19.

Brooklyn, New York City

December 25th, 1942

When Steve wakes up the next morning, the bright sunlight that indicates it's late morning is already streaming into the kitchen beyond the partition that creates his room. He sits up slowly, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes. He hadn't slept too good last night after Isabel went to bed, sitting up worried that she would be upset. He'd expected to maybe hear her crying in her room, but once the door had closed, there'd been nothing but silence.

Bucky had also wandered in around three, stumbling uncoordinated through the moonlit kitchen. He'd bumped his hip on the chair at the dining table and let out a muffled curse before tripping over the sofa in the lounge, hitting the hardwood floors with a painful thump and a much louder yelp. Steve had scrambled out of bed quickly to make sure he was okay but Bucky had just jumped up, not worried about his fall thanks to the alcohol in this system. His eyelashes had fluttered as he'd looked upward at Steve above him, his head spinning a bit as he swayed on the spot. He'd wished Steve an early, slurred Merry Christmas, which Steve had honestly forgotten about. Then, Bucky had stumbled to his room and dragged Steve along to talk and spent a good few minutes telling Steve about his night with Connie at the hall before he'd passed out on the bed. Steve had pulled the blankets up over Bucky's snoring form and removed his shoes before going back to bed himself.

Now, Steve can still hear Bucky's snores coming from behind his closed bedroom door. Isabel still hasn't stirred from her room. Steve sighs as he gets up and stretches his frozen joints, wraps himself in the blanket from his bed and walks around the partition into the kitchen. He starts up the stove, the warmth from the fire warming the cold kitchen quickly. He quickly whips up three bowls of porridge and three cups of coffee, each one different depending on how they like it - Isabel's white with two, Bucky's black with one and Steve's black with two.

Once they're ready, he walks over to Isabel's door, knocking lightly.

"Is? I made breakfast," he calls, hoping he isn't rudely awakening her.

"Coming," she calls back immediately, sounding bright and surprising Steve.

He shrugs, then knocks on Bucky's door, letting himself inside. Bucky is lying face down on the mattress, in the same position Steve had left him a few hours ago except that the blankets have been kicked down to his feet. There's a small patch of dribble on the pillow from Bucky's open mouth, and he lets out a loud snore as Steve gets closer.

"Buck, wake up," Steve says, shaking Bucky's shoulder lightly.

Bucky's snore catches and he closes his mouth abruptly, licking his lips. "Wha'd'ya want, Stee?" Bucky slurs, his eyes not opening but he frowns, grimacing. "Ow, m'head."

"Yeah bud, you had a lot to drink last night. You gotta get up and have some breakfast. It's Christmas morning," Steve tells him patiently. He's been in this position many times with Bucky, and not just since they turned twenty-one.

Bucky groans, rolling over onto his back. "Ugghhh. Merry Chr'mas. 'Appy Hanukkah, or wha'ever. Everything hurts."

"Yep," Steve says. "Get up."

Steve leaves Bucky alone, letting him have a moment to prepare himself. He goes back to the kitchen and gets out some painkillers, setting them next to Bucky's coffee. A moment later, Isabel's door opens and she walks into the kitchen. She's wearing a casual emerald green dress with a knitted jumper, her hair undone and she has minimal makeup on, but it's more than Steve expected from someone who's long-term relationship ended the night before.

"Merry Christmas, Steve," Isabel beams, giving Steve a hug.

"Merry Christmas."

"So, did Bucky give himself alcohol poisoning last night, or is he not too bad?" Isabel asks, taking a seat opposite Steve.

"He'll have a crippling headache but he'll live," Steve says. "Don't wait for him, he may be a while."

The two eat their cooling porridge in silence. Steve debates whether to ask Isabel about last night, but decides against it. For all he knows, it could have taken her all morning to compose her emotions. Instead, he reads the morning's newspaper and the two talk about how Christmas dinner will go at the Barnes' apartment later that night. When their bowls have been scraped empty and Bucky's porridge is nearly cold, Bucky finally emerges from his room, his hair dishevelled and his face pale, still wearing his clothing from the night before. He slumps into his chair, picking up his spoon and slowly eating his porridge, frowning when he realises it's gone cold.

"Merry Christmas, darling brother," Isabel teases, making the most of Bucky's misfortune.

"Yeah, right back at you, doll," Bucky replies.

"What a joyous morning of celebration," Isabel jokes, patting his hand.

