Bucky almost wanted to groan out loud as Evelyn dragged him to the store. He was struggling to believe that Christmas was around the corner and he had to admit that he hadn't exactly celebrated the holiday. It must have been the 1940s when he had last celebrated. He could remember one Christmas, being home with his parents and his sisters. They had sat there and unwrapped their gifts in the morning, their mom cooking a dinner. He had gone to find Steve after that, not liking the idea of his friend being on his own. But now he had to adapt to a new way of celebrating the holiday. And Evelyn was determined to celebrate.
"You know that I don't mind if you do want to go to Florida for the holidays," Bucky said to her as she wandered around the homeware section of the store, looking at the Christmas decorations.
"Do you not want me to stay here?" she asked him.
"No, but I would have thought that you'd want to be with your family," Bucky said to her. She was about to respond before she prodded a snowman and it suddenly started moving, wriggling side to side and singing a Christmas tune. Evelyn beamed at that and turned to look up to Bucky as he looked down at her with a scrunched-up expression. "What the hell is that?" he asked.
"This is one of our new decorations," she said, tossing it into the basket. "And I'm not fussed. Mum and dad said they would come for the New Year. Besides, Christmas at home means a lot of family being around and…let's just say that I'd prefer to avoid that this year."
"Why?" Bucky asked and she picked up a snow globe. Shaking it, she watched the snow fall over the building inside of it. Putting it down, she continued wandering around the store, Bucky traipsing after her.
She shrugged at him. "I don't know," she admitted to him. "I mean, every year when I go back they always ask me the same things. It usually consists of them asking me if I'm still single and trying to set me up with one of their friends or someone who they know. Besides, when I was in hospital they all phoned…sent flowers…it was like they gawped at me. I just want a Christmas without that."
"You're sure?"
"If you question me once more I swear that I'll buy the singing penguin to go with the snowman," she warned him.
"Consider me warned," Bucky said to her. "So…you know that Christmas has changed a lot since I last celebrated it."
"Hence why we are shopping and I have taken two weeks off work."
"Now that is a Christmas miracle."
"Would you shut up?" she said, but she was smiling as he chuckled to himself.
"So what are we going to do anyway?"
"Not much," Evelyn said. "We're going to decorate the apartment. We're going to buy a turkey and a tree. We're going to eat our weight in chocolate."
"And you're sure you don't want to go home because you know-"
"-I'm off to get the penguin," Evelyn said. She began turning on her heel to walk back to it, but Bucky grabbed her by the waist, stopping her from moving any further. She moved her free hand to his arm, holding onto it and looking up to him. "I'm sure. Why do you not believe that I seriously am excited just to spend a few weeks with you just…doing nothing?"
"I guess I'll always have a feeling that you'll want something else other than me," he responded and she stood on her toes, kissing him chastely.
"Well I don't," she said. "So come on, because you have to pick at least one decoration before we leave here. You can't leave me to make all of the decisions all of the time."
Bucky let her escape his grip and she kept the basket in the crook of her arm. She grabbed hold of Bucky by the arm, dragging him forwards and forcing him to pick some ornament for the tree which she was picking up the following day. Bucky had no idea what he should pick, but Evelyn waited patiently, rocking back and forth on her heels, observing him. It was then when he saw it. He picked it up with his hand and Evelyn smiled at the sight of it. He held onto the ornament, dangling it on a finger and looking at it.
"Happy?" Evelyn asked him.
"Guess so," he said and placed the ornament of two people skating into the basket. "Now can we please go home? I think you've tortured me enough."
"Ah, you've seen nothing yet," Evelyn said to him and he wondered just what more he had to see.
….
"I've heard that Sam has the shield."
Evelyn's eyes widened as she held onto her cup in her hands and stood next to John in the archive room. He was peering over some archive footage of newspaper articles about Steve's time with the Howling Commandos. Evelyn took a sip of her tea and waited for John to say something else. He stood up straight and turned to look to her, noticing her questioning stare.
"How did you know that?" she asked from him.
He stood up straight and shrugged his shoulders. He picked up his own mug from the table next to him and leant back against the box behind him. Evelyn perched on the crate opposite, her feet dangling from the ground as she looked to the man across from her. She folded one leg over the other, her skirt flowing freely around her.
"Part of the government," he reminded her. "He's been talking to some people about giving it up."
"But I didn't think that he had made a firm decision," Evelyn said. Last time she had talked to him he had been conflicted about it still. But he found Evelyn to be a good sounding board. She was removed from the situation. Bucky, on the other hand, was too close to it. He did feel bad about asking her to keep it from Bucky, but he promised to tell him when he had made his decision.
"Sounds like he's coming round," John said with a shrug. "But he said that he would want it in the exhibit here."
