Holly stood in front of Steeljaw, a pleased grin pulling at her lips.

Bucky was as healed- as much as magic was capable of in his condition. The rest would be up to the Alpha himself. Steeljaw assured them both that the triggers had been disposed of, and even should Holly have given permission for anyone to use them, or spoke them aloud herself, they would not work. They were assured that the triggers Holly hadn't known about had been handled as well.

Holly would never give permission anyway, because she knew it soothed something in Bucky to know that 'just in case' measure was in place. She had no plans to use them herself either. Even thinking about using such means to force someone under her or someone else's control disgusted her.

The drugs in his system were mostly gone as well. The weeks of withdraw and the effects that came with it had been hell on both of them. There were still trace amounts, and Bucky still had moments where his body rebelled, but for the most part, the goblins and Holly herself had worked together to get his system clear. It had been a bonding experience, the weeks of Holly curling into Bucky's side, running a hand over his shoulders, face and hair, wiping his mouth and body down with a cool cloth. Of talking him through the shaking and seizing his body went though, keeping him calm as his body betrayed his control. Of waking up every single time he needed her no matter the time or what she had been doing before. Of proving that he had choices with her and she would be there for him no matter what.

Any time.

She could smell the joy on him as the Alpha's base scent of woodsmoke and apples shifted to woodsmoke and chocolate. She knew he would smell her joy as well and she dipped into a deeper bow than necessarily required, to voice her gratitude to the goblin, her words soft and genuine.

"Thank you, Healer Steeljaw."

Steeljaw lifted his chin, eyes shining in pleasure at a challenging job well done, as he nodded sharply.

"You are welcome, Lady Potter. I wish you the blessings of-" his voice was warm as he listed the name of one of the goblin hunting Gods in his own language- "on your hunt for your enemies. May they fall swiftly to your blade."

"And may your gold swell and flow as the rivers, Healer Steeljaw."

She had succeeded in driving all the remaining Death Eaters she could find out of Britain if she had not taken them in already.

It would be time to travel after them.

She turned to face Bucky, straightening and meeting his clear eyes. They were softer when he looked at her then they had once been, when she had first broke him out of his prison. More alive, alert, aware in a way they had been lacking.

She purred with pleasure that she had helped him. Batair stood at her hip, his coat still ruffled and duller then she liked but nowhere near as bedraggled as it had once been. She wondered what had changed for her Sentinel while she was busy with her own mess.

"What would you like to do now, Buck?"

He blinked at her a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Holly smiled a little, her purr still a soft background noise as she explained patiently.

"I only ever wanted to help you. You are not my prisoner. Not an Asset to be kept. Your healing is as complete as I can make it with my methods, everything after this will be something you must see done in time. I will not hold you to my side as HYDRA had done- you are free to do as you wish. I will see that you get whatever that is"

She did not want him to go. She enjoyed his company, and wanted to keep helping him through his recovery, but she refused to make him feel trapped or obligated. She had been there done that, and he had had it done to him enough for multiple lifetimes.

It had to be his choice, not only for him, but for Holly's sake too.

Shock- the scent of crushed mint in her nose- bled off of him, blue eyes wide and staring. He was silent and unmoving, and still Holly purred for him, waiting for his choice.

It took him awhile, but hesitant and halting, Bucky asked a question, keeping his gaze on her.

"Can I...can we...can we come with you?"

Holly blinked, surprised herself that this is what he wished to do. She had hoped of course, but give a choice...she had not expected him to choose her. Had expected he would want to leave and explore, to bask in his freedom. Still…

"If you want to come with me, you are more than welcome Buck, Winter."

She addressed them both, aware that the two personalities had not quite integrated, and not wanting either one of them to think she only welcomed one or the other. She continued, offering him the choice as she had always tried to do.

"You can leave whenever you'd like, but I would be pleased to have the both of you along for as long as you'd stay."

He purred- the woodsmoke and chocolate scent of his joy returning to the room- and Holly fought not to melt at the deep and rolling sound. Her purr increased in volume in response and she carefully lead Bucky out of the bank. They'd be using their portkey to jump countries, but first she'd have to inform Buck of what she would be doing.

LINEBREAK

Holly had to admit to herself that the French knew how to do pastries and sweets. She would be sending Fleur a very nice thank you card for her recommendations. Emerald eyes slid closed and she turned her aborted moan into a low hum of pleasure as she took that first bite of lemon-blackberry crepe. It was delicious, and fresh and still warm and Holly was in love. She chewed slowly, purring with pleasure.

