to attention.

“We’ve gathered you here today for a very important and confidential announcement. The information I am about to share is extremely sensitive and any breach or leak of this information will lead to your immediate dismissal from the compound and from the Avengers’ Initiative. I don’t have to tell you that there will be other consequences for any compromise,” Fury kept his warning vague but the agents understood: best case they would be black balled from ever working in intelligence again, worst case they would face the wrath of the Avengers. “We have recently discovered the soulmate of Bucky Barnes,” whispers broke out throughout the room, “she has been residing in the Avenger’s residence and will continue to do so for the immediate future. She is an omega. You may see her around the facility. She is not to be bothered, harassed, or disturbed in any way. Matter of fact, if I were you I would avoid her entirely. Anyone who fails to follow my instructions can take up the matter with Sergeant Barnes,” Bucky gave a low growl at that and a shudder broke out through the room. No one spoke or even moved for a moment until Fury broke the silence again, “you’re dismissed.” Bucky saw Sharon stand and walk out of the room in silence.

…

“So that’s why you broke up-“

“Don’t talk to me right now Thompson,” she snarled.

“Hey,” Claire Matthews walked up to her, she was Sharon’s closest friend in the compound.

“Hey,” Sharon grumbled, they had now approached Sharon’s quarters.

“So, we hate her right?”

“Yes.”

“Good, just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page,” the betas smirked at each other.

…

“Big news,” Nat plopped down on the couch next to Jess.

“What’s up?”

“Fury made the announcement, you can leave the residence.” Jess’ joy was infectious, even Nat grinned. “I would offer to give you a tour but I figure Bucky will want to do it,” the redhead shrugged.

“Where is Bucky?” Jess looked around for him.

“He’s just finishing up something with Fury, he should be here soon. Speak of the devil,” Nat nodded towards the front door.

“Hey,” he couldn’t help the giant smile on his face once he saw Jess beaming up at him. He wasn’t even angry at Nat for spilling the beans.

“Is it true?”

“Yeah doll,” he held out his hand and she hurried over to him, “I was thinking I could give you a tour.”

“Yes!”

…

“And this is the gym,” dozens of heads swiveled towards them. Jess fought off the urge to shrink into herself. She had finally convinced Bucky to let her out, she wouldn’t let him think she couldn’t handle it. She kept her head up and looked around her carefully as Bucky walked them through the room. He kept his hand on her elbow and glared at any agents who let their curiosity get the best of them. “It’s usually full of agents training. There’s a smaller gym I’ll show you if you want to use it.”

“I can’t use this one?” She raised her eyebrow.

“You can,” Bucky hesitated, “but this one is usually busy and sometimes we use it for official training so it’s closed off to the rest of the compound.”

“Oh, okay,” she shrugged.

…

By midday the whole complex was buzzing with news about Bucky’s omega. Some of the smarter betas were nervous about this development, they knew what a territorial alpha was capable of and were not keen to accidentally cross his omega. Others were simply curious. Some of the dumber alphas were salivating at the smell of a new omega in their midst. Some of the beta women were angry that their favorite alpha was officially off the market. They may have had a chance when he was dating Sharon Carter, but they stood no chance against his soulmate. Jess was just happy to breathe fresh air, she forced Bucky to give her an extensive tour of the grounds; they spent hours outside before dinner time.

…

“So kid,” Tony plopped down on his seat, “how do you like the complex?”

“It’s impressive,” she smiled. Tony puffed up at the compliment. “I loved walking around the lake.”

“I’m glad to see you in such a good mood.”

“Thanks Sam,” she smiled his way. Bucky couldn’t help himself as he subtly wrapped his arm tighter around her waist. He hadn’t stopped touching her since they’d first left the residence. It seemed like having her around so many strangers was making him even more territorial. He was scenting her for god’s sake.

Tony cleared his throat pointedly, “Barnes, get a room.” Jess’ face was a bright red color, she didn’t want to push Bucky away but she also felt extremely uncomfortable seeing the others’ smirks.

“Bucky,” she pled in a whisper. That seemed to finally get through to him and he pulled away reluctantly.

“Anyways,” Steve steered the conversation away from his friends’ possessive behavior, “we’re trying to find more information about the Maximofs,” he directed this to Jess, “care to help?”

“Absolutely,” the team spent dinner discussing ways to enter the palace without allowing the twins to get anywhere near them.

…

“Bucky,” she whined as she halfheartedly tried to push him away. They were back in her den. After dinner, Bucky had asked to watch a film in her room, probably needing some alone time after all the crowds from earlier. She had agreed, though she wasn’t sure now whether or not she had expected this to happen. As soon as the door shut behind them Bucky buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and began kissing her scent gland. The action spread shivers down her spine and arousal began to drip down her legs. Bucky’s chest rumbled. He nipped at her shoulder and she fucking moaned. “Bucky we have to stop.”

He pulled away. “Sorry,” his breathing was heavy and his face was flushed. He kissed her forehead and then she pulled out of his embrace, trying to create some distance.

“We can’t,” she said softly, “not yet. I’m not-“

“I know,” he said softly, “I’m sorry. Let’s watch the movie, whatever you want.”

She nodded, “I need to go to the bathroom.” She was mortified to realize that she needed to clean herself up and probably change her pants. Bucky took deep, even breaths and willed his massive erection away.

Chapter 15

Bucky inhaled Jess’ sweet scent as she slept. He was getting used to smelling her without the bitter taste of fear and anger, but he would never grow tired of it. He had a new problem, however. Now that things were beginning to settle down he found it increasingly difficult to fight off his attraction to his omega. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen and his body was predisposed to crave her. He was afraid he would go into rut soon. He would never force himself on her, but he knew a rut without her would be torture. He tried not to think about what a rut with her would be like, afraid that his cock, which was already half hard, would wake her up as it pressed against her ass. At some point in the night they had shifted positions so he was now spooning her, her back to his chest. He scooted away from her a bit to avoid making her uncomfortable if she awoke. He wouldn’t let her see him struggle.

…

Christmas, it smelled like pine and mint-Bucky. He had spent the night again, she wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if she has asked him to leave. He was still attached to her hip now that she was allowed to visit the rest of the compound. She was patient with him, she didn’t completely understand what it was like for an alpha in his position, but she would have to assert her independence at some point. Luckily, Bucky had a real job and would have to let her be alone for at least a little bit. Besides, he smelled so good.

“Sergeant Barnes, you are due at the training gym in fifteen minutes.”

Bucky groaned and cursed, it was shocking how quickly he had gotten used to sleeping in. “Do you want to get lunch later today doll?”

She hummed a response, “in the compound cafeteria?”

“If you want,” he grumbled.

“I do,” she grinned.

“On one condition,” he smirked.

“What is it?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“One kiss,” he said with a glimmer in his eye.

She raised her head and leaned in to kiss him, then she swerved at the last second to kiss his cheek.

“You cheated,” he pouted.

“You’re the one who’s demanding kisses for a simple request,” she smirked.

“I’ll get you for this,” he teased.

“Bring it on,” she laughed.

“Sir, you have ten minutes.”

“I know Jarvis,” he snarled but he got out of bed regardless. He headed to his room to change quickly before meeting the agents at the gym. He wasn’t sure if he was more angry that he had to leave her side or ecstatic that she let him stay with her last night.

Jess lay back in bed. It was still early and she considered staying in bed for a little longer but the thought of wasting any more time locked up in the residence pulled her out of bed. Darcy and Jane had given her a pair of sneakers and some workout clothes, she decided to go for a run around the lake.

…

The lake was deserted. The agents at the compound were busy training and it seemed as though they made little use of the nature surrounding them. That suited Jess just fine, she enjoyed her run uninterrupted. As she walked back to the residence to shower though she noticed more and more people peering her way. A couple of men even leered at her, it seemed like something was holding them back from approaching her. She kept her eyes forward and continued on her way, attempting to seem undaunted by the attention. After her shower she headed to the labs to visit Darcy. She saw Jane first, bent over a map of stars and taking furious and illegible notes in a worn-out notebook.

“Hey, how’s it feel to roam in the wild again?”

“Good morning to you too, Darcy,” Jess rolled her eyes.

“Oh, Jess,” Jane smiled as she finally noticed her, “good to see you.”

“You too,” she beamed at the scientist, “so this is what you two do all day,” she glanced around the crowded lab.

“Pretty much,” Darcy leaned against a counter, “I make a lot of coffee and snack runs too.”

“Oh shit, that reminds me” Jess’ eyes widened as she looked for a clock, “I was supposed to meet Bucky for lunch at the cafeteria.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Darcy said calmly, “I’m sure he won’t mind the wait.”

…

“Do people always stare like this?” Jess whispered as she and Darcy walked through the halls.

“Sometimes,” Darcy shrugged, “omegas are rare, remember? People get weird around us. But you’re also new and you’re Bucky Barnes’ soulmate, people are bound to be curious.”

“I hope it goes away soon,” Jess muttered, “I don’t like it.”

“It’ll get better once people get used to having you around,” Darcy reassured her.

…

Bucky watched the door anxiously looking for Jess. He resisted the urge to ask Jarvis for her location, both because he knew it would upset her if she knew he was keeping tabs on her and, more importantly, because he didn’t want to talk about her with so many other people around. She finally walked through the doors with Darcy by her side and his shoulders relaxed a bit only to quickly tense as he saw another alpha look at her with lust in his eyes. He gave Alvarez the most piercing glare he could and the alpha cowered in submission, he quickly averted his eyes from Jess.

“What’s got your panties in a bunch?” Darcy asked.

“Nothing,” he forced himself to sound calm as Jess looked at him doubtfully. “How was your morning?”

“It was great,” she beamed, “I went on a jog by the lake and then visited Darcy and Jane in their lab.” Darcy had walked away by then to join another group of assistants at a nearby table. Bucky didn’t like the thought of Jess running around the lake alone but he forced himself to let it go and focus on Jess’ infectious joy. Soon enough he had forgotten his reservations and fallen into a spirited conversation with her. The agents in the cafeteria stared openly in shock at seeing Bucky Barnes smile for the first time in…ever.

…

Jess had never been known as a particularly athletic person, but there wasn’t much to do at the compound besides bothering Tony and Jane in the labs and working out so one day the next week found her entertaining herself in the gym. She was lifting weights, embarrassed that she was so much weaker than the other agents training in the gym, when she saw a familiar figure enter the room. She wasn’t sure how to address Sharon Carter. She knew of her, of course, from the films; and she knew about her relationship with Bucky. She had gotten the impression from Darcy that Sharon hadn’t taken the breakup particularly well. But she hadn’t been officially introduced to the woman. She glanced away before the agent had a chance to make eye contact and decided to pretend to be deeply engrossed by the dumbbell in front of her.

“Hello, omega” she looked up as she was addressed. She didn’t like Sharon’s tone or the fact that she called her “omega,” but she put on her most neutral expression.

“Hello.”

“Surely you know who I am,” she sneered.

“I do,” Jess decided to stick to short answers.

“And you have nothing to say to me?” The woman beside Sharon scoffed loudly. Jess surveyed the room but no one else was paying them any mind.

“What is it that I’m supposed to say?”

“Don’t play dumb you stupid little-“

“Claire,” Sharon interrupted her friend. “I’m sorry about her,” she shrugged insincerely, “she doesn’t like when her friends are screwed over.”

“Whatever there is between you and Bucky-“

“Alpha,” Sharon hissed, “why is it that omegas never know their place?” This was addressed to Claire.

“Whatever is between you and Bucky,” Jess emphasized his name, “is between the two of you. I don’t want any part of it.”

“Oh but you already got involved,” Sharon spat bitterly, “when you stole him from me.”

“I didn’t steal him from you,” Jess tried to remain calm.

“You know everyone acts like omegas are so innocent and helpless but really they’re a bunch of little snakes,” Sharon’s disdain was evident, “you’re just a piece of ass that’s got Bucky’s head turned. He’ll knot you and then come crawling back to me.”

“If you’re sure about that,” she said calmly, “I wonder why you’re bothering to come over to talk to me.”

“I’m here to make sure you know your place,” Sharon smirked, “Bucky’s mine and I will get him back. Don’t forget how useless you are omega.”

“I don’t think Bucky agrees with you,” Jess seethed.

“Oh, are you going to go crying to him? Can’t fight your own battles can you? Omega whore,” this time it was Claire who intervened.

“You know,” Jess calmly took a sip of her water, “you two seem a little pathetic to me.”

“How dare you-“ Sharon had to hold Claire back. She could rile Jess up as much as she wanted but she was pretty sure Bucky would murder them if he saw physical evidence of them assaulting her.

“You’re the one who’s pathetic,” she sneered, “just a weak, feral, little pussy.”

“Good luck winning Bucky back,” Jess picked up her things and walked out. She made a beeline for the residence and locked herself in her den. As soon as she was safely buried in her nest she began to sob.

…

Bucky glanced at Jess out of the corner of his eye. He was worried about her. She had missed lunch, claiming to be “tired,” and she was more quiet than usual at dinner. He wished he knew what she was thinking so that he could fix whatever was wrong. She squirmed under his attention but a question from Sam forced him to pull his eyes away from her and address the table. Jess excused herself after dinner and he followed after her.

“Going to sleep doll?”

“Yeah,” she said quietly, “I’m pretty tired.”

“I thought you napped during lunch?”

“I have a headache,” she avoided his eyes.

“I can get you some medicine-“

“It’s okay, I just want to go to sleep.”

“Okay,” he mumbled, “can I join you?”

“I don’t want to take you away from the group,” again no eye contact, “I think I just want to be alone.” Bucky tried not to show his disappointment. They had been doing so well, he had been sleeping in her nest for almost a week now without any trouble.

“Okay, if that’s what you want,” he said.

“Thanks,” she began to turn. He reached his hand out to stop her. She turned back towards him slightly, still silent. He hesitated before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Goodnight.” She nodded and pulled away.

Chapter 16

Notes:

Jess uses a pretty controversial word but I think it was warranted. Sorry for whoever I offend.

Jess tried to keep her chin up the next day. She went for a run by the lake but instead of finding it empty as usual she found several agents running around as well. Again, a couple of male agents stared at her like they were undressing her with their eyes. When she got close enough to smell them she could tell they were alphas; her understanding of the scents of alphas, betas, and omegas was finally kicking in. A pair of beta women glared at her as she ran past them. You’re just a piece of ass. Sharon and Claire were jogging ahead of her, they had slowed down to match her pace when she arrived.

“Seriously, omegas should just have to stay at home,” Claire said loudly, “all they do is distract alphas and then go into heat and become needy little sex goblins.” Jess actually rolled her eyes at the blatant bullying.

“I wonder why there are so few of them,” Sharon asked aloud.

“I think a few decades ago people started to realize they were more trouble than they’re worth and started breeding them out.”

“Now the ones that are left want ‘rights,’ as if they’re smart enough to do anything for themselves,” Sharon let out an ugly cackle. A few of the agents near them snickered. “Oh! Jess! We didn’t see you there,” Sharon finally turned back to her.

“Sure you didn’t,” Jess kept a steady pace and looked straight ahead.

“I hope you don’t mind our political discussion,” she shrugged, “you’ve sparked a lot of conversation lately.”

“I’m not the only omega on the compound,” Jess shrugged.

“That Lewis brat is so strange people forget she’s here,” Claire waved her hand dismissively.

“She’s my friend,” Jess spat.

“Well, birds of a feather,” Claire smirked.

“I can definitely see why you two are friends,” Jess kept her voice neutral.

“Why is that, omega?”

“I can’t imagine that anyone else would want to be around such insufferable cunts,” she said cheerily. This time Sharon couldn’t stop her friend, Claire pounced on Jess before she had a chance to swerve out of her way. She landed a solid punch to her eye. A couple of agents nearby separated the two. One of them grabbed Jess roughly by the arm and pulled her into him. She was so shocked she didn’t even protest as he lead her away from the lake.

…

“Are you okay?” The alpha was huge; not as large as Steve and Bucky but he still towered over her.

“‘Okay’ is a loaded word,” Jess held a hand to her eye.

“Let me see,” he didn’t use an alpha command yet she still didn’t resist his order. He winced, “we should get you to the MedBay.”

“No! Bucky will-“

“There’s no hiding this from Barnes,” the alpha shook his head, “Matthews’ signed her own death warrant.” He took her arm again and firmly guided her to the compound.

“What is he going to do to her?” Jess remembered the amount of destruction Bucky was capable of.

“If she’s lucky Rogers will get to her before Barnes. You don’t fuck with someone’s omega.”

“I’m a person,” she corrected him, “I can take care of myself.”

“Respectfully, you can’t,” the alpha pulled no punches. “You’re five foot nothing, any agent here could toss you across the room. You went up against a highly trained, deadly agent. If we hadn’t been there-“

“I didn’t ask you to intervene,” she seethed.

“I know,” the alpha smirked, “but I wasn’t about to let Barnes murder me too. Besides,” he grinned, “they’re right about one thing, alphas don’t like seeing omegas hurt.”

“I’m not just-“

“I know that, don’t let what those two said about you get to you. You know Carter’s just doing it because she’s mad that Barnes dumped her.” They approached the door to the MedBay and a nurse rushed over to them. “I’m going to leave before Barnes finds me with you. But just so you know,” he winked, “I think they were acting like a pair of cunts too.”

…

“Sergeant Barnes, there has been an incident involving Miss Day. She is in the MedBay,” Bucky took off running without hearing the rest of the message with Steve following close behind him. When he arrived he saw Jess surrounded by a team of nurses. They dispersed quickly when they sensed his presence. She had a nasty cut above her eyebrow and her eye was turning an ugly blue color.

“Who did this?” He thundered. She flinched.

“Bucky, calm down,” Steve urged him.

He stormed over to her and grabbed both her arms, “who did this?” He was almost shouting at her and she flinched back even more. In his fury he almost didn’t notice.

“Buck-“

He growled loudly and everyone in the room, except for Jess and Steve, cleared out. “You smell like an alpha,” he growled, “did he-“

“No!” Jess finally spoke, “no it wasn’t an alpha! He helped me when-“

“When what?” He prompted her. His tone was calmer but still aggressive.

“I don’t want you to freak out,” Jess shook her head.

“That ship has sailed doll,” he shook his head.

“I don’t want you to do something that will get you in trouble,” she refused to speak.

“I’ll find out anyway,” he growled, “news travels fast around here. Tell me what happened,” he was restraining himself from using his alpha command.

She sighed, “promise you won’t do anything stupid.”

