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Chapter Text

1991.

“Asset.”

“Ready to comply.”

“Good. Eliminate Stark and retrieve the package.”

 *****

“Fuck!” It was barely a day ago that he’d receive news of his parents’ death and now this. The shadow with haunting eyes, clothed in weapons, and dripping with blood stood across him. The man had broken through the front door unexpectedly. If he knew MIT had such bad security he would have opted for private housing instead.

“What do you want?” Tony backed himself into a corner and guarded himself with a screwdriver he managed to snag off the table. “Who are you?”

“Eliminate Stark.” A deep voice penetrated the mask the shadow wore.

“The fuck? I swear if this is some sort of bad horror BDSM prank, I’m going to murder someone.”

Apparently ‘murder’ was the wrong word to use because the man jumped into action in a flash and snatched away Tony’s weapon of choice. Before he could even retaliate, Tony felt the tip of his favourite screwdriver under his chin, forcing his head back if he didn’t want to be impaled. The shadow froze, threat hanging in the air.

“What the fuck do you want? Money? Is that it?”

“Eliminate Stark.” The growl chilled him to the bones. That was when it clicked.

“You murdered my parents.” The shadow didn’t reply. “You fucking murdered them didn’t you? It wasn’t a car crash, was it?! Fuck! Answer me!”

The man kept silent. Tony saw red. Tears streamed.  Tony felt the screwdriver driving a little deeper into soft flesh under his chin as his hand grabbed the killer’s neck.

That was when it happened.

Warmth seeped into his heart, thoughts streamed into his head – and that’s when cold seeped into his bones. He saw his father killed. He saw his mother strangled. Asset. His name was Asset. His head was filled with whispers in a foreign language. A soulmark burned into his back. He felt the lines, the curves, the blackness of the mark bleeding into his skin and blood. His head hurt, so he screamed.

When Tony managed to look up after a long time, his soulmate was gone.

He cried for loss.

1992.

Almost 2 months later, he felt the bond open. It was a feeling he was unused to.

Words were spoken in a foreign language but he somehow knew the meaning of.

“ove… Nine… Kind-hearted… Homecoming… One… Freight car…” came a deep, slurred, foreign voice. “Asset.”

“Ready to comply.”

Hearing the murderer’s voice in his head freaked him out more than a stranger’s voice did. He hyperventilated for a few moments and when he finally pulled himself together, there was a name being constantly repeated in his soulmate’s head.

“Who’s that?” Tony reached through the bond easily and asked. His curiosity overpowered whatever negative feelings he had for his mother’s murderer.

“Target. Eliminate.”

“You’re an assassin?”

“The best.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“I am.”

“You can run. Just leave. Find me. I’ll help.”

“Failure to comply is unacceptable. Punishment. There is nowhere to run. They have eyes everywhere.”

“Punishment? What kind?”

“There is sleep. Then there is hell.”

“Let me help you.”

“The asset works alone.”

“What is your name?”

“Asset.”

“I am your soulmate.” Tony pushed, hoping that would mean something.

“Hail HYDRA.”

Fuck. His soulmate was HYDRA?! What to do? What to do!? Tony understood. His soulmate was stuck in this situation. What to do, what could he do? This was his soulmate. The one person meant for him. Did Tony want to help his mother’s murderer? Definitely not. But soulmate… What if this was his only chance for love? What if he never got to experience a soulmate bond because his murderous soulmate was being controlled by the evilest agency in the world?

Tony was always a risk taker.

“What’s your mission?”

“I cannot answer your question.”

Hmmm. He persisted on.

“What is your mission, Asset?”

This time, the assassin took a while longer to reply, and Tony could almost feel his soulmate’s consideration churning in his own head. “I need to eliminate my target within the given time frame.”

“What is the timeframe?”

“96 hours.”

“And failure to complete the mission will result in hell?”

“Yes.”

He needed to do this. Because, Soulmate. Yes.

“I’ll send you the target’s address. Give me 5 minutes.”

“… Ready to comply.”

 1993.

Painpainpainpainpain.

“Asset. Report.” Tony grit his teeth as the waves of hurthurtpainfuck rolled through his body.

“Minimal damage.”

“I need a detailed report, babe.”

“Arm’s at 30% capacity.”

“I can get you away from HYDRA. I can protect you. I have backup – friends in the military!”

“I am HYDRA.” The meaning was clear. There’s no way the military would help someone from HYDRA. Fuck.

“Fine. I need you to make your way to these coordinates.”

“Deadline is in 20 hours. Non-negotiable. Failure to complete the mission will result in hell. ”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, Asset. You need to trust me. You know I’ll never put you through hell. I’ll be there in 2 hours.”

“…Ready to comply.”

 1995.

“Asset, you need to hurry. Countdown, 12 hours. You need 10 for the flight back.”

“… Do not rush me.”

“I’m booking you in for the next flight. You better get your ass to the airport within the next hour.”

“…Yes, sir.”

 2001.

“You’ve got a freaking head injury. Take the mask off I need you clean you up!” Tony hissed at his soulmate as both of them tried to move around in the dark.

“The mask will not be removed.” Asset spoke in what Tony now understands as Russian. The assassin then tried to scratch at a scab forming just at his hairline but Tony swatted the flesh hand away.

“Dude! Infections man! Let me at least use some water to clean you up.” Tony replied in a mix of Russian and English. He gathered some toilet paper and ran it under the tap, then he proceeded to dab at the Soldier’s head wound. His hand was pushed away when he neared the buckles of Winter’s mask.

“I can hear you thinking, Anthony.” Asset reminded and Tony grinned cheekily. It was worth a try. The genius returned to cleaning up the head wound that was already visibly healing up on its own.

The rendezvous point this time was at some gas station in the middle of Eastern Europe. JARVIS had managed to kill all eyes leading to the gas station ensuring that there were no recordings of the two soulmates meeting up. They had to make sure they were quiet and out of sight, thus working in the dark. Tony had flown out immediately knowing that Winter had sustained some wounds. He prayed Obadiah didn’t catch him out of the country and no one was tracking him.

“Countdown, 14 hours.” Winter reminded, scratching at a piece of rock that had snuck under one of the metal plates on him arm.

“Sweetheart, if you wanted me to check out your shiny limb all you had to do was ask.” Tony teased and Winter rolled his eyes.

“Of course, that’s why I tried my best to end the mission as fast as I could.” Winter retorted. “Just so I would have your dainty hands fix me up.”

“Dainty?! You little shit.”

“You are rather short.”

“SHORT?!” Tony shrieked only to have Winter’s flesh hand slapping over his mouth.

“You sound as loud as the voice in my head. Good to know the connection works wonderfully.” Winter glared and the message to ‘keep it down’ was received mentally.

“You know, you were never that sarcastic when we first spoke. Thought. Metal speak. Whatever.” Tony pushed Winter’s hand away from his mount and continued working on cleaning his soulmate up. He pulled out a couple of tools from a compartment under his shoe’s sole that he had installed in all of his footwear to ensure he had the right tools to fix his soulmate’s metal arm at all times.

“I learnt from the best.”

Tony chuckled and gave his favourite assassin a fond pat on the arm. “And you are the best too. Up and out, Snowflake. You’re all set. I’m sorry I can’t do much for you. If I had my way, this out-of-date contraption will be junked and replaced with some Stark genius. Alas, we can’t let daddy dearest find out, can we?”

Winter visibly shivered. “Don’t ever call them that.”

“Too much? Sorry.”

Winter snorted and started packing, ready to head back.

“Hey,” Tony started again awkwardly.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll catch you again soon, yeah?”

Winter ruffled Tony’s hair and moved closer to rest their foreheads together. “I’m never too far, Anthony.”

“Have a good rest, Winter.” Tony thought out to his soulmate as the assassin disappeared into the night.

2008.

“You’ve got two more floors to clear and you’re out, sweetheart. You’re almost there. Take a left at the end of the corridor and you’ll find the stairs. Password is 334211.”

Out loud, Tony addressed his AI. “JARVIS, I need you to hack into the ground level cameras and check for snipers. I need clearance for his exit. When you’re done I need you to wipe all traces from SHIELD’s database. Let’s not encourage them to get too acquainted with us, J.”

Knowing his AI would follow up with an affirmative, Tony closed his eyes to focus once again on his soulmate’s thoughts. It was almost second nature by now despite the distance between them.

“The railing’s slightly rusted. Seventeen more steps to go. Dawn is coming.”

“Bad time for your recalibration efforts, Anthony.”

“Focus on your task while I talk, rain cloud. Now, where was I? Gonna cook breakfast on a stove. Nine sausages left in the fridge. Awaiting your homecoming.”

“You missed one.”

“One is actually the next on the list. Oh! Were you referring to kind-hearted? Didn’t think you were paying attention, Soldier.”

“I always pay attention to you, luv.”

“Is that a Brooklyn accent I hear popping up? I swear next thing you know you’ll start remembering your name and all and I’ll finally have something to call you other than what HYDRA does.”

“I’ll tell ya when they do, Anthony.”

“Sure thing, Brooklyn. Now, focus. JARVIS spotted a sniper 7 o’clock after you exit. Best path would be west bound. After that it’s all clear skies, Sunshine.”

“Good.”

“Stay safe, my asset.”

“Ready to comply, luv.”

2010.

Tony woke up to pain in his chest, shrapnel in his heart, and rage in his mind.

“Easy there, Soldier. I’m feeling your murder vibes all over again.”

“Give me your coordinates.”

“No can do, lover-boy. You have a mission to complete.”

“COORDINATES NOW, ANTHONY.”

