"The hardest part is not killing them."

"Agreed."

Darcy looked at the two women sitting in front of her and gave a weary smile. When Aaron had suggested that she talk to his partners, she hadn't really expected this. While it was somewhat annoying that her trip to New York had already been rescheduled twice, there was the added perk of getting some more information.

"I'm not sure if you're joking," she finally said.

Stefanie grinned and place her hand on her girlfriend's knee. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that communication is the most important part of the relationship, especially in a triad." When Darcy gave her a confused look, she chuckled. "That's when the three of you are in a relationship together, not just one having a secondary relationship with another person. But yeah, when one of us is pissed off at the other, it's hard not to feel it."

"Definitely," Jessica agreed. "It's really just like any relationship, except you've got two sets of feelings that you have to be aware of."

"How was…" Darcy took a deep breath and spun her beer bottle between her hands. "Was it weird when you started dating?"

"Absolutely."

"Oh hell yes!" Jess laughed. "It was super weird, for me at least. Aaron said that you were joining a couple and are going to date them both, right?"

"Yeah."

"Learn from me, young padawan - it's not easy. As much as you think it's gonna be awkward, multiply that."

Stef grimaced but nodded.

"The hardest part is making sure that you're building a good relationship with your partners without stepping on their relationship. Jealous is a huge thing. When Stef and I found each other, it took a toll on Aaron because he thought they were over."

"It took a long time for him to really accept that we weren't pushing him out," Stef added.

"Yeah. Because on one hand, you've got this expectation of being with your soulmate - and only your soulmate - and on the other you have this really strong, loving relationship. And he felt like he was making Jess choose."

Darcy swallowed hard, remembering how hard it had been when Ray had been in that position and chose his soulmate.

Jessica rolled her eyes, an affectionate smile on her lips. "He likes to say that he knew from the start that we were all meant to be together, but that's just the romantic in him. It took a lot of work to get where we are today. And it's a constant process."

"Yup. But if I can give you any advice, it would be to not expect a lot at the beginning, and don't be upset if one of the relationships goes a lot smoother than the other. You need to get to that point with both partners," Stef added quickly. "But that's how it happens sometimes."

"And don't feel bad for saying that you need more or less. If you feel left out, let them know. And if you need to back away for awhile, they need to know that, too."

Darcy chuckled, "Aaron pretty much said the same thing. 'If you know, you know. You can't force it or you'll just be hurt.'"

"That man," Stef laughed. "Sometimes he's so smart."

The three women laughed and the conversation shifted away to Aaron and gossip about other grad students, what their jobs were, etc.

"If you ever want to talk - you or the guys - just let us know," Stefanie said as they hugged goodbye.

"Seriously," Jessica grinned. "You're our first baby polys!"

Darcy watched as they walked away, hand in hand, and felt a bit more ready to have the talk.

OOO

"Did she tell you why she wanted to come up?" Steve asked, meeting his boyfriend's eyes in the mirror as he rinsed off his razor blade.

Bucky spit into the sink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand while turning around. With a sigh, he walked across the bathroom and wrapped his arms around Steve's middle. "You got the same texts I did."

"What'd'ya think she's gonna say?"

"Dunno." Steve gave him a cautious smile before tilting his chin up and scraping the razor along his throat. "Think she'll say yes?" Buck asked.

"Dunno," Steve replied, while rinsing the razor again. Buck shifted to rest his hip against the sink and watched, trying not to smirk as Steve rolled his lips together to shave under his nose. It was still amusing to see him shave daily, when before he'd been able to go almost a week without.

"Sirs, Ms. Lewis is requesting access to the underground garage," Jarvis announced.

Buck froze, thinking about the list of things they hadn't gotten done before Darcy arrived. He'd just gotten off the quinjet from Argentina, where he and Natasha been tracking some of the last Red Room operatives, when Steve had pulled him into an intel briefing. While his team had been raiding a domestic terrorist cell planning a biological attack, they'd stumbled across an abandoned, off the books HYDRA base that had been outside of Philly. SHIELD had been able to recover some of their records, which included reports on the Winter Soldier's activities during the 1970s.

Though he'd recovered most of his memories, there were still gaps and Buck'd put out a standing order that he was read into any intel SHIELD found about the Winter Soldier.

Buck had stumbled into the shower as soon as they got up to their apartment, and spent twenty minutes trying to shut out the images of his destruction. When Steve had joined him, he'd seen the worry in his eyes and knew he was fighting the urge to say he wasn't responsible for what happened.

"Let her in," Steve said before swallowing hard and looking at his boyfriend. "You good?"

"I'll go get her," he replied, pushing off the sink. He'd just taken a step when Steve tugged at his shirt to stop him.

"Buck - "

"I'll be fine."

Steve nodded and reeled him in closer. "We're gonna be okay, no matter what happens."

Bucky nodded, not entirely sure if he meant with HYDRA or Darcy, before leaning in to kiss him. He pulled back just far enough to say, "We're solid." Steve hummed his affirmation against his lips before pulling away and wiping some shaving cream from Buck's cheek.

