Daughter of Sullivan and Lucinda Winters; younger sister of Guinivere Winters
Gryffindor House
Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy pairing
Face claim: Suki Waterhouse
Story title: Winter’s War; Winter's Siege
Links: AO3
"The Battle of Hogwarts ends in a chilling twist of fate, and against all odds, Morgan Winters comes out on top. With both Harry Potter and Voldemort dead, the Wizarding World is poised for another upheaval, and this time, Morgan is at the center of it--along with a very reluctant Draco Malfoy.
Life comes at you fast when you accidentally kill the Chosen One."
Summary: It’s Thanksgiving day and you may be halfway across the world but you want to celebrate it. You try to surprise the guys, but they end up surprising you, instead.
Pairing: Bucky x Reader
Warnings: Language (always)
Word Count: some number between 2500 and 4500
A/N: Another sweet chapter. We have a few more, at least :) I think we only have a few more chapters to go, though!
Please note that this has been reposted after being taken down during the great Tumblr Purge 2k18
Masterlist // Previous Chapter // Next Chapter
Not a half hour later you and the guys were on your way to the airstrip; you were on Moxie with Bucky (you’d let him drive- he was thrilled), Steve was on Patriot, and the guys were in the trucks.
The moment everything was loaded you took your seat in the cockpit. Bucky took the seat next to you; you’d agreed to teach him how to fly and he was to be your copilot while he learned (Steve had been insistent about that. He probably hoped it would temper your impulses). Just like that, you were all on your way to Czechoslovakia.
November 25th, 1943 - A small town in Czechoslovakia
The timer on the stove top went off and you cursed, hastily placing the dish of uncooked vegetables onto the kitchen counter.
“Oh boy…” you muttered as you opened the oven door. The smell of butter-lathered bird hit your nose and you let out a small noise of contended pride. You’d never cooked for Thanksgiving before, but you finally had something resembling a family and a plethora of things to be thankful for, so there you were, cooking a veritable feast by yourself in the small kitchen of a house in Czechoslovakia.
Finding a large turkey had been the most challenging part. You ended up tracking down a man a few miles away who raised them for food. It had been enormously expensive, but you counted it as worth it.
You shoved the baster into the pool of butter at the bottom of the dish and coated the whole bird in the rich stuff, marveling at how well everything was coming along.
Then, the next timer went off. Your head spun to glance at the automatic mixer that was prepping dough for the rolls and let out a yelp; you’d left it too long and it was rising nearly out of the bowl.
As quickly and carefully as you could manage you shoved the Turkey back into the oven and slammed the door, yanking off the oven mitts as you ran to the mixing bowl. You turned it off and pulled the top of it up, shoving dough haphazardly back into the bowl in an attempt to save it from the worst fate of all: the floor.
You’d finally gotten all of the dough back into the bowl when a voice from the doorway interrupted the silence of your work space.
“What are you doing?”
You spun to face Bucky and Steve, who were looking at you with something akin to grim amusement. When Bucky got a look at your face, though, he had to bite back a laugh. Steve looked similarly conflicted, but one look around the kitchen made him frown.
“You’re not supposed to be back yet!” you said, glancing at the clock on the wall. No, you still had time. They were just back early.
“Yeah, well our reconnaissance mission went well, so… we’re back early,” Bucky said, crossing the room to take you into his arms.
“But… but this was supposed to be a surprise…” you said, eyes downcast.
Bucky laughed and reached up, rubbing some flour you hadn’t noticed from your cheek. “Well mark me down for plenty surprised, Doll,” he said with a smile.
You pouted, unable to look him in the eyes. “It’s not the same… You were all supposed to come back to the table set, the dishes all done cooking…”
“You weren’t going to even let me carve the turkey?” Bucky asked playfully, bending down so he could look you in the eyes.
“I- I didn’t think-” you sputtered, alarmed at how you could have overlooked such an important part of Thanksgiving. In your defense, you hadn’t had one in years; the only person you considered family was British and, as such, didn’t celebrate it. You and Steve had been too busy on the road to celebrate it, never staying in one place long enough to actually sit down and plan a huge meal like that. And, after all, it would only be the two of you; everyone else went home for the holiday.
