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]

"I'm sorry," he whispered, trying to draw the man in closer to him. He needed the comfort right now. He didnt want to leave Tony either which just made this all even worse. He wanted his Guide. He didn't want to be both. Steve didn't know the first thing about being a Guide.

His voice breaks, "I'm sorry."

[starkingenuity]

Tony imagined he could smell the other man on him but he couldn't. Steve looked like he had been in a fight, though. His hair was a mess and there was brick dust caught in the strands.

They had just waited for so long. They had waited and fallen in love-- No wonder Sentinels and Guides tended to do a quickly bonding and figure the rest out later. Losing a mate to someone else because of wishywashy morality issues?

He could hate Steve right now. It would be easy. So very easy.

Instead, he felt the Sentinel hurting through skin on skin contact and while Steve didn't know how to be a Guide, Tony did. He took the pain, he brushed some of the worry aside.

But he didn't cry. And he didn't try for anything more. No kiss, no further invasion of space.

"Where is he?" Steve wasn't his any more.

[starspangledspandex]

Physically he might not be Tony's but mentally he still is and it was what created some of his current problem. He wished now that he didn't wait but what would it have mattered? They could still be searching for a solution.

Steve shook his head, "I... I don't know. I was upset and he didn't take it well. He ran and I couldn't bring myself to stop him."

[starkingenuity]

Tony was torn on his reaction. He was equally pleased and annoyed at that reaction. Bucky had stolen his Sentinel... But at the same time, Tony knew very well what could happen when hormones hit. He'd physically put himself in armor and flown halfway across the world when kissing Steve turned into a desire for sex and that dangerously flickered towards heat.

Tony didn't know the circumstances here. He just knew that Steve pushing away a bondmate was pretty horrible. That could be the empathy talking.

"You're an idiot," Tony said, glad he was still dressed. He was just missing his shoes. "Find my boots. We have to get him."

And even that was pretty self serving too.

"How long was I out? How long have you been here? We only a few hours."

[starspangledspandex]

"What was I supposed to do?" Steve asked quietly, eyes horribly sad and heartbroken. "I wanted you. I still do. And he knew that. I told him about you."

He shook his head, "I don't know. It took me an hour to get back here. I've been sitting here another one or two."

Steve forced himself to stand up and he picked up the shield from its resting place against the wall. "Let's go."

[starkingenuity]

"Shit. Okay, but you're not like other Sentinels. We can still do this," Tony grumbled. Poor Steve probably didn't know about bond dissolving. Something so new could be done with very little damage.

More or less. He wasn't sure of the exact science of it..

Walking with a head this chalky did make him stumble and he held onto Steve with a frown. "I hate to ask, I'm better than this, but thing you can give me a lift?"

[starspangledspandex]

No, he didn't know. He could only catch up on so much information. So as far as Steve knew, he was stuck with the wrong person. Well, not necessarily wrong, just not the one he wanted. He hated to think it. All those times he wished his friend was back... Was it so wrong he moved on and found love somewhere else?

"Anything for you," he murmured and maybe it was ridiculous but he needed to show Tony that he cared about him still. Steve wasted no time in swinging the man up into his arms. "Will you be alright in the suit?"

[starkingenuity]

"J will drive me," Tony said, an arm slung around Steve's shoulder to avoid tipping over out of his reach. Not that he thought Steve would ever drop him, of course. "But we'll take a jet. I know it's not safe. Trust me. I was getting some up to date information there until you went radio silent on JARVIS," Tony pointed out.

He pretty much knew why that was too. It was just better not to think about it.

"We don't have a choice. We have to find him and get you both to a hospital as quickly as possible if this... If we can get him to agree to a separation."

He had mixed feelings about that, too.

[starspangledspandex]

"Alright," Steve said without argument. He trusted Tony and JARVIS to know what he was capable of doing right now. He actually went radio silent to avoid being killed but yeah, the rest of it was something Steve wasn't sure he wanted to think about either.

"...separation?" he asked slowly, glancing down at the man's face in confusion. He knew what it sounded like but that wasn't possible. Right? "I don't follow."