Darcy was standing by her car and fiddling with her phone, duffle bag at her feet, when he reached the garage. As soon as the elevator doors opened, her eyes darted to meet his and a shy smile crossed her lips.

"You made it."

"So did you," she replied, a flush creeping into her cheeks at the gentle reprimand.

"Sorry about all the rescheduling," James sighed. Darcy shrugged and reached for him as he neared and stood on her toes to embrace him. He buried his nose in her hair, breathing in the faint coconut smell, and felt some of the tension bleed out of his his shoulders. They lingered just a second too long before she stepped back.

"Where's Steve?"

"Upstairs. Probably trying to pick up a bit," he replied, reaching for her bag.

"You guys don't need to clean for me," Darcy rolled her eyes as they made their way back to the elevator.

"Make sure you tell him that," James teased. "He won't believe it if I say it."

"He doesn't believe you on a lot of stuff I say. I guess playing telephone isn't really gonna work out in this - " Darcy stopped suddenly. He felt his heart leap while she felt hers start racing; she swallowed hard, suddenly feeling a bit warmer.

James didn't prod and waved her into the elevator, stepping in after her and pressing the button for their floor. Darcy leaned against the back wall and looked up at the ceiling. "School going well?" he asked.

She snorted and reached up to adjust her glasses. "Just trying to get through coding. Not sure why my advisor is pushing mixed methods when it's clearly a qualitative study." When she heard Bucky's soft chuckle, Darcy turned to look at him. "What?"

"Nothin', Doll." She rolled her eyes before looking at him.

"What about you? You guys get whatever you were working on done?"

James scowled and clenched his jaw. His hand flexed on the strap of the duffle as he replied, "Not yet."

"Oh. Almost?" When he grunted, Darcy took it as a sign to drop the conversation. They stood in silence until the doors slid open.

Steve, in the midst of folding a blanket, grinned at them. "Hey Darce," he said before tossing the blanket over the back of the couch. His smile faltered slightly when his eyes shot from Darcy to Bucky.

"Hey Steve," she said, pushing off the wall and making her way towards him.

"Everything alright?" he asked when she wrapped her arms around him. He held her tightly, his eyes fixed on Buck who shook his head slightly and went to put Darcy's bag in her room.

"Inadvertent foot in mouth," she mumbled into his chest.

Sighing, Steve held her tighter, "S'not you. It's been a rough couple of days for him."

"Not you?" she asked, pulling away to look at him critically. He gave her a wry smile before shaking his head.

"Not as bad." Darcy sighed and stepped out of his embrace.

"But still bad. Are you sure you want me here now? I can head home if you guys want some time alone."

"No." They both turned to see Buck standing in the doorway to her unofficial room. "No," he repeated. "We want you here."

"Oh-okay," she said after a moment, stuttering slightly at his intense expression. Steve's hand on the small of her back made her jump and she looked up at him.

"You want something to drink?"

"Alcohol." He laughed uncomfortably while scrubbing a hand through his wet hair, making it jut up in spikes.

"Beer good? Or I can go and - "

"Beer's fine." Steve nodded and made his way to the kitchen, shooting his boyfriend a concerned look. Bucky shook his head minutely and followed him, keeping his eyes fixed on the floor.

"How was the drive?" Steve asked while reaching into the refrigerator and retrieving three bottles. Darcy grasped the question like a life raft and went into more detail about the five hour drive than was strictly necessary, complaining about the bumper-to-bumper traffic on I-95 and then nearly being rear ended at a light because the person wasn't paying attention.

"And then - and then! - they had the audacity to flip me off!" she said, feeling slightly victorious when the corner of James' mouth twitched. "Like I was the one who did something wrong. I swear to god, New York drivers are the worst."

"Shoulda seen Stevie when he was learning," James said, before taking a pull of his beer. "Almost put us both in the hospital with whiplash. Nearly wore out the clutch too." Steve flushed, partially embarrassed but also happy that Buck remembered that.

"You weren't any better," he countered. "Your grandpop almost skinned you alive when he found out that you took out the car and scraped the wheel rims parking too close to the sidewalk."

Darcy smiled around her beer, listening to the two men bicker back and forth. It was...comfortable. She let herself zone out, paying more attention to the cadence of their speech rather than the actual words. She'd missed this during their solo trips to DC to visit her.

"Darce? Darcy?" Steve said, snapping her out of her thoughts; his tone indicating that he'd been trying to get her attention for a while.

"Yeah?"

"What were you thinking for dinner? We haven't had a chance to shop, so it's gonna have to be take out - unless you want to go - "

"I think we should talk."

Her words surprised all of them, and Darcy felt her face burn as she blushed. Quickly, she looked down and spun her beer bottle between her hands, ignoring the look that passed between Steve and James.

"Yeah?" James said, his voice hoarse.

"I think… I think we might as well get the awkward out of the way. Or it's just gonna be… awkward…" she sighed.

