A/N: I'm still alive my friends! Sorry for the extremely long wait... Hope you enjoy :)

She had been standing in the middle of the room for over an hour when finally her shoulder began to ache. Daisy looked around at the people who sat spread throughout the common area. Their various reactions showed Daisy that everyone was absorbing the information in their own ways. She didn't blame them. Finding out that Coulson was still alive after being stabbed in the battle of New York? It was hard to believe. And Daisy hadn't even begun to dive into all of the things that the new SHIELD had gotten involved in after the fall.

"Listen, I know it's a lot to take in," Daisy stated, "but I'm gonna be honest here, I'm kind of in pain and it's been a long twenty-four hours. So if you don't mind, I need to crash. I can give further explanation later and answer any questions if needed."

Steve had been staring at his hands lost in thought, but Daisy's words brought him back to the present. There was so much to process, so he didn't mind the idea of everyone getting rest and some time to dwell on what was shared. Steve suddenly felt bad for being insensitive to the agent standing in front of him. He knew what it was like to be forced to debrief despite being injured and he had just made Daisy do that exact thing.

"Yes of course," Steve stated matter-of-factly. "Tony, I can show her to the spare room on our floor if it's open to use?"

Tony glanced up at the sound of his name. If Daisy was reading his expression correctly, the man looked like he was about to seek DC out if only to make him wish he had never been brought back to life in the first place.

He was pissed.

"Yeah, whatever," Tony said with a wave of his hand.

Steve stood up from where he sat next to Natasha and gestured for Daisy to follow him as he walked away from the room filled with disgruntled heroes. While she could understand why everyone was frustrated, it's not like she had control over the situation. Daisy was loyal to Coulson and was officially here under orders. She didn't want to be near her soulmate in the first place, let alone living in the same building as him.

Daisy had been careful to avoid the Avengers ever since the original plan fell through to inform them of the new SHIELD. DC was adamant that everyone within his organization stay as far away from the heroes as possible and Daisy held true to that far after her clearance had been revoked.

Even if she had never experienced seeing Barnes, Daisy still would have never returned to her favorite bar again. She loved going to the place to elude her responsibilities, but she wouldn't risk exposing her friends— no, her family— just for the sake of comfort every once in a while. She held true to Coulson's orders— until now that is.

Rogers led her down the hall and they passed what Daisy recognized to be the Avengers rooms. Every door had some form of design painted on it that distinguished to whom each room belonged. It wasn't long before Steve paused outside of a door near the end of the hall that was bare in comparison to the personalized living spaces.

"This room is yours for as long as you need. I'll make sure Tony adds you into JARVIS's system so you have clearance to the essential areas." Steve began walking away, but turned around as she opened the door to the room. "And Daisy," he said, "please give him a chance."

Daisy watched as the captain walked back to the common area. Bucky may deserve a chance, but she didn't.

It didn't go unnoticed to Daisy that the door across from hers was adorned with a bright red star.

Bucky stopped his bike outside of the run down diner. He had been riding around the city aimlessly for almost an hour before he decided to stop. Steve had brought Buck here when he first moved into Avengers tower and was getting used to modern living. It was a low key diner that seemed to scarcely get any business; Bucky had no idea how it was still up and running.

When he and Steve had originally walked through the creaky doors of the building, Bucky was expecting the staff to react in some way. It had caught him off guard when the workers didn't bother to give the two super soldiers a second glance. Since that moment, this diner had become his place.

This was the one place in the city where he felt like he could escape for a while. No one here cared who he was or what he'd done.

Here he could just be.

Bucky walked through the familiar doors and nodded at the waitress as he took a seat in the corner booth. He was near the window here and could see the entire dining area as well as the whole street. Even though Hydra was long gone, Bucky continued to stay vigilant when in public.

The waitress placed a cup of black coffee in front of Bucky and smiled politely.

"The usual," she stated. "It's on the house today. You look like you need it." She winked before turning around and walking back into the kitchen.

Bucky picked up the mug and took a sip as his mind continued to race. He was lost in the fact that his soulmate is an agent of SHIELD. The very same agency that had been corrupted for so long. He was sure that she must have known his past, but this confirmed the suspicion.

His soulmate worked for the people who brainwashed him into becoming a killer in the first place. He knew that there had to be something that he was missing. There was no way that the universe could be this cruel, could it?

Thoughts spiraled in his mind like a hurricane tossing possibilities left and right.

The door opened and Bucky locked eyes with a friendly face who's smile brightened when he saw him. The boy slid into the seat directly across from the Avenger.

"Oh hey, Mr. Barnes!" the kid grinned as he sat down. "I didn't know that you came here too!"

"Hey Peter," Bucky said. "What are you doing here?"

Peter had been Tony Stark's personal intern for almost two years now and had grown close with all of the Avengers. The teen lived with his aunt May in Queens, but he was graduating this year and would be moving into college dorms over the summer.

Peter mostly hung around the lab with Tony. He had met Bucky soon after the super soldier moved into the tower. Bucky had been sparring with Steve in the gym when the kid walked in and froze at the sight of them. Barnes had thought that the kid was afraid, but then he started gushing over them and rambled about how "super awesome" and "amazing" they were.

Bucky and Steve had originally thought the boy was a part of some tour group that he'd been separated from, but JARVIS confirmed he had clearance. Soon after the interaction, Tony gathered everyone to explain things to them. The Avengers got to know Peter and eventually the kid started spending a lot more time out of the labs. He would even join the team as they played pranks on each other.

As it seemed, the most recent retaliation against Peter's pranks was when Barton stole and hid the kids tablet. Which Bucky wouldn't have known about if it wasn't for Daisy.

It was easy to leave the tower physically, but emotionally escaping was something else entirely. Bucky struggled to get the image of her out of his head. His soulmate's hurt expression as she avoided looking him in the eyes flashed at the forefront of his mind. He couldn't punch his way out of this disaster and he didn't know what to do. Daisy had sparked within him an emotion he couldn't recognize.

As for Peter, Bucky would go so far as to consider him his friend. However, he was still Tony's intern and Bucky wouldn't put it past the billionaire to send Peter out to find him.

"Mrs. Potts just sent me out to get some food for the team. Something about stress being high and dessert being the cure." Peter shrugged. "Aunt May wants me home for dinner after I drop them off though, so I figured I'd come here because it's not too far from the tower."

Bucky almost breathed a sigh of relief that the kid wasn't here as a messenger for Tony.

"Best pie in New York," stated Bucky before drinking more coffee. He clearly avoided clarifying as to why tensions were high in the tower. As much as Bucky liked Peter, the kid asked a lot of questions and Bucky had enough trouble figuring out answers to his own problems, let alone explaining things to a teenager.

Peter nodded in agreement. "I'm guessing you came here to escape the tension?" he queried.

The image of Daisy drifted across his mind once more. "Something like that."

Bucky couldn't help when a smile graced his lips, so he quickly schooled his expression. Why couldn't he get his mind off of her?

A/N: I know it was short chapter, but you deserve an update! I hope you liked it!