I stayed in bed all day after getting home from the hotel yesterday morning—despite Sarah and the kids arriving in the afternoon. Bucky just told everyone I wasn't feeling too well and probably wouldn't be down, and thankfully Tony didn't say anything.
Because the house is at high capacity with all the visitors, we switched the rooms a little—Cass and AJ took my room, and Rhodes offered to stay in the room Peter usually stays in so Sarah could stay close to the boys.
It's the morning of Christmas eve, and we're all sitting around the living room, the boys in festive pj's, and us enjoying coffee.
"What's the coolest fight you've been in?" Cass asks Thor with wide eyes.
"Oh, young one, I have been in many battles, and they have all been cool."
"Have you ever fought a monster?" AJ asks.
"Oh yes many... I can tell you about fighting the linnormr Grábakr, a great serpent beast with wings and only two legs," Thor says from beside me on the couch, resting his forearms on his knees. I cuddle further into Bucky's side, sipping my coffee as Thor delves into his story.
"There are many linnormr who gnaw at the roots of Yggdrasil, the great tree which holds the nine realms together. One day, Grábakr no longer wanted to stay at the roots of Yggdrasil, but wanted to eat the branches. So, Grábakr began climbing, and eventually arrived in Jötunheimr, the land of the giants. They tried to stop the serpent, but it was too quick for them to catch, so Grábakr climbed to Vanaheimr, the realm of the wise. They knew they could not fight Grábakr, so they fortified themselves in steel and waited for it to fill its belly and leave... But Grábakr was not satisfied with the branches of Vanaheimr, so it climbed higher, until it reached Asgard, where it could eat the sweet leaves of Yggdrasil. It reaped havoc across the realm, and my father sent me to stop it. I found it on the banks of the sea, but when I tried to attack, it took hold of my leg and flew, higher than the trees and higher than the palace. Higher than your tallest buildings that touch the sky."
"What happened then?" AJ asks, looking up at the man with a worried expression.
"Well, I am the God of Thunder. When we reached the clouds, I sent a bolt of lighting into the beast's wings and we fell, back to the sea. Grábakr could no longer fly, but it could still bite," Thor chuckles. "It bit and slashed me across the chest, turning the water red with blood—"
Sarah coughs a little, hinting to calm the gore down around the five and seven-year-olds.
"Pink with blood. It wasn't that much blood. Like a... paper cut. Anyways, I wrestled with Grábakr, but the current separated us and brought me to the edge of Asgard where the sea falls to the lower realms. I found footing on some rocks on the edge where the water was not deep, but Grábakr came at me from behind. It was only my reflexes and quick thinking that I was able to take the beast by the throat," he says standing up, holding a fist in front of him, "and strike it so hard with Mjölnir that it fell all the way down to Hel," he says, swinging his other arm as if hitting the beast again.
"Woah, and it's still there?" Cass asks.
"Yes, and it will remain there until the end of time. Not even Ragnarök could release it," Thor nods.
"Do you have Myallnoor?"
"Of course, Mjölnir is never far," Thor smiles, reaching his hand out beside him. After a second, the heavy hammer smacks into his hand and he holds it out for the two to look at. I lean forward, eyeing the patterns across the weapon.
I've never had a chance to really study it, but looking now, it's beautiful.
"How heavy is it?" Cass asks, running a finger across it.
"Oh, very heavy. Very few people can lift it," Thor explains.
"Let them try, Thor," I say, elbowing his arm.
"I'm not sure that is—"
"Just do it," I whisper.
"Alright, who's first?" Thor asks.
"Me!" Cass yells, standing up.
"Is this a good idea?" Sarah asks, looking from Thor to her kids.
"Don't worry, they can do it," I smile.
Cass wraps his hand around the hilt and Thor slowly lets his fingers unwrap. I reach out and grab the hammer, holding it up for the young boy as his eyes widen and he smiles. "It's not heavy at all!" he laughs. "I am Thor, God of Thunder and Lightning!" he shouts, holding the hammer in the air.
Everyone giggles and his brother taps him on the shoulder.
"Let me try," he says excitedly. Cass hands it over and AJ smiles and laughs, turning in a circle. "Does this mean we can be Avengers?!"
"Maybe when you're older," Sam chuckles. "But you're obviously both worthy."
There's that 'worthy' again.
What is that about?
"You both should be very proud, even Iron Man can't lift my hammer," Thor says stoically.
They both turn wide-eyed to look at Tony.
"My twenties were wild," he shrugs.
"Yah," I chuckle, "your twenties."
I look back to the boys and they play fight, dodging and tumbling to the ground.
"Alright, I think we can put the giant hammer down now," Sarah laughs.
AJ nods and hands it back to Thor. "Thank you, Thor," the two boys say in unison.
They're so cute.
I let the weight go and smile over to Thor.
