Chapter 12

Bucky stared at the door to the bedroom. His lips were pursed and his eyes showed concern. Tracey was off. That much he could tell. Something was bothering her and she wasn't telling him. But that was (partially) to be expected. She was stubborn and didn't like putting her problems on others. She was more willing to help others before helping herself. She did talk to Bucky whenever she needed help. Hell, she'd talk to anyone eventually. Especially if the problem was massive. However, she tended to mostly keep it to herself as much as she could. That was a downfall for her. The blonde woman would eventually break if she kept it bottled up. How much longer would it be before she would break? Would she tell him? It had to be more than just her dad. She only found out today. There had to be something else. But what?

"How is she?" Barry asked when Bucky walked off the elevator.

The super soldier looked around at the rest of the people on the floor. All were looking at him expectantly. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "She's taking it hard. She's laying down right now," Bucky answered.

Barry groaned, running his hands down his face. "She hates me."

"I don't think she hates you, man," Trip said, walking over and placing a hand on the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent's shoulder. "She's just trying to take all the information in."

"I don't get why you didn't tell her," Skye said from her spot at the kitchen table. "I mean she's your twin sister and it's her dad too."

"You know how S.H.I.E.L.D. is about secrecy and their missions," the male Madison twin said. "Everything is hidden. Even if you rank up there's always going to be some other secret you can't know about because you need to be a higher up."

"Isn't that the truth," Skye grumbled. "But you had a whole year since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. Why didn't you tell her then?"

"I wanted to, but it's not exactly easy bringing up a topic like that. How am I supposed to tell Tracey that our dad was killed while helping S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Barry shot at her. "It's not something I wanted to keep away from my sister, but it's not something I knew how to face."

"Death isn't an easy topic ever," Coulson spoke up, looking at the Madison twin.

"You would know that, Coulson," Tony said. "You had a death experience after all."

"Let's not forget the number of times you almost died as well, Tony," Coulson retaliated, smirking when he saw the billionaire grumble something to himself. He turned back to Barry. "Just give Tracey some time. She just needs to be by herself for a bit. She's mad, she doesn't hate you." The director gave the young man a pat on the shoulder before he directed his attention to the rest of the group around him. "But for right now all we can do is find Michael Burnow. We need to track his location via the robo bug." He looked to the brunette hacker in the kitchen. "Anything yet?"

"Nothing," Skye said, biting her lip. "Do you think they found out about the camera?"

"Let's hope not," Bobbi said, crossing her arms as she leaned back in her seat on the couch. "This Burnow guy is already a ghost. I don't think we need him disappearing again."

"We can only hope that doesn't happen," Coulson said, furrowing his brow. "If they found that camera we're one step behind and have less progress in finding him."

While everyone listened to the director, Bucky's mind wandered somewhere else. It wandered to his and Tracey's floor where his girlfriend was. There was something up. Ever since the recent super soldier attack she has been acting strange. She's been skittish and secretive. She was worrying him. He didn't know what was going on and he wanted to help. But if she kept refusing to talk to him he was going to have to find a different way of figuring out what was going on.

He turned on his heel, waving bye to the others before he walked onto the elevator. He pursed his lips as he thought over what to do. But no matter what, he couldn't think of a single idea on how to get Tracey to talk or to even get the information on his own. The only thing he could possibly do was confront the blonde.

He was in front of the bedroom door before he even registered that he had reached the floor. He sighed as he stared at the door. It was quiet. He didn't hear Tracey. He hoped that meant she was getting some sleep. God knew everyone needed it with this mission.

Pushing the door open and walking in he found Tracey curled up on the bed. He sighed. Thank God she was asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed next to her and placed a hand on her arm. Knowing her as well as he did, she most likely took forever to fall asleep. Whatever was going on with her swarming around in her head, making it impossible to settle down and relax. He understood that feeling all too well. Restless nights of reliving his time with Hydra causing very little sleep for him. But the thing that made things easier was that Tracey was there for him. And yet she wouldn't let him help her…

He frowned. What could he do?

His eyes landed on the phone next to her pillow. He paused, staring at the device. He recalled how frantic she was when it went off earlier. She was quick to push him away once it did. He frowned and reached for it. Whoever was calling her had to be the cause of what was going on.

"Damnit," he hissed. It was locked.

This worried him even more. She never locked her phone. She never had a need to. Something was definitely wrong if she was locking her phone.

He set the phone back where it was and stood up. He looked down at his girl before he walked out of the room. He needed to do something. Clear his head. Talk to someone. The gym maybe? Steve? Maybe both. He just needed help with this.

ooOOoo

He glared at the bag in front of him as he threw punch after punch. The sound of his fists hitting the fabric keeping a steady and loud rhythm. Sweat ran down his brow as he swung his fists. He was frustrated. He was frustrated in the mission. He was frustrated in the fact that Tracey was keeping something from him. But he was mostly frustrated in himself for not being able to help his own girlfriend. The same question kept repeating itself over and over again in his head: What could he do?

