Keeping up the charade of being loyal SHIELD agents when the organisation was rotten from the inside was dangerous. They were all well aware of that fact, but they accepted it without hesitation, despite knowing they might end up in morally grey areas. For all they knew, the next orders they received could come directly from Hydra... The very thought made Steve's insides twist like a pit of snakes. Him, working for Hydra. Dr Erskine must be rolling around in his grave.

However, when the orders came soon after Fury's fake burial to lead a mission with Nat and Clint on his team, Steve was uneasy at the thought of being separated from Hermione, because Hydra might be purposefully breaking them apart for some nefarious reason. Sure, the argument they had to be parachuted to the target location excluded Hermione de facto, because not only was she not trained to do so, but she was simply too terrified of heights to even try. It was just a coincidence. Besides, there was no sign Hydra was preparing an attack against either of them, or any of the other Avengers for that matter.

To play it safe, Tony had promised to keep an eye on her without Steve even asking while he was away. From what he understood amidst the techno babble that followed, Tony and Hermione were still working on improving the marriage of magic and technology, so the two of them would be locked in his mad scientist lab. Safe, or safe-ish if Tony was as mad a scientist as Howard, but it was one less thing to worry about while he was off God only knew where.

And it had all been going to plan. They took over a hijacked ship, freed the hostages, captured or disposed of the terrorists. Rather boring, to be honest. Nothing to send three top SHIELD agents over. Steve would have worried this mission was a diversion for Hydra to make a move, but he caught Natasha running a side mission for Fury, and he wondered if this mission had been planned by those loyal to Fury rather than instigated by Hydra. Steve rolled his eyes at Natasha when she caught his stare and winked at him. Being secretive for no reason seemed counter-productive, but he put it down to her bad habit of being a spy for so long, and brushed it off, eager to return home to Hermione.

Steve had just swapped his Captain America suit for his civvies, finally switching his phone back on, when what he had feared since he kissed her goodbye proved true. There, on his screen, fifteen messages from Tony awaited him. Something must have happened. And not something good. Instead of wading through the man's rambling messages, Steve sped out of the SHIELD compound as he called Tony back.

"Finally!" Tony snapped.

"What happened?"

"Your bestie happened! That's what."

"Bucky?"

"Yep, for sure this time. Haul your spangly ass over here. Your girl is going nuclear."

"What-"

But Tony, in typical Tony fashion, had hung up on him. Steve wished he had his motorbike, but he had to settle for a SHIELD car to take him back to Stark Tower. He focused on not fidgeting, lest he break something, reminding himself that Hermione was fine. If he understood what Tony had said, she was probably undergoing a magical explosion again, but she was otherwise unhurt. And what about Bucky? Had they captured him? Was he okay too? Could they help him?

He had only been gone for a day, how had so much happened in his absence? Had Hydra waited for him to leave to attack Hermione?

As soon as Steve entered Stark Tower, Jarvis told him to head for his bedroom where he found Tony pacing in front of the door.

"About time!" Tony exclaimed. "Jarvis is monitoring her as best he can. I can't get close. She's making my arc reactor blink like a fucking Christmas tree."

Steve didn't need to be asked twice. He yanked the door open, almost ripping it off its hinges, but he closed it immediately behind him so Tony wasn't affected by the magic that permeated the room.

The whole place was in utter chaos. A battlefield on a ridiculously small scale, peppered here and there with feathers and scorch marks A man-sized hole to the outside let the howling wind inside, debris and glass scattered beneath, proof of an entry point, which explained how someone had gotten around the building's security system by literally climbing in from the outside. So Hermione was their target, and now she was pacing in the far corner, as far away from the door and broken window as possible.

Steve swept her into his arms, murmuring sweet nothings at her until she seemed to calm down and relax in his arms.

"Are you going to explode?" he asked in a whisper.

"I'm trying to contain it. I can't keep destroying our friends' guest rooms."

Steve smiled at the thought of Monty's old manor bedroom, and that had only been caused by a nightmare. Steve feared her magical outburst would be much worse following a direct attack, and from their lover no less.