He places Mjölnir onto the ground beside the couch and I stand and head into the kitchen, refilling my mug with coffee. My eyes wander to the window and a smile grows on my face.
"You boys brought jackets, right?"
"Mhmm," they call from the living room.
"Want to go play in the snow?"
Both boys gasp and run to the window at the far end of the room.
"It's snowing! Mom, can we go outside?" AJ yells from the window, not taking his nose off the glass.
"Get dressed and then yes, we can go," Sarah smiles. They bolt across the living room and towards the stairs. "Slow down! And make sure to put on those snow pants I got you! And socks! I will be checking!" Sarah yells after them.
I giggle and take a sip of the coffee.
After the boys are dressed, I head into my room and grab my boots, gloves, and a jacket, before meeting Bucky in the hall and heading downstairs. Everyone hurries outside and although there isn't much snow, the boys run around excitedly.
"Here," I say, grabbing onto the snow from as far as I can reach, and pulling it inward. I stop when there are a few inches concentrated in front of us. The boys laugh and jump around, deciding to make a snowman. They start packing a hump onto the ground, dragging snow from a circle around them.
Bucky chuckles and steps forward to crouch in front of them. "Okay, boys, let me show you how to make a snowman," he says gently, helping them with making a ball and beginning to roll it around. Soon the bottom ball is done, and they start on the next.
I continue pulling the snow from the surrounding area, but I stop when I'm hit in the arm. I turn my head back to Bucky and the boys, seeing Bucky standing behind AJ and Cass while pointing dramatically at the two of them. I glare at him and mentally throw a snowball at his shoulder, catching the attention of the two boys. Their mouths drop before breaking into giggles and hiding behind their snowman.
"Is this a snowball fight?" Vis asks from behind us.
I turn my head, and flick a ball at him. "I don't know, is it?" I giggle.
Wanda laughs beside him, but stops when she's hit with a ball herself. She turns her attention to Sam, who now stands beside Bucky with a smile on his face.
Bucky whispers to the boys, pointing and directing.
We're gonna need more snow.
I reach to the lake and begin pulling water out, spreading it and freezing it, then allowing it to fall to the ground in heavy flakes.
I see Sarah from the corner of my eye throwing a snowball that hits Sam dead in the face. He stands a little stunned before reaching down and chuck one back. Nat dodges a ball that heads towards her and giggles, moving behind Bruce who looks at her like she's crazy. I feel a ball hit me again and I look to Bucky who is still busy talking strategy with the two boys, so I around to find Steve looking around innocently. I glare at him and send a gust of air behind his knees, dropping him to his ass.
"Cheating!"
"Resources," I counter.
The boys and Bucky look back to me with evil smiles on their faces and I immediately bring up a wall of snow in front of me.
If they have something to block themselves, so should I.
After that, it's like a free for all, with the two young boys running around with armfuls of snowballs, and everyone else trying not to get hit. I move from behind my wall and run into Wanda, who's running from Steve, who has an armful of loosely-packed snow.
"Oh shit," I giggle, grabbing her wrist and pulling her faster.
Vision steps into our path and throws a big ball at us, so we quickly turn to avoid him, and I skid to the ground, laughing hysterically as I look behind me and see Steve approaching.
"Get up! Get up!" Wanda squeals, pulling me up by the arm and running again. Cass runs across our path, chucking snow as he goes, so we cover our faces and run blind. When the snow stops I pull my arms back and spot the snowman, so we skirt around it, watching for Steve.
"Hey ladies, how's the fight going?" Tony asks behind us.
We turn, and he and Steve stand there with evil grins and huge piles of snow in their arms. I reach out around me and send a puff of snow against them, then Wanda and I split, running away from the two men.
I pull snow into my hands and chuck it towards Vision, who's following close behind Wanda. He looks a little stunned before letting out a laugh. "This is fun," I hear him say.
I giggle and look around me.
No Steve.
No Tony.
Arms reach around my waist, and I squeal, trying to pull away.
"Where are you going doll?" Bucky asks over my shoulder.
"Away from you," I laugh as my feet slip under me.
I see Cass and AJ gang up on Sam, who tries to use Sarah as a shield. Pepper is behind the wall of snow I made with a huge smile on her face, throwing ball after ball at Rhodes and Bruce, who attempt to dodge the onslaught. I catch sight of Nat, hair damp and chasing after Thor.
"Give me a kiss and I'll let you go," he whispers into my ear, and tingles spread across my nerves at the huskiness of his voice. I look at him over my shoulder and he watches me with a smirk on his lips, skin flushed from the cold. He leans forward and I meet him halfway, pressing my lips to his before I'm hit with a shock of cold. I pull away and gasp, shaking the snow from my hair and turning to a laughing Steve and Tony.
I glare at the men and lift a blanket of snow, dropping it on their heads in retribution. Steve shakes off the snow, clutching his chest with laughter as Tony's hands fly to his hair, trying to fix the damp mop on his head.