“No,” he growled again, “tell me who hurt you.”

“Not unless you promise!” The nurses listening outside the door whispered amongst each other. They had never heard anyone defy Sergeant Barnes.

“Omega-“

“No! Don’t you omega me! I’m a person! I’m not just a stupid, needy, pathetic ome-“

“No one said you were,” he pulled her into him as she began to cry. He wrinkled his nose at the scent of the other alpha. When she didn’t stop crying he began to put two and two together and said, “who said you were?”

She sighed, “I don’t want any more trouble.”

“Too late doll.”

“I don’t want you to go defending me like I’m so damsel in distress-“

“Tough luck,” he spit, “I’ll always defend you.”

She sighed again, he wasn’t going to let this go. “Sharon-“

Bucky let her go before he turned and punched the wall across the room. The nurses listening in gasped and chatted among themselves. “I’m going to kill her-“

“Let her finish Buck-“

“No, I am going to kill her-“ he made for the door but Steve held him back.

“I’m not going to stop you,” he said, “I just think we need all the facts. Jess,” he addressed her, “what happened?”

She began to speak once again, “yesterday-“

“That’s why you were acting strange yesterday-“

“Let her finish Bucky!”

She glared at him as well. “She and a friend of hers confronted me at the gym. They said I stole you from her and that I’m just-“ she paused and took a shaky breath, “I’m just a piece of ass and you’ll leave me for her once you knot me-“ Bucky’s hand was balled into a fist and he was taking deep breaths to keep from exploding. “Anyway,” she shrugged and kept speaking, “when I went running by the lake this morning there were a bunch of people there. Some of them were…looking at me-“ Bucky growled.

“Looking how?” Steve prompted since Bucky was past the point of speaking now.

“Some of the men…like they were picturing me naked,” she flinched when Bucky growled again, “and some of the women like they hated my guts. Anyway, Sharon and her friend were talking about omegas again. They wanted me to overhear obviously,” she shut her eyes to keep her own temper in check, “they said we were useless and it was a good thing they started breeding us out. She told me my presence here had just brought up omega politics. I told her Darcy also lived her and her friend called her a weirdo and I said she was my friend and then she said ‘birds of a feather flock together.’” She slowed down as she began to babble. “And I said that I understood why they were friends and they asked why and I said because they were both insufferable cunts,” Steve snorted, “and then her friend jumped me.” She touched her eye and flinched. “Some alphas pulled her off me and then one of them brought me here.” Bucky growled at the mention of the alpha but had otherwise quieted down and looked thoughtful.

“Who was the friend?” His voice was calm now, dangerous and far more terrifying.

She gulped. Why are you even protecting her? “Claire Matthews.”

Chapter 17

"You fucking idiot!" Sharon had holed up with Claire in her quarters.

"She deserved it, did you hear what she said to us-"

"Of course I did! Do you think I didn't want to beat her ass too? I don't think you realize what you just did, she's-"

"She's a piece of shit omega-"

"Yeah and we were explicitly warned not to fuck with her. That little bitch might not go crying to Bucky when we hurt her feelings because she's too proud to ask him for help but he'll sure as hell find out about you assaulting her."

"It was provoked!"

"Do you think Bucky is going to give a shit? What even are the laws about assault against omegas?"

"Oh please, no one follows those laws anymore-"

"That's because no one assaults omegas anymore-" Sharon was walking and pulling at her hair. Claire had made her bed but Sharon needed to make sure this didn't come back to bite her in the ass as well. "Do you know what Bucky is capable of-"

"Fury won't let him-"

Sharon let out a hollow laugh, "you think Fury is going to stop him? Even if he wanted to, Fury can't control Bucky any more than we can. Besides, you're not an important enough asset for him to step in to save your ass from the Winter Soldier." Claire blanched. She was notoriously temperamental and it was only now that she was truly realizing what she'd done.

"You have to help me," she asked.

"What do you expect me to do?" Sharon was rubbing her temples now, "I'll be lucky if Bucky doesn't kill me too-"

"Kill? Do you really think he'll kill-"

"I wouldn't put it past him-"

"What do I do?"

"Run." She nodded; the more she thought of it, the more she thought this was the only option.

"Run?"

"You're an agent, you know how to disappear. Bucky has too many things to worry about to make hunting you down a priority...you need to go."

"But my job-"

Sharon laughed hollowly, "your job was gone the moment you punched that bitch, this is about saving your life."

Claire looked into space and nodded blankly. "Okay."

"Now," Sharon calmly ushered her out the door, "don't contact me, I'm not covering for you."

Claire raced to her quarters and shoved some belongings into her bag. She highjacked one of the motorcycles in the garage and left the compound as quickly as humanly possible. She needed to get far, far away from Bucky Barnes. She would have to ditch her phone and bike soon but first, she would put some distance between her and the Avengers. She would figure out what the fuck to do next once she was safely off the radar.

...

"MATTHEWS!" Bucky was rampaging down the agents' quarters, slamming doors open and ransacking the place for any sign of the beta. Steve was following along behind him, making sure he didn't kill any innocent agents in his fury. He had held off Bucky for a few minutes after getting Matthews' name from Jess. He hadn't wanted to leave Jess alone in the MedBay but Bucky couldn't stay with her anyway; he wouldn't allow a doctor or nurse to get near enough to treat her. They summoned Tony to watch her before leaving the MedBay to raid the agents' quarters. The billionaire stood with his arms crossed in the corner of the room, sufficiently terrifying any doctor from properly treating her as well. Jess kicked him out of the room so that the poor man could do her stitches. Fucking alphas she huffed before flinching as a needle to administer numbing agent went into her forehead.

"Where the hell is Matthews?!" The poor beta agent who had the audacity to live in the room next to Claire was currently at the receiving end of Bucky's rage.

"She-" he was struggling to get the words out between his terrified sobs (Steve noted that his agents needed more interrogation training if this is how they reacted to Bucky's questioning), "she le-left."

"Where. Did. She. Go?"

"I don't know," the poor kid must be a rookie, "she packed a bag and left like she was being hunted." (She wasn't wrong, Steve thought drily).

Bucky cursed, "Jarvis. Where the hell is Matthews?"

"Agent Matthews left the compound approximately half an hour ago," the AI replied calmly, "she left in-" Bucky nodded as Jarvis rattled off the serial number of the bike Clair stole.

"Keep tracking the bike Jarvis," he ordered the AI. He had one more person he needed to speak to before following her.

...

Sharon managed to look surprisingly calm when Bucky beat his fists on her door. "Yes?"

"Don't 'yes' me," he sneered, "what the hell did you do to Jess?" He had already heard the story from Jess, but he wanted to hear what Sharon would admit to.

"I didn't do anything," she shrugged, "Matthews jumped her."

"And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?"

"I don't care what you believe, there were witnesses, I even tried to hold her back."

"You two are thick as thieves," he accused, "she has no personal dealings with Jess, you on the other hand-"

"Don't flatter yourself to think I would risk my job for you and your pathetic-" the wood of her doorjamb split from Bucky's grip.

"You're gonna want to be very careful about how you speak about Miss Day," Steve advised her.

"I didn't do anything," Sharon repeated, "it was Claire."

"You're real quick to sell out your friend," Bucky spit out.

"I take my job seriously, and that includes not assaulting civilians."

"Cut the shit, Sharon," he growled, "I know what you said to Jess-"

She scoffed, "so she did go crying to you-"

"For your information, she tried to protect your sorry ass," Sharon was surprised to hear Steve speak to her like that. Captain Righteous never insulted his agents.

"You're fired," Bucky's tone was deadly.

"You can't fire me," she scoffed, "you don't have the authority-"

"Like hell I do," Bucky scowled.

"I didn't touch her-"

"I don't give a shit, you were warned not to mess with her-"

"Fury won't let you get away with this-"

"He will," Steve puffed his chest out, "I agree, you're fired."

"Fuck you!"

"Turn in your badge and weapons, agent," Steve said coldly, "you have one hour to get out of this compound before I see you out myself."

With that done, Bucky marched to the garage to get a bike to follow after the former Agent Matthews.

...

Claire knew she couldn't hold onto the bike for long. Every vehicle owned by AI had a tracker attached, even now Jarvis was probably relaying her location to Barnes. She only rode the bike for about a half hour before ditching it in the parking lot of the grocery store the next town over. She threw her phone out as well. She used her debit card to withdraw all of the cash she could, using any ATM or paying with a credit card would give away her location going forward. She stole a car that was parked in the back corner of the lot and began driving West.

...

AI agents were well-trained: the best. Bucky knew that Matthews would ditch the bike the first chance she got; if she didn't she was an even bigger idiot than punching the most protected person on the compound indicated. He followed her to the parking lot anyway; Jarvis hacked the security cameras nearby, she had stolen a car about an hour ago. "Jarvis, use any cameras around to search for that license plate."

His phone rang. "Yeah?"

"Anything?"

"She ditched the bike," he caught Steve up to speed, "I have Jarvis tracking her license plate."

"You should head back," Bucky scoffed, "I know you're pissed-"

"Pissed is an understatement," he growled.

"I know, okay? I would be the same but-"

"You have no idea Steve-"

"I don't, but I can imagine. Jess is going to come back from the MedBay soon, she needs you. Her well-being is more important than your revenge."

"This is about her well-being," he said through gritted teeth.

"Matthews isn't a threat to her anymore," Steve tried to reason with him, "she needs to be comforted and you're the best person for the job. We'll keep an eye out for her but she's not a priority."

Bucky reluctantly agreed and turned back towards the compound.

...

Jess was surrounded as soon as she walked into the residence with Tony.

“Oh my god your face!”

“Tactful as ever, Darcy,” Tony muttered darkly. He was in no mood for jokes right now.

“Why didn’t you tell me what Sharon said to you yesterday?” Natasha asked with her arms crossed.

“I don’t need you guys stepping in whenever someone hurts my feelings,” she muttered.

“You shouldn’t let it get to you-“ Clint began.

“Look,” she balled her fists, “I know Sharon said what she said because she’s pissed that Bucky dumped her. But don’t pretend nothing she said is true. You all look at me differently because I’m an omega and don’t you dare pretend otherwise-“

“It’s not a bad thing-“

“You say that but we’re not equals are we?” They said nothing. “That’s what I thought,” she huffed as she began to walk back to her room.

“We are equals,” Natasha argued, “we’re just different-“

“Don’t come at me with that Animal Farm bullshit.”

Tony laughed, “you’re clever.” She walked away from them and slammed the door to her room.

“What did she mean by Animal Farm?” Steve asked quizzically.

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” Tony recited.

…

“Doll,” there was a knock at the door. Jess didn’t reply. “Doll, I just want to talk,” Bucky tried again. Still no answer. He dropped his head against the door. “Can you at least say something so I know you’re alive and I don’t have to bust down the door?”

“Go away.”

“Doll-“

“I did what you asked,” she yelled, “now go away.”

“I just- I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m not okay,” she huffed, “now go away.” He stood at her door for a few more minutes but heard no movement within. Jess didn’t say anything else so he eventually had to give up and walk away.

…

“How is she?”

“She won’t talk to me,” Bucky sighed. He looked at Darcy, “maybe you could…?”

“I tried,” the omega shook her head, “she won’t talk to me either.”

“You don’t believe all that stuff Sharon said, do you?” Jane addressed Darcy.

“No,” she said, “but Jess has a point. Things are better now but…we’re still second class citizens and you guys know it.”

“You’re not-“

“There are different laws for omegas,” she cut Clint off, “we only recently got the right to work and vote. If I decide to mate with someone, my mate gets to decide whether or not I can work-“

“They’re just trying to protect-“

“Protecting us implies we’re not capable of protecting ourselves,” Darcy said passionately.

“We don’t think that-“ Sam began.

“You all do,” Darcy shrugged, “at least a little bit.” No one spoke. “I think I’m gonna go to my room as well.”

…

Bucky didn’t sleep. He didn’t even bother to go to bed. He sat outside Jess’ door hoping she would come out.

“Hey man,” Sam said, “we have to go train.”

“I’m taking the day off,” he said dully.

“She’s going to be-“

“I can’t leave while she’s like this,” he cut him off. “Even if she won’t talk to me I won’t leave her side.”

Sam nodded his understanding. “I’ll let the others know.”

“Thanks,” he went back to staring blankly at the wall.

…

Around late morning there was a knock at her door.

“I brought you breakfast.” She rolled her eyes then turned away from the door. “Come on doll, you must be hungry, you haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.” She didn’t respond, she didn’t know what to say. Her heart had raced a little when Bucky went off to defend her honor, but then she quickly realized he was doing what he needed to feel better, not what she wanted. In the end, he was the one who made all the decisions. He couldn’t even let the doctor near her without getting all possessive. How did she explain that to him? To everyone? “Doll.”

“I need you to leave me alone Bucky,” she said through the door.

“But you need-“

“No. I told you what I need,” she seethed, “but you always have to get your way.”

“It’s not, I’m just doing what’s best-“

“Why don’t I ever get a say?” She glared furiously at the door. “I asked you not to go after Claire. I asked you to give me space. You wouldn’t even let the doctor stitch me up because you’re so goddamned possessive! I’m not a thing, I don’t need you to avenge me! I need you to listen to me!”

“Doll, I-“

“Leave. Me. Alone.”

Chapter 18

Jess still wasn't speaking to him. Bucky sat outside her door until dinner. Jess communicated through Jarvis that she would only eat if Darcy brought her food and she didn't want to see Bucky. He reluctantly moved away from her bedroom to allow the other omega to get through with her dinner.

...

"Hey," she murmured as she sat a tray next to the couch on which Jess was curled up, "you okay?"

"No," she muttered, "thank you for bringing me dinner."

"No problem."

"I didn't mean to make you my maid or anything, I just can't stand the thought of facing anyone else."

"I know," Darcy sighed as she curled up next to her on the sofa.

"How do you stand it?"

"Hmm?"

"Them treating you like you're helpless."

Darcy shrugged, toying with the edge of her shirt. "I guess things have been that way for so long I kind of...forgot. You being here has really reminded me about all of it though."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. It's a good thing actually," she continued despite Jess' incredulous glance, "it's reminded me I need to stop just accepting the way things are."

"What do you plan to do?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. But I'm going to start with calling them out whenever they treat me differently because I'm an omega."

"Do you ever plan to...."

"To...?"

"Mate? With someone?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I've never met anyone I wanted to mate with. Why do you ask?"

"Because...it seems like I am already on such a short leash and...if I mated with Bucky-or any alpha-they would want to control me even more than they already do."

"It's possible," Darcy murmured, "did you know that the alpha gets to decide if he'll allow his omega mate to work?" Jess' head snapped up in shock. "That's part of why I haven't really been looking for a mate. I don't want to give up the little freedom I have."

"I can't-"

"You don't have to," she rubbed her arm.

"Bucky wouldn't even let the doctors touch me," she shuddered, "what if I'm in an accident and need urgent care? Am I going to bleed out on the table because he's busy fighting with my doctor?"

"That is not okay," Darcy shook her head, "you need to talk to him."

"I don't want to talk to him," she huffed.

"I understand," Darcy said, "but you should anyway. Tell him he needs to cut that alpha bullshit out."

"It's not just him," Jess tried to explain, "Tony wouldn't stop scaring the crap out of the doctor either and the other alpha-"

"Other alpha?"

"The one who pulled me away from Claire and took me to the MedBay, he said I couldn't protect myself-"

"Fuckers," Darcy murmured.

"I know," Jess angrily took a bite of her bread roll.

...

"Is she okay?" Bucky rushed Darcy as soon as she entered the common area.

"Personal space, dude." She stepped back, "and no, she's not okay."

"I need to talk to her, Claire-"

"This isn't about Claire you idiots!" Darcy addressed the room at large, "she can handle Sharon and her bitch clique and she can even handle a punch to the face, what she can't handle is being surrounded by people who don't respect her."

"Of course I-"

"You went after Claire like a maniac even though Jess told you she didn't want-"

"I had to protect her-"

"Claire wasn't a threat anymore! You wanted revenge-" Darcy took a deep breath to calm herself, "this is a fight for you and Jess to have. If she ever speaks to you again anyway-"

"You think she won't?" Darcy took a moment to enjoy his kicked-puppy look.

"I wouldn't," she shrugged, "is it true you didn't let the doctor care for her-"

"He was an alpha-"

"He was a doctor and she needed medical treatment," Darcy threw her hands up, "do you know she's afraid that if she were bleeding out after an accident you would be too busy staking your claim to let her get proper treatment?"

"I would never-" Bucky drew back, horrified.

"You already did," Darcy poked his chest.

...

Soon after Darcy left there was another knock on her door.

"Doll?"

She rolled her yes, "go away Bucky."

"I know I don't deserve it, but can we talk? Please? I just want to apologize-"

She opened the door to see him leaning against the door frame. He was shocked to see her and he winced when he saw the ugly purple bruise on her eye, it took everything in him to tamp down his anger.

"What is it exactly you're apologizing for?"

"That's a long list doll," he gave her a sheepish smile. Bastard wasn't playing fair. "First, for the MedBay," he took a deep breath of her scent to calm himself, "I should never have interfered with your treatment. I failed you. I prioritized my feelings and jealousy over your safety."

"You can't do that stuff Bucky-"

"I know," he hung his head, "Darcy told me you're afraid that I wouldn't let you get treated because I'm too busy intimidating the doctors and I'm ashamed that I can't say it would never happen. I fucked up doll."

"Yeah, you did."

When she said nothing else he continued, "I should have listened to you when you asked me not to go after Claire," he looked at her through his long thick eyelashes, really not fair, "she hit you, you should've been the one to decide how to deal with it."

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing," Bucky replied simply. She raised a brow in disbelief. "She skipped town. I followed her..." he gulped, "but she switched cars and Steve convinced me to come back to you. She's gone," he shrugged, "we're looking for her but-"

"Don't," Jess said.

"What?"

"Don't look for her," she said evenly, "she's gone and that's that."

"But-" he stopped talking when he saw the challenge in her eyes, "okay."

"Okay?"

"I won't track her. But I'd still like Jarvis to monitor if she comes into the area-if that's okay with you?"

"Fine," she conceded. "And Sharon?"

"Sharon's been fired," Bucky rubbed his toe against the carpet.

"Did you-"

"I didn't hurt her," he shook his head, "Steve and I just told her to get the hell out. She's gone."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah, anything else to apologize for?"

