Ideally, I'd wait about three weeks to post this chapter. But, since I don't want to torture you all, here you go!-And an merry early Christmas!
~Christianne
PS~ Check out the links to the website I made for this story, I'm trying to add at least one picture for every chapter.
Anna POV
I frowned as I stood in front of the mirror in my small apartment. I nervously smoothed the satin material over my stomach and turned to the left to see if I missed any wrinkles when I ironed it earlier.
I swallowed, reached up to fix the jeweled clip at the back of my head, holding some of my curls back, and regretted letting Peggy pick a dress for me at the shop last week. It was a pale green, with beading on the bodice and skirt. It wasn't too low cut, but the back of it dipped down quite a ways.
Mostly on Howard's insistence, there was a Christmas party in the bunker. Formal, of course, which meant party dresses for the girls and ties and jackets for the boys (Howard made a point in saying ties and jackets, not a hat, pin or dress uniform was to be seen until the clock struck midnight on December 26th).
There was a knock at my door, and it made me jump. I smoothed my dress again as I walked towards the door. I opened it to a smiling Howard. He was grinning ear to ear, and using a hankie to wipe some smeared red lipstick off his cheek.
"God I love Christmas." Howard sighed, tucking the hankie back into his shirt pocket. He grinned again as he looked at me. He took my hand, pulling it up and motioning for me to turn. I did, my lips pursed and nose wrinkled in annoyance to keep from smiling. Howard let out a low whistle.
I sent him a sharp look and took my hand back. "I'm never letting Peggy dress me again." I told him as I went back towards my wardrobe to pull the matching, dyed-green pumps that matched my dress.
"Aw, c'mon." Howard said happily. "You look fantastic and it didn't cost you a thing." I sent him an annoyed look as I leaned on the wall to balance as I put on my other shoe.
"I'm not late, am I?" I asked, looking in the mirror one more time, then taking the small box, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a red bow, off my desk.
"Nah, just thought I'd go down with you." Howard said, holding my door open.
"Who's the box for?" Howard asked in the elevator.
I looked down at the square package and shrugged. "Well, it's not for you." I assured him teasingly. He rolled his eyes as he pulled the gate open at the basement level.
"You do this?" I asked, looking around the SSR bunker. Usually, it was full of crowded tables, and the harsh lights on the ceiling were almost blinding. Now, the tables had been pushed to the walls, a few decorated trees in the corners and pine swags hung on the walls.
"Yep." Howard said proudly, then frowned a little at my skeptical look. "Well, I told people what to put where." He reasoned. I rolled my eyes at him again, and gave him a light shove.
Not long after we came down, Howard went off to be social, leaving me to stand by the tree with a cup of punch. I spoke briefly with Dr. Matt, who asked me if his tie was straight. A while later, I helped Steve get away from a particularly persistent red-head and we both returned to the spot I'd claimed by one of the Christmas trees.
"I like this." I announced to Steve after a few minutes.
He laughed once at my random comment and looked down at me. "And why is that?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I know we're at war, but it's still nice to be…happy, you know? It's nice to see everyone happy." Steve's face lost the teasing grin, and it was replaced with a more relaxed, calm smile.
"It's nice to know we can all still be happy." I added with a slight pessimistic edge.
Steve chuckled once, and shook his head as he took a drink of, what I assumed was, bourbon. "I hope you're not planning on getting drunk." I commented as I sipped my (non-alcoholic) punch.
"Hm?" Steve asked, sounding a little confused.
"Well, the serum affected each and every one of your cells. They metabolize faster, and that basically means that you can't get drunk. Or, feel the effects of alcohol at all, really." I told him.
Steve looked down at his drink with an almost thoughtful look, before he tipped his head back and downed the rest of his drink in one gulp. "Think I'm gonna get another." He said casually, a small smirk on his face as he went to the bar, where Howard was currently playing bartender.
Shaking my head at Steve, I sat down at the table we had been standing in front of. I put the wrapped package in my lap and played with my cup on the table.
"Aw, now what's wrong with this picture?"
I looked up when I heard Bucky speak. He had that charming smirk on his face as he sat down, putting his tie on in the process.
"You're late." I scolded him lightly. "And you're tie is crooked." I didn't wait for him to respond, I just leaned across the table and straightened out the navy blue material, and fixed his collar while I was at it. Once I leaned back, I was blushing a little. Bucky was looking at me with his sparkling blue eyes and one side of his mouth quirked up.
Wordlessly, I took the box from my lap and slid it across the table to him. He looked at me oddly, then the box. He didn't open it, he just picked it up and played with it in his hands and fiddled with the bow.
He chuckled once and shook his head. "I didn't get you anything, Annie…Didn't think anyone was doin' gifts." He finally said, looking at me as he put it back on the table and pushing it back towards me.
