Note: Mild spoilers for post-credit scene in 'Ant-Man'.

"Aviation Day"

"Whoa, hold it," Steve said, keeping his hands on Bucky. "He's done, but he's gotta get out first." He looked over his shoulder. "This was a great idea, Sam. Thanks."

"You're welcome," Sam said, though he couldn't take his eyes off Bucky. The former (he hoped) Winter Soldier stared back, his breathing shallow. Either that or very controlled, because his chest barely moved, and Sam couldn't remember seeing him blink at all in the last few minutes.

"Okay," Steve said. A tiny flying ant passed Bucky's arm, although it was hard to tell whether Scott Lang had actually managed to get out. But Steve's super senses couldn't be beaten, and within seconds Ant-Man was back to human size. He patted Bucky on the arm fearlessly.

"You're good to go, pal," he said. "I removed some nasty bugs hidden in there while I was at it."

"But you're a nice bug," Steve said, and Sam pursed his lips as Scott glanced at him, eyes twinkling.

"Thanks," Scott said.

"Don't mention it."

"Ever," Sam muttered. Scott saluted them, took one last look at Bucky and his arm, and then left the room.

"Will you be okay here with Sam?" Steve said. "I'm just gonna see Lang out safely."

"And probably offer him a place in the Avengers," Sam said. "I'm beginning to feel less special the more people you add, you know that, right?"

Steve grinned, and he jogged after Ant-Man. Being alone with Bucky was awkward, and Sam hated not knowing what to do. He'd never encountered this kind of case before, not if Bucky's memories were still patchy.

"Sorry," Bucky rasped. He straightened up with a slight wince, probably from being bent over for God knows how long. "Think I… tore your wing?"

"You remember that," Sam said.

"Did it really happen?"

"It did. Then you kicked me off the side of the building."

Bucky looked at the ground, flexing his left arm. "'m sorry. Didn't know…"

"You didn't know what you were doing, and I understand that," Sam said. He reached out gingerly, not wanting to hurt or startle Bucky, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "It sucked, what happened to you, and we're gonna do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again. We'll protect you, James, okay?"

He blinked. "You called me James."

"Would you prefer—?"

"No, naw," Bucky said. "No one's called me that in… I can't remember how long."

"That's okay," Sam said, and he grinned. Bucky smiled back unsurely. "I can't remember the last time someone called me Samuel. And that's not an invitation."

"How's it going in here?" Steve said, and Sam almost regretted the interruption. "Let's get you somewhere safe, yeah?"

Bucky nodded, and he allowed Sam and Steve help him out to the car. They drove to the new base; it was remote, it was superhero-proof, and there was plenty of space. Bucky seemed to like sticking his head out the window, his longish hair blowing back, and Sam kept getting distracted by this. It was a damn good thing Steve was driving.

"Hope you'll like the place," Sam said. Bucky glanced at him; those eyes must've been devastating on the women back in the day, but working as an assassin for decades had trained them to harden when he analysed something, and the way he stared at Sam was unnerving. Not as bad as it could've been, all things considered, but he still felt like Bucky was looking right through him.

"Doesn't matter," Bucky said. "S'long as you're there."

Sam knew he was talking to Steve, but he'd definitely be there for Bucky as much as he could, and not just to counsel him.

It was evening by the time they arrived, since it'd taken a few hours to track down Scott, then convince him to help, and then there was the drive. Bucky didn't want to meet anyone else, not even Romanov, so they took him straight to his room. As with all the rooms, it was monitored. So when Sam was alerted that Bucky was distressed, he ran to the soldier's room, where Steve was trying to hold Bucky down. There was blood on him, but Steve looked untouched.

"He's hurt himself," Steve said grimly. "And he won't calm down enough to let me look at it."

"Nightmare," Sam said, stating the obvious. He knelt on Bucky's other side, letting Steve hold his arms down, and stroked Bucky's hair back. "Did his mom ever sing him to sleep? Did he have a favourite song?"

"I don't… think we'll need that," Steve said. Bucky had settled, and Sam began to take his hand away. When the soldier grew upset again, he resumed stroking Bucky's hair, and that calmed him down. Almost like petting a scared dog. (He kept that thought to himself.) "Bucky, you'll have to let me look at this. Damn, you tore right through your shirt. We'd better get you cleaned up so I can see."

"They were… they were try-na make me…"

"They can't hurt you here," Steve said. "Not while we're here, Bucky, not while Sam an' I are here."

"Stay." Bucky gripped the front of Sam's shirt. "Don't let `em…"

"We won't." Sam kept running his fingers through Bucky's hair. "We're here, Bucky."

"Let's get him into the shower," Steve said. Between them, they got Bucky out of bed and into the bathroom. Steve unbuttoned the shirt and Sam helped Bucky extract his arms before pulling the material down. He noticed black marks on the man's back, and thought for a moment that they were nasty bruises from something, perhaps machinery in the factory. It was when he took a closer look out of concern that his heart leapt into his throat, and he gently rubbed the back of Bucky's shoulders.

"I can take it from here," he said. Steve's brow furrowed.

"What d'you mean?" he asked.

Sam traced a finger along Bucky's soulmark – one of two, he presumed – and Bucky gasped softly, before twisting his neck to look at Sam.

"Not too keen on you seeing my soulmate in the buff," he said. Steve's mouth fell open, and Sam gave Bucky a meek smile. "We were kinda busy when we 'met'. I didn't realise `til I saw this." He touched the words again, and Bucky shivered. "Got a second mark?"

