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It was neither a secret nor a surprise that Christmas was your absolute favourite time of year. In fact, it was pretty much a part of your brand at this point.
Blizzard, the girl who controlled ice and created snow, liked winter. Groundbreaking. There was so much more to it than the obvious affiliation for the weather though. The food, the drink, the films, the whole concept of traditions, the build up, oh, you loved it.
The minute you were out of the food coma of Thanksgiving, it was Christmas for you. The last few days of November, you dialled it down and kept it inside because not a single one of your teammates shared your enthusiasm to the degree that they accepted anything Christmas related till at least December. So you watched Nightmare Before Christmas for the second time in a year - it was both a Halloween and a Christmas classic, and you wouldn’t be told otherwise - and snuggled in your bed while Steve did ‘important work stuff’ and planned out the next month.
Christmas was an event to be approached with military levels of preparation, including contingency plans and deadlines for tasks. The first step, Christmas shopping. After years upon years of leaving shopping for gifts until the last minute, you’d learnt that the sooner you got it over and done with the better. Unfortunately, you’d still probably end up panic ordering from Amazon and using Tony’s contacts to get last minute bits, but oh well. If you could get the bulk done as soon as possible, you wouldn’t be so stressed throughout the entirety of December.
So on the 30th November, you woke up early and spent the first five minutes of the day extracting yourself from Steve’s arms and ignoring his requests for you to stay in bed. His argument was a good one, but you had things to do. After finally managing to wrestle out of his arms with the promise that you would enjoy doing all those naked things that evening instead, you showered and dressed and grabbed your bag, leaving with a kiss on the forehead. Wanda was ready and waiting in the kitchen, red cardigan and knitted hat cresting a wonderfully cosy winter look.
“Morning!” she sang happily, always a morning person. She bounced towards you with an energy you could never replicate before a coffee and at least two hours of consciousness, and you smiled warmly.
“Morning, Wan, you ready to go?”
She nodded, leading the way to the lift and pressing the button for the garage once you were both inside.
You glanced at her as you straightened your jacket collar. “So, first stop is coffee and breakfast, do you wanna go to that bakery on 5th?“
“Ooh, yes, I love their breakfast menu, that sourdough they make is heavenly,” she sighed blissfully, and you couldn’t help but moan in agreement. Their food really was incredible.
The drive into the city was easy, spent discussing where you wanted to go and possible ideas of presents with your joint playlist playing in the background. Miraculously, you managed to find a parking space relatively near to the cafe you wanted to go to, and you pulled your scarf tighter around your neck as you walked through the brisk morning. You loved the city at Christmas, the chill and the bustle and the lights instantly making you happy.
What’s more, warm food and hot cups of coffee were a million times better when they were enjoyed after being out in the cold. Wanda was munching on her avocado and egg on sourdough toast with closed eyes and a grin that you couldn’t help but copy.
“Do you want me to leave you guys alone?”
“Yes please,” she replied without missing a bit, practically dancing in her chair. “And if you could tell Vis I’m breaking up with him that would be great.”
You snorted, shaking your head and taking another sip of coffee. “I’m glad you’ve found the one, you deserve this happiness, and I can’t wait for the wedding.”
Her smile quickly turned impish, and she leant forward in her seat to look at you conspiratorially over her mug. “Speaking of ‘the one’, any idea what Steve’s getting you for Christmas? Maybe something he needs to, I don’t know, have your ring measurements for?”
You rolled your eyes at her bulldozer subtlety. You didn’t know where she’d got the idea that Steve was planning on proposing to you, but she had been bringing it up for the better part of a month. It wasn’t like you hadn’t thought about it, after all, you and Steve had been together for years. You couldn’t imagine ever being with someone else. It was just that marriage was never something that had really bothered you, the need to make it official not something that you would ever consider a pressing matter while working a job where you could die at pretty much any point.
That wasn’t to say that you would turn down a proposal. In fact, since Wanda had put the idea in your head, it had only got more and more appealing. You and Steve had even discussed your views on marriage before, about a year previous, and had found you shared similar ideas - yes, it would be nice to have a wedding and make it official, but it wasn’t something either of you needed. The idea of him proposing, therefore, wasn’t completely out of the blue, but you still weren’t about to start getting your hopes up.
You shook your head in exasperation, smiling down at your food. “Alright, Wanda, enough. Even if he were going to propose, he wouldn’t do it at Christmas.”
Her face scrunched in confusion, head tilted. “Why not?”
“Because I told him not too.”
