[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

[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.

[from_the_outside]

And less permanent, she thinks.

It's the thing she doesn't say out loud to Bucky, or even to Steve. She'd made sure Pepper Potts knew, at the dinner party, but otherwise they don't talk about it, not really. She smiles, slight, and tips her head lightly towards Bucky and Steve. "Seems like things are becoming less complicated by the second, thanks to Tony's work."

For them, at least. And that's got to be enough of a win.

[marvel_npc]

"Only fair," he says, quietly. "But Tony's never been one to back away from his mistakes."

He takes the last bite of his pie, scraping his fork lightly over his plate to get as much of the juice and cream as possible.

"Makes it more complicated in some ways too, though, I'd think."

[from_the_outside]

She shrugs a little and toys with the last bite of her own pie. "How do you figure?"

He's not wrong, of course... but she's interested to get his perspective.

[marvel_npc]

"With the immediate crisis solved, it frees people up to focus on the next thing." He keeps his voice low so that Steve won't overhear him.

"And when it comes to Sergeant Barnes, that next thing's a pretty big can of worms. The kind lawyers get rich over. At least it'll probably make things easier for your agency, as I understand it? Not so for the Army, though."

[from_the_outside]

"Pretty sure Tony's lawyers are going to earn every penny," she murmurs, a little grimly, then gives him a sidelong glance.

"Hearing anything from the brass I should be aware of?"

[marvel_npc]

"Mm. Some discussions about his status," he says, quietly. "Prisoner of war or traitor and spy's the biggest conflict so far."

[from_the_outside]

She grimaces, but nods. "I'm happy to talk to anyone who'd like to hear my observations and recommendations," she tells him. "Will you keep your ear to the ground?"

[marvel_npc]

"I will," Rhodes says, and smiles, a little. "That's part of why I'm here, after all."

[from_the_outside]

"I guess that's true."

She's lost her appetite a bit, but she takes the last bite of her pie anyway. "Thanks for the heads up, Colonel."

[marvel_npc]

"You're welcome, Agent." His smile warms. "Thanks for the pie."

[from_the_outside]

"I'm glad you guys got back in time for it," she tells him, her glance tracking over to where Sam is regaling Steve and Bucky with some story or other.

"Maybe things will get more complicated soon, but today I'm happy to take the win."

[marvel_npc]

"Can't go wrong with that." Rhodes nods very slightly in the direction of Wanda and Vision, who are listening to Sam's story with interest.

"Glad to see you were getting along with her, too."

[from_the_outside]

"Yeah." Her glance tracks over to Wanda before she looks back at the colonel.

"To be honest, I think she's a little nervous around me, considering her background. But, like you said, my purview here has a pretty narrow focus. Hopefully now she'll see she's not part of it."

[marvel_npc]

"Hopefully." He gives her a curious look. "You're pretty high up in the Task Force, aren't you?"

[from_the_outside]

She shrugs, but doesn't deny it. "I work directly with the Deputy Commander, and I'm one of the more senior agents there. But I'm not a policy maker. And at the end of the day, Deputy Commander Ross calls the shots."

[marvel_npc]

"Well, I know Captain Rogers's been glad about how you've handled everything." His gaze drifts down the table. "Sergeant Barnes means a lot to him."

[from_the_outside]

"I know," she says, because she can't say to me, too. "I'm just happy I could help."

She may be nearing the limit on how much she can help, but as long as she can ease even a little of everything Bucky's going through, she'll call it a win.

[marvel_npc]

He nods. "And just so you know, I'm sorry for Tony having given you a hard time there for a while."

[from_the_outside]

"Oh, I'm sure he'll keep giving me a hard time," she says, dry.

She's grateful to Tony, of course, but she hasn't forgotten -- and neither has he, she's sure -- how they got here in the first place. Only the fact that his block worked saved him this morning from her wrath at his using the words again, even as a test. Bucky had been so worried and stressed about it. "We didn't really get off on the right foot."

[marvel_npc]

“I know. I’m sorry about that.” He sounds as resigned as he feels.

“He’s my friend, but I know he can be difficult sometimes.”