Hello all! This little monster is a continuation of Ozhawk's Bucky/Skye chapter in her Soulmate Shorts. I wanted to give a special thanks to Ozhawk for not only allowing me to continue the short but for also being my awesome beta. I think I've got a pretty good idea of where this is going to go, and I hope you all enjoy the ride!

Chapter 1

Skye sat as still as possible in the SUV, the long barrel of her gun extended through the open window. An old mansion stood before her on the other side of the circular driveway, composed of white bricks and towering windows. There was no sign of wildlife, and all of the foliage was only starting to grow back after a harsh winter. May and Tripp were circling around the building and checking for any treats before they breached the perimeter. A quick movement of a shadow past one of the smaller front windows caught her attention.

"There's someone here," Skye hissed, peering down the sight of her rifle. "Repeat, there's someone already here, I see movement inside!"

"This place is supposed to be abandoned," May's voice crackled in her ear. Skye heard the distinct click of May's ICER being readied. "Tripp, do you have visual?"

"Negative. Location, Skye?"

"Upper level," Skye peered through the scope, scanning carefully. It was a recently abandoned HYDRA safe house: Coulson had received an email from Tony Stark telling them that the Black Widow had found the place and the Avengers had trashed it, but there might be some information or artefacts of interest remaining. Coulson had been sceptical that Stark had left anything truly interesting, but had sent May, Tripp and Skye to investigate just in case. "I don't see them now. But it was definitely a person."

"Proceed with caution," May decided eventually. "ICERs ready."

"Affirmative."

Skye knelt on the back seat, her rifle braced on the open window-frame, watching, waiting for any sign of unfriendly movement.

A thud on the roof made Skye jump, and suddenly a metal hand came in through the window and grabbed her, dragging her out of the car with preternatural speed. And then she was lying on the roof, gagging and clawing at the fingers clenched around her throat, staring up into icy blue eyes. Black hair hung jaggedly around a stubbled jawline, but all she could really focus on was those eyes.

"A dangerous pastime for little girls," a harsh voice rumbled, and Skye's eyes flew wide. She tried to speak, but couldn't. "Stay away from HYDRA business, ptichka." He let go, leaped down and yanked the rifle out the window. As he strode away, probably in search of her teammates, Skye struggled to draw enough breath into her lungs to speak before he got too far away. She finally managed to get a decent gulp of air back into her lungs and called hoarsely;

"My name is Skye!"

He froze mid-stride. And then he whirled and came back towards her swiftly. Skye had a couple of seconds to think that she might just have made the biggest – and last – mistake of her life, and then he was in front of her. He made no attempt to grab her, just stared into her eyes. She imagined that this was what people felt like when they were staring into the eyes of a lion. All other sound besides that of her pounding heart were drowned out by his mere presence until he broke through the haze.

"Do you spell that with an E at the end?" His voice was deep and rumbling, but also almost shy, as if he were afraid to hope.

"Yes," she whispered, just as hushed.

He kept staring at her, troubled. And finally he held out his metal hand in a clear signal that he intended to help her down. Skye hesitated; but her earpiece had come out when he yanked her out of the car and by now May and Tripp would be trying to check in. She needed to speak with them, tell them not to come in guns blazing and shoot her soulmate. Even if he was the assassin who tried to kill Fury and nearly took out Captain America. She wasn't stupid. She knew what that metal hand meant, even though the rest of the arm was concealed under his jacket sleeve.

Slowly, she put her hand into that cool metal one and he helped her down. He still loosely held her hand after she was settled.

"I need to speak to my team," she gestured at the earpiece, fallen on the ground beside the SUV. "Or they'll be coming looking for me."

The Winter Soldier nodded and let go, watching as she picked the com up.

"Skye here. May, stand down. Tripp, everything's fine." She obviously listened for a moment. "Yes, I know who was in there." She looked up at the Soldier. Steve Rogers had told Coulson that the assassin was actually a brainwashed Bucky Barnes, and that his conditioning might be breaking down. Indeed, there had been a recent spate of anti-HYDRA attacks that could be attributed to this man. "Please give me five minutes before coming in." She took the com out again once May and Tripp acknowledged.

"You work for SHIELD?" he asked.

"Yes. And you? Who do you work for?"

He shrugged. "Myself."

"Are you really Bucky Barnes?" Skye couldn't help but ask in a kind of awe. If Captain America was the First Avenger, Bucky Barnes was the second.

"I was, I think. Maybe one day again." He paused, and then abruptly held the rifle out, butt first. "This is yours."

