A/N: Hello to all my regular readers and my new readers! I thought I would try my hand at a Soulmates AU. This is the AU where the first words your soulmate speaks to you are written on your skin, in their writing. Black words means romantic soulbound and blue/navy means platonic soulbond. Soulmarks can fade to grey if one soulmate has died, or if one soulmate was rejected. I have great respect for ozhawk and her own take on the Soulmates AU. Check out her stuff on AO3 or on here. The pairing here is Steve Rogers/Daisy Johnson/Bucky Barnes and I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC, the Avengers, or the Soulmates AU concept.

Steve:

One thing Steve noticed about this century was that there wasn't quiet anymore. Even when he went for his usual runs, there was still noise. No peace. But he didn't put that plane down to get quiet. He put it down because he knew it was the right thing to do, to save lives.

And because he thought he had just lost the love of his.

He refused to look at the mark on his skin, where Bucky's first words to him used to be, most likely faded. Because seeing it would mean it was final. That he was alone in this new world. Sure, he had Peggy, but for how much longer? She had lived her life, married, founded SHIELD, had kids. She had gotten years and time to grieve. He only had weeks as far as his mind knew. After the Battle of New York is when he first saw them, the black words written on the back of his calf, in the place where Bucky's had been.

Who the hell is Bucky?

The fact that this person, this new soul mate didn't know who Bucky Barnes was stung. Peggy had made it her mission for Bucky to be put on every Wall of Valor on every SHIELD facility, so people had known of his sacrifice. So they would know the hero that Bucky was. And when the Smithsonian put together an exhibit on himself, he requested that a large monument be placed in there as well, detailing Bucky's life and legacy. He asked them to leave out that they were Soul mates, as it felt too personal to be sharing with the world. Even with everyone being more accepting of same sex marriage and soul mate pairings, it was something of Bucky he wanted to be selfish with.

But there was another mark; he discovered, on his back, right above his right butt cheek. Normally, he doesn't look in the mirror after a shower, but it had been the right angle for him to see it in the reflection of the glass.

Don't tell me I'm distracting you from kicking ass, Captain?

He was floored. Two romantic soul marks, after waking up from a 70-year hiatus on life, as Tony put it. Of course, fate would be that cruel. His heart might never be ready for them. He had no idea when they appeared while he was in the ice, nor how old they were. He might not meet them for another 20 years, and that would be just his luck.

He sighed and resigned himself to waiting. But he didn't have to wait long after New York.

Bucky:

There was always pain associated with de-frosting. The muscles in his body screaming in protest, the shards of frozen blood in his veins, and the healing that followed and continued until he was thawed out. This time was different, because he watched their silent panic as he asked for his mission. Take out a high level target. Once he was neutralized, he took off. But he was followed. A blonde man with a shield didn't relent until he threw his shield back to him. But even after his mission, he was not put back under. They needed him again for two level 6 targets almost two days later. The redheaded female evaded him at every turn, before he shot her in the shoulder. The blonde with the shield was back, and kept getting in his way. He managed to get him across the jaw enough that his mask fell off. But as he turned to him, the blonde man's demeanor changed.

"Bucky?" He asked him.

"Who the hell is Bucky?" He asked, and he looked like the Soldier had just punched him in the gut. His flying friend kicked him into the van he was standing next to, but some of his handlers managed to capture the three targets. He was taken back to the Vault, mind reeling. He couldn't get that word out of his head though.

Bucky. It was familiar. Like, the smell of his suit, or the feeling of ice crawling up his body as they re-froze him. He knew it. He knew him.

It wasn't until he fought the blonde again over the Potomac did he see a flash of something. As far as he knew, he had no life before Hydra, before they gave him a mission. He was an empty shell, a soldier, trained to follow orders. But the blonde said something that opened a floodgate.

"I'm with you till the end of the line," He choked out, before the glass gave way underneath the blonde. Under Steve.

