Note: Canon-divergent in that Rosalind Price didn't accept Phil's offer to join forces. This takes place sometime after that, and the events of 'Civil War'. Yes, I know it hasn't been released yet, so this is also screwing with the timeline. As with most of my fan fiction, this is just for fun, and necessary for this particular idea. And I still haven't seen episodes 5-7 yet, so again, no spoilers.

"Context"

Thank God he'd sent Lincoln to spy on Rosalind Price's team.

Phil read over the notes and transcripts, fiddling with the index finger of one of his broken prosthetic hands. He'd heard about the war between Team Rogers and Team Stark over the registration act. Phil was very much on the fence about it, like any good SHIELD director would be. On the one hand, he understood the importance of accountability; on the other hand, people did have a right to their privacy. And what about their loved ones? What about Barton's family?

He sighed. Rogers was being damned stubborn. It was admirable, but when Stark had apparently offered to cover damages to keep his former team-mates out of jail, even the superheroes he'd never met… Rogers had refused to accept it. True, he was unlikely to be in much danger at jail, but the president could hardly be seen to be sending America's national treasure to prison. Instead, he was serving some parody of community service with the ATCU. Catching Inhumans.

Alright, Lincoln had been a sacrifice to keep S… Daisy safe. A useful sacrifice, after Rosalind refused Phil's offer of himself, and when Lincoln found out the reason for the exchange, he was happy to do as Phil asked. (Once this was over, Phil got the feeling he was going to have to have a 'talk' with Lincoln, make sure that he wasn't going to break Daisy's heart. Soulmates or no.)

And now the ATCU had gone back on their word – surprise, surprise – and were sending Captain America after Daisy.

"Prepare ammunition which will take down a super soldier," he told Fitz.

"Barnes?" his engineer asked. Phil exhaled slowly.

"No," he said. The pause was long, and when he looked up he saw Fitz's astonished expression. Phil was still having trouble believing what this had come to. Had he known about the deal in time, he would've contacted the Avengers and offered a place at SHIELD for the captain. Instead they were at odds, or soon would be.

"Yes, sir," Fitz said.

"As soon as possible. The ATCU doesn't know where we are – I hope to Thor that they don't – but Agent Johnson has to leave the building sometime, so we have to make sure the circumstances are in our favour."

"Does she know yet?"

"I've asked her to meet me in my office in ten minutes."

"Right." Fitz bowed his head. "I'll get right on to it, sir. Maybe up the voltage on the ICERs…"

Phil left him muttering to himself, and returned to his office. He steeled himself for what could become an awkward conversation. Daisy hadn't spoken to him since he sent Lincoln to the ATCU, not once.

She was waiting outside for him, and he gestured her in first. She sat down, still not speaking, and Phil's heart sank. He perched on the edge of his chair.

"Lincoln's informed me that the ATCU still wants you," he said. "I don't think they'll be prepared to make an exchange this time. I have Fitz working on a weapon to fight against whoever they'll send after you—"

"What about the human porcupine?" she said, interrupting. It was almost nice to have her talking to him again.

"We still don't know enough about him," he said. "If it's even a man."

"Right." Daisy didn't continue, so Phil resumed the conversation.

"I was thinking that since the ATCU went back on their word, we should extend Ms. Price the same courtesy. You'll be bait, Lincoln will organise to be there when the ATCU descends, and we'll take him back. Both of you back at the base, where you belong. If Lincoln wants to be relocated, I'm sure we can manage that. Again. Maybe a little makeover first, fake his death so he's no longer a fugitive." He swallowed before adding, "And if you want, you can go with him. Be happy. While the haircut's nice, you might want to change your look slightly as well."

"Fake my death, too?" He couldn't read her expression. Damn May and her lessons.

"If that's what it takes, yes. I want you to be happy."

"You shouldn't have made the exchange in the first place, Coulson."

"I regret nothing," he said. "I did it to keep you safe from them. Now that that's changed, you and Lincoln can be reunited. If only we could send you to Asgard."

"Yeah, that'd be a bit of a bust," Daisy said, stretching back in her chair. "You're really do this for us?"

"Of course I would."

"And who'll you be going up against?"

"The ATCU."