"You know, given the state of the room, I don't think it will make that much of a difference."

Aside from the obvious signs of spell damage and combat, Steve saw the typical blasts caused by Tony's repulsors, and he knew he owed him one. Who knows if Hermione would still be here if not for him? His witch was strong and fierce, but so was Bucky, and whatever Hydra had turned him into had emphasized those traits.

"Are you hurt?" he asked because she was unusually quiet.

She buried her face deeper into his arms and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Hermione?" he insisted, pushing her away gently so he could at least see if she was alright by lifting her face up to his.

"He took my wand. Bucky. And he didn't know me. He tried… he tried to kill me, Steve. He would have, if not for Tony."

Steve's breath caught, a confirmation of what they feared.

"You're sure?" he asked. "And it really was Bucky?"

She nodded, eyes glistening as she held back tears.

"I saw him up close. His eyes. It was him, I know it. And I tried! I tried to talk to him, to make him remember… but he wouldn't listen." She sobbed. "I tried..."

"We'll get him back," Steve said, a promise to himself as much as to her. "And your wand too."

He was glad she hadn't been hurt, and it wouldn't be the first time she was without her wand. She wasn't defenseless, just not as efficient. As for Bucky, he wasn't as sure of himself as he let Hermione believe. If she hadn't been able to get through to him, could it mean their Bucky had been completely erased, leaving an empty, murderous shell behind? Steve didn't want to contemplate it. He would have to see him for himself, and decide what had to be done.

Later, Tony gave them another room while theirs would be undergoing repairs, after which he disappeared in his workshop to upgrade the security on the building. He took the attack as a personal affront, and Jarvis wasn't too happy about the security breach either. Honestly, Steve wasn't sure how Tony could make the building any safer. It's not like just anyone could climb buildings from the outside at such heights. And from experience, he knew if someone was determined enough, they would find a way in despite the best laid plans.

For her part, Hermione fell asleep once she felt safe enough in their new room. She had been attacked in the middle of the night, then spend hours doing her best to keep her magic under control. Steve stayed with her in his arms until she closed her eyes and her breathing evened out, but he felt too restless to follow suit. He couldn't get the image of Bucky attacking Hermione out of his mind. It was inconceivable. Bucky had fallen for her as soon as he laid eyes on her if he had to guess. Did they even stand a chance of getting him back if he didn't recognize her now? If he could hurt her? Kill her? Steve tossed and turned for a bit, but gave up after a while and left Hermione to sleep in peace.

Outside the bedroom door, he asked Jarvis to alert him immediately if anything was amiss, then headed for the kitchen. He wasn't really hungry, but the basket full of apples was appealing enough so he grabbed one, rubbing it absent-mindedly against his shirt.

"Are you and that apple gonna get frisky?" Tony asked, startling him out of his thoughts. His friend had come in for a coffee refill judging by the stained, empty mug hanging from his hand.

"Do you ever sleep?" Steve retorted.

"It's not night," Tony replied, then narrowed his eyes to look through the windows at the clear, blue sky. "Right?"

"Yeah," Steve chuckled. "But you don't sleep at night either, do you?"

"I'll sleep when I'm dead, and seeing that might be sooner rather than later…" he shrugged, and filled his coffee mug. "Hermione asleep? I didn't hear any explosion."

"She managed to contain it. She feels really bad about destroying guest rooms. I couldn't sleep… kept thinking about Bucky. Was it really that bad?"

Tony snorted, then drank half his mug in one go, after which he walked up to him and handed him a tablet he picked off the counter.

"That guy was acting like a robot, but without the fundamental laws, you know? Nevermind," he added upon seeing his blank expression. "Here. An image is worth a thousand words, and I've got the whole thing recorded. Popcorn? No?"

A video played, starting from the moment the Winter Soldier literally pried his way into their darkened bedroom, towards the small, sleeping form on the bed. Steve froze and paused the video.

"Wait. Tony, why the heck do you have cameras in our bedroom? That's perverted, even by your standards."