The small choked noise drew her attention to the side, and she opened her eyes to look at Buck who had frozen beside her at the sound. She blinked at him, not understanding, and after a moment Buck went back to his banana cream crepe. She shook it off, walking with him down the streets.

She'd chased a lead here, but hadn't found her Death Eater runaway yet. Buck on the other hand had remembered that he had a safehouse here, and he wanted to go see it. He told her it was one of many that he had built when he escaped HYDRA a couple of times over the years.

They'd been hunting down leads on her escapees for a month since she'd taken him out of the bank after his last healing session. He'd come so far and Holly was so very proud. He'd opened up some and it was obvious that he'd...settled more, into himself since that point. He was more comfortable in his skin, and in sharing his thoughts with her.

Holly leaned closer to the Alpha, still purring softly as she carefully worked through the crepe, savoring each bite.

She needed twenty.

Or well, at least two more.

It was so good.

LINEBREAK

Holly was going to be the end of him.

Damn near a century of brainwashing and torture and it was going to be this tiny slip of a warrior- an Omega Guide that killed him.

And to make it worse, she didn't even know what she was doing.

If he didn't know any better- if he couldn't smell it on her- he'd think she was doing it on purpose. She smelled amazing, and the goddamned noises.

He'd never had this problem before.

Even when he was just 'Bucky Barnes', before HYDRA and the war, no other Omega had smelled like this. After HYDRA, they had made sure that scents and Omegas didn't distract from a mission. But now?

It was a blessing that she was a Guide, and she trusted him enough that she had lowered her shields to include him in her range. Her complete and utter joy at crepes was perhaps the only thing that kept him from wearing a hole in the street with his antsy jittering desire to move. To do something.

Boudica was laughing at him, a strange sound from her beak, but her wings were fluttering around her body in amusement.

Winter was laughing at him too, even as he made a pleased rumble that was not quite a purr. He was pleased that Holly was pleased, and damn it, but Buck appreciated it too. The scent of her joy- apple pie, just out of the oven and mouthwatering damn it- was pleasant and made him want to purr.

He bit into his own crepe and tried not to stare at Holly enjoying her own. It was made easier when he noticed others were staring at her too.

He stared them down. They quickly looked away.

Buck moved a bit closer to the Omega, his hand brushing against her own he was so close. She leaned towards him, her purr increasing in volume, and Buck couldn't help but rumble back.

He very pointedly did not look at Holly when she licked the last of the crepe off her hands, chirping a pleased, absent minded question.

"How much farther, Buck?"

It still took him a second to respond, and was pretty damn proud that the words sounded steady and clear.

"Just another block left, after this turn."

LINEBREAK

Holly reclined back on the couch of the safehouse Buck had brought her to. She allowed the Alpha to secure the place, ensuring no one and nothing had touched it since he'd been here last. It was a simple matter to clear away any dust with a twist of magic, and she had settled into the couch to wait.

Buck had allowed her to have the first shower, but he would be taking a bath, she knew. After years of being frozen and refrozen, sprayed down with cold water while being prepped and the the bad memories associated with all of it, she knew that Buck liked to take baths in water as hot as he could stand.

She should have expected that, but she still did not appreciate the way in which that fact had been learned. Buck didn't like it much either, once she'd talked him out of the flashback.

She buried her nose into the couch, and then huffed.

It didn't smell like apples and woodsmoke.

It smelled clean. Like fresh linen hung out to dry on a clothesline. It was decidedly lacking in any personal scents. She frowned at it. It was...disappointing. She had to fight the urge to rub all over it and mark it with her own scent. This was not her den, and she had no rights to scent Buck's furniture no matter how much she wanted to.

Most of her belongings had Buck's scent on them due to their traveling together. It was a subtle claim on each other, that they smelled like one another, but it was not a bond like she wanted. It was on the surface. It was not the same as a scent marking. It would fade, perhaps not after a shower, but maybe two or three days it would be faint enough to be easily missed.

She may, also, have stolen some of his shirts for sleepwear after he'd worn them. It helped her sleep. His scent was calming. Soothing the overwhelming emotions that welled up in her dreams. It was… a comfort, something she had not expected… that she was able to sleep as deeply as she did without the aid of potions or pills.

Although, it did make her pause, that she found his scent a comfort even before she'd truly gotten to know him. Before she'd trusted him behind some of her mental shields, before she'd welcomed him into her range, before she'd learned to trust. It was natural for her to breathe in his scent, to help him as best she could. That was then.