"Is this a test doll?" She ignored the butterflies in her stomach from his playful grin. "Acting like a caveman in general? Look, I won't try to excuse my actions. I've let myself get carried away and-"

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?"

"This is your last chance Barnes," she said seriously.

"Yes ma'am," he whispered.

...

Jess had insisted on sleeping alone again but Bucky retreated back to his bedroom and slept about as well as he ever did without her. She had forgiven him-mostly-but he knew he had a long way to go for her to ever trust him enough to mate with him. That was his own goddamn fault though.

"How's it going?" Sam was warming up in the gym.

"Alright," he said as he wrapped his right hand, "she forgave me."

"That's great!" Steve clapped his back.

"But I think it's going to take a while for me to get her to trust me-" he sighed.

"You'll get there," Sam nodded.

"You think so?"

"Yeah," he said confidently.

...

"Oh Jessicaaaa???"

"What, Tony?" Jess opened the door in annoyance. She still wasn't happy with any of the Avengers.

Tony winced as he saw her still-healing eye. "You look lovely-"

"Fuck you-"

"Hey," he raised his hands up, "you want to be treated like everyone else?"

"Yes, obviously," she crossed her arms.

"Then I will oblige," he smirked, "Meeko."

"Meeko?"

"The raccoon from Pocahontas, I swear you people-"

"What do you want Tony?" She said it with significantly less venom this time.

His face turned serious, "I think we're ready to go to Sokovia."

"Oh?" In all her personal drama, she had almost forgotten about her interference with the timeline.

"Yeah," he nodded, "and I want to go over some things with you."

"What is it?"

"You sure the witch can't mess with my head with the helmet on?"

"I'm not positive," she bit her lip, "but I don't think so."

"And we shouldn't approach her-"

"Her brother, he carries her and will get her close to you with his superspeed."

"Convenient," Tony grunted.

"Bucky-"

"I was meaning to ask about him," Tony rubbed his chin, "what if I made him a helmet?"

"A helmet?"

"So he can block out the witch?"

"I don't know," she wrung her hands, "I'm not sure whether or not the helmets actually block her out and if she gets to you you'll just need more therapy-"

"More?" He feigned outrage.

"Yes," she rolled her eyes, "but if she gets to Bucky she could turn him back into the Winter Soldier, what if she reverses all of his progress?"

"I don't think he'll agree to stay behind," Tony replied.

"I think you might need to convince him," she shrugged. "Have Thor throw his hammer at the kid, he'll try to catch him and get dragged along with it. Neutralize him then."

"Good plan," he nodded, "anything else?"

"Not that I can think of," she said, "but I'll tell you if I think of anything."

"Thanks, kid," he nodded.

"Oh, and Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you destroyed Ultron?"

He sighed, "I will."

"Before you go to Sokovia?"

"Yes."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

...

"I spoke to Jess-"

"About what?" Bucky asked alarmedly.

"Really making progress on your attachment issues aren't you?" Tony said sarcastically.

"Give it a rest Tony," Steve glared.

"Fine," Tony continued, "as I was saying, I spoke to Jess. She's not positive whether or not the helmet will stop the witch, that being said I will be keeping it on the entire time. You all need to be prepared to be fucked with-" he pointed at all of them. "Thor, throw your hammer at the fast one as soon as you can, the kid'll try to catch it and go crashing after it. We need to act fast and neutralize him, it'll be harder for the witch to get to us without a ride. And Barnes-"

"What?" He growled.

"Jess and I think you should skip this one."

"Jess said that?" Bucky sat up in surprise.

"She said that if Maximof gets to me then I'll need more therapy, but she's afraid she could activate the Winter Soldier..." Tony hesitated.

Bucky looked at him oddly, "I'll talk to her."

"You will?" Tony looked shocked.

"Yeah," he nodded.

...

"Hey doll," Jess snapped her head up, "you know you can come out of your room right?"

She scowled at him, "I know," she touched her eye self-consciously though. She flinched when she felt the large bump.

"You won't shock anyone with that shiner, we've all had worse," he joked.

"Shuddup," she said halfheartedly.

He smiled and sat next to her. "Tony mentioned that he spoke to you-"

"Bucky if-" she began to defend herself.

"Hey," he stopped her, "I'm not here to cause trouble. I just had a question about Sokovia."

"Really?" She looked shocked.

"Yeah," he was deadly serious, "do you really think it's a bad idea for me to go?"

She looked away from him for a moment before speaking, "I know what you're capable of Bucky. I know how much you can handle and how strong you are. But Wanda-she's powerful, more powerful than you or Steve, Iron Man...She and Thor may be evenly matched but he's a literal god and she still gets into his head...I don't want her to mess with you, I don't want you to turn into the Winter Soldier and then live with the guilt of what she makes you do," she was getting emotional.

"Hey," he grabbed her chin and wiped a tear from her face, "what if I stay in the jet?"

"What?"

"What if I stay on the jet during the mission with Bruce? We'll only come out if it's absolutely necessary. What do you think?"

"You care what I-?"

"Of course I do," he smiled, "there's no one I trust more than you." Her chest felt warm and she surprised him by kissing his lips softly.

"I think that could work."

Chapter 19

“I see the fast one,” Tony spoke through the comms as he flew over the field.

“And the witch?”

“No eyes on her yet.”

Bucky paced in the quinjet. “Can you please stop?” Bruce rested his head in his hands.

“They’re all in danger and we’re-“

“We’re a liability out there,” Bruce cut him off, “you’re stressing me out.”

“I’m hit!”

“Nat take Clint and get him back to the jet,” Steve ordered.

“Fuck this,” Bucky ran out of the jet towards the fight.

“Bucky!” Bruce sighed before he ran out after him.

“Barnes you said you’d stay in the jet,” Tony said as he flew around the castle, drawing fire away from those on the ground.

“Clint is hurt,” Bucky stomped on one of the goon’s faces, breaking his nose. He felt a wind behind him and he was knocked over on his ass by a strong force. “Found the fast one,” he grunted.

“Thor, throw your hammer damn it!” Thor took his best aim and threw towards approximately where the blurr was running. Like Jess had said, the kid grabbed the hammer and found himself flying behind the hammer and crashing into a tree.

“Now!” Steve and Bucky (who was back on his feet) jumped on the twin and tied him up so it was impossible for him to run. The male twin thus neutralized, Bucky hauled him over his shoulder and ran towards the jet. As he was running he felt a blast of magic hit him from behind. He heard ringing in his ear as Steve tried to fight off the witch before he passed out.

…

“Miss Day, the team has returned to the compound. Sergeant Barnes has been taken to the MedBay.”

“What?! What happened?!” Jess sat up in shock.

“The details are confidential,” Jarvis replied. It didn’t matter, Jess was already sprinting towards the MedBay.

…

Steve turned as he heard light steps pounding down the MedBay. “Bucky!” Jess’ eyes were wild and they zeroed in on the unresponsive alpha immediately.

“Jess-“ he held her back before she got too close.

“Let me go Steve!”

“He’s injured-“

“I can see that,” she barked, “what happened?”

“We stopped the male twin, got him tied up and Bucky was taking him to the jet. The witch showed up to protect her brother and blasted Bucky in the back with some kind of magic. Thor fought her off.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He has a lot of burns on his back, probably a concussion, he hasn’t woken up since he got hit-“ he crinkled his nose at the smell of her distress. He tried his best to let out calming pheromones. He had promised Bucky before the mission that he would take care of her if anything happened to him and he intended to keep that promise.

“I need to get closer,” she whimpered as she struggled in his arms.

“Just be gentle,” Steve cautioned. She walked up to him. He was hooked up to machines everywhere and his face was pale.

“You idiot,” she breathed in, she reached out to touch him, his skin was burning up. “Bucky,” she leaned in and said softly, “Bucky you gotta wake up.” The heart monitor maintained a steady rhythm.

…

“What do we do with him?” Clint looked through the thick glass at the male twin-Pietro-they had managed to get him in the jet while Thor fought off the witch. He was tied to a chair, snarling.

“We can’t let him go,” Bruce said.

“Who was suggesting that?” Tony snarked.

“His sister will look for him,” Nat had her arms crossed.

“Maybe it’s better this way,” Clint mused, “she can come to us, he’s the bait.”

“I’m not luring her to the compound full of civilians.

“There aren’t that many civilians-“

“There’s Jane,” Thor grumbled, “that’s one too many for me.”

“Plus Darcy and Jess, and all the other lab rats,” Tony counted.

“Then what?”

“We convince him to flip,” Sam said, “and get his sister to do so as well.”

“I don’t think the sister is going to ally herself with people keeping her brother captive.”

“We’re not keeping him captive-“ Sam glanced incredulously at Clint, “not forever anyway.”

“Let’s talk to him,” Nat said, “see if we can move him a bit.”

…

It had been 24 hours and Bucky hadn’t stirred. Jess hadn’t left his side, no matter how much the team implored.

“You’ve gotta get some sleep doll,” Steve tried to convince her yet again.

“When he wakes up,” she whispered as she rubbed his hand, “I don’t want him to wake up alone.”

“He won’t,” Steve said gently, “I’ll stay with him. You should go rest-“

“No,” she said firmly, holding his hand even tighter.

Steve sighed and went to the common area, he decided to get her some food, the least she could do was eat.

…

“You’re starting to smell,” Jess woke up with a jump. Her back hurt. She had been leaning her head on the side of Bucky’s bed and fell asleep hunched over.

“You’re the worst,” she said to Darcy, wiping the drool from her face.

“Go sleep and shower,” Darcy begged, “it’s been 48 hours and nothing. I’ll call you as soon as he’s awake.”

“I’m good right here.”

“He wouldn’t want you staying up like this. He would want you to take care of yourself.”

“Stop talking about him like he’s dead,” she glared, “and I don’t care, he’s not awake to tell me what he wants and I need to be here.”

“Why?”

“I just…I just do, okay?”

…

“Wake up you fucking bastard,” she squeezed his hand and tears fell down her eyes. It had been 60 hours.

…

“You expect me to believe you?” Pietro sneered as glanced around at the Avengers.

“Look, we have you tied up because you’re with HYDRA but we don’t mean you any harm. If we did we could’ve done it already-“

“You haven’t because you want my sister,” he growled, “she’s going to destroy all of you-“

“If we wanted to hurt you we could,” Tony glared, “there are ways to hurt you without killing you. You would know, wouldn’t you? Being with HYDRA and all, what kind of sick things have you done-“ he snarled.

“I am trying to create a better world,” he scowled, “better than the one you keep blowing up with your bombs-“

“I’m sorry,” Tony said earnestly.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. About your family, your country. I’ll never forgive myself for any of it, but I’ve spent the last few years trying to fix it, HYDRA-“

“They saved me and my sister-“

“They used you,” Tony glared. “They did the same to my friend, the one your sister shot.”

“You mean the one who kidnapped me?” Pietro scoffed.

…

“Doll-“

“Please don’t call me doll,” Jess mumbled.

“What?” Steve was startled.

“Bucky calls me that,” she shrugged.

“Bucky asked me to make sure you were okay,” Steve tried to explain, “I need you to sleep do-Jess.”

“I can’t,” she sighed.

…

“Alpha,” she was desperate, it had been 72 hours, “alpha please, please wake up,” a tear slipped down her face.

…

”Alpha,” Jess moaned, “alpha please.” Bucky growled, nipping her neck as he thrust into her. “Mine,” he grunted. “Yes, yes alpha,” she arched her back into him. Her moans changed- “beep, beep, beep,” he looked down at her, confused. What the hell? “Bucky? Bucky wake up.” The voice was distant it was like he was under water and the person was just above the surface. No, I don’t want to go back. He looked at his stunning omega, at her flushed, sex-crazed face, his mark displayed prominently on her neck. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply.Chocolate and peppermint. He groaned as he felt her wet pussy clenching around him. I want to stay right here. “Alpha!” He can hear the voice again, begging him. He cursed, can’t they see he’s busy?!

…

“Steve!” Jess protested being manhandled as Steve threw her over his shoulder and dragged her from Bucky’s bedside.

“It’s been 80 hours Jess, you need to sleep.”

“I’ve slept!”

“On a bed, not laying on your arms twenty minutes at a time,” he said firmly.

“I have to be there when he wakes up! He’s gonna think I don’t care-“

“No he won’t, he knows you care, but you need to sleep, shower, eat. Who knows how long until he wakes up?”

“What if he doesn’t?” Her voice wavered a bit.

“He will,” Steve said as he set her down in front of her nest. “Now sleep, I’ll be standing right out here for the next eight hours.”

“Please Steve,” she made puppy dog eyes at him.

Steve flinched but held firm, “shower, eat, sleep.”

“Fine,” she slammed the door behind her and turned the shower on to scalding.

…

Bucky looked around. Something’s wrong, the peppermint, it’s gone. Where is it?! ”Omega!” Everything is dark, she was just here “Omega!”

…

“He’s not coming around,” Nat sighed.

“He’ll get there,” Clint nodded.

“How long do we have before she comes and blows the entire compound up?”

“I’m afraid it won’t be much,” Sam crossed his arms,

“I’ll talk to him,” Clint stood straighter.

“Jess said I should take the lead on this one,” he shrugged. “Hey kid,” he grabbed a chair and sat down opposite Pietro.

“I’m not a kid,” he seethed.

“Yeah you are,” Clint rubbed his jaw, “a kid who’s been through too much shit but a kid nonetheless.”

“You people made sure I grew up very quickly.”

“We all make mistakes,” he said very seriously, “the difference is, we thought we were doing what’s right and when we realized we weren’t we changed. You could do that.”

“I am not wrong,” he seethed.

“You must have seen the things they do to people? The things they’ve probably done to you-“

“I’ve seen the things you’ve done to people.”

“We just want to help you and your sister, we know you’re not the bad guys.”

“How?”

“I have a friend,” Clint smiled, “an omega. She’s special-“

“An omega,” Pietro said incredulously, “you people hate omegas, you breed them out of your country-“

“We don’t. In fact we have two omegas who live her on the compound. One of them is vouching for you. It’s why you’re still here and not in the ground like the other HYDRA goons.”

“I want to see her.”

“What?”

“I’ll talk to the omega.”

…

“Absolutely not,” Steve crossed his arms over his chest. He was in the living room now, he had given Jarvis strict orders to alert him if Jess tried to leave her room.

“She might be able to convince him,” Clint pushed.

“I am not putting Bucky’s soulmate in a cell with an enhanced HYDRA asset. Are you insane?!”

“We should ask her,” Clint said.

“You don’t have to. I said no.”

“You’re not her alpha, you’re not even her soulmate-“

“I am the head of this team and she is my best friend’s soulmate, he asked me to take care of her and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

“We don’t have much time, the witch could appear at any moment. The whole compound is a ticking time bomb.”

“I’ll do it!” They heard a muffled voice behind Jess’ door.

“I told you to sleep omega!”

“I did sleep!”

“It’s only been three hours.”

“You didn’t say how long. Besides, you need my help and I need Bucky to wake up. Maybe Wanda can wake him-“

“The witch is not getting anywhere near Bucky,” Steve snarled.

“Fine! But she’s going to come for her brother and Bucky is going to be a sitting duck so let me talk some sense into him!”

…

“I asked to speak to the omega alone,” Pietro glared at Steve.

“Tough luck, either we both stay or we both go.”

“You bonded with this man?” Pietro asked Jess.

She scrunched her nose, “no. He’s my soulmate’s best friend.”

“And where is your soulmate?”

“He’s the guy your sister shot,” Jess crossed her arms.

“Maybe I shouldn’t bother,” Pietro rolled his eyes.

“No,” Jess sat up, “I know she did what she thought she had to do-“

“You are not angry with my sister for killing your soulmate?”

She flinched, “he’s not dead.”

“But he’s not awake, yes?” She shook her head. “Three days is a long time to sleep.”

“He’s strong,” Jess glared.

“My sister is stronger.” He did not sound malicious but he also didn’t seem sorry.

“Please,” Jess looked at him seriously, “just listen. I…I know things-“

“You are a psychic?”

“Something like that,” she sighed. “In my…vision…well things were a little different but I know how you became what you are. Wanda, she’s powerful, she was powerful even before HYDRA starting experimenting on her. I know you hate us…but HYDRA, they-“

“You defend these people who treat you like property-“

“They-“

“The laws see omegas as inferior, no?”

“Yes,” she sighed, “you’re right. But HYDRA isn’t any better,” she glared at him. “They’re hunting me.”

“Why?”

“Because my soulmate is the Winter Soldier-“

“Jess,” Steve cut her off, “you shouldn’t be telling him this he’s-“

“He’s not the enemy,” she looked Pietro in the eye, “he’s a good person. So is Wanda. They’re trying to do what’s right. Aren’t you?”

Pietro nodded.

“We’re all on the same team,” she said sheepishly, “you could be on our team. We’re a family here.”

Pietro scoffed, “omegas are so sentimental-“

“Hey!” Steve jumped to her defense.

“I thought you liked omegas.”

“I do,” Pietro nodded, “I am one.”

“What?”

Chapter 20

Notes:

This chapter is…a lot. You’re welcome.

“You’re an omega?” Jess said incredulously.

“Yes,” Pietro stated matter-of-factly.

“But you’re-“

“You think just because your country is backwards with how they treat omegas, HYDRA would not let me join the cause?”

“No! I mean, I just didn’t expect it.”

“Does my designation change your mind about my sister and I joining the team?”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Jess glared at Steve who nodded reluctantly.

“We’ll work around your heats,” Steve promised. “And your sister?”

“My sister is a beta. She is overprotective,” he shrugged.

“Aren’t they all?” Jess muttered.

“So, will you join us?”

“I must speak to my sister.”

…

“We can’t do that,” Nat crossed her arms as they reconvened in the conference room. “It could be a trap, he could lead them right to us.”

“He’s never going to trust us if we continue to lock him up. Besides, she’ll find him regardless. I’m surprised she hasn’t turned up already,” Jess argued.

“It’s worth the risk,” Steve nodded.

…

“Wake up you jerk,” Jess begged. She had gone straight back to his side as soon as the meeting with Pietro ended. Steve wasn’t pleased that she didn’t get a full eight hours but he was too busy trying to figure out how to get Wanda into the compound without having her blow the whole thing up.

…

”Wake up you jerk,” the voice was still muddled, like he was being held under water. “Bucky, please.”

“Omega?”

“I need you,” the voice pleaded.

