A/N:

In this chapter, we explore Steve and Bucky's culinary skills, my (in)ability to write cooking scenes, and maybe a little teaser of Bruce and Natasha.

I own nothing.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10

Ten minutes later, Bucky was busy cutting peppers, and Steve was flipping through TV channels. Bucky looked up from his peppers, "What are you looking for?" Steve was still focused on the TV, "I guess I'm looking for some background noise, something easy to listen to." he called over his shoulder. Bucky grinned, "Well when you find it let me know." And he went back to cutting peppers. Meanwhile, Natasha had come down to see if Bruce was with them, and was greeted with the visual of the ex-Winter Soldier wearing black sweatpants, a black T-shirt, and for some reason, an apron that read, 'Its Wine-O-Clock'.

"O-kay, I have several questions. One, where's Bruce? You're cooking? And why is Bucky wearing that apron?" Steve turned around, "He's downstairs in his lab, working on Buck's new arm. And the apron was a gag gift, most likely from Tony. I never brought it out because I never had any reason to, and it's also a bit ironic since I'm physically incapable of getting drunk unless I'm drinking that Asgardian Ale that Thor talks about. Technically speaking, Buck's the one doing any of the cooking at the moment, and he's wearing it because he can, but he can't get drunk either because he's also enhanced. Are you eating with us, Nat?"

She shrugged, "Sure, why not? I haven't had pasta in a long time. I'll go get Bruce, see if he wants any." Bucky had put the peppers in a bowl and was now cutting mushrooms. "You should, Steve's pasta is amazing. Used to have it all the time back in the old days." Natasha nodded and left to go extract Bruce from his lab. Steve gave up with the TV and joined Bucky at the counter, "I can't find anything worth listening to." Bucky smirked and put the knife down, "Oh? Well in that case, would you mind helping me with the pancetta? It's in the fridge in the bottom drawer, on the left."

Steve grabbed the pancetta and tossed it into a pan to let it cook for a few minutes. "J.A.R.V.I.S.? Set a timer for five minutes." A chime sounded, "Timer set." Steve resumed watching the pan, making sure the pancetta was being cooked evenly. The scent of frying meat and oil filled the air in the kitchen. He switched on the vents, but it didn't help much. Bucky came up behind him and wrapped his arms around Steve's waist. "I'm getting hungrier..." He murmured, massaging Steve's shoulders, careful to be gentle with his metal arm. Steve was startled at first, but his surprise quickly turned to enjoyment, "Ohhhhhhh that feels amazing, keep doing that."

Bucky smiled and began planting light kisses down Steve's neck and shoulders, each one eliciting a low groan of pleasure. Bucky grinned and whispered in his ear, "You like that, Stevie?" Blushing furiously, Steve could feel his core temperature rising. "Mmmmff I'm trying to heat-sear this pancetta, you are not helping!" he whined playfully. Bucky kept going, "Are you sure you don't want to skip dinner and go straight to dessert?" Steve put the pan down and laughed. "If it were just for the two of us, I'd be perfectly okay with going right to dessert, but since we've already offered to cook for Natasha and possibly Bruce, I say we finish what we started and then have dessert, no?"

He relented, but kept rubbing Steve's shoulders, "Whatever you say, Cap. But now I can't wait for dessert." Steve chuckled, "I can't either. Good things come to those who wait, Buck. Now let's get this meal finished." Just then the timer went off, and Steve flipped the pancetta to allow the other side to cook. Bucky stepped away to drop the mushrooms in with the peppers, and went to grab the water for the pasta. A knock on the wall interrupted their cooking. "Hey guys, it smells good out here, what's cooking?" It was Sam, and the smell of good things cooking was apparently strong enough to make it all the way to the back of the floor, thus leading him to check out the aroma.

"What's up, Wilson? It's Steve's pasta, one of the greatest things I've ever eaten." Sam raised his eyebrows, "Steve cooks?" Bucky grinned, "Oh yeah, used to cook all the time, but that's a story for another time. You going to eat with us? We're making pretty much enough for everyone." Sam nodded enthusiastically, "How can I say no when it smells that damned good?" Steve smiled, "Well, I haven't made this in about, what, seventyish years? I hope my cooking skills haven't deteriorated since then." Sam crossed over to the counter, "Do you all need help with anything?"

Steve had just finished with the pancetta, and was dicing it for the sauce, "Yeah, could you grab me a couple of tomatoes and the tomato sauce, and the ground beef? And can you pass me the peppers and mushrooms, Buck?" Bucky slid over the bowl and Steve scraped the pancetta in and added seasoning, while Sam was grabbing the other ingredients. He glanced over at the stove, "Is the water boiling yet?"

Bucky looked over and deemed it close, "A watched pot never boils, Sam, but it's getting close. If you guys want your pasta al dente, let me know." And he took a large jar of penne and added it to the now-boiling water. "Set a timer for eleven minutes." A ding went off, "Timer set." Sam smirked and started slicing the tomatoes and tossed the ground beef into the same pan Steve used for the pancetta to save time on dish-washing. "So, how are you two?" Steve walked over and dumped the jar of tomato sauce and the bowl of pancetta, peppers, and mushrooms into a large saucepan with some olive oil. "We're all right, Banner's in the process of making Buck a new arm, why do you a- the bet, right? How much did you lose?" Sam gave him the side-eye, "I lost 50 bucks. FIFTY." Bucky snickered, "If it were Tony, you probably would've lost way more, and why was it that if she won she got 50 from you and Banner but if she lost then you guys only got 25?" Sam shrugged, "She's persuasive. I'll get her back later." He turned on the stove to low for the sauce and kept an eye on the beef, making sure he didn't let it go too long.

When she walked into the lab, the first thing Natasha noticed was that there were several crumpled balls of paper, a holographic 3D-render of an arm floating above Bruce's desk, and the man himself was pacing and muttering about scientific jargon, which she didn't really understand. "Uh, Bruce? You hungry?" He stopped pacing and turned towards her, "Huh? Oh, you're here. Say that again?" She cocked her head, "Steve and Bucky are upstairs cooking dinner, you want any?" He shook himself as though to wake his brain up, "Uh, yeah. Dinner sounds good, I'll be up in a few..." and he trailed off. Natasha smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll wait here to make sure you don't get too caught up again." But Bruce was already sitting down, lost in his mind again.

Chuckling quietly, Natasha took a seat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder, "What are you working on, anyway?" Bruce put his head in his hands and gave a resigned sigh, "I'm trying to create a new arm for Bucky, but the wiring's driving me crazy. It has to be exact or else the arm won't work." Natasha had a puzzled look, "Maybe you should take a step back? Take a break?" Bruce grunted in frustration, "I have to get this done sooner than later, otherwise I'll just end up procrastinating." She sensed his frustration and took his hand in hers. "You got this, but I think you need a bit of a break so you don't tire yourself out." Bruce sighed heavily, "At least let me try to configure this wiring..." She nodded and sat by him patiently.

So, here is Chapter 10. I actually don't remember when I last updated, but here it is. I toyed with the idea of Bruce and Natasha, but left it as a teaser. Also, I apologize if there are any plot inconsistencies, as well as my lack of skill in writing cooking scenes. If there are any inconsistencies, let me know in a comment/review, any constructive criticism is welcome.

Happy reading!

-Aspiring Avenger