So here we are! Story 3! Please make sure to read story 1 and 2 in the Some Bonds series, or you WILL be lost.

Finally, TWS, which means only one thing- Bucky's return! For those of you who've been with me since the start, I love you and you can finally be happy that Bucky is going to return.

Enjoy!

March 31st 2014, Washington D.C

It wasn't the first time in the months since transferring to D.C that Beth considered pushing her brother into the water as he ran past her yet again on their morning route. Hell, it wasn't even the hundredth time, but as always, she simply grit her teeth and continued at her own pace. She prided herself on the fact she was faster than most people but despite Zola's own serum swimming in her veins, Steve was still the more durable one. and packed the hardest punch. She was still the better shot and far more flexible than him, though, and she could happily live with that. When she found herself stopping to catch her breath an hour later, all she heard was a chuckle as he sped by without breaking a sweat.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She muttered as she watched him disappear round the corner.

Deciding she'd had enough of running, she dropped herself on a bench, watching lazily as a man wearing a grey tracksuit started jogging leisurely down the same route as she and Steve took. As he too vanished from view, she found herself thinking over the past months since returning to SHIELD, from the various missions she'd undertaken alongside Steve, to the incident in London a while ago involving Thor and everybody's favourite wannabe king, Loki. Even now, she was glad to have been away on a different mission at that time; as far as she was concerned, once a lifetime was enough to see the black-haired god that made her skin crawl and blood boil after the way he mocked Coulson as the agent lay dying. Thankfully, none of her friends had been hurt from the incident and the world had somewhat gone back to normal again, with Thor now living with Jane and adapting to life on Earth. The last email she'd received from Erik had left Beth crying with laughter as the scientist explained that Thor was learning to drive. Apparently, the entire city of London feared for its life whenever he got behind the wheel.

Beth was startled out of her musing when she heard a voice nearby, one she didn't know. She instinctively reached for the knife she kept strapped to her ankle, only to relax when her mind caught up and realised her brother had passed the man she'd spotted a while ago and he'd obviously said something to make the guy respond. With a sigh, her hand drew back from her ankle and she settled back to watch as he appeared again, Steve darting by a second later. The third time, she couldn't help but laugh at the guy's outcry.

"Don't you say it!"

"On your left."

"COME ON!"

Shaking her head in amusement as he gave up the chase and slumped against a tree the next time he rounded into sight, Beth stood and slowly walked over to him in time to see Steve pull him up off the floor. The man's dark eyes swept over her.

"Let me guess, you just took a left too?"

She chuckled, instantly liking the man whose playful nature reminded her of simpler times. It was nice for someone new to not be ogling at the pair of them.

"Nah, I'll leave that for Steve."

The trio grinned at each other and Beth extended her hand out.

"Beth Rogers."

He took her hand, grin still in place.

"I had an inkling you might be. Sam Wilson."

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she excused herself to take the call, leaving the two men to continue their talk.

"Hey Nat, something wrong?" she asked, knowing the redhead preferred to text and only called when she had no other choice.

"No. I just wanted you to know we have a mission and I'm en-route to pick Steve up. The car's only a two seater, so Rumlow's behind me with the van."

She wanted to groan at the mention of the man acting as joint second-in-command with her. A year may have passed since they started working together, but she still just couldn't bring herself to like him. He was too Alpha male, the arrogance one that made her want to punch him, not the arrogance of people like Clint and Tony that just made her roll her eyes fondly.

"Why can't I ride with you?" she asked, voice pleading.

"Because it's funny watching Rumlow drool all over you."

"I hate you"

The call disconnected and Beth looked up from her phone to see Steve scribbling something down in the notebook that had become as famous as he himself around SHIELD. It was bought as a joke from Beth to keep track of things when so many pop culture references soared over his head, but now, he never left home without it and every night, he would pick something to tick off the list. So far, she knew he wasn't a fan of a large portion of music he'd listened to, but had discovered a love for the Carry On film series and she'd spotted him reading Harry Potter only two nights ago, so he clearly had a liking for them too. Where he'd found it overwhelming at first, Beth had helped ease him into the 21st century. Initially, by declaring his apartment a 40s only zone, so that when it was too much, he could have somewhere to ground himself. At first, she would spend every evening filling him in on the history from the 1940s as well as the music, food and all the advances they made. Eventually, they made it through to the 1960s before Steve decided he was ready to find out everything for himself. After teaching him how to use the internet, Beth had stepped back, respecting his wishes, but she didn't fail to notice that his apartment remained unchanged and every now and then, she would still find him sitting in front of the radio, playing music from their childhood with an expression she could only describe as lost on his face. it was once she knew and understood intimately.

She couldn't blame her brother's choice, her own apartment containing all the modern appliances and décor until you stepped into her bedroom that was decorated exactly as her room growing up was. Her own little place to remind her of who she used to be. It was the only place she allowed herself to be vulnerable on the days her own emotions threatened to consume her. Those times were very few and far between, but when they did hit, she was grateful that she had that place she could escape to and know she could let it all out and feel safe.

