The therapist tells him that he needs to find something to distract him from the bad moments. Apparently Steve’s hipbones and the way he looks in the morning and the moans he makes as Bucky takes his cock into his mouth don’t count.
Bucky decides one day on baking. Not cooking...baking. He was always the cook in the house back in the forties and it seems that that doesn’t change. Steve could burn water and doesn’t understand a thing about seasoning. In a small way he thinks that he can make amends for all of his actions if he can bake.
It turns out to be the best thing he’s ever done. Well...except loving Steve.
He makes Steve a Chocolate Coffee cake and Steve takes a bite and then makes a noise that makes Bucky’s toes curl in the most delightful way.
(When he next has his therapy session he glosses over the fact that Steve all but threw him into the bed and licked the frosting off the insides of his thighs with relish-somethings should be kept private)
Food becomes his way of taking care of the Avengers after a while. The group called the Defenders are dropping in with their own families every so often and Coulson’s ‘kids’ are always around.
Tony is stuck in the lab the first time it happens. He’s working on a new armour jacket for Jessica Jones. The Defenders are honorary Avengers and Tony is practical and disapproves of Jones running through the streets of Hell’s Kitchen in a jacket and ripped jeans.
He leaves the room because the coffee has run dry and he needs to runs some more scans but when he comes back he’s surprised to see what looks like a plate of chocolate brownies.
Tony stares in surprise. Underneath the plate is a note.
Chocolate fudge and caramel brownies.
Thanks for the new arm. Bucky.
Tony blinks before picking up the snack and eyeing it carefully. He knows Bucky is going through a baking thing but this is the first time that he’s come face to face with it.
He takes a bite, groans with glee and falls back onto the couch.
(He leaves Jessica’s jacket for the time and decides to give Barnes the new sniper gun he’s been working on)
The brownies are gone by the hour and Tony is in happy place for the rest of the day. He even gets to bed before midnight.
Bruce and Natasha have just got back from Canada where they spend their winters due to Natasha’s need for real snow and Bruce’s need for quiet. This thing between them is new and bright and confusing so they let themselves in quietly.
Natasha stops eyeing a plate carefully on the counter.
“What?” Bruce asks tired and a little irritated.
“Cookies” Natasha says in a slightly awed voice. “The Winter Soldier made cookies”
Bruce blinks but there on the table is a plate of sugar cookies.
“Huh?” he says finally. “How’d you know that Bucky’s made them?”
Natasha points to the post it on the table.
Sugar Cookies.
Welcome Home.
Bucky.
Bruce smiles feeling oddly touched. “Coffee?” he asks taking one of the cookies and nibbling it and almost crying with how good it is.
Natasha stares at him for a second before that genuine smile that she works so hard to keep hidden slides across her face with ease.
“Coffee”
Sam, Rhodey and Miles are all at the house in Washington when their helping of sugary treats arrive.
Miles opens the door to see what looks like a strange box.
The three of them watch the box now sat on the kitchen table with worry.
“Oh to hell with this” Miles says grabbing the letter opener. “If it was a bomb it would have gone off by now”
Inside the box is a giant Chocolate Cheesecake. It’s about the size of a dinner plate and it shocks them all into silence.
“Wow” Miles says finally. “I’m glad I’m wearing my pyjamas. I can finally have cheesecake for breakfast”
Sam and Rhodey exchanged confused looks over their son’s head.
“Hey the note says it’s from Uncle Bucky” Miles says handing Sam a white piece of paper.
Sorry about the wings...and the suit...
Thanks for Having Steve’s Back (but the ass is mine)
Bucky.
“Wow” Miles says finally around a mouthful of cheesecake.
“Wow” Rhodey says back looking from the note to the cheesecake, he catches Sam’s expression and then shrugs.
“Does look like a good cake” he says quietly. Sam grins.
Pepper works full time. Running a company isn’t the easiest thing to do and therefore if she forgets to eat sometime that isn’t her fault.
