Sentinel/Guide AU for starkingenuity

[starspangledspandex]

Things have been going remarkably well between them. Even if the beginning was somewhat rocky, their compatibility was obvious and not just to them. Steve was old-fashioned and though his instincts made it clear what they wanted, he did things the "right" way. There were dates and gifts and just general wooing. They talked about it and they were ready.

He smiled at Tony, watching him as he worked and couldn't stand it anymore. "Tonight," he said, then added, for clarity, "We should bond tonight."

Maybe not the most romantic proposal but he figured he shouldn't smother Tony in it anyway or the man would get sick of it. No the rarity made it special.

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[starspangledspandex]

He caught the shield with ease, debating before he pulled it from the bag--it was past time to be subtle--and slid his arm through the holder.

Steve followed Sam, glancing behind toward Bucky and he hoped they all survived this. "Lock it down," he ordered. "But have it ready for us."

[whothehellisbucky]

JARVIS confirmed as the trio rushed down the stairs only to find themselves being shot at. Sam pressed himself back against the exposed brick to miss a few less precise shots and snorted as he checked the load of his magazine.

"Looks like you're up."

He did not have the acrobatic acumen of Captain America.

[starspangledspandex]

"On it," he agreed, stepping out with the shield leading and there were plenty of bullets that clanged off of it harmlessly before he took the majority out with a single, bouncing throw.

[whothehellisbucky]

Sam was always pretty impressed. Steve had done that since they had first met. On your left? He was a wonderful asshole. More wonderful than an asshole though.

He pushed Bucky out next... Which caused the other man just to jump down two landings over the banister and take out the other men that Steve had left behind.

[starspangledspandex]

The Sentinel straightened , watching the other man as he moved and he swallowed because he felt like he did when he was watching Tony. He loved them both, he did, but Bucky was family. He never envisioned bonding with the man. He wasn't sure he could even see it now but he felt for him anyway.

"We need to keep moving," he muttered, listening for more footsteps. "The longer we take, the more of them there are going to be."

[whothehellisbucky]

"So keep moving," Bucky almost teased, though he hadn't gotten that quality back to his voice yet. It was still in his eyes. He still meant it. He pushed passed Steve and smirked. "I'll lead then--"

He was caught off guard when he heard the firing piston of a gun and leaned to the left, dodging the bullet before he turned to kick the gun out of the man's hand. The man was taken down right after. "Okay okay, moving."

[starspangledspandex]

"Watch it, pal," Steve warned, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice as he followed. It was reassuring to hear the teasing from his friend even if he wasn't quite back to normal.

They were throwing a lot of man power at the three of them. Steve took out a number of other soldiers, snarling at a couple of unbonded Sentinels that got too close to Bucky and it was strange but he didn't really stop to think about it.

[whothehellisbucky]

Bucky didn't know when they got separated from Sam. It happened at a junction, the door blasting open into the stairwell. Sam told Steve to go ahead, he'd meet him back at the rendezvous point, and jumped out the window.

Bucky was so use to just keeping himself alive that he mostly just focused on getting somewhere out of line of sight.

He watched Steve spring passed him and he grabbed the Super Sentinel around the waist and tugged him back to a place of cover beneath the loading dock.

[starspangledspandex]

He was concerned for Sam but trusted that the man could get there himself. He was capable and he wasn't the one these men were after. They wanted Bucky above all and probably Captain America to go with him.

Steve was startled by being grabbed but he smelled Bucky so he didn't struggle, not beyond turning to confirm it was his friend.

"Thanks," he said with a smile, trying not to clang the shield off of anything. "What's out next move?"

[whothehellisbucky]

"It feels weird giving orders to Captain America," Bucky said, maybe a little too loudly, but they weren't using heat sensors against them and a group of soldiers ran passed.

It felt like being back in Europe. The buildings in the warehouse district could just as well be forests.

Bucky set his chin on Steve's shoulder as they crouched. It was just a little thing.

[starspangledspandex]

"We're a team," he responded quietly, watching as feet ran past them and not a single person thought to check under anything. "It's not giving orders. It's working together."

Steve smiled at the man, glancing at him as he adjusted his shield and then frowned, "If Tony is paying attention, he's going to be panicking."

[whothehellisbucky]

"Who's that?"

Bucky was curious. His memory was hardly back in place and what happened during the Winter Soldier program would probably never be gained. He didn't know that he had killed Howard. He didn't know how many people fell because of him.

And he certainly didn't know that his childhood friend had found someone to bond with because... Well he always thought Steve was normal and being a Super Sentinel later in life allowed him not to have to bond at all.

In fact he was pretty sure that the physical queues he was getting from the other was just emotion and his body having a literal loose wire.

[starspangledspandex]

This was not where he wanted to be having this conversation. It was a terrible time for this, particularly with Bucky barely back on his feet, but he wasn't going to hide from him.

"Tony Stark," Steve said, taking a deep breath. "My Guide, well, almost. I'm having trouble with the bond on my end but it exists on his. We have a team of scientists on it."

[whothehellisbucky]

Stark wasn't a name easy to forget. "Stark--" wait. "Howard's kid?" If he knew the truth he wouldn't be laughing, and in fact he wasn't laughing a few moments later when the rest of that caught up with him. "I figured he had kids. Too many. That man did like to get out of camp whenever possible."

