Steve feared the next morning might be a bit awkward because they hadn't managed to be as discreet as they'd hoped, but he hadn't realized just how awkward it would be until he felt himself being sandwiched between a naked Hermione in his arms and a clothed Bucky behind him, spooning against his own naked back. Bucky must have been really drunk to sneak in with them despite their state of undress, but it was probably not worth the effort of trying to rouse him now. A sleeping Bucky was like a hibernating bear. Hermione, on the other hand, would no doubt prefer to get dressed before Bucky got an eyeful. She was very tolerant of their friend, but Steve thought this might be crossing a line. She had said that morals were looser in the future, but he'd rather be safe than sorry.

"Hermione," he whispered and kissed her temple.

She half-hummed, half-moaned and turned in his embrace to face him, her breasts and thighs and everything in between brushing against his skin and… yep, his cock was awake, had been for some time in fact, and was ready for round two. He groaned as she pushed herself even closer to his body, his erection poking insistently against her soft belly.

"Hermione," he growled. "Wake up, love. You're killing me here."

Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled when she met his own.

"Hello."

"Morning love. Sorry to wake you, but we're not alone."

Her eyebrows shot up and she pushed herself up to peek over his arm, giggling when she let herself fall back.

"Looks like someone enjoys your pretty ass as much as I do."

"Hermione!" he hissed.

Just when he thought she couldn't scandalise him anymore.

"What? You don't expect me not to tease you two about it, do you? Besides, I can share with the friendly octopus now that there's so much of you. He does give the best cuddles."

"The future must be a really strange place," he muttered. "Anyway, I thought you'd want to get dressed before he woke up."

"With what they were drinking last night, I doubt he's going to wake anytime soon. We could probably have sex right now and he would never know."

Steve ran a hand over his face, not believing what he was hearing.

"You know, you're worse than all the guys put together, and that's saying a lot with the filthy mouths they got on them."

Hermione giggled and pecked his lips before sitting up, her bare chest even more beautiful in the daylight than the gloom of the night, except… he caught her left arm, turning it around before she could stand.

"What's that?" he asked, his thumb tracing over a series of red marks slashed across her upper arm.

Hermione froze and covered her arm with her other hand.

"It's nothing. Just old scars. I'm surprised you didn't notice before."

Steve scowled, thinking back on the one time he might have had the chance to see her arms completely exposed, but blushing at the realization he would have been too focused on her breasts to spare a glance at her arms. He let her go. He wasn't going to push the issue if she was uncomfortable with it. Steve didn't mind, but he could understand what it was to despise your own body, and having someone trying to force you to accept or like it had always irritated him.

"I love you," he said instead, infusing the words with sincerity and she smiled, her shoulders relaxing.

"I love you, Steve. Are you getting dressed too, or are you staying here for Bucky to have something to grope?"

Steve rolled away from his sleeping friend and sat up.

"Think I'll get up and give the guys the headache they deserve. Honestly, if we got attacked right now, there would only be the two of us to defend the camp."

"I'm sure we could handle it," Hermione said with a sniff.

"We might, at that. How many do you think we could take on at once?"

Hermione babbled on about some complicated maths that went way over his head, but she looked so happy and radiant in the rising sun, even as she dressed, that he let her, and went off to prepare a huge batch of fresh coffee for everyone when he was clothed, debating whether they should even bother moving on today or just stay here. They might find real shelter if they moved on however, so he settled on that plan and honked the jeep a couple of times when coffee was ready.

The most sorry bunch crawled out of their tents, all disheveled, bleary eyed and looking a bit sick. Or a lot in the case of Jones who ran off to the side to empty his stomach.