She doesn’t have much to do with the Avengers and if she squeals a little bit when she reads about Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes love stories then...then she’s in the safety of her apartment and nobody knows.
So she’s surprised to see a large basket on her desk.
To Miss Potts.
Kind Regards.
James Barnes.
- Peggy Carter would be proud of how you’ve kept a Stark from imploding.
Inside the basket are about thirty mini lemon tarts and Pepper has one with her morning coffee eyes rolling in the back of her head at their taste and feeling oddly touched.
God she has to hide these before Happy gets his hands on them.
Peter Parker prides himself on knowing the Avengers.
His Aunt May prides herself on being the only person that has made Natasha Romanoff flinch in shame and guilt. Peter remembers his Aunt finding out about the Civil War thing and still feels terrified whenever he thinks about it.
Bucky Barnes and his (totally, insanely, cool) metal arm hasn’t been seen that often and Aunt May says to leave him alone whenever he’s up at the tower.
“The man was tortured Peter...leave him alone...and don’t ask him about that arm.”
Aunt May does that eye twitching thing whenever that happens when she’s mad and Peter makes a tactical retreat to his room.
One day Peter’s just coming out of a meeting about the new suits when Bucky Barnes slips up to him like a ghost. Peter prides himself on the fact that he doesn’t yelp...much...
Bucky Barnes thrusts a tin at him and then disappears. Peter clutches the tin and remembers how to breathe.
He’s still clutching the tin when he goes back home.
Inside is about forty strawberry and cream flavoured biscuits in little perfect circles.
“Good Lord” Peter says feeling weak in the knees...and it’s not just because the biscuits are amazing. Like happiness with sugar sprinkled on top.
“The Winter Soldier made us biscuits”
“That’s nice” Aunt May says patting him on the shoulder.
Peter rolls his eyes so hard it practically hurts. And then he takes another biscuit because there amazing.
Wanda is having a bad day and Vision is worried. A combination of the fact that she’s sad over her brother and an idiot congressman has called her the Avengers Pet Freak has made her very sad.
Vision wants to see her but isn’t sure if he should. What is the right protocol when a girl you might love is crying in her room?
“Here” Mr Barnes growls thrusting a parcel into his hands.
“Tell her to eat these and that she’s worth a hundred of those idiots”
Vision does that abet confusedly. He is however rewarded with one of Wanda’s brilliant smiles and the offer of what looks like ten large cheese swirls.
Clint is on his way back to Coulson when Bucky Barnes passes him a basket full of cookies in the shape of Shields. Clint eats them as Coulson fangirls over them.
Though if the sex is any consolation Clint might need to ask Bucky to make more of them.
Jessica and Luke don’t really take Danielle to the Avengers Tower but she wears them down and they take her to the upper floors one day. Dani has her Black Panther Claws and a toy web slingers and Bucky Barnes comes into the kitchen his hair in a bun and carrying a cake tin.
“Good Morning Danielle” he says brightly. Dani makes a stuttering noise but smiles back. Bucky smiles back and passes Dani the cake tin before leaving.
The tin is filled with white chocolate chip muffins.
“Dinner?” Jessica asks as Luke’s mouth twitches.
It isn’t until she checks in with Matt that she finds out Mason and Maddison are in possession of twenty almond croissants from the Winter Solider and Foggy has some Italian style bread that Jessica can hear him praising in the background.
Luke just shrugs and passes her another muffin. It is delicious. And the kind of thing that Trish would hate herself for eating. That makes it even better.
“You know” Steve says once he’s worked his way through Bucky’s latest creation, a raspberry ice cream cake with vanilla sponge. “I think you’re responsible for the team gaining weight overnight.
Bucky just smirks.
“You ok?” Steve asks him. Bucky shrugs burying his face against Steve’s hipbones.