"Yeah, I realise that. But the bald guy who sounds like he's had a tonsillectomy?"

"I think they'd send in the big guns for you… metaphorically speaking. I hope."

"Great." She smiled insincerely. "New identities. I'm used to it."

"Lincoln won't want to stay here, and he's your soulmate. I'm giving you the option of going with him. I know… you don't trust me anymore." Even though I was doing it for you, Skye, he thought. "I'm lucky that Mack stayed behind, really lucky. Hell, I could arrange an interview for you with Pepper Potts, through Maria Hill. You could work for Stark Industries. Fitz would be jealous as hell."

"True." She nodded. "Give me a minute to think about it?"

"You have until Fitz has finished work. I'll make plans, talk to Lincoln. Organise something. You just play your part when the time comes. If you decide to leave SHIELD, then you'll just need to run to May and she'll fly you and Lincoln wherever you want to go. Leave the ATCU to me."

Daisy frowned. But she left the office when Phil gestured to the door, and he picked up the phone to call Lincoln. He'd also contact Maria, confident that Daisy would take the chance to be free. Maybe she and Lincoln could live in Wisconsin and get a dog? They knew a good vet.

Steve looked over the files Rosalind had given him, studying the picture of the young woman he was supposed to track and take in. Or take out, but the ATCU preferred her alive, and so did Lincoln. He didn't have to say anything; Steve was observant enough to know that the young man cared about her. Whoever the director of this new SHIELD was, he'd given Lincoln to the ATCU to save Daisy Johnson.

Guy sounded like a jerk, keeping two soulmates apart. If Steve had a soulmate, he never would've stood for it.

It's not that he didn't have a soulmark. But it was only a few years old. It still gave him comfort, sometimes echoing his feelings, or influencing them. He'd never heard of any cases like that, so he figured it was a super soldier thing. If only he'd had the chance to talk to Bucky about it, before…

He'd been angry as all get out when Steve agreed to work for the government in exchange for his friend's freedom. Stark never would've looked after Howard's possible killer, even if Steve begged. Sam promised to take care of him for Steve while he worked off the debt to society.

Assuming he was ever able to work it off. In the meantime, Bucky was better off working things out with a trained counsellor. Sam had even mentioned getting in touch with a friend of his, a Professor Garner, for advice. The fact that Natasha agreed with his recommendation should've been suspicious, but Steve was just grateful, and figured that she'd had him checked out first.

"There's been a sighting," Rosalind said, walking into the room and interrupting Steve's reverie. Lincoln was hovering at the back of the group, and Steve got to his feet. "Suit up, private." (Well, technically he'd never been promoted to captain; he'd stolen the title… sort of.) "We'll have a limited window of opportunity before the other guy catches up to them. I still have my reservations about you going with him." This time she spoke to Lincoln, who stared straight back.

"I'm sure he'll be helpful," Steve said. "She wouldn't hurt him." He really hoped the young man wasn't going to be used as bait. "Who else is going?"

"The two of you, but they'll be backup. Co… the director has located another Inhuman, so if we're lucky, we'll be able to net two of them." Acting like Lincoln wasn't an Inhuman. Steve gritted his teeth behind a close-lipped smile, and followed their boss out of the room.

Throw her in a boxing ring with Natasha, and see who lasted longer. The thought made Steve's smile slightly more genuine, which was sometimes necessary.

On the journey, he kept his arms crossed, one finger stroking the place where his soulmark was located several inches below his left armpit. It matched his agitation and nervousness; his soulmate was either reflecting his feelings, or also felt anxious about something. This would've been a really good time to have some support. Less than a week after the battle of New York he'd received his mark, and at first the feelings he got from it were pain, making him wonder whether his soulmate had died and been brought back to life. (Either that or he was in for a long wait.)

He never told anyone, not even his friends, about his mark. They weren't supposed to be empathic, as far as he could tell. Feeling his soulmate's pain, then relief, panic, lethargy, and happiness in the week following had kept him awake at night. When SHIELD fell, there was worry, sadness, and fear. Had his soulmate worked for SHIELD? Or worse, for HYDRA? (No. That was impossible. It wasn't Bucky, so it was impossible.) He'd once lived for the happiness he'd sensed, and now those times were few and far between. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd felt anything resembling happiness from his soulmark. Only loneliness and despair.