"You hear about the mission?"

Steve's voice broke her from her thoughts and she smiled up at him.

"Yeah. Nat's picking you up. I'm with Rumlow."

Steve fought a smirk as her face crinkled in disgust as she mentioned their comrade. He didn't quite understand why his sister had a dislike for the agent, but as long as her feelings didn't get in the way of them performing their jobs properly, he wasn't going to address it. As he said goodbye to Sam and watched her climb into the seat next to Rumlow, he just hoped that her instinctive wariness of the agent didn't turn out to be something he should have taken more seriously.

…

Later that day, somewhere in the Indian Ocean

After a ride next to Brock that had Beth clenching her teeth and fists numerous times, the STRIKE team was bundled into a plane, making their way to the Lemurian Star to rescue the hostages. The whole situation left Beth feeling uneasy, not helped by the fact Natasha was clearly hiding something from them all. More than once, Beth had attempted to catch the redhead's eye, only to be ignored. If there weren't more pressing matters at hand, she would have pushed until Nat finally told her, but she had a job to do. Like see who their hostages were. Her face creased in confusion as Jasper Sitwell's face appeared on the screen. 'What's he doing in the middle of the ocean?' she mused, as Steve verbalised a similar thought beside her.

"Alright, I'm gonna sweep the deck and find Batroc. Nat, you kill the engines and wait for instructions. Rumlow, you find the hostages, get them to the life pods and get them out. Beth, I want you with the pods, provide extra cover."

Beth nodded, grateful he hadn't paired her with Rumlow, who even now was casting her a look that had her on edge. As the team rallied to gear up, Beth couldn't help but grin as Nat began quizzing her brother on his love life, the grin widening as Steve cast her a pleading look. He abruptly dropped out of the plane sans chute and Nat turned on Beth.

"What about you? You thinking about getting out there yet?" she asked, raising her voice so she could be heard over the roar of the engines.

"Huh? Can't hear you, sorry!" Beth yelled back as she jumped out after her brother, also sans parachute, leaving the rest of the team gaping after the pair of them.

With a huff, Nat reached for her own chute. She wasn't one for sentiment, but she did care a lot for Beth and wanted the woman to be happy. Sure, she was a lot happier with her brother back, but the assassin wanted to see her friend settle down someday with her own family, the same way Clint had. Deep down, she knew Beth would never move on from Bucky, but she wasn't giving up just yet. She floated down to a steady halt next to Beth, her lips set in a firm line.

"You're a liar. I know you heard me. How about Brock? He seems to have a thing for you."

Steve glanced at his sister on the heel of Nat's words, seeing her eyes flash in anger as she brushed past her friend.

"I appreciate the concern Nat, but back off. As for Rumlow, he can take a long walk off a short plank as far as I'm concerned."

Nat sighed as the blonde walked away from them to her post, but though she was angry, Steve didn't fail to miss his sister's hand unconsciously reach up to hold on to the chain round her neck, caressing the metal of Bucky's dog tags and her engagement ring. He gave Nat a sidelong look as she began walking beside him, realising the assassin was genuinely concerned for Beth. It made him want to smile, but he knew his baby sister would never be ready to move on from Bucky. Steve wasn't usually one who believed in the soulmate theory, preferring to believe that you could have a number of them so that you could have a chance to find at least one in your life, but with Bucky and Beth, there would have never been any other person for either of them.

"What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you?" Nat asked, breaking the silence.

Beth could hear their interactions over the comm in her ear, smirking as Steve unsuccessfully tried to brush the redhead off. She fingered her chain, her eyes softening as Bucky's face came to her mind. Had he been here with her at that moment, she knew he'd be as teasing as Nat, adding his own suggestions of people Steve should date. The thought made her smile. She realised that was happening more and more lately. Before Steve was found under the ice, every day was a struggle for her, laced with some moments of fun and laughter, but mostly a haze of pain, anger and depression. Now, she felt as though she could breathe again, even if after two years, there were still some nights she found herself walking to Steve's apartment next to her own to either hover in her brother's doorway or climb in the bed with him, just to reaffirm she still wasn't dreaming. Before, she could barely think of Bucky without being almost crippled by the memory of watching him fall down that ravine, but now, the majority of memories and thoughts creeping up were ones laced with happiness, reminding her of the joy he brought to her life.

"Beth, we're heading out to you."

Shaking her head of her musings and berating herself for letting her mind drift when on a mission of all places, she was surprised to find she'd already been in place fifteen minutes. Brock came into view seconds later, Jasper Sitwell at the front of the group being led her way. The agent greeted her with a brief nod before jumping into one of the pods waiting for them. Once they were all loaded, Beth spoke into the comms.

"Captives loaded and ready Steve."

"Let one of the others take them. I'm looking for Batroc ad could do with some assistance."

