Chapter twenty four
"So how are you holding up?" Pepper asked as she and Tracey at the kitchen counter. The ginger woman placed a cup of tea in front of the blonde. "You've been on that laptop of yours for weeks now."
"Thanks," Tracey mumbled, running a hand through her hair as she stared at her computer screen. She thought she was getting closer to being finished with all of HYDRA's files, but somehow more and more appeared. Work was increasing and her sleep schedule was off. But that one was her fault. She rubbed her eyes as she turned away from the glowing screen and grasped the mug. She sighed. "I'm good. I'm just slowly killing myself because I am doing what I always do when I work. I don't sleep."
Pepper laughed lightly as she sipped her cup of coffee. "We keep telling you to take a break and catch up on sleep."
"I know, I know," the hacker said, nodding her head before blowing on her tea. She took a sip, relishing in the calming flavor. She sniffed it and gave her friend a sly look. "Did you give me that Sleepy Time tea?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Pepper said, trying to hide a smile on her face as she bit her lip.
Tracey shook her head, but continued to drink the tea. She hoped that it would work and knock her out. She shook her head, holding a hand up at the laptop. "It's just that every time I think I'm done, more files pop up."
"Well as long as we get them before HYDRA everything will be fine," the red head replied. "But you need to get sleep, Tracey."
"I know," she said, waving a hand dismissively.
Pepper shook her head, chuckling. "Bucky needs to come home soon. He's the only one who was able to get you to sleep."
"That's because he would hide my laptop and literally dragged me to bed," Tracey said with an eye roll.
"You two are good for each other," Pepper said, placing a hand on the techie's.
Tracey smiled. "Thank you…"
"You miss him, don't you?" the red head said, smiling fondly at her.
"Yeah, I do," she said, blushing. "It's weird not having him around."
"How long have you two been dating now? Four months?"
"Five," Tracey said, smiling widely as she turned her head down towards the keyboard. "But he's been gone for a month now so six." She looked up at Pepper, a sad look on her face. "How do you handle it when Tony goes out on missions?"
Pepper sighed. "I handle it the same way you handle it when Barry goes out. I worry. I worry to death and keep praying that he comes home safely and alive." She placed her cup down and ran a hand through her fiery locks. "With Tony you never know what he'll do or how he'll come back. He's spontaneous and always running around. But he also does it because he wants to protect me and everyone else. You know how he is. He hides how he really feels by cracking jokes. But he worries a lot of the time. You've seen him when it slips."
Tracey nodded, squeezing the older woman's shoulder. "He's a good man, Pepper. He loves you and does everything he can to help and protect those he loves."
Pepper smiled. "I know. But like you, I still worry every day he's gone."
The blonde bit her lip, staring down at the counter. "I'm worried about Bucky. The last time I saw him on some sort of mission was when he, Steve, and Barry rescued me. It was the first time Bucky saw anything to do with HYDRA." She paused, taking another sip of her tea. "He saw the chair that they used to wipe his memories. He snapped. He destroyed it and then he nearly killed one of the agents. I'm worried about how he's reacting at being at the base and dealing with HYDRA agents. I don't want him to regret doing something. He always looked upset when he relapsed. He always looks scared and keeps blaming himself for everything he's done. I hate seeing him like that and it worries me that he might be having a breakdown."
"I'm sure he's fine," Pepper said, squeezing her hand again. "He's been doing great since the last relapse. He wrote you that letter two weeks ago right? He has to being doing just fine."
"Yeah," Tracey smiled, thinking back to the letter he sent her.
She was excited when she saw it in the mail the day it came in. Reading it brought a large smile on her face. She could just picture the smile on Bucky's face as he wrote the letter. She had responded right away. However, she never got a reply to her letter. That worried her. But she pushed it to the back of her mind knowing that he was out there busy fighting.
"Has he replied back?" Pepper asked, breaking the blonde's train of thought.
The hacker shook her head. "No. But he's probably busy."
"But he sent that almost a week after he left. It's been a month since he's gone. He has his phone. Tony has made a few calls. I'm surprised Bucky hasn't called."
Tracey laughed. "I think he's dead set on writing letters. He never had the chance back in the forties," she said with a smile.
Pepper laughed. "That's sweet though. Maybe I should get Tony to start writing me letters."
"Hey, that's my thing with Bucky. Find your own thing," Tracey laughed, shoving her friend's shoulder playfully.