I hope I find you soon, he thought. I wanna make you happy. I wanna make you proud. Please don't be disappointed when we meet. Please?

"We're here," Lincoln said, stopping the car. Steve had barely noticed when they got into their own vehicle, leaving the rest of the ATCU to track New SHIELD from another direction. They both climbed out, and Lincoln squatted down to rest his hands on the ground. "I can feel… yeah, they're nearby. They'll know we're here when we get close enough."

"Because you're soulmates," Steve said. Lincoln nearly fell over as he stood up, and looked at Steve wide-eyed. "Son, don't ever go into espionage. Could be down to my enhanced senses, but I can tell when you lie."

Lincoln didn't reply. His expression closed up, and he silently led the way through the trees in the thickest woods surrounding the public park.

"I understand," Steve said, trying to provoke some reaction. "She's your girl, you never got your chance together. I've got my own regrets. Peggy and I weren't soulmates, but there was something between us. And maybe I'm wrong, and you and Johnson aren't soulmates. But there's something between you, stronger than there was between me and Peggy, or even me and Bucky. You deserve the chance to explore that together, and I'm sure the ATCU—"

"Shut up, unless you want them to hear us," Lincoln said. That was better than the silence, at least. "You're lucky we're not on comms."

"You said no tech, in case Johnson did something to it."

"She could." Lincoln halted, and Steve pulled up short beside him. The young man sent a sparkle of electricity through the ground, but it didn't touch Steve. He was always amazed by Lincoln's control over his power, and what it could achieve. What he had achieved, despite the odds.

No wonder he empathised with the boy; they'd both been fugitives from the law because of crimes they didn't commit. In Lincoln's case, he'd been taken off the wanted list, but enough people knew his name. Surprisingly, he'd rejected changing his look. Then again, he didn't go out.

For that matter, neither did Steve. If only he could grow facial hair. At least Lincoln had that option.

"She's here," Lincoln whispered. "They both are. And there's…" He smiled slowly, and Steve felt uneasy. The anxiety in his soulmark didn't help, made him feel more paranoid. He looked around, and realised that he could only see trees, nothing of the outside world aside from the sky.

"Lincoln!"

They both turned towards the voice, and Steve wished he had his shield. But he'd left it in Bucky and Sam's care, knowing that he needed to separate himself from Captain America for God knows how long. Maybe forever. He tensed as Daisy Johnson appeared through the bushes, carrying a tote bag.

"Daisy," Lincoln said, stepping towards her. Steve recognised that he was right to be paranoid, and glared at the Inhumans.

"You tricked me," he said.

"The ATCU is not getting their hands on her," Lincoln said. "My bag's in the trunk."

"We'll get it. May's picking us up near there. Come on."

"I can't just let you two go," Steve said, looking from one to the other. "It's my job to bring you in."

"It's your duty as Captain America to let innocent people go free," Johnson said.

"I'm not Captain America anymore!" Steve snapped. The weight of his words hung over him, but it didn't stop him from reaching for the gun strapped to the inside of his jacket. He'd barely drawn it before Lincoln had blasted it out of his hand, and Johnson's hands were up. He could feel vibrations pushing him backwards, but damned if he was going down without a fight.

Then someone else walked out of the bushes, and Steve was nearly knocked off his feet when he was confronted with the ghost of Agent Phil Coulson.

"Daisy, Lincoln, go now," the ghost said. He looked flesh and blood, and sounded like the Coulson who sometimes haunted Steve's dreams, whenever he dreamt of his failures as a leader and a symbol.

"Come on," Johnson said, grabbing Lincoln's hand. She dragged him in a different direction, and Steve had to focus all his attention on the clone in front of him. It couldn't be the real Phil Coulson, because he was dead. Had been for three years. And he never would've aimed a gun at Steve.

"This is so damn hard," the Coulson copy said.

Steve's world froze, like he was back in the Atlantic, or seeing Bucky's face for the first time in seventy years, or facing off against Howard's son in battle.

"Not the context I was expecting," he admitted.

"…Shit."

"You can't be Phil Coulson. That's impossible."

"When will you start believing that nothing is impossible?"

Okay, that was a good point. Steve gulped.