Steve. All he felt was pain as his mind began to open memories blocked by years and years of intense brainwashing. There was a sense of panic that consumed him so completely as he watched Steve's body submerge in the river. Without a second thought, he dove out of the falling Hellicarrier and into the spot where Steve fell. He pulled him out of the water and to shore, before realizing he couldn't stay. Even if Bucky wasn't Hydra's pet anymore, there would be authorities after him. Steve didn't deserve to be dragged into his mess.

He made the choice to let him go, until he was sure that no one could mess with his brain again. And after a few weeks, he found that his hate for Hydra had grown. He found the spots where they tried to burn away his soul mark to Steve. But as if it was a fresh tattoo, the question, "Bucky?" was still there. But what surprised him even more was the other location he remembered burning, and pain. He now knew why they always kept his skin covered. Because, over his right hip, was another soul mark.

Are you just gonna stand there looking pretty, or give me a hand with these HYDRA goons?

Two Soul mates? And one being Steve? He panicked, because another soul mate was more leverage for Hydra, if they wanted to try and recapture him. He refused to let them though. He was going to take down Hydra by himself if that's what it took.

He wouldn't let them take any more of his life, nor would he risk his soul mates.

Skye/Daisy:

Skye knew that she had to let him go. Cal had no more use to SHIELD, and she couldn't stick around long enough for her face to trigger his 'wiped' memories. Coulson described it as the most excruciating pain he has ever experienced. And this was coming from the man that just lost his hand. There wasn't much left for her in the world. Mother now dead, father with his memory wiped, SHIELD still underground and soul mates… Knowing that she was born with her marks, she knew they may not be around her age. And as they hadn't shown up yet, she had given up hope of them ever showing up.

Jemma was the only one other than May and Coulson that knew of her soul marks. She chose to keep the words out of SHIELD's files. Just more leverage the world could use against her. Not that any information on them stayed on the web for very long after SHIELD fell. She made sure of that.

Now, she knew that she would preserve her father's memory by using her real name: Daisy Johnson.

Every night she would stay up, combing online databases for soul mates, trying to see if anyone's mark matched her writing. As it was so long since she last wrote anything down, she had to keep checking a sample of her own penmanship. It was horrid, but her excuse was that she dropped out of school at 16.

Her bugs inside of Hydra had worked their charm, telling her of several locations that were not on the SHIELD data dump, courtesy of Natasha Romanoff. There wasn't much to do other than practice with her powers, and monitor Hydra frequencies. The Inhumans were all relocated back into society, so there was a lull in activity. Until she noticed a string of destroyed safe houses, with the only survivor being a man with a metal arm and long brown hair. According to Hill it wasn't the Avengers, as they were trying to lay low after Sokovia. So Coulson sent her, Mack, Hunter and Bobby to investigate.

Following the path that the mysterious attacks went in, it was leading into Romania. Guessing the next target, they staked it out, but Hunter accidentally gave away their position. Hydra opened fire, forcing them to defend themselves. After a bullet grazed her shoulder, she decided it was time to bring out the big guns. Gauntlets at the ready, she focused her energy on the ground around the building. If she slipped in concentration, the surrounding buildings could come down as well.

So the sound of someone sneaking up behind her didn't register until it was too late. The bullet whizzed by her ear, before a grunt as flesh hit something hard. Pulling back, she turned around to defend herself. The only person there was a very handsome man, with his hair tucked under a hat. She saw the gleam of metal poking out from underneath his glove, and the strange expression he wore. Determination mixed with hate.

"Are you just gonna stand there looking pretty, or give me a hand with these HYDRA goons?" She asked, motioning to his arm. He locked up before noticing something behind her. He whipped out a gun and shot past her, taking out the sniper on their roof.

"Thanks," She said, "But I need to know you are on our side. These guys hate us, and I can't say that I like them all that much either. Are you prepared to fight with us?"

"I'd burn the world down for you," He said slowly, almost as if he was waiting for a reaction. And a reaction he got, as she froze. He pulled her down behind cover, and whispered, "I'm sorry. You deserve better than this."