The witch snorted and you smiled, both turning back to your food. After a few seconds, you shot a quick glance at her before casually taking another bite.
“Although if he asks, my ring size is 6.”
xxx
It had been a long, long day, but eventually you drove back to the compound with both the boot and the backseat of the car overflowing with gifts. Several large coffees were the only reason you were still conscious, and you were adamant that you weren’t stepping foot in a store for at least another two weeks.
It had been almost a total success though, and so you were happy as well as tired. When you pulled into your parking space and got out to open the boot, you frowned and picked your phone from your pocket to send off a quick text.
“You ok? Asked Wanda, watching as you waited for your phone to ping with a reply before shooting her a satisfied grin.
“Yep, just calling for backup,” you offered in explanation, picking up several bags and turning to walk to the lift with Wanda copying your movements. You stopped in front of the lift, watching as the numbers counted down to the basement level, grinning widely as it opened and a barefoot Steve walked out.
“Bags are on the backseat, don’t look in the blue one,” you told him before pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you baby!”
He took the keys from your hand and walked over to your car without complaint, easily collecting the remaining things and locking the car before rejoining you in the lift you’d held open.
“Please tell me these are actually presents for other people and not just more clothes for you.”
You let out a scandalised gasp as Wanda giggled, sticking your tongue out at the blonde as your hands were too full to slap his arm.
“Enough of your sark, Rogers, or I’m returning your gift,” you spat in a mock-annoyed tone, but he merely raised a brow.
“Some of these are for you, aren’t they?”
You didn’t answer, but the doors to your floor opened at that second and you practically ran from the lift.
“You can’t prove anything!”
They laughed behind you as you unlocked the door to yours and Steve’s room, dropping the bags on the bed before taking the blue bag from Steve’s arms and following Wanda to her room further down the hall.
“I wouldn’t stop you even if I thought I could, love,” he called to your retreating back, and you spun to blow him a kiss before he left for the lift and you walked into Wanda’s room.
“You sure you don’t mind keeping this in here? It’ll throw Steve off the scent and stop him from intercepting my deliveries, hopefully. Honestly, who knew Captain America was such a nosey, impatient little shit when it came to gifts?”
Wanda laughed lightly, taking the bag and placing it in her cupboard with the rest of her bags. “It’s fine, it can stay here as long as you need.”
“Thanks, Wanda. And thanks for coming with me, I had a great time,” you told her sincerely, wrapping her in a tight hug which she immediately reciprocated.
“No problem, I had a great time too! It’s one of our traditions that I always look forward to.”
“Me too,” you smiled, pulling from the hug. “See you at movie night?”
She nodded eagerly, and you called out goodbyes as you returned to your room. Steve was gone, and so you took your time sorting through the remaining bags and hiding them away in a suitcase.
It was the most successful Christmas shopping to date, and you hummed under your breath as you changed into comfy clothes. An expensive sweater and a gag gift of raunchy underwear for Nat. A fancy cooking appliance you didn’t fully understand but knew he’d had his eyes on for months for Clint. For Bucky, a leather jacket, and for Sam, a new pair of Ray Bans to replace the ones you’d broken the month before. Wanda was getting some Yankee Candles and a bracelet that you’d seen earlier and would be ordering tonight, and Vision was getting a set of novels and an ornate globe for his room that he was attempting to make look homier. Tony was trickier, as it was the question of what do you get a man who has everything? You’d found the tackiest Iron Man shirt you could and picked that, but you’d find him something nicer to order online later. With the designer stationery and vintage wine you’d gotten Pepper, that left only Rhodey, Peter and Steve to buy for.
You called that a success.
Good mood still in full swing, you looked up at the ping of your phone to see a text from Nat telling you the movie was about to begin. Stopping only to grab a blanket, you headed through the compound to the common area where the lights were off and the opening score of the first Harry Potter was already playing - the introduction to modern cinema for Bucky and Steve was still in full swing, and this was one you’d been waiting for for a while.
You didn’t hesitate in throwing yourself over the back of the closest sofa to land heavily between the super soldiers, smiling sheepishly at the grunt from Bucky as your foot caught him in the stomach.
“Sorry,” you whispered, making a kissy face at him as he shook his head in fond exasperation. Spotting the hot chocolate ready and waiting on the coffee table, you picked it up and kissed Steve on the jaw, burrowing into his chest as he slung an arm around your shoulders. As the movie began, and you sipped your hot chocolate in Steve’s arms, fire roaring in the background, you thought of how it was moments like this that made you love Winter.
xxx
December 1st. It was officially Christmas season, and no one in the compound could dispute it at this point. Well, they could try, but they would absolutely lose. As Steve showered, you called through the bathroom door to let him know you were going to go start breakfast and headed for the communal kitchen.