Now?

Now, months after she had pulled him from a HYDRA base, and brought him to help, months after sitting with him as he dry heaved over the toilet, after he trusted her to keep him safe when he was unable to, and a month after she had taken him from his last healing session where he'd asked to come with her…

Now, she wanted.

She wanted him for pack. He was hers. She craved his presence and scent, liked having him close, and reached for him both as a Guide and an Omega.

But how was she to broach the topic with him? She wanted him to stay with her, to trust her and willingly return any gestures of affection, but she did not want him to feel obligated to return the pack-bond with her. She wanted it to be his choice.

Holly wanted him to look and her and want.

She leaned back and closed her eyes, allowing her muscles to relax. She could think about it later. For now they needed food. Safe house or no, no one had been here in ages and there was nothing substantial in the place. She huffed at the clean linen scent again, before she pushed herself up.

"Buck?" Holly called out towards the bathroom and was rewarded with a muffled reply through the door.

"Yeah?" his head poked around the door after a moment, hair dripping with water and eyes warm.

"I'm gonna go out for some food, okay? I won't be long- maybe fifteen minutes, since that corner store is right down the block."

For a moment everything is quiet, and then he rumbles back.

"Alright. Be careful, Holly."

"I will!"

It was a promise, lips curved into a soft smile and a gaze that lingered fondly on familiar features.

He always asked her to be careful, but allowed her to make her own choices. It was a pleasant change after so many Alphas had tried to force her into compliance in the Enclaves. She turned from the door, quickly grabbing her wallet- it was easier than a purse- and tucking it into her pants pocket alongside the keys for the door.

She locked the door behind her, and turned towards the store.

LINEBREAK

Holly kept her posture relaxed, and used her magic ensure no one could smell her wary alertness on her scent.

The only thing that may possibly have given her away was her too tight grip on her groceries, but that was hidden by the bags themselves. She had five minutes left before Buck started to worry about why she wasn't back yet.

And she had a group of five following her. She would not lead them Buck's safe house. So she kept walking past it. She let her magic wipe her scent away from the walkway leading up to the door as she passed so her tails wouldn't know to check the house.

She wasn't sure who exactly was following her, the scents of the city helping to hide whoever it was. She didn't want to turn to check either, and possibly alert whoever was on her tail. She frowned and took the next left. As she turned, she glanced at the road behind her out of the corner of her eye.

It took her less than a second to pinpoint her tails.

Wizards.

More than that- English wizards who had no idea how to blend in properly, which meant she was being tailed by Death Eaters.

She scowled for an instant as soon as the building blocked her form from their view. She'd have to lead them away from civilians. Her mind raced. She didn't know the city well enough to know a civilian-free space, she wasn't even sure the Death Eaters would keep following her if she lead them out of the city itself. And nothing said they wouldn't shoot her in the back with a spell, Statute be damned, anyway.

Her eyes lifted, scanning the area quickly.

Her best bet would be one of the deeper alleyways.

Lovely.

Buck was going to be pissed.

LINEBREAK

Buck paced the living room area of his safe house, staring down the door and waiting.

Holly wasn't back yet.

It had been twenty minutes. He'd waited an extra five beyond the limit she'd given him. She wasn't here. She had told him fifteen minutes, and she never lied to Buck. So where was she?

Why wasn't she here?

Winter growled, low and dangerous in the back of his head. Bucky found he rather agreed with the level of threat pulsing in the back of his mind. If anything had happened to her-

Buck's lips pulled back off his teeth in a snarl without conscious thought.

He'd already pulled his boots on, and it was a simple matter to grab the spare set of keys as he stepped out the door and locked it behind himself.

The very first thing that tipped him off that something was wrong was the complete lack of her scent by the door. Even in a city, after twenty minutes, trace amounts of her scent should be present. But there was nothing. And when he stepped down onto the street itself, he could scent Holly had walked past the safe house.

Buck snarled, low and dangerous and threat as he stalked after the lingering scent of ginger and oranges.

LINEBREAK

Holly cursed, leaning back against the alleyway she'd lead her tails into. The narrow way had worked to her advantage somewhat, working to funnel the wizards as they worked their way closer, but it had also limited her ability to dodge any spellwork. It had also come to her attention that these five wizards had worked together before. They flowed around each other easily, positioning just so around one another's spell work. They were even possibly a pack.

