Chapter 3

It took Skye two weeks to settle into a routine at the Tower. The first morning, she had settled for coffee and toast in her room until a rather concerned Steve - freshly showered after his morning run, she found out when she asked - stopped by to make sure she was okay after she'd missed breakfast. She blinked at him in surprise and he sheepishly realized that she hadn't known about breakfast. He'd taken her up to the floor above Banner's apartment and below Stark's; the floor was entirely common living space. On one side were a large home theatre, and a lounge area with a bar. On the other side was a gym, with a large, clear workout space as well as weight machines, bikes and treadmills. Set right in the center of the floor was a large kitchen/dining area with staff there to prepare meals. "And there are always snacks," Steve promised her. "Just tell them what you'd like and they'll stock it for you." Skye grinned at that.

After exploring the gym, Skye resumed her physical training in the mornings; she kept up her Tai Chi – though not at 6am, thank God – with the help of some videos to build on the basics that May had taught her. Steve and Bucky wouldn't spar with her, but a gentleman she met named Sam would. And after several days, Natasha offered to teach her as well; Skye found that learning from Natasha was a great deal like learning from May. But though she didn't have the physical enhancement to keep up with Black Widow, the technique worked far better for her than learning from men who had strength and reach on her. The situation reminded her of going from Ward as a teacher to May.

Though she was no longer involved with S.H.I.E.L.D. missions, Skye maintained her watch over possible Hydra movements and information trails. She communicated with Coulson every few days, and he sent her updates on things they were watching for. It was hard for her to accept that she couldn't be part of his team anymore, but she tried to stay involved and to help out as best she could from a distance.

Stark capitulated after a few days and set her up a room with enough containment to allow her to practice using her power, so she could learn better control without hurting anyone. It helped her confidence immensely. Skye also found herself rather liking Tony; they had rather compatible senses of the absurd, and she thought she'd managed to impress him with her computer skills. They'd chat about tech over lunch, and after her months of listening to Fitzsimmons' technobabble, she actually managed to understand most of what Tony would talk about.

The best part, though, was that she had plenty of time to explore her relationship with her soulmates. Skye knew they lived and slept together while she stayed on her own. In a way, it was a relief to know that she could take her time getting comfortable with them. If she pulled away before things could get too hot and heavy, she was the only one who had to sleep alone afterwards.

"..and when we got back to camp, we were hailed as heroes," Bucky told her with a grin, wrapping up another of their old war stories from the forties as they relaxed after lunch one afternoon a few weeks later. Skye grinned and nodded, enjoying the way Steve and Bucky would trade back and forth during the telling of tales. Their different points of view occasionally led to good-natured bickering about how exactly something had happened, but Skye enjoyed it as it only gave her more insight to their love for each other.

And Skye knew without a doubt that they loved each other deeply. It was obvious to her, showing in every interaction. She was getting better about opening up to them, too. She'd told them about her parents, about the orphanage… and about Ward. If she were being honest with herself, she was falling for them, and fast. But it scared her a little. "Penny for your thoughts, doll?" Bucky asked, breaking into her musing.

"Just enjoying watching the two of you," she told him with a laugh.

"Why?" Steve seemed genuinely curious to her and she couldn't help but smile.

"Because it makes me happy to watch the two of you interact with so much love in your eyes," she admitted softly. "Even if…" she paused, then pushed herself to be honest at the expectant looks they gave her, "…even if it makes me wonder how I could ever fit in with you as well as you do with each other." Skye bit her lip, looking at them with vulnerable eyes.

"Oh, Skye," Steve began as he caught her hand between his large ones. "You already do fit with us."

Skye shook her head but Bucky cut her off with a kiss; his fingers tangled into her hair and he pulled her close as Steve moved to her other side. "You are an amazing woman, Skye," Bucky murmured to her without letting her go. "You're beautiful and strong and you've been through so much. We know that you've been hurt and betrayed before and we haven't wanted to push you. But we love you, more than we ever thought we could."

Skye looked up, wide eyed, "You do? You love me?"

"We do," Steve agreed, his voice soft but intense. "It's very easy to love you, Skye. No, don't argue," he cut her off when she shook her head. "You're lovely and caring and I can tell that you feel things very deeply. You put up walls because you have a hard time trusting people, but you trusted us enough to share your pain and your past. We won't let you down, love. We'll be here for you for as long as you want us."

When Skye hesitated, not sure what to say, Bucky caught Steve's eye. "Go get your book," he said insistently. "She needs to see it."

With a decisive nod, Steve got to his feet. "I'll be right back." He pressed a soft kiss to Skye's hair before disappearing into the bedroom. Skye looked at Bucky, puzzlement plain on her face. Bucky only chuckled and waited for Steve to return. Skye looked a little confused when a sketchbook was set in front of her. "I started this the day after you moved in downstairs," Steve explained. "Go ahead, open it."