But they were no longer living in the forties. There were cell phones, the strangest looking cars, weapons he could barely describe...

And Howard Stark's Guide son being with Steve.

And that brought up memories of couch cushion beds and yelling matches because didn't Steve know what was going to happen if they got caught? And they were absolutely going to get caught. Besides, they should have families. And Bucky would need a Guide. Their kids could be friends--

But that didn't happen. And now the kid from Brooklyn who he had pushed away because being gay was a death sentence even for Guides and Sentinels when they were kids, had a Guide. And that Guide was a man.

Bucky pressed his lips together.

"Doesn't matter. Let's get out of here. To the left."

[starspangledspandex]

"Yeah, Howard's son," Steve agreed because what else could he do? A name like Stark was pretty distinct. "He's in his forties. As far as I know, he's an only child."

He remembered those days too but it didn't work did it? They weren't compatible enough right? Of course, it wasn't like he manifested as a Guide either. Steve remembered the arguments. Hiding that sort of thing from whoever you bond was impossible. How could you do that to someone? It didn't sit right with him.

They would have time to talk later. Right now, they needed to get out of here. Bucky was right about that at least. Steve went, trying to keep quiet and they surprised a guard or two on the way out.

[whothehellisbucky]

The quinjet, however, was overrun. Jarvis had not alerted Steve because speaking could likely alert people to their position. The cloak had been breached easily--

Too easily.

Bucky had his metal hand pressed back on Steve's chest, holding him back as he ducked his darker head over the edge of a railing. There was no sign of Sam either.

They had to move on. Bucky had been staying here for a week now... He knew a way out. Theoretically.

That didn't make it any better, what he was feeling inside. There was a lot of jealousy working up in his gut.

[starspangledspandex]

"Jet's a no go," he muttered, without even looking over the railing and he turned to survey the area. Surely there was a way out of here? They could both move fast. He was concerned about Sam but he was still confident the man would get out of here.

"You know a better way out?"

[whothehellisbucky]

"Follow me."

They couldn't just move fast, they could move smart. They could scale buildings. It didn't quite feel like old times--

It felt better.

By the time they made it out of the rail yards and into a warehouse a mile awhile, Bucky was grinning again and breathing hard.

"I shouldn't be having fun but I'll admit that I kind of am. Thanks for saving me again."

[starspangledspandex]

He did, because they didn't have a choice, but also just because it felt right. Why wouldn't he follow Bucky? Steve kept up without any trouble though he was also breathing hard when they got to the warehouse.

Steve laughed, "Well at least someone is."

[whothehellisbucky]

"It's not even a little fun for you to climb three stories up a brick building without rope," Bucky questioned, head back and eyes brighter than they had been for a long time. "You like being a hero. It's all you've wanted for as long as I've known you."

[starspangledspandex]

"It's a little fun. I'm just not a fan of being shot at while I do it," he pointed out, because the last time he climbed something, he ended up in the hospital for awhile. That might have been Bucky's fault.

"I just wanted to make a difference," he said, smiling warmly at the man's expression. "I think I've done okay."

[whothehellisbucky]

Steve Rogers. Still the most noble guy he knew. Bucky hand to press metal fingers over his lips so that he didn't laugh too loudly. They were still in range to be found, and laying low for the rest of the night was their best bet.

The problem was that being near Steve for longer periods of time was really starting to effect Bucky. Now that he was nearly the Super Sentinel that Steve was, he was starting to feel ways he hadn't before. It was the Guide part of him that had been fused to his very Sentinel cells to create the perfect hybrid compliment to Steve's Sentinel induced Guide-ness.

Silence drifted. "I can smell you," Bucky said unabashedly. Steve's added Sentinel called out to Bucky's added Guide. And the reverse was true too. He'd been barely Sentinel before the war and that's why he was drafted. Steve had been barely Guide.

"I think that might be why I couldn't kill you when I was mindless..."

[starspangledspandex]

He was silent for a few moments after that admission. Steve could smell him too and it was a strange feeling. It was similar to Tony. It was the same draw that he felt toward the older man. He didn't have any doubt that they were compatible. Were the numbers as good as him and Tony? He doubted it. Those numbers were off the charts. However, that didn't mean it wasn't still high and that didn't surprise him either.

"Might be," he agreed and in another lifetime he might have acted on it. Things were different now. Now there was Tony and Steve was already committed to him.

[whothehellisbucky]

But Tony wasn't here. All Bucky had was memory of the time when he and Steve tried to do something that no one back then would have understood or condoned. His mind was still fogged up and he had weird puzzle pieces of Guide and Sentinel warring inside of him wanting what he had always wanted.

If he was capable of thinking clearly, nothing would have happened. It was just easier to let the way Steve smelled charm him and flip the triggers Hydra always knew it would eventually.

He leaned over, nose touching Steve's jawline and then his earlobe.

[starspangledspandex]

He took a deep breath, trying to settle himself and keep his own mind clear. Steve was, after all, still a slave to instinct when it came down to it. He knew if he didn't nip this in the bud it was going to be a problem.

"I can't do this, Buck," he murmured, raising his hands to the man's shoulder and gently tried to push him away.