[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]

He moves fast, coming up behind her and settling his hands on her hips as he presses close.

“If we don’t stop,” he murmurs, nuzzling her hair aside and kissing the nape of her neck, “we’ll never get that pie made. But later. Consider this a reminder,” he promises, as he kisses her there again, hidden from anyone’s eyes, drawing on the skin and running the edge of his teeth lightly over it to leave a faint mark.

[from_the_outside]

She leans back into him and gasps as he nuzzles at the nape of her neck, at the gentle scrape of his teeth. "Okay," she murmurs, putting her hands over his and leaning her head against his. "Later."

Sharon laughs a little, breathless, and turns to look at him. "Better go on that errand to Happy," she says, a little wry. "Just in case. I'll put things away here."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Good idea," he agrees, equally wry. "Let me do a quick search first, though."

It doesn't take long for him to confirm that although Steve's got plenty of coffee and sugar, what flour he's got tucked away is nowhere near enough for baking. Bucky makes his way out of the apartment and goes looking in the community kitchen first, with every intention of finding Hogan after that if need be.

It doesn't even occur to him that he's moving around without an escort. He no longer needs one.

[from_the_outside]

The first thing to do is probably to find a recipe, right? She does a quick search on her phone and finds one that looks simple enough: crust, filling, done. How hard can it be?

"Seven hours?" she murmurs to herself, frowning at the recipe. That's probably overkill, right? The dough probably doesn't actually need to rest in the fridge for that long. But first things first; she measures out about four and a half cups of cherries into a colander and washes them, then sets to work pitting them with a paring knife.

In seconds, she realizes why most bakers wear aprons. It looks like she's committing very bloody murder over Steve's kitchen table.

[nerves_of_ice]

He’s going through the cabinets in the community kitchen when Vision’s voice behind him nearly startles him out of his skin.

“Do you need more cinnamon?”

Bucky spins around and makes himself relax in the same instant. He gives Vision a faint, slightly wry smile.

“Not this time. I’m looking for flour. Enough to make a pie.”

[marvel_npc]

"A pie?"

Vision strolls forward, tilting his head in curiosity. "I did not figure you for a baker."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Believe me, I'm not," Bucky says, dryly. "But the farmer's market in town had fresh cherries, and Agent Carter and I figured it was worth a try."

He considers Vision for a second. The guy's an artificially intelligent more-than-human, so maybe--

"How about you? Baking in your skillset?"

[marvel_npc]

"I have academic knowledge on how to bake almost any manner of cake, pie, cookie, or other pastry," Vision says.

"... But little actual talent, I'm afraid."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Well, that puts you ahead of me," Bucky informs him. "Anyway, do you know if there's flour here, or do I need to go track down Hogan?"

[marvel_npc]

Vision drifts forward and opens a few cabinets, frowning at the contents.

"... I do not," he admits, after three fail to produce flour. "But Happy would certainly know where you could find some."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Got it. Stalking Hogan it is," Bucky says, and tips his head back in a nod of farewell.

"See you later, Vision."

This is when it turns out to be extremely handy to have explored every single aspect of the compound that he could manage. He's got a pretty good idea exactly where Hogan's likely to be around this time of day. Bucky sets off in the direction of the administrative offices.

[marvel_npc]

It's good that Tony's made some progress. Better yet that Pepper had managed to coax him out to the city for a night on the town. It'll help, Happy thinks, even if it means he's stuck here babysitting the remaining Avengers, Sergeant Barnes, and the Task Force agent from hell.

At least he hasn't had to deal with her directly for a while. That was a pleasant development.

But it means the compound's pretty quiet, so Happy's leaning back in his chair, feet crossed up on his desk, reading the paper when the knock comes. "Uh – "

He scrambles a little, setting things to rights and hiding the empty pint of ice cream he'd been snacking on. "Yeah, who is it?"

[nerves_of_ice]

He’s surprised that Hogan hasn’t already checked a surveillance camera, but maybe he’s being polite.