“I do love you” Steve says finally and Bucky nods. “I love you too” he says finally. The words are something he struggles still to say even though he knows the meaning. Steve strokes his hair softly and Bucky can smell his fingers smelling of the gingerbread they had made together previously.
“I love the fact that you’re getting fatter” Bucky says grinning poking Steve’s hipbone. “I’m making you fatter” he giggles. “All those jokes I used to make about fattening you up when if we had the money”
Steve smirks gently twirling a lock of hair in his fingers. “I love you” he says again. “And your food” he says as an afterthought. Bucky grins again this time a real one that seems to shine through the darkness.
“Do you have any more of that salted caramel sauce that we were supposed to drizzle on the homemade marshmallows? Do we have any marshmallows?”
Bucky nods.
“Good” Steve says and Bucky takes a great moment of pleasure in the dark gleeful look on Steve’s face. Steve eyes the flat planes of Bucky’s stomach but Bucky shakes his head grinning this time.
“Nah Stevie” he says grinning before his eyes drift down to Steve’s abs. “I’m gonna lick the sauce off you”
Steve’s dark grin and bright eyes makes Bucky shiver in the most delicious way.
Several years later, a marriage and two kids and Steve comes back from a mission, sweating, aching and with a fresh new scar that he knows Bucky will panic over later considering it’s length but right now that doesn’t matter.
Grace, Meredith and Bucky are in the kitchen apparently baking something. He doesn’t see or particularly care all that much because he knows that whatever it is, is going to smell and taste fantastic. All he can see is his family.
Grace has her long blonde hair tied in a knot on top of her head. She’s in a loose grey T-Shirt and dark blue shorts and she’s mixing something with flour on her nose and Meredith is spooning what looks like chocolate frosting considering that she keeps furtively keeps dipping her finger in the chocolatey goo, Bucky meanwhile is fiddling with the oven temperature and doesn’t look up until Grace does her face breaking into a grin.
“Pops” she says grinning and Bucky looks up grinning when he sees Steve his face creasing into a smile.
“Hey” he says softly. He has to bite back a wince when Meredith jumps off her stool her jumper covered in smears of chocolate and what looks like butter and his scar twinges in pain as her head comes to rest on the burnt and torn flesh.
Bucky catches it even though Grace and Meredith don’t and his eyes widen. Steve manages a smile and shakes his head silently indicating all is well. Bucky frowns slightly and doesn’t drop the concerned look from his eyes though he allows Steve to kiss him.
“Making those chocolate cream cakes you like” he mutters under his breath. “Then gonna go to the Nursing Home Peg was in and drop off some to Jack and Daniel”
Steve grins against his hair. Jack Thomson and Daniel Souza, Peggy’s co-workers and the latter being Peggy’s husband are in the same nursing home as she was. They’re both still alive, both bicker like they were twenty, both in desperate need of sugar (according to them) and both in silent awe of Steve and Bucky.
“Not our fault” Daniel says devouring the strawberry scones the last time they visited. “Even Thompson heard about ya in Japan”
Jack had been too full of scone to do anything but scowl. He would never admit to it but Steve knew the other man missed Peggy with something fierce.
“I might go have a shower” Steve says winking at Grace.
“You’ve been to medical” Bucky hisses looking stern and Steve nods.
Bucky shoots him a look that clearly states he doesn’t believe him but Steve just smiles innocently back widening his eyes so that Bucky melts like goo against him and all is forgotten for a few hours.
Steve’s out the shower, sat on the couch and working his way though some leftover cheesy rolls when Bucky and the kids leave.
Bucky winks at Steve again as he opens the door for Grace. “Don’t worry” he says in a carrying stage whisper as she leaves and it’s just the two of them.
“I saved some of the cream for later, if that’s scars ok” he winks and Steve groans leaning back on the couch cushions and wondering if Bucky intends to kill him by overfeeding him.
In the grand scheme of things, considering the food and the warmth and the safety that it brings...
Not the worst way to go.