A Dash of This, A Dash of That: A follow-up to âA Pinch of This, A Pinch of Thatâ
Bucky can actually cook.
If heâd tried that âI only have one arm. Iâm gonna need someone to cook for meâ shit with AyoâŚletâs just say it took one look from her to make sure he never thought of trying it.
He may have been out of his head, but he wasnât that far out of his head.
And there was no way ShuriâŚor Queen Ramonda herselfâŚor TâChalla (Blessed be his memory)âŚwould have allowed a grown-assed man to be treated like a baby for 2 months, let alone for 2 whole years.
In Wakanda, once he started to get his head back and got used to having one arm, part of his recovery was work, and he got to work making himself useful to himself, and to the community that welcomed him.
In addition to offering his supersoldier strength when needed around the village, one of the other ways he made himself useful was cooking not only for himself, but also for the community when called upon to help.
Or simply as a way to say Thank You, like when the garden he had on his plot of land yielded more produce than he could eat by himself, he would harvest it, put it on a cart, and go around to his neighbors offering fresh vegetables, and goat milk from his small herd.
Bucky made himself useful as part of his recovery.
Cooking, however, wasnât exactly a priority after The Great Return from The Snap.
He had other things to deal with living in the States, back in Brooklyn: a trial and subsequent pardon for his Winter Soldier captivity, mandated scheduled therapy appointments for who knows how long, amends to be made, and basically staying off the radar, hoping to maybe someday return to Wakanda to live out the rest of his over-extended life.
Then, in the middle of John Walker/Flagsmashers/Zemo and everything else designed to upend his plans to lay low, he met Sam Wilsonâs sister Sarah and her 2 boysâŚand along with flirting, his cooking skills also started to resurface in Delacroix, Louisiana.
Of course heâs not as good at cooking as Sarah, but between what basics he learned from his Ma, then from his time in the Ilizwe lomama (aka The Homeland aka Wakanda), and now spending time in the kitchen with SarahâŚand also watching YouTube videos, and being immersed in the vaguely familiar flavors of Creole and Soul Food cooking of Southern LouisianaâŚheâs improving.
And one of the results isâŚ
Sam goes in for his third helping of collards, and all eyes at the dinner table are on him.
He looks up from the serving dish.
âWhatâŚ?â
Sarah looks from Sam to Bucky, whose eyebrows are threatening to invade his hairline.
âMomma!!â Cass and AJ point at Sam.
âUncle Samâs gonna eat all the greens,â AJ grumbles, dropping his hand, sitting back in his chair and folding his arms.
âYeah! Too bad thereâs not gonna be any left.â Cass says, looking at Sam with the biggest Puppy In The Rain eyes ever, while AJ gives Sam the Cyborg Stare & Squint he picked up from his Uncle Bucky.
âSam!â Sarah laughs. âWe want seconds, too! Save some for the rest of us, please!â
âListen. I donât know what you did this time, but this right here? You put your ankle in it!
Cass, AJ, come on, get some of this.â
He dishes up some collards onto each of the boysâ plates.
âAnd you,â he side-eyes the supersoldier, âare a bad influence on these kids. Got AJ up in here doing your Terminator Stare thing. Iâll just have some more of that mac and cheese instead. Sarah, you want some more? Buck?â
âIâm good,â Bucky grins. âIâm going back in on the chicken, though. Itâs delicious, Sarah.â
âMe, too!â both boys chime in. âIâll have some more mac and cheese, too!!â says Cass, rubbing his hands together like heâs seen his Uncle Sam do when food is yummy.
âSis, your greens usually taste like Nana Juneâs and Mamaâs with a little sumptâ-sumptâ secret that you wonât share with me. Thereâs something different about these, though. I canât quite put my finger on it, but theyâre delicious. Next time, you need to double up that recipe!â
Sarah glances over at Bucky, who is busying himself with his piece of chicken. He glances up at Sarah, then at Sam, then back down at his own plate, smiling to himself.
Sam picks up his glass of sweet tea. âI think everyone should thank the person who fixed tonightâs dinner.â
âThanks, Momma!â
âThanks, Sarah.â Sam says, raising his glass to her.
âThanks, Sarah.â Bucky takes her hand and kisses it, then raises his glass.
Then Sarah raises her own glass. âYouâre welcome. And Iâd like to say a special Thank You to the person responsible for the greens. Thank you, James.â
âWow! Cool! Thanks Uncle Bucky!â Cass and AJ chatter with excitement, peppering him with questions:
âWhat else can you cook?â
âWho taught you how to cook, Uncle Bucky?â
âDid you cook way back in the Old Timey days?â
Bucky chuckles at their enthusiastic curiosity. âThanks, fellas! You really like âem?â
âYeah!â the boys say in unison.
Sam, still holding the serving spoon and dish, just sits there, unable to process what he's just heard.
âHey, I thought staring was my thingâ Bucky grins as Sam glares at him.
âYouâŚcooked these greens?â Sam says looking at Bucky, then at Sarah, then back at Bucky.
âYes, I did, Samuel. Youâre welcome. Iâm glad you like them,â he deadpans.
âAnd you actually seasoned them! I mean, this isnât just salt and pepper. ThisâŚthis isâŚâ
âA special blend I made with spices fromâ Wait. What? Why are you surprised?
I was in Wakanda for 2 years. Do you think I was on a vacation? That I had people cooking for me and waiting hand and foot on a grown man perfectly capable ofâ
Sarah, tell your brother that IâŚI know about seasoning, Sam!â
âSam. Come on, now.â she chuckled. âOf course he had learn how toââ
âOh! So, he spent a little time in Wakanda and he came back Spice Panther?!â Sam laughs, pleased with his joke.
Sarah and Bucky look at each other, then at Sam, and together declare:
âActuallyâŚitâs Spice Wolf.â
Cass and AJ both giggle as Sarah and Bucky chuckle and continue to enjoy the meal.
Sam stares at them bothâŚand puts the rest of the greens onto his own plate.
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/2
Fandom: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Cass Wilson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Sarah Wilson
Characters: James "Bucky" Barnes, Cass Wilson, Sarah Wilson (Marvel), Sam Wilson (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Mardi Gras, Parades, Fluff, Teenagers, Sarahbucky, Parenting
Summary:
âYou know, Buck, from the moment you got here, my boys changed. They took to you from jump because you allowed them to be kids. You were steady, and they knew you wouldnât let them fall.â Sarah sighed. âCass didnât have to play at being a little grown up anymore. Yet and still, this isnât easy for him.â
âSarah, I want them to feel safe. I want them to feel secure and know that they can come to me and confide in me. I want to be for them better than what my father was for me.â
âI know, James. Maybe you should tell him that, instead of telling me?â