[WWII AU] the streets of london

[nerves_of_ice]

Becky's last letter had suggested she'd be sending a longer one soon, and between that, the previous promise of a knitting circle, and the time of year, Bucky's pretty sure that a care package will be coming their way with the next one.

Given that, it's not too hard to convince Steve that it might be nice to pick up a couple of small things to send back in appreciation when they can. And with that in mind, to suggest that maybe the Agents Carter might enjoy doing a little shopping themselves, and that it'd be only polite for the two of them to help carry packages and make sure they didn't get overcrowded on the streets, or anything like that.

He's pretty darn sure that Steve sees right through him, but his best friend agrees to it, if Bucky can talk Sharon and Peggy into the idea.

He's smiling to himself as he makes his way toward their respective quarters.

Comments

[nerves_of_ice]

“I definitely am,” he assures her. “How about you, angel?”

[from_the_outside]

"Yes," she promises, squeezing his arm a little in hers. "I'm having a great time, sweetheart."

[nerves_of_ice]

He smiles down at her, warm and bright and purely happy.

“I’m glad.”

[from_the_outside]

That smile of his cracks her heart right in two. "Is there anything you're wishing for this Christmas?" she asks, teasing.

[nerves_of_ice]

“I’m still thinking about it,” he teases back. Some of what he wants he can’t let himself wish for, in part as it wouldn’t be fair to her.

“An orange, maybe.”

[from_the_outside]

She laughs and gives him an arch look. "Dream bigger, baby."

He may as well. 1945 is barreling towards them, along with the doomed mission to the Swiss Alps, and she no longer has any idea if she'll be able to keep herself from stopping him... if she's still here.

[nerves_of_ice]

“Oh, I’ve got lots of big dreams,” he laughs back. “I’d say impossible ones, but I’ve learned that impossible things can happen.” He snubs her nose teasingly and grins at her.

“But for now, I’ll settle for the company of friends, a bit of peace and warmth and laughter… and an orange if I’m lucky.”

[from_the_outside]

She wrinkles her nose at him, but smiles. "That sounds like as nice a holiday as there can be."

Oranges. She wonders if it would even be possible, and makes a mental note to ask Aunt Peggy.

[nerves_of_ice]

“Doesn’t it, though?” He steers her toward one window with a particularly nice display.

“What about you?” He glances down at her. “Any special Christmas wishes?”

Besides the big one, which he knows.

[from_the_outside]

Only he can give her the thing she wants the most, which is a long and happy life for himself, but nudging Aunt Peggy towards a piece of furniture is about as far as she's willing to test the timeline just now.

"Hmm," she muses, thoughtful. "I've mostly been working through holidays for the last few years. It would be nice just to have a little time to enjoy myself, I think."

[nerves_of_ice]

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” he murmurs. “Really? Working through all your holidays? Is it wartime where you’re from, too?”

[from_the_outside]

"Not like this," she tells him. "But there's always another mission. The world doesn't stop turning just because it's the end of December."

[nerves_of_ice]

It’s probably wrong of him to think that at least this holiday she can probably have that. He resolves to make it as nice for her as he can.

“I guess I can see that,” he murmurs, and reaches to tug her coat a little more closely around her neck. “Warm enough?”

[from_the_outside]

She lifts her chin to let him tuck her collar more snugly at her throat, smiling at him. "Yes."

It's hard to explain how her career has become her life, her identity. He's a soldier, but not only a soldier, and there will be – there should be some other identity for him after the war is over.

But she's Agent 13, and for her, for the longest time, the mission was all that counted.

Sharon waits until he's finished adjusting her coat and tips her head toward the next storefront. "Come on, let's see what's over here."

[nerves_of_ice]

“You got it.” He takes a quick, surreptitious glance to confirm that Steve and Peggy are doing just fine, then follows her to the window she’s spotted. “Pretty ingenious.”

[from_the_outside]

"People can do a lot with a little when they're motivated."

That seems especially true during wartime, like the way the French had stubbornly clung to fashion as a method of pushing back. She leans in, her breath puffing up the window, and looks at the books inside.

[nerves_of_ice]

"That's true," he agrees. Bucky catches Steve's eye and tips his head toward the store so that they won't vanish without him knowing, then looks at Sharon.

"Want to go in?"

[from_the_outside]

"Why not?"

They're not working on any kind of deadline. There's plenty of time left in the day. "Let's see what they have."

[nerves_of_ice]

He holds the door for her, proper and polite but with laughter in his eyes, shifting to soft delight as he takes in the contents of the little store.

"Amazing," he says, meaning it. "I thought with the paper shortages places like this wouldn't be open for a while."

[from_the_outside]

"Looks like a lot of used books," she tells him, running her fingers along a few worn spines. She's not sure where the proprietor is, but a fat, fluffy cat observes them from a basket atop one shelf, blinking slowly.

Sharon laughs. "Eyes front," she murmurs to Bucky. "Somebody's watching us."

[nerves_of_ice]

"Well hey there, kitty-cat." Bucky sounds as delighted as he looks. Cautiously, he approaches the shelf, holding out his hand for the cat to inspect. As it butts its head imperiously against his fingers, he rubs behind its ears. "You're a friendly guy, aren't you, buddy?"

[from_the_outside]

The big ginger cat knocks his forehead against Bucky's knuckles, then purrs like a motor, eyes narrowing in bliss as Bucky scratches behind his ears.

Sharon can't help laughing. "I think he likes you."

[nerves_of_ice]

"I like him too." He flashes her a cheerful grin. "Look at this guy, ruler of all he surveys, with a wealth of books around him. Pretty cozy, if you ask me."

[from_the_outside]

"He sure seems like he's got it made."

She strokes her hand over the cat's back and is rewarded with him turning over, paws curled, to offer up his belly for a rub.

[nerves_of_ice]

Bucky laughs. "Looks like you've bewitched him."