"Never drinking again," he vowed when he returned, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Bucky arrived last, looking suspiciously normal. Just his usual grumpy morning face in fact. Steve glanced at Hermione who looked just as surprised. Had he not been drinking all night with the others? But if he hadn't, then why the hell had he joined them in bed? It was one thing to seek the comfort of friends, but quite another to join them while they were naked and reeking of sex. Bucky seemed overly nonchalant and was very careful not to meet his gaze or Hermione's. In fact, he appeared particularly fascinated by the tip of his boots this morning. Not that he blamed him if it was caused by Hermione's bluntness upon finding him there, but did that mean he'd been awake the whole time? Steve scowled as he tried to make sense of it, not noticing immediately when Hermione leaned against the jeep next to him.

"Bucky's acting weird," she said, confirming his thoughts. "He usually chews you out a few times about having to wake up so early, and you were particularly vicious this morning."

"Yeah, that too."

Hermione hummed in question.

"He's very carefully not looking at us."

"Huh… You're right. What do you think is going on in that funny little brain of his?"

"I've known him for years and I haven't a clue. Guess we'll know tonight. If he doesn't show up, we probably managed to scare him off."

"That'd be a first."

Steve nodded. He'd never known Bucky to flee any situation.

Bucky did not flee. Not that night when they found shelter in an old farm, nor the next in a house that had been vacated rather violently if the dark stains and bullet holes on the walls were any indication. He didn't say anything either. Simply joined them sometime during the night and spooned behind Hermione. Steve wished he would cuddle with him too, but realized that was probably a strange thought to have, even if they had done so as kids.

With a sigh, he put the whole situation out of his mind and observed their new target. Perched at it was on a cliff, it seemed both the most risky way to take it by storm, but also the one giving them the strongest element of surprise. He had no doubt in his mind they knew his team had attacked and raised their sister-factory to the ground so there would be more guards and patrols on high alert. The element of surprise was vital, but of his team, only Falsworth, Dum Dum and Dernier thought themselves capable of scaling the cliffside. Hermione and Morita admitted they were scared of heights, while Bucky and Jones didn't think they had either the technique or arm strength necessary.

"We split up," Falsworth said as if it was obvious.

"Except we'll be coming from opposite sides, unable to lend support to the other group if need be," Steve countered.

"But we're split evenly with you and Dernier on one side, and Lady and Jones on the other. I think it's nicely balanced to hit hard and blow everything up."

Steve reluctantly nodded. Falsworth was right. He was a more experienced strategist after all, but he still worried about having all the muscle on one side.

"It's decided then," he announced. "We should be up by the time you trek all the way around. Attack timed at…" He glanced at his watch. "1800. Dusk should just be falling by then."

They turned to gear up before leaving, but Steve caught Hermione's arm and pulled her to him.

"Be careful?" he asked.

"You're one to talk. Watch your back. I'll have Bucky to watch mine."

"You betcha, doll!" Bucky called out from nearby.

Steve rolled his eyes. At least he was acting normal again. He kissed her quickly, ducking his head when Dernier made loud smooching sounds at them.

"We'd better go," she chuckled.

The climb was easier than it seemed from down below, the incline not as steep and they made good time to the top, arriving before the agreed upon time to attack. They settled with their backs to the wall, the window they would be breaking in through just above their heads. He hoped the others had made it up alright. There was always the chance of discovery along the way and his mind conjured up all sorts of nightmare scenarios until it was time. Steve held his shield high and hit the window, jumping in before anyone could start shooting. This place was great for ricochets, he noted with glee, before flinging his shield as hard as he could. He grimaced upon retrieval though, because it was going to need heavy duty cleaning tonight. His group tore through the factory like a hot knife through butter. They had obviously not thought this side was worth guarding too heavily, which made him worry all the more for the other group attacking from the front. They pressed on but had to stop when they found a group of prisoners in cages, just like most of his team had been what seemed like ages ago. They were a mixed bunch too, including civilians, but only about thirty all together.

"Are there more around?" Steve asked them when they had been let out, thinking of Bucky and Hermione who had been kept apart from the other prisoners.