The red head laughed again as she stood up. At the sink she rinsed the remaining coffee and placed it in the dishwasher. "I have a meeting to get to with some new clients," she said, gathering up the folders and papers off the counter. "I'll see you later. Try going out to lunch with Sharon and Natasha. That'll help get your mind off of things."
"I don't think I can. They're dead asleep in their rooms right now. I think they haven't woken up since they got back yesterday," the blonde said laughing.
"Maybe that's what you should be doing as well," Pepper said, giving her a knowing look.
Tracey waved her hand. "I know, I know. Just let me finish my work."
Pepper shook her head as she walked to the elevator. "I've already told you, you've been working nonstop. Take a break," she said over her shoulder.
Tracey smiled as she watched the elevator doors close. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. After a moment's hesitation she closed her laptop and made her way to the stairs. Making it to her floor she was greeted with Dexter trotting up to her, his tongue hanging out in a goofy dog smile. His tail wagged like mad as he stared up at his master. He sat down at her feet, looking at her expectantly. She laughed and scratched his ears.
"I don't feel up for playing right now, Dex," she said, kneeling down and rubbing his head in her hands. "How about you and I take a nap?"
Dexter barked as if in response, but stayed where he was, staring at her. Tracey laughed and stood up, making her way to the bedroom. There she climbed into bed and threw the sheets over her head. Dexter climbed up as well and curled up by her feet. He stood back up when he felt her legs curl up and then settled back down in the crook of them. Tracey chuckled when she heard a sigh from the dog. She poked her head out of the sheets and scratched his butt.
"Goodnight, bud."
Laying her head back on the pillow she felt her eyes get heavy. Part of her wanted to sleep, but the other half had so many things swimming around in her head. There were the files she had to finish extracting and then there was the thought of Bucky and his mission. What was he doing? How was he handling it? Was he okay? Those and many more were scrambling in her mind. Finally, she couldn't fight it anymore and her eyes closed.
ooOOoo
Tracey woke with a jolt when she heard the shrill ringing from her phone next to her head. She sat up, looking around the room. It was dark and looking outside she saw it was night already. How long had she been asleep? Looking at the alarm clock on the night stand it read eleven. She'd been asleep for half the day!
The ringing continued and she searched for her phone amongst the sheets. Finally finding it between the comforter the other sheet she grabbed it and looked at the screen. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the caller ID picture of her and Bucky sitting on the couch together. Quickly tapping the answer button she held it up to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Hey, doll," Bucky's voice sounded in her ear.
She couldn't help but smile as she heard his voice. She missed him. "Hey, Sergeant." She stifled a yawn, but failed. She heard his chuckle through the line.
"Have you been avoiding sleep again, Tracey?" he asked. She could hear the smile on his face as he spoke.
"Maybe," she said, smiling lightly. She laughed when she heard him give an over dramatic sigh. "I finally took a nap, don't worry. A really long nap apparently," she said, glancing at the clock again.
"What time is it there?"
"Ten after eleven," she answered.
She heard him curse under his breath, making her giggle. "Sorry, baby. I forgot about the time difference."
She giggled again. "What time is it there?"
"Seven in the morning."
"How are you even up at that time?" she groaned, laying her head back down on the pillow. She felt Dexter stand up and make his way to the top of the bed where she was. She scratched his head when he curled up next to her.
Bucky chuckled. "I'm more of a morning person than you."
"Yeah," Tracey said, yawning again. She smiled. "What happened to writing letters? I haven't gotten one from you since the first one."
"As much as I'd love to write to you, calling you is a lot faster," he said. "And I'm able to hear your voice."
Tracey blushed, closing her eyes as she smiled up at the ceiling. "It's good to hear your voice too, goof."
There was a pause between them. "I miss you, Tracey. God I miss you so much."
Tracey face heated up even more and she had a large grin on her face. "I miss you too, Bucky. How's the mission going?"
"It's going well," he said. "We've been trying to get into the base, but so far no luck. There's HYDRA agents all over. They've caught on to us after the first few bases that were taken out."
She bit her cheek. "Are you okay?" she asked slowly.
She heard him breath in. "Yeah…I'm okay," he answered. "Nothing's happened so far, so who knows…"
"You'll be fine, Bucky. You're strong. I know you'll be fine."
"Thanks, darling," he chuckled. "I'll just keep thinking of you if anything happens."
"God, you're so cheesy," she laughed.
"You chose to date me," he laughed, making Tracey shake her head. "I mean it though. I keep thinking of you. I miss you so much, doll."
"I miss you too, Sergeant," she smiled.