"You're really… Agent Coulson?"

"No." Damn it. "I'm Director Coulson of SHIELD, and I have to ask you, very nicely, to stop going after potential assets. And current assets who've had a crappy life and deserve a long, very long, vacation."

"You're Phil Coulson? The guy who died when Loki stabbed—"

"Yes, Thor's brother killed me, but I got better."

A lump formed in Steve's throat. "How…"

"When the director of a spy organisation likes you very, very much, he'll go to extraordinary lengths to resurrect you. Perks of being Fury's one good eye."

"So… can we address the fact that we're soulmates?" he asked. Coulson pursed his lips, and shook his head.

"I wish we'd gotten to you before the ATCU," he said. "You could've… but now that's all over. I'm sorry, I truly am, but I need you to leave now. Pretend this never happened. If you need help hiding from the government, please tell Maria Hill. Or Fury, next time he pops out of the woodwork. Don't come looking for us, though. Our location is secret for a reason, and that reason is for my people's safety."

"How am I supposed to believe this is real?" Steve said.

"You could try taking it on faith, if finding out that Norse gods are real hasn't shaken your previous beliefs."

This Coulson was so different from the one Steve had seen before… more like the one Clint and Natasha had talked about. Cold, indifferent, as unfeeling as a robot, and highly competent.

Unfeeling…

Steve paid attention to his soulmark. He wasn't getting anything from it, maybe because Coulson simply… didn't feel anything for him, now that he knew who his soulmate was. Oh wait. There it was.

Disappointment.

He stumbled back a couple of steps, clenching his fists. Coulson lowered his weapon, smiling ruefully, but it was all an act, wasn't it?

"You were alive all this time," he said slowly.

"Most of it, yes."

"It's… it's been three years, Coulson. Why didn't you come forward?" Suddenly furious with the deception, Steve stalked towards him. "Why—"

Something hit him in the chest, a flash of blue from Coulson's weapon the only visual of the ammunition. As Steve hit the ground, he felt a hint of regret from the soulmark, and tried to raise his head. Why did he feel so damn tired? Why wasn't there pain?

"I'm sorry, Mr. Rogers," Coulson said. Steve tried to fight his closing eyes.

"Take… m'with…"

He couldn't even get out one sentence before everything faded.

"You tased Captain America."

"No," Phil said indignantly. "I iced Captain America."

"Don't you think that's inappropriate?"

"I really regressed to my childhood, when I started helping my mother make my birthday cakes," he continued. May frowned; she still hadn't talked about Hunter yet, and Phil knew Bobbi was getting antsy. This vendetta against Ward was ridiculous; it could easily spiral out of control, and then where would that leave them? Where would it leave Hunter, if he came back? (If he survived?)

"I took Daisy and Lincoln to—"

"Don't tell me. The fewer people who know, the better."

"So." May crossed her arms. "What're you going to do about him?"

She indicated Captain Rogers, who was stretched out on one of the hospital beds. The scratches from the bushes he'd landed in had already healed up, and Phil had cleaned his face and hands personally. He resisted the urge to check for a soulmark, and kept away from the spot on his right arm where his own mark was printed.

When it showed up after his death, Phil thought it was strange that the writing was so similar to Captain… to Steve Rogers's handwriting. It was part of the reason he was happy to stay away from the Avengers; either he'd be disappointed to find out that it wasn't the captain, and he'd have to keep looking, or he'd be disappointed to find out that the hero he admired would hate his guts for not revealing himself sooner. Lose-lose situation. He was getting remarkably used to those.

"I should leave," he said. May arched her eyebrows. "I know that doesn't solve the problem of what to do with him. We'll need to sedate him again, and move him somewhere he can be picked up—"

"By whom?" she asked. Phil floundered for a moment.

"Friends," he said.

"You're not giving him a choice."

"I can't afford to. I'm the director of SHIELD—"

"And he's Captain America."

Phil stared through the glass. "He's my soulmate. I thought… I'd never get one. I waited so long that I figured I'd be a mentor figure to my much younger soulmate, or die in the field. Then I got my soulmark, and now I don't know what to do. If I'd received one when I was still a young man I would've done everything in my power to hold on. Now… now I have to let go." May didn't reply, and Phil lowered his head, unwilling to translate her non-expressions. He was too damned tired. "I need to figure this out. Make sure he can't escape when he wakes up."