"Thanks," she accepted it, turning to put it back inside the vehicle. "You were in there?" she gestured at the house.

"Yes. There is nothing here of interest."

"My team leader will have to be the judge of that."

He nodded and stood silently, watching her.

"What should I call you?" Skye asked shyly.

"James," he said after a moment. "It is my name, too, I believe."

"Yes," Skye agreed. She brushed her bangs back behind her ear and tentatively held out her hand to him. "Will you come with us? There's a place for you. Your old friend Steve will want to see you, and we can put you in contact with him. And if you want to fight against HYDRA, well," she smiled as he took her hand again, holding it gently, as though afraid of crushing it, "you'll be with the right people."

"Good." James stared at her for a moment. "May I see my words?"

Skye didn't hesitate. She turned around, pulling her shirt up to reveal the old-fashioned cursive across the small of her back. He traced them with a cool metal finger, making her shiver. "Where are mine on you?" she asked, turning back around.

He pulled up one leg of his jeans to reveal her loopy script around his ankle. It was surrounded by shiny white burn tissue. "They kept trying to burn you away," he said softly, "but you always came back. No matter what, you were always with me. Twenty-six years ago, the words appeared, and since then – I've slowly been regaining who I am. You gave me the strength to want to be me again."

"I'll always come back," Skye promised, knowing this was one promise she'd have no trouble keeping. "I'll always be with you, James. You don't ever have to be alone again."

He smiled, the ice in those wintry eyes thawing just a little. Well, she'd make it her personal mission to warm him through. No more winter for her soldier. Skye held on to his hand tighter and gave him a small smile in return.

May and Tripp came around the far side of the mansion in quick but quiet pace, their ICERs still at the ready. Tripp let out a loud curse once he realized who was standing next to Skye and his jaw dropped in awe. May stood tall with her aim steady, not saying a word. Bucky quickly drew Skye further behind him and prepared to face down the new threat to himself and his soulmate.

"Wait!" Skye gently grabbed Bucky's metal arm and drew his attention back to her. "These are my teammates, my friends. They aren't going to be any trouble. Guys, put the ICERs down, he's on our side." Bucky stared down at her and then turned his attention back to the other two, not moving and inch until he saw them holster their guns.

"What's going on here, Skye?" May asked as she slowly moved forward with her hands out to her side. Tripp made to follow behind her, but paused in his steps once the Winter Soldier's steely gaze landed on him.

"He's with us," Skye said. She kept her hands wrapped comfortingly around his. "James isn't going to hurt us."

May raised an eyebrow. Skye wasn't sure if was aimed towards her and her apparent familiarity with the infamous Winter Soldier or at the way said soldier was standing docilely next to her and allowing her to hold on to him. Either way, Skye knew that May knew that there was something going on, she just hoped that they could get to Coulson before things got weird.

A few hours later found the small team on the quinjet and on their way back to the Playground. Skye and Bucky sat in the back while Tripp and May were in the pilot seats, somehow knowing that they needed space for a moment. They had spent the entire walk back to the jet after scouting the base asking Bucky about what he remembered from his past, but it was minimal at best. Bucky held Skye's smaller hand in his metal one and gently traced patterns onto her palm with his human fingers, marvelling at how soft she seemed.

"Hey," she said quietly. "Are you okay?"

Bucky continued to trace idle shapes without meeting her eyes. "I don't think I want to meet Steve yet." Tripp, their resident expert on the original Howling Commandos besides Coulson, had explained all he knew about Bucky's time on the team and his relationship with Captain America himself. None of it rang any bells besides what he had already remembered at the fall of the Triskelion. "And I don't think that I want to be "Bucky" just yet."

It was a simple phrase, and its truth nearly had the power to break Skye's heart. She took her free hand and used it to brush the dark hair back from his face, allowing herself a moment to admire its soft texture before resting her hand on his cheek and urging him to look at her.

"You don't have to do anything you aren't ready for. I promise." She held his intense gaze, hoping that he would understand that she was extremely serious. A deep breath left his body in a whoosh and some of the tension seemed to melt from his body. He caught the hand still cupping his face and nuzzled into it before placing a feather light kiss to her palm.

In that moment, Skye made a promise to herself. No one would ever force him into anything that he did not want to do. She would do everything in her power to make sure that James 'Bucky' Barnes would no longer need to be the weapon he was made into.

There would be no more winter for her soldier.

Note: ptichka is Russian for 'Little Bird' or 'Birdy'