"That would be sensible, surely?" Evelyn pointed out and took another sip of her drink. "If Steve's history is going to be preserved then it may as well be here."
"I guess," John commented with a nod. "But don't you think that we should learn from history?"
Evelyn chuckled and looked at him with her head tilted to the side. She eyed him as he stuffed one hand into his trouser pocket. "You're talking to someone who just studies history. I'm fascinated about what happened…but I guess I don't think about if history should repeat itself. In some cases it shouldn't."
"Really?"
"Well…yeah," Evelyn said to him. "Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering," he said. "It's more a question of it we ever need someone like Steve again, don't you think?"
Evelyn shrugged. "I guess I've never thought of it," she responded. "Steve was just the right guy at the time, wasn't he? Who is to say that another Captain America would work out today? The army aren't thinking of that, are they?"
"No," John said with a shake of his head. "Of course not."
"Okay, good," Evelyn said with a sigh. "Because the issue with trying to find another Captain America is that the pressure would be too much. Could you imagine living up to Steve's name? I think that most people would crumble under the pressure. It would take a certain type of person to live up to that…as you've probably noticed."
"Definitely," John said. "I don't know. It just gets me thinking. Sam must have kept hold of the shield for a long time because he had to be thinking about taking his place?"
Evelyn placed her mug down next to her and laced her hands into her lap. "I don't know," she responded to that. "Clearly Steve saw something in Sam to give the shield to him."
"Instead of Bucky." John said, waiting to see if he could notice any response from her. She wasn't able to remain stoic. She wore her heart on her sleeve, especially when it came to Bucky. That was something that he had noticed numerous times before.
"I don't think Steve wanted that for him. He'd been through enough," was all that Evelyn offered, silently grateful that Bucky didn't have the shield. She could only imagine the torment in his own mind if he had it. "Besides, if Sam does agree to give the shield to the museum then surely it becomes our property?"
"Unfortunately not," John told her with a shake of his head. She lifted her brows. "It is technically government property. It always has been."
"But there has to be a clause that keeps it here, surely?"
"Well, that would be for legal teams to dissect," John told her. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens."
"Guess so," Evelyn agreed with him on that point. "So…have you got any plans for Christmas?"
"A quiet one," John said, nodding his head. He didn't intend on telling her that he was spending it training. "Going to see my family and just spend some downtime at home. What about you? Are you staying here in D.C. or heading back home to Florida to your parents?"
Evelyn picked her mug of tea up again, taking a sip of it. "Staying here," she said to him. "We wanted a quiet Christmas this year."
"Just you and Bucky?"
"Yeah," Evelyn said. "I'm looking forward to it. It will be weird not being with my parents for the first time in twenty-eight years, but I guess change isn't always bad. Besides, I've booked two weeks off from work and don't intend on moving far. I've got enough food to hibernate for months as well."
John chuckled at that and stood up straight. "And Christmas movies. You've got those sorted?"
"Do you think I'm an amateur?" she asked from him and he continued chuckling. "Anyway, I should let you go. I imagine you want to try and get home before rush hour."
"Yeah," he agreed with her. "So I'll see you in the New Year?"
"Definitely," Evelyn said, slipping down from the crate. She grabbed her mug and took John's from him. "Just give me a call whenever you want to come back down. I have a handful of meetings in January, but apart from that things are pretty quiet so we should be good."
"Awesome," John said, holding the door open for her.
She stepped out and led him back to the exit, wishing him a Merry Christmas before she went to the office, putting the mugs in the kitchen dishwasher on her way past. Everyone was already wrapping up, deciding that they were going to have an early finish. Jennifer still had presents to buy. Martin had been roped into hosting a Christmas party while Rebecca had met someone who she was meeting that night. For once, Evelyn didn't complain about leaving early. She wrapped up in her red winter coat, pulling her gloves onto her fingers as she moved with the rest of the office to the exit. She paused for a moment, telling them all to go ahead and wishing them a Happy Christmas.
Sitting on Charlie's desk, she waited for him to come into work, knowing that he wouldn't be late. He turned up ten minutes later and Evelyn reached into her bag as he rubbed his hands together and breathed into them. "It's getting cold out there, Evie," he commented, shivering slightly. "What are you still doing here? I thought that you were heading off early?"
"The others did," Evelyn said, rolling her ankles as she remained sat on his desk, feet dangling from the ground. "But I couldn't leave without saying Merry Christmas, could I? Besides, when else could I give you this?"
She moved into her bag and pulled out the bottle of scotch that she had bought him. Settling at the desk, he smiled as he collapsed into his chair and took hold of it, looking at the bow wrapped around the top of it. "You didn't need to," he said to her.
