Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel franchises or characters (more's the pity), but I do enjoy playing with them. This work is for entertainment purposes only with no intention of copyright infringement.
Rating: PG
Genre: Steve Rogers/Sharon Carter; Romance, Thanksgiving Fluff
Gettin' Into the Holiday Swing
There was nothing like being home for the holidays, Sharon Carter thought as she watched her boyfriend help her father put up the Christmas tree.
"A little to the left," Henry Carter ordered as Steve settled the tree into the stand. "There we are. No, wait, a little back to the right..."
Sharon smiled as Steve obliged, happy to be helping her father and experiencing a little bit of the holiday normalcy he'd missed out on in the last 70-plus years. The last Thanksgiving he'd celebrated had been behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany during World War II and had consisted of the K-rations that sustained him and the Howling Commandos while they'd been on mission.
He hadn't felt much like celebrating any holiday since waking up alone and out of place in the twenty-first century but Sharon's family didn't give him much of a choice this year.
The remnants of their Thanksgiving feast were still on the table - leftovers waiting to be eaten throughout the day. Sharon's mother and Aunt Peggy had made enough food to feed an army, or at least appease the appetites of two super soldiers and the rest of their guests, and were back in the kitchen making soups and desserts for the rest of the holiday celebration.
Sharon had wanted to help in the kitchen but had been scolded by both of her parents, boyfriend, surrogate brothers and aunt. So, she convalesced on the couch where Steve had left her, enjoying the mingled scents of pine and cinnamon, the sound of the holiday music coming from the kitchen and of the crackling fire in the living room, and the sight of Captain America wrestling with a string of colored lights while her father unpacked the boxes of ornaments.
"What's that smile for?" Angela Carter asked, carrying a tray of hot chocolate into the den.
"Nothing in particular," Sharon answered, accepting the mug her mother handed her. "Just enjoying the view."
"I know what you mean." Angela looked over at her husband and Steve. "Just look at those corduroys when your dad bends over."
"Mom," Sharon said, stretching it out into two syllables.
Her mother laughed and then looked up toward toward the ceiling. "How do you think Sam and Bucky are doing up there?"
"Dad gave them free reign for putting up the lights outside. I'm pretty sure we're either gonna blow a fuse or attract air traffic tonight."
"Maybe we'll finally give Mr. Jenkins a run for his money," Angela said, referring to their long-time neighbor whose holiday lighting extravaganza was known throughout the county. "I just hope they're being safe."
"Mom, you saw the coverage from the Triskelion. Safety isn't a priority for either of them."
"Well, while they're staying under my roof - or standing on it, as the case may be - I'd appreciate if they kept the risky behavior to a minimum." She lifted her shoulders. "I'm a mom, I worry."
Sharon's eyes softened, knowing that her mother meant that she worried specifically about her. She and Aunt Peggy had been in California when they received the news that Sharon had been hurt. Despite being fully aware of the hazards of Sharon's occupation, Angela was usually confident in her daughter's ability to take care of herself.
Her current injuries had shaken that confidence, try as she might to hide it.
"We'll be careful, Mom," Sharon said softly.
"I know it's not true," Angela said, smiling as she touched a hand to Sharon's good arm. "But it helps to hear it."
Angela took her tray over by the window to admire the work Steve and Henry had already accomplished and to deliver her remaining mugs of hot chocolate.
Sharon watched her father accept his hot chocolate, and then plant some sugar - as he called it - onto her mother's cheek in a brief kiss.
She reached to set her own mug on the nearby coffee table and winced as the movement pulled the stitches in her arm. She shot a look at her parents and Steve to make sure they hadn't seen the grimace. If they thought she was overdoing it, she'd be back upstairs in bed where she'd been for the last two days.
The stitches in her arm and coordinating set in her leg as well as the set of superficial cuts to her abdomen were recent gifts of a former and obsessed coworker, one who'd followed Sharon to her family's cabin to claim what he felt she owed him. He'd gotten more than he bargained for, being beaten down by Bucky and Steve, but not before he inflicted enough injuries to send Sharon to the hospital in need of a massive blood transfusion.
