Chapter Text
There is a letter that arrives a few weeks after she has woken up for good. It is buried amongst the rest of the mail, and Bucky brings it in after he serves breakfast to Sir Calidore, Una, their new goat Steven Junior, and a crow that keeps hanging around. He throws the mail onto their kitchen counter before he heads upstairs to join his omega in bed. She doesn't ask him to bring up the mail, and Bucky forgets about it as they fall in between the sheets. It is one of those mornings where everything is soft and slow. She kisses Bucky so sweet that his teeth ache with it. They move flawlessly together, with Bucky hovering over her. He tells her to keep her eyes open when they begin slipping shut underneath the weight of her desire. She does as he asks, and it makes Bucky smile. She nuzzles his nose with her own. Bucky knots her as she comes without making a sound. And after Bucky shifts them around, she falls right to sleep, curled up on his chest. As she nods off, Bucky sighs blissfully. He closes his eyes, hoping that she will be in his dreams and that his dreams will be pleasant.
The sun is still burning high in the sky when Bucky rouses again. He realizes that his omega is no longer in bed with him. Thinking that he could use a midnight- er, midafternoon snack, Bucky stretches before heading downstairs. He finds his omega in the kitchen with the same idea as he did. She sips at a B-positive bag as she pets Una, who is curled up in her lap. Bucky walks to the refrigerator and pulls out his favorite blood (A-negative) before joining her at the table. He hooks a knee around one of the legs of the opposite chair and pulls his omega closer. Una bristles at the movement, glaring at Bucky.
"Couldn't sleep?" Bucky asks his omega.
"I can't shake this feeling that something is wrong," she replies.
That makes him bristle.
"What're you thinkin'?"
"I'm not sure. I can't quite put my finger on what it is."
"Why don' we go back to bed? Maybe, it'll come to ya after you sleep on it."
"Maybe." She tilts her head inquiringly. "Hey, did we get any mail?"
"Uh, oh, yeah. I put it on th' counter. Why?" asks Bucky.
"Can you bring it over? I would get it, but I don't want to disturb Una."
"'Course not," Bucky jokes, picking up the pile of mail and bringing it to her. "We can't have th' Queen Regent herself bein' uncomfortable."
She smiles too, ruffling through the mail.
"I mean, Una is the head of the…"
Bucky watches as she freezes at what looks to be an envelope. His eyebrows furrow as several undecipherable emotions flit across her face. Bucky is about to ask her what the problem is before she collapses out of her chair. She falls onto her hands and knees and howls. It is a sound that he has never heard from anyone, let alone his omega. Bucky immediately knows that something is wrong. She screams, and Bucky watches as bloody tears begin to stain the carpet below her.
"What? What? What's wrong? What's happened? 'Mega, talk to me!" Bucky cries.
He scrambles out of his chair, blood forgotten. He grabs at her, feeling how withered she feels underneath his hands. Her skin is bitterly cold, and her scent is nonexistent. It is not the musty smell of her depression nor the burning rubber smell of her anger. It is not even bitter and acrid like her fear. It is simply not there, and Bucky is terrified. He thinks she is about to slip into a coma again. He holds her tighter.
"Honey, what's wrong?! What happened?! Tell me!" Bucky demands.
His answer is more screaming. Bucky turns his attention to the white envelope, and he reaches up to grab it off the table. It is an everyday thing, with no writing on the backside. He tears into it anyway. Inside, there is a letter. Bucky starts to read it, only to see that it is written in German and has no idea what it says. However, the message ends with a signature that looks like it could read Charles. And looking closer still, Bucky sees what seems to be dried blood sprinkled across the front of the envelope.
"Baby," he whispers.
His only answer is her shrieks. The sole thing that Bucky can think to do is to drape himself entirely over her. He hates how helpless he feels now as he listens to his sweet omega sob as her entire world crumbles underneath her feet. It hits Bucky then that this must be what it is like for a vampire to lose her 'pack.' She must feel utterly alone. Bucky valiantly tries not to feel sorry for himself. He knows that she loves him and that he cannot even compare their relationship. He imagines what it would feel like to lose his pack. And not just lose them, but to find out that they were likely slaughtered. He does not silence her, does not tell her that everything will be okay. He knows that doing so will not help her now. Instead, Bucky radiates a calming scent, and he purrs, letting her feel him and his warmth from her head to her toes. He loses track of time that way.
The sun is nearly set when Bucky pulls away from his omega. Her howls had subsided a while ago, but she is still whimpering like an injured pup. She scrubs at the bloody tears drying on her cheeks.
"Lemme get you something,'" Bucky whispers.
"No, it's okay," she rasps. "I have to go. I have to see."
Despite everything screaming in him to prevent this, Bucky nods resignedly. He knows that she needs to do this, and he knows that nothing he could say would stop her anyway.