…

She was going to cry. She hadn’t let herself consider the possibility that Bucky wouldn’t wake up. He had been her biggest source of conflict since she had arrived but he was also her anchor. If she had felt listless in this universe before she couldn’t imagine what she would do without him. Steve was trying to take care of her in his absence but it would never be the same. He didn’t smell right. He didn’t glare at her when she yelled at him. He didn’t talk back.

“Bucky,” she squeezed his hand. His hand squeezed back. “Bucky?!”

“Doll,” he groaned, “please don’t yell.”

“Oh my god!” She wanted desperately to launch herself at him but she didn’t want to disturb the many wires he was connected to so instead she leaned in to kiss his cheek, at the last moment though he turned his head and kissed her lips. “Buck-“ she whispered but she was cut off when he pulled her head closer and kissed her fiercely.

“Omega,” he growled.

“I was so worried,” she was crying now.

“Don’t cry,” he wiped her tears.

“I thought you weren’t gonna wake up,” she murmured. He kissed her again.

“Are you kiddin’?” He gave her a small smirk, “I’d never leave ya alone.”

“You said you’d stay in the jet,” she scolded him.

“‘M sorry doll,” he murmured as he ran his fingers through her hair.

“It’s okay,” she sighed, “I’m just so happy you’re okay.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Call a nurse? I want out of this bed-“

“You need to rest-“ she protested.

“I’ll rest in our nest,” he huffed. She didn’t correct him when he called it “their” nest.

…

“Buck you shouldn’t be up-“ Bucky cut Steve off with a glare.

“I’m going home,” he grumbled, “with my omega.” He wasn’t asking for permission.

“Just…don’t overdo it please?” Steve pleaded.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t,” Jess replied as she walked with him to her den.

“No offense but-“ Tony began.

“He’ll do what I say,” she said with a huff as she glared at Bucky.

He nodded and kissed her forehead. “What she said.”

The team stared dumbly as Bucky Barnes followed behind his omega like an obedient puppy.

…

“How long has it been since you slept doll?” Bucky traced his thumb over the deep circles under her eyes.

She shrugged, “I’m fine.”

“Let’s go to sleep,” he pulled her closely.

“Mmmmkay,” she yawned.

…

It was hot. So hot. Jess rolled over uncomfortably, she could feel that she was damp with sweat.

“Doll?” Her head felt fuzzy but she peeked her eyes open to see Bucky staring down at her. He seemed concerned and his eyes were dark.

“Bucky?”

“Doll,” his teeth were clenched and he was trying to breathe through his mouth.

“What is this?” She felt a small cramp in her middle.

“Omega I think you’re in heat.”

“What?!” Jess sat up abruptly and she felt the room sway. Bucky pushed her softly back so she was laying on the bed again. “Darcy,” her mouth felt dry, “she said I would feel it creeping up on me, that I would have time to prepare.”

“Sometimes it just happens,” Bucky’s eyes were closed, “and from what I can tell, this is just the beginning stages.”

“It’s so hot,” she complained.

“Jarvis lower the temperature,” Bucky stood to get her some water. She whimpered immediately at the loss of his scent. Her skin itched and her clothes felt unbearably tight.

“Bucky,” she moaned.

“Doll,” his hands were fists, he was doing everything to keep his focus. “I need to know,” he shuddered as he accidentally caught a whiff of her scent, “I need to know what you want to do? Should I go?”

“No!” She panicked, “please don’t leave me-“

He shushed her, “okay, okay. I won’t leave. What about…do you want me to-“ he couldn’t seem to finish his sentence.

Her stomach was beginning to cramp and she could practically feel her pussy pulsing. She felt so empty and desperate. If this was only the beginning she shuddered to think of what she would be like in a few hours. “I don’t think I can,” she whimpered, “I need you-“

“Do you mean…?”

“I need you to fuck me Bucky!”

“Are you sure?”

“Please-“ her cries were cut off as Bucky slammed his lips on hers.

“Omega,” he growled. She scrambled to get her clothes off but Bucky did her a favor and literally ripped her clothes off of her. She panted in relief as she felt the AC hit her body.

“Bucky-“

“Alpha,” he corrected as he nipped her shoulder. A shudder rippled through her as she heard the authority in his voice. For the first time since they met she wanted to obey him.

“Alpha,” she repeated.

“Mmm,” he stroked her thigh, “good girl.”

“Please,” her pussy clenched around nothing.

“Patience,” he was still stroking her thighs, letting his hands wander between her legs but not to the spot where she needed him most. He pulled away and just stared down at her. Allowing his eyes to take in every inch of her body. “So fucking beautiful,” he whispered, focusing particularly on the sunflower mark on her arm. He picked up her arm and kissed it reverently.

“Bucky,” she whimpered. He growled. “Alpha,” she corrected.

“You’re learning,” he rewarded her by rubbing his thumb against her clit. “You’re fucking soaked,” he breathed her intoxicating scent. He could drown in her.

“Please alpha-“ He shushed her, pushing a thick digit partly into her pussy. She bucked her hips but he held her down. It wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. “Please alpha, it hurts.”

“I’m gonna give you what you need,” he groaned against her ear before lowering himself down her body and licking a stripe up her pussy. She screamed. “Fuck,” he moaned.

“Alpha,” he decided to have mercy on her and wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked. She writhed under him, clutching desperately at his hair, his shoulders; she was desperate to touch him. He put her hands on her hips and pinned her down to stop her wriggling, he guided her hands to his hair. He grunted when she pulled at him roughly.

“Such a needy omega,” he smiled. “All mine.” She shuddered. She didn’t realize how good it would feel to let him possess her. “You like that omega?” She nodded even though he couldn’t see her. “You like being mine?” She nodded even more vigorously. “Use your words,” he commanded.

“Yes! Yes! Oh, yes!”

He chuckled, “good girl.” He slipped one finger into her and felt her clench against him. “You’re so tight,” he grunted, “I’m gonna have to get you ready for me.” At her frustrated groan he nipped her thigh and continued, “I’m not gonna hurt you ‘mega, gotta stretch you out.”

“‘M ready,” she whined pathetically.

“Behave,” he sucked on her clit again as he pushed his finger in and out. His left hand was rubbing circles into her hip, the coolness of the metal was a relief against her flushed skin. His right hand was methodically opening her. He curled his finger in and her back arched at the sensation. Bucky had to pin her down with his left hand.

“Alpha-“

“Cum for your alpha,” he inserted a second finger, “cum for your alpha and then I’ll give you my knot omega.”

“Kn-knot?” She trembled.

“Are you afraid?” He licked her cunt between words.

“I-I-“

“I’m not going to hurt you doll, I would never hurt you. You can take it, you were made for it. You’ll be so good for me doll,” he pumped his fingers furiously.

“Oh god!” Her pussy was flooding the bed with her slick and he licked it up eagerly.

“Come on baby, come on.”

“Alpha!”

“So good baby girl, taste so good,” he was half drunk off of her. His left hand reached up and wrapped around her neck, squeezing gently and cutting off just a bit of her air. That was all she needed and she came around his fingers with a scream. It took her a few minutes to calm her breathing, Bucky wrapped her in his arms and whispered words of encouragement into her forehead. She could feel his hard cock twitch against her leg and immediately all the relief she had felt faded away and was replaced by a burning need. She panicked for a moment, terrified that even what they had just done wasn’t enough to satisfy her need.

“Bucky.”

“What’s wrong?” He picked up on her distress.

“I…need more. It’s not getting better-“ she sobbed.

“It will,” he kissed her, “you need my knot doll.”

“It won’t hurt?”

“No,” he bit her bottom lip gently, “it won’t hurt.”

“Please,” she whimpered. He nodded before sitting up and pulling her up with him. He positioned her on her knees and pushed her shoulders into the mattress.

“I gotcha doll,” he murmured. She felt him between her legs and clenched in anticipation. “Relax,” he caressed her side. She felt him push into her and gasped. He was fucking huge. She felt like she was being split in half as he pushed into her slowly. “Fuck,” he grunted before he bit down on her shoulder gently.

“Alpha-“

“You’re doing so good, such a good omega. So perfect,” he babbled praise. More slick gushed out of her, easing the way for him. He pulled back a bit and thrust in a bit more.

“Fuck!” She moaned. How is he still not all the way in? “Alpha, I don’t think I can-“

“Of course you can doll,” he kissed her before he thrust into her again.

“Alpha!” She finally felt his hips flush against hers, he was completely enveloping her in his arms.

“Good girl,” he sucked a mark into her neck. “Gonna claim you some day doll, you’re gonna be all mine.”

“Yes!” As much as the prospect terrified her before, the thought of belonging to him made her eyes roll into her head.

“You’re gonna look so pretty with my mark,” he sucked a bruise into her neck in anticipation, “and you’re gonna mark me too. Everyone is gonna know I’m mated to the most beautiful woman in the world.” He was pounding into her now, he sat up on his knees and looked down at his thick cock thrusting in and out of her. She had a glorious ass, it jiggled with every thrust of his hips. “Fuck!”

“Alpha, I’m gonna-“

“Cum for me ‘mega,” he ordered. Her cunt squeezed around him as she experienced the most breathtaking orgasm of her life. Just as she felt herself begin to descend from her high she felt a pressure building inside her. Bucky’s knot. She tensed for a moment before she heard him order her to relax and her muscles went limp. He held her up as they locked together and she felt him flood her pussy with his cum. She felt herself fall over the edge again. Bucky gently lowered them onto the bed so she was on her side and he was curled up behind her, still firmly locked together.

“You did so well Jess,” he kissed the back of her neck, “so perfect.” Her eyelids drooped as she fell into a deep sleep.

…

“The witch is on her way,” Tony said as they once again gathered in the conference room.

“This is a bad idea,” Natasha muttered.

“We want all hands on deck,” Steve said, “prepare all the agents. Bucky should be up and about. Jarvis, tell him to come here so he can help out.”

“Captain,” Jarvis replied, “Miss Day has gone into heat. Sergeant Barnes is assisting her. Should I ask him to come anyway?”

“Fuck.”

Chapter 21

"Alpha!" She was insatiable. Bucky was devouring her, drowning in her scent and slick, and yet she wanted more. He couldn't help but think that if it weren't for the serum there was no way he could keep up with his needy omega.

"Jess," he growled as he sucked on her clit.

"Bucky!" He would've punished her for not calling him alpha if his name didn't sound so sweet coming from her lips. "Bucky it's so hot."

"I'm gonna take care of you, doll."

"So good," she moaned. "Need your knot. Please!"

"Anything you want," he kissed her. She could taste herself on his lips. She felt him push into her, nosing her neck as he thrust. "'M gonna mark you. You're gonna be all mine."

"Yes!"

"You're mine doll. Made for me," he sucked on her mating gland. Desperate to clamp down and claim her forever.

"Do it!"

"Not yet," he kissed a trail up her neck, "not until you're sure."

"I am," she panted.

""S the heat talking," he snapped his hips into her.

"No it's not," she moaned. "When you were in the MedBay, I wanted you so badly alpha. I was so afraid you were going to leave me forever," she was crying now.

"Never leave you doll," he kissed her fiercely.

"Prove it," she challenged.

"Behave," he growled, "as soon as you're lucid, all you have to do is ask." She groaned in frustration but it turned into a moan as he took her nipple into his mouth and sucked. "Fuck, you sound so pretty."

"Feels so good," she gasped. His pelvis was rubbing against her clit, urging her to cum. "Alpha! I'm gonna-"

"Cum for me baby girl," he whispered in her ear. She did, arching her back and screaming his name. He followed her, he felt himself tumbling over as his knot expanded and locked into her for what felt like the first time and the hundredth time simultaneously. He had a feeling that no matter how many heats they shared, no matter how many nights he spent in her nest, he would never tire of making love to her. He cradled her gently as he shifted so she was lying on top of him.

"Sergeant Barnes," Jarvis interrupted like a record scratch.

"Jarvis," he barked, "we're on heat protocol."

"Sir, Captain Rogers has overridden my programming. He is demanding to speak to you."

"Fucking Steve," he cursed softly as Jess was already asleep in his arms. "What?" He said brusquely.

"Buck we have an emergency."

"Deal with it," he growled, "I'm busy."

"It's the Maximoffs-"

"Jess is in heat-"

"I know-" Steve sounded pained, "but we need help. She's powerful and she's headed this way."

"You can't seriously expect me to leave my omega alone in the middle of her heat."

"Normally I would never-"

"No Steve, you can deal-"

"If the compound is in danger then so is Jess-"

"I'm gonna fucking kill her-"

"We need her alive-"

"I don't-"

"I know what you must be feeling right now-"

"You don't know a goddamn thing Steve, she's vulnerable and she's mine-"

"Okay, okay. I don't know. But I need you to come help."

"It's going to be a while," he said, "I'm a little tied up right now-"

"Buck-"

"I'm knotting her, is that what you need to hear to leave me the fuck alone?!"

"Okay, okay, just...come as quickly as you can."

...

"This is a bad idea," Natasha reiterated.

"Which part? Inviting the witch to our compound or dragging the Winter Soldier away from his omega in the middle of her heat?" Sam asked.

"I think my money's on Bucky," Clint winced as he heard Bucky yelling at Steve through Jarvis.

...

Wanda was seething as the compound came into view. She had been biding her time, making a plan for how to attack and kill as many people as possible without hurting her brother. The Avengers would pay for taking him.

"Wanda," her brother's voice called to her from a small metal airplane flying through the sky.

"Pietro," she said desperately, "where are you?"

"I am safe," he assured her. "They have not harmed me."

"They have kidnapped you," her eyes glowed with anger.

"They are not evil. They want us to join them."

"Join them?" She scoffed. "They are the enemy."

"I think they may not be-" he struggled for words, "HYDRA, they are-"

"They took care of us," she interrupted him, "after Stark destroyed our home and killed our parents."

"He didn't intend-"

"I don't care what his intention was," she barked, "our parents are dead-"

"HYDRA has done great harm too, no?" He was calm. "They have killed, they have made us kill-"

"It is for a better world-"

"There's an omega here-"

"An omega," she contemplated, "I will have mercy on her then, for your sake-"

"She is not a prisoner," he explained.

"Of course she is, they do not see omegas as human-"

"They do, they have treated me well. They want me on their team-"

"They have brainwashed you-"

"HYDRA has brainwashed us-"

"You do not speak sense-"

"Wanda, please-"

"I am coming for you," she said fiercely, "I will spare your omega friend. But I will burn the rest to the ground."

...

"Doll," Jess awoke as Bucky gently shook her.

"What is it?" She yawned and stretched her limbs.

"I have to go," he said reluctantly.

She sat up. "Go?" Her scent immediately became distressed. "Where are you going? Alpha?"

"The witch," he growled, "she's coming to the compound. I have to protect you."

"No," she whimpered, "please don't leave-"

"I'll be back soon omega," he kissed her forehead and stroked her head, "I promise."

"No," she whimpered and reached out as he pulled away from her.

"I'm gonna fucking kill her," he growled as he marched out of the room. "Jarvis, lock down this room."

...

"Shit," Clint had never seen Bucky this angry, not even when he was still under HYDRA's control as the Winter Soldier.

"Bucky-" Steve shut up quickly when he saw the thunderous expression on his face. The Avengers pretended not to notice the raging hard-on Bucky was sporting. He was armed to the teeth.

"We can't kill her-" Sam attempted to remind him.

...

Wanda approached the compound out in the open. She wasn't afraid of the Avengers. They stood, arms crossed in a protective stance in front of the compound. There was a line of nervous-looking agents behind them.

"Where is my brother?"

"He's safe," their leader announced.

"You have taken him," she barked, "he is not safe with you."

"He's safe," the man repeated, "he wants to join us. He wants you to join us." To his left stood a man dressed in black tactical gear. She recognized him, HYDRA's most dangerous asset, the Winter Soldier. He looked livid, it seemed that he was using all his willpower not to attack.

"You expect me to believe he is safe with that around?"

"There's some urgent business going on," the Captain tried to explain, "just let us talk and he'll go back on his way." The man seemed to be begging his friend not to charge at her.

"Give me my brother," she yelled, "and I will kill you quickly." That did it, the Winter Soldier attacked her. She avoided his bullets. "You are an animal," she yelled at him, "alpha scum." He didn't bother to reply, he continued to charge at her like a raging bull. She was shocked when he landed a punch that sent her flying back. She aimed a blast his way but the Captain's shield protected him.

"Just surrender," the Captain insisted, "and no one gets hurt," he grunted as his friend crashed into his shoulder on his way to her, "and you can talk to your brother."

...

Jess whimpered and curled in on herself as pain flooded her middle.

Alpha. Her mind screamed for her to find her alpha. She stood, attempting to follow the scent of her alpha. She pulled at the door to her room desperately. "Jarvis! Let me out!"

"I am sorry miss, I am under strict orders to keep this room sealed until Sergeant Barnes returns."

"No!" She banged on the door, "Let me out!"

"You should return to your nest," Jarvis advised her calmly.

"Please," she scratched at the door with her fingernails, causing them to bleed. Her fists began to bruise with her insistent banging. "Open the door Jarvis! I need him!"

"Please return to your nest," the AI insisted. She didn't listen, she continued to bang on the door until exhaustion and pain caused her to faint.

...

"Steve you need to get him to calm down," Tony yelled through his comms. At this point, he wasn't sure who was causing more destruction, Bucky or Wanda.

"Thanks, Tony, I hadn't thought of that!" He yelled back. He made another fruitless attempt anyway, "Buck! We need to restrain her not-" Bucky threw another punch at Wanda who only just avoided his vibranium arm.

"We should've left him with Jess," Clint commented. Bucky actually roared when a blast from Wanda hit him in his metal shoulder but he did not falter as he approached her.

"Use Bucky as a distraction," Sam ordered, "detain her while she fights him off." Tony shot her with a Tazer which momentarily shocked her. Long enough for Natasha to jab her with a tranquilizer and bring her down. Steven and Thor held Bucky back as he attempted to bash her face in.

"It's done Bucky," Steve roared, "go back to your omega." Bucky wanted blood, he attempted to get past Steve to attack her unconscious body. "Jess needs you," Steve reminded him. That seemed to pierce through his consciousness enough for him to quickly turn and speed towards the compound.

"So," Natasha remarked as she helped Clint load Wanda into a stretcher, "we are never asking for Bucky's help when Jess is in heat again."

...

When Bucky re-entered Jess' room her found her lying unconscious on the ground with blood on her hands and under her fingernails. He picked her up gently and laid her in her nest. He found a first-aid kit in her bathroom and rushed to her side. He began cleaning the blood on her hands. Wanda Maximoff would pay for this.