"We both heard what happened when he did wake up after more than sixty years," she said. Phil paused at the door.

"Then tell him I'll talk to him later, if he wakes up before I return."

"Yes, sir."

He ignored the sarcastic tone and returned to his office.

Steve catalogued what he could tell of his surroundings before slowly opening his eyes. He noticed an Asiatic woman beside him, probably older than she looked, and noted that she had no visible weapons. He was on a hospital bed, no Peggy look-alike, and tried to recall the last thing…

A dead man. Coulson.

"This is so damn hard."

Steve had told the truth; he didn't expect that context, i.e. being held at gunpoint by someone whose funeral he had attended. Was that a lie? Did he ever really die, or was it all a trick? A trick that worked, but he'd regretted the man's death.

Why did his soulmark show up nearly a week after Coulson was stabbed by Loki?

…No. No, no, no. Impossible. He must've coded a few times, temporarily died on about the fourth or fifth day post-surgery, and then survived. That was the only possible, logical, humane explanation.

"You think loudly," the woman said, startling Steve. He realised he was scowling, and tried to smooth out the lines on his forehead.

"Phil," he croaked, and then cleared his throat.

"May," she said. "Director Coulson told me to inform you that he would speak with you later. Being his messenger isn't in my job description, at least not this kind of message."

"Where is he?" Steve said, sitting up carefully. He swung his legs around, watching her as much as she was watching him. Live and work with Natasha Romanov long enough, and you know better than to underestimate female SHIELD agents. If she was his sole guard, wherever they were, she had to be good. Especially if Coulson left her on guard.

"His office," she said. Steve glanced around.

"We're on a ship," he said.

"I can't confirm that."

"Of course," he muttered. "Can you point me the way?"

"Just wait here. The director will see you when he's ready."

"Did he tell you that we're soulmates?" She inclined her head the barest inch, which he took to mean 'yes'. "What about the ATCU?"

"They double-crossed us," she said.

"What?"

"It sounds more dramatic."

"Look, Agent…?"

"May."

"Agent May," since that was apparently her surname, "I was there on condition—"

"Coulson is sorting it out," May said. "You won't have to return to them."

"You don't know them—"

"But he does, and you don't know Phil Coulson."

"Do you?" he said.

"Better than most people," she said. "He never stops giving up everyone he loves for SHIELD. His girlfriend, the young woman he considered a daughter—"

"Daisy Johnson?"

Again, she didn't confirm it. "If you turn out to be immune to that, it's not because you're soulmates. It's because you were once a SHIELD agent, and could be again. If you don't work for us, you won't see him again."

"That an ultimatum?"

"It's not up to me to give an ultimatum," she said. "You'll see that I'm right, because I know Phil Coulson. You don't. I know about the cards – everyone does – and it would be a mistake for you to think that being his soulmate makes you special."

That set Steve's teeth on edge. He opened his mouth to chew her out, but she walked out of the room. She massaged her jaw, but he hadn't seen a mark. Maybe she didn't bruise? Or just didn't talk much. He snorted at the thought, and stood up.

Time to prove her wrong.

And then the moment he set foot out the door, alarms started sounding off. He looked up, and saw a red light flashing above the doorway. Goddamnit. With a sigh, Steve retreated to the room. Knowing SHIELD, it would be a maze out there, and he didn't wanna be shot again. Maybe he should call Bucky or Sam?

No phone. Double damn it.

A screen lit up on the wall of the room, and Steve perched on the edge of the hospital bed as Coulson came into view.

"I'm sure Agent May told you I'd visit soon," he said. Steve glared at the image.

"What can I say?" he said. "I'm an impatient guy, at least where finally meeting my soulmate is concerned. Not like I could call you."

"One of my agents took your phone apart before we brought you back here, to make sure any tracking chips were removed. If it's any consolation, we dug the one out of your arm, as well."

"Arm…?" Steve stared at him. "I never consented to a tracking chip."

"Was there ever a time when you were unconscious while in the ATCU's custody?"

"…Fuck."

"Language, Captain Rogers."