"Some are working down below, about as much as we are. They make us work in shifts."

"Dum Dum, Dernier, you go free them and blow up the production units before leaving. Not the whole place, mind. It's cold outside. We'll take these out front just in case."

They pushed on, some of the freed soldiers finding weapons of fortune or taking them from the fallen Hydra agents. Soon they heard what Steve recognized as the screams of men falling from very high. The following meaty thud and crunch of breaking bones confirmed his suspicion and he grinned in relief. Hermione appeared in all her green glory and he could sort of see what she was supposed to symbolise even if she looked much more thunderous than the placid Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately, the prisoners with him aimed their few weapons at her before he could warn them they were friendlies.

"I see you made new friends," Hermione said, keeping her hands in the air and sure enough, a couple of Hydra agents were squirming several feet up in the air.

"It's okay," Steve said over his shoulder. "They're with us."

"But how is she-"

"It's a long story."

The guns eventually lowered, so did Hermione's hands, and two unfortunate Hydra men would not be getting back up, their necks snapped at awkward angles. Even Hermione made a face at the sound they made crashing down, but there was no helping that. They found out very soon that people who worked for Hydra were not redeemable, and after talking about it with Hermione, she was already quite experienced about the reality of war. She did not enjoy killing, of course, but understood the necessity of it. Soon, an explosion made the building shudder briefly.

"Jacques?" Hermione asked, head tilted towards where the detonation had come from.

Steve nodded.

"He should be back with Dum Dum and about thirty more prisoners soon. Gabe, can you radio the Colonel to arrange pick up for everyone? Where are Bucky and Morita?" he asked, peering around with a frown.

"We got a bit overwhelmed out front so I flew Bucky up a perch. He was fine the last I saw of him, but I should probably help him down. Morita got hit," she bit her lip, but hurried to add. "He'll be okay, I think, but his leg was injured and he wouldn't slow down, so I flew him up a tree. I should get him down now as well. He doesn't like heights."

Hermione seemed really frazzled, so he walked with her as she exited. Falsworth and Dum Dum were returning anyway. They could oversee the freed prisoners.

"It's not your fault Morita was hit," Steve tried.

It was his best bet on what was bothering her, but it was true nonetheless.

"I know. I still feel bad about it, made me realize... I'm not like you. I'm not a natural leader. I've always been supporting my friends. Harry was a natural leader too, and Ron a good strategist. I was just there to give them a helping hand with my books. But here…" she sighed. "My first mission in Norway was a disaster. I lost everyone. I don't even know where they are, if they're still alive… Peggy couldn't find out anything. And here I lead a second team and Morita went down and I… I lost control over my magic for a moment when I saw him fall. It could have gone awfully wrong."

Steve reached for her hand to give it a squeeze. They were far enough from strangers' eyes.

"What happened with your magic?" he asked.

"About time!" Morita bellowed from above, cutting off her answer. "Get me down, woman!"

Morita screwed his eyes shut while she carefully levitated him down.

"How's you leg?" Steve asked.

"I told her it was fine. I swear she's worse than my mother, and I wouldn't have thought that possible."

Steve looked at where his uniform was torn but there was very little blood.

"Well, try not to trip on your own feet next time," he chuckled and patted him on the back. "You gave her a fright."

"Yeah, you shoulda seen how she avenged my fall, Cap. She sent a whole platoon shooting up like rockets, it was beautiful and then it started raining men."

Morita laughed and Steve looked over his head at Hermione who was biting her lip, seemingly lost in thought. So that's what she had meant by losing control over her magic? It had… flared up because of her emotions? He could understand why she didn't want that to get around since it could get used against her.

Next up was Bucky. He looked for all the world like he was taking a nap on top of some kind of metal tower.

"Hey, Buck! Stop lazing about!" Steve called out.

"Lazing about? We did all the work, you little punk. Hey, Lady! Catch me?"