“Sheesh, you’re so angry all the time. I’m fine, Frosty, you just focus on finishing your mission and getting back on time. This is an order, Asset.”

“You can’t order me, Anthony.” Emotions and growls transmitted through the bond now as well. “You’re not my fucking handler.”

“No, I’m your freaking soulmate who cares if you make it back within HYDRA’s fucking deadline. Countdown, 5, Snowflake. Be a good boy and head back now.”

“I’m your fucking soulmate who can hear your freaking blood loss. You’re dying!”

“Leave it, love. I’ll be fine. I promise. Cross my shattered heart and all.”

“Shattered?!”

“Come on, Blizzard. Focus. Who’s the target?”

“Whoever’s fucking you up! They’re not going to kill me. I can handle whatever punishment they decide to give. Give me your coordinates now, Anthony.”

“I confessed my undying love for you, and all you’re doing is nagging my ears off.”

“Don’t. You’re talking as if this is the end.”

“I’m just saying that if this is my last time with you, I’d want you to know we’re more than just mind buddies you know? Wanna give you a memory you can hold on to while you sleep, love.”

“Fuck off. This is not how we’re ending.”

“Hey, life is full of ups and downs and all. Just keeping it real, Sunshine.”

“Afghanistan. I’m heading over.”

“Wait. What?! How? …….Fuck! JARVIS? Are you talking to JARVIS?! How are you even in contact with JARVIS?”

“I just need exact coordinates, Anthony.”

“You’re not coming at that’s final, Asset. You need to finish your mission and get back in time. I'm not allowing you to go through that hell. Don’t make me command you.”

“Fuck you.”

“Not before the fifth date, Brooklyn.”

“I’m serious. I can feel your heart collapsing, Anthony, this is serious. You’re not dying on my watch. You’re priority number one.”

“And you’re my priority number one. Get to work, Asset. I’m not kidding. This is an order.”

“You’re not my handler!”

“Longing… Rusted…”

“Don’t you fucking dare! J says you’ve been kidnapped. Tell me your fucking coordinates!”

“Seventeen… Dawn…”

“Luv, I swear. Fuck! You’re dying. You don’t get to die.”

“Stove… Nine…”

“Don’t make me wake up alone. Please. ”

“Kind-hearted… Homecoming…”

“That’s hell.”

“One… Freight car… Asset?”

“Ready to comply.”

“Complete your mission and go back. I’ll see you on the other side, love.”

2012.

Tony hadn’t heard from Winter in a while.

He never told Rhodey or Pepper about his soulmate mark or bond. Asset was a shadow and needed to stay that way. He made sure to keep the mark on his back from the media’s prying eyes. Only a handful of people had seen his mark – Yinsen, his torturers from Ten Rings, and they were all dead. By some stroke of luck, he managed to keep his mark hidden through all the fights he had during the Extremis saga as well.

Being called in to aid the Avengers Initiative was a surprise for him. If only they knew he was the one hacking into SHIELD’s database to aid in the Winter Soldier’s missions. The first time he meets his childhood hero, reality sets that he’s never going to be a ‘good man’ in anybody’s eyes, and Tony’s surprisingly okay with that.

“I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. The only thing you fight for is yourself.” His hero spits at him.

Perhaps if he didn’t have a soulmate bond, things would have ended differently – who knows, he might’ve been more insecure and felt the need to prove to everyone he was a hero. He knew he was a selfish man. He only fought for things that mattered to him – his soulmate, and his family of Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy.

He fought alongside the likes of Captain America, a god of thunder, super spies, and a good hearted man with a raging green soul. He knew he was unlike them. He wasn’t kind-hearted (he hated that word) like they were. He had done bad things. He had helped HYDRA. Was he considered part of HYDRA based on technicality? If anything, he was probably part-time since it’s been a while since he’s heard from his assassin soulmate.

As Tony flew a nuke into the sky, he wondered what he was doing. What happened to being selfish? Why was he playing the hero?

“JARVIS, save a note. Pass this message to the Winter Soldier when he comes out of sleep, you understand me, J?”

Tony took a deep breath, checking his soul bond one last time to confirm that the Asset was asleep. Fuck. Was this really how it was going to end?

“J, start the note. Hey, Sunshine! How was your nap? I hope you’re feeling clear skies today. I want… I… I need to apologise for using your command words on you the last time you were awake. I’m so sorry. I’m… You probably don’t remember, but I do. And it’s something I would never forget. I did that to you and I’m not sure how I can ever forgive myself. But that’s moot point.

Look, Frosty, it seems like this might be my last message to you. And, it really matters how this ends because I don’t want you to remember me as an asshole tyrant. I love you, Asset. I’d do anything for you.

Okay. Last words now. Don’t comply, take a chance. Catch you in hell, love.”

 *****

He’s given another chance to live. He invites the team to stay with him. What’s this? SHIELD agents and heroes in the house of a part-time HYDRA operative? Tony wasn’t sure what he was doing any more.

He builds and learns with Bruce. He spars with Natasha. He plays pranks with Clint. He teaches Thor about lingo and movies. He gets accepted as a friend by Steve. Pepper fusses over him. Rhodey visits more often. It’s incredible. It’s family.

He thinks the team may be on to him being part-time HYDRA. Or at least his soulmate being part-time HYDRA. It starts with Bruce finding a couple of Kevlar made for a size that suited no one on the team. Tony got away by explaining he had gotten Hawkeye’s size wrong. Tony was forever thankful that Bruce didn’t find the ones with the HYDRA logo stitched on yet.

The second time Bruce suspects is when Dum-E finds a metal finger (the pinky, it looks like) from one of Winter’s old arm and drops it into Bruce’s drink. Tony managed to sidestep that disaster by laughing it off as one of the Iron Man’s older gauntlet. Bruce casually shrugs but visually scans the lab for more things out of place whenever he takes a break.

Another time, Steve talks about soulmarks and soulmates over dinner.

“It’s a concept that wasn’t studied much during our time because we had more important things like the war to focus on.” The captain explains. “I was wondering if any of you had soulmates and could share from experience.”

“We do not have such manners of mating in Asgard.” Thor chimed in.

“Typically, you don’t ask if someone has a soulmate. It’s kinda taboo.” Clint explains. “But since we like you so much, Cap, sure, we’ll indulge you!”

“You can actually find it in SHIELD’s database. SHIELD requires all agents to register when they get a soulmate to better predict the odds of a mission going the way it should.” Natasha adds. The two spies didn’t even exchange looks before revealing their marks. They both had each other’s marks – Tony could barely make out what the splotch of black and red was supposed to be but he thinks he could make out some spider legs. Both marks were located similarly on their right hip.

“The breakthrough research on soulmarks and soulmates was done in 1973 by a team of doctors in India. They wanted to reform their culture of arranged marriages and needed to understand the concept and probability of soulmates.” Bruce explained and Tony gave him a thumbs up for the citation. “It was found from a sample of 3000 people that only 60% found their soulmate. Of this population, the age most people found their soulmate was between 12 and 20. Another study done in Switzerland suggested that this age range varied between cultures. People in India tend to marry early and so most of their socialising was done earlier in life.”

“Bruce, I think you need to tone down on the dissertation writing mode.” Natasha gently prompted.

Bruce just shrugged, used to the team shutting down when either he or Tony spoke ‘science-y’. “Anyway, at this day and age, it is likely to meet your soulmate between 18 and 30. Because of social media, though, the percentage of people finding their soulmate decreased to about 40%.”

“Our marks formed the first time we touched – and we met under hostile circumstances. It burned a little but not enough to stop us from fighting.” Clint shared, unconsciously reaching out for Natasha under the table.

“Soulmates can communicate mentally, right?” Steve asked, looking expectantly towards the two spies.

“Another thing that’s kinda taboo to ask too, Cap.” Tony warned. Natasha and Clint chose not to reply.

Bruce decided to give Steve the socially acceptable answer. “Almost all reports of soulmates have been found to be able to communicate mentally. To what extent was less studied. Some researchers theorize that the stronger your bond, the clearer you communicate. Others believe that distance plays a part.”

Clint shrugged. “Either way. No one really knows because you can’t really compare, considering you’ll only have that one mental connection in your life.”

“It’s really just better to assume all soulbonds are unique in terms of connection.” Natasha suggested.

“So it is certain that Lady Natasha and the esteemed Hawkeye have been communicating through mental means all this time?” Thor asked and everyone else looked to the two for confirmation. Natasha smirked and Clint shrugged.

“So, anyone else wants to share about their soulmate experiences?” Steve asked, looking to Bruce and Tony.

“The Hulk is kind of a monster so I don’t know how my body and soul reacts to soulbonds anymore.” Bruce looked a little upset but shrugged it off.

Tony snorted. “Playboy, remember?”

Steve rolled his eyes and started complaining about respecting women like his Ma taught him to. Clint wiggled his eyebrows. Natasha, however, gave him a blank look which could be interpreted in Natasha-speak as ‘you can lie but you can’t hide’.

Tony managed to divert the subject by showing Steve a whole bunch of ugly ass soulmarks on Instagram. 

 *****

The fourth time, Tony happened to stumble onto some HYDRA information after accidentally hacking into their internal communication channel. He listened in while working on an upgrade to his Iron Man suit. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t have bothered, but he happened to overhear Clint’s codename over the comms.

“JARVIS, bring up Hawkeye’s tracker and give me their mission details.” Multitasking, Tony brought up a secondary screen and proceeded to hack into Clint’s communication channel. A third screen popped up above showing a map of the HYDRA base and dots showing the position of everything giving off a heat signal within the base. Clint’s dot was lighted up in yellow while Natasha’s was green. Everyone else was red.

