"Does your soulmark read, Pleasure to meet you, ma'am?"

It was a simple question, and one that Skye really should be able to answer, but her brain seemed to be stuck bouncing between Captain America can't really be my soulmate, can he? And What did I do in a previous life to deserve this?

"Skye?" he prompted, and she shook her head, hard, forcing herself to find words to reply.

"Yes," she said. Then she remembered what she'd said to him and winced. "And yours have to do with term papers. Sorry about that."

"Don't be," the Captain said. "They're distinctive. If anything, I should apologize because mine to you were plain and ordinary."

He hesitated, then said, "Skye's a pretty name. It suits you."

"I like it a lot better than my legal name." And why had she blurted that, to Captain America, her soulmate, of all people? Would he let it drop?

"Which is?"

She should have known he wouldn't. "Embarrassing."

"I won't laugh, I promise." Steve sounded sincere, and she wanted to believe him. Still, her legal name wasn't something she broadcast.

Then again, he was her soulmate. He'd learn it sooner or later, so Skye might as well get it over with now.

"Mary Sue Poots."

Skye exhaled the words more than actually said them, but she knew Steve heard them anyway, thanks to serum-enhanced senses.

"Thank you for telling me," he said solemnly, and Skye gave him a relieved smile. He didn't hate her name, didn't make fun of it, and that was more than she'd ever hoped from anyone, even her soulmate.

"You already know all about me," Steve added in that same serious tone. "Tell me a little about you?"

"There's not much to tell," Skye said. "I'm a foundling. Survived the orphanage, taught myself coding and hacking, hacked into SHIELD, and here I am."

Steve quirked an eyebrow at her. "Any one of those things could fill a whole book."

Skye shrugged. "I don't think so, but even if they all did, that still wouldn't come close to how many have been written about you."

"That's a shame," he said, and she looked up at him, frowning.

"Why?"

He gave a half-shrug, obviously embarrassed that he'd spoken aloud. "A lotta other guys did as much or more with fewer advantages than I had. They're the ones that should be in the books."

"They are," Skye said. "And not just the Howling Commandos, either. But you're not just a soldier, you're a symbol. People like symbols."

"Sometimes too much," he said, and there was a regret in his tone that made Skye frown. Before she could ask him about it, he shook off whatever sudden mood had taken him and said, "Any idea how long the search will take?"

"As long as it takes," Skye said ruefully. "Longer than it would have without SHIELD's resources."

"SHIELD's not completely without resources," Steve pointed out. "I just met a deputy director, which implies that there's a director and that there are others to direct."

"That's true," Skye had to admit. "But we lost access to satellites and other data. It's slowed everything down."

Steve nodded acknowledgment, but seemed to have nothing to say in response. Just as Skye was beginning to feel awkward, he gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry. I wasn't very good with women back in my day, and today I just feel more awkward."

"It's probably not helping that we met under these circumstances."

"Probably not," Steve agreed. He paused, then said, "Would you object if we focused on the mission?"

"I'm a SHIELD agent, Captain," Skye said gently. "I get it that the mission comes first. We'll go out for coffee or something after."

"We're soulmates. You can call me Steve." There was a twinkle in his eyes when he said it, and Skye had to laugh.

"You've been Captain America my whole life. I'll get used to it sooner or later."

"Sooner, I hope." His smile was genuine, warm and honest, and Skye allowed herself to enjoy it the way she hadn't enjoyed any man's smile since that duplicitous traitor, Ward, had betrayed them all.

No, Skye wasn't going to think of Ward anymore. He was safely imprisoned where he couldn't hurt anyone again, and she had found her soulmate, Steve.

"Steve." She tested the word, decided she liked the way it felt when she said it.

"Skye."

She looked up at him, curious, then when she saw his gentle smile, decided he had simply wanted to say her name as she'd said his.

She smiled back, then said, "Does that guy really make good omelets?"

"Nat says so."

"You haven't had one?"

"No."

"Then let's go find out."

#

Steve knew they were in the right place as the smell of toast and coffee drifted through the door to the mess. He gestured Skye to precede him, and it took more will than he'd expected not to rest a hand at her back. But they'd agreed to focus on the mission, and Steve knew if he touched her, he'd forget the mission completely.

"Hey, smells good," Skye called. Rumlow was just visible behind a pass-through to the kitchen, and he looked up with a grin.

"Hard to fuck up toast and coffee," he said. "Reserve judgment until the frittata's done."

"You found eggs?" Skye crossed to the coffeemaker, poured herself a cup, and glanced at Steve. "Coffee?"

"Yes, thanks, black is fine."

"Egg substitute," Rumlow said in answer to Skye's question. "And some freeze-dried fillings."

"Freeze dried?" Steve asked. "I thought this was a functioning base."

"It was. But you never know when power might go out, or you might have to go to ground for a few days or weeks."

"Oh, God," Skye said. "Hydra were Boy Scouts, always prepared?"

"That's the Girl Scouts' motto, too," May said. "And not a bad one to live by, regardless."

Steve murmured a thanks as he took the coffee Skye offered and sat at the table with Natasha and May.

Natasha was giving Steve an appraising look. To anyone else, he thought, she was just glancing at him to acknowledge his arrival, but he'd seen her working before, and that was definitely a working appraisal.