There was a pause on his end. "I have to go, Tracey," he said urgently.
"Bucky?" Tracey bit her cheek. Her heart ached as she heard Steve's voice in the background calling out orders. She cringed, wondering what was going on where he was. She breathed out slowly. "I love you. Be safe, please."
There was silence on the other end. She swore she heard a faint exhale of breath as if Bucky was letting go of a breath he was holding. He probably was doing just that. The silence felt like hours and everything around her froze. She panicked. She shouldn't have said it. But the silence was broken and her worries were relieved a moment later when Bucky finally spoke.
"As you wish."
That was all he said, but it brought a large smile onto Tracey's face. A tear rolled down her cheek that she didn't realize were forming in her eyes as she let out a laugh.
"Bye," she said softly, hearing a by in return before the beeping of the ended call sounded in her ear.
She held the phone to her ear for a few more minutes before setting it back down next to her head. She turned onto her side and scratched Dexter's head as she stared at him.
"He'll be okay," she said, more to herself than to her pet.
She pulled the blankets back up and curled up under them. She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing sleep to wash over her once more.
ooOOoo
"I don't get why you haven't told her we're back," Steve said as he, Bucky, and Tony rode the elevator up to their designated floors. "I've told Sharon and Tony's told Pepper. Why haven't you told Tracey?"
"Because I want to surprise her," Bucky said, a smile on his face as he stared up at the floor numbers lighting up above the door. "Sharon and Pepper know not to tell her right/" he asked, looking from the super soldier to the billionaire.
"Relax, Jack Frost," Tony said with a laugh. "Pepper knows. She wouldn't want to ruin the fun for you two. Plus if I told Thing 2 I wouldn't hear the end of it from you, her, and Pepper."
"And Nat," Steve added in with a chuckle. He placed a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Relax, Buck. No one's told Tracey." The elevator stopped on his floor and opened up to reveal a dark room. Well it was two in the morning after all. The blonde soldier stepped off and turned to the other two. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted and heading to bed. I'll see you tomorrow, if I wake up."
Bucky and Tony laughed and waved goodbye to the soldier. They rode up in silence only saying something here and there before Tony's floor came up. The scientist turned to the dark haired soldier and patted his shoulder.
"Have fun tonight, Robocop," he said with a wink.
"Whatever you're thinking isn't going to happen, Stark," Bucky said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm just messing with you," Tony laughed. "Just go see that girl of yours."
The elevator doors closed and Bucky pressed the button to his and Tracey's floor. He rode down in silence, his knees bouncing. He was anxious to see Tracey. He wasn't sure if she'd be asleep or awake. He hoped awake, but he also hoped she was getting sleep. As the elevator neared their floor his heart began to beat faster and his smile grew. The elevator stop and opened up to the floor. Stepping off he was greeted by the sound of the TV on, no lights on, but a lamp next to the couch in the living room, and Dexter running at him. He ignored the dog and stared at the woman who was sitting on the couch staring back at him.
"Bucky!"
Tracey's face broke out into a grin. She jumped up and ran to him. He dropped his bag and grabbed her by the waist once she got close enough. He spun her around in the air, receiving a surprised laugh from her. Setting her down, he quickly dipped her and smashed his lips against hers. One arm was around her waist, supporting her, while the other was holding her head. Standing straight up again, he smiled widely at her as she stared dazed.
She blinked and looked at up at him. "What was that?" she laughed, blushing madly as he continued to grin down at her.
"My welcome home kiss," he said cheekily.
Tracey laughed and shook her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "Welcome home, Sergeant."
"I've missed you," he said, kissing her lips, nose, cheeks, anywhere he could on her face. The newly formed stubble on his jaw scratching and tickling her face as he did. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, his metal arm whirring as he did making Tracey giggle.
"I've missed you too," she said, giggling again as he kissed her nose again.
He held her against him, closing his eyes as he sighed happily. He was tired, but this was the best homecoming sight he could have seen.
"Why are you still up anyways?" he asked, breaking the silence.
Tracey looked down at his chest, chuckling nervously. "Uh I was working on getting the rest of the HYDRA's files."
Bucky shook his head, laughing. "Of course you were." He looked down and raised a brow when he finally looked at her. "Are you wearing my shirt and boxers?"
Tracey blushed. "I haven't gotten to laundry yet and yours was clean," she defended.
He laughed and kissed her. "It looks good on you, doll." He let go of her, taking her one of her hands in his. "Let's get to bed. Both of us need the sleep."