...

Her hands were stinging and there was a strong scent of rubbing alcohol in the air. She felt the tell-tale contrast of warm and cold that was Bucky's hands holding her. "Alpha?"

"I'm here omega," he kissed her palm. "Just gotta get you fixed up."

"It hurts," she whimpered.

"I know, just a little more antisceptic-"

"No," she said weakly, "not my hands, my-" she clutched her middle as another cramp rolled over her.

"Let me just fix you up doll," he pleaded, "then I'll give you my knot."

...

What seemed like hours later she lay in Bucky's arms once again. "Where did you go?" She tried not to sound as hurt as she felt.

"I told you doll," he stroked her side, "I needed to protect the compound from Maximoff."

"She's not dangerous," she murmured.

"The hell she isn't," he growled.

"Promise you won't hurt her?" When he didn't answer she insisted, "please?"

"If she doesn't hurt you," he compromised, "then I won't hurt her."

"Thank you," she mumbled as she fell back asleep. Bucky stared at Jess' battered hands. Wanda Maximoff had already hurt her and he was going to make sure she paid for every cut on his omega's hands.

Chapter 22

Wanda awoke to a stinging in her neck. She was chained to a chair with her hands in iron gloves which seemed to be containing her powers. She tried to yank herself free but the restraints held strong.

“Wanda.”

“Pietro?” Her brother was stroking her hair.

“Wanda I’m okay.” He was; he looked well-rested and clean, and he was not restrained although they were both locked in a cell.

“Unlock me,” she asked, “I will get us out.”

“I can’t,” he pointed to the metal armor, “but they will unlock you if you agree not to hurt anyone.”

“They must pay-“

“They didn’t hurt me,” Pietro repeated, “they just held me here until they could convince me to join them.”

“They brainwashed you,” she growled.

“They made me understand what HYDRA is capable of. The things they’ve done-“

“The Avengers are murderers,” she insisted.

“Would it help to speak to their omega?”

She scoffed, “Nothing will change my mind.”

…

“Jess?” She awoke slowly, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. She was naked. Images of the last few days flooded her mind. She and Bucky…She scrambled to cover herself with a sheet in a futile attempt to preserve her modesty. “Jess I’m sorry,” Bucky panicked at her fearful expression. “I thought you were lucid enough to agree-“

“I was,” she croaked out, “I-thank you. For helping me,” she was blushing fiercely.

“Hey,” he tipped her chin up to look into her eyes. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I’ve never-god I begged for you to-“

“It’s okay,” he kissed her forehead, “there’s no need to be embarrassed.”

“My hands,” she felt the soreness now.

He growled, “You hurt yourself when Maximoff-“

“Wanda,” she corrected him.

“She came here to fight, I had to leave you because of her-“

“She didn’t know I was in heat,” Jess reasoned, “she was just trying to save her brother. You would do the same for me wouldn’t you?”

“It’s different,” he clenched his jaw.

“Oh yeah?” She tipped her chin defiantly, “How?”

“It’s you,” he said simply.

“Bucky,” she sighed, “you have to understand-“

“You were vulnerable,” he looked away, “you hurt yourself. God knows what you could’ve done, you needed me and I left you-“

“It’s not your fault Bucky-“

“I shouldn’t have gone. I should’ve told Steve to fuck off-“

“Some things are more important-“

“Nothing is more important than you,” he said fiercely.

“Alpha,” she made big doe eyes at him, “I’m fine. You did the right thing.”

“Don’t do that,” he mumbled.

“What?”

“Look at me like that.”

“Is it working?”

“Minx,” he growled as he leaned in and kissed her.

She chuckled, “I’ve gotta have at least a little leverage.”

“You have all the leverage doll. You have me wrapped around your finger,” he kissed her mating gland and she shivered.

“Is that right?”

“Yes,” he nipped her again.

She coughed a bit, “umm, about that-“

“What is it?”

“When I asked you to claim me, you said no-“

“Trust me doll, I wanted to. But you weren’t in your right mind-“

“I know,” she laid a hand on his arm, “I know and I appreciate it. I think I need a little more time…“

He deflated a bit but he tried not to show his disappointment. He promised himself he wouldn’t push her. “Take as long as you need.”

“Thank you,” she leaned in and kissed him gently. He didn’t push and instead let her take the lead. “Will you make love to me?” He quirked an eyebrow. “I’d like to do it when I’m not a raging ball of hormones-“

“Doll, if I ever say no to that question please shoot me,” he smirked.

“Noted,” she giggled as he flipped her on her back and covered her with his body. She hitched her leg around his waist and looked deeply into his eyes. “Bucky I-“ she moaned as she felt him enter her.

“Yeah doll?”

“Don’t stop,” she begged, “fill me up.”

“I plan to,” he smiled as he kissed the column of her neck.

“Bucky!”

“So good,” he groaned. Even without the smell of her heat, she was incredible. He could almost taste the chocolate in his mouth and his lips tingled with the icy hot feeling of peppermint.

“Bucky,” her eyes were squeezed shut as she clutched his shoulders.

“Look at me doll,” he begged. She did, his icy blue eyes stared into her soul and she could see his reflected back at her. He didn’t have to say it, he loved her, with all his heart.

…

Tony was actually laughing. “You’ve had a lot of stupid ideas these last few days gramps but this has got to take the cake.”

“I’m not kidding Tony,” he crossed his arms, “nothing else is working. Not even Pietro can convince her.”

“So after the show the Manchurian Candidate put on you seriously want to ask him to let his omega within a hundred feet of the witch?”

“Maybe now that her heat is over he’ll be more reasonable?” Steve said doubtfully.

“It’s not like Pietro,” Tony leaned on the table, “though I doubt Bucky would’ve let her talk to him either. The witch is much, much, more dangerous.”

“She won’t hurt her,” Steve insisted.

“Did she pinky promise?” Tony said sarcastically.

“She has a thing about omegas,” Steve insisted, “they both do. She wouldn’t hurt an omega.”

“I wouldn’t bank on that,” Tony crossed his arms. “And it’s all moot anyway, Barnes would never allow it.”

“So we’ll ask Jess directly then,” Clint said.

“And get murdered by the Winter Soldier? I’m good, thanks,” Tony deadpanned. “You do it Capsicle, he’s your best friend.”

…

“Absolutely not,” Bucky growled. Steve flinched, he wished he had brought his shield.

“Buck-“

“You’re my brother Steve but I’m this close to smashing your face in after what you’ve put my omega through the last few days-“

“It wasn’t his fault Bucky-“

“My ass-“ he growled.

“We just think this may be the only way,” Steve sighed, “she was able to convince Pietro-“

“Don’t think I’ve forgiven you for letting her talk to him either-“

“Bucky!” Jess cut in, “This isn’t up to you-“

“The hell it isn’t,” he towered over her and growled.

She cowered for only a moment before squaring her shoulders and looking up at him defiantly. “We agreed that I’m my own person-“

“We agreed that it’s my job to keep you safe-“

“I will be! You can be in the room with me-“

“Actually,” Steve winced, “it may be better if I’m there with you. Bucky didn’t make the best impression-“

“We don’t have to fight about that part because it’s not happening-“

“Bucky stop! Im doing it!”

“No, you’re not!”

“You guys need my help and I know she can be reasoned with.”

“You can’t know that-“

“I do! I’ve seen this all play out remember?”

“Not this way! You said yourself things were different!”

“Can’t you just for a moment allow yourself to believe I may know more about something than you?!”

“It isn’t like that!” He insisted, “I’m not trying to patronize you but-“

“But nothing!” Her hands were firmly planted on her hips. “I want to speak to her and I won’t forgive you if you try to stop me.”

“That’s not fair-“

“Steve, you can be in the room with me-“ she ignored him and marched towards the holding cells.

…

Bucky’s hand twitched at his side, he was ready to draw his weapon the moment the witch tried anything.

“She’s tied up,” Clint assured him, “completely neutralized.” Bucky only growled, never looking away from the witch.

…

“Hi,” Jess said calmly as she sat on a chair across from Wanda.

“So you are the other omega?” Wanda observed her with interest.

“One of them,” she replied.

“There is more than one?”

“Yes two, three now with Pietro.”

“My brother is not one of you-“

“He wants to be-“

“He does not know what he wants-“

“I thought you were more evolved about omegas?”

“We are,” she scowled.

“So can you respect the fact that your brother is capable of making his own choices?”

“He may be forced by people like him,” he nodded to Steve.

“I’m here,” Jess said, “and my soulmate really, really, doesn’t want me here.”

“The Winter Soldier,” Wanda scowled.

“How did you-“

“You reek of him,” she smirked.

Jess blushed “yes well-“

“He is very unhinged your alpha-“

“I was in heat when you arrived,” she blushed, “he wasn’t happy about being pulled away.”

“Heat,” Wanda grimaced, “Pietro suffers much during his heat.”

“So you get it?”

“No,” Wanda said stubbornly, “I do not act like that-“

“You might,” Jess shrugged, “if he was your mate; if someone was invading your home while he-“

“The Winter Soldier has not claimed you, why?” Wanda pointed to her unblemished neck.

“Because he’s waiting until I’m ready,” Jess replied.

Wanda raised her eyebrow but changed the subject, “So you are here to convince me to join you?”

“Yes.”

“What makes you think I will listen to you if my own brother cannot convince me?”

“Because I know what happens if you don’t,” she said kindly.

“What is it then?”

“Pietro doesn’t make it.” She decided to lay it all out there. She told her about her alternate universe, Age of Ultron, Pietro’s death, all of it.

...

"Your story is ridiculous," Wanda remarked.

"Maybe," Jess didn't flinch. "But I know that your father used to smuggle American sitcoms that you would watch with your family. Dick Van Dyke was your favorite"

"How-"

"I'm telling the truth," she pushed.

"We can save Pietro. We can save Sokovia. You just have to join us."

...

"This is a bad idea," Natasha grumbled.

"You keep saying that," Clint pointed out.

"Have I been wrong?"

"You've done your part," Bucky addressed Jess, "now I'm getting you the hell out of here before they let that maniac loose."

"She's not going to hurt-" she shuddered when Bucky growled. "Okay," she decided it wasn't worth the fight.

...

"Better?" Bucky was lying his head on her stomach while he lay in between her legs. She stroked his hair as they watched TV from the comfort of her nest.

"Yes," he grumbled.

"I know you aren't happy with everything that happened today-"

"That's an understatement," he scoffed.

"But I just wanted to say thank you," she looked down at him.

"For what?" He quirked an eyebrow.

"A couple of weeks ago you would never have allowed me in there no matter what I said. I appreciate that you respect my judgment."

"Oh," he blinked stupidly, "yes, I-you're welcome?" He floundered for a response.

She giggled, "this is my favorite part," she gestured to the TV. He turned his head to kiss her thigh before returning his gaze to the film.

Chapter 23

“What do you want to do today?” She stroked his hair.

“Stay here and eat your pussy all day,” he growled as he licked her mating gland.

She laughed, “besides that. We should go outside sometime-“

“I don’t want to go outside,” he bit her neck, sucking a mark onto it. “It’s dangerous outside.”

“No it’s not,” she insisted. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief, “look this place is still intact which means things must be going well with Wanda. And Sharon and Claire are gone. This place is just as safe as it’s always been.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he started dragging his hand down her body.

“No distracting me,” she swatted his hand away. “We’ve been holed up here long enough.”

…

“Look who’s finally decided to join the land of the living,” Tony drawled from his seat at the table. Bucky was standing in front of Jess, completely obscuring her view of the other occupants of the room. He was staring down at Wanda.

“Bucky,” she sighed as she stepped around him. His hand reached for her instinctively and kept her glued to his side. “Hi Wanda,” she smiled at the beta, “hi Pietro. How are you liking the place?”

“It is nice,” Pietro said, glancing around at the modern decor. Wanda shrugged, Jess assumed she agreed.

“So what are you up to today?”

“They’re training with us,” Steve answered for them, “we still need to get that scepter back and we should get used to working together before we go back out there.” She hummed her agreement. “Buck, you’re joining us right?”

Bucky did not look happy with the idea but nodded begrudgingly when Jess poked his side. “What are you doing today?” He squeezed her hand gently.

“Probably work out and go visit Darcy and Jane in the lab,” she shrugged.

He swallowed, “can you…can you keep me updated? On how you’re doing, I mean.”

Ordinarily she would answer that she didn’t need a babysitter but she knew that Bucky needed it more than she did, so she agreed. Wanda watched their interaction like a hawk.

“I have never seen an alpha treat his omega like this,” she whispered to Pietro. He nodded in agreement.

…

“How are you doing?” Steve could tell that Bucky was anxious, his skin felt itchy and he couldn’t stop thinking about Jess.

“How do I look like I’m doing?” He growled. His eyes were trained on Wanda and Pietro like a hawk.

“She’s okay-“

“She’s in a compound surrounded by trained spies. She’s already been physically attacked once and people are making her feel bad about her designation. Now she has two enhanced Hydra agents wandering around freely and she’s-“

“What?”

“I can’t feel her. I need to-“

“Need to what?”

“I need to claim her,” he clenched his hand, “it’s like I can’t rest until I know my mark is keeping her safe.”

“Why haven’t you done it yet? You could’ve done it during her heat, it would’ve been a good time for it actually.”

“She said she’s not ready,” he sighed.

“She’ll get there,” Steve patted his back. “She let you help her through her heat right? That must mean something.”

“She’s warmed up to me,” he agreed, “but that doesn’t mean she loves me or wants-“ he huffed, “wants to tie herself to me-“

“She’ll come around soon,” Steve said confidently.

“Sure,” he took his turn sparring with Wanda, trying to hold back from hurting her too much, for Jess’ sake.

…

“So,” Darcy chewed on some chips obnoxiously, “how was your first heat?”

“Awful,” she sighed.

“Wow, Barnes is that bad in bed huh?”

“No! No that part was-“ she struggled to compose herself as she remembered the feeling of him moving between her legs.

“So you did enjoy it,” Darcy grinned.

“It’s just-losing control like that. I was so desperate I basically wrecked my hands trying to get to him. I hate being so vulnerable-“

“Bucky took care of you though-“

“That’s not the point,” she sighed, “what if he hadn’t been there? What if he’s on a mission the next time I go into heat? How do you deal with this?”

“I guess it’s a little different,” Darcy shrugged, “I’m used to it. Plus, if my heat partner is unavailable any alpha will do in a pinch.”

“I asked him to claim me,” Darcy’s eyes flew to her unblemished neck.

“He didn’t do it?”

“No,” she said softly, “he said I wasn’t lucid enough to agree to it.”

“Wow,” Darcy leaned back, “that man has some self-control-“

“What do you mean?”

“I mean an alpha knotting an omega, her begging him for his mark, especially his soulmate, I don’t know how he managed to hold himself back-“

“Maybe he really doesn’t want me-“

“Shut up,” Darcy rolled her eyes, “you should’ve seen the mess he made when Wanda showed up. That man is obsessed with you. I think it’s more than that-“

“What is it then?”

“You have a soulmate who respects you, who puts your needs above his wants, you lucky bitch,” Darcy smirked.

…

“Bucky?”

“Yeah doll?” Bucky was speaking through Jarvis.

“I was going to get some lunch, do you maybe want to-“

“I’ll meet you in the cafeteria,” he agreed.

…

“Why are people looking at me funny now?” Jess wrinkled her nose as she noticed all the attention.

“That’s my fault,” Bucky blushed, “I sort of made a mess when you were in heat-“

From the table over she heard someone whisper ”Why hasn’t he marked her?” Bucky’s eyes turned hard as he stared down the stranger.

“Bucky,” he snapped his eyes back to her, “it’s okay.”

“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable-“

“I’m fine,” she squeezed his hand before she took a bite of her sandwich.

…

“So you have to convince your dad to destroy the infinity stones,” she told Thor. They had been having a long conversation about Thanos’ plans.

“I don’t know if my father will agree. They are powerful artifacts. Perhaps you should talk to him-“

“No,” Bucky growled from across the room.

“No?” She raised her eyebrow at him.

“You’re not taking my omega to a different realm.”

“Does the omega get a say?” Jess asked sarcastically.

“Doll-“ he could tell he fucked up as soon as Jess marched out of the common room.

“Shit-“

“You’ve gotta learn to control your alpha bullshit man-“

“Thanks Sam,” he said through gritted teeth as he followed her.

…

“Doll-“

“Go away.”

“We can’t keep doing the silent treatment thing doll-“ he began to open the door.

“Get out of my room!”

He raised his eyebrow and leaned against the doorway. “I think we can agree by now that this is our room, don’t you?”

“It’s my nest,” she huffed.

“I sleep in it every night,” he argued as he walked towards her, “I fuck you in it every night,” he smirked as she blushed, “my clothes are in your closet and your sheets smell like me-“

“That doesn’t-“

“Just admit it omega,” he smirked, “this is our home.”

“I didn’t tell you you could move in-“ she grumbled.

He chuckled as he sat behind her and pulled her into his lap, “but I did, didn’t I?”

“Shut up,” she whispered but she lay back on his chest anyway. “I’m still mad at you.”

“Do you want to go to Asgard?” He mumbled as he kissed her cheek.

“That’s not the point,” she rolled her eyes, “you just made the decision without me-“

“I’m sorry,” he conceded immediately, “I’m just-I’ve been a little antsy lately-“

“A little?”

“Okay, maybe a lot,” he drew patterns on her hips with his fingers. “I just-I hate that I can’t feel you-“

“You’re feeling me now-“

“I mean through a bond-“

“You’re upset we haven’t bonded-“ it dawned on her. He didn’t answer, he was still trying not to pressure her.

“I don’t want to be the reason you’re upset-“

“Don’t worry about me. I’m just sorry for jumping the gun out there-“

“Would claiming me make you less possessive?”

“Probably not,” in truth it would probably make it worse.

“Why do you want to claim me?”

“Because…I need to know you’re okay. If we bond I’ll be able to feel you, I’ll be able to tell if you’re hurt or sick-and no one else can force a bond on you, other alphas will leave you alone-“

“Any other reason?”

“Because I love you,” he stilled as he confessed, “I love you and I want to be with you. Forever.”

She didn’t turn, couldn’t bring herself to look into his eyes yet. She placed his hand over her heart and looked at their matching marks. Things were always going to turn out this way. Bucky was right-they were made for each other. “I love you too,” she whispered.

“You-what?” The shock was evident in his voice.