Steve could feel his face heat at the thought of him watching while they were together, not sleeping.

"Hey, get off your high horse, Cap. The tower is full of cameras, but I sure as hell don't waste my time spying on you guys. The cameras are for Jarvis. They're monitored by Jarvis. And I'm sure he would not let me access the feed to feed my 'perversion', as you say."

"Quite right, sir," Jarvis agreed.

Steve supposed that made sense. The AI could not always be at their beck and call to assist them if he couldn't see or hear them. Heck, he couldn't be in charge of the tower's security if he couldn't monitor every nook and cranny. Honestly, Steve realized he should have known better.

"Sorry," Steve said.

Still, he found the idea of cameras in his bedroom unnerving, as if he always had eyes on him, even in the one place he was supposed to be free from the outside world. At least, Tony seemed pleased by his apology, and he pressed play once more. The rest of the attack, he had read in the aftermath of the room, and it went much as he had deduced: Bucky went straight for Hermione, but without a weapon. She woke at the lightest touch and threw him back wandlessly, but she had her weapon on him for the next blow and it looked like she had the upper hand when she managed to immobilize him. But then, she approached him and Steve tensed despite knowing she was fine now. Hermione took his mask off and pushed his hair out of his face, and even on the imperfect image, Steve recognized him too. It really was Bucky. Or at least, his face. But the expression and mannerisms were someone else's: the Winter Soldier.

Steve watched Hermione's futile attempts to get through to their lost lover, but he also saw the way Bucky's arm twitched and moved unaturally. Hermione didn't though, and Bucky snatched her wand away, which seemed to free him completely from the spell he was under. He then continued to attack Hermione with his bare hands, but when he understood he couldn't capture her, a knife appeared in his hand and he went in for a kill instead.

Steve sagged in resignation and looked away for a second, but Tony nudged him.

"You're gonna miss my entrance," he reprimanded him.

Steve owed Tony that much, so he watched as his friend did indeed swoop in through the door in his armour, almost blasting Bucky right out the window with the first blast from his repulsors. It gave Steve flashbacks of the fall from the train, but he shook off the nauseous feeling. Despite his new opponent, Bucky still tried to get to Hermione, but Tony blocked him at every turn and he finally gave up, fleeing the same way he had come. Steve switched the tablet off. He never wanted to watch that shitshow of a nightmare again.

"I don't know how to thank you for-" Steve began, but Tony waved his hand, interrupting him.

"None of that. It's what friends do, right? You, of all people, should know that."

Steve thought of the Howling Commando, as tight a pack of friends as anyone could wish to have, always saving each other, so many times it had been impossible to keep count. He forced a wan smile on his face and nodded at his newest friend.

Tony forced a mug of his terrible coffee in his hands after that and they talked, both opening up a bit more to the other. Steve could see it was a whole new experience for Tony, his other friends had been made in his formative years, when he wasn't yet the celebrity he was today with trust issues on a whole other level. They were both surprised when they were interrupted by a sleepy Hermione shuffling in, watching them with a confused expression.

"Right. Enough girl talk. I have drones to upgrade," Tony quipped, jumping off the stool.

Hermione' eyes followed their host as he hurried off, back to his workshop apparently. Then she turned towards him and raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, so he's actually a swell guy," Steve admitted.

Hermione flashed him her "I told you so" smile and Steve was relieved she was back to her old self. He could see determination in her eyes now. She was going to save Bucky even if she had to walk to hell and back, and Steve would be right by her side.

The atmosphere was tense in the tower the next few days. Everyone was on edge, either because of the hopelessness of their situation, or because of the looming threat of another attack. Probably both. It was almost a relief when Fury showed up one evening, with all their vetted, trustworthy people, even if it was to recruit them all for a mission.

The spy work went to Clint and Natasha, of course. No one disputed they were the best for that kind of work and they left with their own orders, as well as a familiar-looking flash drive. Seemed like Natasha would be following up on whatever she found on the hijacked boat.