"Yeah," she said, nodding her head as she yawned.
Bucky chuckled and picked her up. "I get the feeling that you're going to fall asleep as soon as you try to walk."
Tracey rolled her eyes, but rested her head on his shoulder. "Probably," she said, quietly, her eyes drooping.
"Goodnight, Tracey," he said, kissing the top of her head as he walked to the bedroom.
ooOOoo
Bucky stared up at the ceiling. He couldn't sleep. As exhausted as he was he couldn't. His mind was thinking back to the mission and how they nearly didn't get away in time. The whole time in the base he was furious. He wanted to blow the place up on the spot, but he knew that they had to take down communications and the control room before they could. They were successful, but almost got caught.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He rolled over and faced the bump next to him. He smiled as he stared at Tracey. She was laying on her stomach, half of her face buried in her pillow. She was sound asleep, her back rising and falling as she breathed.
God he missed her during the mission. He couldn't stop thinking of her. The whole time he knew he had to get back for his sake and hers. She was the thing that kept him fighting. Just to be able to go back home and see her again. When he had called her he was beyond happy to hear her voice, but he was speechless when he heard her say she loved him. A smile split his face to the point he was surprised it didn't tear his face in half.
This woman was always there for him. She never backed away from him in fear, she stayed by his side always doing her best to help him. The fact that she loved him made his heart skip a beat hearing it. He stared at her. She was this beautiful, smart, amazing woman and she loved him. She was all his and she loved him.
He reached out his metal hand and lightly ran his fingers up and down her back. He smiled as he continued to stare at her. The moonlight peeking through the blinds and shining lines on her face. She was the most beautiful woman he knew.
He froze when he saw her move.
"Bucky?" she spoke with a sleep filled voice, turning her head to him.
"I'm sorry," Bucky said, retracting his hand quickly. "Did I wake you?"
She sat up on her elbows. "Yes, but its fine," she smiled, taking his hand in hers. She kissed it. "I can stay up with you if you can't sleep."
He smiled lightly down at her, stroking his hand over her cheek. He couldn't ask for anyone more perfect than Tracey. She loved him, metal arm and all. He loved her for always being there even at his worse. He kissed her on the lips. "I love you."
Through her groggy state, Tracey broke out into a large smile and wrapped her arms around him, staring up at him. She kissed him. "I love you, Bucky."
He smiled fondly down at her. This woman was definitely his and he was never going to let anyone take her from him. He kissed her once more. "I love you, Tracey. So much."
And tada! That is the end! I am sad that this is the conclusion to Winter is Ending, but also excited! My first completed story and I'm honestly glad that it's this story. I never thought I would finish it, but I'm so glad I did. I think out of all of my OCs and pairings, Bucky and Tracey are my favorite. I feel that I've developed their relationship more than any of my others.
If any of you caught the reference Bucky makes after Tracey says "I love you" ya'll are awesome ;D Also the kiss when Bucky comes home was actually inspired by the famous photo of the sailor and nurse kiss in Times Square and a mix of my winter guard show from my junior year of high school. It was a forties themed show and I fell in love with the forties after that!
As I've said before I'm going to be doing a story full of a series of oneshots and I only have a few ideas. So that means that Trucky isn't over. I also hope to do a sequel one day, I'm not sure. I'd have to mull over ideas like I did with this one. If any of you would like to send in prompts you can submit them to me on my tumblr, or pm here if you don't have a tumblr account, or if you're a guest and don't have either accounts you can leave the prompt in a review.
The new story is now up so go look up Life at the Tower!
Also feel free to send the Avengers, Madison twins, Sharon, and Pepper any questions. Or if you'd like to just chat with me feel free. I don't mind :D
My tumblr is
winter-is-ending
Thank you to invernessie41 for her question on tumblr for Bucky and Tracey. I haven't gotten any questions for Trucky and that one was fun and adorable! I couldn't stop smiling as I was figuring out the answer haha. Thank you!
My copy of Captain America just came in the mail today. Guess I'm ending the story while watching the first movie haha
Thank you so so much to everyone who has favorite, followed, and reviewed. This is the most response I have ever gotten on a story of mine and I'm beyond ecstatic! Thank you all so so SO MUCH! You all make my day! You are AMAZING!
I'm beyond grateful to everyone who stuck through the story. I still can't believe I actually finished it. This is sadly the ending of Winter is Ending, but there will be more Avengers, Madison twins, and Trucky to come.
Bye for now!
And all my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones lost from 9/11.