Chapter Text
“JARVIS...” Silence greeted Steve as he made his way to the bank of elevators on his floor.
Right, JARVIS had been killed, disassembled, fractured beyond repair less than 48 hours ago. How would Tony function without the AI? Do the suits still run? They must, Tony was heading out with the rest of the team to investigate the Vibranium dealer. Steve’s thoughts swirled around the events of the past few days. This could splinter the team; permanently,fatally even! Stark was smart, but he was impulsive and pushy, why did Banner agree to hide what they were doing with the staff. He hated bullies.
The elevator dinged, and Steve stepped through the threshold.
“Bucky”
The whisper soft words fell from his lips without conscious thought. He knew that scent. He couldn’t forget it, he wouldn’t forget it. He took another long, deep breath. For the first time since waking, his mind was clear, he had one purpose: Bucky. He was here, in the tower, in the common room. He wanted to laugh, he wanted to cry, he wanted to growl and reclaim him; Bucky was HIS. He paced fully into the room, finding it empty except for the dark headed figure wrapped in an iconic red, white and blue throw on the center couch.
Steve stopped short, Bucky was not here. Steve lost all sense of time as he stood staring down at the woman before him. She might have been familiar, she must belong in the tower to be allowed up so high. Tony might be a pain to deal with, but he was paranoid and did not tolerate interlopers. It still smelled like Bucky was here, or he had just left, or the girl brought Bucky’s scent in with her. Why did she smell like Bucky. Steve advanced.
She was small, but, most women were to him now. Fair skin, dark hair, red lips - god, had he woken up in an alternate dimension and Snow White was sleeping on the couch. Steve checked for stray apples. The shock of NOT finding Bucky in the room began to recede and Steve felt the same crushing despair that he had on the bridge in DC. Steve fell to his knees.
She was a mystery to him. Beautiful really. Peaceful in a way that he hadn’t been since the bombs fell on Pearl Harbor. He envied her in that moment. There was a discarded iPod on the end table, bright purple earbuds falling to the floor. She was at home here, in this century, belonged in this city, relaxed in this tower. For a brief moment, he imagined himself looking down at a sleeping Peggy. He let the seeds of the dream grow in his mind, just for a moment. Steve breathed in again.
He smelled lavender and vanilla mixed in with Bucky’s scent. His eyes dilated, the alpha in him gaining purchase over his rational mind. He smoothed the hairs away from her face, his hand trailing past her jaw and down her neck. He brushed the fabric of a scarf away from her collarbone to reveal a still fresh bite. The alpha in him roared to the surface.
Erskine had been right. Every trait, not just the physical was enhanced by his serum. Steve’s unique upbringing as an alpha with little strength had provided him the years of restraint he would need to keep his strong alpha tendencies under control. Bucky would have laughed to think that some considered scrappy Steve Rogers “restrained.”
The omega sleeping on the couch had no knowledge of the danger she could have been in. Asleep and defenseless in front of the world’s most powerful alpha, biology took over, and as if sensing the alpha’s distress, she hummed a low calming note, canting her body towards his. Steve slipped an arm under her shoulder, bringing her off the couch and into his embrace. It was something bondmates did, this unconscious magnetism, and Steve would have been appalled if he hadn’t already been lost to his baser instincts. Darcy nuzzled into Steve’s neck baring her’s in the process, purring in contentment as Steve dipped his head and began to slowly lick the bonding bite mark on her right shoulder. He hadn’t made the mark, and maybe this was a mistake in his unique biology, but he still laid claim to her. He took in her blood and healed the mark with his enhanced saliva forming a new bond on top of the fledgling one.
Dawn triggered the automatic shades in the tower to transition from night mode into day. The additional light brought Steve into some semblance of awareness. He needed to take care of his bondmate. Were they bonded? Regardless, she couldn’t be safe laying out in the open. Standing with her in his arms felt right. He was complete. He couldn’t do anything for Peggy, but, he could take care of this woman. Walking back out the way he came, Steve entered the suite he had commandeered the previous evening, arranging her on the bed and her personal items along with an extra bottle of water on the bedside table. She would sleep for hours yet, perhaps not even waking until after he returned. For now, he would leave her in the closest place he had to a home. He would fully claim her when she was awake and aware. Steve had a mission to complete.