"Of course I did," she responded, recalling they had had the previous conversation the past few holidays. Moving to her feet, she placed a hand onto his shoulder and bent down, kissing him on the cheek. "You have a good Christmas, yeah? Say hello to Mary for me too."
"Will do," Charlie nodded his head. "And you have a good Christmas. I heard you're spending it in D.C. this year."
Evelyn chuckled, shrugging her satchel back onto her shoulder. "Have you and Rebecca been gossiping about me again?"
Charlie smirked and placed the scotch behind his desk and out of sight. "She was complaining that you said you couldn't come out on New Year's Eve with her. She told me you were staying here with your new man."
"He's hardly new."
"Guess not, what with him being from the '40s."
"Not what I meant," Evelyn pointed out, holding a finger up. "I meant that we've been together for just over ten months now anyway."
"That long?"
"That long," Evelyn said, pulling her hair out of the collar of her coat. "And speaking of him, he should be back home by now so I should get going. We said that we'd go out tonight."
"Well, have a good night," Charlie said. "And Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Charlie," Evelyn said and she left the museum.
As soon as she was on the street she felt the chill in the air and she rubbed her hands together before stuffing them into her pockets, feeling her phone there with her apartment keys. Wandering through the streets, she looked on as people stumbled into bars with friends, laughing loudly. Some wore silly Christmas hats and others had clearly just left work, dressed in smart suits and dresses and preparing to wind down for the holidays. Evelyn continued walking, a sense of excitement taking hold of her. She knew that it was stupid to be excited for time at home, but it was more that she was looking forward to spending a Christmas at home with Bucky.
As she entered the apartment, bidding good night to Boris on reception, she couldn't help but think it felt empty. She frowned and turned the lights on, wondering where he was. He had told her that he was ticking another name off of his list, but he said that he should be back that evening. Evelyn dropped her bag on the floor and left her keys on the sideboard, kicking the door shut with her heel. Shrugging out of her coat, she reached for her phone, dialling Bucky's number as she hung it up. It rang for a few moments before he answered.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey, I thought that you would be home by now," Evelyn said to him.
"Are you back there?"
"I am," Evelyn said to him. "Where are you anyway?"
"This job is running later than I thought it would," Bucky told her. "So I might not be back until late…you don't have to wait up for me."
"Are you kidding? Bucky, it's Christmas Eve! I thought that we were going out…drinking eggnog...I was even going to let you take me ice skating again."
"I'm sorry, Evie," Bucky said to her. "I'll be home soon, okay?"
"Yeah," she said and he could sense the disappointment in her voice. He hated that he was the cause of it, but he knew that he had to do this. He wouldn't be able to sleep if he didn't. "I'll see you later."
"I am sorry," he emphasised.
"I know," she said, trying not to sound too upset. "Just call me when you're on the way back? I'll wait up for you."
"You don't need to."
"I want to," she said. "Talk later, okay?"
"Yeah," Bucky said and she hung up.
He took a moment to stuff his hands into his pocket before he gave his phone to the security guard behind the desk. He nodded his head to her and she asked him to sign some papers. He did so before following her down the corridors towards the lift to the basement. Bucky looked around as they descended and he thought about Evelyn. Closing his eyes, he realised that she would be in that apartment by herself, drinking wine and no doubt ordering a takeout. He didn't mean to bail on her. He had fully prepared himself for getting into the Christmas spirit, but then the call had come from Sam.
"She wants to talk, but only to you."
Bucky had gone then, heading over to the location Sam text him. He had found the building and he had to admit that it was well hidden. Then again, it had to be. They were housing one of America's most dangerous criminals. Or, she could be if they let her out. She had the serum flowing through her veins. She could be more powerful than anyone could imagine.
And that was why she was locked away behind three reinforced steel doors and a cage with glass so thick that Bucky swore he wouldn't be able to break out of there in a long time. She was sat on the floor, her legs crossed and her head tilted to the side. The guard informed Bucky that he had ten minutes, but that would be all.
"What do you want?" Bucky asked, not bothering with pleasantries. He wanted to get in and out of there as soon as he possibly could.
She smiled at that; the quirk of her lips seemingly malicious. "Good to see you too," she said to him.
"You asked for me to come. I'm here," Bucky motioned to himself. "So, tell me why I'm here."
"You're here because I wanted to tell you that you won't have peace."
Bucky looked around the cell then, his eyes widening and his bottom lip moving over his top one as he nodded his head, wrinkles creasing on his forehead. "Looks like you're locked up pretty well in here, Mardox," he said to her, still looking around the room. "So why don't you take your empty threats elsewhere?"