"I don't care." I said simply, pushing the box back towards him.
"I do." Bucky retorted, picking the box up and setting it back in front of me.
"Why?" I questioned, pushing the box toward Bucky again.
"'cause I'm the man, I'm supposed to be the one giving gifts without getting one." He muttered, taking the glass James handed him.
"Well, I'm supposed to be making muffins and washing coffee cups somewhere in Albany while my husband works and tells me what to do." I all but snapped at him and his backwards logic. "So just open it." I insisted pushing the box towards Bucky one more time. "We both know you want to." I added, smiling a little.
One side of his mouth pulled up into a half smile as he took the box. He shook his head and let out a sigh through his nose. "Gotta love that fire 'yuh got in 'yuh." He said under his breath as he picked the box up and pulled the green bow off. After he tore the brown paper off, he looked curiously at the square box before opening it. His eyes widened, and he looked at me with a shocked expression.
I gave a weak smile in return. "Do you like it?" I asked.
"Annie…Anna I can't accept this." Bucky said quickly, putting the open box on the table.
Nestled in the red velvet, was a watch face, connected to a dark brown leather band. Just from a glance, you could tell it was quite expensive.
My face fell. "Why not?" I asked, a little hurt.
Did he not like it? I knew I should have gone with the square one. The man at the store said the square face was more modern, and the round face was more classic. I thought Bucky seemed like the type of guy to be on the more classic side, so I got the round one. Maybe I should have gotten the metal band instead of the lea-
Bucky downed the rest of his drink, and played with his glass in his fingers before dropping it onto the table. "…I…I don't think I could ever get you anything that nice Annie." Bucky finally mumbled, not looking at me, or the shiny watch on the table.
I frowned a little, trying not to feel a little insulted. "Whenever my father missed a school meeting, a chorus concert, or a science fair, he'd take me to this store in the Bronx." I said. Bucky looked up at me, his brows furrowed in confusion.
"It sold china dolls." I continued. "Most of them were hand made in the work shop above the store, but they had some that came as far away as India and Japan. He'd tell me to just…pick a doll. Any doll, the cost didn't matter. I remember, one time, I picked out a simple one, just a white china face and a blue smock. I thought the yellow yarn on its head matched my hair…
"I brought it to my dad and told him that was the one I wanted. He looked at it, and told me no. He said, 'I told you to pick any doll in the shop, and you pick that one? It looks like someone made it in their basement.' Then, he bought me the most expensive doll in the shop. It was from France, with a purple ball gown, lots of cream lace and a matching hat. It had dark brown silk hair that was up in a fancy twist, green glass eyes and pink shiny lips." I told him.
"Why are you telling me this?" Bucky asked. "…Just makin' me feel poor." He mumbled in addition, his fingers fidgeting with his glass.
"He got me loads of those dolls. By the time I was 15, and he switched to jewelry, I had two trunks of them in my closet, not to mention the two dozen I had on my shelves. He used to get them for my birthday and for Christmas too…And, every Father's Day, every June 7th, his birthday, and every Christmas, I'd spend hours, days sometimes, making a card for him with a poem inside. When I was young, I'd give it to him with a big smile, he'd chuckle and pick me up and set me down on his knee. He'd read the poem, muss my hair, and give me a kiss on the cheek.
"It'd be a few days later that he'd throw it away. Billy used to do the same; make something for our father. See, he didn't think children under 16 needed to have much money of their own, so we could never buy him anything. One I asked him why he threw out Billy's and my poem cards, but keep the Tiffany lighter from John, or the cufflinks from Kevin. He'd just said that they were worth something and would last. That he already read my poem and looked at my drawing." I told him, wrapping up my story.
Bucky had that look in his eyes, like his heart as breaking for me. "Annie, what was the point of that story?" Bucky asked in a low voice.
"It's the thought that matters." I said simply. "Not how much you can spend on a gift for me." I let out a small laugh. "I mean, I'd rather a cheap, poorly engraved beaker set than anything from Tiffany's."
Bucky turned the box on the table so he could see it. "You know…I keep forgetting that you grew up on the good side." Bucky mumbled as he pulled the watch out of the box and traced his thumb over the face.
"I've never owned anything so expensive." Bucky practically whispered, still looking at the watch. "It's a Rolex, isn't it?" I nodded.
Bucky nodded with me, and played with the gold buckle on the strap. "You know, Steve got me my last watch." He told me. "For my 18th birthday. He couldn't afford it, and I told him to take it back and use the money for rent or something. But the stupid punk insisted, told me it was a tradition in his family; when a guy turns 18, he gets a watch. Told me that if I got him one for his birthday we could call it even.