“Wrong way, Bird Brain. HYDRA’s setting up a trap down that corridor.” Tony chimed in.

“What the… STARK?!” Clint spluttered and Tony laughed.

“Stark, what the fuck? This is a highly classified mission!” Natasha was using her ‘enough bullshit voice’. “How the fuck did you get into our comms?! It’s not even Stark Tech!”

Tony ignored her. “No seriously, Hawkeye. Don’t go that way. Make a right at the next turn then head two floors up. They’re keeping the AIX84-B there.” Clint continued swearing but followed Tony’s directions. Tony watched the yellow dot head away from the reds.

“There’s no way you could know about the AIX84-B. There’s no paper or digital trail. We had our meeting in a dead zone. There’s no way you could find out!” Natasha growled in frustration.

Tony scoffed. “Chill, my sweet little man-eating arachnid. You’re in HYDRA’s Aurich base. There’s only one thing you could be looking for there.”

“Do not call me sweet… And how would you know about HYDRA’s Aurich base?!”

Shit.

“Well uhh… Look, I tap into their comms every now and then, okay?”

“And that’s not normal, Stark! HYDRA’s supposed to be a ghost! How in the world did you-“

“Go low, Widow. They have infrared till knee level in this area.” Tony cut her off but she complied. JARVIS had started to redirect and loop the video feeds on HYDRA’s end. “Password is 768337291.” Tony internally chuckled at HYDRA’s predictable use of a 9 digit code. He had coded a programme to hack HYDRA’s system and it hasn’t failed since 2007.

“How the fuck are you doing this, Stark!?”

“Hawkeye, do not use the vents. They use poison in this area.”

“We are so talking about this when we get back!” Clint complained but complied.

“Please don’t tell Agent or Fury. They’ll make me work full time.”

“Then you’d better have a good explanation for all this, Stark.”

Tony snorted. “I’m just that good. You’re just touching the tip of my iceberg.”

“Eeew! Mental image, man! Gross!” Clint groaned.

“I’m talking about the iceberg that is my genius brain, dickhead.”

“Dude! Don’t even say the word dick. I’m still getting over the mental scars.”

“Chatter!” Natasha scolded in a low tone.

“Sorry, Captain” “Sorry, Cap” came the boys’ conditioned replies. They both giggled after that.

“Alright, genius,” Natasha teased. “Let’s get deeper into your iceberg. What else you got for us?”

“Eeew, come on Nat!” Clint gagged.

“I’m through the door. Where to now?”

“You need to distract the guards so Hawkeye can get a free pass upstairs. Here’s the plan…”

Natasha and Clint never questioned him, and Fury didn’t recruit. All’s well.

 *****

The fifth time happened during a drinking game.

They were settled on the carpet in the living room of the common floor. Clint was trying to trade his Toilet Card to Thor for a set of Asgardian armour, while Tony had picked the Three of Hearts and commanded Steve to drink (Cap was drinking water because alcohol had no effect on him but water was sure to cause his bladder to suffer).

“Oh come on, Tony! I really need to use the loo! Why don’t you ask Nat to drink instead, she’s barely half drunk!” Steve practically whined.

“My card, my pick, my prerogative.” Tony shrugged and tossed the Three of Hearts to the Captain. “Drink up, Steven!”

“I’ll trade you my Toilet Card, Cap! For the price of three get-out-of-training passes.” Clint suddenly redirected his attention to the Captain who seemed like a more desperate target than Thor. The archer wiggled three fingers in front of the captain’s face and whispered “Three…”

“Come on, Steve, you should take it. It’s the last Toilet Card! No more Tens in the deck anymore.” Natasha urged, Clint fidgeted excitedly.

“Steve, I’ll trade you mine if you drink the King’s cup for me if I get the last Ace.” Bruce chimed in, pushing Clint away from Cap’s face.

“No way! Not worth!” Tony shrieked in outrage. “There’s blue cheese plus fish sauce and Thor’s beard hair in there. Think real long and hard about it, Steven!”

“Tony’s right. Totally not worth, Captain.” Clint nodded. “Which is why you should consider my offer instead!” Clint proceeded to wiggle his three fingers aggressively in Steve’s face again.

“Steve, please.” Bruce actually begged. “Think of the probability! What’s the likelihood that I’ll get the last Ace anyway?

“JINXED IT!” Tony and Clint both called at the same time.

“Friend Clinton! I would like to propose an alternative offer!” Thor finally decided the Toilet Card was a sought after artefact. “I would propose the trade of this breast plate,” he smacked the armour on his chest, “for the lavatory pass!”

“SOLD!”

“Aw come on, Clint! We were in the midst of a deal!” Steve actually whined. What? The captain didn’t even drink any alcohol man!

“Too late, Cap.” Thor had unbuckled his breastplate and swapped it with Clint’s Ten of Clubs. Clint gave a loud, wet kiss to his new prize while Thor stood up from his spot on the carpet to head to the bathroom. The Asgardian made sure to wave the Ten of Clubs in Steve’s face when walking past the Captain.

“The birds that are early feast upon the worms, Captain!” Thor taunted, then sprinted off to pee.

“Damn it!”

“Language, Steve!” Tony admonished with a gasp and a hand to his chest in mock outrage. The Captain grumbled and crossed his legs tight.

“Nat, you were supposed to go next.” Bruce reminded while using his Ten of Diamonds as a fan to fan himself, making sure the front of the card was facing Steve. Tony gave Bruce a low-five.

“Five Spades.” Natasha announced after picking a random card from the circle of cards on the floor. “I get to set a new rule.”

“Oh thank god! I was dying from trying to hold back my creative juices!” Tony groaned. Steve had picked the previous Five and made the rule that everyone wasn’t allowed to use nicknames when addressing others. Code names were alright though.

“I was starting to miss friend Tony’s clever name calling.” Thor encouraged as he sauntered back into the living room from the toilet. The Asgardian actually sprinkled the water from his washed hands on Steve. Tony and Clint burst out laughing, while Natasha and Bruce tried to hold back their chuckles at Cap’s look of defeat.

“Alright. New rule.” Natasha started. “No English. Starting…. Now.”

There was silence for a moment while every mentally strategized.

“Can anyone understand Bengali?” Bruce asked but no one responded.

“What if we don’t have a common language?” Clint tried in French.

“I’m good with French!” Bruce raised a hand and everyone else except Thor raised their hand too.

“FRIENDS! I am unable to understand the language you speak.” Thor declared in English.

“DRINK!” “You broke the rules, gotta drink!” Clint, Tony, and Steve all shouted at the same time in French and pointed their fingers accusingly at Thor.

“Pointing is very uncouth. I do not understand the necessity of such barbaric acts. What are you trying to convey, friends?” Thor swatted at their fingers and had an obviously fake confused look on his face.

“You lying shit!” Clint gave a rude gesture in outrage while Steve tried to mime ‘breaking the rules’ and ‘drink’ to the Asgardian. Bruce laughed and gave Thor a pat on the back.

“You’re all such sad little puppies. I’m going to sell all this as blackmail material to Pepper.” Natasha leaned backwards, confident no one understood her Russian.

“Please. I’d get JARVIS to override any code you can come up with, Little Miss Itsy Bitsy.” Tony replied in the same language and had the privilege of watching the Black Widow spit out her drink.

“How the flying fuck do you understand me, Stark?!” her eyes were blown wide in surprise.

“Russian’s easy. Genius, remember?” Tony tapped his temples. Winter always spoke Russian and Tony picked it up fluently after a couple of months talking to the other.

“This is a Russian dialect. There’s no way you would know this language unless you grew up in certain areas in Russia!”

Oh… Shit. Tony coughed, eyes going wide, but he hid it almost immediately once he understood the shit he was in. “No idea what you’re talking about, Tasha, this is the only Russian I know. Steve knows Russian too, right?” DEFLECT!

“I think I heard my name. What language are you guys speaking?” Steve questioned in French. Tony almost face-palmed.

“Ah! Are they speaking in Russian?” Bruce asked in French as well.

“Not that I know of.” Clint replied in the most common form of Russian.

“That, I can understand.” Steve continued in the same Russian tongue.

“Can you understand them?” Natasha asked in the same language as the other two, then focused her gaze onto Tony which made him feel like squirming.

He had no idea what they just said.

“Yes?” He took a guess, replied in the only Russian language he knew.

“FRIENDS! We have lost focus on our merriment! Let us continue as I am anticipating the appearance of the final Alpha Card!”

“DUDE! You need to drink for us to continue, you lying shit!” Clint practically forced a cup into Thor’s face while the Asgardian continued to shout “I DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOU, CLINTON!”

The game ended with Bruce picking the last Ace, Steve cheering for holding his pee in and probability being nonsense, Thor taunting Clint in fluent French, Tony laughing his head off and high-fiving Thor, and Natash giving Tony suspicious looks.

 *****

Sometimes, he dreams.

The sixth time happens on one of those nights hanging out with Steve on the outdoor landing pad of the Avengers Tower. Nights like this happen often enough – when Steve can’t sleep, and when Tony pulls a couple of all-nighters and sleeps through the afternoon making him very much awake in the middle of the night.

They talk about the past. Steve tells him about the war, about the time he was small and sickly, about his best friend Bucky and the Commandos. Tony talks about Jarvis and Aunt Peggy. They reminisce about the good things. They talk about the recent days too – about how missions have been going, and about team work. The Captain shares about how much he relies on Tony. Tony smiles and talks about everyone else’s role on the team.

Some nights, they talk about movies, about the world, about beliefs and ethics. They talk about dreams and goals. They share. Steve is a good friend and Tony hopes to be one as well.