"If that's what you wanna call it. It's so damn bright in here," Bucky moans, covering his eyes with his hand.

"Can't turn off the sunlight, Buck," Steve tells him, getting up to take his and Isabel's bowls to the sink.

"So, you and Connie looked like you were having a good time last night," Isabel notes.

"Connie always has a good time with me, if you know what I mean," Bucky tells her with a sly wink.

"You're a damn liar," Isabel laughs, grimacing a little. "Changing topic, how much did you drink last night?"

"I couldn't even tell you, I don't remember anything after ten o'clock," Bucky mutters, making Isabel laugh loudly again and Bucky's winces from his headache. "It isn't funny. I'm filled with regret."

"Well we don't know what happened after ten either so we can't fill the blanks," Steve informs him. "Isabel and I left before that." Isabel looks at the back of Steve's head at the sink, then looks away.

"Why'd you leave? Weren't you having fun dancing with your boyfriend?" Bucky teases.

"Uh, about that. We kind of broke up," Isabel says quietly. Steve continues to wash his bowl in the sink, barely paying attention to the water going everywhere as he listens to the conversation over his shoulder.

"You broke up? Why?" Bucky asks, seemingly snapping out of his hungover state. "Did he hurt you?"

"No, of course not! Stop trying to act all tough. He… He said he couldn't promise to be faithful while he was in the Army, and that he didn't expect me to wait around for him to return." She sighs audibly. "It's better this way," she says finally, in a voice that punctuates a meaning Steve doesn't understand. Bucky must though, because Steve turns just in time to see him silently nod.

"I'm going to get ready and then we're all going out for ice cream for lunch before we head over to Ma's for Christmas dinner. I'll pay. Ice cream is a great cure for hangovers and breakups, and it's Christmas so why the hell not?" Bucky tells them. Everyone agrees and helps with cleaning up the apartment.

Once everyone goes off to their own areas to get ready, Bucky jumps straight into the shower and Steve borrows Bucky's vacant bedroom to change in privacy, since the partition that creates his room generally doesn't leave a lot of concealment.

Whilst inside, he hears a knock at the apartment door, and the scuffle of Isabel hurrying to answer it. He doesn't think much of the low murmured voices until he hears Isabel's voice rise.

"You need to leave!" She tells the person angrily, but still noticeably trying to keep her voice down so as to not annoy the neighbours or get Steve or Bucky's attention. Steve's hunches immediately rise, and he hastily tries to get his pants on, jumping around awkwardly and tripping over the pant leg onto Bucky's bed with a muttered swear.

"No, Isabel, I'm not leaving," Steve hears a familiar male voice say, slurred, and then a loud bang as the front door hits the wall.

Isabel gasps, looking at the hole now sitting in the plaster of the wall from the door handle. "What have you done? No, get out! Get out!" Isabel hisses, her voice low again, grabbing onto Danny's arm to try to pull him back out of the apartment. Danny's noticeably intoxicated, probably has been out drinking all night after his heartbreak, and he stumbles as he walks. If Isabel tries hard enough, she can probably lead him back outside and lock him out.

"I know why you said no, why you left, why we broke up," Danny says quietly, his voice laced with anger and sadness. He turns to Isabel and grabs her arms roughly, holding her close to his face so she can hear. She squirms in his arms but his grip is too tight, leaving angry red fingermarks on her arms. "It's the same reason I asked you to marry me – I needed to know you were mine, even when I was away; that you weren't going to go off with someone else."

"Oh, like you're going to stay loyal to me surrounded by all those women in the European towns. I know what soldiers are like, Danny. When you haven't been with a woman in a good few months you'll practically jump on the first woman that advances at you."

"At least my heart isn't set on someone else - someone who doesn't want me back, someone who I can't be with. I told you that you could have had anything you want with me. Any life you desire. I'll get you out of here, Isabel, I'll get you out of these slums. I mean it. Are you really going to throw that away for someone so pathetic?" Danny whispers, his eyes heartbroken.

"I don't want that Danny, I like my life and I don't want to leave it. I'm not throwing anything away," Isabel says back, her voice strained. "And if you mean who I think you do, he is not pathe-"

"What's going on here?" Steve's voice suddenly booms from the door to Bucky's room. He storms into the living room, fists clenched, his face angry but cautious.

Danny quickly let's go of Isabel's arms, and upon seeing the red marks on her arms, Steve feels his anger flare.