"I ended up paying a few bills for him instead…A few hospital stays 'n stuff…" he mumbled, turning the watch over in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed a little as he used his thumb to trace the back of the watch; over the words etched into the back.
To Bucky
From Glow
X-Mas
1943
"Howard helped me with the engraving." I mumbled, playing with the discarded ribbon. "Do-Do you like it?" I asked hopefully, peeking up at him.
Bucky grinned, chuckling a little as he put the watch on his wrist. "Hands down, the best gift I've ever gotten." He told me as he pulled the end of the strap through the buckle.
"It was the only one at the jewelers that won't be damaged if it gets hit, the face has extra thick glass, and will tick for up to 48 hours after a full wind." I rattled off.
"No no no…" Bucky said through his chuckling. "Now, don't get me wrong, it's one Hell'a'va wrist watch, but I'm pretty sure I like the fact that you got it for me better than anything else about it."
I blushed and looked down. "Well, I'm glad you like it." I mumbled. "And now you don't have an excuse for being late anymore."
Bucky laughed once, before standing up. "C'mon, on your feet, Glow." Bucky said, holding his hand out to me.
I just looked at him questioningly, and he smirked again. "May I have this dance m'lady?" he asked dramatically, even bowing slightly and holding his hand out. Unable to say no, I bit down lightly on my bottom lip and took his hand.
Bucky held it tightly, and pulled me to my feet and right into a spin. He caught me expertly with one hand on the small of my back.
We proceeded to twirl around the dance floor created by pushing all the tables and other furniture out off to the side. To everyone else, I probably looked like I'd been dancing all my life. Bucky mumbled steps to me now and then, but I was, for the most part, just following his lead and staring up into his blue eyes.
After a few songs, Bucky and I stopped, both needing something to drink. Bucky got a scotch, I opted for another glass of punch. Howard snagged me and pulled me back to the dance floor. We only made it through half a song before we both called it quits with scuffs on the toes of our shoes. I was a little upset, but Bucky found it amusing.
He chuckled, took a drink, then took my hand and pulled me back onto the dance floor to finish the song.
"Seems only you can get me to dance without hurting myself." I told him. "Maybe you should give me real lessons." I teased.
Bucky laughed a little, and kept twirling us around. "Well, that's one option." He commented.
"What's the other?" I asked. I let out a soft gasp as Bucky stopped twirling us and dipped me expertly, briefly, then brought me back up, pressing his chest to mine with the hand usually on the small of my back now pressed between my shoulder blades.
"You only dance with me." He said, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. I felt my nose wrinkle and my lips press together in an effort to not smile. Bucky smirked in response, about to say something smart no doubt, when Peggy's voice broke our privet bubble.
"Why don't you two look above your heads," was all she said before strolling on by with a glass of wine in her hand. I glanced up, and my mouth fell open with a quiet, surprised gasp.
"Huh." Bucky said, seeming only vaguely surprised. "Would'ya look at that."
Above us, hung by a shiny red ribbon, were a few springs of mistletoe.
Bucky looked down at me with a soft, slightly smug smile. "It's a tradition, right?" he said with a small shrug.
"Yeah." I said quietly with a small nod.
"And…We wouldn't want to break tradition." Bucky reasoned in a low voice.
"No. No, I don't think we would." I agreed. I wasn't even sure the sentence made sense, but I didn't care.
Bucky's smirk went away, and the teasing look in his eye left too. The hand holding my hand out to the side moved some hair behind my ear, then gently hold the back of my neck.
My eyes fluttered half shut when Bucky lowered his face closer to mine. I could feel the soft, warm breaths come out of his slack, parted full lips. My own breathing hitched when I felt the sides of our noses brush together. My head tipped down instinctively, only to have Bucky's free hand come up and a single finger catch under my chin and tip my head back up.
My eyes closed fully when I felt his breath directly on my own lips. I think we were an inch (or less) away from kissing, when an alarm sounded.
My eyes snapped open, and I saw the entire SSR, all dressed to the nines, running around frantically.
"Hey!" Bucky said forcefully, grabbing a passing clerk by the upper arm. "What's going on?" he demanded.
"The-The one in-in Norway!" The clerk, who had been running, panted. "They-They just destroyed a second city!"
I gasped. The HYDRA facility in Norway had been lower on the list; the farther away from the fighting, the longer HYDRA weapons took to get to the front lines.
But wiping a second village off the map—that made it a priority.
"Shit." Bucky swore, running a hand through his hair.
"Go." I said, taking a half step back. "Go." I said again, more forcefully this time.
Bucky nodded a little, and leaned forward to press a hard kiss to my cheek. Before he leaned back up, he whispered in my ear.
Pecking me once more on my forehead, he ran off to prep for Norway.
I was frozen in shock from what he'd whispered.
"I love you, Glow."