Steve met her gaze with as much equanimity as he could manage, even knowing that it was probably a wasted effort. Natasha would know something had happened between him and Skye, but she'd assume it was just an attraction. He'd tell her the truth later, when they had a moment alone.

Natasha nodded, though Steve had no idea what she might mean by the gesture, and then turned back to her conversation with Agent May, which his soulmate was listening to intently.

Steve respected her for that – she had the opportunity to learn from two of the best agents SHIELD ever had, and she'd be foolish to waste it. That these two agents were also women, and therefore far more cognizant of issues specific to female agents than he'd ever be, was surely icing on the cake. That left Steve to eat in silence or to try to make conversation with Rumlow. He wasn't sure which one was the better option.

"Here you go, Cap," Rumlow slid a plate in front of him, and Steve murmured a thanks, noting that Rumlow had already served the women.

He'd promised Natasha that he'd give Rumlow a chance to redeem himself. Choosing to eat the meal Rumlow put in front of him was a step toward that goal. He took a bite of the frittata, found it surprisingly tasty for being made of freeze-dried vegetables and egg substitute, and said so.

"Brock's family has a restaurant in Queens," Natasha said, interrupting her conversation with May and Skye. "If you like Italian, you should try it."

"Guess the talent for cooking runs in the -" Skye broke off when her phone beeped. "Got a hit."

Minutes later, Steve stood beside Skye in the command center, the others gathered around them, watching as she called up the information she'd found.

"He made several flights over the last couple of days," Skye said. "Looks like he used a couple of aliases, but the facial recognition doesn't lie."

"Where did he end up?" Steve asked.

"Ternopil?" Skye sounded out the word.

"Ternopil," Natasha said. "In Ukraine. That fits with what Barnes and I heard in Novosibirsk, that Ten Rings wants to build an empire from the Black Sea to the Baltic."

"Romanian national," Skye continued. "Graduated St. Petersburg State Medical Academy fifteen years ago, then was on staff at several hospitals throughout Russia and Romania, most recently Alba Iulia Emergency County Hospital until December last year."

"Since December?" Steve asked.

"Traveling," Skye said absently, scanning through the data almost as quickly as it appeared on her screen. "St. Petersburg, California, Bucharest, and now Ternopil."

"What's in Ternopil?" Steve frowned at the display, as if he could will it to make sense just by staring at it.

"Almost a quarter million people," Natasha said. "And it's a center of Ukrainian national revival movements."

"Ternopil State Medical University," Skye added. "Where it looks like they're doing some cutting edge research into genetic manipulation. And -"

"And?" May prompted when Skye paused, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"And a couple of familiar names on staff." Skye looked up at May. "Take a look."

Steve watched May's expression shift from curiosity to concern. "Those are Centipede people on staff."

"Think Mitrea's gone there for another shot at something that might cure the Mandarin?" Rumlow asked.

"I think we can't ignore the possibility," Steve said. "Looks like we're off to Ternopil."

Not that he was looking forward to abandoning his soulmate practically the moment he'd found her, Steve thought. But they'd agreed their respective missions had to come first. He'd find a way to grab a couple of minutes with her before he left, exchange contact information, and contact her when he got back from Ukraine.

"Go with them, Skye," May said suddenly.

"What?" Skye asked.

"Go with them," May repeated. "I'll get a dose of QNB-T16 for you to take with you."

"I don't speak Russian," Skye said. "And DC –"

"Natasha speaks Russian." Steve and Rumlow spoke at the same time and Steve found himself exchanging a wry half-smile with a man who'd tried to kill him more than once.

"I'll clear it with the director," May said firmly. "You know the questions to ask about Centipede."

Skye glanced from May to Steve, and then straightened her shoulders, just a little. "Okay."

"Consider it a field practical exercise," May told her, and if she'd meant that to be reassuring, Steve thought it wasn't.

Rumlow was looking at May with a curious expression. "You're her SO?"

"Now. Her first SO was Hydra."

Rumlow didn't rise to the bait, if bait it was. "You want an eval? If not from me, from Nat?"

Skye squeaked, and then looked surprised that that noise had come from her. May's severe expression twitched, just a little, into a hint of a smile.

"From both of you," May said, and Steve fought a smile at Skye's expression, caught somewhere between pride and terror. Then May looked at him. "And you, Captain, if you will."

"I can't." The response was automatic, but no less true because of it.

Steve flicked a questioning glance at Skye, and she swallowed once, then nodded. From the corner of his eye, Steve caught Rumlow's frown and saw Natasha looking curiously interested.

"I understand that you weren't with SHIELD long, and while you were, you were mostly on field assignments," May began, "but surely you -"

"We're soulmates."

It was the simple truth, but the words fell into silence like a well. Then Natasha was smiling, an honest smile. "Guess I'll stop trying to find you dates now."

May was studying Skye. "And what would you have done if I hadn't assigned you to go with them?"

"Finished our mission," Skye answered. "Let them finish theirs. Exchange numbers so we can keep in touch."

"Your idea or his?"

"Ours." Skye included Steve with a glance. "Missions are important. We both get that."

May nodded in approval and Steve said, "Are you changing your orders, ma'am?"

"No, Captain. It's still an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, and we won't waste it."