I don't see an end

This fear is always so subtle. No adrenaline surges slick though his veins, no vices suffocate the bags of his lungs. There’s no way to detect it. Not until retorts are choked back, still lodged against his cords, or aborted movements save Bucky from the thrill of electricity through his bones. Crouched against gunfire with mud sucking at his soles, Bucky could swallow the heave of terror. It had been tangible, in each soldier’s goddamn blood and sweat, but at least it could be riddled with bullets and left to wither on the battlefield.

Rus gives him a chance, a few precious seconds of his time to simply stand there and wait for an answer. When he gets nothing, the mask of kindness he had put on to torment him is torn away, replaced by the smirk that had been there before.

"Since you don't want any, I guess I'll eat it." The piece of bacon is popped into his mouth as he speaks. The mutt's silence going unpunished this time in favor of turning his attention back to the food he had left to prepare. Quickly finishing up what he needed to do for the fries so he could get them seasoned and slid into the oven to bake. The bacon that was still sizzling in the pan is flipped again to make sure it's thoroughly cooked on both sides before joining the rest of the pieces on the cooling plate.

"You should’ve met his dad. Different times, but same mindset. It was always a big show, and always had to be more impressive than anyone else," he sighed, shrugging. Tony was more like his dad than he probably wanted to think about, but they had their redeeming qualities too. "Well if it helps, you’re more than a secretary to me. I mean, help with reports is great and all, but I like having some normal people around. Not that any of us are really that normal," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. "He must have a team on it, cause I think you’re right - the stress from doing that paperwork could kill a lesser man."

"So it's a hereditary trait, that's good to know." Despite what Tony had to say about him, the things he had read and the way Steve talked about him made him think Howard wasn't nearly as bad as his son tried to make him out to be. Even if he did carry a certain level of understanding for the bitterness. "Thank you. It's nice to know at least one person on the team doesn't keep me around for the paperwork." He couldn't help but laugh a little though, because Steve was right. "Yeah, there's nothing normal about any of us, or the team of people that thought it'd be a good idea to take on Tony's accounting."