Slowly, Skye opened the cover. On the very first page was a picture of herself and Bucky; he held her gently as he kissed her, and Skye could see contentment in his drawn expression. "You drew this, Steve?" she asked quietly, and he nodded. "Why?"

"I always enjoyed drawing. Sometimes it's easier to show something than to explain it. And it means that I never lose the memories of those little moments. It can be so easy to let the quiet times get lost in the larger events," Steve explained, and Skye nodded her acceptance.

She slowly paged through the book; every page held images of herself, Bucky or both. Curled up together on the couch to watch a movie. Laughing over something; probably Tony, Skye guessed. One showed her working on her laptop. Another captured one of her Tai Chi poses, and she blinked. "I didn't know you watched me work out," she murmured.

"Couldn't help it," Steve replied, blushing a bit. "You move so beautifully, Skye."

Skye blushed, but continued turning pages. There was one of Bucky in a way that Skye had never seen him: curled up, sleeping peacefully. Skye traced her fingertip over his peaceful expression, drawn on the page and couldn't help but smile. The next one showed her, standing out on the balcony with her face turned up towards the sun and her eyes closed.

Skye felt her resistance crumbling, the more pictures she looked at. There was emotion in every single drawing, even the quick sketches that clearly weren't finished yet. She looked up at Steve, tears in her dark eyes as fear and disbelief gave way to hope and love. She set the book down and pulled Steve in for a kiss, expressing her feelings in the best way she could: without words. He sat back in his seat when she released him, startled; his expression softened into a smile when she turned the same hopeful expression on Bucky and leaned in to kiss him as well.

"I love you, both of you," she whispered as she released Bucky. "I'm sorry for making you wait. I just… I had to be sure…"

"It's alright, doll," Bucky assured her. "We understand."

She shook her head. "I'm not sure you do. I needed to know that it was me you wanted. Not just your missing soulmate, not just some destiny thing. But actually me. Not all soulmate bonds are love matches. I know that. And when I knew you'd be together when I met you, well…"

"Shh, love." Steve knelt on the floor beside her, wrapping both of his soulmates into his embrace. "There was never any question of whether or not we'd want you, Skye. Not for us. I think we were ready to love you, no matter who you turned out to be. But then we met you, and we fell for you as we realized just how perfect for us you really are. Not because you're our soulmate; because you're our Skye."

"Our Skye," Bucky agreed in a soft rumble as he tightened his arms around her. "You talk with us, you laugh with us, and you're not afraid to laugh at us when we're being ridiculous. You're not afraid of us because we're stronger than you physically, and you're not intimidated when we get angry."

"Well, only a little," Skye corrected him softly. "But I know you'd never hurt me, so it's easy to just snark back at you."

"But that's just it. You stand up for yourself, and you're so beautiful when you get all fierce and sassy." Bucky grinned at her, heat in his eyes as he watched her blush.

"Always did love me a strong woman," Steve added. "I know we've told you stories about Peggy Carter; you do sometimes remind me of her a little bit. She didn't take crap from anyone, and you don't either."

"I'm glad. I don't think I could be some kind of 40s housewife. I'd kill someone." Skye rolled her eyes good-naturedly and smiled when they laughed.

"God, no! We'd never ask you to, doll. It's not who you are." Bucky sounded horrified at the very idea.

"We'd never want you to try to be something you're not, Skye," Steve assured her.

"Good. I was never any good at being what other people wanted or expected."

Bucky snickered. "Somehow I can't imagine you even trying."

"I usually don't. I learned fairly young that it doesn't get me anywhere, so why bother." Skye shrugged, deliberately avoiding thoughts of all the short-term foster homes. It was all a long time ago anyway.

"Well, don't. We love you just the way you are, Skye. Irreverent, sassy and beautiful." Steve smiled and kissed her again. She melted against him and he held her close, savoring the feel of her in his arms.

When Skye pulled away, Bucky leaned in to kiss Steve as well. Skye licked her lips, still surprised by just how much seeing them kiss affected her. They looked amazing and gorgeous, wrapped up in each other and it always got her hot and bothered just watching them. As Bucky reeled her in for a kiss only a moment later, she began to wonder if it was finally time to give them the one thing she had left to give… herself.

"Make love to me," Skye whispered when her lips were free to move. "I want you, both of you. Please." Her eyes darted back and forth between her soulmates so she saw them both grin and nod. Bucky scooped her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, following Steve who led the way and opened the door for them.

TBC...

A/N: In deference to the site rules as well as the preferences of some of my regular readers, I will not be posting adult rated material here. If you would like to read beyond the fade-out, you can find me on Ao3 under the same username. Those chapters will be self-contained, but the chapter numbers will start to differ once I begin posting those.