She couldn't breathe suddenly, staring into his blue eyes, drowning in the panic. She couldn't lose him, not now that she found him. She got out from behind their cover, much to his protest and directed all her rage of Hydra at the building. It shook, and with a great yell, she brought it down.

His hand had not been far from reaching her, as rubble crumbled 100 feet from them and dust spread over the street. He pulled her back behind cover and held her close to his chest. She could have sworn that his lips brushed across her forehead soothingly as the dust settled, almost reassuring himself that she was there in his arms. But when she looked up, Mack and Bobby's guns were aimed at his head.

"Let her go," Bobby growled to him.

"No, wait. He's… he's one of my soul mates," She hurriedly explained.

The guns didn't lower, as Mack said, "Daisy, back away from him."

"No. Why are you guys acting like this?"

"This is the Winter Soldier. Hydra's Fist," Bobby said, eyes never leaving his form.

"I was their puppet," He said, brokenly.

"Stand down," Coulson's voice echoed in their earpieces. Mack withdrew his weapon at the order, but Bobby didn't.

"Agent Morse, stand down. He is to be brought in for questioning," Coulson repeated in the comms. Her lip rose at the corner in a sneer, before holstering her ICER.

"Will you come with us?" Daisy asked the man. He looked panicked, but when he looked in her eyes, he seemed to relax. Nodding once, he got up and helped her to her feet. Mack brought out a pair of cuffs and said, "For reassurance."

The man nodded, putting his hands behind his back. Daisy went to stop Mack, but the man said, "They want me restrained, for peace of mind. It's okay."

"I didn't even ask for your name," He said, giving her a tentative smile.

"It's Daisy," She said as Mack hauled him off. His eyes smiled at her, before turning his head and following the larger man back to their Quinjet.

"Daisy, have you told anyone about your soul mark?" Bobby asked seriously.

"Just Jemma, May and Coulson. Ward didn't even know," She said truthfully.

"No one from your past?"

"No. The Nuns knew but were told to keep them covered," She said, "No one knows Bobby."

"Did he show you your words?" Bobby pressed.

"No, but we will find out soon enough if he has them."

Coulson requested to interrogate him, knowing through Hill that this was Bucky Barnes. She had relayed as much after SHIELD fell, and knowing that Captain Rogers was looking for him made things even more interesting. There would be no more operating in the shadows, without revealing himself to the Avengers again, alive and well.

"Sergeant Barnes, my name is Phil Coulson. I'm the Director of SHIELD," he said entering. Bucky looked up at him and said, "So you know."

"And I'm the only one that does so far. Though I imagine your soul mate is looking you up right now, or listening in," He said, placing a folder down on the table in the Zephyr's interrogation room.

"So, would you like to tell me what happened after SHIELD fell? Or shall I guess?"

"I will tell you everything you need to know, as long as I know she's safe," Bucky said, eyes showing how desperate he was to see her.

"Agent Johnson, please join me," Coulson said, giving it a moment for Daisy to come up to the windowed door. Coulson nodded, giving her permission to open the door. She closed it, her eyes never leaving Bucky's, and sat down in an empty chair.

"Alright then. Start talking," Coulson said, as Bucky's form relaxed.

"After SHIELD fell and Steve… Steve snapped me out of the hold they had on me. It was some sort of brainwashing. Took years for it to stick, more years of training before they sent me out for missions. The programming would break down if I was out of cryo for too long, so when they didn't need me, I was but back in the ice box. After the Triskellion, I realized I couldn't drag Steve into the shit show that was about to be my life. He deserved better."

"I started by keeping myself hidden. Smuggled myself out of the country on a ship bound for France. Trekked across Europe until I caught word that Hydra wasn't as dead as I thought. They would try and recapture me if they knew I was there, so I sought them out instead. Pretended to come in out of the cold, before… before taking them out and burning the place to the ground. It was working, they trusted that their dog was loyal," He sneered, before Daisy gently placed a hand on his.

"You are not a dog," She said passionately.

"Maybe, but I'm what they made me."