Other nights, they apologise. For the miscommunication in the beginning, for the lack of trust, for the doubt. Sometimes, the shout at each other for a mission gone wrong. Sometimes they share their regrets in making certain decisions in the recent past.

This night, Steve shares about his nightmares:

“After the serum, I actually require very little sleep. It takes me real quick to get into REM and recharge.” Steve leans back on his arms, legs extended out on the ground in front of him. The Soldier’s bare feet hung off the landing platform, catching wind between his toes.

“Lucky you then, quick REM in, quick REM out.” Tony replies.

“Nah I get stuck in my dreams for quite long periods of time. REM lasts longer for me. Nightmares are hell ta go through.”

“Oh yeah?” Tony doesn’t push. But the Captain shares.

“I often dream about the war. People screaming, blood, dead bodies, bombs, dust.” Steve pauses and closes his eyes. “But the worse and most recurring nightmare that haunts me is the one where he falls off the train.” The Captain doesn’t need to mention any names, Tony knows.

“Was that what woke you up tonight?”

Steve sighs. “Yeah. It doesn’t get any better.”

“It doesn’t.” Tony agrees.

Steve turned towards him. “You sound like you know something ‘bout recurring nightmares too.”

“Often about Afghanistan.” Tony replies and pauses, feeling the vulnerable atmosphere and decided to trust a little. “My worst one isn’t about Afghanistan though.”

“What’s it about?”

“Guilt.” Tony automatically flinches thinking about dreams where all he would hear was ‘ready to comply’ in Asset’s deaden voice. “Words I’ve said that I can’t take back. I don’t think that I can ever forgive myself. And yet, I’ll never regret saying them.”

“Sounds like something you’d do, Stark.”

Tony turned and glared. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You say a lot of hurtful things. If one doesn’t know better, they’d think you were an asshole.” Steve smiled. “I did.” Tony grumbled under his breath but Steve continued. “You always act like an asshole when you actually have good intentions but don’t know how to convey it. You do that especially to people you really care for – like Pepper, that once where you made her cry when you told her she should stop trying to dress like some failed Hollywood wannabe when in actual fact we all knew she was going for that meeting with that guy who would always ogle disgustingly at women.”

“Whatever.” Was Tony’s smart retort.

“You’re like what they say about women, you know? Saying one thing but meaning another? I’m sure that was what you were doing in your nightmare.”

“Nah. I was really being an asshole. Someone trusted me with some secrets, and I used it against them. Totally took advantage of their vulnerability, their free will, their life.” Tony gritted his teeth and fought against the tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

“Well, I think I know you well enough by now to know you must have had a good reason to do that. You’re not evil or malicious, Tony.” Steve continued smiling and looked away from him giving him some sense of privacy. “Sometimes we have to make a decision between a bad choice and an even worse one. If the bad choice makes us feel guilty, then it’s just something we have to live with until we make things right again.” 

“What if the chance passes and you can never make things right again?” Tony turns to see the look of understanding on Steve’s face – as if Steve knows of guilt, and being unable to repent for it.

“Then you dream, you hurt. And you move on carrying the burden. But it cannot stop you. Because if it does, you made the wrong choice in the first place.”

The night continues with quite thoughts about a friend lost, and soulmates deep asleep. Tony hopes that one day, perhaps, his soulmate will ease the burden of his guilt and forgive him for his transgressions.

 2014.

“Tony Stark. Tony Stark. Tony Stark.”

Tony woke up with his name in his head.

“Winter?! Is that you?!” Tony sat straight up in bed, feeling the start of a panic attack. His breath was short, fast. His heart was hammering. Guilt was piling up. It was cold, dark, wet, water, Afghanistan, Winter’s voice saying the words ‘ready to comply’, the asset’s trigger words – his typical nightmare fuel.

“I’m going to get to you, Sweetheart. As soon as I’m done.” Came his soulmate’s voice through the bond.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you. I’m so sorry, Brooklyn, I’m so sorry.” Longingrustedseventeendawn-

“Stop it. I can hear them.”

“Fuck. Sorry. I’m so sorry.” It was hard not to think about his number one boggart trigger.

“Let it go. I’m going to get to you as soon as I can.”

Tony took a deep breath. Later. Later. He’ll think and repent later. “What’s the mission, Elsa?”

“Nick Fury” the name came through just as three shots rang through his mind. A chill went down his spine. “Mission complete. I’m on the way to you.”

“Nick!? You killed Nick?!” Tony freaked out.

“I have 20 minutes before I need to report. Can you meet me? I need to check on you.”

Fuck. His soulmate killed the director of SHIELD.

“No no no. Winter. Stop. I can get you out of HYDRA! I’ve got the Iron Man suit. We… we can run. We-w we just need to hide for a while. SHIELD will be in disarray but I’m sure we can clear things up in time. I’m coming to you, love, stay there.” Tony pushed the feeling of hope towards his soulmate despite the chills. Nick was dead. Fuck!

“Shit. I’ve got a tail.”

“What? Coordinates now, love.” Out loud Tony called for his AI. “J! Track SHIELD’s comms!” He quickly put on the suit and was about the fly off when his AI replied.

“Sir, the Captain is in pursuit of the Winter Soldier.”

FUCK. Chills went down his spine. He froze on the spot. No no no no no no no this can’t be happening not just when he finally connected back with Winter, not just when he finally got the resources to extract his soulmate!

“Asset, run!”

“He’s on me tight.”

“That’s Captain America. Super Soldier. Enhanced. Run.” His breaths were coming in short and fast again. Fuck. Panic attack? What to do, what to do? Cap and his soulmate. What to do? It felt like the biggest betrayal. He couldn’t do it. What would Steve say when he found out he was helping Fury’s killer? Helping HYDRA? Helping the enemy? FUCKfuckFUCK. But this was his soulmate. He needed to save his soulmate. He needed to extract Winter. FUCK.

“Calm down. I’ve got this, Sweetheart. Slow down. I don’t have much time left. I’m going to head straight back to base. I’ll need to take a rain check, babe. I’ll catch you real soon. There’s something brewing and I’ll be back.”

“No no no you get to me, Asset! I can help you! I can protect you from them! I’m heading over, I can be there in 10!”

“There’s no time. I lost the Captain but I’ll need to report in 5.”

Tony could feel the frustrations building up. “Winter, please.” he begged even though he knew this was the right call.

“It won’t be long now, love.”

FUCK.

That night, Tony receives a message on the Avenger’s secured group chat from Steve:

‘Stay low. Fury’s down. SHIELD is compromised. Widow and I are working on it. We’ll be in contact soon.’

 *****

A few days later. Tony wakes up with the feeling of deja vu.

“Tony. Tony. Tony. Tony.”

“Winter! Are you alright? What’s the mission?” Tony shot out of bed and straight to his workshop. Out loud, “JARVIS, prepare the suit.”

“My handlers are with me this time. The mission is Jasper Sitwell.” Back to normal, this was familiar. There was hope. This time was the time.

Tony called for his AI. “J, give me Jasper Sitwell. Screen 2 to 4 – get me eyes on this guy. Winter is coming.” His elation must have infected his soulmate as well because the next thing he heard was Winter’s chuckles through his mind.

“My handlers are close, though. They’ll reset me if I don’t comply.”

“I’ve got him on screen, love. Black car. You focus on the mission. I’ll see you soon. This is it, love.” Tony took a deep breath to steady his excitement. “You’re coming home. I’ve got your coordinates. I’ll give you the signal to break off and meet me. We’ll remove the tracker and lose them. We can do this, Snowdrop! We got this. Finally. Finally.” Tony got the suit on and was out in record time. Finally! Finally he was going to be able to be with his soulmate. He was finally going to get Winter out of HYDRA’s reach. One step at a time. Iron man can do this.

 “J! Transfer the feed to the suit. Let’s bring him home.” Iron Man shot out and headed towards New Jersey.

“Sir, scan of the video feed is complete. The Captain and Black Widow are in the car with Sitwell.”

FUCK! NOT AGAIN!

Damn it damn it damn it. “Snowflake, I need you to turn off the murder vibe. My team mates are in that car.”

“I’m done with Jasper Sitwell. New mission – eliminate everyone else in the car.” Tony could feel Winter’s frustrations at needing to comply but also the need to consider Tony’s fear.

“Go easy please.” Tony begged.

“Your Captain is strong. He just took a bazooka to the face.”

“What the fuck! I told you to go easy, Winter!” Tony was pretty sure Winter could feel his lack of anger. Worryworryworry was rolling off him in spades.

“Handlers are still nearby.” ‘Aim to the left’ was Winter’s current, constant mantra. “Your team is good.” FUCK.

“What? What happened? Winter? Are you alright?” Tony’s worry only grew as Winter got shocked. Winter was hardly ever shocked.

“Your team mate was aiming for a head shot. Didn’t you pass on the message for them to go easy?” Irritation came down the bond.

”J, patch me through to them.” Fuck. This was the moment they would find out.

“Sir, they’re not wearing any communication devices.” YES!

“Did you just cheer?”

“No? What? No. No I did not.” Tony replied sheepishly.

“I’ve broken off. They’re nearby but there’s leeway. Coordinates? ETA?”

“1 minute.”

“Damn it, Tony! Did you make some sort of EMP shock device? Fucking just shorted out my arm for a moment!” Hurt flowed through the bond.

“Sorry, Frosty. My team gets the best.”

“I’m good for extraction. Your team is still chasing me though.”

Fuck. Tony knew Natasha and Cap well enough to know losing them wasn’t going to be easy.

