Frost

Chapter 80

"You know that Howard had thrown a hammer at Bucky once? He had found us both asleep in my bed one morning and played his big brother card" Ivy recalled with a small smile. "He never told me that story"  Tony muttered back, curious where she was going with this. "He did act like he couldn't stand Bucky at times, but at the end of the day he respected him and possibly even saw him as a friend. He eventually started accepting Bucky and saw him as part of our new family. Howard and Bucky may not have been best friends, but they were a part of our extended family that had formed over the years. Imagine if you had to kill this member of your family and only after a few years afterwards would you remember who he was. And then you would have to look his sister and son in the eye with the conscience that you had killed him. I would hate myself for that, every day."

Tony said nothing, but Ivy's words ran through his mind. He hadn't really tried to put himself in Bucky's shoes or Ivy's. He didn't know what it was like to be subjected to so much pain and so much torture. And he didn't know how, despite all of that, Ivy was able to get up every day and keep fighting. For herself, for Bucky, for her future. She fought for everything she had left. For every little bit of it. She had fought all her life. First for the right to be treated like a human being, for the right to be alive, for everything close to her heart, for her freedom. Her whole life she fought only because she was different. Because her cells, her DNA was different, because she was not like the people around her. She was fighting because people couldn't accept that she was different and there was nothing wrong with it.

"I need a drink, do you?" sighed Tony, sitting up. "I'm not sure my doctor would be okay with that" Ivy said with a small smile. Tony shook it off and pulled her to her feet. "A drink never hurt me and if you really want to be a boring I'll give you Cap's Capri Sun which he sips when he's in a bad mood" Tony joked causing Ivy to burst out laughing. The two linked arms and with small smiles walked to the kitchen where Tony had hidden his alcohol in several drawers.

~°~

One drink turned into several and Tony and Ivy didn't stay alone in the kitchen for long. Natasha and Jack joined them after a while, which led to more drinking but also more laughing. When Steve stepped into the living room with Bucky and Sam, who were giving each other venomous looks behind his back, they were surprised to find everything white and covered with snow. A thicker layer of snow that went up to their ankles lay on the floor and little snowflakes danced through the air. Pietro had built a snowman that wasn't quite as child-friendly, which Wanda had decorated with a hat and a scarf.

A mattress had been placed in front of a big window and the three men quickly figured out why. Ivy and Natasha zoomed down the frozen and snowy staircase, dashing all over the living room and past the three men until they ended up screaming and crashing against the mattress, landing in the snow. While Ivy was using a regular sled, Natasha had stolen Steve's Shield and was using it as a sled.

"What the hell!"

"Why wasn't I invited!? " exclaimed Steve and Sam at the same time. Bucky and Steve rushed to their girlfriends to help them up. Ivy couldn't stop giggling and swung her arms around Bucky. "Bucky!" She pressed a kiss to his cheek, and Bucky was a little overawed with her behavior. He'd never really seen her this drunk. "What happened here?" asked Steve as he tried to keep Natasha in check and prevent her from running away.

"Get out of the way!" yelled Jack, thundering down the stairs with his sleigh. Sam shoved the mattress aside and opened the patio door, sending Jack sledding down the hill toward the lake. "What, one less problem?" he said when he felt Steve's gaze on him. Natasha and Ivy exchanged an enthusiastic look and tried to run upstairs, but Ivy was caught in Bucky's arms. "I want to do this too!" she whined, which made Bucky squeeze her a little tighter.