It was mid-morning, but it was cold and most of the team were taking advantage of this surprisingly quiet weekend to sleep in. Nat was the only one awake, sitting at the kitchen island, flipping through a magazine and sipping coffee. You passed her bar stool with a kiss on the cheek, assembling ingredients on the counter with a smile.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?” she asked, pouring another coffee from the machine and pushing the mug across the counter towards you.
“Nat,” you started in disbelief, looking at her over your shoulder as you whisked. “You know what today is, don’t you?”
“Ah, of course,” she realised, shaking her head a little. “How could I forget?”
“Wanna come with?”
“Out into the cold and the snow? No thanks, sestra, I’m good.”
You spared a confused glance at the window. “Nat, it’s not snowing.”
She dropped the magazine on the counter, shooting you a raised eyebrow. “We both know that you’re going to make it snow because you’re obsessed with the idyllic Christmas aesthetic.”
You paused in your egg cracking, shoulders slumping in defeat. “You don’t know me,” you mumbled half-heartedly, pouting at her answering snort.
“Sweetie, I know you better than literally anyone,” she declared - and she was right - as she placed her empty mug in the sink and picked up her magazine. She squeezed you in a quick side hug, then began to walk out of the kitchen before stopping. “See, they know it too.”
You looked up as she nodded at Bucky and Steve as they appeared from the corridor, Nat grinning knowingly at them before walking off. Sure enough, both men were wrapped in thick coats and scarves, hats and gloves sticking out of their pockets with heavy boots on their feet.
“Damn, I really am predictable,” you muttered to yourself, turning back to the mixture sizzling in the skillet.
“What, babe?”
You waved a hand at Steve as he poured him and Bucky coffees, assuring him you were fine. “Nothing, pancakes are up, boys.”
After a hearty breakfast, the three of you left the compound and drove in the direction opposite of the city. The forest behind the compound was large, and the area you wanted was a good 10 minute drive - walking there was fine, getting back would have been more of an issue.
As the boys grabbed their tools from the car, you lifted a hand and gently let the energy gather at your fingertips. The white-blue energy snaked around your hand, glowing lightly against the dark green of the fir trees. Slowly, the sky that had been a rather weak blue became grey, clouds appearing from nowhere. Then the snow began to fall, lightly at first, but picking up quickly. You kept it localised, stretching the range enough to encompass the compound and its grounds without hitting the roads.
You nodded in satisfaction, turning to the boys who were watching you with matching smiles.
“Right, boys, let’s get to it.”
It took almost 15 minutes of searching to find the perfect tree, but you knew it the second you saw it. Tall, full, ideally shaped, and a healthy green. You stepped away with a light crunch, a reasonable layer of snow on the ground beneath your boots. The boys stepped up to the tree, agreeing on the logistics of it before they began to saw into the trunk.
You stepped away from them and wandered through the forest a little, lightening the snow to make their jobs easier, but still keeping enough above you to keep you happy. As someone with powers over snow and ice, you not only could withstand the cold easily, but you longed for it. You liked being cold, because it felt like home. It settled your powers, made the thrumming of the energy in your veins a little lazier. So you stretched your bare arms out and leaned your head back to let the flakes drop onto your skin, grin permanently etched into your face.
A minute later there was a soft thump as the tree fell to the ground, and you took one last breath of frozen air before rejoining the boys and helping them attach the tree to the roof of the car to return to the now snow covered compound.
xxx
You were interrupted from your idle sketching by a sudden scream that had your head shooting up only to be instantly crushed by a squirming weight. You blinked rapidly, another person's hair in your eyes, before pulling away enough to realise it was in fact a child squashed on your lap.
The lump giggled, pulling back to meet your eyes and squish your cheeks with their hands. “Hi!”
You couldn’t help but grin back at Lila, hugging her tightly as she giggled again. “Hey, Little Hawk, I missed you!”
“I missed you too! Dad won’t play uno with me anymore.”
“Because someone taught you how to cheat!” Clint called from the kitchen where he was packing away leftovers.
“Um, firstly, how dare you. Secondly, how do you even cheat at uno?” you demanded, twisting to glare at him over the back of the couch as Lila bounced on the sofa by your side.