"What they forced you to be," She defended, "You would have never done those things willingly, right?"

"Never."

"There is still the matter of your reputation. For very good reasons, we can't have you going back out into the public eye. At least until you have been cleared by Washington," Coulson said, closing the folder on the table

"They won't clear him Coulson, they'll demand his head! We can't do that to him. He's a war hero for crying out loud," Daisy said, looking at her Director with confusion.

"Even so, we need to let someone know that we have him and he is on our side."

"Talbot?" She asked incredulously, "He'll be the first to demand blood."

"Not if we spin this right. Under the Soulmates Act, he is protected. Especially since I want to bring in a character witness."

"Who?" Daisy asked, "I've only known him less than four hours."

"Someone who has known him much longer," Coulson said and Bucky's eyes widened in fear.

"No, I can't bring him into this," He said, panicking.

"Coulson, give us a second. Please," She begged. He nodded, "Hopefully you can get him to agree."

Once Coulson had left the room, she turned off the camera and the mic to the room, wanting total privacy. They could still see in the windows of the room from outside, but they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Okay, let's put this whole, "Turn you over to the government" thing aside for now. Can I see my words on you?" She asked in a small voice.

He nodded, before saying, "On my right hip bone."

She quickly opened the handcuffs so he could show her, and because now that they know whom he was, it was cruel to keep him in them. Plus, he could easily have ripped them off. He slowly pulled his shirt up, revealing how low his jeans were slung and Daisy's messy scrawl in three short line across the hipbone.

"Where are mine," He asked gruffly.

"Uh, here," She said, pointing to her derriere. He snorted, saying, "Yeah, as much as I would like to see them, I think we should wait until we are in a room with no windows."

"Probably best," She smiled. He quickly realized how fast his heart was beating, just at the smallest smile from her. He loved the way her face softened, and her eyes crinkled.

"Do you… have another mark?" He asked. Maybe she didn't, and he didn't want to lie to her about Steve.

"I do. That one I can show you," She said, pulling the leg of her pants up, just enough to show him. The breath he let out was what tipped her off. His relief was palpable, so she asked, "Do you know who it is?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me, or do I have to force it out of you?" She said, a smile playing on her lips.

"It's Steve Rogers. I recognize his handwriting, because I have his mark too."

She always knew that she was destined to be part of a trio, but never in her life would she have guessed that her soulmates were Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. She gave a small nod saying, "Oh."

"I'm gonna warn you, as far as I remember, he's never been with a woman. But I reckon he'll be pleased as punch to have such a gorgeous woman as a soul mate."

She chuckled nervously, tucking a curl behind her ear as she ducked her head.

"Don't," He said gently, reaching for her hand resting on top of the table, "Please don't hide that smile."

Her cheeks warmed at the look in his eyes and said, "Why did you leave Steve? Really?"

"Because I love him enough to not give him my burdens and demons. He is someone that will take on the whole world alone. Always been like that."

"I've heard a few stories from DC, but nothing that was first hand. Captain Rogers-"

"Steve. He'd want you to call him Steve," Bucky said softly.

"Steve… seems like the kind of person that would do anything for you. And I know from a source inside the Avengers, he is still looking for you."

"I can't face him," He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"How about until you are ready, you stick around SHIELD? We would appreciate your help on Hydra hideouts," She offered, hoping he would agree.

"I can't ask you to be around me Doll. I'm not safe. They want me back and will do anything to accomplish that. I won't risk your life," He said, sitting back and trying to withdraw his hand from hers. She clamped down on it saying, "Don't I deserve a choice?"

"I won't put you in danger."

"But that's not your call to make. If we are gonna be together, I need you to understand something. I've had a lot of assholes in my life. All have tried to control me, tried to make me into who they wanted. And I will not let you dictate what I can and can't do. My choice is to be with you, get to know you, and when you are ready, we will find Steve together. Got that?"

"Yes ma'am," He said after a moment of silence.

"Good, now… let's figure out how to bring you back into the world. Slowly."