She spoke her affirmative, one of the other members of the team already heading to the boat on Rumlow's orders. She thanked the agent before jogging towards the direction she'd last seen Steve. She heard rather than saw him, the sounds of a fight coming from one of the control rooms. Cautiously, she made her way over, Bucky's rifle in her hands as she entered to find Steve gripping Nat's arm, glaring down at her. Beth opened her mouth to speak when the man on the floor rose, shoving her aside as he threw an explosive towards Steve and Nat. The Rogers siblings moved like lightning, Steve wrapping an arm round Nat as they jumped for safety, Beth racing after the fugitive whilst avoiding flying debris. A swift kick to his knees had the man tumbling, three of the STRIKE team piling on top of him within seconds.

"You hurt?" she asked as Steve came out of the room to stand next to her.

"Only my feelings. You?"

She shook her head, confirming she was fine. It was then she noticed Nat come out of the room, a few scratches on her neck the only sign she'd been damaged in the explosion. The assassin's green eyes met her own and though Beth could tell Steve was beyond furious with the other woman, she couldn't stop herself from speaking to her friend.

"You good?"

Nat gave a jerky nod, sending a cautious glance at Steve, who simply brushed past her to follow the rest of the team to the awaiting plane.

"Okay, what did you do?" Beth demanded.

Seeing the blonde wasn't about to let her drop it now the mission was officially over, Nat folded her arms with a shrug.

"He's pissed because I didn't tell him that I had a separate mission to the rest of you."

Beth sucked in a breath.

"Yeah, that would explain it. He hates people who hide things from him."

She punched the redhead in the shoulder, successfully making Nat rub at the skin with a pained look.

"That's for not telling me either." Beth added, following her brother onto the plane. Nat exhaled before following, making sure to give the siblings a wide berth as she took a seat towards the front.

Beth found Steve in his usual seat right at the tail end of the plane, glowering at the wall. She dropped in the space next to him, nudging his arm with her shoulder.

"You shouldn't be too mad at her you know. She doesn't have the same sense of morality as we do."

He snorted in annoyance.

"Really? Because I'm starting to wander how the hell you're even friends with someone like that."

The accusation in his tone had Beth frowning. Even before he became Captain America, he'd been someone difficult to anger, but a nightmare to calm once he did snap. She had to admit though that it was a new thing for him to imply she had lost some of her morality, the ONE thing she'd fought to hold on to during her captivity with HYDRA. She tilted her head back to rest against the cool metal behind her, closing her eyes to soothe the headache she could feel building. She knew from experience that it was easier to just let him seethe. The other alternative of sparring with him until he exhausted his anger wasn't exactly an option in a cramped metal box, thousands of feet in the air.

She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she was woken by a gentle shaking of her shoulder. Blinking her eyes, she realised she was laying down, her head nestled in a folded up jacket in Steve's lap.

"You looked uncomfortable." he explained, seeing the unasked question in her gaze as she sat up.

"Oh."

She stood and began to stretch, her back making a satisfying click as her spine realigned itself. Next to her, Steve was reaching for his bag before he stopped and turned to face her, eyes solemn.

"I'm sorry about last night. I was angry and had no right taking it out on you."

She shrugged.

"You're damned right you had no right to, but it's cool. Just do me a favour and don't ever try to insinuate that I'm not a moral person again. That was a low blow."

She wrapped her arms round his waist, resting her head against his chest as he held her closer to him, his cheek resting against her hair. It amazed him still that she was so quick to forgive him, one aspect of her personality that hadn't changed since she was a child. They parted, the air cleared between them as Beth smirked and fondly called him a punk. Even now, only she and Bucky could get away with calling him it. Tony had attempted to once, but after nursing a broken nose for three days following, he'd refrained from trying again and nobody else was stupid enough to follow suit.

Steve was called by Rumlow, his face turning serious as the STRIKE team commander informed him he had been summoned by Fury for a debriefing. With a wave and a promise that she'd head straight home, Beth watched as he vanished down the ramp. Barely a second passed when Rumlow's shadow loomed over her. Suppressing a sigh, she gave him a fleeting look before returning to her bag, shoving her uniform jacket into it, followed by her rifle.

"Can I help you Brock?" she asked.

"I was just wandering if you'd like to go for a few celebratory drinks after a job well done?"

She hoisted the bag onto her shoulder, throwing him a look of barely disguised irritation.

"Have you forgotten the last time you tried to ask me to drink with you? what I said then still stands now. If you try it again, I promise you won't like the response."

Something flickered in the depths of his ebony eyes, causing her to take a cautious step away from him. All her senses came to life, something about his aura twisting her stomach. It was a look that once more reminded her of her main torturer at the hands of HYDRA, though Rumlow still insisted he was in no way related. The look vanished so fast, she'd have been tempted to believe she imagined it, until he smiled. A shudder ran up her spine, the smile razor sharp and cold as ice, his eyes stony.

"Your wish. My command."

He bowed low, mockingly and Beth grit her teeth as she left the plane, desperate to get back to the safety of her apartment. She didn't see the way his face contorted, shadows of rage turning him from a man many would consider handsome into that of a monster.

"Nobody says no to me. Mark my words Rogers."