"Okay," he replies. "I'm comin' with you. Th' pack will back us up. I can't let ya get hurt again, not after gettin' you back."
"Okay."
She cannot move, she finds. Gently, Bucky helps her to sit up. He finds one of his sweatshirts on their coatrack and pulls it over her to shield her from the cold she doesn't need to be protected from. Her legs are limp as Bucky guides her feet into some shoes. She does not necessarily need them either, but he decides that he wants to do this for her- to protect her in any way that he can. She does not protest any of this; she lets him manipulate her to his liking. Finally, Bucky urges her to stand up. She curls her fingers around his and tucks herself into his side.
"Good?" he asks.
She jerks her head in an approximate nod. They walk to their back door, and Bucky pushes it open. He sees her take a deep breath before she steps outside with him. They walk a few feet into their backyard. She lets out a soft noise that draws his attention. At the edge of the forest lies a body. With his omega tucked firmly behind him, Bucky goes to inspect it.
"A vamp," he solemnly reports when he can see it. "Although I don't know who it is. D'you know?"
"I didn't know everyone who lived with Erik and Charles. They're the closest vampires near us, but they still live hundreds of miles from here. They were running here for protection, I know it."
"Maybe they got into a fight with another vamp?" Bucky asks hopefully.
"No. We don't splatter blood like that."
They continue. It is one hundred miles of running later when they find a second body. This time, she goes to investigate. The body is split apart down the torso, and there is so much blood that Bucky retches. The smell is unbelievable. Her face is blank as she moves the head with her shoe. She shakes her head, indicating that she does not know this vamp either. They do not linger around this body either. She tugs Bucky to urge him to walk on, and he does, wondering who would be this vengeful to want to eviscerate an already dead vamp. Would they have done the same to his omega if she had died?
It is seventy miles before they stumble upon a new scene. This time, there are three bodies, and she stalls in her tracks, her breath leaving her in a squeak. This time, Bucky is sure.
"Honey, maybe we should go home," he says gently.
"No," she says, setting her jaw. "I need to see."
She approaches the first body noiselessly. Bucky follows behind her almost as inaudibly, although he is not as limber as a vamp as she is since he has not been one nearly as long. He breaks a stick, and the sound vibrates all around them. He stifles a curse, not wanting to draw the attention of whoever is responsible for this bloodshed. Bucky knows in his gut it was the same wolfpack, but he cannot smell any other wolves around. Knowing what he knows, that does not mean they aren't nearby. He does not want his omega to be hurt. She kneels near the head of the first body and mutters something.
"You know 'im?" Bucky whispers.
"Charles," she says, her voice thick. "It's Charles. He must have stayed behind to let the others go ahead."
She wipes away her tears savagely, almost slapping herself as she stands. There is blood on her legs, not her own, but she ignores it as she moves on. Bucky wants to call after her, to warn her, but he bites his tongue and follows close behind. He wonders if he should wolf out but wants to be able to talk to her. At the first sign of trouble, he will, he tells himself firmly.
And then, naturally, the last body is Erik. She collapses next to the one she called brother and stares into the gaping hole in his chest as though she will be able to find the answers she is looking for. Bucky stands a few inches away, no wanting to intrude into what seems like a private moment. He surveys the land but sees no indication that they are being watched. He smells nothing, either. Still, Bucky feels like they should not dawdle. He gives his omega three more minutes before he heads over to her.
"'Mega, we should go," he tells her softly. "In case they come back."
"It was them," she whispers, her voice garbled.
"What was that?"
At that, she slowly turns around, her scent turning dark and oily. The smell of her fury is overpowering, making Bucky cough. She glares at him through red eyes. For the first time, Bucky sees her for what she can be. Unthinkingly, he takes a few steps back. She is breathing faster and faster, would be hyperventilating if she were not a vamp before she speaks around a mouthful of fangs.
"It was them," she snarls furiously. "They did this! Do you know who they are?"
"No, I told ya, we have no idea. Honey, let's jus' go home."
"No, I can't. I won't leave them here. They ripped them open!"
"What are ya gonna do, huh? Run all over th' world 'til you find 'em? No, you stay here with me."
"You don't understand!"
"You think I don't know how this feels? Are you serious?! I watched you die. I stood over yer bed, waitin' for you to wake up for months. I tied a noose in th' shed, an' didn't jump. I still have nightmares, even weeks after the fact! Fuck 'I don't understand.'"
"It's not the same thing! How would you feel if your pack was killed, huh?"
"My fuckin' heart don't beat for the likes of Clint Barton," Bucky says.
"Well, then, what about Steve? Sam?"
"I- shut up. We're goin' home right now, end of discussion."
"You go home, Bucky," she replies, eerily calm now. "Go home right now."
"What are ya gonna do?"
"They deserve to die."
"If you think I'm lettin' you go hunt these bastards by yourself, you're insane."
"You can't keep up with me."