"Not from me," Verity responded to him with a shake of her head. "Although I will get out of here…no…you know that I know," she said to him and he arched a brow. "I know that there is more serum."
"I gathered there would be," Bucky responded to her. "But nothing has surfaced yet. Whoever has it…well…do they even want to use it?"
"Oh, they will," she promised him. "But they're waiting for the right time. And when that time comes we both know you won't sit idly by. That's not you."
"So you dragged me here to what? Tell me that there is more serum but that you won't say where it is?" Bucky asked from her. "You're wasting my time."
"I'll tell you where it is," Verity assured him. "But I'm not talking without some reassurances. I've already told my lawyer what it is I want."
"And what's that?"
"Immunity from prosecution," she said. "They can have my cooperation in return for my freedom."
Bucky laughed at that, the noise hollow but loud. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he wondered if he was hearing this correctly. He couldn't be. She had to be delusional. "Are you serious?" he demanded to know from her. "Do you honestly think that they would even agree to that after what you tried to do? I don't think the government negotiate with criminals."
"Really?" she asked from him. "Because they're desperate."
"Not that desperate," Bucky retorted.
"Would you be so certain about that? Because we both know what that serum creates. We both know the monster that lurks inside of you. You've kept it suppressed for so long and that is impressive, but how much longer can you hide him?"
"You don't know me," Bucky said with a firm shake of his head.
"Believe me," Verity hissed, moving to her feet and heading closer to the glass. That was the only thing separating the two of them and Bucky felt his jaw clench as she eyed him. "I can play the remorseful woman well. And there will come a time when they are desperate for what I know…"
"That will never happen," Bucky said.
"I wouldn't put money on it," she said, "and when it does, I swear that I'll have my revenge. Are you still dating her? The little bitch?"
Verity looked down, noticing Bucky's fist clench tightly. Her lips continued to arch further up as she spoke. "You are, aren't you? That will make this all the sweeter when I get out of here…she'll be easy enough to kill. You know, I think of her every night. I picture her tied to that table…powerless…begging for you to come and save her as I cut into her and tear her apart limb by limb."
"You'll never touch her," Bucky snarled at her.
"I wouldn't bet against me," Verity said. "Little Evelyn Elizabeth Morris…if you think that I won't get her then you're even stupider than you look."
Bucky's nostrils flared and he knew that she wanted a rise from him. She continued looking to him and her mouth opened as she kept that entertained look on her face. "My God," she said. "You love her, don't you?"
"You're lucky that there's several inches of glass between us," Bucky said to her in a hiss.
"You really do love her," Verity continued. "I never thought a monster like you could be capable of love."
"If I'm a monster then that makes you something far worse," Bucky said to her. "At least I have the excuse of being brainwashed, not that I use it…but you…your soul is black. You let revenge consume you and it has turned you into something much worse than a monster."
Verity seethed then and her fist hit the glass. The glass shook, but didn't break. Bucky didn't flinch, his gaze remaining on her as she spoke to him. He remained mute, simply watching her and knowing how to press her buttons. He backed away from her.
"I'll get out one day!" she snarled at him.
"Rot in hell," was all Bucky gave back to her.
….
Bucky had called Sam as soon as he was on his way back to D.C. He caught the metro back into the city and Sam had assured him that they would never let Verity out. He told him that there was no way she could plead for immunity from what she had done. Bucky had been reassured for that time, but he knew what he had to do. He had to find the serum and render Verity's information pointless. Sam suspected that she had dragged him there to get a rise from him. He claimed that she must be bored and that she figured this was her way of getting her kicks. Bucky wasn't entirely convinced, but he just wanted to be told that she would never get out.
Leaving the metro station at eleven p.m. Bucky took the steps quickly up from it and walked back to the apartment block. He grabbed his own set of keys from his pocket, peering down at the key chain on them and smiling. Evelyn had given him a set of keys after their time in Rome, tired of him borrowing hers.
Heading up the steps, he moved down the corridor and entered the apartment. The main lights were turned off, but the lamp in the living room was on. The lights on the tree were twinkling softly, illuminating all of the decorations she had bought. He could see the box of chocolates already open on the table, empty wrappers next to them. The TV was on, but Evelyn wasn't watching it. Instead she was fast asleep, curled up on her side with her head on a cushion, the blanket covering her. She was already in her festive penguin pyjamas that Bucky had openly mocked when she put them on the previous night.
Locking the door behind him, he shrugged out of his thick winter coat and hung it up, almost knocking over some of the Christmas cards she had put up on the sideboard. He gently moved to the sofa and bent down, waking her slowly. His hand went to her arm and she stirred under his touch for a moment.
"Hey, it's me," he said to her, his other hand moving to brush her hair from her cheek.