As for the rest of them, Fury wanted to lead them into the bowels of the Triskelion for a sabotage mission of Project Insight.

"I haven't been able to so much as delay the production, until my untimely death, but agent Hill has had no more success since. Someone is countering our actions at every turn."

"There can't be many people who can do that," Tony scoffed. "You two are, sorry, were in your case, high-level agents."

"You'd be surprised, Stark. Bureaucracy is a scary beast, and if HYDRA has infiltrated SHIELD at every level, all our efforts are pointless. We can't derail their scheme by the books, so we need a more hands on approach, preferably before they get those Helicarriers in the air, and before the Chitauri return."

"Won't we need those Helicarriers to defeat the Chitauri though?" Pepper asked anxiously.

"We didn't the first time," Fury said. "We'll figure something out when we get rid of HYDRA. They're our number one threat right now."

"I've been working on something," Tony added, then squeezed Pepper's hand when she gave him a troubled look. "Don't worry, Peps. You know I won't let anything happen to you."

"It's not me I'm worried about, you idiot."

Those two were really sweet together, worse than he and Hermione in his opinion. Even Fury was growling at them with uncontained impatience.

"How do we get in? None of us have clearance for that level. We're not even supposed to know about it. And even if we did, we'd be found out by HYDRA."

"Hill has clearance, but I want to keep her on the inside, free of all blame. She'll be buddying up with known Hydra supporters during our attack. I'll be the one to guide you in."

"Won't your credentials have been suspended? You being dead and all?" Tony mocked.

Fury smirked.

"I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. You three come with me. We go in, sabotage the helicarriers beyond repair, and get out. Don't wear your uniforms. If we can do this shit incognito, all the better."

"Ha. Never thought I'd be part of a terrorist group," Tony said.

"We're not-" Steve protested because it went against everything he stood for.

"No, I know." Tony cut him off. "But sneaking in a government building, in the dead of night, dressed all in black, to blow shit up… you've got to admit from an outsider's point of view, we're the bad guys."

Steve looked around their team and could see he was the only one bothered by the fact. Even Hermione merely shrugged.

"It won't be my first time as a most-wanted. I had quite a hefty bounty on my head during the wizarding war."

"That's a story I want to hear," Tony replied with raised brows. "But first, I gotta paint my suit black."

They all agreed to meet in a couple days time when a contingent of SHIELD personnel was scheduled to leave headquarters for several other SHIELD compounds around the world. As far as they were concerned, the less people who might be HYDRA inside, the better, because even if they didn't trigger an alarm going in, once they blew up the Helicarriers, the game was up and they would need to haul ass out of there as fast as possible. A shame Hermione couldn't make one of her banana portkeys without her wand. They would have come in real useful to escape. Of course, that led him to thinking maybe Hermione should not come on this particular mission, not when she didn't have her wand back.

His error had been raising his concern about it with her when they arrived in Washington DC. He knew she would never accept to be left behind. She had never taken such suggestions well before, and she had no qualms in throwing it in his face.

"Leave me behind? Like you neanderthals wanted to do during that Hydra ambush during the war and I ended up saving all your asses?" she seethed.

Steve could feel her magic growing wilder around her and he winced because they were in the elevator. Tony's elevators might be able to support a blast of her magic, but Steve doubted this cheap hotel did. Thankfully, the doors opened at the floor leading to their room and Steve stepped out, only to realize Hermione did not.

"Hermione?"

Anger radiated off her.

"Please love, I didn't mean it like that. Let's talk about it-"

"There's nothing more to discuss on the matter, Steve. I am going on this bloody mission, and that's that. I hope you get your head screwed on right by then."

She pressed the button and disappeared from view. He wished she could see it from his point of view, that he only wanted to keep her safe while she was wandless, that it was only temporary… because the more the day of the mission approached, the more he feared losing her again. Those few weeks without her had been agony and he didn't think he could live through it once more.

