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

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?"

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From:

nerves_of_ice

His slight smile is a little enigmatic as he dumps the box on the table and starts dividing the pieces into four piles, one for each of them.

Wanda blinks at Sharon. "Are you competitive?"

From:

from_the_outside

"It's a family trait," Sharon says, her mouth twitching.

"But don't worry. I promise I'm not a sore loser."

From:

nerves_of_ice

He can't confirm that without talking about Virginia, so instead he just raises his eyebrows a little and says, blandly, "Guess we'll find out."

Bucky finishes dividing blocks, double-checks the instructions, then promptly grimaces and starts loading blocks from the various piles he'd carefully laid out into the base of the v-shaped 'sleeve' instead.

"That's what I get for not paying attention," he mutters. Finally the tower's ready in the middle of the table and he carefully eases the sleeve away.

"There. Much better."

From:

from_the_outside

"Go ahead," Sharon coaxes Wanda, who smiles shyly and taps a block from the middle of the tower and place it on top, then nods to Sharon, who selects one from the side, a little lower.

Wanda doesn't seem comfortable enough with her for Sharon to ply her usual bag of tricks, and she can't tease Bucky too much without it becoming obvious that there's more to them than is officially sanctioned, so she settles herself in for a friendly game, unsurprised that the first few rounds go smoothly.

From:

nerves_of_ice

Bucky removes and places his next block, watches the tower shift a little, then nods to Vision to take his turn.

Vision studies the tower intently, pulls a block, sets it carefully on top-- and phases his hand through the tower rather than lift it away. "Vis!" Wanda scolds. "That's cheating."

"Apologies," Vision starts, looking sheepish. "I will--"

"Why not try it?" Bucky asks. "That trick's not going to help you take a block or shield it from bad placement. So you've got an advantage. Bet it's not enough to win." He smiles at Wanda. "Same goes; I bet you can use fine control to stabilize things, but what happens when you let go? I'm pretty sure the agent has some tricks up her sleeve, too."

From:

from_the_outside

Sharon laughs and holds up her hands. "Not tricks like those," she says, amused. "But he's right. Do your worst, both of you. It'll make it a challenge."

From:

nerves_of_ice

Wanda looks back and forth between them, considering, then places her next block without using her powers. It's two rounds later when she flicks another glance at Sharon and pushes the next block free of a tower edge without touching it, catching it mid-air in a ruby glow.

Bucky grins. "Nice."

From:

from_the_outside

“Now that’s skill,” Sharon says, grinning. “But is it any match for iron nerves and steady hands?”

She carefully taps a side piece out near the bottom, making the whole tower sway a little drunkenly until she puts it lightly on the top. “Fortune favors the bold.”

From:

nerves_of_ice

"Is that how that works?" Bucky asks. He carefully pulls a piece from the top and holds his breath as he places it sideways on the top of the tower.

"Looks like."

From:

from_the_outside

“See?” Sharon says, amused, as Vision looks over the tower.

“This is becoming quite structurally precarious,” he observes, and Wanda gives him a fondly exasperated glance.

“That’s the point, Vis.”

From:

nerves_of_ice

"Hm." Vision considers his angle carefully and pulls a block free. The tower sways but remains intact, and he looks pleased as he sets it on top and phases his hand out again.

However, as soon as the support of his hand vanishes, so does the stability of the tower, which sways violently and collapses in a crash.

From:

from_the_outside

"Oh, Vis!" says Wanda, surprised into a laugh. It transforms her into a carefree, lighthearted version of herself.

"Dear me," Vision says, sadly, but he perks up when he sees Wanda laughing.

Sharon laughs, too, and glances at the oven timer. "I think we've got time for another round," she says, helping Vision collect the fallen blocks. "Rematch?"

From:

nerves_of_ice

Bucky smiles and picks up the sleeve to help create another tower.

"Sounds good to me. Wanda?"

From:

from_the_outside

"Okay," says Wanda, without much reservation. She collects the blocks and hands them to Bucky, looking a great deal more relaxed.

"'Game night' often seems to be a plot setting in the shows you enjoy, isn't it, Wanda?" Vision asks. "Although it usually seems to set up humorous situations more than center on the games themselves."

From:

nerves_of_ice

"It is," Wanda agrees, as Bucky finishes stacking the blocks in the sleeve and sets the tower up on the table again. "And you're right."

She smiles. "But this is fun."

From:

from_the_outside

"Maybe we can try to keep the wacky hijinks to a minimum," Sharon says, amused. "We already had some of those. Go ahead, Vision."

Vision approaches the game more cautiously this time, and looks relieved even though the chances of the tower falling on his very first turn are minimal. Sharon takes a deep breath as she waits for her turn, appreciative.

"That pie smells amazing," she says. "Much better than last time."

From:

nerves_of_ice

"It really does," Bucky agrees. "Once it's done, how long do we need to wait for it to cool before we dig in?"

From:

from_the_outside

"It should probably be about an hour," Wanda says, but she relents after a slightly disappointed glance from Sharon. "But really anytime. It'll just be kind of gloopy."

"Gloopy is okay," Sharon points out, nudging a block out and setting it on the top. "And we have that nice cream we can whip up."

From:

nerves_of_ice

"True," Bucky says, reaching for his own block. He flips it over in his fingers, considering, and sets it cross-ways over the stack.

"That dairy farm was nice. And it was self-serve," he adds, casually. "Drive up, pick up things from the shelves, leave cash in the box on your honor. Pretty easy."

From:

from_the_outside

"Gotta love small towns," Sharon says, and Wanda looks thoughtful.

"Nobody was there?" she asks.

From:

nerves_of_ice

"Nobody at all," Bucky assures her, keeping his tone just as casual as before. "I can write down directions for you, if you want."

From:

from_the_outside

Wanda glances at Vision, who gives her an encouraging nod. "That might be nice," she says, softly, and takes her turn. "Thank you."

"It's a nice drive, too," Sharon says. "If you like that kind of thing. And it looks like the lake nearby is pretty quiet, but there might be some nice spots to walk around."

From:

nerves_of_ice

"It's not that I don't like it here," Bucky thinks to add. After all, he's a pretty large imposition on the Avengers, no matter how close a friend he is to Steve. "Or anything like that. It's just ... nice to get out, sometimes."

He's talking as he tries to place the next block, not paying enough attention to what he's doing, and whacks it right into the edge of the tower instead of placing it on top of it. Bucky swears in Russian under his breath as he watches it sway back and forth, holding the block in his fingers and waiting to see if the whole thing will settle or collapse.

From:

from_the_outside

Wanda quickly lifts her hands to stabilize the tower as it sways, catching the whole thing in a net of glowing red power.

"Interesting strategy," Sharon says, amused, and Wanda blushes, a little. "We only just started," she argues, and carefully withdraws her power, leaving the tower standing.