Bucky seemed to realize he’d struck a nerve because he cupped your cheek in his hand and placed a tender kiss to your lips. It snapped you out of your darker thoughts and you kissed him back just as softly.
“No harm no foul, sweetheart. I was just joking,” he said kindly, smiling down at you warmly.
You smiled and nodded, your nerves set at ease at his words.
“Do you think maybe me and Stevie can help you out, though?” he asked hopefully.
You stood on your toes and glanced over his shoulder at Steve, who was eyeing the pots on the stove with varying amounts of concern. You glanced at Bucky and nodded after a moment. You’d really wanted to get this all done by yourself, but, if you were being honest, you really could use the help.
“Do you even know how to cook?” you asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
He scoffed at that. “Give us a minute to get changed and washed up, and I’ll just show you whether or not I can cook, Doll,” he said with a wink. “C’mon, Stevie. We’ve got work to do,” he said, throwing his arm over the blond man’s shoulder.
Steve sputtered his confusion, having missed your conversation a moment before while he was studying your dastardly creations on the stove top. You rolled your eyes at the two of them as they disappeared in the doorway, turning your attention back to the bowl of dough…
Which had risen again and was in the process of dripping slowly onto the counter and floor.
“Shit!”
As it turned out, Bucky and Steve did know how to cook. Pretty well, too, if you were being honest. You chalked it up to him and Steve living as single bachelors together for so long; you could only live on takeout for so long, especially when you had as little money as they had back then.
An hour later you were pulling the last of the side dishes out of the oven. The table in the living room was already set and the huge turkey was covered in foil to keep it warm until the other dishes were ready.
The rest of the guys had arrived just a little while ago and took to setting the table, placing everything carefully as it exited the kitchen.
James and Jacques had protested a bit about the whole ordeal, but one whiff of the turkey and the pie you’d baked had them backtracking, now eagerly awaiting the Thanksgiving day meal.
Finally, you pulled out the last side- the rolls you’d struggled with so much earlier- and placed them on a plate with a cloth draped over it to keep their heat in.
“Is that all of it?” Dum Dum asked as you passed. He made a move to grab a roll from the basket but you deftly dodged it and placed the basket safely onto the table.
“Yes, yes it is,” you said proudly, eyeing the smorgasbord laid out in front of you.
Bucky came up behind you and placed a hand on your hip. “Looks delicious, sweetheart,” he said softly, placing a kiss to your temple.
“You and Stevie did at least half the work!” you said, tilting your head to look up at him, smile on your lips, adoration in your eyes.
Jim rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You’re all fantastic. Now, can we please eat?” he asked as he took a seat at the crowded table. The poor thing was nearly buckling under the weight of all the dishes and it creaked ominously whenever you moved dishes around.
James went to reach for the vegetables, but Dum Dum batted his hand away. “Not yet, ya idgit. We have to say what we’re all thankful for, first,” he explained.
“I suppose that’s why it’s called Thanksgiving, eh?” James said, rubbing his hand indignantly.
“Do you wanna start, Stevie?” you asked, glancing at him on your immediate right.
Steve nodded and seemed to think for a minute before he spoke up. “I’m thankful for a chance to serve my country, with people I can trust at my back,” he said, smiling at all of you.
There were a few sincere smiles along with a few teasing ones.
Jim was up next. “I’m thankful to be out of that damned hellhole, and for a chance to get back at the bastards that put me there.”
There were nods of assent around the table. You were sure they would have toasted to that one if they’d had drinks.
Dum Dum cleared his throat, his mustache twitching behind his hand. “I’m thankful to be surrounded by the biggest bunch of idiots in the whole Allied army,” he said with a toothy grin that had the rest of you grinning, too, even as Gabe reached over and punched him lightly on the shoulder.