"Y-yeah. Took awhile to remember what they meant. I didn't realise, either…" He tensed as he looked at Steve. "What I did…" He turned to face Sam. "I could've killed you. I almost did!"

"Relax," Sam said, stroking his shoulders. "Important thing is you didn't. And I haven't met our soulmate, so they're still alive."

"You haven't?"

"Not yet. Maybe we'll find them together?"

Bucky gave Steve a quick look, and then tentatively stepped closer to Sam.

"I'll be okay, Steve," he said. "I wanna see Sam's soulmark, and I don't think I want you seein' my soulmate in the nude, either."

With a bemused sigh, Steve nodded, and he left them alone. The door was barely closed before Bucky was on him, and Sam found himself in charge of getting a many-handed former assassin into the shower without any more clothes being torn.

Leo Fitz slumped with relief. He'd been ambitious, breaking into an old SHIELD facility in hopes of finding something which could help him break Jemma out. He should've at least told the others about it and asked for their help. He knew he'd be in for a thorough chewing out from Hunter and Mack and Skye when he got back to base, and Coulson as well if the Avengers found out that he was alive.

"Thank you," he said, nearly falling into the Winter Soldier's arms. He tried not to get distracted by the metal prosthesis, but that just left staring at Bucky Barnes's face, which was even more distracting. The man blinked at him.

"No problem," he said.

"Bring him over here!" Iron Man called. The Winter Soldier chivvied Fitz into Tony Stark's arms, then ran past to the Falcon. "Let's get you back to Coulson."

"You know he's alive?" Fitz said.

"You're not the only genius around here. Of course I figured it out."

Considering that they shot into the air only seconds later, Fitz resisted the urge to ask just when Mr. Stark managed to find out that Coulson was alive. No fun if he fell to his death pissing off Iron Man, not to mention completely embarrassing. And he hadn't met his soulmates yet, as far as he could remember. It was easy enough to miss 'No problem', but he was sure no one's first words to him had ever been 'Take care of yourself now, and don't fall out'. In fact, he'd never heard those at all, unless that was something else the brain damage had stolen from him.

"Here you are," Iron Man said, leaving Fitz on the ramp of a `jet with the Stark Industries logo on the side. How discreet. "We're meeting your people halfway, t-minus two minutes. Hang on tight."

Fitz could only nod, and grab hold of a strap while he tried not to look over the edge. Too many bad memories associated with falling through the sky.

"Good to see you again, Fitz," Clint Barton said, clapping him on the back. "Thought HYDRA wiped out most of the academy?"

"Wasn't there at the time!" Fitz said over the noise of the engines. He saw on the radar how close they were to whoever was meeting them. He certainly recognised their own aircraft. "Weaver did her best, I heard, but not many of us…"

"From any of the divisions," Barton said, and he tugged Fitz over to a seat. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Simmons is gone," he said, now able to speak at a better volume. He noticed the way the Falcon and the Winter Soldier were linking their fingers casually. "Swallowed up in a… a big r-rock thing. I was trying to find something to… to…"

"I get it," Barton said. "We'll do whatever we can to help, but no more of the solo heroics when you're not a field agent, okay?"

"Fewer people there are—"

"The more casualties can pile up. You're not invincible."

"I know." He knew it all too well. "Thanks for the rescue. It was just… me." He shrugged. "Not worth wasting your time on—"

"Coulson asked. Least we could do for him since he…" Barton glanced up. "Nearly there. Tell the asshole it's not the last he'll hear from us."

"I… I don't have to say that exactly, do I? He's my boss."

"…Fitz."

"Er, I'll paraphrase."

"You do that."

They drew up beside the plane, and Fitz was oddly reminded of the bus. His heart clenched for a second. But Hunter was there, throwing a line to him, and Barton caught it before Fitz could even reach out. He handed the end to Fitz, who wound it around his wrist, nervously clutching onto the side of the plane.

"You okay?" Barton said. Fitz exhaled slowly, and nodded. "Someone will catch you if anyone goes wrong. I promise."

"I k-know."

"Take care of yourself now, and don't fall out," the Falcon said. Fitz told himself to man up in front of the superheroes, and began to walk forwards. He saw Hunter tightening his grip on his end of the line…

Then it hit him. He looked over his shoulder, slack-jawed.

"That's impossible," he said, staring at the Falcon.

A bit of poorly-timed turbulence nearly threw him out of the plane. Fitz dropped the line and caught hold of the side of the plane instead, and he was hauled back by Barton, before being pulled out of his grasp by the Winter Soldier.

"You thanked me," he said.

"You said 'No problem'," Fitz replied, dumbfounded. The Falcon grinned.

"Damn, and I thought you'd be referring to my wings," he said. "Should I be flattered that this is 'impossible'?"

"Y-yeah." Fitz swallowed. "Definitely flattered. I mean…" His gaze trailed down both men's bodies. "I can't believe it. You're… you're superheroes."

"And you're a Stark-level genius. You're the only one who's s'posed to be intimidated?"

"You're our soulmate," Barnes said. "Fuck, I didn't see this coming."

"Considering it's Aviation Day, this is strangely appropriate," Barton muttered.

I was hoping to have more time to spend on this, but I've been to a professional development thing today, so I've been out longer than usual. In fact, I'm going to have to edit this in document manager, because I have to swap laptops. Seriously need a better system. At least I've got tomorrow off.

Please review!