A/N: Hot off the presses, so hopefully there aren't too many typos :)

10. We've been committed — now to what do we all commit? In which the Avengers indulge in guilty pleasures.

Tony likes gadgets. That's not surprising, and is really easy to tell within a few minutes of meeting him. What is surprising is that he also likes to keep up with popular gadgets. He reads magazines and goes out to buy the newest thing at midnight sometimes. Most of these then become appropriated for some other use than was intended by the manufacturer, but Tony can't seem to keep his hands off new toys, whether he made them or not.

Bruce is harder to read, especially since Bucky sees him so rarely. What he does seem to enjoy is reading the paper or a science journal with a cup of tea. He doesn't drink coffee, but makes tea for himself every evening at five o'clock. Then he reads whatever periodical they have on hand. Bucky isn't sure where these come from, if they are brought to the Tower for Bruce or just one of the things Tony (or, more accurately, Pepper) has done to make it feel more like home. In any case, Bruce is rarely willing to do anything with his evening until after he's done this little ritual.

What kind of food they eat on Asgard is a mystery, but Thor definitely enjoys "Midgardian" food, as he calls it. He will eat a whole box of pop tarts if left to his own devices, particularly since Pepper showed him how to toast them before eating. Bucky must admit they are delicious this way, though he isn't used to eating quite so much sugar. Thor enjoys other junk food, and will apparently eat anything. Possibly because of their upbringing, or the serums that made them into what they are, Steve and then Bucky are considered voracious eaters, but Thor puts them to shame. If they had an eating contest, which Bucky hopes doesn't happen, Thor would easily win.

Perhaps because of his dangerous job, Clint prefers to spend at least some of his downtime indulging in creature comforts. He doesn't generally take baths, but he seems to enjoy being clean and making piles of pillows to sit or lay around in. Bucky finds it a little odd, but Clint defends himself to the others, usually Tony, by saying that he spends enough time in run-down and terrible places for work. When he is done, he wants to spend some time in the lap of luxury, and Avengers Tower provides that pretty well.

Sam is less obvious with what he enjoys doing, at least compared to Clint. But it soon becomes apparent that he enjoys sleeping. He can sleep anywhere, at any time, and Bucky is pretty sure he developed the same skill during the war. It is a useful one. When Sam stays overnight, he usually sleeps long into the next day if given half the chance. If they watch television or anything else that involves lying around, he is usually unconscious within the first twenty minutes. It is a light sleep, and he wakes easily if anything disturbs him.

Bucky doesn't know how much of Steve he remembers, and how much he intuitively understands of his friend. Reading people is, after all, one of the skills that was trained into him thoroughly, though generally in reference to combat situations. In any case, they are often on the same page, and they share many of their downtime activities in some way. One proclivity that Bucky doesn't understand is Steve's enjoyment of dark chocolate. Maybe it is the serum, because he doesn't think that was something he'd done before the war. Of course, it wasn't like such luxuries were easy to come by at the time. So perhaps Steve enjoys being reminded of how special it was when they would save enough for a treat. Bucky doesn't remember any such occasion specifically, but has inferred from Steve's statements that it did happen.

Steve is more old-fashioned than Bucky. Probably because he remembers that life, and has had trouble adjusting to this one. Bucky doesn't remember much, and has done what he needed to survive in any situation that presented itself. Perhaps he is thus more prepared for what happened to them, but he doesn't know. Steve is constant, unchanging; Bucky is adaptable. So Steve's likes and dislikes are obvious and solidified, while Bucky struggles to identify himself as his own person, let alone understand what he enjoys and what he doesn't.

He supposes it is fortunate that Natasha is here, and understands that. Clint does, too, but not to the same degree. His experience with Loki is similar, but much shorter than Bucky's. Clint has recovered himself quite well, and doesn't seem to be strongly affected by the circumstances that brought the Avengers together. It is impossible to tell how much Natasha was affected by her upbringing, since there wasn't anything else before it. She wasn't an adult when they turned her into what they needed. Bucky wonders, with some amazement, if that's why she is able to handle all of this so well. She always seems comfortable, no matter what she is doing.

If Natasha has a guilty pleasure, it is likely watching television. There are shows she enjoys that involve a variety of people talking about their lives very dramatically, often with bizarre and unlikely twists in the plot. She keeps track of a diverse cast and is all too happy to discuss what is going on with each of them at any given time. He has occasionally watched these shows with her, but they are too baffling for him to follow easily. She tells him that some have been on the air for decades, and have followed that family or group of people over generations. He supposes he can understand the allure of such a complicated story-structure, but it isn't something he enjoys now.

