Clocks//Stucky✔

Fourteen

"Containers one through eighteen have been placed." Natasha's voice came in through one of the bots. "Conformation?"

"Yeah... yeah. Got it. Check back in when you've finished the rest of the bots." Tony replied. "We'll tell you if we hear anything." 

They had been gone for a little over an hour and they've made lightning-quick work of this task. Everyone was waiting anxiously for anything at all to hint towards where Steve was. 

Bucky was still beyond stressed and in disarray, but he told himself to stop crying and try and do anything to help. He needed to be strong for Steve. 

Tony was hunched over in his chair in front of the many screens that made up all the active bots, his eyes furiously dancing across the display. Bucky walked up to him and placed his flesh hand gently on the billionaire's shoulder.

Tony jumped a little and looked back at Bucky. Tony looked like shit, although Bucky probably did too, and Bucky finally realized how much this was affecting Tony as well. 

From what Bucky gathered, Tony liked to party, seemed sarcastic, and cold sometimes, but he cared. He cared deeply about Steve.

Bucky wanted to let Tony know he was feeling the same way, and that he was there for him, but he couldn't figure out how to.  So he just retracted his hand in place for an empathetic look, hoping it would be somewhat of a comfort. 

☆

It was probably another three hours or so before Natasha's voice came through the speakers once more. "Alright, Tony, are they up?"

"Congratulations. You did it, so now we sit back and wait for something. Hurry back." Tony sounded exhausted. It truly was stressful, even if they weren't the ones out setting up the bots. Everyone was waiting for a signal from Jarvis and monitoring the displays to protect Natasha, Clint, and Sam from any potential danger. 

"On our way." She responded. Bucky looked across the screens. Memories came back. He saw the apartment, always where he saved Steve from getting beat too badly. But then he saw things that weren't there anymore. Like the theatre, Steve and he went to on rare occasions, such as one of their birthdays or if Bucky saved up some money for a movie. 

The memories quickly became painful as he thought about never being able to see a movie with Steve again. We're going to get him back, don't worry. He told himself. Bucky decided he would ask Steve if they could go to a movie together when Steve was back and safe. 

Four heads then turned at the sound of footsteps then followed by the door opening. "What's going on?" Bucky was facing Sharon Carter. 

"Why are you here?" Tony asked, sounding the slightest bit agitated. 

"I tried to call Steve to ask when I should drop off his spare apartment key, but he didn't answer, so I decided I would just go put it in his apartment but when I opened the door, the apartment was trashed." She explained. "So I wondered if he was here." 

"How did you even get up here?" Tony was confused, slowly getting more and more ticked off. 

"Your AI let me in."

"Steve was kidnapped by Hydra. That's what's going on." Bucky spoke softly. He hated saying it out loud. It was admitting that there was a chance they wouldn't get Steve back. In one piece at least.

Sharon looked like the others had. The wide eyes like a deer in headlights, the discoloration of the face, and soon the panic would set in. "How?" She asked. "And... and why?"

"It doesn't matter how and why it happened. All that matters right now is that we get him back, so if you're not going to help, then you can leave." Tony snapped at her. 

"I'm going to help. Steve needs me." Sharon decided. At that moment Bucky had the insatiable urge to punch Sharon in the face with the metal arm. Tony must be feeling the same way, due to the clenching and unclenching of his fists. 

"How are you planning on finding him?" Sharon stood next to Tony's chair, looking at the screens. 

"Our plan is already in action. I'll inform you when you are needed." Tony's words were like sandpaper. Bucky understood it was annoying for her to barge in and act like she was vital for this operation. She isn't. 

"What are we even looking for? All these cameras seem a bit unnecessary." She pointed out. 

Tony took a deep breath. "All these cameras are microbots. Jarvis is connected to them and he'll alert us if anyone in the range of any of these cameras says hail Hydra, then one of them will attach to the person and send out a tracking signal and we're hoping they will take us to where they are keeping Steve, or we kidnap them and they tell us." 

"So how long do you think it's going to take?"

☆

There was a sense of slight relief when Natasha, Clint, and Sam returned. 

"What's Carter doing here?" Natasha asked. Sharon was about to answer when Tony cut her off. 

"Good question." He glared at the screens. 

"There isn't anything useful yet." Bucky averted from the topic of Sharon. Clint nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to Tony. 

"You look like shit." He mused at Tony. "Go get some rest. You too, Barnes. We can take care of things for now and tell you when Jarvis picks up on anything. You both seem exausted and I'm pretty sure you two are taking the hardest hit from this."

Bucky stayed silent, but he half expected Tony to protest, but he went willingly. Bucky followed behind him, looking at what he could see of the tower on their way to the elevator. 

The elevator took them up a few floors then opened its door to a floor that looked like a home. There was a kitchen, and a couch facing a tv, and a hallway that lead to what Bucky guessed were bedrooms.

Tony walked into the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of some alcohol and sat down at the counter on the other side of the hole in the kitchen wall. Bucky didn't want to leave Tony alone, but Bucky was tired.

But he wanted to do something. He walked up behind Tony and wrapped his arms around the shorter man. He felt Tony tense, but not jerk away. "I know it's hard. But we need to be strong. For Steve." Bucky whispered then pulled away, going to look for a bed to sleep in. 

He walked down the hallway. There were three rooms on each side, so Bucky just opened the first door and was hit with a wave of nostalgia. The room was rather plain, but there was something so familiar to Bucky. 

There was a desk in the room with a cup filled with pencils and pens and erasers. When Bucky looked around the room he saw a picture frame. It was one with multiple slots for different photos. There was a picture of a girl Bucky couldn't quite remember. Steve liked her though.

Then there was a picture of the team. They looked happy but injured as if they had just won a difficult fight. 

There was a picture of Tony smiling, and it looked genuine, and a picture of Sam. 

Then there was a drawing of Bucky. It looked recent because of the long hair, and the paper wasn't weathered. Next to that was a photo of Steve and Bucky when they were at Coney Island. They both changed so much.

Bucky stifled a yawn as he picked up the frame, carefully extracting the photo of him and Steve. He cradled it in his hands, then held it to his chest, feelings threating to pour out. He walked back to lay down on the bed. 

He held the photo in the metal arm and held tight as to not let go in his sleep. 

It felt like mere seconds when Natasha woke Bucky up, but according to the clock next to the bed, it had been about two hours. 

"We have a lead."