So when the elevator opened, Bucky squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, grabbed Jack's arm, and demanded in a low voice, "We need to talk."
"Not really," Jack shrugged, automatically knowing what he wanted to discuss. "You weren't yourself, so you did things you wouldn't have, and pulling that trigger just so happened to be one of those things. It's in the past and I'm willing to leave it there if you are."
It had been a very long time since Bucky had been accosted by such an urge to just hug someone, and he didn't bother second-guessing it now. "Thank you," he murmured in the other man's ear.
"According to Peggy, that wound was a blessing in disguise from a certain angle; having a female co-founder after my demotion was a big deal for the women in the workplace movement."
As Jack ushered Bucky further into Steve's apartment, Peggy added, "Plus I always got along better with Howard than Jack did."
"The man was annoying!" Jack complained.
Eddie corrected, "You and 'the man' were both too big-mouthed for your own good."
"Speaking of big-mouthed…" Bucky drawled, pointedly eyeing Anna as people found seats around the living room.
Steve, Bucky, Jack, and Peggy all sat down on one couch and Anna blushed – apparently she was shy after all sometimes – as she sat down on Peggy's lap and hauled her feet into Bucky's, laying her head down in Steve's, staring up at him as she said, "Hi there, handsome."
"Hello, beautiful," Steve replied with a smile.
Peggy grinned at Anna, telling Steve and Bucky, "She decided that she liked lying on a human couch like this on the day that Angie, Jack, Daniel, and I met her."
"Yeah?" Bucky asked innocently, laying his metal arm across her ankles gently.
Yet Anna was suddenly nervous as she repeated slowly, "Yeah…"
He let himself relax completely, grin turning wolfish as he locked the metal arm into place and removed her shoes at warp speed, tickling her feet experimentally.
"Bucky…" she warned, already trying to jerk her feet away from him.
"If his arm works anything like Danny's leg, you're not going anywhere," Peggy remarked – and then she pinned Anna's arms down so she didn't thrash too much, making Bucky actually laugh aloud as the Englishwoman asked, "Don't you know better than to say 'hi' at a first meeting?"
"Hypocrite," Bucky shot back, beginning to tickle Anna in earnest as he suggested, "Her ribs are pretty prone, Jack."
"No!" she screamed at the blonde man. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, but I would," Jack grinned. And he did.
"Don't you love payback?" Bucky inquired calmly of her.
She couldn't speak – could barely breath past her helpless laughter – and when she did catch her breath long enough, she squealed pleadingly, "Edwin!"
Anna's husband, who had been watching in amusement from the other couch with Daniel and Angie, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you want me to get involved, darling?"
She nodded frantically, so he stood from one couch and knelt in front of the other at his wife's head. Too late, Anna realized exactly what he had asked her and began to shake her head as he began to tickle her… neck?
"That's nice to know!" Jack teased as her screaming rose to a new pitch. "How hadn't we figured that out before?"
"Vile man!" Anna accused Edwin raggedly.
Bucky chuckled – then froze as something changed in her expression and she lost her breath again. "A-" she choked out, eyes widening. "A-a-!"
"Let her up!" Steve ordered, helping her sit upright as Jack, Peggy, and Eddie shifted, every expression around the room creasing with worry as Steve asked perceptively, "Anna, do you have asthma?"
She nodded frantically and Peggy shouted at JARVIS, "We need an inhaler!"
"Mr. Stark doesn't keep them in stock," JARVIS said apologetically.
Bucky didn't know what an inhaler was, but something that was nearly muscle memory was reminding him that he knew how to help an calm what was only about to become an asthma attack. "Move!" he ordered, much sharper than he'd meant to as he knelt in front of Anna where she was still sitting in Peggy's lap struggling to breathe. His voice and expression was calm, soothing even, as he reached to massage her back and chest, "Catch your breath, sweetheart; it's alright, you can do it. Just breathe with me."
And slowly but surely she did. Her breathing deepened and evened out, color returned to her cheeks, and when he was certain she was alright Bucky's focus widened to once again include all seven of his soulmates as Anna muttered, "I haven't had anything happen like that since I was ten!"
"You've never been brought back to life before either," Peggy pointed out, stroking her hair. "It's been a rather exciting past twenty-four hours."
"She's right," Bucky muttered. "Attacks like that can be caused by stress alone, and then when we made it hard for you to breathe…"
"We're sorry," Eddie told her, still looking worried. "It never even crossed my mind!"
"And why should it? I'm fine," Anna assured him, squeezing his hand even as she winced at the pain of talking.
"Here," Steve said, gently pushing a glass of water into her free hand. "This should help ease the soreness."
"You may want to whisper for a little while, though," Bucky added, one more thing he didn't remember knowing until it was there in front of him.
So she did, saying "thank you" as she looked between the two super soldiers.
Eddie added, "I, for one, am glad you were here for that."
"Well, I, for one," Angie spoke up. "Am glad that we are all here and together at last."
"So true," Eddie agreed, reaching for Angie – who was holding hands with Daniel – with one hand while grasping Bucky's hand with the other.
The ex-assassin wasn't sure what was happening as he watched Daniel take one of Steve's hands and Peggy the other while Anna leaned against Peggy and took Jack's hand. But then Jack's free hand was closing around Bucky's metal one and he could feel it – he hoped they all could feel this – completeness!
Once again, Loki was in front of Odin's throne with disbelief in his eyes – but at least he was standing this time, if just barely managing it.
He yelled, "What do you mean, 'the mission is incomplete'?!"
"When I originally presented you with the necessary information, you cut me off before I could explain all that I required, acted as though you knew it all. Obviously you did not. Agents Barton and Romanoff are part of a soulmate quartet-"
"I thought multi-soulmark bonds were unusual and rare for Midgardians!" he cried in exasperation.
"They are," Odin allowed. "But you are dealing with unusual and rare Midgardians in the Avengers – of which you have forgotten an entire member. Heimdall tells me that Phillip Coulson is regarded as an Avenger by some."
Loki scoffed, "I'm quite certain Phillip Coulson is a dead man."
"Oh, but he is not, and it is within your responsibilities as I prescribe them to unite him – as a soulmate – to the two women who bear words from him."
"You want me to return to Midgard and face a man who would as soon see me killed as let me within eyesight?"
"You'll be facing his new team as well," Odin verified. "The sooner you leave, the sooner you can complete your tasks and return."
Loki sighed, gave the All-Father the obligatory bow, and turned to go until Frigga called out, "Loki." He looked over his shoulder at her to find her holding an Idunn's apple out to him. "For Darcy."
She tossed the apple to him with an encouraging, maternal smile and he barely managed to tip up one corner of his mouth in return before he headed back to the Bifrost and the Avengers.
He walked into the residential area of the Tower and demanded sourly, "Where's Darcy?"
"She and your brother are… occupied on his level." Loki sighed, said he wanted to be taken there anyway, and left the golden apple on the counter before beating a hasty retreat to the elevator. "What's next?" JARVIS inquired of him.
Loki sighed for the umpteenth time, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall as he shoved down his own loneliness to focus on what lied ahead of him as he replied, "Now I have to dive into Coulson's world."
That's the end of this story, and the last one in the trilogy, "Pieces of the Truth," will be posted as an Avengers/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D crossover before too long. Thanks for R&R-ing!