He punched the punching bag with more force each time. So many things were going through his head and none of them had answers. They were only questions and worries.

"Buck!"

Bucky blinked as his train of thought was interrupted. He looked at the bag that was now across the room, laying in a ripped up pile of fabric and sand. When did that happen? He turned to his left to see Steve looking at him with a raised brow.

"Something on your mind?" the blonde super soldier asked, walking over to his best friend. He placed his hands on his hips, waiting for his friend to reply.

Bucky looked at his hands as he began taking the tape off his flesh hand. "Nothing," he grumbled as he unwrapped the tape.

"Yeah, sure,' Steve scoffed. "What's up?"

Bucky pursed his lips as he glared at the ground. "What was going?" on was the same question he kept asking himself. He groaned, throwing the tape on the ground and taking a seat on one of the benches against the wall.

"Don't say nothing," Steve said, taking a seat next to Bucky. "That was definitely not nothing."

Bucky sighed, running his metal hand through his hair. "It's Tracey."

"Did you two have a fight?"

"No," the dark haired man said, shaking his head. "She's been acting weird."

"Does it have anything to do with the news about her dad? Sharon told me," he said, adding the last part when Bucky gave him a questioning look.

"I don't think that's the only thing," Bucky said after a moment. "She's been acting frantic and quiet since the recent attack."

"Wasn't that when Burnow's guy followed after her?" the blond haired man inquired. "Did something happen after that?"

"I'm not sure… She left with Skye after that." The metal armed soldier's brow furrowed as he thought over that incident. The man had gone after her. Even when he knew that she didn't have the bug, he still went after her. Why was that?

"Maybe you should talk to Skye," Steve offered. "Maybe Tracey told her something."

"And not me? Steve, Tracey tells me everything that's on her mind," Bucky said, giving his friend a look.

"Yeah and sometimes you have to pry it out of her, right? Look, maybe it was something she needed to talk to a girl about, you know, get some advice. Girl talk. Tracey loves you, I wouldn't get worked up over it if she did talk to Skye and not you."

"I know, but…I-I…I don't know. I'm just worried," Bucky sighed, staring down at his hands in his lap.

Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know, Buck. But everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Yeah, but will it? Bucky thought.

ooOOoo

"Hey, Skye," Bucky called out as he walked into the lab. He nodded his head to Jemma, Fitz, and Trip when he walked in, all greeting him as well. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Bucky, what's up?" Skye asked, sitting up straighter in her seat.

"After the last incident with the super soldier, when Tracey and you left, did she seem different? Was she acting weird?"

Skye pursed her lips. "Well, she was a bit quiet when she got in the car," she answered. "I asked her about it and she said that it was nothing. Something to do with nearly being attacked?" she said, looking up at the super soldier with a questioning look.

"Yeah, that guy we were looking for showed up and was following her. I'm not sure why," Bucky said, folding his arms across his chest.

"She mentioned that. I just assumed that was it and didn't really ask anything else." She paused as her brow furrowed. "Why do you ask?"

"Something's up with her. She's been acting quiet since then. I'm not sure what's going on. She won't tell me. I was hoping she said something to you."

"Sorry," the hacker said with a frown. "Wish I could help, but that's all she told me."

"I'm sure she's fine," Trip spoke up, placing a hand on the super soldier's shoulder. "She's probably just tired after trying to find the information on Burnow. I know Skye here needs some sleep. She's a grouch when she goes for days without any."

"Hey, you're no princess either, pal," the brunette said, pointing a finger at her grinning friend.

"It's like Trip said," Jemma spoke up from her spot at the table she and Fitz were working at. "It could be she's just tired. I wouldn't worry too much about it," she said, offering the super soldier a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Tony called out, walking up to the group from his spot in the back of the lab, "I wouldn't worry too much about it Queen Elsa. Mona Lisa is just taking in the information on her dad a bit too hard and she's been working on that computer of hers for days now. She's a trooper, but a bit scary when she doesn't get sleep. Don't worry about it." He turned to Fitz and Simmons. "So anything on the bug's tracking?"

"We're trying to figure it out," Jemma said, frowning as she looked at her tablet. "We think someone tampered with it."

"What makes you say that?" Trip asked.

"The um…uh…the um…" Fitz said, snapping his fingers as he looked at his own tablet.

"Transmission," Jemma offered.

"Transmission," he said, shooting her a very quick glare. "The transmission isn't coming through. They must have figured out that we tried to use the bug to track them," he finished, looking up at everyone else.

Tony put a hand under his chin, nodding his head. "Alright, well that sucks. We're going to have to figure something else out."

"I'll go let Coulson know," Skye said, grabbing her laptop and getting up from her seat.

"I'll go with you," Jemma said, following the other brunette out of the lab.