“You tell me,” he rebuked, sparing you a knowing glance.
“I’m admitting nothing,” you drawled eventually. You then stood and turned to face Laura as she placed the baby carrier on the adjacent sofa. “Hey Laura, how’re you? Picked a colour for the living room yet?”
She sighed, reaching out to give you a hug. “Nope, apparently cornflower blue is too ‘rustic’.”
You paused as you stepped away, brows furrowed. “You guys live in a farmhouse.”
She nodded, face fixed in that look of someone who’s had the same fight a hundred times. “I know.”
You turned to squint at an oblivious Clint. What an idiot.
Shaking your head, you approach the baby carrier with a stupid smile, cooing as you look to Laura for approval she quickly grants. As she falls gracefully into the seat next to Lila, you pick Nathaniel up and cradle him against your chest as he lets out a little gurgle of annoyance at being moved.
“Hey, where’s Cooper?”
“Sleepover, and Lila and Nathaniel were supposed to be staying at their grandma’s but she came down with the flu,” Laura explains, pausing as she tucks some hair behind her ear and glances at Clint - who has finished putting away things in the kitchen and now stands behind the sofa - and then back to you. “Actually, that’s why we’re here. We were hoping maybe you could watch them for a couple of hours?”
“Yeah, we hate to ask, kid, but we can’t return the tickets and we’ve been wanting to see this show for months-”
“Guys, chill, it’s cool,” you cut Clint off, too preoccupied making faces at Nathaniel. “You go, have fun. We’ll be fine here for a few hours, right Lila?”
The girl eagerly agreed, and Laura and Clint broke into smiles of relief. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” you reassured, “I needed help decorating the tree anyway, and something tells me Lila would be excellent at that.”
“Yes! I want to decorate the tree, please let me help!” Lila shouted, jumping up and down by your side. You couldn’t help but adopt the infectious energy, and it wasn’t long after you’d shooed out the Barton couple that you and Lila were dancing around the tree with a box of decorations, Frozen playing on the tv.
It was Lila’s favourite film, and the bane of your existence - Elsa bore incredibly strong similarities to you, and not a week passed without Tony thinking it hilarious to play Let it Go when you entered a room at least once.
“Wow, Y/N, I didn’t know they did a documentary on you, that’s so cool!”
As if on cue, the joking tone of Sam made you roll your eyes, turning to him with folded arms as Lila yelled his name and flung herself at his legs in a hug.
“You’re hilarious, Pigeon Boy.”
“Hey Lila, I didn’t know you were here! How you doing, kid?”
“Me and Y/N decorated the tree!”
“I can see!” He smiled, biting back his laughter as he took in the tree. Sure enough, when you stepped back to join him, you could see the complete disarray that stood before you. Streamers and tinsel trailed everywhere, ornaments with no theme crowded the branches, and honestly, it was a masterpiece.
“Good job Lila, it looks great,” you grinned at her, lifting your hand for a high five she immediately delivered.
“So what now?” she questioned, never one for sitting still. Given how lazy Clint was, you had no idea where she got that trait from.
“Well, I usually bake Christmas cookies on this day, you want to help me do that?”
The girl replied with enthusiasm, so you clicked off the forgotten film and instead asked FRIDAY to play your Christmas playlist. You checked on Nathaniel to find him still happily passed out, then had Lila wash her hands, roll up her sleeves, and don an apron before doing the same and getting down to work.
It was the perfect start to December, cheesy Christmas music blaring as you and Sam sang along at full volume - Nathaniel sleeping soundly in your room - as Lila giggled and joined in with the choruses. At some point, you weren’t sure when, Sam had found a Santa hat and put it on for maximum festiveness. All three of you were dusted in flour and icing sugar from the minor war that had broken out in the baking process, and you hadn’t stopped smiling for hours.
Now Lila was happily humming to herself, balanced on a stool as she decorated cookies with painstaking care while you washed up and Sam dried.
“You’re really good with her,” Sam said in that false causal tone that you knew meant he was going somewhere with this.
Luckily for him, you were in too good a mood to be short with him. “Kids are great and I love them, but no, I don’t plan on becoming a mom anytime soon so don’t even go there.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything,” he protested too quickly, hands raised in defense. You gave him a look of ‘yeah sure’ and dried your hands, leaning against the counter with crossed arms as you watched Lila.
“I’ve thought about it, of course,” you offered willingly after a moment of quiet. “But it’s not something I ever thought I’d even have the option to have. Honestly, i don't even know if I can, or if Steve can for that matter.” Your voice trailed off, a hint of sadness in the words that you cleared your throat to try and disguise.
