Chapter Text
‘Your pardon, Sergeant Barnes, but we have guests on the roof and you’re the only one who is currently available.’ Bucky sighed softly, glancing over to where Steve was sprawled out across the other half of the bed, sleeping soundly. He put a marker carefully into his book, closing it to lay it on the nightstand before rolling to his feet. He pressed a kiss to Steve’s forehead without even an attempt to wake him. Steve hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
“Alright, JARVIS, take me up.” He leaned against the wall of the elevator as it sped to the top of the tower. He didn’t go all the way up to the roof often; the way the building towered over its neighbors had him automatically contemplating sight lines and wind speeds even with no target in need of his bullet. It was tiring, frankly, and he didn’t like thinking about it. He wouldn’t hesitate to take the shot if it was needed, to defend innocents or his teammates, but he didn’t like thinking about it during downtime. He’d taken enough long-range shots during the war to have regrets, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
The man standing at the door in a sharply pressed suit looked vaguely familiar, but Bucky couldn’t stop to think of why as JARVIS slid the door open between them. There was a look of shock on the man’s face, eyes fixed on his face rather than his arm for once. Bucky raised an eyebrow, waiting for the man to say something.
“Sergeant Barnes, I’m- It’s an honor to meet you, sir.” Bucky reluctantly stretched out a hand in response to the man’s movement, shaking his hand. “I’m Phil Coulson.” Bucky stiffened, forcing his attention to stay in the present against the pressure he’d learned to identify as Beau trying to take control from him. Bucky couldn’t afford to let him.
“You’re Coulson?” he asked, running his eyes over him again appraisingly. At his nod, Bucky sighed. “JARVIS, initiate family feud protocols.” Bucky, Beau, and JARVIS had spent months going back and forth, at first over how they could best punish the handler who had so hurt Clint, and then more generally what to do if someone who’d hurt a member of the Avengers was welcomed into the building as a guest. When they’d finally presented the protocols they’d worked up Tony had quirked an eyebrow but had agreed to implement it without alterations. “Inform Clint and Natasha that he’s here, and for the love of god don’t let Beau in the same room as him.”
Bucky barely got into the next room and the door shut behind him before he lost control. He wasn’t used to fighting Beau for control; wasn’t used to being able to put the Soldier off when he wanted it. But he was intimately familiar with what Beau wanted to do to Colson as repayment for Clint’s tears, and he couldn’t let it happen. They were supposed to be better than that now that Beau wasn’t being controlled by Hydra. And also, Clint and Natasha would be very upset, and he wasn’t going to let Beau’s overly violent protective drive fuck up the most important relationship he’d ever formed, no matter how angry Beau was about it.
And he was angry about it.
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Phil looked through the door with a thoughtful frown, staring at the supersoldier standing stock still on the other side of the door with such a coldly malevolent expression that it made Skye shiver when she peered around him to look through the window.
“Wow. What’d you do to piss him off?” she asked, stepping back to settle cross legged into a chair, pulling her laptop out to sit on her lap before looking at him expectantly for an answer.
“I have no idea,” he responded slowly. “JARVIS, what’s the family feud protocol?” It hadn’t been in the system yet the last time he’d had a chance to look through JARVIS’ protocols. He’d have to find the time to take another quick look.
‘Family feud protocol is a defensive measure intended to curtail the potential harm from someone who has caused emotional pain to a member of our Avengers family. Please relax in this room until an alternate guide can be found.’
“You hurt someone on the Avengers?” Fitz asked incredulously, hugging the security briefcase to his chest nervously.
“I’m not aware of having done so.” Phil glanced over to Melinda, who raised an eyebrow at him impassively. Phil shook his head and went back to staring through the closed door at the angry supersoldier. He really couldn’t think of anything he’d done that would make Sergeant Barnes this angry with him. The door on the far side of the room opened, and Phil smiled reflexively as Nat and Clint moved to wrap their arms around the angry man. He’d missed them but they’d all been so busy since they’d discovered Hydra had survived inside SHIELD. And Nick had been correct that it would make things much easier if Phil led this team and let Nat and Clint do what they did best.
Eventually Nat broke free from the boys and approached the door. Phil didn’t move as she slipped inside, though his shoulders softened in welcome. Physical touch was not always welcome, and he didn’t want to overstep after being gone for so long. She smiled back at him, but it was her practiced smile to hide what she was thinking, not a real one.
“Been a long time.”
“Too long,” Phil replied warmly. “I missed you guys.”
“Well, it might not have been as long if you’d bothered to tell us you were alive,” she returned so lightly that it took a long moment to process what she’d said.
“What? No, I- It was the first thing I asked Nick, he said you’d been updated as soon as I was stable.” Once the first shock passed, a thought occurred to him, and he deflated. “And I was too out of it to verify. He didn’t tell you, did he?” Phil turned to look at Melinda questioningly.
“Depends on how you’re defining stable,” she responded calmly. “He didn’t want to tell the trouble twins you were alive if you were going to have to be put down.” Nat stiffened at Melinda’s blunt words, drawing herself up to glare at the other woman. “It’s- been an experience, this last year or so. We almost lost him, Romanoff.”
“Clint and I would have helped,” Nat hissed, still glaring.
“You and Clint would have made him destabilize faster. Not on purpose, of course. But he’s emotionally invested in you. And we barely got it figured out in time to save him with him surrounded by people he wasn’t supposed to care about.” Melinda turned a light glare on Phil, who just shrugged. Expecting him to not care about the agents under his command would be like expecting rain to not be wet, and Nick and Melinda should have realized that.
“So, does that mean I can come in?” Phil asked hopefully, only for his hopes to be dashed when Nat snorted.
“Not yet. First, I’ve got to explain it to Clint. And then we have to get Beau to calm down. Bucky and Beau took the brunt of it when Clint found out you were alive and hadn’t told him. They won’t warm up to you quickly.” Her voice was calm and sensible, but there was a sparkle in her eye that said that this was her revenge, petty as it was. “The rest of you can come in, though. Especially you, Fitz, let’s get you and that box up to Tony so you can take it apart.” Fitz gulped under her gaze but nodded.