The Festival of Lights! Grab the family, spin the dreidel, and load up your plate with latkes. Below are my Top 5 Favorite stories:
“A Little More Light” (G, 7k) by MacksDramaticShenanigans
“C’mon, Stevie. There’s no way I’m lettin’ you spend the holidays all alone. Besides, Ma’s expectin’ you, and if you don’t show she’s gonna be real upset,” Bucky prods, poking his toe into Steve’s side. They’re sprawled out on Steve’s ratty old sofa, Steve perched on one end, intently focused on whatever he’s drawing in that sketchbook of his, while Bucky takes up the rest of the couch by stretching across the cushions.
Steve’s pencil stills against the page, and he sets it down, a frown tugging at the corners of his lips as he fixes a thoroughly unimpressed stare onto Bucky. “Using your Ma to guilt me into crashing your holiday celebrations is a dirty, dirty trick, Barnes.”
“How many times do I hafta tell you, you ain’t crashin’ anything. We want you there,” Bucky assures, and bends down so his head falls into Steve’s line of sight, which has dropped back down to his sketchbook. Bucky’s practically lying in his lap now, and he reaches a hand up to touch Steve’s cheek, soft and gentle. “I want you there.”
+ Pre-WW2, The Barnes family take in Steve for the holidays
-☆-
“For you have returned my soul within me” (M, 26k) by JHSC
Steve walks away from him, leads him out of the burning factory and into the surrounding forest, the air thickened by smoke and tension, and Bucky follows. He watches the newly-straightened line of Steve's back, the newly-broadened span of his shoulders, and thinks, There weren't supposed to be any more miracles when the temple fell.
Maybe this one slipped through.
+ TFA through CW, hurt/comfort Bucky healing through community. The one where Steve lights eight menorahs
-☆-
“The Giving Candle” (G, 3k) by Fandoms_are_my_lifestyle
To Steve, Hanukkah - or Chanukah, as the Barnes referred to it - meant spending time with Bucky's family in their tiny three bedroom apartment, the smell of Mama Barnes's fried potato pancakes filling every nook and cranny of the room. It meant listening as Bucky taught Rebecca the traditional Hebrew songs his mother had taught him, which her mother had taught her, even if Steve didn't understand any of the words.
It meant leaning into Bucky's chest, watching the candles burn lower and lower, and enjoying the closeness as their mothers whispered in the background.
Not all of Bucky's memories are back - specifically, not the ones of them from before the war. Bucky knows who he is, for the most part, but he doesn't remember Them, and it hurts. It hurts because he has Bucky back, but not really, not in the way Steve wants him, and they aren't sure he'll ever remember.
It hurts, but Steve's okay. As long as he has Bucky, he's okay.
+ Alt CW, everyone lives in the tower and Bucky remembers
-☆-
“The Toy Box” (G, 1k) by mambo
Bucky, a toy maker, helps a new single father make something special for his adopted twins.
+ Modern AU, Steve wants his godkids to have something for their first Hanukkah together
-☆-
“sun falls moon lights” (G, 1k) by silentwalrus
'Tis the season.
+ Post WS, Part 4 of the Bucky gets his groove back series, but can be read alone.
-☆-
*More Hanukkah fics in the Alpha Steve and Becca Barnes lists