“I love you too,” she said, stronger this time. She turned in his arms so that she was looking into his eyes. “Make me yours.” He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for a fierce kiss.

Chapter 24

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” she nodded.

“I don’t want you to regret-“

“Bucky-“

“If you’re not ready-“

“Alpha,” his eyes snapped to hers. “I’m sure.”

He growled, gripping her waist and grinding her pussy against his rock hard cock. Even through the layers of clothing he could feel her slick soaking him. He sucked marks on her neck, kissing and biting as he went. It was a promise of what was to come. Soon.

“Bucky-“ he growled in warning, “alpha!” She corrected herself.

“Good girl,” he whispered as he gripped her ass. He couldn’t stop touching her.

“Please,” she whined as he stroked her clit through her pants. It wasn’t enough.

“I’ll give you what you want,” he nipped her shoulder, “what you need.”

“Yes!” She threw her head back.

“You need me,” he stripped her shirt off. “Say it,” he closed his mouth around her nipple.

“I…I need you,” she shuddered. It was a tough pill to swallow, but it was true. Her heat had proven it to her. But she didn’t just need him, she wanted him.

“And I need you,” he confessed, “I need you my beautiful omega.”

“Say it again,” she begged.

“I need you,” he switched to her other nipple, licking and biting. “I want you. I can’t live without you.” He finally slipped his hand into her pants, making contact with her soaking, warm pussy for the first time. She bucked her hips.

“Oh god!”

“That’s right baby. Worship me, like I’m going to worship you.” He peeled off her pants aggressively, forcing her down onto the bed. She spread her legs immediately. He took a second to admire her, to bask in this moment, before he dropped his head and kissed her warm pussy. He drank her in, like a man dying of thirst. If there was a heaven, this was it.

“Buck-“ she moaned, too distracted by his tongue to finish her thought.

“Omega,” he slipped a finger into her, he faced no resistance and quickly inserted a second finger. She tried to ride his hand, grinding herself into his palm. “I got you,” he murmured, helping her along. “You’re so beautiful like this, so fucking good for me. All mine,” he babbled praise and filth as he drowned in her slick.

“Yes!”

“Say it,” he wrapped his lips around her clit and sucked.

“I’m yours!”

“That’s right,” he curled his fingers and she bucked against him again. “You were made for me. Just for me.”

“Please,” she sobbed, desperate to cum.

“Not yet,” he drew out the sweet torture, taking her right to the edge but not allowing her to fall over.

“Alpha! Please, please,-“

“Now,” he ordered and she came immediately. He rubbed his hand against her, allowing her to ride out her orgasm before quickly replacing his hand with his cock. She didn’t even realize the change before he was once again fucking into her.

“Fuck!” She tried desperately to move with him but he pinned her arms down, rutting into her fiercely. He made sure to stroke her clit with every thrust. “Please!” She wasn’t even sure what she was asking for by now.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear before he bit down on her mating gland. Another orgasm burst through her, she felt it in every part of her body, a pleasure so deep it went beyond the physical.

“Mine,” he sucked on the bite and she cried out, both in pain and in pleasure. He stretched out his neck, giving her access. “Bite me,” he ordered, “do it.”

It was crazy. A short time ago she had recoiled at the thought of it but now it felt like the most natural thing in the world. She raised her head, clamped her teeth down and claimed him, forever. He roared in triumph. This was his reward, after going to hell and back, after everything he’d lost and endured, it had all brought him to this moment. He vowed to himself that he would be worthy of her. He felt her go limp in his arms, exhausted by the intensity of emotions she’d experienced. That’s okay, he thought, rest. I’ve got you.

Chapter 25

“So,” Tony drawled as he drank his fourth cup of coffee of the day, “is Robocop ever planning to join us back in the land of the living?”

“Tony,” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“What? They’ve been holed up longer than after her heat. At this rate, he’ll never go out on another mission with us.”

“They just bonded,” Steve reminded him. “They need time to settle into their bond.”

“How would you know Capsicle? You've never met anyone who’s bonded an omega before.”

“Well that’s what I’ve heard anyway,” he shrugged.

“It makes sense,” Darcy shrugged, “she must be feeling vulnerable after giving herself up that way. He needs to take care of her bite, I get it.”

“Have you ever thought of bonding with an alpha?” Tony wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Are you offering?” She quipped back.

He smirked, “In your dreams omega.”

She laughed, “in yours.”

“What about you speed racer?”

Pietro looked surprised to be addressed and Wanda let out something that sounded close to an alpha growl.

“I’ve never had a chance to think about it,” he shrugged, “my life has been a constant war. Things like bonding and mating do not sound so important.”

“Fair enough,” Tony nodded, “I’m just saying, it’s been long enough that I’m starting to miss the Manchurian Candidate. I’m beginning to worry they’ll run out of food.”

“I’ve been bringing them supplies,” Natasha pitched in.

“Not Cap?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for any alpha to get near their nest right now,” Steve said calmly.

“Fine, but I miss Miss Universe too, it’s nice to have someone around who appreciates my genius. Besides, we still need to figure out how to destroy some of these infinity stones.”

“Well Strange isn’t going to give up the Time Stone,” Natasha said simply.

“God-forbid we count on that douche,” Tony muttered.

“My father will be reluctant to part with the Teseract,” Thor said grimly.

“What about the collector guy?”

“Maybe,” he shrugged, “but I would want to avoid messing with him if possible.”

“The soul stone is out,” Natasha said, remembering Jess’ warning about the cost of acquiring such an artifact.

“So it all comes back to the scepter then,” Bruce concluded.

“We need to find the damned thing,” Clint nodded.

…

“Beg,” Bucky growled. He had Jess tied up with her hands behind her head and her legs spread wide. He had been torturing her for what felt like hours.

“No,” she groaned. She wasn’t sure how she ended up in this position, only that she and Bucky had been fighting and now she was lying, desperate for his cock but unwilling to let him win.

“Come on omega,” he bit the inside of her thigh, a breath away from her clit, “I’ll make you feel so good.” Her body produced a rush of slick, coating the already-ruined sheets.

She glared at him, “I won’t do it,” she wriggled against her bonds.

“Safe word?”

“Blueberry,” she repeated.

“Do you need to stop?”

“No!”

“Then beg,” he smirked.

“You pompous, bossy-“

He smacked her ass, softly rubbing the red spot he left behind, “You’re acting like a brat. And brats get punished,” he smiled darkly.

“You promise?” She grinned.

“I can do this all day,” he licked her clit-just once. She bucked her hips, chasing his mouth but he pulled away.

“Okay, Steve,” she rolled her eyes.

Another smack, “Don’t talk about another alpha while I have you naked in our nest omega.”

“Then take me, alpha,” she teased.

He dropped his head and licked her, feasted on her pussy. She cried in relief and pleasure, reveling in her victory. Just as she was about to reach her peak, he pulled away. She cried out.

“Beg,” he repeated.

“Fine! Please let me cum, alpha, please, please fuck me-“

He entered her without preamble, thankful that she finally gave in because his tightly held control had been about to snap.

...

"So you think you've found Strucker?"

The twins nodded, they remembered overhearing some of his plans, perhaps he was moving up his timeline now that he had lost two of his assets.

"And you don't think he'll come looking for you?" Steve eyed them warily.

"I'm counting on it," Wanda nodded.

"I don't know about this..." Bruce said warily. It's not that he doesn't trust the twins, but...

...

"Bucky," Jess sighed as he rubbed her back, soothing the ache from being tied up for hours.

"How do you feel?"

"Wonderful," she felt weightless, allowing herself to give up and let Bucky take over cleared her mind of all her worries, at least for now.

He kissed her shoulder, "We should probably go back to the others soon."

She raised an eyebrow, "you're the one suggesting we leave?"

"Yes," he gently licked his claiming bite, he felt much more settled now that she was his.

She hummed happily, "Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," he agreed.

...

"So you're alive," Tony smirked.

"Deja vu," Jess muttered.

"It's just you two keep locking yourselves up to-" he stopped when Bucky growled. "Nice mark Barnes," he nodded to the mark that stood proudly at the place where his neck met his shoulder. Jess suspected he had chosen his shirt deliberately to show it off.

He grinned, "Thank you." Everyone was taken aback by his smile, he practically radiated happiness.

Jess slinked away to pour herself some coffee. "So, have you made any plans about the stones?"

"The easiest way is to get the scepter and destroy that stone," Steve nodded.

Clint huffed, disagreeing with Steve's characterization of their impending mission as "easy."

"And do you know how to find it?"

"We have a decent guess," Steve said, "unfortunately that's the best we can hope for right now."

"When do you leave?"

"Tonight," Steve said grimly.

She felt a spike of anxiety from Bucky through their bond, she smiled reassuringly at him. "I'll be fine," she mouthed. He nodded, his mood plummeting at the thought of leaving her alone.

...

"So, what's the update?" Sharon stared at the maps and data on their screen.

"They took the bait," Claire smirked, striding around the underground Hydra base near the compound.

"Excellent," Sharon grinned.

Chapter 26

Bucky kissed her passionately as they stood in the hangar ready to load into the Quinjet.

She vaguely heard Tony yelling “get a room!” from somewhere. She couldn’t be bothered to pull away and respond. She could feel Bucky through their bond. He was anxious, his gut filled with dread. She knew he wasn’t nervous about the mission. He was nervous about leaving her.

“I’ll be fine.”

“I know,” he sounded as if he was trying to convince himself.

“Really,” she insisted, “there are tons of agents here to protect me and Tony’s security system is state of the art.”

“I don’t trust the agents,” he clenched his jaw. “They haven’t been good to you since you’ve been here.”

“Just because they’re a bunch of gossips doesn’t mean they won’t protect me,” she pointed out.

“I don’t like this.”

“I’ll be fine. Just concentrate on getting through this mission and coming back to me in one piece.”

“You don’t have to worry about me doll.”

“Really? Because the last time you went on a mission I spent days in the MedBay waiting for you to wake up.”

“Touché,” he finally smiled softly at her. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll come back to you ‘mega. I’m not done with you yet,” he promised.

“Barnes!”

“That’s my cue,” he pulled her in for a long kiss again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she squeezed him before finally pulling away. He looked back at her before he strode into the jet, eager to get this mission over with and get back to his girl.

…

“You need to stop,” Bruce pleaded as Bucky paced back and forth. “It’s a long flight to Sokovia and you’re driving me crazy.”

“Go easy on him,” Sam said sympathetically, “we don’t know what it’s like to leave a bonded omega on her own.”

“Neither does he,” Tony argued, “she’s in a secure location, surrounded by highly trained agents. She’s going to be okay,” he directed this last bit to Bucky.

Eventually the team managed to convince him to sit down and Bucky finally listened, he pulled his phone out and began texting Jess to ease the gnawing feeling of dread in his gut. Something was wrong.

…

“Anything?”

Tony flew overhead, searching for any signs of Hydra. “Nothing.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Bruce poured over the data on the screen, “our intelligence said they would be here.”

“This place looks like no one’s been here in weeks,” Steve spoke up, rounding another corner and finding it deserted.

Bucky felt a spike of terror rush through him. He felt panic start to build inside him as he realized that the terror he was feeling wasn’t his own, it was Jess’s. “We have to get back to the compound,” he barked.

“What?” Nat sounded confused.

“It’s Jess,” he felt his chest tighten, “something’s wrong.” The team rushed on to the Quinjet, panic spread through them. They were all thinking the same thing: it would be hours before they arrived back home, plenty of time for something really, really bad to happen to her.

Tony sped ahead of the team, hoping his suit would get him there faster. It’s not enough, Bucky thought as they hit max speed. He should never have left her alone.

…

Claire and Sharon were excellent agents. They knew how to strategize, how to bide their time. When they got knews that the team was in Sokovia, they recognized their window. Sharon punched in the codes that would let them sneak past the compound’s defenses. That little bitch will pay for ruining my life.

…

“So,” Darcy, Jess, and Jane sat around the kitchen island while Darcy scooped some cookie dough on a tray. “How do you feel now that you’ve bonded?”

“I love him,” she replied dreamily, “I love knowing that he’s mine. I love how much calmer he is now that we’ve bonded.”

“Not calm enough to stop texting you,” Darcy snickered. It was true, Bucky had texted her the entire way to Sokovia detailing the flight, Bruce’s annoyed looks, and how much he missed her already. He hadn’t stopped until they finally touched down to start their mission.

“Leave her alone,” Jane whacked Darcy’s arm playfully, "they’re in love."

“Oh not you too,” Darcy rolled her eyes at Jane's distant expression that signaled her daydreaming about Thor.

“You seriously never want to meet someone?” Jess asked, “not even to date?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know. I haven’t met anyone worthwhile. I figure if I was meant to be with someone in this entire compound, surrounded by so many alphas, someone must have stood out by now."

Jess hummed, “what’s your heat partner like?”

Darcy snickered, “Luke? He’ll do in a pinch.”

“Doesn’t sound like you think much of him.”

“I think that if you plan to keep things strictly physical you’ve got to find someone who you find attractive but don’t respect. That’s Luke,” she popped a chocolate chip in her mouth while Jess clutched her belly with laughter.

“So what’s the plan now that Barnes has made an honest omega out of you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are there going to be little tiny Winter Soldiers running around soon?”

Jess blushed scarlet, “we haven’t talked about it. I hadn’t planned to have kids any time soon, at least not before Bucky-“

“Oh don’t worry about planning for the future,” a familiar and unwelcome voice spoke behind them.

“Sharon,” Jess’ mouth was agape with shock. Sharon and Claire, decked out in tac suits and fully armed, stood in the kitchen entrance.

“How did you get in here?” Jane bravely stood in front of Jess, as if her tiny frame could protect her somehow.

“Let’s just say we still have some old friends here,” Claire smirked, “and we wanted to pay you a visit.”

“You need to leave,” Darcy snarled, “before you get yourselves hurt.”

“Oh Lewis,” Claire mocked, “I knew you weren’t bright but I didn’t expect you to be this stupid.”

“Your friends are hours away,” Sharon smirked, “right where we want them.”

“But HYDRA-“

“Yes,” Claire said, “after the incident out by the lake Steve pretty much made sure neither of us would ever work again. Luckily HYDRA had a couple of openings-“

“And we have similar goals-“

“Since when?” Darcy butt-in again.

“Since you,” she pointed at Jess, “ruined our lives.”

“You did that all by yourself,” Jess glared.

“That’s not the way I see it,” Sharon shrugged, “but we can talk about it more at our base.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Jess gripped the counter.

“I’m sorry,” Claire pouted, “that wasn’t a request.” She pointed a gun at Darcy. “You’re going to come with us, and you’re going to do it quietly or she," she pointed at Darcy, “will get a bullet in her head.”

Jess didn’t respond but didn’t move as Sharon tied Jane and Darcy up. Once her friends were knocked out with some kind of drug, Sharon pushed a gun into her side and pushed her forward.

“Nice mark,” Claire said snidely as she pinched her still-healing bond mark, making her wince. “I’ll have to take care of that once we get back to the base, maybe some acid-“

“Let’s talk later,” Sharon shushed her, “it’s only a matter of time before they realize what happened and I want to put as much distance as possible between us and this place before then.”

“I was just-“

Sharon didn’t give her time to argue, she merely shoved Jess forward, digging her gun painfully into her side. Her message was clear: scream and I’ll shoot. Exiting the complex turned out to be as easy as entering, Tony Stark really needed to beef up his security.

…

“Jarvis get Jess on the phone,” Bucky resumed his pacing in the jet. This time no one asked him to stop.

“He’s not answering,” he growled, “why isn’t he answering?”

“I think Jarvis is down,” Bruce sounded worried.

“How is that possible?” Even Natasha’s unflappable demeanor showed her mounting worry.

"Someone hacked the system," Tony responded through the comms, "the compound has been compromised."

...

Jess hadn't realized before that the land surrounding the perfectly manicured compound grounds was as wild as the green lawns were neat. She felt herself tripping over branches and roots, amazed that Sharon and Claire didn't seem to share her struggle. She wasn't an idiot, she remembered the Avengers describing them both as excellent agents. They were deadly and she had no chance of escaping them, she would have to play the damsel in distress and wait for Bucky to rescue her. She tried to call to him through their bond. She wasn't sure how it worked yet; so far she and Bucky had flashes of each others' emotions but hadn't learned how to communicate through their bond yet. As much as she didn't want to distress him, she knew her only way to communicate that something was wrong was by allowing herself to feel the full extent of her terror and despair and hope that he would feel it too. She wondered who Sharon and Claire had turned to break through the compound's defenses. It must have been someone important-only someone with high-level clearance would be able to override Jarvis' programming. Bucky had said he had vetted everyone before he let her out, it was one of the conditions he'd set along with her tracker. The tracker. She was pretty sure she was still wearing the earrings Tony had given her. She hoped that Sharon and Claire wouldn't notice them and try to destroy them before the Avengers got to her.

"You've got her," a man with a thick Russian accent broke through the haze of her thoughts. They were no longer in the forest, sometime during her musings they had arrived at a paved road. A large armored vehicle stood before them, surrounded by armed thugs. Subtle. Inwardly she rolled her eyes, but she tried to be grateful at least that the team would have one more clue to track her.

"Yeah," Sharon shoved her into the car roughly and her knees landed harshly on the floor. "Get up," Sharon pulled her by her hair and manhandled her into a seat.

"Buckle her in," the thug ordered, "can't risk hurting our precious cargo."

"She's ours," Claire glared at the thug before looking at Jess with loathing, "Once you get your Soldier back." The thug chuckled and Jess couldn't help but feel dumbstruck by Claire and Sharon's foolishness. This was HYDRA: they didn't keep promises, they didn't hold up their end of the deal, and they certainly didn't hand over someone as valuable as her to two nobodies like Claire and Sharon. Before she even had a chance to react she heard the click of two guns, and Claire and Sharon each got a bullet in the head for their troubles.

Chapter 27

“What happened?” Darcy’s head was fuzzy as Steve shook her out of her stupor.

“Wha-“

“Focus Darcy, I need you to tell me what happened.” She heard Thor having a similar conversation with Jane a few feet away. “What happened to Jess?”

“She-“ she tried to remember but her mind came up blank.

“It’s no use,” Bruce shook his head, “they were drugged, they won’t be coherent for a while.”

Nat cursed. “There’s no footage,” she sighed, whoever had hacked Jarvis had done a hell of a job. “How could this happen?”

