[AU] these are not the parts and poems of the body only, but of the soul

[from_the_outside]

They've all entered a kind of tense détente after the ill-advised dinner party. Tony throws himself into work, Sharon and Pepper mostly avoid each other, and Steve, Vision, and Nat continue with oversight duties.

And the thing is... Tony's working it out. 

Not a removal, exactly, but he's getting close, he'd told them, to at least blocking the commands. It's not perfect and it's not a permanent solution, but it's a step in the right direction. It's also a step in the direction of Tony needing to test the words on Bucky himself, and so Sharon and Steve are on extra high alert, keeping an eye out for any indication that Bucky's retreating into himself again. Sharon's mostly moved into the room they share in Steve's apartment for that very reason, though she still isn't wholly comfortable with being in Steve's space all the time.

He's away today, working with Sam and Rhodey on a veteran's outreach program, so it's Sharon who walks with Bucky through the halls of the compound towards Tony's rooms. "It's you and Vision with Tony today," she tells him, and glances across the distance they're careful to maintain when not alone behind closed doors.

"How are you feeling about everything?"

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

"Mostly that the cherries were ripe," Bucky starts, and out of the corner of his eye sees Vision startle with visible surprise. With a silent mental apology to Steve, he continues,

"And, uh, Tony had kind of a breakthrough this morning on figuring out a block for the Winter Soldier activation protocol. He put it in place and we tested it. It works. So. Celebratory pie."

He can feel Steve freeze beside him, and looks over to see his best friend's eyes shining with hope and stunned disbelief. "What?" Steve breathes. "He-- you--"

[from_the_outside]

There's a moment of startled surprise from the three newcomers, and then they all pretty much start talking at once.

Sam's face lights up, delighted, and he comes over to clap a hand on Bucky's shoulder. "Congratulations, man," he says. "That's huge. That's some real good news."

"Really good," Rhodes says, and Sharon thinks he looks relieved as well as pleased and surprised as he comes to shake Bucky's hand. He's Tony's good friend, she knows – this has to be good news for him on more than one level. "Happy for you, Sergeant."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It is," he agrees. "I--"

That's as far as he gets, before Steve crushes him in a hug. "I didn't know Tony was so close. You should have said you were testing it today," he scolds, mildly.

"I didn't either," Bucky says. "It all kind of came together at once."

"He did not wish to raise anyone's hopes until he was certain," Vision offers, and Rhodes huffs out an amused breath. "Yeah, that's Tony for you."

[from_the_outside]

"Where is Tony?" Rhodes asks, and Sharon shakes her head.

"I think Pepper dragged him out of the compound," she says. "Haven't seen hide nor hair of him."

Sam comes to lean against the counter next to her, grinning. "Gonna be a pretty good report for your boss today, huh?" he says. "That must feel good."

She smiles back at him and tries not to think about Ross's likely reaction to the news that they've thwarted the Winter Soldier programming and Bucky's further along the path to no longer requiring Task Force oversight. "Pretty damn good, yeah."

[nerves_of_ice]

"It really works?" Steve asks him. "You're sure?" Bucky nods. "Completely sure," he reports. "There's some other stuff Tony wants to do to make it better, but it works. All clear, Cap."

Steve's smile could light up the entire sky, and in this moment, Bucky feels quietly at peace.

[from_the_outside]

"Thus: pie," Sharon says, nodding to the pie cooling on the counter. Wanda and Vision are at a remove; she suddenly wants to make sure their two gentle personalities aren't overshadowed by the boisterous boys who have arrived.

"You can thank Wanda for showing us how to make it right."

[nerves_of_ice]

Wanda looks more than a little startled by the sudden smiling attention she's faced with. "It's just pie," she says, a little shyly.

"Homemade pie," Sam counters, warm and easy. "The best kind."

[from_the_outside]

"It smells good," Steve says, hopefully, and Sharon glances at Wanda.

"What do you think? Is it cool enough to let the vultures descend?"

[nerves_of_ice]

Wanda looks back at her - then smiles, suddenly, and raises her chin as she faces the others.

"Go sit down," she tells them, imperiously. "Vision, set the table. Agent Carter, will you help me with the pie?"