The blood trailing down her ribs from the cutting curse she couldn't quite dodge was proof of that. She'd gotten that wound earlier in the fight, when she'd been dealing with five wizards rather than the lone one left. It was a mark of Holly's skill that she'd managed to take down four members of a war pack on her own in such close quarters while trying to hide what was happening from any passerbys. Luckily, the curse had only clipped her so it wasn't deep enough to be life-threatening. Or it wouldn't have been, if she'd gotten medical attention after receiving it. Instead, she had been forced to dance and duck and dodge around the alleyway, forcing the wound to bleed more, to pull and stretch.

Sneering down at the last wizard standing at the end of the alleyway, she inwardly spat several very biting curses at both him and his ancestry. He was using his surroundings as shields and had managed to somewhat shield his fallen packmates from her. She'd broken the wands, wrists, and legs- not necessarily in that order- of the Death Eaters she'd already felled, having learned in war not to let her enemy get back up. She'd pressed herself back behind some wooden crates, dizzy and hoping the male wasn't smart enough to shoot off a fire spell while she was so close to them. She needed a minute.

Batair stood in front of her, his body low to the ground, fur standing on end and looking twice his normal size as he snarled at the Death Eaters. He paced and snapped, teeth bared and eyes flashing in fury.

She watched the wizard's wand lift from his side and took a few cautious steps away from the wood just in case. She snarled at him low and dangerous and inhuman. He growled back, and she could hear the hint of Alpha he'd tried to inject his voice with.

She nearly scoffed at him.

He was nowhere near a strong enough Alpha to use his Command on her. Batair almost lunged at him, but then his eyes flashed to the alley opening, and he seemed to settle. Still irate, but soothed by something.

The pitiful attempt to try and order her, as if she would submit to him, as if she was weaker was offensive.

She didn't submit to Voldemort, what kind of Death Eater thought he was stronger than his Lord? She hadn't submitted to Dumbledore either, and this scum thought he could Command her when his Lord and the one his Lord had feared had tried and failed?

It was only nearly, because a few seconds after he tried, after Batair settled, a deep thrumming snarl echoed down the alleyway bringing the scent of burning woodsmoke and cinnamon. Her legs shook a bit at the sound, and the familiar scent.

The other Alpha's voice cut out with a gargled choking sound, and Holly leaned further back against the wall with a soft whine. It was safe, yet so clearly not and her instincts were warring with one another and she had lost way too much blood to deal with this. Spots were already invading her vision and try as she might, she wasn't doing a good job on holding them off.

She wavered on her feet and listened as the snarl reverberated through the alley, becoming near deafening as it approached closer. She whined again, soft and pained, and suddenly he was there.

His eyes were burning and frozen both, and his face morphed with rage, but he was so very gentle as he lifted her into his arms. She snuggled into his chest, some of the black on the edges of her vision spreading at the spike in pain due to the movement. She made a choked noise, her hand flying up to her ribs and pressing down.

Her hands trembled, adrenaline fading now that she got a look at the alleyway and the knives Buck had left in the skulls and throats of each Death Eater. His snarl got louder at the pained noise, and she whimpered back.

The snarl shifted into a rolling rumble, like thunder. It was a strange combination of a comforting purr and a furious growl, and she found herself going limp against him.

"Buck..." her voice was whisper soft and she nuzzled into his chest.

His voice was still mostly low and dangerously furious when he responded-

"I've got you, doll."

And Holly believed him. Her eyes slid closed and her body relaxed into the warmth holding her.

LINEBREAK

Buck did not like where Holly's scent trail was leading. He recognized an attempt to limit civilian interference when he saw it, and considering how many turns she had taken, Buck had already figured out which five scents had stayed on her trail.

Boudica walked with her wings flared in threat, her beak snapping at the air like she could pull something apart. Buck gets the sentiment. He'd like to pull the five scents tracking his Omega apart too. Boudica is a flash of ash and soot as she rushes towards their prey.

Winter was a constant growl in the back of his head, and Bucky fought to keep from vocalizing it. It wouldn't do to alert his prey that he was stalking it. He spotted the groceries spilling out of the alleyway before he spotted her.

He was tense as a bowstring, but even then, he didn't quite expect how volatile his response would be when he approached the alleyway and heard another Alpha trying to Command his Omega.

Boudica shrieks in rage, rearing up and wings flaring.

Bucky doesn't even flinch. He was powerless to stop himself as the utterly furious vocalization- made by both Winter and himself- escaped him echoing down the alleyway. He scented his Omega's blood on the air, and heard the soft whimper of pain, and Buck-

Buck let go.