"Hmm," she sleepily mumbled.
"I'm sorry about tonight," Bucky told her.
"Where were you?" she asked, groggily moving to sit up, the blanket pooling in her lap. Bucky sat down next to her on the sofa then.
"I just had something to finish off," he said, not wanting to tell her where he had been. He had no intention of needlessly causing her any worry. He didn't want to do that, not when she had been looking forward to spending Christmas with him. "I'll make it up to you."
"It's fine," Evelyn yawned. "Did you get it sorted?"
She never asked him about his notebook, not really. She knew that he was trying to make amends for what he had done while he had been the Winter Soldier and she left him to do that. He didn't divulge details, sometimes finding it too painful to recall them. And Evelyn never pushed him.
"Yeah," Bucky promised her. "But I did say that I would make it up to you…so…"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the gift he had been hiding there all day. He had bought it that morning after spending weeks thinking of what to buy her. What did he get a woman who always claimed that she didn't want anything? He had bought her other things, like her favourite chocolate, the expensive perfume she wore only on special occasions, but they didn't feel personal enough. And after the ten months Bucky had put her through, he wanted to get her something more.
"What is it?" she asked, seeing the box he was holding. "Bucky, it's not Christmas yet."
"Well, it will be in…" he checked his watch. "Half an hour."
"Then we should wait half an hour," she said. He rolled his eyes and smirked.
"Do you have the restraint to wait half an hour?" he asked.
"No, you're right," she agreed with him on that point and pulled open the lid to the box. She peered down into it and lifted it up. Bucky watched her lift the chain up and the oval locket dangled at the end of it. He watched her palm the silver locket, her finger moving over the intricate design of it. "It's lovely, Bucky."
"Look at the back," he said. She turned it around and noticed the inscription, her smile widening as Bucky listened to her read out. "To my Evie. Love your Bucky," she turned to run a hand along his cheek. "That is pretty romantic."
"Saw it and thought of you…pretty…an antique…" he commented.
"So you're saying I'm old?"
"Nah, you just like old things."
"I think that's obvious," she scoffed and he smirked, taking the chain from her and moving to unclasp it. He fastened it around her neck, pulling her hair from underneath it. She left it on top of her pyjamas and toyed with it with her finger.
"It goes very well with those pyjamas," he joked with her.
She snorted. "Why thank you," she said. "And now I feel that I should give you your present…but this one is a little bit different."
"It can wait until tomorrow," he promised her, but she was already by the tree, shifting through the presents until she found Bucky's. She grabbed hold of it, picking it up and moving to the sofa again. She handed it to him and he noticed how neatly wrapped it was. "How much time do you spend wrapping presents?"
"Longer than I care to admit," she said to him. "Just open it."
He pulled the string to it and then lifted it up, seeing that there was just a piece of paper inside of it. Evelyn bit down on her lip as he read the paper and his eyes widened. He re-read it a couple of times before looking to her. "The Science Museum?" he asked from her.
She laughed, but nodded her head. "Yeah, the Science Museum," she confirmed for him.
"But…that's in London," he said.
"So it is," she nodded at that part. "And that's the next part. My mum and dad are travelling back to England next Summer. She wants to spend it there with my grandma…and I said we would visit."
"Visit London?"
"Yeah," she said.
"Last time I was in London was when I was in the war," Bucky recalled. He didn't think that he had been back ever since then. "I guess things must have changed though."
"I would say so," Evelyn said. "But tickets to the Science Museum now look pretty lame compared to this," she said, playing with the locket. "And nowhere near as romantic."
"Nah," Bucky told her. "Trust me, this is probably the best gift anyone has ever gotten me. I get to walk around a whole science museum. You have to promise that you won't get bored though."
"I promise," she said to him. "Besides, you know that I'll be dragging you around the National History Museum too, right?"
"So long as you don't argue with the tour guide I imagine we'll be fine," Bucky responded and she hit him around the arm as he placed the box on the coffee table and then leant back in his seat, laughing to himself.
"I'm going to kill my parents," she said, remembering how they had divulged all of her secrets with Bucky. He chuckled at that, but shook his head.
"They're great," he responded. "And I still love the present."
"You're sure?"
"Positive," he said and bent down to kiss her. He didn't know how long they spent on the sofa, just tangled up in each other, his hand holding her hair and his fingers running through it. She finally pulled away from him and looked to the TV. He was about to ask what was so distracting before he followed her gaze and saw the news announce that it was officially Christmas.
"Merry Christmas," she said to him.
"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," he responded and went back to kissing her.
….