Before anyone could protest, Bucky jumped over the railing. Steve stepped forward, arms spread out and ready to catch him, but his fall slowed suddenly, then stopped just out of reach.

"That was incredibly stupid, Buck," Hermione said angrily.

"I knew you'd catch me."

"Really? Well, now I'm tempted to just leave you floating there like the idiot that you are."

"Oh, c'mon darlin'. Don't be like that."

Hermione huffed, but lowered him a couple more feet before letting him drop on his arse.

"Oops," she mocked, turning on her heels.

She walked away with Morita dogging her steps, trying to convince her to do it to Dum Dum next, and he must have been particularly annoying because he yelped and was now the one being towed behind her like a balloon, squawking in protest. Steve shook his head and glanced at Bucky, still sprawled on the ground as he looked at Hermione stride away, her whole posture radiating annoyance.

"You shouldn't provoke her like that. You know she's got a temper."

"Yeah, she's a real firecracker," Bucky said with a grin before he took his hand to help him up. "That's why it's so much fun to rile her up. Don't tell me you never do it?"

"Not on purpose, no," Steve said with a frown. "Why would I?"

"Well, you know what they say about angry sex? It's almost as good as make-up sex."

His face burned. After all this time, after hearing about Bucky's exploits, and even now that he actually knew what all the fuss was about, still, he blushed at hearing it talked about so crudely.

"I really don't think that's going to be an issue," he muttered.

Because making love to Hermione had been wonderful, and he seriously doubted having her angry would make it any better. How did you even get to a point where you had sex with someone who was angry at you? It didn't make any sense.

"I'm happy for you, you know?" Bucky said as he clapped a hand over his shoulder.

"Yeah?" Steve asked, looking sideways at him, because he'd been acting a bit strange lately.

"My two favourite people in the world are happy together. Why wouldn't I be?"

He sounded sincere and Bucky wouldn't lie about it anyway, but his smile was lopsided, a bit sad.

"We'll always be there for you, Buck. Just because we're together, we don't want you to feel left out."

"Can't say you are, no. I know you don't mind me, but you know any other dame than Hermione would have tossed me out in the cold, or dropped you for not defending her honor or some tripe. I hope you realize that, bud."

"Well, she is from-" Steve glanced around but they were still a ways off from the group gathered up ahead who looked like they were passing the floating Morita around like a beach ball. "The future. Apparently, people there are overall less…"

"Stuck-up?"

"Guess that's one way of putting it. She told me people can live together and have kids without being married, and it's not the least bit scandalous. That mixed-race couples are common enough they don't get fingers pointed at them. That two men or two women can get married legally, and even adopt kids. Can you imagine? It sounds a bit crazy from where we're at. Of course, she did say there are still bigots who can't leave well enough alone, but it sounds so much better than all the prejudice we get today."

"Yeah, pal. But she's also from another reality or dimension or something. There's no guarantee the future she knows will be like the one we get."

Steve hummed thoughtfully. Bucky was right. It might not be the future they would have, but it was one he was hoping for, one with more tolerance and freedom. Chances they would see that future were pretty slim however, since they had a whole war to get through and then how many more decades?

"Maybe, but at least you know why she's so accepting. Don't worry so much, Buck. If she really minded you being so close, she'd probably turn you into a balloon like poor Morita. I'd better go save him. He looks a bit green around the gills."

Steve trotted off and caught the poor man's hand, pulling him down and preventing him from floating up again until the spell broke.

"That'll teach you not to nag," he told Morita who nodded emphatically and walked off on unsteady legs.

However, Hermione had overdone it a bit. He could understand, between her magic acting up, feeling like she couldn't be a proper leader, and the men acting like overgrown kids… but he still needed to have a word with her about it. Duty first though, he needed to see if anyone had found a map of the Hydra shipments to decide on their next target, and if not, go around the factory to look for it. Maybe he would find Hermione on his way, because she didn't seem to be out front with the rest.