“Someone on this compound betrayed us,” Steve paced angrily. Jess was Bucky’s soulmate, she meant everything to his best friend-his brother-and he’d be damned if he let him lose one more thing.

“There are footsteps leading to the forest,” Sam announced through their comms.

“Jarvis should be back up soon,” Tony was typing furiously on his computer, “maybe there’s footage of the attack.”

“How did this happen?!” Bucky exploded. He had been turning the residence upside down for any clues as to her location but had come back empty handed.

“I don’t know,” Tony had never looked so doubtful.

“Her tracker?”

“I need Jarvis to pin her location,” Tony continued his coding.

“Sharon,” Darcy said dumbly.

“What?” Bucky whirled on her with wild eyes.

“Sharon and Claire,” her eyes were still glassy, “Hydra.”

“They must have been working together,” Steve guessed, “Sharon and Claire know the compound, they must have convinced someone on the inside to hack Jarvis.”

“Not any agent can just hack-“

“It doesn’t matter,” Bucky spit out.

“Bucky!”

“We find her first,” he growled, “then I’ll kill whoever did this.”

…

“We have been looking for you for a long time,” the man drawled. Jess didn’t respond. “Complete control over the asset,” he whistled.

“You don’t have control of him,” she seethed.

“There is nothing an alpha would not do for his omega,” the man smirked, “we will treat you well,” he nodded, “give you a nice cell. Maybe, if you’re lucky, we’ll help you through your next heat,” he raked his eyes over her.

“I would never-“

He barked a laugh, “an omega in heat will take any alpha cock around, you’ll be begging for it.”

She quieted, she had bigger things to worry about now. They weren’t going to kill her-unlike Sharon, they weren’t in this for vengeance, she was only valuable to them as long as she was breathing. She just needed to wait them out and find some way to guide Bucky to them.

…

“There-“ Tony exhaled as the monitor began to signal Jess’ location.

“She has the tracker?” Nat said in disbelief.

“They didn’t remove it?” Clint shared her shock.

“This is a trap,” Steve warned.

“I don’t care,” Bucky strode to the quinjet hangar.

“We should plan-“

“Don’t bother,” Tony shook his head at Steve, “there’s nothing you can say to him to stop him from going after her this very second.”

“Then head out,” Steve ordered the rest of the team.

…

She was in a bare cell somewhere deep underground. They hadn’t tied her up. They knew as well as she did that she wasn’t a threat. She was backed into a corner, holding herself in a tight ball just as she had the day that Strange had dropped her into the compound for the first time. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed. They had covered her eyes when they left the windowless van and brought her to this windowless room. Time didn’t seem to exist in a place like this.

…

“We have no way of knowing how large this bunker is,” Nat warned. She glanced at the twins, “do you know anything?”

“We have not been to any bases outside Sokovia,” Wanda responded with a shake of her head.

“I could run in,” Pietro suggested, “if I surprise them maybe I can get to her before they realize what’s happening.”

“She’s probably locked up,” Steve shook his head, “you might not be able to unlock her cell before they start shooting at you, besides…” he looked hesitant to continue.

“Besides what?” Wanda snapped.

“You’re an omega,” Steve said reluctantly, “they could command you to stop.”

“Just because he is an omega doesn’t mean-“

“I know that,” Steve cut Wanda off, “he’s extremely valuable to the team, but in this case-“

“He’s right,” Pietro conceded, “Hydra knows they can control me.”

“I can’t let her stay in there any longer,” Bucky snarled, she had been in Hydra custody long enough, “who knows what they’re doing to her.”

“She’s okay,” Nat assured him.

“How can you say that?” Bucky said incredulously.

“If she was in pain you would feel it,” she pointed out, “besides, they have nothing to gain from hurting her, at least not until they have you in custody.”

“What if I give myself up?” Bucky suggested, “I can get to her, beat them from the inside.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Tony shot that down, “once you’re in the same building as her they’ll know all they have to do is hold a taser to her and you’ll be completely incapacitated.”

“I can control myself,” Bucky insisted.

“No,” Steve said grimly, “you can’t. You can’t even stand to see her stub her toe, you would never be able to let them touch her, you’d give up immediately. They know that, and they’ll exploit it as soon as we give them the chance. That’s why they led us here.”

“I can’t let her stay in there,” Bucky insisted.

“We won’t,” Sam assured him, “but we need to be smart about this, don’t fall into their trap.”

…

“Can I get some water?” She asked. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed but her hunger and thirst were beginning to edge out her fear. She was glad they weren’t after information from her, she wouldn’t last five minutes of their torture.

“If you’re a good girl,” the guard leered at her. She recoiled, the words that brought her so much pleasure coming from Bucky made her want to vomit.

“She is not to be touched,” the other guard warned, “she is too valuable.”

“Thank you,” she couldn’t help but snipe sarcastically. The guard glared at her but brought her a cup of water anyway. She took small sips, noting that there was no screen surrounding the metal toilet shoved in the corner of her cell. She wanted to avoid using it as long as possible.

There was a loud thunk upstairs and she heard footsteps echoing through the hallways. She grinned.

…

Bucky longed to rain hellfire on the base but they needed to keep the element of surprise for as long as possible. Besides, this wasn’t about his need for bloody revenge, this was about saving his soulmate so he snapped the thug’s neck quietly and efficiently and moved on to the next one. They would put her in the deepest corner of their lair, where she would be hardest to reach.

“You do not want to do that Soldat,” a calm voice stated ahead of him as he grabbed another man’s neck.

“There’s nothing I want more than to do this,” he growled as he squeezed the man’s neck, slowly cutting off his oxygen.

The man in front of him grinned before pulling out a phone with a livestream of a dirty, dank cell. “Such a pretty little omega,” he smirked. Bucky did not let go of the other man but his grip loosened enough that he could take in shallow gasps. “I am surprised you accepted our invitation here Soldat.”

“No you’re not,” he snarled.

“No,” the man’s lips curled mockingly, “you alphas can’t help yourselves can you?”

“Give her to me or I will burn this entire base down.”

The man laughed, “she is our insurance that you won’t do that. You do not have the upper hand here Soldat. In fact, you will tell your friends to leave now or she will pay for your insubordination,” the video showed the door to the cell open and a figure entered the cell with her. She curled in on herself. Bucky’s hand squeezed and the man began to squirm as his oxygen was once again cut off. “Soldat!” The other man barked, Bucky dropped his hand immediately, transfixed by the image on the screen. “Good,” he hummed in approval, the first man scurried away from Bucky and gasped for breath. “Isn’t that better?” The man gave instructions over his comm and the man on the screen stopped advancing on Jess.

“Tell him to back off,” Bucky ordered.

He chuckled, “you will quickly learn to respect our commands Soldat, or your omega will suffer. Now, you tell your friends to back off.”

“I can’t,” Bucky said calmly.

“No?” The man moved to speak into his comm once again but Bucky interrupted him.

“No,” he said, “I don’t have a comm.” It had been Tony’s idea, Hydra couldn’t use Bucky to get the other Avengers to back off if Bucky couldn’t speak to them.

“Well then,” the man smirked, “I guess your first mission will be to kill your friends.”

“Maybe you should check your screen again,” Bucky felt a flood of relief through his bond. A bang went off in another part of the base and while the man was distracted Bucky launched himself at him, literally ripping him apart. Bucky pulled the phone from the man’s severed arm. The screen still showed the inside of the cell, only this time Steve stood in the center, Jess wrapped safely in his arms.

Chapter 28

Steve Rogers smells like berries, sweet and tart. It’s a good smell; Jess decides as he pulls her into his arms and away from the corner she was huddled in, but it’s not him. Try as she might, she can’t help but want him, and she can’t wait to see him again.

“Thank you for saving me,” she whispers, afraid that her voice will echo in the dank cell and her attackers will follow the sound to her.

“You’re welcome sweetheart,” he says.

“Sweetheart? Not doll?” She jokes.

“Bucky calls you doll,” he reminds her of their conversation at his bedside, before she had admitted that she loved him.

“Yeah,” she whispered, “is he?”

“He’s here,” Steve confirms-though she never doubted it for a moment. “We split up to search the base, I just picked the right hallway,” he walks out of the cell and into a dark corridor.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble,” she is-not just the kidnapping, but the grief she’s given everyone since she’s arrived.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Steve assures her, “you might be my favorite person-after Bucky.”

“Oh really?” She’s surprised to hear this.

“Before you-I never thought I’d get my brother back,” he confesses.

“I didn’t do anything, all I’ve done is yell at him since I got here.”

“That’s a lie and you know it,” Steve chuckles.

“Yes well-“ she doesn’t finish her sentence because- “Bucky!”

“Doll,” he lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Steve sets her down and she’s immediately engulfed in his arms. “I was so scared,” he admits.

“I wasn’t,” she insists, “I knew you’d come for me.”

“I’ll always find you doll,” he promises.

“I know.”

…

“How long do we think he’ll lock her away this time?” Tony gestures to the couple sitting in the corner of the quinjet. Bucky has Jess firmly in his lap, his arms are wrapped around her, squeezing her as hard as he can without hurting her.

“Did they hurt you?” He has his face buried in her neck.

“No,” she runs her fingers through his hair as she reassures him. “They threatened but they didn’t do anything.”

“Really?” He wants to be sure.

“Really,” she nods, “they wanted to control you Bucky, not hurt me. Once they had you, then…” she trails off, knowing they wouldn’t have held back if they needed to convince him.

“I would never let them hurt you,” he growls.

“I know,” she squeezes his arm, “that’s what I’m afraid of.”

He pulls away, surprise written on his face, “doll…”

“If they want you to hurt people Bucky-“

“I can’t let them hurt you doll,” he states firmly. “My instincts won’t allow me to, even if I wanted to-which I don’t, by the way.”

“I know,” she sighs, “I guess I should apologize.”

“For being kidnapped?”

“For not taking the threat seriously.”

“You were hurting doll,” he kisses her forehead.

“I still am,” she confesses, “sometimes.” She rushes to reassure him, “but it’s better now. You-“ she buries her face in his neck and traces the mark on his shoulder, “you make everything better.”

He sighs and rubs her back, wishing he could magically wipe away the pain of losing her family. It would always be there, he realizes with a pang, you don’t just get over losing everything. He hadn’t, he admits to himself, but he has her now and that makes it all worth it, he hopes she’ll agree someday.

…

“Bucky,” she sighs as he kisses her neck, they’re finally alone. He heads for their nest but she shakes her head, “I need to shower, please,” she adds when he hesitates. They undress each other; he touches every part of her, wanting to be sure that she’s real. The thought of losing her-even if it was only for a day-terrifies him. “I’m okay,” she repeats. He doesn’t respond, simply carrying her into the warm water and letting the shower flush away the dirt and grime that inevitably comes with a stint in a Hydra cell. When she’s finally clean he dries her off and carries her into their nest. It’s safe there-she’s safe there. She burrows into the blankets and falls into a deep sleep. She’ll be dead to the world for hours.

“Sergeant Barnes-“

“No, Jarvis,” he shuts it down immediately.

“Captain Rogers-“

“I don’t care if Captain Rogers is on fire,” he states, “I’m not leaving this room.”

…

“We should carry on without him,” Steve admits defeat.

“Are you sure? This is about the leak-“

“He’s not going to leave her side,” Steve shakes his head, “maybe ever.”

“We need to figure out what happened,” Tony paces, “immediately.” The security breech feels like a personal attack to him.

“Sharon and Claire knew the compound well-“

“That’s not enough to shut down Jarvis,” Tony interrupts, “not from the outside.”

“It had to be high-level,” Natasha agrees, “who has the kind of clearance to even get into the system?”

“Fury,” Tony thinks quickly, “and Thaddeus Ross.”

“Why does he have access?” Steve is surprised.

“A concession to the US Government.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time a high-ranking government official has collaborated with Hydra.”

“No,” Tony agrees, “but it’ll be the last time anyone besides me even gets the chance.”

Chapter 29

“How long was I out?”

“Twelve hours,” he chuckles, running his hands through her hair.

“You should’ve woken me,” she says halfheartedly.

“Nah,” he kisses her forehead, “after what you’ve been through, you needed to rest.”

“Oh! I didn’t even ask how Darcy and Jane are,” she says guiltily.

“They’re fine,” he reassures her, “they were passed out from the drugs for a while but they’re all better now.”

“Good,” she sighs. “Did you sleep?”

“No,” he says, “can’t sleep.”

“I’m okay,” she reminds him.

“I know,” he says tiredly, “but I have to make sure.”

“You need to sleep eventually,” she says with an eye roll.

“Maybe,” he concedes, “but not right now.”

“Do you need to talk to the team?”

“No,” he kissed her head, “but you need to eat.”

“I’m fine,” she shrugs.

He looks at her disapprovingly, “how long has it been since you’ve eaten doll?”

“I’m not sure,” she muttered, “I’m just not really hungry.” Her growling stomach exposed her lie.

“Doll…”

“Not this fight again,” she rolls her eyes.

“We wouldn’t have this fight if you would just take care of yourself.”

“I just…I just don’t want to leave my nest,” she shrinks into the blankets.

“I can have someone bring us something to eat,” he mumbled into her forehead.

She sighs, “no, I’m embarrassed that I’m always locking myself away in here.”

“We’re always locking ourselves away in here,” he corrects her.

She laughs. “I want to thank everyone for saving me.”

“You don’t have to doll, they’re your family now, we’ll always take care of you.”

“I know,” she kisses his cheek, “but I still want to say thank you.”

He helps her out of the nest and leads her to the kitchen where the Avengers are assembled.

…

“How’re you doing princess?”

“Is that what you’re going with?” She laughs at Tony’s nickname.

“It suits you,” he smirks, “we stormed the castle to save you.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And I’m your favorite,” his grin widens.

“The hell you are,” Bucky growls and practically wraps himself around her.

“Down boy,” she laughs.

“Yes, yes, you’re disgusting. But,” Tony’s face grows dark, “we need to talk about the breech.”

Bucky tenses immediately, “not here.”

“I can take it,” Jess insists.

“You don’t have to worry about this doll-“

“Well since I was kidnapped I kind of disagree,” she retorts.

“I’ll handle it-“

“I can handle it too-“

“Excuse me,” Tony buts in, “but we don’t have time for your lover’s quarrel. If she wants to hear, she can stay.” Bucky growls but backs off. “We’ve narrowed it down to two possibilities, Fury or Ross.”

“Nick Fury?” Jess says incredulously, “no way.”

“Yeah I think it’s unlikely too,” Steve nods, “which leaves Ross.”

“Much more likely,” Bucky snarls.

“But isn’t he-“

“A creep?” Nat comments.

“An ass?” Clint adds.

“An opportunist,” Sam says decisively, “it’s easy to turn when you have the temptation of having the most deadly assassin at your command.”

“How-“

“I gave him access,” Tony says angrily, “the government insisted we needed supervision,” he scoffed. “Never making that mistake again.

“Are we sure we should completely rule out Fury?” Bucky was unwilling to risk it, though he agreed that Ross was a far more likely culprit.

“Yes,” Tony nodded, “he’s an asshole but he’s an asshole that hates Hydra. Doesn’t matter though, I’ll be revoking his clearance as well, the only one with any kind of access to Jarvis is me-and Bruce,” he adds as an afterthought.

“Have you done it yet?” Bucky’s hands are gripping the countertop.

“As soon as we got back,” Tony nods, “they should both be bitching at our doorstep any minute now.”

“I don’t think you should be around when they get here,” Steve says to Bucky.

“Why the hell not?” His grip on the counter tightens so much the marble cracks.

“That’s why,” Tony snarks. “We need to question them before you murder them.”

“He wouldn’t-“ Jess starts but she stops herself when she realizes he absolutely would. She sighs, “where should we go? My nest?”

“Further than that,” Tony says. “A vacation, call it a honeymoon if you want.”

“I’m not taking her out of the compound-“

“Calm down Manchurian candidate,” Tony drawls, “you can use my safe house in Italy, take Legolas and Red as protection.”

Bucky thinks about it for a moment before nodding. “You got a swimsuit doll?”

“No,” she says.

“That’s alright,” he grins, “we can swim naked.”

Chapter 30

After their conversation in the common area, Clint, Nat, Bucky, and Jess piled into the Quinjet pretty quickly. No one wanted to see Bucky confront Ross. Even Bucky could see the wisdom of getting some information first but recent events had proven to him that when it came to Jess he acted first and thought later. He pulled her into his lap as soon as they took off. She buried her face in his neck and promptly fell back asleep.

"Is she okay?" Nat asked from her seat across the aisle.

"She will be," Bucky tightened his hold on her.

"We've got you," Nat assured him, "no one's gonna get near enough to touch her again."

"I just keep thinking-"

"Don't," Nat gave him a half-smile. "Don't think, nothing happened."

"She was kidnapped-"

"But she wasn't hurt, and she's never leaving your sight again, right?" Nat joked.

"Right," Bucky said much more seriously. "If I could just get my hands on Sharon-"

"She got was was coming to her," Nat reassured him, "though I never thought she would be stupid enough to get herself involved with HYDRA. Love makes you do desperate things I guess-"

"She wasn't in love with me," Bucky shook his head. "She wanted the status, she wanted to be a real Avenger living in the residence with the rest of us. She wanted-"

"Your big alpha cock?" Clint butt in.

"Watch it," Bucky growled. "But yes, maybe-"

"No use thinking about it now," Nat said, "you've got everything you need right there," she nodded to the woman sleeping in his arms.

...

Tony's Italian safe house was, like Tony Stark himself, extravagant and luxurious. Jess and Bucky quickly commandeered the master bedroom while Clint and Nat stationed themselves in rooms near the entrances of the home where they could intercept any possible intruders. Jarvis was watching the entire home, of course, but they would not take any chances.

"Wanna go swimming?" Bucky grinned after doing a thorough sweep of the entire house.

"I told you I don't have a swimsuit," she laughed.

"And I told you we could swim naked," he retorted.

"Nat and Clint will see!"

"No, they won't they'll be too busy watching our 6. Besides, they've seen worse," he grinned.

"You'd be okay with them seeing me naked?"

Bucky growled possessively. "Fine, go in your underwear then."

She laughed but agreed and they jumped into the large pool overlooking the lake below. She took a few moments to admire the view below them before she felt Bucky press against her back and a very hard bulge against her hip. "Really?" She laughed at him.

"I haven't been inside you in days" he complained, "it's absolute torture."

"You're exaggerating," she laughed and threw her head back as he sucked marks onto her neck. She whimpered when he hit her mating mark.

