Things Bucky Barnes Doesn't Do Well

Modern Music

Tony always had music playing. It helped him think, apparently. Usually loud, often classic rock. He was known to play more contemporary stuff, but he obviously preferred music from when he was young. Younger. It was always easy to find him in the building because it was where the loudest music was coming from. If people came to see him, he would usually turn it down, but not always. Not if he was in the middle of something. It was important not to bother him when he was in the middle of something.

Bruce also liked music to work by, though not the high-energy stuff Tony used. If they were working together, he didn't seem to mind Tony's choice, but classical usually reigned the day in his lab. He liked things quiet and organized, but never minded being bothered during his work. He might ask a visitor to wait a few minutes while he finished something, but was impossible to sneak up on. Not that anyone would want to, but Tony was frequently too focused on what he was doing to notice.

Thor liked Asgardian music, whatever that meant. If the conversation drifted to music, he was happy to contribute and everyone listened politely as he described instruments they had never heard of. Thus far, he had been unable to bring them a sample in any playable format, but was undeterred. Clint joked that the Prince might force some of his subjects to visit solely for the purpose of sharing the sound with his friends. Thor was willing to listen to any music anyone might play, and was not partial to any particular genre.

Clint had a workout mix, allegedly composed of the biggest pop hits. Whether or not that was true, most of them featured heavy electronic sounds and the lyrics, often repetitive, referred to dance clubs and nights out drinking. It was a good workout mix, great for getting blood pumping and with a defined beat for doing reps. If he listened to music outside of the gym, he didn't show it.

Natasha also had a workout mix, similar to Clint's but with a little more edge. More rock than strictly pop. Though she also liked to mix things up, keep from being predictable, so it was sometimes a surprise what was playing when she worked out. Very occasionally, and it was very difficult to catch her at it, she would play the old masters and dance to it. God, could she dance.

Steve, like Tony, preferred to listen to music from a less complicated time in his life. That turned out to have been over seventy years ago, though, so he invested in a record player and vinyls. He was not against new music, and was always willing to give something a try. He appreciated Clint's choice in a workout mix (sometimes he found Natasha's unsettling), and could sometimes be found humming one of those songs while he cooked or did laundry.

Sam presumably listened to his preferred music when he was home, because he acquiesced easily to whatever anyone else wanted to hear. The only time Bucky heard what he liked was when Sam drove him places and it was just the two of them in the car. Bucky, of course, had no musical preference to start with, so Sam had introduced him to his kind of music. It was of a slower tempo than the pop music and the lyrics were more meaningful.

Bucky listened to everyone's preferences, even Steve's, with a somewhat detached appreciation. It was great to hear what artists were doing, or had been doing. But nothing struck him particularly and he didn't seek any out. He liked to have music playing while he got some exercise or chores done, but the genre or era was unimportant. It was good to hear people expressing themselves, and no medium could be more personal than music.

"Here's your problem," Tony said triumphantly as he twisted one of the metal plates in Bucky's arm back into place.

"Thanks," Bucky replied, unimpressed.

Tony looked a little disappointed in the reaction, then got back to work. "So, how'd this one happen?" he asked.

"Well, you know, sometimes HYDRA goons have grenades," Bucky answered with a shrug.

Tony opened his mouth to continue the conversation but was disrupted by a cacophony projected by the speakers in the ceiling.

Both of them jerked in surprise and looked up, trying to identify the noise.

"What the hell?" Tony grumbled, dropping his tools and heading for the door of the lab.

Bucky followed him, listening hard. "Is that... music?" he asked.

Tony snorted. "Yeah, it's popular in Japan, I think. Maybe Korea," he added, pressing his hands to his ears with a frown. "JARVIS! Turn this off!" he shouted over the noise.

JARVIS didn't respond, which made Tony grow visibly tense. He glanced back at Bucky, who set his shoulders and followed him down the hallway to the elevator. The sound was no quieter inside of it, and they rode it up to the common room.

"Someone's probably just playing it real loud," Bucky suggested.

Tony nodded, but didn't seem convinced. "Yeah, sure," he replied tightly.

The elevator doors opened and they were greeted by the sight of a very annoyed Natasha.

"What is this?" she asked coldly.

"You don't enjoy a little pop music from the East?" Tony responded sarcastically.

Steve and Clint were in the room as well, looking less annoyed than Natasha, but not particularly pleased, either.

"It would be nice to be able to hear everyone talk," Steve put in.

"I don't know what he's doing," Tony growled, motioning toward the room at large.

"You lost control of your AI?" Natasha asked politely.

Tony frowned at her. "JARVIS doesn't like JPop," he said defensively.

Clint snorted at that. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, because he's playing it really loud for not liking it," Bucky agreed.

"You too?" Tony asked, turning around.

Bucky smiled disarmingly. "I was with him the whole time, guys. No idea how this started," he explained. Tony looked satisfied, while the others looked more distressed.

"So you're not controlling him?" Clint pressed.

"I never control JARVIS," Tony answered testily.

"Well, maybe we'd better fan out and search for what the problem is," Steve suggested.

"Good idea. Come on, Stark," Bucky said, nodding toward the elevator.

Tony nodded slowly and followed him. "Is there like a central control room for this place?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah. JARVIS," Tony started then cleared his throat. "Guess we have to actually push the buttons," he grumbled, and Bucky smiled slightly.

"How archaic," he replied, dead-pan, and Tony looked a little amused.

They headed for the room Tony described, and Bucky stopped in the doorway to look at all the server towers. Tony moved forward as though the sight was not worth remarking on, and Bucky forced himself to follow. The technology of this century was not wholly unfamiliar, but was often impressive. He walked down the rows to where Tony had stopped, glaring.

"That's not my tech," he said, pointing to a small green box.

Bucky looked at the box, then at Tony. "Think it's the problem?"

"Yep." Tony leaned forward and started disconnecting it. "JARVIS?" he shouted when the music puttered out.

"Yes, sir?"

"What just happened?" Tony demanded.

"A practical joke, I believe, sir."

"Who did it?"

"Col. Rhodes was in here earlier," JARVIS responded politely.

Tony looked at the box in his hand and frowned deeply. "Hey, buddy, do me a favor."

"What?" Bucky asked.

"Crush this for me."

Bucky smiled. "Happy to." The box collapsed easily under the weight of his metal fingers. Then he handed it back to Tony.

"You want to come talk to Rhodey with me?" Tony asked.

"Sounds like fun."

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