New Traditions
Bucky wants to introduce some traditions into thier first Christmas together. Will natasha go along with his plans?
Written for The Melting Pot's Have Yourself a Merry Little Exchange 2018
For GaeilgeRua - Merry Christmas, my dear! Thank you for everything!
Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov
Prompt: It's their first holiday as a couple. How do they celebrate? What traditions do they share with each other? Do they start any new traditions?
"Hey, babe! Time to bundle up," Bucky called over his shoulder as he walked to the hall closet.
"What are you talking about?" Natasha looked up from the weapon she was cleaning. "I have no plans on going anywhere this afternoon."
"We are going to the tree farm." Bucky turned and gestured to the door of their flat. "We talked about this the other night. It is a family tradition to go to a tree farm to find and cut a Christmas tree for the house."
"Maybe for your family," Natasha grumbled and continued to clean her weapon. "The only traditions I remember do not need to be repeated."
"I did my research," Bucky countered. "There are plenty of Russian Christmas traditions. But, we need a tree before we can follow them."
"It is snowing and cold." Natasha sighed. "Do we really have to go today?"
"We can have hot chocolate after we have the tree," Bucky bargained. "And you can bundle up on the sofa and give me orders while I try to get the tree to stand up straight."
"Keep talking," Natasha grinned and laid her weapon on the coffee table. "I like giving you orders. Not that you follow them right."
"Well, you will never know until you try." Bucky handed her a thick coat from the closet. "Bring a few weapons if it will make you feel more comfortable. The farm closes at eight, and we have a thirty-minute drive on a good day."
"I cannot believe I am doing this," Natasha grumbled as she zipped up her coat. "I am going to need lots of hot chocolate when we get back."
Bucky chuckled as he escorted out of their flat and towards the elevator. "I think you will enjoy this tradition."
oOoOoOoOo
"I still cannot believe I let you talk me into this," Natasha grumbled as she trudged through the snow. "This is not fun, and each tree you point out is worst than the last."
"That is part of the fun." Bucky grinned as he watched her walk away from him. "Finding the perfect tree is a giant treasure hunt. You just have to be super picky, so the treasure is harder to find."
"The last one was missing half the branches on the bottom. There is no way that I would let that half ugly tree in our flat." Natasha continued to scan the trees as she fussed. "My babushka said a tree must be beautiful from every angle if it is going to hold the symbols of hope, prosperity, and the Christ Child."
"So, you do have a good Christmas memory?" Bucky chuckled as he pointed to a tree. "What would she think of this one?"
"Not bad." Natasha circled the tree. "Not too tall and not too wide. It will fit through the door without you cussing … too much."
"But..." Bucky waited for her to voice her reasons to move on to the next tree.
"It will do." Natasha walked over to him and closed his mouth with a single finger. "There is one small bad spot here, but it can be turned to the wall, and no one will notice. How are we going to get this thing down and back to the flat?"
"I am going to chop it down with this axe." Bucky lifted an axe from the sled he had been pulling. "When it is down, we are going to tie it to this sled, and you can help me pull it back to the office."
"This should be fun." Natasha grinned as she sat on the sled. "Okay, big boy, get to chopping."
oOoOoOoOoOo
Natasha watched the fairy lights twinkle on the tree as she sipped her hot chocolate. Bucky had been right. It was fun watching him wrestle their tree into a tree stand and then getting it into the perfect position in front of the window. She was happy with just the tree and the lights, but Bucky was determined to cover their perfect tree with ornaments.
Bucky wandered into the living room with his arms full of boxes. She was surprised to find boxes of handmade ornaments from Russia and a battered box of ornaments from his childhood.
"Where did you find these?" she asked him as she had opened each box.
"eBay is a great place to find unusual items." Bucky had chuckled as he watched her take each ornament out of the box and place it on the tree. "The ugly ones came from Steve. Somehow he tracked down these heirlooms, and he claims that they are from my childhood."
Natasha held up a small bicycle ornament and smiled. "Do you know anyone else named Bucky whose first Christmas was in 1926? Because I'm pretty sure this one is yours."
"I will never understand how he does that," Bucky grumbled as he looked at the ornament she was holding. "That one needs to hang at the bottom of the tree and in the front. Family traditions says that is where each first Christmas ornament goes."
"Sounds like an interesting tradition." Natasha carefully placed the ornament on the tree. "Which one will we use for my First Christmas ornament? I don't think I had one of those."
Bucky held up a small painted rocking horse. "Will this one do? It looks like a perfect one for a First Christmas ornament."
"I guess it will do." Natasha shrugged and pulled another ornament from one of the boxes. "I guess you could hang it on the tree since I hung up yours."
Bucky hung the rocking horse ornament beside his bicycle at the bottom of the tree. Wrapping his arms around her, Bucky nuzzled into her neck and kissed her cheek. "I think the tree is done. What do you think?'
"Well the boxes are empty, so, I guess it is done." Natasha closed the top of the box she had been taking ornaments out of. "What's next?"
"You, me, sofa, fire." Bucky began to pull her towards the sofa. "What happens after that, we'll just have to see. Merry Christmas, babe."
"I like that plan." Natasha settled into Bucky's arms as they settled onto the sofa. "Schastlivogo Rozhdestva, moya lyubov'."
A/N:
Schastlivogo Rozhdestva, moya lyubov' - Merry Christmas, my love