“Prioritise moving away from HYDRA. I’ll intervene if my team doesn’t want to let go.”

“Any time now. I’ve got a shot I’m about to take and I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to take this shot.”

No choice left to consider, Tony landed in between his soulmate and the Black Widow. JARVIS had scanned the area prior to landing and made sure no one other than friendlies were in the area. Time to face the music.

“What the fuck? Tony?! Get down!” Natasha screamed from behind. He ignored her, his attention totally drawn towards the man he hadn’t seen in years.

“Your hair is way too long, Love.” He said out loud.

“Hello to you too, sweetheart.” His soulmate replied in Russian (or some dialect, apparently).

Tony beamed. Ok, focus.

Tony grabbed Winter’s metal arm, pulling them to crouch between several cars, out of immediate sight.

“J, keep watch. I need 2 minutes. Extraction begins now.” Tony pulled out his usual tools from a compartment in the suit under the foot piece. He continued to ignore Natasha who was inching closer, gun out and pointing at them both. He started to remove parts of the metal arm he now knew by heart to remove the tracking device planted deep under the upper part of Winter’s shoulder.

“Tony, you’d better start explaining yourself now.” Natasha warned, gun unwavering.

“You never told them?” Winter cocked an eyebrow upwards, still speaking in Russian.

“There wasn’t a right time.” Tony hissed. “You explain. I’m working here. Countdown 1 minute.”

“Explain what?” Natasha was within hearing distance now. Tony shifted his body to block his soulmate from Natasha’s line of fire. Before anyone could continue the conversation, a shadow passed over Tony and a heavy thud sounded behind him.

“What is going on?” the Captain’s voice came out level headed and controlled but Tony knew Steve was pissed. “What are you doing here, Tony?”

He didn’t answer, he didn’t even flinch. He trusted Steve to trust him. Until maybe later when they had to explain the whole story. Tony tried not to think about how betrayed his team would feel at the revelation. He focused on unscrewing the final plate and finally, finally slipped the tracker out of Winter’s arm. He gathered the metal plates that he had unscrewed and tucked it into his armour for the time being. Tony proceeded to pull out a detonator with a timer he prepared for this moment and attached it to the tracker. It would blow up in two minutes.

“We got to go. Now.” He kept his tools away and finally turned to his team mates. Both were staring at him with looks of anger or distrust. Tony couldn’t tell, not the time to tell, think about it later. “I need you guys to trust me just a little while longer.”

No one moved. He felt Winter starting to prep himself for an attack. Tony grabbed a hold of his soulmate’s hand. Steve’s and Natasha’s eyes both followed the motion.

“Please. We need to go. I’ll explain once we get away from here.” Tony pleaded, praying Steve to understand.

Steve must have seen something in his eyes or Winter’s eyes because the next thing the Captain did was to command Natasha and their new friend, who had just joined the party, to move out and find a car.

“Thank you.” Tony nodded towards Steve, pulling Winter along. The other hadn’t said anything and their connection was silent. “J, ETA?”

“HYDRA will reach in approximately two minutes, Sir. Your bomb is detonating in less than one.”

“Which direction?”

“They’re coming from North-west. It’ll be great if you could head south towards the main junction of the street, Sir.”

Steve’s new friend (he had wings!) had found a usable car and was getting into the driver’s seat.

“I’ll sit in the back with Winter.” Tony commanded and slipped in, pulling Winter along.

Steve frowned but went along with it. “Widow, get in the front. I’ll take the back.” ‘To watch over them’ went unsaid. They started the car immediately and just like that, Tony managed to extract his soulmate after 22 years.

Chapter Text

It was awkward in the car.

“J, continue to track them. Give us the signal when we’re out for good. Do a scan of the car as well, no trackers, J.” Tony ordered in the silence of the car.  

“Of course, Sir.”  

They drove for another twenty minutes with JARVIS giving directions until the AI gave an all clear.  

“Congratulations, Sir, I believe extraction has been a success.”  

“Thank you, J. Lead us round and about back to the Jersey safe house, please.”  

“JARVIS,” Steve decided to take over. “Please take over the navigation and guide Sam to the safe house please.” 

“Will do, Captain.” JARVIS took over the GPS system and lead them in a roundabout manner towards Tony’s closest safe house. 

Moment of truth. 

“Explain yourself.” Steve started. 

“So… this is the Winter Soldier.” Tony continued, receiving a deadpanned stare from Natasha who had turned around. “Winter, these are my team mates, Captain America, the Black Widow, and...”  

“Falcon.” Sam supplied. 

“Falcon.” Tony ended and nodded to the driver in thanks.  

“I’m not asking for an introduction, Tony. I’m asking for explanations! He just tried to kill us!” Steve finally exploded.  

“Well, to be fair, this could be avoided if you guys were wearing your Stark Comm Earpieces but none of you were geared up because none of you wanted to include me in this little mission of yours so none of you were outfitted properly and so I couldn’t tap into your comms to tell you not to attack Winter so technically it’s not a total hundred percent my fault you know?”  

“You’re rambling.” Natasha scolded.  

“Not wearing comms?! That’s your excuse!? Tony! The guy shot a bazooka at me and next thing I know you’re saving the guy and he’s escaping on a car with us!” 

“Yea well, Natasha shot a bullet at his face.” Tony defended. 

“He blasted me off a bridge!” Natasha rebutted. 

“You shocked him with my invention!” 

“He’s the enemy, Stark! He works for HYDRA! Have you been helping him?! SHIELD has been compromised by HYDRA but the last thing I expected is for you to be compromised as well!” Steve shouted in rage.  

Winter growled defensively. Suddenly, everyone was back on alert. Tony sent wave after wave of calming energy through the bond not knowing how effective it was since all Tony was feeling was fearfearfear. 

“Wait. How did you know I shot a bullet at his face? How did you know I threw an EMP at him?” Natasha suddenly realised, eyes going wide. Tony reflected the look on her face knowing the gig was up.  

“The Winter Soldier is your soulmate.” Natasha finally declared.  

“What?” Steve’s tone was pure shock. Tony really didn’t know how to continue the conversation. 

“I am.” Winter, finally deciding to speak up, confirmed. 

“What did he say?” Steve immediately asked. 

Tony gave a pat to Winter’s leg. “You need to speak English.” 

Winter gave him a glare and a mental ‘still pissed you didn’t tell them’. “I am Tony’s soulmate.” Winter repeated in English. 

“It makes sense now.” Natasha’s gasped. “That’s why Tony speaks Russian in dialect.” 

“That’s why you didn’t confirm or deny you had a soulmate when I asked!” Steve added. 

“Yeah, I knew the whole ‘playboy’ look was a façade!” Natasha was starting to piece everything together. She pressed on. “In Aurich, you knew HYDRA inside out. You hacked into both HYDRA and SHIELD with no effort.”  

“I’m sorry.” Was all Tony could say. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell them, Winter. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys too.” 

"Unimportant.” Winter declared, waving it off, letting it go like a true Elsa. “I have other things to be more upset about. Let me check your wound, Anthony.” Winter started to paw at Tony’s armour but Tony pushed him away with a ‘later’.  

“What wound? You were hurt?” Steve asked, suddenly concerned for his team mate. 

“Afghanistan.” Winter explained.  

“That was four years ago.” Steve had the look of confusion on his face while Natasha continued to watch how it would play out. 

“That was when I was last activated.” Winter continued to try to look into Tony’s armour. 

“Stop that! Later. I’m fine. I’ll show you later.” Tony groaned at Winter’s protectiveness. “Sit still and let me put your arm plates back.” 

“Just throw it away. Didn’t you promise me a new arm?” 

“Yeah but not until we reach the tower. You need to make do with this till then, Wall-E.” Tony started to work on Winter’s arm, giving his brain something to focus on other than the shit show that was going on in the car. There was silence in the car for a moment as everyone tried to process the new information. That’s when JARVIS decided to be a little shit. 

“Sir, Shutdown message: 'When Winter Wakes' will now be activated as per protocol-371.” 

“Wait. What? NO! J, NO!” 

“J, start the note. Hey, Sunshine! How was your nap?” Tony’s voice started playing over the car’s audio system. 

“NO JARVIS, turn that off!” 

“I hope you’re feeling clear skies today. I want… I… I need to apologise for using your command words on you the last time you were awake.” Everyone in the car was dead still. 

“J, initiate blackout mod-“ Winter slapped a hand over Tony’s mouth. 

“I’m so sorry. I’m… You probably don’t remember, but I do. And it’s something I would never forget. I did that to you and I’m not sure how I can ever forgive myself. But that’s moot point.” 

“Winter! Get off!” 

“Look, Frosty, it seems like this might be my last message to you. And, it really matters how this ends because I don’t want you to remember me as an asshole tyrant.” 

“Fuck. This was when you were flying the nuke into the sky.” Natasha guessed right. 

“NUKE!?” Winter’s voice screamed through Tony’s head. 

“I love you, Asset. I’d do anything for you… Okay. Last words now. Don’t comply, take a chance. Catch you in hell, love.” And like a cliché answering machine, JARVIS ended the recording with a long beep.  

“Flying a nuke into the sky?” Winter snarled. “What. The. Fuck.” 

“Hey! I made it ok! JARVIS was never supposed to play that unless I died!” 

“You’re not making this any better.” Winter’s metal fingers were screeching from the pressure of being clenched so tightly. “I leave you alone for one moment. One freaking moment in Afghanistan and this happens. I knew I should have pulled you out of that shit!” 