[starkingenuity]

"Do you want to be bonded to James Barnes?" He waited for Steve to just give him that puppy dog look again before the tightness of his face eased considerably and he lightly touched Steve's cheek. "There's a chemical that can dissolve a bond when it's injected. It's mostly used for drunken one night stands or rape. If we find him in the next few hours... Well it's less of a risk to you."

[starspangledspandex]

He felt horrible shaking his head but he did it anyway. It made his forehead crease and sad, worried lines appeared beside his eyes. He canted his head slightly into the touch. His bond made it feel awkward but he ignored it.

"I didn't know that was possible," he admitted, then sighed. If he had known, he might not have freaked out on Bucky. As it was, he didn't know if the man would agree to it. "What if he doesn't agree?"

[starkingenuity]

That made his eyes darken and disappear from Steve's sight as he laid his head back on Steve's lap. "I pull favors and force it." Tony was use to getting what he wanted.

There was need at first sight with Steve. And then, as they dated, love.

Tony wasn't the sort of man that could let anything go.

"Jarvis, tell Banner to meet us at the quinjet with something to get this cotton out of my head."

[starspangledspandex]

Silently, Steve nodded and he wasn't surprised by the answer. He would greatly prefer that Bucky just give him permission. He didn't want to alienate the man more than he already did rejecting him. He hated that it even came down to this. Why couldn't something just go right for him?

Banner was waiting when they arrived at the Quinjet, though he was frowning at them both, and particularly at Tony. "I can give you something to help but drugs like that really only wear off naturally. What's the hurry?"

[starkingenuity]

"I can't fight like this." Tony still had to hold onto Steve even when he was put down and the suit flown over to them. "And then I'm going to need you to get the prototype serum ready...."

He looked up at Steve and smirked.

"Oh yeah. So we probably figured out what was wrong. It's not with you. It's with me. I need a little Sentinel in me."

And that probably explained Bucky Barnes.

[starspangledspandex]

"This should help fight off some of the effects," The doctor moves forward with a syringe and gently injects Tony with it. "But I can't promise it will be perfect."

Steve stares at the man beside him for a moment and decides that it does make sense. It's also very telling what's happened to Bucky over the last seventy years.

"Fitz and Simmons are working on possibilities for the serum. We want to make sure we get the right mix compared to Steve's blood. We can't put too much Sentinel in you," Bruce says, glancing between them. "It has to be compatible with his levels. We can't just guess."

"Wait," he says, mind turning over and his forehead creases again. "So theoretically, if someone else is part Sentinel and Guide, they might not be compatible. They have to be the right mix?"

"Correct," says Bruce, nodding. "It's very difficult to nail down--"

"Hydra," Steve interrupts, looking at Tony. "Hydra had to have planned this. How else would he be compatible?"

[starkingenuity]

"Bingo," Tony nodded, watching Bruce thin his lips out as he gave him his injection. He could already feel his heart quickening and his head clear up after only a few moments. "It has to be why he was trackable." He ought to feel badly for Bucky still. The man was being used as a pawn even now, but Tony needed Steve. Touching him was futile and almost painful, the muscle memory of having a bond aching in his chest.

Steve couldn't complete his end of it because there was nothing in Tony for him to bond to...that little bit of Sentinel for the remains of his Guide to link to.

Tony put a hand on Bruce's shoulder and gave him a squeeze as the armor flew over and docked to the quinjet. "We could probably use you if you want to come along. Bring your siren song. And where's our pain in the neck archer? And your great american bald eagle friend? NNo, my nicknames are terrible right now," he lamented. "Don't hold it against me."

[starspangledspandex]

Bruce was silent as he made the injection and then checked Tony's pulse, even though the man was awake and standing there. He would have to suffer through it.

"I'm telling all my friends," Steve teased, though it was a little half-hearted because he was more worried about what was going to happen than anything right now.

The scientist looked unsure. "I'm not sure a code green is anything we want to deal with right now. I can get Natasha and Clint in motion though. I know they're waiting on something to happen."