"Nothing, Steve, it's okay. We're just talking–"

"It doesn't look like you're talking. Is he hurting you?" Steve cuts in.

"No, Steve. It's fine. Just–"

"He is hurting you, look at your arm. I swear to God if you hurt her–"

"–go back into Bucky's room and–" Isabel quickly tries to diffuse the tension, but Danny pushes her behind him.

"Ah, here he is. The man of the hour!" Danny slurs, cutting both of them off. "I know I've only met you a few times, Steve, but I know so much about you since Isabel never shuts up about you. 'Steve, Steve, Steve!'" Danny mocks in a high-pitched tone. "That's all I ever hear is about, is you and damned Bucky Barnes. I think I know more about you than I do about her, and I'm sick of it."

Danny marches up to Steve like a raging bull. "No, stop–" Isabel tries, grabbing for Danny's arm but she misses. Steve shoots her a look and waves his hand at her, motioning for her to stay back.

Danny stops right in front of Steve, who looks positively tiny next to the larger man, but Steve doesn't back down, meeting Danny's eyes. "She's my girlfriend, she should be talking about me and spending time with me. So you better back off, you puny little wisp, or I won't hesitate to show you what happens when you mess with someone else's girl," Danny growls.

Isabel sees Steve's fists clench and unclench and senses he's about to do something he'll regret. She sends a silent prayer to whoever is listening that Bucky will get out of the shower about now, that he's heard all the commotion. He's always been better at diffusing a fight. "Steve, Danny, stop, don't–"

"Isabel isn't your girl anymore. You broke up last night. And even if she was your sweetheart, you don't own her. She can hang out with and talk about whoever she wants. Besides, how can she when you're always so busy with your friends?" Steve retorts. "You hardly ever see each other because you put your friendships and your social status before her. You turned down almost every invite you received to spend time with all of us."

"How dare you pretend you know me," Danny growls.

"But I do. I can see right through you. You're just some popular, tough jock with a whole lot of money your father made and you think makes you better than anyone else, right? Spending time with us, that would degrade you? Just coming to Brooklyn is something that disgusts you, right? Don't even deny it, you have to get blind drunk to be able to spend a night in this city. And you want to get away from it, and you want to take Isabel with you. So you tell her you can give her a wealthy life, she can have whatever she wants, but it's really just an excuse so that you're not seen going steady with some poor girl from Brooklyn. I've known Isabel almost my whole life, she won't fall for that. She doesn't need material things and she doesn't need some fancy title to feel like she belongs. Everything she needs is right here."

Danny's mouth opens and closes as he searches for words, glaring at Steve.

"So if it's so bad for you to be here, why don't you head back to the Upper East Side where you belong? And don't let the door hit you on the way out," Steve says right back. Isabel has no idea how he's worked all this out considering she's never told Steve the things Danny would say about their families and he's really only met him once. "Now, I suggest you leave before you regret anything you're about to do," Steve says evenly.

Danny's eyebrows rise, clearly expecting Steve to fight back. He steps away and swallows loudly. "Fine, I'll go," he says unexpectedly, turning to make his way toward the door. "This isn't over," he adds to Isabel.

"It is," she retorts, glaring at Danny.

Steve follows behind Danny, intent on closing the door behind him once he's left. He lets himself think he's diffused the situation, that Danny is leaving, not expecting it when Danny suddenly spins around and sends his clenched fist right into Steve's nose. Despite being absolutely wasted, the guy's got a good punch. Steve hears the crack of bone and feels the eye-watering pain, crumpling to the floor in the middle of the kitchen and clutching his face as blood pours out uncontrollably.

He can vaguely hear Isabel scream for Danny to leave, calling out Bucky's name frantically. Steve looks up from the ground, panic and adrenaline coursing through him, and he tries to calm his spinning head so he can get up and help her. Steve tries to sit up but his head spins worryingly and he falls back to the ground. Danny advances on Isabel, and she walks backward into the wall. He's saying something to her and she looks helpless, her wide eyes darting between Danny right in front of her face and Steve bleeding on the floor.

"Get away from me," Isabel hisses when Danny gets closer and she reaches out, pushing Danny backward. He stumbles awkwardly onto the dining room table and rolls off, rather uncoordinated in his movements, landing in a heap on the floor. When Danny sits up, he has a small cut on his forehead above his eyebrow from where it hit the hard floorboards. He cups a clumsy hand over his eye, looking shocked, and pulls it away to reveal a tiny speck of blood. He growls, jumping up again.