Evelyn had insisted on making Christmas as special as possible. That involved spending the morning opening the presents underneath the tree, not bothering to get changed from her pyjamas. She sorted them in smart piles and Bucky wondered if she had his pile right. It turned out that she had gone crazy and bought him more than he had expected. Her parents had also sent gifts and her grandmother from England had sent her chocolate, which she shrieked about in joy more than any other gift. She proceeded to spend the next half an hour telling him how chocolate in the UK just tasted better and that was a fact.
Once they had finished opening gifts and Evelyn had changed into a simple green dress, she tided the wrapping paper away and proceeded to head into the kitchen, preparing the dinner. She put Christmas music on and Bucky helped her peel vegetables. She dealt with the turkey and stuffing, insisting on making these things called Yorkshire Puddings that Bucky had never heard of in his life. It turned out that they were even more delicious than he had expected.
Once they had eaten dinner, Bucky tidied up as Evelyn called her parents. They insisted on talking to Bucky as well and Evelyn smiled as he awkwardly conversed with them and then handed her the phone back. She finished her call and that was when she heard it. She heard the sudden knock on the door.
"Are we expecting company?" Evelyn wondered.
"You're asking the guy with no friends?" he checked with her and headed to the door, looking through the peephole to see Sam standing there. Frowning, he opened the door.
"It's your Christmas present," he said, arms outstretched.
"More like my ghost from Christmas past. What are you doing here?"
"So you know scrooge?" Sam checked with him.
"I made him watch the Muppets version of Christmas Carol," Evelyn said and she stepped forwards, heading towards the door. "What are you doing here, Sam?"
She embraced him quickly and he did the same. He pulled back after a moment, shrugging his shoulders. "Been called out on a mission so I'm having to miss Christmas. Figured I'd swing by and see how things are going before I fly out."
"You shouldn't have," Bucky said dryly.
Evelyn nudged him in the stomach and urged him backwards, letting Sam step into the apartment. Sam sent a glance to Bucky and that told him that something wasn't quite right. Evelyn missed it as she went to pour Sam a cup of tea after she had just put the kettle on the stove.
"I only have time for a quick one," Sam said to Evelyn.
"Okay," she said, "no worries. So how are things? Have you managed to make it home to see your sister?"
"Spent Thanksgiving with them," Sam said. "And we're having a belated Christmas when I get back. So how has your day been? This place is like Santa's grotto. Doesn't really go with your aesthetic," he motioned to Bucky and he grunted, picking up his tea and taking a sip of it as Evelyn handed Sam a mug.
"He didn't really pick anything out," Evelyn informed Sam. "In fact, he complained most of the time we went round the store. The only thing he has been useful for is carrying the tree back here."
"Got to earn your keep somehow, Buck," Sam said to him.
It was then when Evelyn's phone began to ring on the worktop. She peered down to it. "It's Maria," she said. "Do you mind if I just take this?"
"Go for it," Sam said.
She picked the phone up and her cheery voice disappeared into the bedroom with laughter. Bucky looked to Sam and sat down on the stool at the breakfast bar. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I did come to say hi, but also to let you know the situation," Sam said to Bucky. "I did some digging yesterday and what Verity said was a load of crap. No one is looking at offering her immunity in turn for her testimony. I made sure of that…but the issue is that she knows stuff. She knows about the serum and everyone is trying to find ways to persuade her to talk."
"Let me guess," Bucky drawled out, "she'll only talk for immunity."
"Yeah," Sam said with a nod of his head. "And her lawyer is playing hard ball. They're claiming that the serum impacted her brain…it was that which made her hell bent on revenge, but she regrets it."
"Bullshit," Bucky hissed, "and what about the time before? She was in that lab. She was part of her brother's plan. She also clearly took the serum for a reason."
"Claims that she was innocent in that. The funny thing is that Andrew is defending her too. My guess is that he knows he is going down so he's trying to help baby sis out."
"So what are you saying?" Bucky demanded from Sam.
"I'm saying that it might be wise to try and find the serum before anyone else does," Sam said and Bucky arched a brow. Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying that you should be the one getting involved in this-"
"-I thought that you had been looking for the serum?" Bucky asked from him.
"I have been trying, but I've been pretty busy on missions trying to find other terrorist groups. Whoever has that serum is hiding it pretty well…"
"I know."
Sam looked at him then, his brow rising on his forehead as he spoke. "You've been looking?" he asked from him.
"Researching," Bucky said. "I've been looking into old HYDRA members who might know contacts, but so far I've come up blank. Besides, things have gone quiet. I haven't heard of super soldiers causing chaos in the news, have you?"
"Doesn't mean it won't happen," he responded to him.
"I know that," Bucky said.
"Anyway, I just wanted to come here and reassure you that I'm looking into this. I'm dealing with it. I don't want you getting yourself involved."
"Can't promise that."
