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London - December 24th, 1944
"I don't care how many times HYDRA bases pop up on our radar. We'll keep takin' them down one by one until there's nothing left." Steve leaned over the map sprawled out on debriefing table, circling the next base with his pointer finger. "Are there any questions before we suit up?"
Y/n scanned the map, blowing out a sigh as her eyes darted from one "X" to another, marking the defeated bases from the past few months.
"Here we go again." Bucky said from beside her, offering a half-smile which was enough to lift her spirits. She cleared her throat slightly, attempting to focus on the meeting ongoing in front of her rather than the scent of Bucky's mint aftershave radiating off of his figure and entangling her senses. She gripped the edge of the table in attempt to ignore the few loose strands of his mocha colored locks that hung over his forehead that she itched to play with in her fingers.
The soldiers who were gathered around shared a few murmurs amongst themselves, before being dismissed by Steve.
To put things lightly, the last few months had been a physical embodiment of hell itself. By all means, Y/n had been well aware of what she had been signing up for; there was a reason people were calling it the Second World War, after all. Her, the Commandos and the rest of the soldiers were lucky enough to be fighting directly next to Steve and his vibranium shield and couldn't begin to compare their battlefield experience to those part of the other divisions. Steve, Y/n and Bucky all witnessed it every single day. The person sitting next to them in meetings, sharing small talk in the halls or around the lunch tables. Seeing their names on the casualty list after a mission was mind-numbingly devastating.
Before Y/n could make her way to the change rooms, she heard his footsteps shadowing her's. She smirked when she suddenly stopped and turned around, causing Bucky to nearly step on her toes. "Thought Steve gave us some pretty clear instructions." She set her hands on her hips.
"I know." Bucky bit down on his lip, providing no cover for the grin that played on his lips. "Guess you've gotten so caught up in your training with Carter, you forgot what day it is tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Tomorrow is..." her expression softened. Bucky nudged her gently with his elbow when realization flooded her eyes.
"Merry Christmas Eve, Y/n."
Y/n smacked her hand to her forehead and groaned. "No way. Already? Could've sworn we still had a few days."
There was no Christmas without Bucky and Steve, Y/n had come to figure that out from a young age. She remembered that very year after her mother passed, when she woke up to the spot in the living room, where the Christmas tree once gleamed charmingly, was absent for the first time. The smell of hot chocolate and the sound of carols crackling on the radio didn't linger in the hallway outside of her bedroom that year. The piano where her mother had taught her Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had become blanketed in a thick coating of dust. Her father threw her a pathetic excuse to why Santa had "accidentally skipped their house," and that there was no use whining all day, because as he assured Y/n, the only thing that would have been piled in her stocking would be mounds of coal.