When Bucky watches television, which is rare, he usually is limited to simple programs often designed for younger viewers. As these are often educational, it does help him learn some of the things he's missed. Mostly, though, he dislikes being talked down to, and prefers to read internet sources. Natasha and Steve have warned him about how this source can be skewed or full of outright lies, but it is certainly his best option. When he wants to learn about the past, but sometimes the outline of his footprint on it distresses him too much to continue.

One afternoon, Bucky had been alone all day and was searching for something to do. The shows Natasha likes were on, but most of the others held no interest for him. The information he was reading on his tablet, a gift from Sam, was trending toward the sort of thing that might trigger him, and he didn't want to risk that. So, he was wandering aimlessly around their floor, pacing and occasionally mumbling to himself. Steve hadn't been around much lately, and Sam was back in DC. Natasha was, as always, hard to pin down on her movements. Sometimes she'd be around all day for a week, and then disappear for several weeks. It was over a week since Bucky had last seen her.

The other Avengers were always around, of course, but he didn't seek them out. At the beginning, Steve had made sure he was never alone, and the others had taken some kind of shifts to keep him company. Bucky had insisted, emphatically, that such precautions were no longer necessary, and now he had to deal with that. Being surrounded all the time made him claustrophobic, and being alone made him regress and afraid of HYDRA capturing him again. There wasn't a solution. It hadn't been a pleasant discussion with Steve, and Bucky couldn't help but wonder if perhaps that's why Steve hadn't been around much lately.

That wasn't fair. Steve undoubtedly had a good excuse not to spend his time babysitting a useless former assassin. He would certainly have explained it to Bucky if he'd asked, but he hadn't thought of it. Bucky was aware that he didn't catch many of the more subtle social cues, despite his ability to pick on miniscule tells in other situations. It had taken him weeks to resist evaluating everyone he saw in terms of their physical weaknesses and combat skills. Of course, he hadn't seen anyone new lately, so maybe that was always going to be there.

He shook his head to clear it of his thoughts, and hoped he hadn't been talking to himself the whole time. It was, unfortunately, kind of a new sensation to be able to voice his ideas whenever he wished, and sometimes forgot that there were inappropriate times to do so. Mostly, though, he erred on the side of silence, but he had gotten carried away occasionally. Steve was particularly amused when he did that, though he usually guarded himself better than that when people were around. Steve had been the only witness to his ramblings thus far, and he hoped to keep it that way. He glanced around suspiciously, wondering how much the machine that ran the building paid attention to the tenants.

With a sigh, he forced his wandering feet in the direction of the kitchen, and turned on the light to stare at it blankly for a few moments. Then he moved forward and opened the refrigerator. It was pretty bare. He didn't think he had it in him to go shopping again, at least not while he was in his present level of agitation. He swung the door closed and went to the pantry. There were more options here in terms of pre-assembled dinners, as well as ingredients for baking. He remembered that Natasha liked to bake from time to time, and he wondered what he could do with the available materials.

Cataloging his resources was something at which he was quite skilled. He turned over the options in his head, and considered what he could do. Biting his lip, he searched the rest of the kitchen for tools, which he pulled out and set on the counter. Then he arranged the ingredients next to them, creating a workspace. He did not think about the last time he'd made something more complicated than a sandwich, and preheated the oven. While its temperature increased, he measured out the dry ingredients and sifted them together into a large bowl. The sifter was brand new and not the easiest to use, but he managed.

The oven was preheated by the time he'd finished sifting and he frowned slightly as he tried to remember what was next. Eggs, he supposed. He beat them in the mixer and added the vanilla and butter slowly, waiting until it was an even consistency before he slowly sifted the dry goods into the bowl. It took some time, perhaps twenty minutes, until all the materials were uniform. And smelling delicious. He smiled. Pouring the mix into a large pan, he spread it evenly and then placed it in the oven. Now he just had to wait.

"Hey, Bucky, I'm back," Steve called down the hallway. "What smells amazing?"

Bucky pushed himself off of the counter where he had been sitting and leaned back with a smile as Steve walked into the kitchen. "Brownies," he replied, pleased with himself.

Steve grinned. "Where did you learn to make brownies?"

"I have no idea," he replied with a shrug, his smile fading slightly. "But they're really good. Try one."

Steve picked up the still-warm treat and ate it slowly. "You should bake more often, Bucky," he said sincerely.

Bucky smiled.