It was silent once the two women left, leaving the four men to themselves. Fitz stayed at the table, as silent as the other three, and worked on something on his tablet. Bucky and Tony looked at each other, giving the other the same look they were being given. They turned to Trip, raising a brow. The dark skinned man shook his head, knowing full well what they were wondering. The two Avengers turned to Fitz.

"So," Tony began, "want to tell Uncle Tony what's going on with you and Queen Elizabeth?"

"Jemma?" Fitz asked, staring at the billionaire with slightly wide eyes. He shook his head, turning back to his work. "Nothing's going on."

"No offense, but that's a bunch of bullshit we all can see."

"It's nothing," the male scientist persisted.

"You can tell them, man," Trip said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're all friends here."

Ftiz remained silent, staring at his tablet and not daring to look up at the three men in front of him. He sighed before putting the tablet on the table. "Something happened a while ago that um…changed me. Jemma and I were trapped underwater. When we escaped there was only enough um…oxygen for one. My brain wasn't able to get air and now that's why I have trouble finding um words."

"That doesn't explain why you are being a bit harsh to her," Bucky said, folding his arms as he listened.

"Before we escaped I had told Jemma…how I felt." Fitz looked down at his feet, pursing his lips. "We were back on the team eventually, but after a while she left and I felt abandoned… She's my best friend and she left when I needed help."

"Kid…" Tony said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He squeezed it, giving the younger scientist a small smile. "I'm sorry to hear that. But the thing is, Jemma is back. She has been trying to help you from what I've seen, but you won't let her. You keep pushing her back."

"You need to talk with her, let her back into your life," Bucky added in. "If she's your best friend you're going to regret pushing her away. Even if she doesn't return your feelings she's someone important to you, right?" Fitz nodded. "You just need to sit down and talk with her. Let her back in. You will seriously regret it if you don't talk with her."

Fitz nodded once more, pursing his lips. "Right…"

"I told you," Trip said, patting his friend's back. "We're all friends and we're here to help."

The accented scientist gave a small smile to the other three. "Thank you."

"Any time, kid," Tony said with a smile. "Now come on. I'm starving. I'm treating you to some Shawarma."

"What's Shawarma?" both Fitz and Trip asked.

"Oh man," Tony exclaimed, shaking his head. "You two seriously need to have a tour of this city. How do you not know what Shawarma is?"

Bucky chuckled as he followed the three men out of the lab. But his smile didn't last long. As he trailed behind them he couldn't help, but think of how he needed to talk to Tracey. What was going on with her? If Skye didn't know then clearly Tracey hadn't told anyone else. He frowned. He was going to find out. He was going to help if he could.

Woo! Chapter 12 is done! Okay, seriously this story is actually coming a lot faster than I had thought it would. It's also becoming a lot longer than I thought it would, which I'm glad! I was worried I'd be cutting so much stuff out and just making it a shorter story than Winter is Ending. Whether it will be longer or a few chapters shorter I cannot tell you that because I don't even know that myself.

So with this chapter I wanted to focus on Bucky. I've been showing what's going on with Tracey's life, but I haven't been focusing on him that much and I wanted to give his look on what's going on. I gave some focus on him during the first few chapters with his concern about the men becoming super soldiers and the whole memory loss thing. I also wanted to have some of the Avengers interact with Coulson's team which is why I added the bit with Tony, Bucky, and Fitz. I LOVE Fitzsimmons on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and after season 1 my otp was basically crushed. I'm hoping things will be fixed with them this season, fingers crossed.

I also focused on Fitz and Simmons because Jo left a review asking if Jemma was going to be with someone else or with Fitz. I'm sorry I haven't answered that until now! To answer it, no Jemma will not be with anyone else. I LOVE Fitz and her. But I'm also sticking with the fact that they aren't on the best of terms at the moment.

That being said, I wanted to let everyone know that I'm sticking with season 2 obviously, but I'm also basing it in the middle of the beginning of the second season. This being because as much as I'm excited about finding out Skye has powers, I didn't want to focus on that in this story. That's for AoS's team to handle. Plus we don't know much about her powers so even if I wanted to have a bit of focus on them I wouldn't know what to write about that and I didn't want all the focus from Bucky and Tracey taken away since it's a Captain America Bucky/OC story.

That's all I wanted to say that I should have said a while ago. Sorry for that!

If you'd like to ask the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower like Rhodey, Pepper, Sharon, Darcy, Jane, and Betty, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr. And I'm thinking that since Coulson and his team are currently in the tower for a limited time why not include them? So feel free to ask the Avengers and Coulson's team any questions! But it's only while I'm writing this story. Once it's done they will be gone. Sorry!

Also if you have any prompts for Life at the Tower/AUs, feel free to message me on tumblr, PM me here, or leave it in a review.

My tumblr is winter-is-ending

Thank you so much for the favorites, follows, and reviews. I love reading the reviews and they make my day. They also reassure me because like I keep saying (and sorry I keep saying this) I'm nervous that this story isn't going as well as Winter is Ending, but your reviews are making me feel a lot better about it! Thank you!