Notes:

This chapter is a little shorter than usual, but the stopping point just felt right.

Enjoy.

In Search of Winter

Chapter 4: Doorways

Darcy stood with one hand against the side of the jet, letting the sound of the engines wash over, taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. She let everything fall away, climbing deep into her own mind, searching out the connection where Clint lived. She hated flying. The movement of the plane, the thought of miles of nothing between her feet and solid ground, Darcy was never in any danger of one day getting the urge to jump out of a plane. Clint on the other hand, he loved heights. He craved the safety of distance; he was a sniper after all. It was that feeling she searched for as the tendrils of her thoughts pushed into the links at the back of her mind.

The link felt different. Darcy stood completely still, her eyes drifting back and forth between the two men. Bucky slept curled around the harness he'd finally put on, twitching slightly as he dreamed about something, his heart rate jumping despite how deeply he had fallen into sleep. Darcy eased back and turned his attention to her mate. Where Bucky's thoughts were cold against her mind, Clint's were warm, like a crackling fire that warmed her down to the tips of her fingers; her mate's thoughts always had a slightly orange glowing feeling. She poked at the connection in the back of her mind, while Clint's warmth grounded her. They felt more solid than her connection with Clint had ever been alone, great wooden doors into their minds and no longer a gelatinous feeling barrier, which had settled between the two of them. The connections where now completely solid, and real in a way they hadn't quite felt before, like she could reach out a knock on the doors that separated their minds.

While the doors were closed, she could feel though them, as if they weren't quite sound proof. Darcy pushed at Bucky's door, as the loudest feelings where pushing through it. Feeling a wash of chilly thoughts flowed through her mind as Bucky's quiet panic seeped through their connection. She could feel her heart rate jump up as the darkness from the other side of the door that connected her to Bucky seeped out over her, drawing her into his mind, even the connection with her own mind cast no shadows. He was terrified. The connection with herself and Clint, feeling their thoughts and feelings, brought about memories of manipulations and a horrifying metal machine, that Darcy was sure would chase her into her own nightmares. She could feel him try to push away those thoughts, but a bubbling of panic settled in his chest, none the less. Darcy couldn't understand how he could sleep with the weight of it pushing down on him, however fitful the rest was.

She forced herself back into her own thoughts and laid a hand on Clint's door, instantly feeling a thaw reaching from her fingers all the way down to her feet. Clint's door swung open with the barest of touch, he hid nothing from her, and never had. Darcy could feel were he connected with Bucky, the new link weighing heavy on his mind, and the implications for the two of them. How would they make Bucky, who was still so broken, fit into their lives? She felt her mate turn over the idea of postponing the wedding in his mind. Her heart clenched as he mulled it over, before dismissing it. She took a long deep breath and pulled herself back out of her mind, holding on to Clint's warmth as she let the whine of the engines filtered back into her consciousness.

Darcy took a last look at Bucky, his features twisted into a scowl even in sleep; his flesh hand was white knuckled around the harness. She frowned, wishing she could sooth the jagged edges, but turned away, letting him sleep. If he wanted help, he could come to them, or not, but it had to be his choice.

Clint reached out his hand as he felt his mate slip up behind him, his fingers drifting over hers as their minds interlocked. He could feel an empty space where their third should be, the connection not complete without him. It left a hollow feeling deep in his gut.

"We aren't postponing anything," Darcy slipped into her seat. "Natasha would kill us."

"Wouldn't dream of it, babe," he smiled was as warm as his thoughts, making her heart flutter in a way she'd once though was reserved for Fairy Tales and happily ever after's. His smile only widened and a rush of affection flowed between them.

"You can't lie to me, Hawkass," she smirked. "You thought about it."

"You did too," Clint turned his attention back to flying, without letting go of her hand. "This whole Bucky thing throws a bit of a wrench into our plans."

"Yeah," Darcy leaned her head back against the seat, trying not to focus on the movement of the jet, which made her gut twist. If it'd just been the two of them, Clint had gotten very good at distracting her from what she felt was a very rational fear. The auto pilot had been used very liberally on their Quinjet, and Jarvis had been very careful to erase any incriminating footage. "It's not like we can take him on our honeymoon."

Clint laughed out loud before remembering that their third was sleeping not twenty feet away. They both turned and held their breaths as they checked to see if he was still sleeping. "That would be all kinds of awkward," he whispered, his eyes darkening as he looked at his mate. A flash of Bucky joining them flited through their minds, and for a moment, Darcy could feel two sets of calloused hands running over her bare skin. She squirmed a little in her seat as she watched Clint's pupils blow wide. Bucky whimpered in his sleep.

"He's having a nightmare," Darcy nudged the connection with Bucky, so much more open now that she and Clint were touching. She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself and Clint, or if was true. "It's not about that," the image flashed through her mind again, two different hands cupping her breasts, pulling gently at each nipple. "He's scared of some machine."

"Has been since we left him back there," Clint's fingers clenched against hers.

"You think if one of us goes back there, it'll get better?" they both knew how soothing it was to have their link mate close, touching was better, but Bucky was a new puzzle to figure out, who knew what would help or hurt him, especially in his fragile mental state.

"Worth a shot," he let her hand fall from his. "Gotta be you, sweet cheeks. Unless you can suddenly fly."

That got Darcy out of her seat. "Nope," there was so much 'nope' involved in that thought. She knew how to fly, thanks to Clint, but there was nothing that would convince her to take the controls, just thinking about looking out that windshield made her want to throw up. "I volunteer as tribute," she gave her mate a kiss that was all too short. Wishing she could get him to set the auto pilot so they could relieve some of the tension they'd both stirred up with their fantasy's, she could feel it building in both of them, and slipped off into the back, before she gave in.

"So where are we on the honeymoon thing?" Clint asked, giving Darcy a heated look, picking up her auto pilot fantasy and the many reasons that Tony had decreed that the Hawks got their own personal Quinjet.

Darcy shrugged, letting the heat seep into her cheeks. "I think it's gotta wait," she told him, reluctantly. "We can only traumatize Bucky so much, and six days in the Bahamas with us in a post wedding haze," she chuckled at the thought of Bucky sitting in the living room of their honeymoon suite, fingers in his ears, as they spent hours not bothering to muffle their lovemaking. "It would probably have the poor man jumping into the ocean, trying to swim for the main land."

"He'd probably make it," Clint pointed out.

"Not the point," Darcy clicked herself into the harness next to their third. She could feel some of the tension under his skin, loosen. It would be even better if they were all three touching, but she suspected it would be a long road convincing Bucky to join them in a puppy pile, let alone anything else. Close proximity would have to do for the time being.

Clint eyed the landing pad, seeing Steve hovering just inside the doors. He was not looking forward to telling Steve he'd mated with the Captains best friend, no matter how accidental it had been. He was even less interested in telling Natasha. On the upside, Phase Two was finally complete, and they could focus on Phase Three; eradicating all of Hydra from Stark Industries and Avenger Tower. He took a long deep, cleansing breath, and pulled the Quinjet around for docking. He looked back at Darcy and Bucky, the latter had reached out for Darcy in his sleep, pulling her as close as he could while they were both strapped into respective harnesses, his face buried in her dark curls.

Notes:

Please feed the plot bunny, she needs some good nutrition to get through the next bit.