Not knowing where she had left for was making him nervous enough as it was. He had no messages on his phone, but Hermione's prototype phone might not have resisted her magic. For all he knew, she had simply booked a room next door…

With a sigh, Steve changed into some generic, all black gym clothes and decided to go for a run to get rid of the mounting frustration. He did leave a note behind for Hermione just in case, but he didn't get his hope up, knowing Hermione could hold a grudge like no one else.

Steve ended up running laps around National Mall, but his mind wasn't on it and he soon drifted to the side and sat against a large tree to watch the calm water instead.

"Mind if I take a seat?"

Steve looked up in alarm, hand already reaching for a shield that wasn't there, but it was only another jogger. Steve recognized him from having overtaken him a few times, warning him he was coming on his left. Poor guy had not looked amused.

"Yeah, sure," Steve replied, pulling down his cap.

His fellow jogger fell ungracefully against the tree trunk, sweating buckets and out of breath.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked him uncertainly.

He looked in good physical form overall, so he must have ran beyond reason to be in that state.

"Funny. I was gonna ask you that."

"Me?" Steve blinked, trying to figure out what he meant by that.

"I know that look," the stranger replied. "The thousand mile stare. You've seen shit."

"More than you can imagine," Steve agreed. "But in this case… Well, girl trouble would be more accurate."

The other man laughed, and even if it was at his expense, his mirth was contagious and drew a smile out of him.

"That would do it. I'm Sam, by the way. Sam Wilson," he said, offering his hand.

"Steve," Steve said, then bit his lip, recalling they were supposed to be there incognito so he grasped for a fake name to give. "Er... Barns."

Steve could have facepalmed himself for his idiocy. It was one thing to have Bucky on his mind all the time of late, but using his last name for his own fake name was completely useless. He might as well have given Hermione's. Worse, he could see Sam connect the dots, realization lighting his eyes as his smile grew wider.

"Wait, you-"

"Don't say it," Steve talked over him.

"But you are. Hell, no wonder you looked so familiar. Oh! So by girl trouble, you mean with… Her?"

Steve rolled his eyes. Another one of Hermione's fans, by the sound of it. But he might not introduce her to this one, because Sam was really good looking and Steve was still hoping she would take him back.

"Oh, man. What did you do to piss her off?"

Steve clenched his jaw, wondering if he should really be talking about his personal problems with a stranger. But Sam had stopped to check on a total stranger's welfare. An action which was rare enough nowadays that Steve had trusted him immediately, forgetting about Hydra agents everywhere. No, Sam was a good guy. He would bet his shield on it.

"I might have told her she should stay behind so she wasn't hurt in a fight?"

"To…her?" Sam looked as shocked as Hermione had been. "That was stupidly brave of you."

Steve winced.

"Don't get me wrong, I know the feeling," Sam continued, his own gaze lost to the calm water ahead. "Wanting to protect someone you love is a natural instinct, but you can't forget she's your sister in arms, too. If she wants to fight, she deserves to. Telling her she can't is as good as rejecting her, as telling her she's not good enough."

"But I just want to keep her safe…" Steve sighed. "She's not at her best right now."

"Look, man. Reverse your roles. What if your supersoldier serum wore off, or you lost your shield, or your aim was off, and she made you stay behind because you're not at your best?"

Steve frowned at the thought of being as small and sickly as he used to, which led him to memories of all those times he tried to enlist, hoping they wouldn't see through his lies and brave front. He would try again and again after each rejection, regardless of what they thought or wrote in his file, because he knew it was the right thing to do. And today, if he was weaponless or depowered, he would do it again. No one could keep him from doing what was right, not even Hermione. So what right did he have to tell her otherwise?

He groaned and threw his head back. Clouds were gathering above, threatening to rain down on them.

"I see you got it now," Sam said with a nod before picking himself up. "Now, don't be an idiot and go get the lady some flowers or something."

"Will do," Steve promised as he stood with ease. "You're pretty good at couple counseling."

"I'm a counselor for vets suffering from PTSD, actually. You're welcome to drop by one of these days."

Recalling Hermione's recent episode of PTSD, Steve seriously considered taking her there once they weren't so busy saving the world several times over.