Steve nearly gave him the finger, but restrained himself. He clutched the edge of the mattress, fighting nausea. How did they manage to implant a tracking chip without his knowledge? Super-healing would have concealed it, but knocking him out hard enough in the first place? Maybe it was similar to whatever Coulson used?

"What do you intend to do with me?" he asked, drawing into military stance and using his Captain America voice. There was a flash of excitement across Coulson's face, so brief he might've missed it, before the man disappeared behind the stoic exterior of Fury's replacement. Steve bet the former director hand-picked Coulson, and he probably couldn't have done better. But now they were both in an awkward position.

"I can call in some favours," Coulson said, and Steve should probably have thought of him as Phil, but it was hard to when this wasn't the Phil Coulson he'd met. "I think you should know I've also contacted the original Avengers I was able to find and informed them of my… return. It's only fair that I tell you what I told them—"

"`Specially seein' as how we're soulmates," Steve said. Coulson hesitated, and then launched into a horrifying account of the TAHITI procedure, the madness that began to set in when a memory machine helped Coulson recall begging for death, the alien writing, and finding the temple at San Juan… Half of that while he was trying to revive a fallen secret organisation with scant resources and personnel while keeping under Tony Stark's radar.

"So now you know," he finished.

"Yeah," Steve said quietly. "Shit, Coulson."

"If I'd known for sure you were my soulmate… I thought the writing was similar, but it's been PT, then 'hit the ground running', not searching databases."

He mulled over this while Coulson typed something. It seemed a bit slow, and when Steve gave the video screen a second look he noticed…

"You've only got one hand," he said.

"It was that or my life, so one of my agents decided to save me," Coulson said.

"When?"

"Not long ago, so please limit the jokes."

"I'd never make jokes about… about that kind of thing."

Coulson stopped typing and glanced at Steve.

"I know," he said.

"What are your plans for me?"

"Send you into hiding, with the story that you're working off your debt undercover. We leave SHIELD's name out of it, though I wouldn't mind spreading the story that the ATCU inserted a tracking chip into your body without your consent. So long as we can do it without mentioning that they were able to render you unconscious."

"Wanna piss them off?"

"They messed with my… they were in the wrong."

It gave Steve some hope – not much, but some – and he moved closer to the screen.

"What if I stayed here?" he said. "Undercover?"

"Captain…"

"Sir, with all due respect, we're soulmates." He pulled off his shirt without preamble and turned so that Coulson could see the mark better. "You said my words, and you haven't denied it yet, so I'm guessin' I did say yours. You wouldn't be tryin' t' send me away with a cover story unless you wanted to keep me safe. So I'm thinkin' that Agent May doesn't know you as well as she thinks she does, because if I wasn't your soulmate, hero or not, you'd treat me like anyone else. You'd actually make use of my… abilities, not try to shelter me. It wouldn't work."

Coulson shifted the tiniest bit in place.

"Be that as it may," he said, "you've caused one hell of a problem for me. If you want to discuss it—"

"In. Person," Steve said.

"Then you'd better come to my office. Memorise these directions."

Phil wondered what the hell he was thinking. His childhood hero and soulmate was on his way, and Phil wanted to protect him the way he'd never wanted to protect anyone before, even Audrey and Daisy. They were special, but he'd left one behind and let the other one go. From what he'd heard, Audrey had found her soulmate, Daisy and Lincoln had a new start with each other, and Phil…

He wasn't used to the idea of romance going his way. There was also little to no chance that the captain would want that with him. It would be awkward; he barely knew how to behave around the man before, made a complete idiot of himself, and now they were soulmated to each other? Not that a bond would happen. Probably the only reason they were soulmates was to help Daisy and Lincoln get away (because sometimes it seemed like so much of the crazy in their lives revolved around the messes her life created). The unprecedented distraction worked, and the only reason shooting his soulmate was necessary was to stop him from coming after Phil. And… he'd brought him back to base instead of leaving him for the ATCU.

After hearing that they implanted the tracker without permission, he felt vengeful.

"Come in," he said. He didn't need to look up; he'd felt the captain's presence the way he'd sometimes gotten feelings from his soulmark. He'd attributed the abnormality to the alien blood in him, maybe the madness, or maybe even the fact that at his age he still hadn't met his soulmate. Could it be because of the serum? Or a combination of that and the Kree blood?

