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For the past few months, Tony had been coming home most days to find both Bucky and the kitchen covered in flour, with various baked goods strewn around the counters. He was usually mumbling something under his breath or frantically writing something down in an old notebook.
Tony, every time, would wander in, offer Bucky a smile and grab whatever was closest to taste it. “This is great!” he’d announce happily. “What’s this one?”
Bucky would look up for a second, smiled and told Tony whatever it was that he was eating. He’d make another note- this time writing down the fact that Tony liked it- before setting down his book and crossing the kitchen to hug his boyfriend.
Tony loved Bucky’s baking- he made any variation of salted caramel treat he could think of, knowing it was one of Tony’s favourite flavours. He also loved how it seemed to have an instant calming ability- despite the frantic appearance of his noting down recipes and the flour-covered hands and counters, Tony could tell that this was genuinely relaxing for his boyfriend. And god knows after everything the super soldier had been to, he needed that calming outlet.
Tony would love to be able to join Bucky in baking, but he was an absolute disaster in the kitchen- he could barely make toast. There was a reason that Bucky did a lot of the cooking for them, or they just ordered in most of the time. But Tony loved watching Bucky really focus on his baking, watching how his shoulders would relax almost instantly when he was mixing a batter or kneading a dough.
One evening, Tony got home after a particularly hard day at the lab to find the kitchen empty. There was no thin layer of flour covering the counters, no assortment of notebooks strewn around- one for each type of recipe, Bucky had explained once- and worst of all, there was no Bucky. Looking around for any sign of him revealed a dish of salted caramel cookies with a note on top.
Been called away on a last minute mission. Will be back in a couple days. Sorry I couldn’t say goodbye to you before I left, I love you. -JB x
Tony sighed, folding up the note and setting it down beside the container of cookies. The apartment felt empty without Bucky there, covering the kitchen with baked goods. He decided to pick up a cookie and wandered into the living room with it, throwing himself on the couch before taking a bite.
The cookie, as always, was gorgeous- thick and still slightly warm (Bucky can’t have left all that long ago), with the perfect balance between smooth chocolate and salty sweet caramel. He always got those ratios totally perfect. Tony made a soft noise and closed his eyes, savouring the taste. “These are incredible,” he said to himself. “FRIDAY? Baby girl, can you pull up a recipe for these? I wanna try to make them, as a surprise for Buck.”
His AI pulled up a holographic screen for him with the ingredients, measurements and cooking times for salted caramel cookies, which Tony quickly thanked her for and saved the page with a hand motion.
“Okay, FRIDAY, I’m gonna try these later. Please make sure I don’t burn the kitchen down or something.”
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Later that night, Tony went back to the kitchen and pulled up the recipe screen that FRIDAY had given him earlier. He grabbed one of the cookies from the container that Bucky had left him, stuffing it into his mouth while he gathered together ingredients. It didn’t take too many ingredients, luckily- not that there was any shortage of baking supplies in the kitchen, seeing as Bucky used it basically every day so FRIDAY always made sure it was all topped up for them.
It took significantly longer than listed on the recipe for the cookies to even be ready to go in the oven, which really should have been the first sign of something not being quite right. But Tony, being slightly oblivious, didn’t pay it any mind as he finally slid the tray into the oven.
“Can you set me a timer for…” Tony paused to check the recipe page before finishing the request to his AI, “eighteen minutes, please?”
“On it, boss. Eighteen minute timer started now.” She responded smoothly. Tony thanked her, grabbed another cookie from the container, and went to curl up in the living room while he waited.
Eighteen minutes passed, bringing cookies that looked awful and smelled mildly of fire. Tony dated a bite of one, only to find that they tasted awful. “Oh! I’m not using this recipe again!” He decided, swiping a hand to delete the saved page. “Maybe I’ll try a different version of the recipe tomorrow…” he smoothly swiped all of the cookies he’d baked into the trash. That hadn’t gone well at all.
The next day, Tony tried again, and again failed. While the time before the cookies had seemed overcooked, following the baking time on this recipe left him with overly gooey undercooked cookies that also tasted awful.
The day after, his cookies were too salty, having added too much salt to the caramel he’d put in them.
The day after that, he’d not added nearly enough of the salted caramel sauce.
Luckily, the day after that batch was the day Bucky came home. Tony returned from the lab to find his boyfriend in the kitchen, investigating the cookies he’d made earlier before leaving to work on his project.
“Hey, Tony- did you make these?” He asked when he heard his boyfriend enter the kitchen, picking one up.
“Oh, uh, yeah. I’ve kinda been practicing.” Tony admitted with a light shrug, trying to keep his tone casual so he didn’t give away how badly it had all gone. That was, until FRIDAY totally snitched on him.
“Mr Stark has been practicing this particular recipe since the day you left for your mission, Sgt. Barnes. It has not been going well.” She revealed, which made Bucky laugh and Tony blush bright red in embarrassment.
“Come on, love. I know you have a sweet tooth, and you missed my baking. I’ll teach you.” Bucky promised, offering Tony a bright smile.
Tony quickly agreed, and the couple started by making a batch of red velvet cupcakes together. They would bake together as often as it was possible to, and eventually Tony got better and better at baking to the point where, if needed, he was able to do it on his own. That was really put into test when Bucky went on another mission- this one only lasting a day. He returned home to find the kitchen full of brownies, muffins, cakes and cookies, and Tony mixing up a batch of banana bread.
Bucky had never been more grateful for Tony’s sweet tooth, because now their baking time was the highlight of their days together.