“It was him! The words. Your nightmare.” Steve suddenly breathed out making things a whole lot worse. Like a super deadly, ugly, toxic jigsaw coming together. “You said you had nightmares of saying some words – the Winter Soldier’s command words. You commanded him. That’s your guilt baggage.” 

“Come on, Rogers! I don’t air your dirty laundry, do I? Why would you share something like this with the class?!” Nothing was going his way today! Damn it! 

“Yeah, I remember it. He commanded me to stay away from Afghanistan.” Winter kept growling the word ‘Afghanistan’ like it was a curse word. The soul bond was so quiet, Tony didn’t have a clue what Winter was thinking. Was Winter upset? Of course he was. He had to be! Maybe he felt betrayed? Maybe Tony lost all trust? He couldn’t help it: 

“Sorrysorry I’m so sorry I cannot… I’m so sorry Winter. I cannot make it right again I’m so sorry please understand I’d do anything. I’m so sorry.” Went straight down the bond from Tony’s side. 

“I told you, luv. Let it go. I understand.” Winter held on to his hand ‘I was angry but I’m not anymore. I understand.’ “But no more. Promise me you won’t use the words again.” 

Tony broke, head slumping into his soulmate’s chest. “Yes yes, god yes. I promise. I’m sorry, love.”  

The rest of the car left the two to their quite murmurs and Tony’s sobs.  

“You’re being silly. You’re still my soulmate. You’ve done so much for me I’m so grateful I cannot thank you enough for extracting me, luv. You can remove the words, I trust you. We can do this together, we’re finally together.” Winter’s words soothed him. 

“So… tell us from the start, Tony. Help us understand better. Help us understand that you're not HYDRA.” Steve sighed in acceptance. So Tony explained. He explained about how Winter had tried to kill him after killing his parents, about how they found out they were soulmates after he tried to fight back. He told them about the many missions he helped Winter with using their soul bond because he had no resources to extract Winter and couldn’t sit by as his soulmate tried to complete missions. He admitted that he had hacked into SHIELD and have helped Winter with his assassinations.  

“He’s my soulmate. I needed to help him.” Was Tony’s simple explanation. “He was suffering with HYDRA. HYDRA had brainwashed him. When I found out, I couldn’t blame him for my parents’ death.” Tony continued to explain about attempting to un-condition the Soldier. He explained how he had tried his best to make Winter’s missions successful but lower the death count. 

“I know I can’t atone for the bad things I’ve done. But I am trying to do my best.” Tony clarified.  “I’m not running away from my mistakes. But please understand that I needed to help Winter out. He’s my priority. He’s my soulmate.”  

“You’re a dumbass.” Winter snorted. “A sentimental dumbass.” 

“Your sentimental dumbass.” Tony smiled. “You were the one going all ‘hell is nothing, I need to save Tony in Afghanistan’.” 

“You really want to bring that up again?” 

“…No.” 

“Good.” Winter smirked. What a piece of shit. 

“So, what now?” Sam asked.  

“Now, we rest up at the safe house, then head back to the Tower and I’ll start with the reverse conditioning process.” 

“Tony, he killed Fury. We can’t just allow him to live in the tower. SHIELD will be after him.” Steve explained slowly. 

Winter snorted. “Nick Fury isn’t dead. I didn’t shoot a killing shot.” 

Tony blinked. “WHAT? You didn’t?!” 

“Of course not! I know what I’m doing, Tony. I’m not going to shoot your employer.” Winter had the audacity to roll his eyes.  

“Okay. So, Fury is hiding out. That’s good. We need to finish up our current mission.” Natasha expounded. “We will rest up in the safe house for a night then meet back at the tower after. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do to the rest of the team, Stark.” 

“I know.” Tony sighed. 

Natasha turned to smile at him. “But we’re on your side. We’re family.” 

“And family means nobody gets left behind.” Steve finished with a grin. Tony laughed knowing that if Steve could quote Disney, everything was going to be alright. 

 *****

They settled down in the safe house for the night. There were enough rooms for everyone but Steve decided that he needed to keep watch for the night and stationed himself on the living room couch. The Captain kept an eye on the assassin mouthing a silent ‘no funny business’ as Tony ushered Winter into one of the bedrooms. 

“Your Captain is protective.” The bond buzzed with irritation but Tony simply shrugged.  

“He’s endearing once you get used to it.” 

“You seem to be very close with your team.” 

“I am.” Tony nodded but he understood Winter’s underlying intention from years of experience understanding the bond. “You’re still my number one though.” He joked. 

Winter hummed and took a seat on the bed. Tony watched as his soulmate started to relax, the heavy frown that was usually present started to disappear. He stepped out of the Iron Man suit, leaving it in the corner, and took a moment to process the reality of what was happening. Finally, they were going to spend the night together. No countdown, no deadlines, no rushing off after a few moments together. 

“This is really happening.” Tony sent through the bond so Winter could feel his awe.  

“You can speak out loud. There’s no need for us to hide from each other anymore.” Winter spoke with no hint of a Russian accent. Through the years, the assassin had slowly broken free of the robotic attitude conditioned into him, and became livelier and more responsive. Tony loved Winter, but as the man slowly creeped out of his assassin shell, Tony found himself loving Winter even more. Winter tended to be sarcastic, charismatic, funny, and gentle when he was out of cyro for long. His Brooklyn accent would make an appearance and he would flirt with Tony more frequently.  

Tony smiled and sent warm emotions down the bond. He couldn't help but jump onto his soulmate, pushing the other down onto the bed. He hugged Winter, relishing in the other’s warmth and just being very physically here and alive and present.  

“This feels amazing.” Tony breathed out and couldn’t help the little chuckles that accompanied. “This feels so real.” 

Winter wrapped strong arms around his waist and hugged back tightly, as if worried that Tony would disappear back into his mind and everything wasn’t real. Tony felt Winter taking a deep breath into his neck, savouring the smells that didn’t come with their mental bond. Winter’s hair was long and had a weird stale smell but Tony didn’t mind because he could feel the strands tickling his nose and chin. He felt buckles and weapons pressing against his body which made the cuddling a little uncomfortable. 

“Let’s dress down and rest for the night. I don’t want one of your knives to stab me in the night if I decide to roll over you or something.” Tony huffed and proceeded to remove his shirt and trousers, causing the blue light of the arc reactor to encompass the room. It also drew Winter’s attention and suddenly Tony felt hands all over his chest and arc reactor causing him to flinch back despite knowing his soulmate wouldn’t hurt him.  

“Relax, doll. I just want to make sure you’re alright.” Tony tried to shy away but Winter wouldn’t have it.

“I’m fine. It helps keep pieces of shrapnel from entering my heart. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”  

“Just let me check.” Winter insisted but Tony kept pushing Winter’s searching hands away. 

“I don’t really like people touching it. In fact, I don’t really like people looking at it.”  

“I’m your soulmate.” Winter glared. Tony glared back, unrelenting. 

“There’s nothing to look at. The scaring looks horrible and there’s a strange piece of metal in my chest. It’s uncomfortable when people stare at it.” 

Winter deadpanned and sent a “You stare at the strange piece of metal in my body all the time. And I have intensive scaring too. What the fuck is your point?” mentally. Out loud, he whispered: 

“You’re such an idiot.” And proceeded to hug Tony, pulling him close and tight. When Winter snuggled his face into the arc reactor, Tony couldn’t help but blush. Warmth and fondness flowed down the bond. “I’m glad you’re alive and that this thing saved you.” 

Tony couldn’t help but smile. He carded a hand through Winter’s knotted hair and pulled their foreheads together. “You’re such an idiot.” He echoed.

“What a pair we must make.”  

Tony couldn’t help but be amazed by his soulmate, he laughed free and delighted. The assassin had gone through trials and torture, but was still able to be so… loving. After some moments of snuggling and soft words of endearment, Winter finally decided to remove his weapons and get comfortable, keeping just a handgun on the side table.  

“Hey, take this off too. You don’t need it anymore.” Tony’s fingers found the buckles of Winter’s mask and unbuckled the first one. Winter pushed him away to undo the next few on his own. When the mask came off, Tony could barely make out Winter’s facial features because of the dim light and the shadow of unshaven facial hair. It didn’t matter though. The mask was off and all that stood before him was the man that was his soulmate. No more barriers, no more hiding. 

Without waiting, Winter proceeded to pull Tony into a kiss. It was firm and Tony felt Winter’s desperation flowing through. He tugged Winter’s hair sideways, angling their mouths to fit better. Winter’s groan of satisfaction made Tony smirk into the kiss. Winter hesitated so Tony took charge, sliding his tongue between Winter’s stiff lips to explore and encourage the assassin. He heard Winter’s breath hitch and couldn’t help the possessive growl that escaped.  

Tony tightened his hold on Winter’s hair and pushed deeper into his soulmate’s hot, willing, mouth. Teeth clacked but Tony didn’t care, he wanted to map the warm, wet, smooth cavern. He wanted to taste more, give more. He needed more. Tony pressed forward, pushing Winter onto his back. Winter’s hands slid up and down his sides, scratching then soothing leaving hot trails that tingled with sensation. He felt Winter pulling him closer by the waist, seeking friction, hoping to get even closer.  

“Sweetheart.” Winter breathed out, finally kissing and nipping every spot of Tony’s lips. “Sweetheart this feels amazing. You’re so fucking real.”  

“Yes.” Tony moaned. “You’re here. Finally.” Tony took another greedy kiss, biting and sucking on Winter’s plump lower lip. The taste was addicting. Tony needed more. “Fuck, you taste really good.” 