After receiving a life-saving donation from Steve, Sharon's father insisted that she, Steve, Bucky and Sam all stay with him and Angela, an invitation that found Bucky and Sam sharing one of the guest bedrooms and Steve sleeping on the floor of Sharon's childhood bedroom so he could keep an eye on her.
Not that it wasn't great having her boyfriend dote upon her twenty-four/seven but Sharon was pretty much done with having everyone in the house watching her every movement to make sure her stubborn independence wouldn't lead to re-injury of the wounds that had already begun to heal.
The only one who didn't hover was her aunt Peggy who seemed to be just as tired of everyone's concern about her own well-being. To the casual observer, it seemed that Peggy Carter had recently made a pretty much miraculous recovery from Alzheimer's when, in fact, she had actually been the victim of long-term poisoning.
Now that she was back to her usual, feisty, ninety-seven-year-old self, Peggy had insisted on joining her nephew's family for Thanksgiving and subsequently taking over Angela's kitchen.
After the tree was decorated, the garland strung and the stockings hung on the mantel, Steve carried Sharon upstairs for a long overdue nap - one she insisted she did not need - and then retreated to the quiet of the study Henry and Angela shared as a home office.
Much like Peggy's office in her home in Richmond, pictures covered the walls, shelves and desk. Some of the pictures were the same ones Steve had seen there but most were new to him - pictures of Angela and Henry in their youth, more from their wedding and many of Sharon throughout the years.
He studied the photos, smiling to himself as he relived the milestones of his girlfriend's life.
Girlfriend, he thought, still a little surprised at the turn of events that had brought him together with Sharon. He'd originally known her by her SHIELD cover story and had a difficult time trusting her when he learned of the lie - and an even harder time when he learned the truth that she was the niece of the only woman he'd ever...
Well, his feelings for Peggy had never been defined but you didn't carry a picture of a woman all over Nazi-occupied Europe without loving her. His chance at a life with Peggy had been lost in the same ice that froze and preserved him for seven decades.
While his body had been revived in the present, his head and heart had remained in the past.
It had taken nearly two years to get him back out in the world and even now he had moments where he felt very much out of place.
"Steve?"
He turned to see Peggy standing in the doorway.
"I trust you convinced Sharon to take her nap."
"It didn't take much convincing once she was in bed for her to fall asleep. She doesn't like us all watching and telling her what to do."
"Don't I know it," Peggy said. "She's very much like me in that respect, and I did not like it either."
She stepped into the room and joined Steve in front of a display of photos, ones of a teenaged Sharon and her friends.
"Sorry. I got caught up looking at pictures," Steve apologized.
"I understand," Peggy said, then laughed. "Actually, I can't even begin to understand. This must be so strange for you, considering our history and...well, history itself. But I am glad to see Sharon with someone I respect so much."
Before Steve could say anything to that, he was drawn to a photo on the far wall, one of Henry and a woman he did not recognize. While it was obviously a wedding portrait, the dark-haired beauty was not the fair-haired Angela.
"Henry's first wife," Peggy said, answering Steve's silent question.
"First wife?"
Peggy nodded, sadness creeping into her voice. "Sheila. She was a lovely girl, different from Angela, but just as lovely. They met in college and married the summer before Henry started medical school. She died during his fourth year, killed by a drunk driver."
Steve had had no idea. Though he'd only known the Carters a short time, he just assumed they'd always been together. His heart ached for Henry's loss.
"Henry was devastated, we all were," Peggy continued, her tone soft. "He took time away from school and stayed with Patrick and me, a ghost of the young man we knew. We tried to help him, repeating the platitudes you do when someone suffers a lost like that. When the new semester began, Henry went back to school and threw himself into his studies, then into his work. I don't think he even looked at another woman for the next several years, not until he met Angela."
Steve stared at the portrait, and at another of Henry and Angela. "They seem happy."
"They are, Steve. They are," Peggy assured him. "I think it just proves that, even when we think we've found the one, and lost them, there just might be another one out there."
Steve took Peggy's hand in a moment of tenderness. "I'm glad you found someone, Peggy."
"And you, Steve." Peggy said, turning her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "I hope you have, too."
As darkness and a light snow fell, the doctors Carter gathered on the front lawn with Peggy while Bucky and Sam prepared to flip the switch on their lighting masterpiece. Considering that he only had two plastic snowmen and a couple yards of lights in the garage, Henry hadn't realized how dangerous putting Bucky and Sam in charge could be.