I laugh and shake my head again, feeling cold water drip into my jacket. "That better not have been a distraction," I warn, turning to look at Bucky.
"Doll, you know me better than that... Nat was supposed to throw snow on you before she got distracted," he shrugs. I push his chest gently and look at the others.
Everyone is rosy-cheeked and panting, trying to escape being hit with snow.
The boys are now laying on the ground, being buried by Sam and giggling as he pushes more around them and packs it down. Wanda and Vision stand and watch the remaining action, laughing as Pepper drops snow onto Tony's head, rubbing her hands through his hair to mess it up even more.
I smile, wrapping my arms around Bucky's torso as he puts an arm over my shoulder, squeezing me gently before pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
⁂
After spending an hour outside, we came back in and of course had hot chocolate with marshmallows. We made sure to keep the kids occupied, making rice crispy squares, cookies, brownies, as well as prepped some of the food for tomorrow's dinner.
The kids started getting tired around nine, so after finishing Rudolph, Sarah and Sam tucked them into bed. They made sure to tell us not to eat the cookies they left out for Santa, but only after double-checking he would come to the Compound and not accidentally drop their presents off at their house in Louisiana.
Now, we're all sitting in the living room, drinks in hand and covered in blankets. The lights are low, and the Christmas Tree lets off a rainbow of light from the corner.
"What are some of your families' traditions around Christmas?" Sarah asks, taking a sip of a beer.
"We would go the Macy's light show on Christmas Eve, then drive around to see all the decorated houses," Rhodey smiles. "Then when we got home, we were allowed to open one gift, which was usually socks."
I smile thinking about a little Rhodey getting disappointed at getting socks for Christmas.
"My neighborhood would get together for a big dinner where everyone would bring something. My mama would make the Vánočka—a sweet bread with raisins... When she made it, the whole apartment smelled like Christmas," Wanda says, a gentle smile on her face.
"Every year me and my parents would watch White Christmas," I say quietly.
"I love that movie," Wanda smiles at me. "Why don't we put it on?"
"Oh, we don't have to, it's—"
"No, let's watch it. It's a classic," Tony agrees from the couch.
I nod and smile, not trusting myself to speak. Bucky's hand tightens around mine and I squeeze back.
"What's it about?" Steve asks.
"It's about two friends who after the war, travel as a musical duo. They meet a sister act and end up in Vermont at an Inn run by their old General, but the Inn isn't making enough money to stay open, so they have to make a scheme to bring people in," Wanda explains.
"It's also a musical," I mumble.
Tony brings up the movie and presses play, and the familiar score plays from the tv.
My eyes are glued to the screen the entire time, humming quietly to a few of the songs and smiling when I notice Bucky doing the same. The final scene of the movie comes up and my throat tightens. I tuck myself further into Bucky's side as the four characters walk on stage and begin singing White Christmas. Silent tears drop onto my cheeks, and no matter how hard I try I can't stop them.
It reminds me of home.
Bucky's hand reaches up and turns my face to him, catching the tears as he sends me a gentle smile as if asking if I'm okay. I return the smile and nod, doing my best to stop the quivering in my lip and focusing on his thumb that brushes back and forth.
My mind wanders over every Christmas I can remember where we sat on the couch watching the movie.
We never missed one.
I wish I knew last year was the last Christmas. I would have stayed up a little later with them. Maybe made them watch it a second time.
The song ends and Bucky presses his lips against my forehead, dropping his hand to find mine atop the blanket. He gives it a squeeze and I mask my face, hoping my eyes aren't visibly red.
"Really is a good movie," Rhodey comments quietly.
"The best," I agree airily.
Bucky turns to my ear and whispers gently, "do you want to go upstairs?" I nod and follow Bucky as he stands up. "We're heading to bed, night everyone."
"Merry Christmas guys," I smile.
Wanda sends me a worried smile but nods.
"Night guys, see you in the morning," Nat says gently.
Everyone calls their goodnights and we slip away, heading up the stairs quietly. When we get into Bucky's room he turns to me, running his hands up and down my arms gently. "You okay?"
I nod. "I'll be okay."
He nods and pulls me over to the closet, searching a moment before handing me one of his sweatshirts. I smile and change into it before heading into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
After changing and brushing my teeth, Bucky heads into the bathroom and I slip into bed, pulling the covers up to my ears. He comes out a few minutes later and flicks the light off, laying down beside me and pulling me into his chest. He doesn't say anything, just holds me and traces shapes across my spine comfortingly.
God I love him.
I tuck my face into his chest and shut my eyes, focusing on the feeling of his beating heart against my hands.
Idk about you guys, but I love White Christmas, hence why I included it.
What are your favorite family traditions around holiday time? Or is your favorite holiday in a different time of the year?
Lmk in the comments!