"The hell I can't. We do this together, or not at all. If you think I'm lettin' you outta my sight again, you got another thing comin.'"
"I've lived centuries alone without you."
"Yeah, an' now I'm here, I ain't lettin' you do this by yourself." Bucky lets out a heavy breath, hating how his voice quivers with his next words. "I know he was like yer brother, but yer my entire heart and soul. Those fuckers hurt you; I wanna hurt 'em back. Please, just, fuck, let me come with you. I-I need to make sure you're safe. I can't do it again. I'll die. 'M not strong enough. If you go alone, I can't promise I'm gonna be here if you get back."
Her gaze has softened. She approaches Bucky slowly, cradling his face in her hands. He sniffs, trying not to cry, but she throws her arms around him and holds him tight.
"Okay," she murmurs. "Okay, you're right. If it were me who had to see you die, I would want to go with you now."
Bucky nods, wiping his nose. He squares his shoulders.
"I'm gonna wolf out. We c'n cover more ground if I do. I'll stay low, you go high, but don't go so far ahead that I can't smell you, okay?"
"Okay. Do you think that Stark guy might know anything this time?"
"He may. Strange, his partner, is a warlock. Maybe he sensed th' magic this time. But he lives so far away, darlin', are you sure you're up for it?"
She sets her jaw.
"Yes."
"I don't believe you, but I know you ain't gonna give it up, so we'll go. If you get tired, say somethin.' I'll be able to tell through the bond either way, but tell me."
"I will," she says, and Bucky believes her.
He nods once and then focuses his mind on the shift, calling his wolf forward. Though the trees protect their skin from its rays, the sun has not fully set, and the transformation is challenging. His omega respectfully turns away to give Bucky privacy. He hears her whistle for Sir Calidore, and he smiles despite the pain. Sir Calidore is not an average dog. What he truly is, however, neither know. All that they know is that he is fast and never seems to tire out. He is overly strong and is still growing, even after all this time. He is as tall on all fours as Bucky's omega is on two, and he is protective of his people.
"Ready?" she asks when Sir Calidore is at her side.
"Yeah," Bucky says through their bond, scratching his ear with his back foot.
"I sent a text to Wanda, Natasha, Sharon, and Peggy to watch Una, Steven Junior, and that damn crow."
Bucky bobs his head in acknowledgment before tilting up and howling into the dusk to let his pack know what is about to happen.
"All systems go?"
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
His omega is limber and graceful as she jumps into the trees. Her stiff muscles have worked themselves out, and Bucky is grateful. He had prayed to Horz and the other Gods every day for her to come back to him in one piece. They both still have nightmares, but they are together. Bucky cannot ask for anything else. He tears off into the forest after her, Sir Calidore hot on his heels. He can sense her above his head. She is leaping from tree to tree, swinging off the branches, and generally being a showoff. Bucky inwardly smiles, pleased.
"What are you smiling at, huh?" she calls.
"You."
"Am I that impressive?"
"Always."
"You too, Buck."
He preens at that and can hear her soft laughter in his head. In the back of his mind, he knows that now is certainly not the time for it, but he feels like showing off a little too. The wolf in his head agrees with this idea, telling him impressomega over and over. Gaining speed, Bucky runs at the nearest tree and leaps at it with all of his strength. It sways dangerously before breaking off at the bottom of the trunk. They watch as it falls to the forest floor with an earth-shattering thump. Bucky smiles, dancing around.
"Show off," she says, but it is fond.
"Again?"
"Leave the trees alone, Hercules. They didn't do anything to you."
"Impressed?"
"You're incredible, Buck, really. I'll always think that. You don't need to knock down trees for me to think so."
If Bucky were human, he would be blushing. He digs the pads of his front paw into the dirt, feeling shy and pleased.
"Love. You." he manages to get out.
"I love you too, baby." Her voice satisfies him like a good scratch against a tree after a successful kill. "Are you picking up any scents down there?"
He had forgotten that they were on a mission; he was so wrapped up in her. Bucky does his job.
"No."
"Something feels strange to me." She sounds troubled. "Can you feel it too?"
Bucky finds it hard to focus on anything besides protecting his omega, but he tries his best to turn his attention away from her. She skids to a stop suddenly, nearly toppling out of her tree, and Bucky stops too with a cry of:
"What?!"
"I- I can't go any farther. There's some sort of barrier."
She hops out of the tree and lands next to Bucky.
"Right here," she says, pointing a few feet ahead.
Bucky walks forward and keeps going. Whatever it is, he can pass through it fine, but she cannot. He can smell something strange when he does, though, like burning hair. The very air shimmers around him.
"Gate," he realizes.
"We found them."
"Yeah."
"They're so close, but they're. It's like they're."
"Hidin'."
"Exactly. But then why did they let you through?"
"Know."
"Shit. They know we're coming," she echoes.
"Yeah."