Chapter Text
“They’re trying to send us down!” Bucky yells. “So we go up!”
“Up is where the bullets are coming from!” Sam yells back as he starts down the stairs. There are no windows, and therefore no shortcuts.
“We’re running into a trap!” Bucky yells, but he follows Sam. Bucky is a stubborn, testy, grumpy son of a bitch, but he’s a team player and Sam respects that.
They are on the second floor when a blast of white hits them.
Sam blinks slowly. He can barely open his eyes. A bright light is blinding him and his limbs feel like lead.
“I told you down was a trap,” Bucky snarks as hovers over Sam with Red Wing. “How are you feeling?”
“Terrible. What happened?”
“Not sure. We got hit with some kind of chemical that Red Wing doesn’t recognize. I seem to have metabolized it already, but your vitals are still sluggish. I told you we should go up.”
As if to humble Bucky, there is an immediate explosion above them.
Bucky glances up.
“I withdraw my objection,” Bucky says, dry as toast. “Down was a good call.”
Sam gives him a glare for good measure, then closes his eyes, trusting Bucky to look after him until he can literally get back on his feet.
Joaquin Torres looks at them through the glass with big, sad eyes.
“The lab is trying to identify the substance, but I am afraid that you and Sergeant Barnes will need to quarantine until we know what we’re dealing with.”
“It’s December 23rd,” Sam reminds him, as though anyone has forgotten.
“I’m so sorry, Sam. I’ve already spoken to your sister. If we can’t get you home, we’ll have a video call set up. I will be your personal Santa Claus. I will deliver presents to and from Delacraoix. Same for you, Sergeant Barnes. Sarah said you were supposed to join them for the holiday.”
Bucky looks startled and guilty, like Sam doesn't know about his weird little friendship with Sarah. Bucky can't return a text from Sam, but he video calls Sarah so they can watch cooking shows together. Sarah picks Bucky’s old brain for ideas for 'old-fashioned' dishes to mix with her original recipes for her catered cruises.
Sarah says they are just friends. She says Sam is an idiot for even wondering if there is something more. Like Sam should be able to figure out what is going on in Bucky’s cyborg brain.
Joaquin takes notes on what needs to be retrieved from Sam’s apartment and transported to Delacroix. Sam had as many gifts as possible shipped to the house already wrapped, but not everything arrived in time. Joaquin takes careful notes on the location of every gift, what needs wrapped and whose name to put on the label. The situation is frustrating, but Joaquin is really doing everything he can. He's a stand-up guy.
Bucky tells Joaquin all his gifts are wrapped and sitting on the table in his apartment. Sam can picture the handful of store-wrapped gifts creating the only splash of color in Bucky’s bleak and empty efficiency. Joaquin unintentionally makes things awkward by asking unnecessary questions to make sure he knows exactly what to do when he gets to Bucky’s apartment. There is only one room with only one table and the only gifts are for the Wilsons.
Sam and Bucky have not discussed Christmas. He's not sure Bucky was ever actually invited any more than he was invited to Thanksgiving. Sarah and the boys simply talked about Bucky coming to the house like it was a given and then he showed up with a nice bottle of wine and made his mother's cranberry sauce while Sarah took notes. Sarah gets on Sam to ‘make more of an effort’ with Bucky, like it’s easy to be friends with Bucky.
Sarah only sees Bucky at his best, the way Sam imagines he behaved in the forties. Sarah sees the smiling, “Aww shucks, can I lift that tractor with one hand for you, m’am?” Bucky. She doesn’t see the blank stares, the random fits of anger or sadness, the sullen silences. Bucky returns Sarah’s calls and messages promptly while ignoring Sam for weeks at a time.
But Bucky is family now, so Sam has no choice but to include him in every aspect of his life. Why? Because Sarah says so and when she gets mad, she sounds just like their late mother.
And because Bucky is a pain in the ass, day in and day out, but he’s always there when Sam needs him. Even though they have been trapped in a room for hours under constant surveillance since being hit with the unknown substance, Bucky continues to hover over Sam and keeps checking his pulse. It’s annoying and unnecessary and Sam will cut out his tongue before admitting it, but it’s also kind of sweet. Maybe it’s for Steve, maybe it’s for Sarah and the boys, or maybe Sam is just Bucky’s current security blanket, but Bucky is endlessly protective of Sam and it’s good to know someone always has his back.