Even without power, he could see there were far more bulbs than her bargained for attached to his house.
"Where'd you boys get so many lights?" he asked, standing next to Sam while Bucky made some final adjustments to the roof.
"Between a few spare fuses we pulled out of Bucky's arm, a couple burned-out strands your neighbors were tossing and a Peanuts nativity that lost its inflation, we were able to make due.
Don't worry, man," Sam assured, clapping his hand on Henry's shoulder. "You're gonna love it.""
"I don't doubt it," Henry said, eying the Winter Soldier as he traveled across the rooftop and jumped down to join them on the lawn.
"It's ready," he said, his eyes scanning the lawn. "Where's Sharon?"
"Steve's bringing her out," Peggy answered. "He's probably insisting that he carry her bundled in blankets and she's telling him she can manage on her own."
"That was pretty much it, Aunt Peggy," Sharon announced as Steve carried her out the front door.
"I'm finally wearing her down," Steve said. "She only fought me for about ten minutes this time."
"If we'd debated any longer I'd have missed the lights," Sharon argued. "I only let you win this time."
"If believing that makes you feel better, go ahead."
Before Sharon could respond, Peggy said, "Just let him have this one, Sharon. In no time you'll be back on your feet and can remind him what a bad idea it is to tell a Carter woman what to do."
"Don't I know it," Henry said, only to receive an elbow in the side from his wife.
With dramatic flare, Sam stepped to the front of the group with Bucky and held up two ends of the extension cords they had wired the lights to.
"I know expectations were low when you sent Bucky and I up on the roof but let me assure you, this will be the defining moment in outdoor holiday lighting."
"Get on with it already," Bucky said.
"Shush, man. I want our hard work to get the recognition it deserves."
"And I want to go in and eat. Light it up."
"What kind of Winter Soldier are you, man? Get in the spirit."
"Winter. Not Christmas. And I'm hungry. Light it up. Now."
"Okay, okay. Without further ado..."
Steve and the Carters watched as the house erupted in glow of festive colors. There were lights everywhere - around the chimney, over the roof, in the bushes and along the picket fence - yet, somehow, it wasn't overpowering or tacky.
"It's beautiful," Angela said, a small measure of relief in her voice.
"It really is," Peggy agreed.
"You guys outdid yourselves," Henry added.
Sam and Bucky took the praise, feigning modesty until they realized Steve and Sharon hadn't said anything.
"You two don't like it?" Sam asked.
"It's great, Sam. Really," Steve said. "It's just..."
Sharon stifled a laugh. "I think Steve's just overwhelmed by the tribute."
"Tribute?" Sam and Bucky asked together.
Sharon pointed at the roof, where two rings of blue and red lights encircled a bright white star. The boys stared at it in surprise and Sharon laughed harder, so much so that she aggravated the cuts on her stomach.
"So...you didn't mean to put Captain America's shield in the middle of my roof?" Henry asked.
"No. We most certainly did not," Sam said, shooting a look at Bucky.
"Don't look at me. You did the star."
"Because it's the Christmas star. Why'd you put the rings around it?"
"They're circles. I put them everywhere. Geometric shapes are pleasing."
"The point is that it looks great, boys. Really," Angela said, shivering. "Want don't we head inside so we can all get warmed up with more hot chocolate and pie?"
Even as she herded everyone inside and served up dessert in the den, Bucky and Sam continued to bicker about the lights.
"It's okay, guys. I know you love me," Steve said from his spot on the couch with Sharon. "And now the whole neighborhood knows it, too."
"Funny," Sam said.
"No it isn't," Bucky said.
"I know it's not funny, Bucky."
"Then why did you say it was?"
"Sarcasm."
"I don't get sarcasm."
"Oh really?" Sam said, sarcastically.
"That's enough, boys" Peggy interrupted. "The lights look lovely, Bucky got his pie and it's time to settle down and enjoy the rest of Thanksgiving - which means no more arguing."
"Yes, Agent Carter," Sam and Bucky said in unison.
"That's better," Peggy said smugly. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone."
"Happy Thanksgiving."