It was silent for a moment until Steve retrieved a beer from the refrigerator. He tipped it in her direction but she shook her head at his offer.

Darcy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have some questions."

"Okay," Steve said.

"I… um… how would this work?" she asked, before biting her lip. Steve and Bucky stared at one another before Steve cleared his throat and licked his lips.

"Logistically or…" he trailed off.

"Logistically!" Darcy squeaked. "I don't even wanna touch that right now. What I mean is... " she took a deep breath. "Would this be James and Steve, plus Darcy?"

"No," Bucky frowned. "It would be Steve, you, and me."

"I just," she sighed, "I don't know how that works with you guys being in New York and me being in DC."

"Don't let that be a factor," Steve said quickly. "That… that's something that can be fixed."

"I can't leave DC and you guys belong here. It's hard enough doing long distance when it's just two people but three? That's - "

"We're transferring."

Darcy stared blankly at James, her mouth slightly open. "What? No! Don't transfer for me. You guys belong here! New York is your home, you can't leave just because - "

"This isn't home," he said, tearing his eyes away from Darcy to look at Steve. "This isn't our New York. It… it's not home without our people."

"It's not the same," he agreed, frowning slightly. "It's home but… not." Shaking his head slightly, Steve turned his gaze to Darcy. "We're transferring to DC regardless."

"What about the Avengers?" Darcy asked. "If Tony goes back to California, and Thor back to Asgard, and Clint and Nat? They're still in rotation for SHIELD, right? That just leaves Dr. Banner, who doesn't seem all that willing to be the face of the -"

"That's a whole lotta 'ifs', Doll," Steve smirked. "But if it comes to it, we can be back. Quinjets get priority air clearance in an emergency."

"If," James started but stopped and shifted. "If you don't want this, to be with -"

"I didn't say that." Darcy's face flamed again and she tightened her grasp on the beer bottle. "I just… I don't… I'm the odd man out," she mumbled.

"What?" they both asked.

"I just… you guys are… you have history. You guys are Meant To Be - capital 'M', 'T', 'B'."

"Can't have history if you don't start," James said, a hint of a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"And if anyone's the odd man out," Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at the floor. "It's me."

"No."

Darcy didn't know it was possible to suffuse so much venom into a single word, but James accomplished it. She looked over at him only to see his eyes locked on Steve. His jaw was clenched and the bottle in his hand looked in danger of shattering.

"Buck?" Steve said hesitantly.

"No," he repeated through grit teeth. "This isn't… it's not because…" His angry gaze turned to Darcy, as if trying to make her understand as he struggled to speak.

"James," Darcy started but stopped when he lifted his flesh and bone arm, and wrench down the sleeve to reveal his scarred wrist.

"These don't...mean anything," he ground out. "They're just…"

Darcy stared at the scars as her hand drifted to the words tattooed on her just below her ribs. Slowly, a smile crept across her lips.

"Team Free Will," she said softly.

"Team Free Will?" Steve echoed, confusion evident in his tone as Bucky nodded.

"Okay."

Both men looked at her and Darcy flushed under their intensity.

"Okay?" Steve asked as he took a hesitant step towards her. Darcy nodded and he quickly closed the distance between them and lifted his hands to cup her face but stopped. "Are you… Can I…?"

She took a deep breath and nodded.

Steve's eyes fell to her lips as he leaned down, his hands gently pulling her closer. The first brush of their lips was shy and halting, and Darcy pulled away to look at him before placing her hands on his chest and leaning in again. Steve's hands fell to her waist and he pulled her closer, wanting to feel every inch of her against him.

When they broke apart to breathe, Darcy looked at the floor, her cheeks flushed, while Steve turned to look at Bucky.

His eyes were dark with want as he drank them in. The sheer force of it made Darcy lose her breath again when she lifted her gaze to meet his.

"Buck?" Steve said, pulling his attention to him, and lifted an eyebrow.

Darcy pulled away from Steve and swallowed hard as she took a step towards him. "You're sure about this, right James?" Darcy asked, attempting a teasing tone that fell flat. "Because I'm pretty sure we both said - "

His hand darted out to grab hers, and Darcy let out a shriek of surprise as he pulled her to his chest and threaded his hand through her hair. "Do me a favor, Doll?" he said quietly.

"Sure."

"Call me Bucky."

Darcy grinned and slid her hand up to wrap around the back of his neck. When their lips touched, they didn't feel the electricity that some claimed they felt when they found their soul mates. Instead, it felt normal, like this was their thousandth kiss rather than their second.

"It's going to take me a while to stop slipping up," she cautioned.

"'S long as you're here to do it."

Darcy turned back and reached out for Steve who smiled when she linked her pinkie with his. He brought their clasped hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.

Feeling a heady rush, she looked between her boys and nodded. "Promise."

THE END

Author's Note: That's it! That's the end! This little fic started out as a one or two shot, but spun out of control. I hope you enjoyed it.