"Hey, glad to see that you're not grounded from using your laptop." Alex said with a smile, Renata pushed him, and he let out a laugh as he wobbled in his chair.

"Are we five or something?" Renata asked, and all four of them laughed out loud.

"So Tess. How are you doing since you haven't been around your boyfriend almost all the time?" Emily asked. Both Renata and Alex started laughing while Tessa sat there in stunned silence. "Well?" Emily asked; she and Tessa stared at each other for a few seconds. Emily's gray eyes showed merriment as she waited for her answer.

"Wow, you are a blonde. Bucky and I aren't together." She said with an eye roll.

"Okay, keep telling yourself that." Emily said with a grin. Tessa felt her face heating up, and she turned away for a second while she tried to calm herself down.

"What are you picking on me for? What about you and Robert?" Tessa asked. Emily's jaw dropped, and Alex and Renata fell over each other from laughing so hard.

"Yeah, come on, Em. Tell us, how are you and Robert doing?" Alex asked, putting his head in his hands, his hazel eyes glassy from unshed tears, and they could see a few rolling down his sepia-colored skin.

"Nothing is going on between Robert and me." Emily said with a huff while she crossed her arms.

"And nothing is going on between Bucky and me." Tessa said with a smirk.

"There better not be. I told you, I find out that he got you pregnant, and he doesn't marry you. I'm blasting his head off." Tony shouted from the hallway. All four of them jumped, and Tessa turned to glare at Tony.

"I think that Steve will have a problem with you shooting his best friend's head off."

"He'll get over it."

"Or it'll lead to another civil war." Tessa mumbled before she turned back to the screen.

"Okay, now, in all honesty, Tess. Do you like Bucky?" Renata asked.

"Of course I like Bucky. I know Sam always teases him for being grumpy, but he's a nice guy underneath that. He's taken me out to eat a few times, and he's even stayed late to talk to me. If he can't walk me home, he always texts or calls me to make sure I make it home okay. And he doesn't get mad if I push for too much information; he lets me know that he doesn't want to tell me. He's shown up with my favorite ice cream and has a hot heating pad ready whenever I'm cramping, and he always helps out around the apartment before he leaves. He's done so much stuff for me; how can I not like him?" she asked.

"Okay, you can deny it all you want, but Bucky's got it bad for you." Renata said with a laugh.

"He does not."

"Tess. Emily and I don't know what your favorite ice cream is, and we've known you since we were little girls."

"Hell, I still have to ask Renata what flavor she likes, and we've been together ten years." Alex said with a snort.

"He's a super soldier. He has excellent memory." Tessa said while looking away.

"Steve's got horrible memory. Remember Tess for the first two years of his relationship with Nat we had to tell him when their anniversary and her birthday were because he couldn't remember. Now that I say that out loud, I make Steve look like a horrible boyfriend and Bucky like a godsend," she watched as Tony faked a shiver "remind me to never do that again."

"Gladly, because you guys are wrong. Bucky doesn't like me like that." She said.

"Oh, you sweet summer child. I can't figure out if you're oblivious or naïve." Tony said before walking away. He pulled his phone out and sent a text to Steve asking him if he had gotten anywhere with Bucky. Not exactly. I think he knows that he feels something for her, but he's afraid to say anything aloud. He doesn't feel like he deserves anyone, let alone her. Tony rolled his eyes.

They're both idiots. Steve sent a laughing face, and Tony let out a little laugh himself. He walked into his bedroom, where Pepper was sitting in bed with Morgan curled closely beside her, fast asleep. "Hey." Pepper whispered, and Tony smiled at her. "Any luck?' she asked as Tony carefully got into bed beside her.

"No. I think Steve got further with Bucky than I did with Tessa. She's not denying that she likes him, more like she doesn't want to admit how much she likes him for some reason."

"Travis put her through hell. He put it in her head that no one would want her other than him. Give them time and let them decide if they're meant to be together instead of trying to push them together." She said as she gently stroked his cheek. Tony let out a hum and closed his eyes. He knew that she was right, but she had promised Wyatt and Rose at their funeral that he would take care of Tessa as if she was his own even though she was going to live with Wyatt's family.

"I just don't want her getting hurt over this." He said sadly. Suddenly, he jumped up from the bed, and Pepper scolded him for almost waking Morgan when she saw him heading towards the door.

"Tony. Tony, where are you going?" she asked as he headed down the hallway. Tessa watched him run past her bedroom in confusion before she slowly turned back to her laptop screen with a shrug. Tony ran down to his office and started up his programing; he was an idiot sometimes. It was one thing to be the goddaughter of Iron Man, but it was a completely different thing to be the girlfriend of the former Winter Soldier. He knew that Pepper definitely wouldn't approve, and neither would Bucky, but he would be damned if he lost her like he lost her parents.

"Alright," he said as he brought his hands up, "time to get to work."