"You little bitc–"

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bucky shouts, and Isabel turns gratefully to see him storming through the lounge room toward them, fury written all over his face. He's wearing pants but no shirt, his torso and hair still wet from the shower. He must have hurried out after hearing Isabel's shouts over the noise of the shower. Bucky steps in front of Isabel and Steve on the floor, putting a protective arm behind him to hold Isabel against his back. She holds his arm and peers around his shoulder at their attacker as Bucky growls, "Get away from them and out of this apartment or so help me God, I'll beat your ass into kingdom come!"

Danny takes one look at Bucky and bolts, disappearing through the door. Bucky follows, yelling after him about not returning if he wants to keep his body intact. Isabel hardly hears because she's already on the ground, kneeling beside Steve.

"Oh God. Let me look." Steve blinks at her as she looks closely at his nose, searching past the gushing blood that's gone everywhere – all over the ground, Steve's face, his clothes, and now her own hands and dress.

"Your dress," Steve says nasally.

"Don't worry about it," she replies hastily, batting Steve's hands away from his nose. Steve's eyes are already turning black around the edges, the skin of his nose stained red with blood and almost black from the bruising forming along its ridge. Bucky drops down beside her, staring worriedly at his friend. "I think it's broken," Isabel tells Bucky.

"Will he need a hospital?"

"I think I can put it back in," Isabel admits, though she seems unsure. "I just may not be strong enough to. And even if we do, it may not set properly, it might be wonky. Maybe we should go to a hospital…" She's talking herself out of her ability, doubting she'll be strong enough to fix it. If she doesn't put it back in right, Steve could be left disfigured and with problems breathing, not that he needs any more help with that.

"No, no hospitals," Steve protests, slowly sitting up with aid from Bucky. He can't afford a hospital, not when he's still paying off the bill from his mother's hospital visit and her funeral a few months ago. He'll make the decision for her. "It's probably not as bad as it looks. I trust you to fix it, Isabel."

With that, Steve tries to stand, but nearly topples back to the ground in a fit of dizziness. Bucky catches him, placing Steve's arm over his shoulders and taking almost all of Steve's weight. Isabel takes Steve's other arm over her shoulders, and together they half carry, half drag Steve into a kitchen chair.

"Thank God we don't still live at home, Mom would flip if she saw Steve like this," Isabel says, a little puffed.

"Agreed, but she's going to see him tonight," Bucky says.

"Oh no," Steve mutters in anticipation of Winifred's reaction.

"Yeah, "oh no" is right," Bucky agrees before turning to Isabel, who's busy trying to stop Steve's nose bleeding. "I thought you said Danny was nice?"

"I thought he was."

"What was his problem?" Bucky asks, grabbing a tea towel from the kitchen drawer. Steve tries to catch the blood running from his nose with it, soaking it in seconds.

"He's drunk, he's delusional, going on about how I don't spend enough time with him. Steve put him in his rightful place and he clearly didn't like it," Isabel answers, her voice steely. She goes to the ice box and comes back to them with a pack of frozen vegetables and a wet cloth, using it to wipe away some of the blood. "Jeez Steve, this is bad," she hisses.

"Well done, Steve," Bucky says sarcastically. "You didn't even have to try to initiate this fight and you got beaten up."

"Shut up, jerk," Steve retorts, sounding rather like a child with a clogged nose from a cold.

"Punk," Bucky finishes.

"It's definitely broken," Isabel grimaces, now able to see Steve's nose after clearing away some of the blood. The blood flow is minimal now, beginning to clot. The nose itself is lying on the side to the right, a horrible bump over the ridge, and is incredibly swollen.

"Yeah, don't leave it like that," Bucky pleads.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Steve demands, worry contorting his features.

"Oh nothing, it's just laying on your cheek," Bucky tells him helpfully, and Steve's expression turns to one of horror.

"Alright, I'll put it back in," Isabel says quickly to calm Steve.

They give Steve a few swigs of whiskey until he's tipsy, trying to make it a little less painful for him. In a hospital, he'd be given anaesthetic and strong pain medication, but since Steve is adamant not to go to a hospital unless absolutely necessary, this is the next option. Isabel puts the flannel over Steve's nose for traction, grips the sides of his face, and prepares herself.