No idea, and he wasn't keen on the idea of giving Simmons his blood to examine until they were all sure she was back on form.

"I came up with my own plan," Steve said as he sat in the visitor's chair.

"Alright," Phil said. "Let's hear it."

"I pass the Captain America baton on to Sam or Bucky… maybe Bucky, because the Falcon is now an established superhero, whereas the Winter Soldier is still considered a bad guy. You take me on as an agent, or whatever position you want to give me, and… and maybe take me on as your soulmate, too." He looked uncharacteristically shy, and looked down at his hands while he waited. Phil's heart went out to him.

"In what way?" he asked. "As my soulmate?"

"In whatever way you want."

"What I want may be different from what you want."

"I'll take anything," Steve said. "You dated a female cellist."

Phil tried to wrap his head around what the captain was implying.

"Yes," he said. "But I've dated men as well. Not at the same time, of course."

"Of course," Steve said. "So you'd be happy…?"

"Would you be happy?" Phil pressed. "You and Peggy Carter…"

"What, so you're allowed to like both, but I'm not?"

"No! No, I didn't mean that. But your almost-relationship was legendary."

"She wasn't my soulmate. We liked each other a lot, but it never went any further than a kiss."

"It's not only that," he said. "When we first met I acted like a complete moron."

"Only a partial moron," Steve said, his lips quirking up at the edges. "And if I hang up my SHIELD permanently then that won't be between us."

"I started to think of you differently after I came back to life," Phil said. "It doesn't mean I don't love… admire the legend. But I accepted that you weren't the man I'd built up in my head, and that was okay. I prefer humans to fictional characters."

"Thanks, I guess." Steve's eyebrows tugged together slightly, and Phil mentally chastised himself for putting his foot in it again.

"I'm always awkward around you," he said.

"Right now, you're being an ass, not awkward. If you don't think we can be in any kind of relationship, say so. I'm a straight-talking man at heart. It's Captain America who gives the inspirational speeches. I guess the others will have to work on that."

Phil exhaled gradually. "You really think this is the best idea?" he said.

"It's the one I prefer. Anything where you don't send me away from you is good."

"It'd crossed my mind," Phil said. "More than crossed it. While we were talking before I was even making travel arrangements for you."

"Damn it, Phil!"

Despite the cap… despite Steve's indignation, Phil smiled.

"That's the first time you've used my first name," he said. Steve looked confused for a second, and then bashful.

"Let me stay?" he said. And he turned those blue puppy-dog eyes on Phil, which was extremely unfair. He tried hard not to cave, but he was pretty sure even May would find it hard to stay strong under those circumstances. (Fine, maybe not May, but pretty much anyone else.)

"Okay," he said, and Steve's face lit up. "I need time to… plan things. But I'll cancel the travel arrangements and organise a lanyard for you. It's a formality, kind of a bittersweet in-joke between the original members of my team."

Steve nodded, and got to his feet when Phil stood. "The rest of it?"

"The rest…?"

He received a withering look, and Steve pointed at his side. Oh. Soulmates.

"Over something more casual that's not in my office," he said. Steve nodded.

"Fair enough," he said. "I'm gonna hold you to that. Then maybe I'll get to hold you against somethin' else later."

Phil sat down again to hide his reaction to that, and rolled his chair under his desk.

"Please return to the room you woke up in, and I'll send someone to meet you there," he said brusquely. Steve nodded, smirking, and gave him an informal salute. Then he sauntered out the door in a way which made his hips sway, and Phil questioned his own judgement.

Somewhere, Fate was laughing at him.

FIRST OF ALL, ARE MY FRENCH READERS OKAY? Seriously, if you live in France, especially Paris, please tell me you're fine. Even those who don't usually review, I'd like to know whether anyone's been personally affected. And if you usually review, PLEASE leave a message saying that you're alive, because otherwise I'll worry even more. Silence is horrible.

This chapter was supposed to be much longer – you might notice the trails I left – but I wanted to post something. Then it was getting too late last night, which is why I'm posting this before going to church this morning. Hopefully things have settled somewhat by now, and it'll be easier for people to reply.