You all turned to Gabe, who was still smiling at Dum Dum’s answer. When he realized you were all staring at him expectantly, he sat up a little straighter. “Right, uh. I guess I’m thankful for the simple fact that I’m alive and I’m getting to see the world, even if it is a mess right now.”
There were nods of agreement around the table and Jacques and Dum Dum gave him bracing pats on the back.
Jacques leaned over and whispered something to Gabe, who whispered something back with a nod.
“For my friends and family,” Jacques said, accent heavily coloring his words, to which everyone nodded, smiling along. “Et pour les explosifs. Et en utilisant l'exploration sur Hydra,” he added darkly. And for explosives. And using explosives on Hydra.
The guys knew enough french by now to understand the gist of the second half of Jacques’ sentiments and they all guffawed.
“D’accord, mon ami,” you said with a wink, which he returned playfully with a chuckle.
You all turned your attention to James, who shrugged helplessly. “For my health, friends, and family, I suppose.”
“Geeze, James. If you said that with any more emotion I think we’d all be a sobbing mess,” you said sarcastically.
He didn’t dignify it with a response, though (although he did subtly flip you the bird, which made you laugh), and you all turned your attention to Bucky.
“For my freedom, health, and the people in my life,” he said, giving all of you a smile (though his gaze lingered on Steve and you a bit longer than the rest).
You beamed back at him and it was only once Steve cleared his throat that you realized it was your turn.
“Oh, um. I… I guess I’m thankful for… Peggy, Howard and… and all of you,” you said shyly. Saying it out loud was way more embarrassing than it was in your head, made only worse by the chorus of aww’s from the guys. Steve nudged you with his shoulder, wide grin on his face; he felt the same way about your band of misfits as you did; they were like a family to him. Bucky reached for your hand and brought it to his lips, smiling warmly as he placed a gentle kiss to the back of it. Even though you were embarrassed, you wanted this moment to last. The only way it would have been more perfect was if Howard and Peggy had been there, too. You were finally enjoying a Thanksgiving meal with people you considered to be your family.
Without any further ado, Bucky stood and began carving the turkey, giving everyone giant chunks as they piled side dishes onto their plates. You asked him what he wanted and made his plate up for him so he’d actually have food; you were almost worried they’d devour everything before he could make it halfway through the bird.
“Back, you filthy animals! You’ll get your piece in a minute!” he said, waving the carving knife dangerously at Jim, Dum Dum, and Gabe’s wandering hands. Jacques snuck in from Bucky’s other side and grabbed a slice of turkey for himself causing Bucky to squawk indignantly and throw his napkin at the laughing Frenchman.
You chuckled along to the scene playing out before you, grinning happily as you ate. James surprised all of you by letting loose a bit, nearly getting into a food fight with Jim. It was only Dum Dum and Steve’s stern voices and your threat of beating the both of them up that saved the walls of the dining room from Foodmageddon. The food disappeared more quickly than you thought possible and you were indeed glad you’d made a plate for Bucky. He sat down after everyone had gotten their share of turkey and began munching happily on his food, though his progress was somewhat hampered by his unwillingness to let your hand go throughout the rest of the meal.
You hadn’t been expecting much in the way of leftovers, but by the time everyone was done eating, not a single green bean, dinner roll, or season potato remained. Everyone had dissolved into side conversations; you, Steve, and Bucky were talking about New York. You caught a bit of Gabe and Jacques’ conversation- something about weird french traditions.
“Well, I suppose we should start cleaning up… not that there’s a whole lot to clean up in the first place,” you said, smirking at the nearly-licked-clean plates on the table.
“Oh no, little lady. Leave that to us. You, Steve, and Bucky deserve a break after all that work,” Dum Dum said, to which the rest of the guys nodded in agreement. You glanced at Steve and Bucky, who nodded insistently at you.
“Well… alright, if you insist,” you said reluctantly with a smile. “Thanks, guys.”
“Yeah, yeah. Go relax, ya bunch of idiots. We got this,” Jim said, already standing and gathering up plates.