"This is going to hurt, so I'm going to apologise in advance. I'm very sorry," she warns, and then suddenly she's snapping her hands to the side with all her strength, and Steve feels the bones slide painfully back into place. He grits his teeth, trying not to scream and only lets out a whimper of pain, his eyes watering more than before. Another bucket load of blood goes everywhere, the pain worse than when it'd been punched in the first place.

"That was more than just hurting," Steve manages through gritted teeth after a few minutes of deep breathing, removing the flannel from his face. "Is it straight again?"

Isabel looks critically at his nose, then looks to Bucky for confirmation, who shakes his head. "Not quite." She prods Steve's nose carefully, feeling her way down the bone and cartilage. "The bone is in place again, it is fixed. It's just got a slight bump in it. Could be the bone, could just be swelling. We won't really know if it's straight until the swelling goes down."

Steve seems okay with this information, seems to accept his nose may not be perfectly straight as it once was. The bones themselves may be out of shape now. It isn't the first time he's dealt with a broken nose, he knows what to do. He takes himself to bed again with an ice pack over his face and falls asleep almost immediately, despite the pain he feels in his entire face, not just his nose.

Meanwhile, Isabel and Bucky take a seat at the dining room table. Isabel's arms are aching, small bruises already forming in the shape of fingertips. Bucky still looks furious, looking down at his hands on top of the table.

"Bucky?" Isabel eventually says, her voice only a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for saving us. If you hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened."

"I know," Bucky says solemnly. Isabel looks over at her brother, who stares broodingly at the wall behind her. She gets the feeling that Bucky does know what would have happened had he not shown up. "I should have punched his face in so he knew what it felt like. I've got a good mind to go find him."

"And where would that get us? You can't fight violence with violence."

"I still should've punched him," Bucky says stubbornly. "What was his real reason for getting so angry?"

"What I said was true, he said I don't spend enough time with him. But it was also to do with last night. He said I have my heart set on someone else, and that he didn't trust me to stay loyal to him while he was gone. I don't trust him either, I've seen how he acts around other women. But he thinks the person I'm sweet on is Steve," Isabel whispers.

"Was he right?" Bucky asks quietly.

It takes Isabel a while to answer. "I dunno, Buck. I really don't know."

Bucky frowns at that. "Did you love Danny?"

"I – no. I don't think so. We talked about this before, it just didn't feel right."

"Yeah, I remember," Bucky mumbles, remembering back to the night of their conversation on the day he'd come back from basic. Isabel had been unsure about Danny even back then.

"Really, Buck. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," Bucky assures. "And if you don't want, I won't say anything to Steve."

"Thanks."

Silence falls over the room then. Isabel gets up, going to the sink and filling a bucket with soapy water. She gets down on her hands and knees and begins to scrub the floor with a cleaning brush, trying to get Steve's blood off the floor before it dries or stains the wood. Bucky kneels beside her with another towel and helps mop up the soapy red water, wringing it out back into the bucket.

Bucky suddenly speaks up, just as he's finished pouring the dirty water back down the sink. "I wonder what Steve's face is going to look like tomorrow?" He asks, trying to lighten the mood.

The siblings do find out later that afternoon when Steve finally gets up, emerging from his "room" with a groan. He's unrecognisable, his nose twice its normal size and an odd purple and yellow blotched colour, his eyes swollen and black with dried blood running out of both nostrils.

"Mom is going to be so worried tonight," Isabel sighs. "You know she'll clip your ears because you'll be injured for the family photo."

"Yeah, and you aren't getting a date for a while," Bucky tells him, fighting the urge to laugh at his friends' appearance.

"Shove it, Buck."

A/N: The moment we've all been waiting for! Though Steve didn't get a punch in, I think his words were enough to put Danny in his place finally. Not sure if this was a plot twist or not, but a few reviewers thought that Danny might turn out to be the bad guy, that he actually was treating Isabel badly, or that he would eventually die. Obviously he doesn't die, and to me, the other option isn't true. I don't think Danny is necessarily a bad guy - maybe a little snobby, a little too confident, a bit of a drunk, but I think he truly did love Isabel and was heartbroken when she said no. Isabel and Danny simply were incompatible - they lived different lives, had differing friends, couldn't find enough similarities to stay together, and Isabel, of course, has feelings for someone else. She may not know it, but Danny definitely does. I don't think he's really a bad guy, just heartbroken and angry and drunk. This isn't the end of this sub-plot, it will continue throughout the story, though this is the last time we see Danny in person.

Hope you guys liked it, please review to let me know :)