"Hello pretty lady."

Payton rolls her eyes, rubbing her temple "Pietro, I already have a headache. Please do not make it worse."

Pietro smirks, leaning on the counter next to Payton as she tries to fix her lunch, "Come now pretty lady, you know you like me. Why act like I piss you off?"

"Because I know that you're just going to ask me out again, for the third time today. My answer is still the same so I don't know why you keep asking me."

She grabs her food and moves to walk away in hopes that he will not follow her. Of course she is not that lucky and Pietro does not back down. He is hot on her tail.

"Why not go out with me just once? You would not be disappointed. I guarantee it." he comments with a smug smirk, wagging his eyebrows.

Giving a disgusted look, Payton scoffs at him. She does not even offer a response and storms off.

"I'll wear you down sooner or later!" he shouts after her.

Payton rushes to her office, slamming the door shut behind her. She lets out a long sigh as she plops into her desk chair. Pushing her food to the side, putting her head in her hands.

"Is this a bad time?"

Her head jerks up, shock floods her as the last voice she expects to hear breaks through the silence of the room.

"Steve." his name leaves a bitter taste in her mouth. She tries to keep a straight face, but judging by his body language and how he shifts uncomfortably, she is not doing a great job.

"I know I'm still the last person on Earth you want to see right now…"

Payton huffs, "Understatement."

"But I need your help," he continues, ignoring her comment. "I've tried to do this without asking you even before… well before. But Sam and I have hit a dead end. I wanted to avoid this but with no other options, I have no idea who else I could turn to, and Sam said that you would be the best choice. If you do not want to help I understand but I hope…"

"Steven, just spit it out!" Payton exclaims, fed up with Steve's rambling.

He places a large folder in front of her. She raises an eyebrow,

"And this would be…?"

Steve sits in one of the chairs across from Payton, "That is everything that Sam and I have been able to gather on one Sergeant James "Bucky" Barnes."

She stares at him in disbelief, "You mean the same Bucky Barnes that you grew up with? The same Sergeant Barnes who for the last 60 years, give or take, has better been known as the Winter Soldier? That James Barnes?"

The super soldier flinches at the disapproving tone of her voice, "Yes, him. I need your help in finding him."

"Why?! Why would you find him after D.C"

"He is was my best friend Payton! I owe him everything. It's my fault that he was captured by Hydra and turned into the Winter Soldier. He deserves a chance at a better life than what Hydra gave him. I know you don't approve…"

Payton holds up her hand, "It's not a matter of if I approve or not Steve. This man committed a number of crimes over the last decade. Whether or not he was under the control of a Nazi organization or not, it doesn't matter. The government will not see it that way. One top of that, you do not know what type of mental state he is going to be in after years of torture."

"All the more reason to find him." Steve interjects.

"How can you be certain that bringing him here will actually help him? It has been almost 5 years since D.C. If he has been able to set up a life for himself where he is, disrupting that could set him back from any progress that he has made on his own. You need to be 100% that me trying to find him is for the best and not just out of a selfish need to try and keep a hold of the past. A past that he might never remember."

Steve goes silent, contemplating her words. Oddly, he knows that this is not Payton being cruel, trying to get revenge on him by saying no. If anything, this is her way of saying yes, just making sure he knows the can of worms he might be opening by going after Bucky.

"I am positive Payton." he says, full of sincerity.

Payton sighs, closing her eyes as she thinks for a moment. She cannot believe that she is going to do this.

"I cannot promise anything. But I will lock over what you have, and see if I can find anything. It will not be easy considering he is most likely living off the grid. However, even a ghost can leave a trace if one looks hard enough and knows where they are looking."

Steve stands, giving her a small smile, "Thank you Payton. You do not know how much this means to me."

"I am not doing this for you," Payton says, "I am doing this for James Barnes, because I agree that he does deserve a chance at a better life after everything Hydra did to him."

He walks to the door, flashing her a sad smile, "Still, thank you."

Payton just waves him off, quietly eating her lunch. When the door shuts, she slams her head on the desk, groaning. Today is just going to hell in a hay basket.

"Fuck it! I'm done for the day."

Payton gathers up her things that she will need to work from home over the weekend, including the file Steve gave her and takes her leave.

She pulls out her phone and dials Natasha, "Hey, you busy?"

"No, not really, why?"

"I need a girls night. How about you grab Wanda and Maria and come over to my place for drinks and take out?"

"That bad of a day? It is only 1 in the afternoon." Natasha chuckles over the phone.

"You don't even know. I am leaving now, I can't be here any longer or I'm going to go crazy."

"Alright. Go on and head home, take a relaxing bath and we'll be over there in a couple of hours with food. You get the alcohol."

"Deal. See you later." Payton hangs up and heads for her car, beyond ready for a night with her girls.