"Well try to," Sam said. "Listen, I need to get going, but we should talk when I'm back…"
"Why?"
"Just because," was all Sam offered. He finished his tea. "Tell Evie I said goodbye and enjoy the rest of the day, Buck. Try not to worry, okay? Because I get the feeling that Evelyn really likes Christmas."
"What gives it away?" Bucky asked, looking around the apartment.
Sam chuckled and climbed from his seat before leaving Bucky alone in the apartment. Bucky sighed and took another sip of his drink. Evelyn came from the bedroom five minutes later, wrapping her arms around his waist and standing behind him, the same height as him while he was sat down.
"Did Sam go?"
"Thankfully," Bucky replied. "So how was Maria?"
"Fine," Evelyn nodded her head. "So what do you want to do now?"
"Whatever you want," Bucky said, turning his head to the side so that he could kiss her slowly.
…
Evelyn should have known that things were too perfect to last. She should have predicted that something like this would happen, but she had tried to avoid it. Sam had finally decided to give up the shield. He had told Bucky in advance and the super soldier had stormed out, telling him that he was making a mistake in giving it up. He had returned to the apartment angry and upset. Evelyn had come in from work to find him, her coat unbuttoned and hanging open on her frame. She bit down on her bottom lip and saw him sat on the sofa, hands clasped together and bent forwards.
"He told me," Bucky said, his voice firm. "Sam told me that he was giving the shield up."
"I know," Evelyn said, she had gotten the call from Sam. He had told her that he had left her name out of everything, but Evelyn didn't know if she would be able to keep that from Bucky. She had only found out that Sam had made his decision today, the paperwork coming in for it that afternoon.
"It's going into the museum," Bucky mumbled. "A museum…"
"This is his choice, Bucky," Evelyn said, hanging her coat up and dropping her bag. She left her phone and keys on the sideboard, dropping her bag underneath it. Heading to the living room, she kicked her heels off as she went, her lanyard still around her neck and dangling over the fitted blue dress she wore.
"Are you serious?" Bucky demanded from her, looking up to her. "You're defending him?"
"I'm just saying that it is his choice what to do with it."
"You would say that," Bucky responded, "it helps with your job, right?"
"Don't say it like that," Evelyn responded in a firm voice. "He's thought long and hard about this. Don't you see how it must be for him? He…he doesn't feel that he can live up to the shield. Who can blame him? I think anyone would feel like that."
Bucky's brows knitted together and creased formed in between them. "How do you know he's thought long and hard about it?"
Evelyn bit the inside of her cheek. Now was the time for her to confess. She knew that. She had kept this from him for too long. "He came to the museum a couple of times to ask me what would happen to it," she admitted to Bucky. "But he had never made a firm decision. He just wanted to know the process and that was it. I…I told him to talk to you first once he had made his mind up."
"So you knew that he was considering this?" Bucky snapped at her and stood up. "You knew that there was a possibility that he would do this?"
"Well, yes," Evelyn admitted, "but he was in two minds about it. He just didn't know what he was doing and all I did was listen to him and tell him about the museum. That's it."
"No, that's not it," Bucky responded, pointing to the ground. "The point is that you didn't tell me. You didn't tell me what he was thinking. And he didn't even mention you…he never said your name."
"Because he didn't want this to happen, I assume," Evelyn said, motioning between them in reference to the argument. "Bucky, listen to me, I did want to tell you and I did feel guilty, but Sam just needed time to think. I was a sounding board and that was it."
"You still kept it from me," Bucky snapped at her loudly. "I thought that the point was that we didn't keep secrets from each other? Or does that only apply in certain situations? Like when you want it to?"
"I'm sorry, okay," she said and she shrugged. "I didn't know what to do for the best, honestly."
"Tell me things," Bucky said, pointing to himself. "Because I could have talked him out of this stupid idea."
"Do you think so? Because Sam has his own mind."
"He made a mistake," Bucky snapped. "He's making a mistake. He shouldn't be giving up that shield."
"Why?" Evelyn wondered from him.
"Because Steve trusted him with that shield," Bucky said. "Steve trusted him and he gave it to him. So if he was wrong about doing that then he was wrong about me, wasn't he? He was wrong about the man I could become…the man he trusted…"
"Bucky-"
"-I need to get out of here."
"Bucky, please," Evelyn said, trying to bring his back, but he was already grabbing his jacket and shrugging into it. "He wasn't wrong about Sam. Sam is a good man and I don't doubt he deserves the shield. And Steve wasn't wrong about you either. Just because Sam made a decision he thought was right doesn't mean Steve was wrong."
"Then what does it mean?" Bucky asked, arms flapping by his side wildly. "Because it sure looks that way to me and you…you kept it from me, Evelyn. That hurts just as much."