"I'm not," his hand trailed down her body. "You're just as needy aren't you?" He inserted one finger into her and felt a gush of slick. "Always so ready for me."

"Alpha."

"My good little omega," he began to circle her clit with his thumb. "You'll have to be quiet," she was shaking in his arms and whimpering, "or they'll hear us."

"Oh god-"

"Hmmm, are you gonna be a good little omega and take my big fat cock?"

"Yes," she hissed.

"Yes?"

"Please," she whimpered.

"Want me to knot you here where anyone could see you? Show the world you're mine?"

"God, yes!"

He entered her without any warning and she groaned as she felt herself stretch around him. He leaned her forward so that her arms were pressed against the edge of the pool as he fucked her from behind. "God I missed your pussy," he continued to grind his hand against her clit. "Feels so good." The only reply she could manage was a moan to show her agreement. "I've got you," he whispered in her ear, "you're safe." She threw her head back and he clapped his hand over her mouth to muffle the sound of her orgasm. He followed closely behind her, he felt his knot expand and his cum flood her eager, tight pussy. "How was that?"

"Good," she murmured.

"Just good?" He ground his hips against her.

"More than good," she corrected herself, "fantastic, amazing-"

"Gorgeous," he kissed her mating mark. They watched the sunset together, still bound in the way only an alpha and omega could be.

...

Tony was working on a suit when Jarvis finally interrupted him. "Sir, you have a visitor."

"Ah, finally! Which one of the wonder twins has come to air his grievances?"

"Director Fury," Jarvis replied.

...

"YOU REVOKED MY ACCESS?"

"We had a serious breech-" Steven stood ramrod straight.

"And you think it was me?! How-"

"Calm down Fury," Tony was leaning against the table, "we don't think it was you but we can't rule out any possibilities. The only person who has access to the compound's security system who I can definitely rule out is myself."

"That doesn't warrant revoking my clearance-"

"It does, actually," Tony's expression hardened, "I won't take any chances with my people's safety."

"You agreed that you needed supervision-"

"I didn't agree so much as I decided not to fight you," Tony shrugged his shoulder, "that was a mistake."

"So what am I supposed to do now?"

"Your job," Tony shrugged, "you can still do everything you need to do with your more limited access."

"If I-"

"Is there a reason you feel that you need extra clearance?"

"Someone has to be able to handle things if you aren't here," Fury crossed his arms, "all of you are constantly going on dangerous missions. What if you die-"

"Bruce has access," Tony said, "he rarely goes on missions and he will be benched even more often now-"

"Why?" Bruce piped up.

"We have some new manpower; we can spare the Hulk. I know how much you hate going green and it would make everyone feel better if you were around to protect Jess while the rest of us are away."

Bruce considered it, "What if the Hulk hurts her?"

"You're much better at controlling the Hulk," Tony assured him, "you could never hurt her. Or Darcy, or Jane-"

"I don't like it," Fury interrupted.

"I don't care," Tony responded. They didn't spend much more time talking to Fury, he wasn't their suspect-for now at least. They would talk to him more after Ross made an appearance.

...

"What is this?"

"Honeymoon," Bucky said with a grin as he produced a bottle of champagne and a beautifully arranged charcuterie board.

"Did you make this?"

"Actually Nat did," Bucky blushed, "but I picked the wine."

"It's beautiful," she smiled.

"You like it?"

"I love it."

"I love you."

...

"Stark."

"Ross." Tony put on his most serious face.

"I'll be straight with you, I'm here about my clearance."

"What about it?" Tony leaned on his chair.

"It's been revoked."

"Yup." Tony popped the 'p' obnoxiously.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Jesus Christ, Stark why has it been revoked?"

"Technical difficulties," Tony shrugged.

"Technical difficulties?"

"Yup."

"Is this about that omega?"

"What omega? Darcy?"

"Don't play with me," Ross hissed, "the Winter Soldier's omega."

"I don't know what you mean. What about her?"

"You revoke my status after she gets kidnapped and I'm supposed to think it's just a coincidence?"

"How do you know she got kidnapped?"

...

Jess was surprised Bucky hadn't made a bed-shaped hole in the wall with the force of his thrusts. "Bucky! OH GOD-"

"'MEGA," he cursed as he felt his knot pop and he buried his face in her neck.

About an hour later there was a knock on the door. Bucky was lazily drawing patterns on her stomach but stiffened when he heard the sound.

"It's okay," she assured him. "Who is it?"

"It's Nat," Jess could practically hear the smirk in her voice, "I figured you'd be done by now."

"Go away," Bucky growled.

"I'd love to," she said nonchalantly, "but Tony just called-they got him." Bucky jumped up from the bed and began getting dressed with lightning speed.

"Calm down Bucky," Jess pleaded, "it's not like he's going anywhere."

"I'm going to kill him," he growled.

"That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered. "We came here for a reason Bucky-"

"So they could get the info they need, well they have it, now-"

"He may still be valuable," she said, "besides, violence is not the answer-"

He looked at her incredulously. "You can't seriously expect me not to bash his head in?"

"Yes," Jess nodded, "I do. If Steve and Tony say they need him alive then you need to leave him be."

"Jess-"

"No," she crossed her arms, "I can't believe I have to say this but no murder." She thought for a moment before she added as an afterthought, "Please."

Chapter 31

Bucky began growling as soon as they stepped off the Quinjet.

“I’m fine alpha,” she used his title in an attempt to calm him down, “he’s locked up somewhere, he can’t get to me.”

“Maybe we should’ve stayed in Italy…” Clint remarked.

“She’s safer here,” Nat shook her head, “even after everything.”

Steve met them at the door of the hangar. “Buck-“

“Where is he?”

“Bucky!” Jess admonished.

“We can’t let you see him,” Steve shook his head. “Surely you understand why.”

“I don’t care,” Bucky growled.

“I told you we should’ve stayed in Italy,” Clint murmured to Natasha.

“Alpha,” Jess pouted and pulled on his arm, “I want to go to my nest.”

“Nat and Clint will walk you,” he didn’t look at her, “I’ll meet you there in a bit honey.”

“No,” she moved into his line of sight and put on her sweetest expression, “I want you to take me.”

“Omega I-“ he breathed deeply and smelled her chocolate/peppermint scent. His shoulders relaxed just a bit as she touched his hand. “I need-“ but she had stood on her tiptoes and kissed his mating mark.

“Please,” she whispered sweetly into his ear.

He dropped his head in defeat. “Okay,” he kissed her forehead and his chest warmed as he was rewarded by her bright smile.

“Thank you alpha.” He didn’t think he would ever get tired of hearing that. She tugged his hand and began to lead him to the residence.

“She’s good,” Clint murmured as they watched the pair walk away.

“He’d do anything for her,” Nat nodded.

“That’s why she’s so dangerous,” Steve grimaced.

“We have Ross,” Nat patted his arm. “And now you have some time to get your information before you leave him at the mercy of the Winter Soldier.”

…

She curled into her nest as soon as they walked through the door of their room. She pulled Bucky along with her. “Are you okay?”

He sighed, “I’m always okay when I’m with you,” he kissed her forehead, “but I’ll need to take care of Ross sooner or later. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Omega.”

“Sooner or later,” she said, “but not now.”

“No,” he held her tighter against him, “not right now.”

Jess couldn’t help it, her alpha was hot and their nest smelled like the two of them combined. She was flooded with memories of her heat and their bonding and she found herself rubbing her legs together in anticipation. “Alpha,” she buried her face in his neck and began to trail her hands down his torso.

“Yes, Omega?”

“I need you,” she whined.

“I need you too,” he smirked as he stroked her head.

“No,” she whined, “I need you.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” he stroked her back.

She huffed, “yes you do.”

“I don’t,” he had a shit-eating grin by now, “I’m gonna need you to say it.”

“Buckyyyy,” she whined.

“Say it,” he whispered in her ear and then nipped at her earlobe.

“Please,” she sighed as she began to kiss up his neck.

“Jess,” he could feel his cock hardening but refused to touch her until she begged for it.

“Please alpha,” she whined, “I need you to fuck me.”

That was all he needed to hear; he pounced.

Chapter 32

“So…what’s up?”

“Really Darcy?” Jess raised an eyebrow as the other omega poured a bag of chips down her throat.

“Yeah,” she took a sip of soda, “besides the bonding, kidnapping, giant mole thing anyway-“

Jess giggled, “when you put it like that-well, I’m exhausted actually.”

“Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

“Bucky’s asleep in my nest right now.”

“And the problem is…?”

“And the problem is that I’m sore all over from all the sex we’ve been having-“

Darcy began to laugh, “couldn’t you just not have sex?”

“I could,” Jess shrugged, “but it’s the most effective way to keep him from storming the entire compound to find Ross. And the most fun,” she smiled.

“So you’re hypnotizing him with your pussy?”

“If you want to be vulgar about it,” Jess rolled her eyes.

“And now?”

“Now I’m just having a snack. Bucky was pretty deeply asleep when I left so I should get a bit of a break.”

“Don’t underestimate the man,” Darcy chuckled, “he could give you the slip if you don’t watch him like a hawk.”

“It’s a good thing he’s so fun to look at then,” Jess smiled as she headed back to her nest. When she arrived though she noticed an alpha-shaped dent in the bedding. Shit.

...

"Time's up, Steve," Bucky stood cross-armed in the doorway to the conference room.

"Buck-"

"You gonna tell me where he is or should I tear the whole place down?"

"He could still be useful-"

"What info have you gotten off of him?"

"He coughed up the location of a few bases," Tony interrupted, "and a pretty good lead on where the scepter is."

"Sounds like you've gotten a good bit out of him," Bucky nodded, "it's my turn now."

"Bucky, please-"

"He kidnapped my omega," he growled, "I have the right to punish him, I wouldn't even be breaking any laws-"

"The law doesn't let you kill him-"

"When I'm done with him, he'll wish he was dead."

...

"Steve!" Jess' breath was ragged as she ran up to the super soldier. "Where's Bucky? He's looking-"

"For Ross," Steve sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "I know."

"Aren't you going to stop him?"

"We got as much information as we think we'll get out of him, Bucky has the right to-"

"I asked him not to kill him-"

"He won't," Steve continued as she looked at him with disbelief, "he won't kill him."

Jess sighed, "let me talk to him one more time, maybe I can convince-"

"He's already down there Jess."

...

"Ross," the man, who was tied up in the middle of the room, snapped his head up towards the door. An overwhelming smell of panic began to cloud the room. Bucky was dressed as the Winter Soldier, wanting to instill as much fear and dread into this man as his omega felt when she was thrown into that Hydra prison cell. "I'm sure you're not surprised to see me here."

Ross shivered, Barnes was unnervingly calm. "Rogers said he would protect me-"

Bucky laughed, "after what you did to my omega, surely you didn't think I would let you off that easily-"

"I gave them the information-"

"And they won't hurt you," Bucky nodded and approached him, "but I will."

...

"Bucky!" Jess ran towards the alpha as he stormed back into the residence. He didn't have a hair out of place. He had changed back into street clothes before reentering the space.

"Omega," he engulfed her in his arms and buried his face in her neck, she exposed her scent gland to him and let him breathe her in.

"Bucky, what did you do?"

"I got revenge," he growled, "for you."

"Bucky, I didn't want you to-"

"I didn't kill him," he reassured her.

"But you hurt him," Jess clung to him. Bucky didn't try to lie to her, he nodded in affirmation. "You shouldn't have-"

"I had to," he pleaded with her to understand, "he hurt you, I couldn't-"

"But-"

"He's right, Jess," Steve stepped in, "there's no greater crime than hurting an omega. If I didn't know Bucky was going to punish him, I would have."

"It's the law," Tony nodded.

Jess huffed, "Those laws are stupid-"

"Maybe," Bucky squeezed her middle, "but I couldn't let it go."

"He kidnapped you," Tony crossed his arms, "he doesn't deserve your mercy."

She sighed, "I don't like violence for violence's sake."

"It wasn't gratuitous," Bucky sighed, "it wasn't even revenge. Everyone needs to know what happens when they hurt one of our own."

She didn't agree, but she didn't argue. What was done was done, and she wouldn't spend the afternoon crying over Ross.

...

"So, Bucky finally kicked his ass?"

"Yeah," Jess picked at the lint on a throw pillow in the common room.

"Don't be mad at him," Darcy insisted, "I'm glad he did it. Ross messed with me too, you know?"

"I know," Jess nodded. "I just wish he wasn't so overprotective."

"That's just how alphas are," Darcy shrugged, "they would've done the same for me. Hell, they would've done it for Jane too."

"Yeah," she nodded.

"So where are the earth's mightiest heroes?" Darcy started flipping through the channels on the television.

"Planning a new heist," Jess stole some of Darcy's snacks, "they think they found the scepter."

"For real this time?"

"Hopefully," Jess kicked her feet up on the coffee table, she grinned as she thought about how much Tony would hate it.

...

"It's a good plan," Steve nodded as they reviewed their information for the third time.

"I'm not leaving Jess alone again-"

"We know," Tony rolled his eyes (though he agreed completely), "Bruce is staying behind."

Bucky looked at Bruce, "no offense, but will you-"

"I'll be okay," Bruce assured him, "I don't think the Hulk would hurt her-"

"I don't know if 'think' is good enough for me," Bucky growled.

"I can stay with her," Wanda volunteered.

Bucky scoffed, "over my dead body." While the twins had moved into his good graces, he still didn't trust them completely.

"Bruce can handle it," Steve nodded, "she'll be fine."

"That's what we said last time," Bucky clenched his jaw but decided to put his trust in Banner.

...

"I feel like we've done this before," Jess held on to Bucky tightly while the rest of the team loaded into the Quinjet.

"That's because we have," Bucky kissed her mating mark, "I hate it."

"You're not going to stop being an Avenger-"

"I could," he squeezed her harder, "I could quit and stay with you-"

"Bucky," she giggled, "you'd go crazy hanging around here with me. Besides, they need you. You need to get that stone-"

"I could never go crazy with you around," he argued.

"You could," she laughed, "hell, I do-"

"You still want to work?"

She sighed, "yeah. If that's okay-"

"You don't have to ask permission," Bucky smiled at her, "if it'll make you happy when we get back I'll talk to Tony."

"Really?"

"Really," he grinned.

"Go get that stone," she kissed him, "so I don't have to worry about us all disappearing off the face of the earth. I couldn't bear to lose you."

"Me neither," Bucky kissed her forehead. "Please don't get kidnapped again."

"I'll try my best."

"Barnes! Let's go!"

Bucky flipped them off and pulled her in for one last, long, kiss. Then he reluctantly pulled away and boarded the Quinjet as well.

...

"Pizza or Chinese?" Darcy was wearing a pair of ridiculous pajamas as she lounged on a couch in the common room.

"Mexican?" Jess suggested as she plopped down next to her.

"Nah," Jane poured out three glasses of wine, "Indian?"

"Or..." Darcy grabbed her glass and pretended to think, "Chinese?" Jess and Jane laughed but agreed.

"Fine," Jess drank from her own glass as well, "but I get to pick the movie."

"Are the movies the same as back home?" Jane asked.

"Some of them, except for the alpha/omega bits. That's new."

"You'll get used to it," Darcy assured her.

"I know," Jess said confidently. It felt...normal, sitting around with these fictional characters, arguing over takeout and movie choices. When she arrived in this universe she never thought she would ever be happy again. But Bucky...she couldn't imagine how she had ever lived without him, even if he still drove her insane.

"I haven't heard you yell at Bucky in a while," Darcy interrupted her thoughts as if she could read her mind.

"I know," Jess sighed, "I need to start a fight, I miss yelling at him." The others laughed.

Chapter 33

The Avengers limped off the Quinjet. Some of them were worse for wear but Thor carried something very important: the scepter. Jess ran up and jumped into Bucky’s arms.

“You got it!”

“We got it,” he spun her around. Her laughter filled the hangar.

“We should study it,” Tony looked at it eagerly, “before we destroy it.”

“No!”

“Just for a few days,” he tried to convince her.

“No,” she glared at him, “you don’t mess with it. Destroy it, now.”

“We’re all tired,” Natasha said, “tomorrow-“

“Right now,” Jess insisted. “If you knew what I know, what could happen-“ she began to cry and her scent turned bitter.

“Destroy it now,” Bucky gripped her arms and glared at them.

“How?” Clint looked around the group for answers.

“Wanda can do it,” Jess clung to Bucky but looked at the witch, “it gave you your powers, you can destroy it.”

“Me?” Wanda looked stunned, “But how?”

“I don’t know,” Jess shrugged, “shoot it with your…energy or whatever. But do it outside.”

“Are you sure-“

“Tony,” she growled at him and Tony did a very un-Tony like thing: he ducked his head and backed away.

“You heard my girl,” Bucky nodded his head towards the hangar door, “go get it done.”

“I want to watch,” she insisted.

“The energy could bounce back on us-“ Steve protested.

“We’ve got this-“

“I have to see it for myself, I won’t feel safe until it’s done.” The group agreed and walked outside and away from the compound. They gathered in a circle and then Thor and Wanda walked further away. He took the stone out of the scepter and backed away with the rest of the group. Bucky shielded Jess with his body but she peeked over his side to get a look. Wanda aimed her hands towards the stone and focused. A beam of light emitted from her hands and hit the stone. The light grew brighter and brighter, Jess could feel the energy in the air. She gripped Bucky’s arm and she felt him place his hand reassuringly over hers. And then it was done, the stone shattered into a thousand tiny fragments.

“Thor.”

“Yes?” He turned to Jess.

“Take the fragments, scatter them all over, in different places, where no one will be able to piece them back together.”

“As you wish,” he bowed to her.

“Did you do it?” Bucky looked down at her. His eyes were earnest and kind.

“Do what?” Jess looked up at him quizzically.

“Save us all?”

“You guys found the stone,” she shrugged, “Wanda destroyed it, I-“

“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t know anything about it,” he stroked her cheek lovingly.

“I’m sure some other alien will pop up sooner or later to try to murder us all some other way,” she tried to joke.

 

Bucky laughed, “can’t you just take the compliment?”

“Can’t you just let me be a pessimist?”

“Are you trying to start a fight?”

“Only a little,” she broke.

“I’ll let you yell at me,” he stroked her side and kissed her forehead.

“You will?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah,” he nodded and looked down with a wicked gleam in her eye, “I’m a big fan of make-up sex.”

“Bucky!”

Notes:

Thank you for reading ❤️