Things Bucky Barnes Doesn't Do Well

Pop Culture

"Tell me again why we are doing this," Pepper said quietly to Tony, who made a show of being exasperated.

"Because I'm sick and tired of these people not getting my awesome jokes," he answered dramatically.

The people in question were Thor, Bucky, and Steve. Natasha was there also, but had not been invited. They all laughed at his antics, and Pepper smiled. "Seems like they do just fine," she told him gently.

"Yeah, but think of how much more they would enjoy our communications in mission if they knew the references. And all the nicknames I come up with – I work hard on those!"

"I know you do, dear," she said soothingly. "But maybe kidnapping them and forcing them to catch up isn't the best way to do this," she continued, looking over at Natasha for confirmation.

Natasha smiled. "I'm interested to see what Tony considers necessary pop culture," she explained.

"Come on, ladies, I've got this all queued up. Spent over a week on it," Tony interjected.

"Alright, fine. But you boys are welcome to leave if you get bored," Pepper assured the others, who smiled politely and nodded at her. "What's first?"

"Movies! Sci fi classic – Dune!" Tony said enthusiastically. Natasha groaned and Bucky looked at her in concern.

She shrugged. "It's fine, just, you know, kind of terrible."

"It's not terrible, it was groundbreaking!" Tony replied with a frown.

"Groundbreakingly terribly," Natasha muttered.

They watched it. It was dense and confusing, but Tony provided a helpful commentary on what was important to notice. Natasha mostly rolled her eyes at his assessment, however, so Bucky wasn't sure what to think about it.

Next, they watched another sci fi classic – the Matrix. It featured some pretty cool action moves and was certainly less convoluted. Natasha didn't seem to have a problem with this choice, which made Tony act more smug than usual. He did not insist that they watch more than the first one (apparently there were more?), which pleased Natasha and Pepper.

The following day, Tony insisted they watch the Indiana Jones trilogy. Pepper tried to correct him about that, but he was adamant that what he said was accurate. The reference was lost on the three of them, though Natasha smirked, so must have followed the conversation. They were very exciting films, but Bucky was beginning to wonder if they would do anything besides watch movies (not that he was complaining).

Star Wars was next. After seeing the same actor play a similar role in the other trilogy, it was pleasant to see him again. The first one was good, but a bit simple. He preferred the second one, and was intrigued by the depth of character that was added, especially by the revelation about the villain of the first film. Tony told them it was one of the biggest plot twists of all time, to which they smiled and nodded. Thor seemed to take this quite seriously, and was very quiet during the end of the third movie. Bucky thought perhaps it wasn't the best idea of things to have him watch, what with all that had happened to him recently.

Perhaps someone else mentioned this to Tony, because they watched much more light-hearted movies for a while. Romantic comedies and regular comedies, mainly. Bucky didn't think any of them were particularly memorable, but it was a fun way to pass the time. He liked not having such serious forms of entertainment, though he had enjoyed the science fiction aspect of the earlier choices.

Tony was more hesitant about showing them the next trilogy, called the Lord of the Rings. The title didn't ring any bells, but Bucky thought he might have heard of the author or another book of his when they were in England during the war. Steve was unable to provide any insight into it, so he didn't know. Maybe it was just his imagination. He suspected Tony's hesitance was due to concern about how Thor would take it.

Fortunately, Thor liked it. They all did. It was a complicated story, like Dune had been, but was much more accessible. By the end of the third one, they were all pretty invested and didn't mind the length, compounded by the fact that Tony insisted on watching the "extended" versions. There was apparently much more character development in these, which suited everyone just fine. They had the day off, anyway, and it was a good way to spend it. The redemptive attitude toward virtually all the characters definitely hit home for, well, probably all of them.

Pepper must have convinced Tony that they'd watched enough movies, because the next time they were all together, he had musicians for them to watch. Mostly it was concert footage, which was a unique experience. Bucky didn't think he'd seen live music before, and certainly not the kind that Tony had them watch. He started with the greats, as he called them, from right after the war, and took them right up through the nineties. He told them there wasn't anything good after the eighties except for Nirvana, and neither Pepper nor Natasha argued with him. So maybe he was right.

"Well, ready for another evening of schooling?" Steve asked Bucky as they headed toward the common room.

Bucky shrugged one shoulder. "I always liked school, unlike some people," he said delicately.

Steve laughed. "I liked it fine. Just had a hard time seeing the point of some of it, I guess. What's the plan for tonight?" he added to Tony as they reached the doorway.

Natasha and Thor were already there, seated comfortably around the table, though Pepper was absent. Tony was standing near one of the monitors, getting things ready, presumably. "Romanoff says enough videos," Tony grumbled. The woman in question smiled benignly to the room at large. "So we're going to play a game."

"What kind of game?" Bucky asked warily, thinking of the other, more strenuous ones they'd played on other floors of the building.

"Poker," Tony replied with a grin, setting out chips.

Bucky and Steve exchanged looks. "I hate to break it to you, Tony, but that game's been around for a while," Steve told him.

"Well, I was going to give you a rundown on the best books that have come out in the last seventy years, but Pepper told me that would be boring. So I have reading lists for everyone, and I want to beat Cap at poker."

Steve laughed. "I'd like to see you try, old man."

"Hey, you're the only one we call that," Tony said in mock-offense.

"Yeah, especially since Stark is one of the youngest people in the room," Natasha added, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

Thor smiled. "He is perhaps the most aged, however." Tony stared at him in surprise. "The wisest of us, I am sure," the god continued, and the others were unable to resist laughing at Tony's stunned expression.

"Wise or not, let's see how good he is at poker," Natasha broke in.

It quickly became apparent why she was impatient – she was quite adept at the game, and was the only one to walk away from the table richer.

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