They had hurt her, had made her bleed. They had pinned her in an alley, made her fight. She was in pain and they were in the way.

It was like breathing, to stalk down the alleyway and leave death behind them, to drive knives between eyes and in throats, so that none of them would ever be able to touch their Omega again. Their fury climbed higher as they watched her waver on her feet, another pained cry tearing itself out of her throat, and they wished they had the time to make those that had hurt her bleed for it.

They were gentle, even in their shared fury as they lifted their Omega into their arms. It soothed something in Winter and Bucky both, when she nuzzled into their chest, but the rage clawing up their heart soared higher as she choked on a pained noise, her hands coming up to press against the source of the blood.

Winter picked up the minute trembles in her hands and lord help him, but his snarl deeped and somehow got louder.

It was only when she whimpered back at him, a vocalized need for reassurance, that he managed to make another sound. It was a low throbbing bass rumble carrying notes of his fury, but mimicking the thrumming of a purr.

She relaxed against him at the sound, near limp in his arms even as she nuzzled into his chest.

"Buck."

Her voice was pained and soft and searching and all he- they- wanted to do was bundle her up and protect her.

"I've got you, doll."

She closed her eyes, and they knew she was still breathing and alive, but when she went lose and pliant in their arms, there was still an instant that their heart stuttered.

Bucky-Winter-Bucky whirled from the bodies- evidence, they'd have to get rid of it, there were some supplies at the house- and rushed as smoothly as they could towards the safehouse and the collection of first aid supplies and potions they knew were inside. They would see to their Omega first, and then deal with the dead.

The low rumble shifted into a deeper register at the thought of their-his- Omega's attackers. It only went back when he felt Holly shift in his arms, reacting to his aggression. Winter-Bucky?-Winter scaled the wall quickly, even supporting Holly with one arm. It wouldn't do to carry a bleeding and unconscious person- much less an Omega Guide in the arms of an Alpha Sentinel- through town.

They rushed soundlessly over the rooftops and entered into their safehouse without interruptions. Winter didn't hesitate as he reached for her side, a quick twist of his metal arm ripping the fabric in his way. Their hands were steady, and as their Omega began to make soft distressed sounds, attempting to pull herself away from them, that was when they managed a thrumming purr.

She settled at the comforting sound, and they continued to purr for her even as they wanted to rage through the city on her behalf. It was easy to administer first aid, and with the help of a few of Holly's potion supply, the wound was healed as if it had never been done.

But Holly's blood scent still lingered on the air, mixed with the sharp scent of her anger and pain, the bodies still sat in the dark of an alleyway, the groceries still sat- picked up and hidden as to not draw attention to the dead-and they- Winter and Bucky-still wanted to murder the people who had attacked their Omega.

It was nothing less then an act of god to pull himself away from her.

The only thing to get him moving was Winter's soft contribution that the bodies and blood would allow enemies to track both Holly and themself.

Buck would have dealt with them anyway, but the idea of any hostile tracking his Omega-especially when she was vulnerable- had the Alpha in him furious and ready to fight. The bodies needed to go- the longer they were there the more likely they were to be found.

Buck snarled at the situation- (He wished Steve was here, he'd have watched Bucky's Omega while he took care of everything)- and then turned and slid through the window and back to the roofs after gathering the supplies he would need. It was much quicker this time as he flew over the roofs, due to both the fact that they did not need to be gentle with their Omega, and their need to go back to her. He (James-Bucky-Winter, Holly called them Buck, they were Buck-) had never completed a cleaning as quickly or as thoroughly as he had done right then. The bodies were quickly disposed of, the scents were erased or changed, the blood cleaned up and every bit of evidence eradicated.

Buck would leave no trace for anyone to track back to his Holly.

The moment he was sure of that, he grabbed the bag of groceries he had hidden, and darted back over the roofs. He dropped back onto the roads only long enough to make a show of 'coming back' from grocery shopping as he unlocked the door and slipped back inside his safehouse.

The groceries were set on the counter for later, and he went right back to Holly. Deep even breaths pulled in her scent. There were still traces of blood-pain-anger-worry that made his muscles relax into a ready stance, but the core ginger-oranges was coming back.

Buck settled himself on the floor, beside her bed. He would keep watch until she was awake. There was no way he'd be able to sleep before he'd seen Holly's eyes open, heard her voice, made certain that she was alive and on her way to well.

Buck's eyes were pinprick points against an icey backdrop.

Anyone that tried to take advantage of his Omega's state would soon find themselves very, very dead.