Bucky stood and tugged you gently to your feet. You made to walk towards your room, but Bucky wordlessly tugged you in the other direction down the hall, Steve following closely behind. You gave the back of Bucky’s head a confused look and, realizing he wasn’t going to tell you what he was doing, you glanced back at Steve. His gaze snapped to you and he smiled and placed a finger to his lips, signalling you to just go with it.
This, however, only confused you more. If Steve wasn’t asking about Bucky’s odd behavior, that means he was in on whatever was going on.
You arrived in the living room just a few moments later and let out a gasp of surprise. You dropped Bucky’s hand and took a few steps forward, gazing around the living room in awe.
When you’d arrived a few days ago the house was a bit of a mess. However, it seemed like it had been cleaned up while you’d been preoccupied cooking. Although the Thanksgiving decorations were of questionable taste, there was no doubt that it was a vast improvement over what it had been before. Someone had even started a fire in the huge fireplace, though it was slowly dying, as you’d all been in the dining room eating for a long while.
It was downright cozy.
“Did you do all of this?” you asked excitedly, rounding on them.
They grinned at you, but shook their heads. “It was the guys, actually. They got back earlier than you thought and cleaned as sneakily as possible as a surprise for you,” Steve explained.
“The decorations were actually worse until Dum Dum came through and got rid of about half of it, if you can believe that,” Bucky said with a wink.
You laughed at that. “They let Jacques and Jim decorate, didn’t they?”
Bucky and Steve laughed and nodded. “Yeah, yeah they did,” Bucky conceded.
You turned back to the room and couldn’t help the wide grin that lit up your face. “I think it’s perfect.”
Bucky chuckled and hugged you from behind, resting his chin on the top of your head. “If you can get the radio working, we may actually have some entertainment tonight… unless you feel like listening to more of Dugan’s stories,” he said playfully.
“Oh god, pass. I can only take hearing the same story so many times,” you said, grimacing at the though. You loved Dum Dum but if you heard the one about the childhood friend, the bike, and the babysitter one more time you might punch him. Steve and Bucky sniggered and Bucky released you. You immediately set to work on the radio, asking Bucky to bring you what you needed from your tools as you needed them.
Not fifteen minutes later you had the thing working and it began playing quiet melodies throughout the house. Bucky fiddled with the dials for a minute until it picked up a faster song; Benny Goodman, if you weren’t mistaken.
“May I have this dance,” Bucky asked, extending his hand for you to take.
You froze, though, and looked at his hand like it was a snake that might bite you. “I, uh- I’ve never- I don’t-”
Bucky’s eyebrows shot to his hairline. “You don’t know how to dance, Doll?”
You shifted nervously as the horns blared through the speakers and shook your head. “I… wasn’t really one to go out to dance halls, Buck,” you said sheepishly. I was never really asked, technically, you thought to yourself.
Bucky let out a long sigh. “How is it neither my best girl nor my best guy know how to dance?” he said forlornly.
“Hey, I- …I resent that remark,” Steve said quietly, deflating a bit as he came to term with the fact he didn’t have a comeback for a straight fact like that.
“Alright, you two are learning how to dance. Tonight,” Bucky said determinedly as he rolled up his sleeves.
You and Steve gaped like fish, glancing to each other and back at Bucky. “What?” you both asked dumbly in unison.
Bucky raised an eyebrow at the two of you. “I’m teaching you how to dance. I want to take you-” he looked pointedly at you “-out to a dance hall at some point and you-” he stared Steve down “-need to learn to dance so you can take Peggy out. We’re killing two birds with one stone, here,” he said matter-of-factly.
You looked at Steve, who stared back at you, shrugging helplessly.
“Well, are we doing this?” Bucky asked, tone leaving little room for either of you to say no.
You and Steve both took deep breaths and nodded.
As it turned out, Bucky was as good at teaching someone how to fight as he was at teaching them how to dance.
