Chapter Text
Ava stumbled into the common room at an hour that was far too early for anything other than coffee and brooding.
The first thing she noticed is that the TV was gone. Well, not gone. It was off the wall, instead against the wall and covered in a lace blanket. The Xbox unplugged beside it.
She paused mid step, looking around.
The lights were off, the switches taped down. Instead the rooms lit by candles. Flickering softly in brass holders. Smelling like beeswax and… maybe cinnamon?
From atop the bar, grainy music came out of a gramophone. Like, an actual goddamn gramophone. It wasn't something she recognized, definitely not anything modern.
And, just barely, she could hear whistling. Low, casual.
Bucky.
Bucky's whistling.
"Oh no," Ava mutters. "No no no.."
She followed the sound like it was a trail of breadcrumbs, socks barely making a sound against the floor as the scent of fresh bread and coffee grew stronger.
The second she made it into the kitchen, she noticed Bucky. Sleeves rolled up, hair tied back with a handkerchief, flour dusted across his apron. He stood at the counter, kneading dough like a man possessed. Or at peace. Hart to tell, really.
A coffee percolator—a percolator,for gods sake—bubbled away on the stovetop, and the music drifted in from the living room from smoke.
Ava stopped in the doorway, one hand rubbing her temples.
"Bucky," his name came out more like a plea than a greeting.
He didn't even look up. "Mornin', sunshine."
"...Did you just call me sunshine?"
"Would you prefer doll"? He asked, smiling slightly as he folded the dough.
Ava blinked again. “Where’s the microwave?”
“In the coat closet,” he replied, deadpan.
“And the blender?”
“Banished."
She stared. “Okay, no. What the hell is going on?”
Bucky finally looked at her, eyes soft. “Just taking it back to the basics, sweetheart.”
“That doesn’t answer anything.”
“Doesn’t it?”
Ava squinted at him. “Are you having a breakdown or a nostalgia spiral?”
“Bit a’ both,” he said cheerfully. “Want some coffee?”
And despite every fiber of her being screaming that this was a trap, a prank, or a hallucination brought on by sleep deprivation, she nodded. Because it honestly smelled amazing.