“Tony.” Winter’s hands took hold of Tony’s ass and pulled down, grinding their erections together. “Yesssss.” His soulmate hissed, the friction felt wonderful. Tony arced his back, focusing on the movement of his hips, chasing after the heat and sensation between their crotches. Winter looked amazingly debauched, his hair was tussled and his lips were swollen. His eyes were clenched shut and his face was flushed all the way down to his muscled chest. Tony realised this was the first time he had seen his soulmate without the mask. His face… 

There was something about this man that reminded him of family. 

More specifically… 

Howard? Steve? 

Wait. 

“What the fuck?” Tony reared back in shock, tumbling away from the other. “What the fuck?!” 

What the fuck. 

His soulmate was James Fucking Bucky Buchanan Barnes.  

Winter suddenly went on alert, his whole body tensing up. His gaze hardened and his breathing immediately calmed. “What? What is it?” Winter sent mentally in Russian. “Did I do something wrong?” 

Fuck. This man. Fuck. He was James Barnes. James Bucky Barnes. Sergeant Barnes. Bucky. 

“Who’s that? Who’s Bucky?” 

“You. That’s your name. Bucky. James. Barnes.” Tony recognised the man no matter how much facial hair there was. His childhood was filled with enough stories and photographs of the man for him to recognise Captain America’s best buddy anywhere.  

Captain America. Fuck. 

“Steve.” Tony breathed and scrambled out of bed but didn’t manage to get far as Winter tugged him back.  

“No. Explain yourself first.” Winter was still tense and ready to kill. Of course he was, they were having an intimate moment when Tony freaked out. Tony needed to explain. But fuck. Tony’s mind was running light-years ahead. Oh fuck. IT WAS BUCKY BARNES! “Stop. Tony. Calm down. Calm down.” 

He needed to tell Steve!  

“No, you have to explain what's going on to me first. Then you can tell the Captain whatever you need to. What’s going on, Tony? Who's James? Bucky? What do you mean that’s my name?” His soulmate’s confused and nervous tone sent shivers down the bond. Even when Winter was with HYDRA, Tony’s never heard him sound so unsure before. He clung on to his soulmate’s hands, squeezing and sending waves of calm down the bond.  

“Hey, Snowflake, it’s ok. Chill. It’s nothing bad. It’s alright. The make out was amazing. Nothing’s wrong. It’s just I had a moment of revelation.”  

“Just explain what’s going on, Love.”  

And so he did. 

“Your real name is James Buchanan Barnes. Close friends called you Bucky. My dad knew you back when you weren’t with HYDRA. That’s how I can recognise you as well. There’s no doubt about it, Brooklyn, the beard may throw some people off but not me. I know you.” Tony explained. “Holy shit, you really are from Brooklyn!” 

Winter frowned. “I don’t remember any of that.” 

“Hey it’s ok.” Tony shifted closer to Winter. They were both sitting cross legged on the bed and facing each other. “I can tell you more.”  

Tony shared about Steve, the Howling Commandos, how Bucky ‘died’ and possibly fell into the hands of HYDRA; about how Captain America ended the war and came out on the other end of time in an iceberg.  “Cyro must have kept you young. It could be your super healing as well.” Tony traced Winter’s cheek down to his chin and neck. Winter looked less confused, more curious. “We’ll take this slow. We’ll chase your memories together. Have faith, trust me.” 

“Of course. I trust you.” Came Winter’s quiet reply Tony was almost not sure if it was said out loud or in his mind. He should probably start calling Winter by his real name soon.  

“Hey, we need to tell Steve. It can’t wait. He wouldn’t want to hear it after one whole night of us realising the truth.” Tony knew the right thing to do was to tell Steve immediately. The man had been yearning for his best friend for decades and it wouldn’t be right to let him wait a moment more. Tomorrow was way too long away and it had to be now.  

The two left the room hand in hand with Wint-Bucky trailing slightly behind.  

“He’s going to be hurt that I don’t remember him. What are we going to do even if we tell him? What if he expects me to fill Bucky’s position? I’m not Bucky anymore, Tony.”  

Tony stopped in the middle of the corridor to turn around and face his soulmate. The mechanic’s hands reached out to cup Winter’s cheeks making the assassin’s thoughts freeze. Tony pulled the other man closer, resting their foreheads together. 

“I’m here.” Tony sent mentally. “We’re going to be fine. We’re going to do this together.” 

“Tony? Is that you?” Steve’s voice echoed from the living room. “Is everything alright?” 

“Hey, I love you. We’re going to be fine.” Tony whispered and felt his soulmate relaxing. He gave Winter a kiss before continuing forward. “Come on.” 

Steve sat alert on a couch in the corner where he could see both the front door and the corridor. The Captain caught Tony’s eyes first before seeking for the assassin. The moment Steve’s eyes found Winter, the Captain froze. 

“Bucky?” The Captain gasped. Steve’s eyes darted between Tony and Winter – as if he was afraid Bucky would disappear if he looked away, but also needed confirmation from Tony that this was real. “Tony? What’s the meaning of this?” 

“I just found out too Cap-“ 

“What do you mean you just found out?! He’s your soulmate! You can’t just happen to find out just only now!” hurt resounded through Steve’s voice. 

“Steve, he was with HYDRA. You think we had time to sit down and exchange pleasantries? We met after he murdered my parents, Cap.” Tony reached out to lace his fingers with Winter who was getting ready to react. “Tonight was the first night I saw my soulmate’s face, Steve.” 

“And I don’t remember anything about being Bucky.” Winter added in Tony’s defence. 

Tony hummed. “You do speak with a Brooklyn accent when you’re not being all assassin mode, though.” 

“Only recently, and only for you, doll.” Winter drawled back. A whine sounded from Steve drawing their attention back to the Captain who seemed to be breaking down at the familiar tone of his best friend. 

“Cap, Steve, come here.” The genius’s heart went out to the man who had been dreaming of his best friend’s death every night. “Hey, come closer. Let me introduce you to a special someone, Steve.” Tony made grabby hands towards the Captain, encouraging the other man to join them. Steve looked so broken and lost, but slowly stumbled over and fell into the engineer’s embrace. Now tight in Tony’s arms, Steve’s gaze locked onto Winter in awe and disbelieve. Tony squeezed his friend tight and sent a mental “Stop feeling guilty it’s going to be alright.” to Winter. 

"Is this real?” Steve was barely breathing.  

“Yes it is, Steve.” Tony started in a soft voice. “I want you to meet Winter. You might know him as Bucky, but I prefer to call him Elsa – because he has this whole ‘Let It Go’ theme going on at the moment. Sometimes, I call him Rain Cloud, or Snow Storm, or Blizzard when he’s all murder vibes. Sometimes I call him Sunshine too, when he’s in a good mood. Or Brooklyn when he’s all sexy accent, relaxed mode.” 

“I think he gets it, Luv. You call me whatever the hell you fancy.” Winter scratched the top of Tony’s head fondly, affection flowing through the bond.  

“He tends to do that with us too. Calls us whatever the heck he wants to. Half the time I don’t understand the references.” Steve added with a small huff.  

“Can’t help it, boys. The creative juices needs to flow somewhere.”  Tony shrugged. “So, this one time, this was back in the day when we just got to know each other, Elsa here used to reply me with ‘ready to comply’ all the time. At first I was like holy shit, you know? Like, that’s horrible because HYDRA did that to him. But, slowly, it sounded as if it was getting kinkier and he was using it more like affectionately or something.” 

“I’m pretty sure I treated you like one of my handlers, sweetheart.” Winter deadpanned.  

“Nonsense. Pretty sure you were flirting with me half the time, and sassing me the other half. I’m pretty sure you don’t call your handlers ‘luv’ as well. Was he that sassy as well, back in the day, Cap?” Tony continued, not caring that they were talking about potentially asset-sensitive topics. 

“Pretty sure all my sass was a by-product of hanging out with him.” Steve nodded, still looking a little lost. 

“You should hear what it’s like in his head. Nothing but sass.” Tony added. 

“So you can really hear each other and speak with each other?” Steve perked up with curiosity. 

“Something like that. We would talk to each other as long as he was awake no matter the distance. Don’t tell Tasha that, ok? Don’t tell anyone else, actually, that’s something I would like to keep down low hush hush, if you get what I mean.”  

“And you’ve never heard anything or seen any of his memories linking to him being Bucky?”  

Tony considered Steve’s question. “No, not at all. We’re working on getting Winter desensitized to his trigger words at the moment. Perhaps he’ll slowly start to regain some memories after that. You remember don’t you, Love? You started the Brooklyn speech after my half-assed recalibration attempt back when we were storming SHIELD?”  

“You infilrated SHIELD as well? When!?” Steve asked, eyes judging. Tony mentioned that specifically because he wanted Steve to know the worst of it. Winter caught Tony’s mental cue and continued the light-hearted confession time Tony was trying to go for.  

“This was way back. Even before this guy came out as Iron Man. He’s really one of the best hackers in the world and he’s helped me so much with all my missions. He’s really what kept me alive, this sweetheart here.” Winter playfully booped Tony’s nose and sent an “It’s going to be ok. The Captain isn’t accusing you of anything.” 

“I helped Tasha and Hawkass once during their mission. Totally surprised them and made their mission so smooth they were wondering if I was in-house or something.” Tony boasted. Mentally, he sent a “Thanks for playing along.”  

“There was this one time I hurt my arm real bad and he flew out to repair it for me.” 

“Please, your arm is practically 99 percent mine now. HYDRA can’t even tell what changes I’ve made to it. Just need to look into changing the base connector to the main structure when we get back. Gonna put a proud Stark Merchandise in you and get rid of that lousy 40s HYDRA shit.” 