“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Hogan,” he calls back. “It’s Bucky. Do you have a second?”

[marvel_npc]

"Uh – "

He glances around for his trash can, can't locate it, and drops the empty ice cream container into a bottom drawer of his desk instead before leaning forward, lacing his fingers together. "Yeah, come in, it's open."

[nerves_of_ice]

He opens the door and leans against the side of it, giving the other man all the space he might need to feel comfortable.

“I won’t take much of your time,” he says, politely. “But I’ve got a bit of an odd request and I figured, around here, you’d be the guy who’d know.” Bucky lets that sink in for a second, then asks, “Is there enough flour in stock around here somewhere to bake a pie?”

[marvel_npc]

"Flour?"

Of all the things he might have predicted this guy might ask for, and he chooses flour. Happy stares at him for a second, then gets up. "Yeah, we got flour. Come on."

The stores he buys from in the area deliver directly to the compound, putting their groceries into a series of large pantries that he uses to keep the kitchens stocked. Happy waves at Barnes to follow him, then leads him to the second pantry, the one with all the dry goods. "You just need flour?"

[nerves_of_ice]

“I think so. Pretty sure Steve has butter, at least some, and I saw sugar in a cabinet,” he says, a little dubiously.

Are their other ingredients in cherry pie? He doesn’t think so. Besides cherries, that is. Which reminds him.

“The farmer’s market in town has some pretty great cherries,” he offers. “And fresh flowers. Spring stuff. In case you’re interested.”

[marvel_npc]

"Flowers, huh?"

Pepper would like that, he thinks. Some fresh flowers to brighten up Tony's rooms, bring a little something organic into all that tech. Happy considers it as he opens up the pantry door. Inside, tall steel shelves are stocked with every kind of dry good they might need: flour, sugar, beans, pasta, rice, and more. There's even one shelf dedicated to the different kinds of fancy salts that Pepper is partial to when she cooks.

Happy goes to one shelf, glances along it, and takes down a five-pound bag of flour. "I didn't know there was a farmer's market in the area."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Happened to run across it this morning,” he says, making mental note of the supply shelves. “From what people said, it’s a weekly thing.”

He waits for Hogan to hand him the flour bag, not wanting to startle him. “Some places with farm stands around, too. Including a local dairy, coffee roasters, that kind of thing.”

Bucky gives him a friendly smile, trying to make it sincere. “I try to keep track of what’s around, when I’m somewhere for a while.”

[marvel_npc]

"Uh-huh."

Happy hands over the bag of flour, looking slightly askance at the guy. They haven't exactly had the best of run-ins, and it's not that Happy wants to insinuate that he isn't safe, but he very definitely remembers the aura of threat Barnes projected while he himself was arguing with Agent Carter. "I'll, uh... I'll look into it."

[nerves_of_ice]

“If you want,” he says, easily. Bucky lifts the bag slightly. “Thanks for this. I’ll get out of your hair.”

[marvel_npc]

"Yeah," Happy says, then gives himself a little mental shake and clears his throat. "Uh, so you know, this stuff is available for anyone. I use it to stock all the kitchens, but if you need anything, you can just take it."

A little reluctantly, he adds, "Thanks for the thing about the market. Pe – uh, it'd be nice to get some local stuff in here."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Thanks,” he says again. “And you’re welcome. If I run across anything else of interest, I’ll let you know.”

Bucky nods a farewell and heads back the way he came, privately satisfied.

[from_the_outside]

Back in the apartment, Sharon is having... problems.

She'd sort of figured out a rhythm to it after the first cup or so, and the others aren't quite so mangled, but her fingers are stained deep red and she has splashes of cherry juice all over her face, throat, and shirt.

"Just so you know," she calls, when she hears the apartment door open, "this is not what it looks like."

Because it looks like she's committing murder.

[nerves_of_ice]

"It's not?" Bucky calls back, as he locks the door and walks through the apartment to the kitchen. "What does it--"

He takes one look at Sharon and visibly struggles not to laugh.

"Did you win, baby?"