A/N: This is going to be the second to last chapter I post for two weeks (basically the chapter for Bucky's birthday will be the last for two weeks) that way I can try to write a few more chapters instead of always being behind.

Sam looked over at Bucky, trying to gauge where the other man was at mentally. He had called Tessa to explain the situation to her, sure that he'd have to give her the keys to Bucky's apartment to retrieve Alpine; luckily it hadn't come to that, but when Bucky found out he had been upset with Sam "It's none of her damn business." He'd said as they got into the car, and Sam started to drive back to New York.

"What was I supposed to tell her, Bucky? I couldn't just call her and tell her that she had to take Alpine. She would have thought you had changed your mind about keeping her and then wondered why you never contacted her again and never showed up at her work or apartment."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"Why do you keep trying to push her away? Do you think that none of us know how you feel about her?" Bucky had just scoffed and turned away from him, not saying another word. Sam turned the radio on, and for the next several hours, the only sound in the car was the music.

Tessa didn't see Bucky that night; apparently, he had gone straight home and gone to bed to avoid talking to her, and he hadn't shown up to walk her to work, which didn't bother her that much. It had been long enough and after no contact from Travis, she was sure that he had no clue where she was and that she didn't need a super-soldier chaperone. She did miss getting to talk to him on the way there though; the subway felt lonely without him there and she silently wondered if maybe she should have tried to text or call him to ask him to join her, but something told her that he still wasn't in a good mood. After work, she decided just to go over and check on Bucky, he only lived a few blocks away from her, and she knew the address, so other than the fact that she would be dropping by unannounced and uninvited, she didn't see the problem. As she walked up to the door, she spotted something out of the corner of her eye; she turned to look and saw a little white kitten with its head tilted at her.

Its paws were up on the window as it looked at her as if asking her what she was doing there. "You must be Alpine." She said as she put a finger on the window and laughed as she watched the kitten chase her finger in an attempt to catch it. A second later, she saw a familiar shiny black hand reach out and pull the curtain back to see who Alpine was playing with. She watched as Bucky's face appeared, she waved to him, and he moved away. For a second, she thought that he didn't want to talk to her and was ignoring her until she heard his door open. "What are you doing here? It's getting late." He said as he looked at the setting sun.

"I just wanted to check on you. You know, make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine."

"Come on; Buck don't try to shut me out." Bucky let out a sigh and moved so that she could walk in. She took her coat and hoodie off, placing them on the coat rack by the door. She took one look at him and let out a sigh. "Something is bothering you. What is it?"

"He called me an asset."

"Who? Sam? Why would he…"

"Not Sam. Walker."

"I'm going to kick his ass." Tessa mumbled as she shook her head.

"I'd pay money to see that."

"Is that all that's got you upset?"

"It's just the way he talked to Sam and me earlier. Like because he's Captain America now that we were part of the package deal. And then he had the nerve to try and intimidate us when we refused to work with him."

"Really? What did he say to you?"

"Well, he gave this whole spiel about how working together to stop the Flag Smashers would benefit everyone."

"Well, it would."

"Yeah, but Tessa, he has to do what the government says when they say. He's their puppet, nothing more. Sam and I don't have to, so it's easier for us to do what needs to be done to stop this."

"I don't know, Buck. It still sounds like a bad idea."

"Government can't prove anything we do, and they won't be tracking us." Tessa let out a sigh and put her head down.

"Alright. Let's say that you and Sam go off by yourselves. You do something you shouldn't to get information, and the government finds out. What do you think will happen?" she asked. When he just stared at her, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "They'll send both of you back to the Raft. Is that where you want to go?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then why are you trying to get sent back there so badly?"

"I'm not! I'm not going to just sit back and do nothing while Walker goes all over the globe chasing these guys and getting nowhere because he'll always be ten steps behind them because of the government." Tessa let out a sigh and shook her head.

"This is going to end badly. I just have this feeling."

"It'll be fine. Everything will work out in the end, you'll see." He said before he started heading towards his kitchen. "Hungry? I figured you came here right after work, so you haven't had time to get anything to eat." He said before rummaging around for something to make them. In the end, he made some roast beef sandwiches for them. She stayed for a few hours before he walked her home, promising that he wouldn't do anything too extreme.

Tessa was cleaning one of the displays when she heard someone walk up behind her. She stopped and turned to see who she recognized as Olivia Walker; the other woman stood there as if having expected her to notice her sooner. "Can I help you?" Tessa asked her.

"I wanted to talk to you about Bucky." Olivia said.

"And why would I tell you anything about James?"

"I'm not asking you anything about him. I just wanted to talk to you about him working with John."

"Pretty sure he already told him no. Did he not tell you?"

"He did, but we think it would be helpful if."

"You realize that when a man says no, it still applies, right? It doesn't matter if it's about having sex or doing something for you. No means no. And James already told him no, so it's a no."

"But if Bucky would just reconsider."

"Why? Why do you need him so badly? Let me guess. It's because he's an asset, is that it?"

"I never said that."

"No, your husband did. So you can go home and give your husband this message. James already told him no. I'm telling you no. Don't like it? Tough shit. And the next time I hear that John called him an asset, I won't hesitate to knock his perfect white teeth down his throat, and believe me when your godfather's Tony Stark, you can get your hands on some really impressive equipment. Now I think you better leave before I call for security." Tessa said as she advanced on the other woman. Olivia stared at her wide-eyed the whole time, her mouth slightly open; it was probably the first time since John had become Captain America that anyone had said no to them. Tessa raised an eyebrow before she put a hand on her radio. Olivia let out a huff before storming away. "Oh, and I hope John enjoys the shield while he still has it. Won't be long before Sam gets it back." Tessa called out before returning to her cleaning.