[from_the_outside]

"Sure." She moves towards Wanda, who digs out a sharp knife from a drawer and a wedge-shaped pie server, and grabs the bowl of whipped cream to bring along. "Any particular trick to cutting it so it doesn't goop all over the place?"

"I think in this case we'll just have to embrace the goop," Wanda tells her, handing her the knife and smiling. It's a little less shy than it had been, and Sharon feels personally vindicated.

With this crowd, bigger pieces are probably better. She does a quick headcount and starts cutting the pie into wedges – one piece for everyone here and a couple left over.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky clears the games from the table back to the top of the side cabinet, then comes back to take a seat beside Steve while Vision finishes setting the table and everyone else finds space around it.

Wanda starts ferrying pie plates over for them as Sharon cuts slices, each with a generous dollop of whipped cream on it, and takes her own seat beside Vision.

[from_the_outside]

Sharon comes last and takes the empty seat available, sliding her plate onto the table as she does, then digs her fork into the pie, enjoying the way the crust flakes beneath the pressure.

"Moment of truth," she says, amused, and loads the fork up with crust, filling, and cream.

[nerves_of_ice]

Silence descends over the table for a moment or two while everyone cuts their first bites, and then there's a series of very, very pleased sounds and compliments to Wanda.

Rhodes, who's sitting beside Sharon, leans over and confides, "I think you knocked it out of the park, Agent Carter."

[from_the_outside]

Sharon smiles at him, her mouth full of pie, and swallows before answering. "Thanks, Colonel," she says, "but it was really a joint effort. I can't take the credit."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Around here you get a lot of joint efforts," he returns, with wry humor. "This one's more fun than most. Take your share."

[from_the_outside]

"Fair enough," she says, amused. "In that case, thanks."

She forks up another bite and glances back at him. "How did the program go today?"

[marvel_npc]

He glances down the table at where Sam's regaling them with stories of his sister's baking while Steve listens, then gives Sharon a quiet smile.

"It went well," he says. "A little similar to some work Sam's done back in D.C., only with more of a high-profile lens given the givens. But it helps for the vets to know that they're not alone."

[from_the_outside]

She doesn't know Rhodes well, but what she knows of him, she likes. He seems measured and reasonable, utterly dependable. It's enough to make her wonder how the hell he and Tony Stark became friends. "It's a great initiative," she tells him.

"And always a nice reminder that the Avengers aren't always just about big fights and explosions."

[marvel_npc]

"We can sure use more of those," Rhodes agrees. "While there'll always be problems that need Avengers-style solutions, I suppose, it's good to be engaged with other things too."

He forks up another bite of pie, savoring it, then glances at her. "Must be quite a change, being here with this rowdy bunch."

[from_the_outside]

"You could say that again," she says, grinning, and scoops up a mouthful of cherry-flavored whipped cream. "This is pretty far from my usual assignments these days."

And from her usual life in general, if she's being honest. It's been a long time since she's been around this many people for so long. "I'm sure you know the feeling."

[marvel_npc]

He smiles back. "I do, at that."

At the other end of the table, Sam's blatantly trying to steal Bucky's pie plate from in front of him, and then on getting a glare, doing the same with Steve's instead while Wanda laughs and Vision just watches. Rhodes shakes his head at their antics.

[from_the_outside]

Sharon follows his glance, and her smile turns a little crooked. "Must be nice when you can be here," she says. "I'm sure it can be complicated, going back and forth."

[marvel_npc]

"A little," he agrees. "Mostly when dealing with the brass. It's been going well enough so far, though. Helps that I've been working with Tony for a long, long time."

Rhodes quietly takes in the cast to her smile, and asks, "How's it working out for you?"

[from_the_outside]

"So far, so good."

She's down to her last few bites of pie and toys with the crust, pushing it around the plate to soak up the sweet juice and rich cream. "But my situation is a little different from yours."

[marvel_npc]

"Mm-hm. Narrower in focus, for one. More complicated in some ways, too, from what I know about it."

He's gotten several earfuls from Tony over the past several weeks, and had been careful to sound Steve out as well.