“Sorry, Y/N, I didn’t mean to-“
“Sam, honestly it’s fine,” you reassured with a small smile. “Maybe it’ll happen, maybe it won’t, either way I’m happy with the family I have.”
“You sappy little shit,” Sam cooed, pulling you into a tight bear hug.
You laughed, but it was the truth. Whether kids happened or not, you had Steve, and you had your friends, and being an honorary aunt to Clint’s kids was enough for you.
You didn’t need anything else.
xxx
On the 18th December, you fell awkwardly during training and injured your shoulder - nothing serious, but it was enough to make Steve wait on you hand and foot. You couldn’t pretend that you didn’t like the attention.
Unfortunately, it also meant that when the team was contacted for an emergency mission, you had to stay behind. Five days till Christmas and everyone in the compound was being called away - great.
You said goodbye at the landing pad, hugging everyone as tight as you could without aggravating your injury. You smiled encouragingly and told them that you’d be fine and to keep safe.
“I’ll do everything we can to be back for Christmas, I promise,” Steve mumbled into your hair as he held you tightly.
“Just make sure you make it back in one piece, ok Cap? I’ll be here waiting.”
It was hard the first couple of days, trying to distract yourself in an empty compound. Then Tony came home on the 22nd from his meetings in Colorado and you'd never been so happy to see the man in your life. He’d been a close friend since you’d first bonded over late nights in the lab, and he always had your back - and always knew how to cheer you up.
You spent the 23rd in the common room with the fireplace going, old Christmas movies on the tv as you moved from lazing on the couch to sitting on the floor and wrapping presents. It wasn’t the first time the two of you had been left alone in the compound, and you were very grateful in this moment to have him as a friend.
Still, on the 24th when evening hit and you finished off your dinner of pasta and decided to play pool while getting drunk on aged whisky, you were immensely happy to hear FRIDAY announcing that the team were on their way back.
By that point, you and Tony were both already tipsy and bored of Christmas films, so of course you spent the next couple of hours as you waited getting progressively drunker.
When FRIDAY informed you the team were about to land, you and Tony were stuck in full on laughing fits, stumbling through the corridors and up in the lift to the landing pad. The cold air felt good on your cheeks, and Tony had FRIDAY blasting AC/DC out of the outdoor speakers to keep you energised as you waited.
The second the team began spilling from the jet, tired and dirty but smiling after a successful mission, they were laughing at your drunken escapades. You took turns hugging them with wet kisses on their cheeks before literally leaping into Steve’s arms and pressing your lips firmly against his with no regards for the people watching.
Eventually you pulled yourself away to find that the team had all disappeared and Steve was smiling at you in a dopey, loved up way that made your heart sing.
“You and Tony coped ok then?” he questioned with a smirk.
“We gambled a lot, it was fun,” you grinned. “But I’m just glad you’re back, baby, I missed you so much.”
“I missed you too, sweetheart.”
xxx
Before you knew it, it was Christmas Eve. The team had a nice family dinner before you split off to spend some time alone with Steve, doing nothing much at all but enjoying the time spent alone in your room. Then it hit 11 and you parted ways to take part in your own Christmas Eve traditions - Steve went to hang with Bucky, and you grabbed a bottle of the good vodka and a couple of mugs from the kitchen and headed to the roof.
Nat was already waiting, sat near the edge with blankets and a box of cookies and a soft smile on her face. The two of you had been friends long before she, and later you, had joined the Avengers, and every year for almost 10 years, you had found a rooftop on which to sit and see in Christmas Day.
You snuggled up close to her side, blanket draped over both your shoulders and drank through the night. You talked about your past and the future, sharing secrets as you always did. It was a therapeutic time, something that you looked forward to every year.
By the time the sun began to rise and the sky turned orange, the warmth of the alcohol buzzed through your veins and the smile wouldn’t drop from your face. You bid each other goodnight with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and the promise that you were forever sisters, then split into your own rooms through the quiet of the compound.
You stood just inside the door for a moment, watching Steve sleep in the darkness. His breathing was even, his face relaxed, and you felt so grateful in that moment for the family you had. As you undressed and slipped in next to him, cold feet leeching the warmth that radiated from his serum-enhanced body, he woke with a sleepy smile.
“Merry Christmas darlin’.”
You smiled contently, cuddling in closer and embracing the warmth.
“Merry Christmas babe.”