"I don't go looking," Sam protested, grinning. "It usually finds me when I'm tagging along with you." He nudged his friend. "Come on, there's a bench outside, we can wait a bit longer for Barnes. If he's not back in ten or so, we'll head back."

Steve snorted. "Sounds fair," he agreed, glancing back at Gemma one last time with a little grin before he left the shop with Sam to go settle on the bench and people-watch for a bit.

Gemma stayed in her shop, absently filling a little bag with herbs. She didn't mind people in her shop, really, but she didn't mind the quiet, either.

Kenzie came back a little while later with some of Gemma's favorite tea, handing it over to her.

"Things are going a little better tan I expected with Barnes," she said with a little smile.

Gemma took the tea with a bit of a smile.

"That's good," she said, just holding the tea and enjoying the warmth in her hands.

Bucky found Sam and Steve sitting outside the shop.

"You guys are still here?" he asked.

"Mmm." Kenzie settled in there. "Next time maybe you two can talk a little. So we can make sure you two get along alright."

"Decided to wait for you," Steve said with a shrug. "It's nice out, and there's a bakery 'round the corner." He held up the bag from the bakery, grinning.

"Maybe," Gemma said settling on her chair behind the counter. It wasn't quite time to close up yet. "We'll see."

Bucky nodded a bit.

"Thanks," he said. He knew very well he could make his way back to the tower by himself, but he appreciated that they waited.

"We'll see," Kenzie agreed, just waiting out the last of their open hours, figuring out what to do for dinner while she waited.

Steve nodded and stood. "Anytime. Now, let's head back, before Tony realizes we're gone."

Gemma sighed a bit and rested her head on her arms, slouching over the counter.

"So how was it?" she asked after a bit. "Your first day out with him?"

"Good," Kenzie said with a brief smile. "We talked. He's adapting quickly." She looked at Gemma again. "Did you talk with his friends?"

"For a little while," Gemma said. "Gave the blonde a witch ball. They were nice enough."

Kenzie blinked at that. "Good. At least I know I don't have to worry about them." She relaxed a little. "What sounds good for dinner?"

"Something light, I think," Gemma replied. "I don't want anything dense or rich tonight." She absently toyed with a few polished stones on the counter.

"Alright." Kenzie shrugged. "We could get pasta for you?" Because she could have small quantities of pasta, if she wanted.

Gemma considered that for a moment.

"Fish?" she suggested instead. "Fish sounds good."

"Fish is good," Kenzie agreed easily. "Fish it is, just pick which type and what place." Fish, at least, was something Kenzie could eat as much as she wanted.

"The place around the corner is always good," Gemma said. "They've got a good selection."

"Yum," Kenzie agreed with a little grin. "Whenever you want to shut up shop and head over there, then."

"A few minutes," Gemma said, stretching a bit. She was still enjoying the quiet time with Kenzie.

Kenzie was perfectly happy to just relax with her for a bit, and was already planning on sprawling out in front of the TV after dinner for a while.

It took another week before Bucky ended up wandering down to the shop again, this time by himself. He'd managed to ditch Steve and Sam for the moment, and he wanted to see Kenzie without their hovering.

As chance would have it, Kenzie was by herself in the shop. Gemma had had to go out and talk to a few people, as one of their regulars had requested a special order, so Gemma was doing the footwork on that. Kenzie was manning the shop, and she was bored.

Bucky hesitated for a moment outside the door before going in.

"Anyone home?" he asked as he walked inside. He glanced around.

"Here I am." Kenzie blinked at him, popping up from behind the counter. "Sorry, I was arranging a few things back here."

"It's okay," Bucky said, shaking his head just a little. Hey, he was still getting used to the idea that people would sometimes apologize to him. That was definitely something odd, to him.