“Gonna put a Stark Merchandise in me, aren’t you, doll?” Winter wiggled his brows causing Tony to burst out laughing.  

“Please. I’m right here. Literally in between the both of you. Please keep it in your pants, fellas.” Steve groaned, pained. “Bucky used to be a huge flirt and womanizer.” 

“Was he now?” Tony sent a squinty glare at his soulmate. “Tell me more about what he did back when he was chivalrous Sergeant Barnes.” 

“Would have a dame hanging off his arm every party. Could pick up whichever lady he wanted and her friend as well. One stone two dames and all that.” Steve added. 

“Well, you know the past is the past now.” Winter shrugged. “Can’t remember, didn’t happen, don’t hold me accountable.”  

“Seems like I need to keep a closer eye on you, Soldier.” Tony bumped shoulders with his soulmate. He was thankful Winter was acknowledging that he used to be Bucky, and that Steve could acknowledge that Bucky was Winter too. Small steps. “Steve, do you think he’s a changed man? I mean, he has this whole cool vibe now. Will the dames be flocking towards him?” 

“Nah, Bucky’s pretty loyal. Seems like that hasn’t changed.” Steve exchanged smiles with Winter who nodded in return.  

“Might have done a lot of shit under HYDRA, but as long as you'll have me, I'll never let you go.” Replied Winter and he pulled Tony in for a quick kiss.  

“Oh come on!” Steve groaned as Tony pulled Winter in for a deeper one and started some tongue action. “Get out of here. I don’t need to be in the middle of this!” 

“I’m sure you’ve seen Bucky doing this stuff before.” Winter sassed and flipped the Captain off while he continued moving his hand up and down Tony’s sides.  

“God knows I’ve seen more than enough. Off to bed, both of you. We’ll discuss this more with the others tomorrow.” Steve commanded, covering his eyes from the sight of the two man feeling each other up. “Oh my god, get going!” 

Tony laughed and swatted Winter’s bum back towards their room. “Hey Cap?” 

“Is it safe now?” Steve peeked through his fingers to check that the coast was clear. 

“I may not know who Bucky was, but the man I love now is someone worth getting to know.” Tony wanted to make sure his point had gotten across. 

Steve waved him off. “I understand. I don’t care who he’s become, he’s still my best friend.” 

We’ll work it out, Cap.” Tony encouraged.  

“And keep it down, ok?” 

“Cover your ears!” 

“You guys need to get some rest too.” 

“Him - Super soldier, me - insomniac.” Tony shrugged. “We’ve got years to make up for, Cap. Cover your ears!” 

“God! You’re such a child.” 

“Goodnight, Steve.” 

“Goodnight, Tony. Tell Winter I said Goodnight.” 

Tony smiled, knowing from Steve’s use of Winter’s name that it was going to be alright. 

*****

The next day, Natasha and Sam were both kind enough to not mention anything they might’ve heard the night before. When it was time to go, Steve was reluctant and Sam had to practically pry the Captain off Winter. Winter didn’t comment much about Steve’s clingy behaviour but Tony could feel a constant flow of discomfort.  

"You guys will be headed straight back to the tower, right?"  

"Yes, Mum." Tony groaned. "We'll be fine, Steve." 

"Just call for back up the moment you suspect anyone tailing you." 

"Steve. We'll be fine! Winter's been doing this for years and we have JARVIS on look out. It'll be fine."  

"Alright." Steve let out a huge sigh. "Make sure you drop us a call the moment you're back in the tower-" 

"Okay. I can't. I can't anymore, man." Sam proceeded to drag the Captain away and signalled for Natasha to hurry it up. 

"We'll be back in no time, Tony." Her eyes glanced briefly to Winter. "And we'll bring the puppy back too." 

Tony nodded and they exhanged goodbyes before Natasha finally left. He felt Winter's relief through the bond and reached for the other's hand to hold.  

"We're alright." Tony reassured.  

Winter hummed. "What now?" 

"We head back." Tony gave his soulmate's hand a squeeze, once again feeling how surreal it was to hear the voice from beside him. "I'll give you a new arm, we lay low and spend some time together. I need to introduce you to Star Wars, Star Trek, the Harry Potter Series, Mario Kart, Borderlands, Thai food, this K-pop trend thing, Memes..." 

"Tony." 

"Yeah, Sunshine?" 

"Let's go home." Winter squeezed his hand back and Tony beamed from just this little gesture.  

"I'll lead the way back home then, Shaun!" 

"Who's Shaun?"  

Tony huffed. "Many things to learn, you have, young Padawan." 

"Who?" 

"Many things, love, many things." 

  *****

Turns out, HYDRA didn't manage to track Winter down. Instead, Fury did - three days after they reached back home. 

"You're harbouring HYDRA's most dangerous asset, Stark! And he almost killed me!" 

"Almost being the operative word, Nick."  

"Doesn't make being shot any less painful, Stark." Fury growled back. 

"Yeah well, Winter also happens to be a prisoner of war and the Captain's best friend." 

"James Barnes was declared dead ages ago. You really think anyone's going to buy your story before SHIELD's retrieval team snags and locks him up? Give him up, Stark." 

"You really think I'd let SHIELD do anything to my soulmate, Fury?"  

Needless to say, after that declaration, Winter was given the all clear to join the Avengers less SHIELD made an enemy out of The Tony Stark. Following that, Steve rushed back the moment his mission was over and clung onto his long-lost buddy like a barnacle. Winter was slowly getting some of his memories back through Tony's recalibration efforts. Sometimes, he'd call Steve by a more affectionate name like 'Stevie' or 'Punk'. Other days, he would be cold and distant to everyone except Tony.  

Natasha and Clint both got on with Winter like a house on fire. Tony once caught Winter and Natasha drinking coffee together in the team's dining room. There was silence but the two occasionally smirked at each other. No words flowed through the bond and it was still a mystery how the two assassins communicated. Clint and Winter had some sort of 'see who can sneak up on who' game going on and Tony had no clue what the rules were but he knew Winter was winning through the smug satisfaction coursing through the bond every time the two met.

Sam Wilson became a new addition to the tower and Tony found the guy hilarious. He often told stories of the Captain's unglamorous moments, and winter would trade whatever memories he had of 'the little guy from Brooklyn'.  

Bruce was wary of Winter at first but after days of Winter hanging out quietly in the lab while Tony and Bruce scienced, Bruce became more used to the silent watcher. Thor wasn't around often enough to build a friendship with Winter but the Asgardian often addressed Winter as a mighty comrade.  

In summary, Tony couldn't be happier with how the team had fallen in place so naturally, and his soulmate's great recovery.  

Speaking of recovery: 

"Hey, losers! You're going the wrong way! HYDRA's pulling out and the runner with your loot is running 6 o'clock of you." 

"What the fuck?! STARK?!" Clint's sputtering was always funny.  

"Not again." Natasha groaned.  

"Tony?! This mission is classified! You shouldn't even be able to tap into our comms! This isn't Stark Tech!" The Captain was so easy to rile up. Steve's indignant Tone still ranked at the top of Tony's list of favourite things to hear.  

"Hey there luv. Which way should I go?" Take that back, THIS here was at the top of Tony's list of favourite things to hear."  

"Hey there Sunshine! Gotta turn around. Your target just cleared the back door on the ground floor. Get out from the window on your right and head south-west. I'll guide you once you've reached the yard." 

"Tony, really, you shouldn't be on this channel! SHIELD records these! How did you even get in?!"  

"Come on, Cap, keep up. Your worries are so last year." Natasha chided. 

"Yeah, Mr. Tightpants! SHIELD's got nothing on us, right JARVIS?" 

"Most certainly, Sir. We are always superior." 

"Got that right, J." 

"Tony, Password?" Natasha demanded, trusting that the genius already had their positions confirmed.  

"250519241." Tony then swivelled his chair to screens 4-8 which showed the layout of the whole area with bright little dots representing his team mates. "Cap, you need to find this guy: short black hair, Russian, Tattoo on neck, in his forties. That's the main commander for this base. His office is one floor up from where you are. Take the next right turn, you'll find the stairs." 

"How'd you know-" 

"Hawkeye, you need to cover Winter. They've installed rooftop survalence that I'll be disabling in 60 seconds. Start the count. Head left then the second door on the right will lead you to the rooftop." 

"Got it." 

"Snowflake? You need to hurry, 2 o'clock. Target's reaching the getaway soon."  

"Ready to comply." Amusement flowed down the bond from Winter's end. 

"Woah! Get your 50 Shades off the comms, boys!" Clint teased and a shot went off. "HOLY FUCK DID YOU JUST SHOOT AT ME?!" 

"There was an irritating buzz and I was trying to get rid of it." Winter sassed. "And besides, the shot wasn't even that close to you." 

"Oh that's it, you fucker, I've got eyes on your six-" 

"Team, focus!" The Captain scolded and Tony felt Winter's smug sniggers down his throat. "Winter, focus on the target, shoot to disable if necessary. Hawkeye, you'd better aim your bow away from whatever it's aiming at now." 

"Roger that." Came Winter's reply accompanied by Clint's grumble of "Fucking unfair." 

"Tony, what else do you have for us?" Steve continued. 

"Come on, Cap, be professional. Only Professional codenames allowed on the comms remember?"  

"Don't break him, Tony. Cap looks like his head's about to explode." Natasha sounded amused. 

"Alright, alright." Tony smiled fondly while keying in some code. "Clear skies ahead, my dear Avengers! All traps are disabled and I'm sending a jet to your coordinates, ETA in 20. I await your safe return." 

The last thing Tony heard before disconnecting was "Target secured. See you back at home soon, luv."