[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]

"Bucky," he tells her, and laughs as Wanda's fingers gleam with ruby light.

"Clever."

[from_the_outside]

She has them spread out the cherries on a baking sheet, then focuses, red light gleaming at her fingertips before she makes a quick yanking motion and the pits all pop out of the cherries as one, rattling into the sheet. "Oh, well done," Vision says, admiringly, and she blushes deeply.

"That's got to be a pretty good control exercise," Sharon laughs, scooping the pitted cherries back into the bowl. "Nice work."

[nerves_of_ice]

He waits for Sharon to finish with the cherries before he starts brushing the pits into another bowl for disposal.

"Sometimes small things are harder than big things," he observes. "Quite a talent."

There's absolutely no hint that anything about it makes him nervous in any way.

[from_the_outside]

Wanda watches him, cautious, but when it's clear he said only what he meant and nothing more, she smiles, shy and sweet. "Now we mix up the cherries and sugar and tapioca," she says. "And a little lemon juice."

"That much I can manage without setting anything on fire," Sharon says, rueful, and measures out the other ingredients into the bowl, stirring them up as Wanda turns back to Bucky.

"We'll fill the pie," she says, "then let it chill while the oven heats. Okay?"

[nerves_of_ice]

"Okay," he says, and gives her a sweet smile, unconscious of how much younger it makes him look.

[from_the_outside]

She's lucky that Wanda's as caught on that smile as everyone always is, because it means the younger woman doesn't see the way Sharon smiles automatically to see it, her eyes full of absolutely unprofessional warm affection.

Glancing away, she focuses on mixing up the filling, then pushes it aside and crosses her arms on the countertop to watch as Wanda shows Bucky how to unfold the crust in the pan.

[nerves_of_ice]

Vision drifts closer as well, watching with interest as he hovers on the other side of the counter.

Once the crust's carefully laid in the glass plate to Wanda's satisfaction and his own, Bucky looks up at Sharon. "Okay, agent, you're up."

[from_the_outside]

"Copy that," she laughs, and carefully tips the bowl of filling into the prepared crust, mounding it with the spoon as she does.

"Boy," she says, setting the empty bowl back down. "That's already looking a lot better than before."

[nerves_of_ice]

He gives Sharon a small, rueful smile. “We’re learning.”

To Wanda, he says, “Unfold the other crust on top of it now?”

[from_the_outside]

"And now we'll know for next time," Sharon agrees, grinning.

Wanda visibly decides to make it simple – no lattice-top pies for them today – and nods. "Then we trim off the excess," she says, showing him with a paring knife, "and pinch it together."

[nerves_of_ice]

He follows her instructions with careful precision, and looks pleased with the result.

Vision looks over his shoulder as he finishes. “There are several small details to pay heed to,” he observes.

[from_the_outside]

"Now take the knife," Wanda instructs, "and make some slashes in the crust to let steam out."

Another thing they hadn't done before, Sharon notes, and watches with curiosity.

[nerves_of_ice]

"Knife work I'm familiar with," Bucky observes, very dryly, as he deftly slits the crust in a star-like pattern around a central point. "Although less in a kitchen. This is better."

[from_the_outside]

Her mouth twitches into a crooked smile before she stands back and gives the pie a critical glance, then looks to Wanda for approval. "You said to let it chill?"

Wanda nods, and covers the pie carefully with plastic. "Back in the fridge," she tells Bucky, and turns to Sharon. "And you can pre-heat the oven."

Sharon lifts her hand in a salute and goes to do just that.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky leans back against the counter while the pie is chilling and the oven heating, and looks back and forth between Wanda and Vision.

"So, have the two of you been over to town?" he asks. "I mean, I know why I've been sticking pretty close except for when Agent Carter humors me, but that's different."

[from_the_outside]

She turns around from setting the oven temperature to see Wanda and Vision exchanging a glance.

"Not yet," Vision says, pleasantly. "What are your impressions of the area?"

[nerves_of_ice]

He catches that look and decides not to push - or not much, not yet, although he makes a note to ask Steve about it.

"Pretty nice," he says, instead. "A little more small-town, more rural than I'm used to, but people are people wherever you go."

[from_the_outside]

"I suppose that's true," Vision says. "Perhaps we will visit one day. It certainly sounds quite pleasant. Not unlike the towns in the shows you enjoy," he says, to Wanda, who smiles, faintly.

"It's a nice change of scenery," Sharon says, conversational. "And pretty low-key. The people there don't seem to be very nosy, which I guess could be a side effect of living near the Avengers compound."

[nerves_of_ice]

He makes a vaguely affirming sound and tries to think of another conversational direction to take. He's so out of practice at this, but it helps if he tries not to think about it too much... or at all.

"I hope we didn't interrupt anything important with our little fire alarm situation," he starts. "It's nice of you to help out."

[from_the_outside]

"It was no interruption," Vision says, cheerful. "We were curious to see how your experiment turned out regardless."

Wanda shrugs, very slightly. "It's nice to make things," she says, and Sharon thinks maybe she sometimes feels the same way Bucky does, that she's been destroying for so long that making anything, even as small as a pie, is a personal triumph. A faint hint of mischief lightens the young woman's serious eyes. "And this way you're less likely to burn down the compound."

"Oh, I see," Sharon says, laughing. "Self-preservation."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky flashes a quick, amused grin at them.

"Can you imagine me trying to explain to Steve?"

[from_the_outside]

"I'm not sure Captain Rogers would have had more success," Vision says, and Sharon grins.

"I think you're probably right," she says, amused.

[nerves_of_ice]

"There's that," he admits, without hesitation, but whatever else he might have said is cut short by the quiet beeping of the oven behind them.

[from_the_outside]

Wanda goes to the oven drawer and retrieves a baking sheet, which she lines with parchment paper. "We'll bake the pie on this," she says. "That way, when it leaks, it won't get all over the oven."

"Now that's a good idea," Sharon says. "I had no idea how juicy that sucker would get."

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky eyes this process a little warily, then looks at Wanda.

"The paper doesn't catch fire?"