[starkingenuity]

"If HYDRA has him, and he was programmed to do all of this, we're going to need all the help we can get." Who knew where Thor was these days. He was probably hanging out in Viking Heaven, drinking too much alcohol and sleeping with all the lady Vikings.

Tony watched Bruce take his vitals, feeling better already. His nickname prowess, however, would just have to go without saving. He'd prove himself again later.

"I have a lot of Avenging to do. And I like your other side. Less cuddly but he gives great hugs anyway."

[starspangledspandex]

Bruce frowned, looking unsure as he glanced between Tony and Steve, before he finally said, "I'll come, but the other guy is only showing up if there's an emergency."

"Thank you, Bruce," Steve said, tilting his head forward. "We appreciate the help. If you could contact Natasha and Clint--"

"Yeah, it'll only take a second."

[starkingenuity]

"Do you get that there's this thing between Widow and my BFF? Because I get that there's a thing between them," Tony gossiped as he joined Steve in the quinjet, waiting. "Like it's that Reeba McIntyre song?" He hummed a few bars, grinning, before the grin faded away at the weight of the situation.

His Sentinel was bonded. It felt wrong to still love him. There was a part of him that said to move on. To find another. But how could he do that?

[starspangledspandex]

"There is," Steve confirmed, because he didn't just suspect it, he was positive. He may or may not have talked to Bruce about it in passing.

Steve didn't recognize the song his Guide was humming and gave him a sad smile as he trailed off.

He glanced around and stepped closer to the man, hesitating before leaning in to give him a brief kiss. He couldn't do more than that without the bond protesting but it was something. "I love you. We'll sort this out. I promise."

[starkingenuity]

That kiss was bittersweet and Tony kept his eyes closed for some time after Steve drew away. He still said nothing.

The quinjet filled half an hour later with their colleagues and before Tony could even guide the plane to their location, HYDRA was already upon them. The plane fell from the sky but Tony and Sam managed to keep it from damaging everyone inside (or getting a Code Green too early).

The fight was already on though.

[starspangledspandex]

It hurt, probably more than it should, but hurt that Tony didn't say anything. He barely even looked at Steve and the Sentinel withdrew to the other side of the plane away from him.

He'd managed to drive away both of the people that loved him. He was a terrible Sentinel and a terrible bondmate. Why would Tony bond him again? Right now he was free. Steve's bond might be dissolved but it didn't change the fact that, however accidentally, he had bonded someone else.

Guilt and sorrow rolled off him until he clamped down on it. He couldn't be this way in front of his team. They needed him to be strong and capable.

Bucky was there. No, not Bucky. The monster they turned him into and Steve made it clear over the comms that under no terms were they to use lethal force on him. Unfortunately, this was problematic and a wrongly timed explosion, paired with a Hydra soldier in a bad place initiated a code green.

It also blew Steve backward through a building hard enough to daze him and when Hydra soldiers dragged him to his feet, he barely struggled. Of course, Bucky be in such close proximity probably helped. He felt like safety even if logically, Steve knew better.

[whothehellisbucky]

Bucky gently touched Steve's face. He was born a Sentinel but that didn't mean that he couldn't act like a Guide. He had enough Guide in him to be the part of the bond that Steve was clinging to. HYDRA needed him and Steve needed a bondmate.

There was a calmness that Bucky projected to Steve that might be startling to the blond... But Bucky was his bond mate. The tug to give in and accept was so extremely high.

It was followed up by a soft nuzzle under Steve's neck, a particularly potent move many Guides (including Tony) actively participated in and enjoyed.

[starspangledspandex]

Steve did give in. He was a little surprised but he was far enough out of it that he didn't question it. He just drifted into the touch and he wanted to wrap his arms around Bucky to pull him close.

However, the Hydra soldiers weren't confident enough in Bucky's ability to keep him settled and they held on tight as they ushered him toward a van. The two soldiers could cuddle later. After they blanked Captain America out like they had the Winter Soldier.

There was a lot of chaos and smoke to shield them. He couldn't fight with Bucky following beside them. So when things calmed down, when Hydra retreated and the Avengers regrouped--Steve wasn't there.