Sam and Bucky are transported to a Stark property where the newest version of JARVIS can monitor their movement and vitals. Sam would be grateful enough not to spend days or weeks being stared at like a zoo animal, but Pepper has set them up with a beautiful suite. The beds are huge and soft with luxurious bedding. There’s a massive shower and whirlpool in the bathroom. The drawers are stocked with tee-shirts and sweats covered in the Stark Industries logo. Pepper encourages them to take full advantage of the room service, promising the on-site restaurant is world-class.
Sam and Bucky have been on the road for weeks, eating protein bars and fast food and sleeping in cars. Sam could cry at the sight of a big, soft bed.
“Here’s the plan,” Sam announces with full Captain America authority. “We shower, put on those big fluffy robes, order room service and watch a Christmas movie. We’ll be like Kevin McCallister.”
“Who’s Kevin McCallister?”
“The kid from Home Alone, or in this case, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York where he stays in a fancy hotel.”
Bucky stares at Sam blankly.
“Oh, Bucky. You have a lot of catching up to do.”
The robes are as soft and fluffy as they looked on the hangers. Sam is in need of comfort and orders spaghetti and meatballs while Bucky orders a steak and baked potato. Sam video chats Sarah and the boys while Bucky showers. He keeps a smile on his face and pretends his heart isn’t breaking. Sam has never led the kind of life that allows for predictability. Before he was Captain America, he was a fugitive and before that, he was an Avenger and before he was an Avenger, he was a member of a secret and elite military squad. Since reaching adulthood, he’s spent more Christmases on missions than with his family. He missed his last chance at a Christmas with his parents, the same with his brother-in-law. He missed both AJ and Cass’s first Christmases.
He’s missed the last five Christmases because he was essentially dead.
Sarah shows no sign of being angry or disappointed in him, she only expresses concern for his health and Bucky’s. She is already prepared to send cookies and treats via Santa Torres. When Sam tries to apologize for messing up yet another Christmas, Sarah shuts him down with a firm, “Don’t,” and insists that she and the boys are grateful to spend time with him for the holidays, even if it’s from a distance. Then they both tear up and have to end the call.
Sam and Bucky 100% look like they are getting ready to shoot a porn in their fluffy robes, but Sam isn’t about to point that out. The food is insanely good and Pepper has a bottle of wine sent to the room. Sam rarely drinks and is exhausted, so the wine hits him harder than it should. Mother hen Bucky stops him at two glasses, reminding him he’s still being medically monitored. They have both seemed absolutely fine since initially being knocked out by the substance, but there is always a chance that it will have some scary effect down the line. According to the doctors, the substance is still present in their systems, more so in Sam’s than Bucky’s. They think that is a good sign, that it will eventually clear their systems entirely, but anything that can survive for hours with Bucky’s enhanced metabolism is a cause for concern.
Joaquin calls while Sam and Bucky are arguing over the best style of meatball. It’s one of the good arguments, where Bucky seems baffled by every word Sam says and keeps licking his lips. It isn't flirty, at least not by any normal standards, but there's an energy that Sam can't help seeking out.
"I like the robes!" Joaquin says with a laugh. "You look like…"
"I know what it looks like," Sam cuts him off. "I didn't think it through. What's up?"
"I just wanted to let you know FRYDAY will continue to monitor you through the night, so if you're doing anything strenuous like working out or…" Joaquin awkwardly flails for another example,"...or anything else that might cause a drastic change to your vital signs, let FRYDAY know so she doesn't alert us of a possible emergency."
Sam can't tell if Joaquin is warning them to tell FRYDAY if they are going to jerk off, or hinting he thinks Sam and Bucky are in fact living that porn life. Either way, Joaquin has a sweet baby face that makes him look like a kid and it makes the whole conversation deeply uncomfortable.
Sam and Bucky take all the pillows from Bucky’s bed and pile them on Sam's. Sam feels like he is reclining on a pile of clouds and marshmallows. They agree to watch a Christmas Carol, but argue over which one. Bucky saw the ones that came out in '35 and '38 which still leaves a couple dozen options.
"Alastair Sim might be the best Scrooge, but I have a soft spot for George C. Scott. But then Michael Caine…"
"Michael Caine. I like him. What movie did I see him in?" Bucky asks with utter sincerity.
"All of them," Sam answers. "Michael Caine has been in every movie since the seventies. That's it. A Muppet Christmas Carol it is."