"Bucky-"
"-Save it, Evie," he demanded and grabbed his keys before storming out of the apartment.
Evelyn watched him go, collapsing down onto the sofa and leaning back. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to stop herself from crying. But she couldn't. Instead she let the tears fall down her cheeks as she remained sat where she was. She didn't bother cooking any dinner. Instead she sat on that sofa, waiting for Bucky to come back. The clock struck eleven and she finally moved, stripping out of her dress as she wandered to her bedroom, picking her phone up on the way. She left her dress on the floor before reaching for the top she wore to bed that Bucky had given her. She shrugged into it and climbed into bed, dialling Bucky's number. He didn't pick up.
"Bucky, please," she said down the phone to his voicemail. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you with this and Steve…Steve would still know…he would still think that you're a good man. He is right about you. Please just come home. We can talk this through. Please."
She hung up and put her phone down onto her bedside table, longing for it to ring. She kept her gaze on it, but it remained silent. It was gone midnight when the apartment door opened and Bucky walked in. Evelyn climbed from bed and stood in the doorway of the bedroom, peering into the living room.
"Where have you been?" she asked from him.
"Out," he said, throwing his keys on the sideboard.
"Bucky," she spoke his name and she sounded so broken. "Just look at me."
"What?" Bucky asked from her, his harsh stare meeting her doe eyes.
"We can talk about this," Evelyn said to him.
"There's nothing to talk about," he said, taking his coat off. "You kept this from me and that's all there is to it."
"But I didn't do it out of spite…or to hurt you…I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. I did it because Sam asked for my advice and he's a friend."
"And what am I?" Bucky wondered.
"Don't," Evelyn said, "you know what you are, Bucky. You're the man I chose…the man I was willing to risk everything for, or did you forget that?"
"So we're going back there?" Bucky demanded from her.
"No," she shook her head. "I am trying to make you understand that I would do anything for you. Christ, I thought that was pretty obvious by now. I defended you. I stood by you. I love you…and if you think that I did this with the intention of hurting you then I seriously don't want to know what you think about me."
Bucky sighed at that, hand on his hip. He shook his head. "I know you didn't do it to hurt me…not purposefully," Bucky admitted. He had come to see that while he had been on his walk. Evelyn never did anything to purposefully hurt him. "But the point is that you keeping this from me did hurt."
"I'm sorry," Evelyn said again.
"Yeah," Bucky said to her. He moved over to the sofa and slumped down onto it. He looked at the wall with the TV across from him before speaking. "You should get some sleep. You have work in the morning."
"Aren't you coming to bed?"
"I'm not tired."
Evelyn nodded, knowing that he was avoiding her. She stepped into her bedroom and closed the door behind her, crawling into bed. She reached for Bucky's pillow and laid her head on it, knowing that there was no chance she was getting much sleep that night.
…
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You don't need to lie, you know?"
Evelyn sighed, looking to Sam as they stood by the podium where he was due to give his speech later on that afternoon. He wore a smart suit and Evelyn had on her checked fitted skirt and a white blouse. She tossed her hair over her shoulders and shrugged at him.
"Bucky's still off with me," she said to him.
It had been two weeks since Sam had made his decision and the grand unveiling was due to take place later that afternoon.
"I didn't want to get in between you. In hindsight it was a stupid thing dragging you into this. I wasn't thinking when I came to see you that day," Sam said to her. She shook her head. "I just didn't know what to do and talking to Bucky…well…that wouldn't have helped, would it? We've seen how he's reacted to it."
"I know," Evelyn nodded her head. "And he'll be fine eventually. I told him that I had just walked you through the steps and no decision had been made."
"I'll talk to him," Sam said to her. "When I'm back from seeing Sarah, I'll talk to him."
"You don't need to," Evelyn responded.
"No, I do, because it's the right thing to do."
"He…Bucky will be fine about it one day. I just don't know when," Evelyn muttered. "Anyway, do you have your speech prepared? I've set everything up so it should go without a hitch. There's some pretty big government big wigs coming to this thing as well."
"So I heard," Sam said, looking at the large banner with Steve's face on it. "I've got something like a speech prepared, but it isn't that long to be honest with you. It says what I need it to say and what…well…what I think about Steve."
"I'm sure it'll be great," Evelyn said to him. "Anyway, do you want to grab a drink? We still have an hour before you're due to go on."
"Don't you have work to do?"
"Honestly, I'd rather just talk to a friend right now."
Sam placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded. He could do that after the mess he had inadvertently caused.
….
A/N: Thanks for reading! Do let me know your thoughts/opinions/suggestions if there is anything you want to read about!