Avengers/X-Men One Shots - The Blood/White Phoenix Saga

ONE-SHOT XX: Secret Santa: Pt. 1 of Unfamiliar Concepts

Set after Blood Phoenix 5

Adelaide Lehnsherr

'Alright, everyone, gather 'round,' Tony chimed out. His request was met with groans of upsetedness. 'What? It's almost Christmas, people. We gotta get a move on.' I had been scrolling through my new phone when he had said this, and without complaint, I hopped off the bench and pocketed my phone, coming over to the couch. I hopped over the back of the couch with ease and plonked my butt down on the couch, next to Steve. He smiled softly.

'Hey, Steve,' I said softly.

'Hey.' Just then Tony brought our attention back to him.

'Avengers, focus. Christmas is coming in two weeks. Our main problem around here is gift giving. Now, we all know that this is Adelaide's second Christmas, so like last year, let's not try and overload her. For the extremely old people around here - I'm talking to the strange sort of lovebirds over there - Rogers and Lehnsherr, this year's gift giving is, wait for it... Secret Santa.' I frowned.

'What's Secret Santa?' Steve and I asked at the same time. We shared a look.

'God, you two are old. Okay, Secret Santa is where you get a bunch of names in a hat, for instance, all of your names, including yours truly, and then whoever, again, for instance, your lovely self, and whatever name you pick out of the hat, say, Nat, then you buy her a gift. If someone like, Thor, for instance, picks your name, he gets you a gift. It can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you want. Got it?'

'Righty-o,' I chorused. Just then Tony grabbed a hat, with pieces of paper all through it.

'Alright, Lehnsherr, you're up first.' I walked towards Tony, who put it up high. I stood on tiptoe and reached for it, pulling a slip of paper out. I retreated to the couch, bringing the slip with me. 'And remember, don't show your piece of paper to anyone. And don't tell anyone either. That's why it's called secret.'

'I can keep a secret - and casually lie about it too,' I responded.

'Then we're in the same boat, girlfriend,' Natasha said.

'Definitely,' I chorused, high-fiving her. The rest of the team went up and picked theirs. Tentatively, I unfolded the piece of paper. On the paper was one name: Steve. I dipped my head down to avoid them seeing my clear discomfort with that revelation and watched the rest of the team playfully bicker about who got who, with the super spies all hiding theirs very well.

-Time skip-

I went into my bedroom and pulled out a box. I'd had it for well over two months now. It was a collection of stuff; stuff that I'd pilfered off of Steve and others were from SHIELD, as they tried to help me remember who I was before - before HYDRA. I sifted through through the box, then pulled out an old photo that had no frame. The photo was dusty, but when I cleaned the dust off, it was a perfectly intact World War II photo, all in black and white. The photo was of Steve, his friend Bucky and the rest of the Howling Commandos in mission uniform, Steve's unit in '45. I smiled, tracing my finger over Bucky's face. I imagined his lingering blue eyes and soft brunette hair. The same five-o-clock shadow over his face. The gear. The guns. My Bucky. My Winter. I had gotten a file off of Director Fury with his name on it. James Buchanan Barnes, it was titled. There was no mistaking it, linking the man from the 40's, the soldier, with the Soldat that I knew. With Winter. They were one and the same. I smiled softly, feeling my eyes water.

'I take it you got Capsicle,' Tony's voice came from the door.

'N-no. Just digging through some stuff,' I responded. 'Why are you here?' I heard his soft footfalls as he sat cross-legged next to me. 'That's the most unprofessional sitting position I have ever seen you in.'