Not too long into your lesson the guys had taken seats around the room to watch, each one hopping in with suggestions, tips, and dance moves every now and then. By the end of the night you’d danced with nearly all of them. Bucky would demonstrate (sometimes with you) and you and Steve would try to recreate it. The first hour or so had been almost mortifyingly bad, but you improved slowly but surely. Once or twice Bucky had had to dance with Steve directly to fix a problem, earning good-natured jabs from the peanut gallery. You’d only smiled at the sight of your two boys dancing together, trying your best to ingrain it into your memory.
The song changed and you recognized it because it was played everywhere.
“Alright, Doll, let’s see what you’ve learned,” Bucky said, seamlessly taking Steve’s place as your dance partner.
The song was faster than anything else you’d danced to so far and you struggled to keep up, but one look at the smile on his face and you were suddenly laughing joyfully as you danced with him. Who knew it could be so much fun, once you got the hang of it?
He chuckled along as the two of you cut a rug around the room, the other guys cheering excitedly as you passed. Bucky was the only thing that mattered just then- the light touches, moving with him, taking notice of the tiny tells you’d begun to notice and keep track of, which told you what he was going to do a second before he did it. He picked you up a few times and you let out a squeak of surprise each time he did; you hadn’t practiced any of the lifts yet and it made your stomach swoop each time he did it.
Finally, the last few notes of the song rang out and Bucky spun you into his chest just as the music died. The sudden silence was deafening and the only sound that could be heard for a few moments was your and Bucky’s heavy panting. He beamed down at you and placed a fiery kiss to your lips and the guys broke out into raucous applause.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured, sending you a saucy wink that had heat flooding into your cheeks.
“Thank you and goodnight, Europe,” you heard the man on the radio say. You tore your gaze away from Bucky at the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly.
“It’s late, we should get some sleep,” Steve said, smiling fondly at the two of you.
You glanced out the window. Sure enough, it was pitch black outside. Your head whipped around (your hair nearly hit Bucky in the face) to glance at the clock. It was nearly midnight.
You turned back to glare at Bucky, who raised his eyebrows at your sudden change in demeanor. “You let us dance this late? You’re all going out to search for the base tomorrow!” you said indignantly. You didn’t wait for his response and disentangled himself from his arms. “All of you! Bed! We have a lot of work to do tomorrow!” you said chastisingly.
The guys all grinned at your sudden strictness and slowly filed out of the room.
“Yes, mom,” you heard Jim say under his breath. You glared at the back of his head, picked up the stuffed carrot out of the cheesy cornucopia, and chucked it at his head. It struck true, bouncing comically off of his head and onto the floor. Steve and Bucky bit back chuckles, afraid they’d be the next on your shit list if you heard them laugh. “Ow! Fine, fine. I get it,” he said, hastily making an exit, practically shoving past Jacques and Dum Dum.
You turned and glared at Steve and Bucky, whose smiles quickly slid guiltily off their faces.
“Bed. Now.”
Steve nodded and made a hasty exit, but Bucky merely waggled his eyebrows and swept you up in his arms before you could stop him. “I love it when you boss me around like that, Doll,” he said suggestively, sending you a salacious wink that sent your heart fluttering in your chest.
“I, uhm- I didn’t mean-” you sputtered, completely off balance from his remarks.
He chuckled and placed a tender kiss to your cheek. “Just messin’ with you, sweetheart. Let’s get to bed, yeah?” he asked, smiling down at you.
You nodded eagerly and placed a kiss on his neck which only made him grin wider. “Shower first for me, though,” you said, giving your shirt an experimental whiff that had you cringing.
“Agreed,” Bucky said playfully as he made his way towards the small room the two of you were sharing.
“Hey!” you said, batting his chest lightly.
“What? You stink,” Bucky said, grinning mischievously at you.
“You’re not supposed to agree,” you pouted as Bucky nudged the door open with his foot and walked into the room. He set you down and you glared up at him, which only made him laugh.
You opened your mouth to chew him out some more, but he silenced you with a soft kiss to the lips, effectively distracting you from the argument. “Happy Thanksgiving, (Y/N),” he said quietly, running his fingers through your hair.
You beamed up at him. This had been the best Thanksgiving you’d had in years, maybe ever. “Happy Thanksgiving, Bucky.”
