Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's note: Merry Christmas! This story is a part of my series that also includes There's Always Something and The Answer, but it can be read by itself (it will contain a couple references to people from the other stories, though). Thank you so much for reading!

Dedicated to Cloudfire Of SunClan for giving me this prompt. I hope you like it!

Home for Christmas

"Steve," Bucky called across the apartment with mild suspicion, "why is there a tree in the living room?"

Steve walked out of the kitchen and laughed to see Bucky standing beside the small Christmas tree set up near the couch, examining it carefully. He came over to his best friend and put his hand on Bucky's shoulder.

"That's our Christmas tree; I put it up this earlier this morning. I actually should have had one a month ago, according to Tony. A tradition itself may live through the ages, but boy can it change!"

"Christmas tree," Bucky mumbled, racking his still incomplete memory to try to place the object. "I remember Christmas, but this tree doesn't ring any bells."

"I doubt it will," Steve said, sitting in on the couch. "I don't think we ever had one before the War, my family or yours. Christmas trees were always too hard to come by or too expensive. Now they have fake trees, which are apparently easier. I wasn't planning to find one, but then it turned out that an old friend stopped by, and that calls for some real Christmas celebration."

Bucky smiled at Steve, but he was still trying to recall memories of Christmas. He had found during the month that he had stayed with Steve that recollections of his past were slow in coming, though they did come. Much of his life as Bucky was manifest in images and feelings, while specific events were harder to concentrate on. Still, Steve was ever optimistic that someday everything would come back.

"What's the exact date of Christmas?" Bucky asked.

"December 25th," Steve answered. "Only a few days away." Steve hesitated a moment, hoping his throwing Bucky into the "holiday spirit" wasn't too much. "You're alright with us celebrating, aren't you?"

"Of course," Bucky answered. "Maybe it will help me remember."

Steve smiled. "I was thinking that, too. Besides; it'll be fun. Today I thought we'd decorate the tree."

"What do we use to decorate it?" Bucky asked, becoming curious.

"Some ornaments," Steve said, getting up and crossing the room to grab a bag of them. "I found this set recently, and I thought we could try it and see how it works."

"Okay."

Steve opened the bag and dumped the contents onto the coffee table. There were shiny spheres of gold, silver, red, and blue, some tinsel, and a cord with lights. Steve explained that this should go on first, and he wrapped it carefully around the prickly braches. Bucky, with his trained eye for perfection, meticulously adjusted the wire until he was sure that all was well. Then both men began placing ornaments onto the tree.

"This is a strange custom," Bucky remarked, "but I think I like it."

Soon the small Christmas tree was fully decorated, and when its lights were turned on, it looked quite nice. Steve stood back admiring it while Bucky made some last second alterations to the placement of the ornaments, making sure that each section had the right ratio of colors.

"How do you feel about going to a Candlelight service tomorrow evening?" Steve asked. "That's a service at a church where they sing Christmas carols and maybe give a brief word on the first Christmas. It could be good. Your friend's church might even have one."

"Joshua?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah. I'm planning to go for a run pretty soon; I'll stop by and see if the church has a sign up or something. Would you like to go if they do?"

"Sure," Bucky said, still being nervous to go out much, but curious about Christmas and the traditions that went with it. Besides, if Steve wanted to do something, Bucky would try to make it work. He owed his friend everything, no matter what Steve insisted.

"Perfect; I'm glad you want to."

Steve left for his run about thirty minutes later. Bucky was planning to simply sit around, as he did very often, but then an important sight caught his eye: Steve's phone. He had left it here, in the open and unattended. Bucky might not remember much about Christmas, but he did know that people usually gave presents to each other. Steve was afraid to let Bucky go anywhere alone, and now might be the only opportunity for Bucky to do something without Steve knowing about it. He crossed the room and picked up the phone.

Having been trained to use some high-tech equipment, Bucky was able to figure out how to operate the phone despite having never held one before. He browsed through the contacts looking for names he recognized. It only took a few seconds for him to know who he should call: Sam Wilson. He'd seen him only a few times since the Helicarrier incident, but there were few others on the list that Bucky had seen at all. Besides, Sam was closely trusted by Steve, and he could relate to Bucky better than most of Steve's other friends because he was a soldier. Bucky dialed the number and listened for a response.

The phone rang a few times before Sam's voice filled Bucky's ear. "Hey, Steve; what's up?"

"It's Bucky," Bucky said somewhat quietly. Inwardly he cursed himself for clamping up when speaking to others, but at least he could talk a little.

"Bucky," Sam said with a hint of anxiety, "is everything alright?"

"Yeah; everything's fine. Steve is running." Bucky took in a big breath and let it out. "I need you to help me get something."

"What is it?"

"A Christmas present for Steve."

"Sure! Do you know what you want to get him?"

Bucky thought about that for a moment. What should he get for Steve? He wasn't good at stuff like this, and he wished he'd have considered the issue a little more before calling Sam. But before he could despair, an idea popped into his head, and he smiled.

…

"You about ready to go?" Steve asked Bucky as he walked across the kitchen. "We should leave in about twenty minutes if we want to get a good seat at the service."

"Yeah; I'm ready," Bucky answered. He put on a long-sleeved jacket over his nice shirt, hiding his metal arm. Putting on gloves was the final touch, and now he looked like any average citizen.

A sudden knock sounded at the door, and Steve walked across the apartment to answer it, wondering who it could be. Bucky already knew who it was; this had been a part of the plan. Steve opened the door to greet Sam Wilson, who walked in with a bright smile.

"Hey guys! Merry Christmas!"

"Eve," Cap added with a grin. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to give you two a present before I head off to the airport. I'm going to visit some family, so I won't be here for Christmas."

"You didn't have to get us anything," Steve protested, but his curious eyes wandered to the package in Sam's hand.

"Open it," Sam said, giving it to Steve.

As Steve began to tear at the paper, Sam nonchalantly slipped over beside Bucky and reached into his coat. He pulled out a small present, already wrapped, and handed it to Bucky, winking at him on cue. Bucky nodded and quietly slipped the gift under a chair cushion. Steve did not notice the exchange.

"Oh, wow," the Captain said as he surveyed the gift. "The Greatest Hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s."

"Songs?" Bucky asked.

"Yep," Sam answered. "Good ones, too. I think you guys will find them at least enlightening, if not quite entertaining.

"Thanks, Sam," Steve said with a smile. "We'll be cultured before you know it."

Sam seemed pleased with himself, but he left in a hurry, saying his flight was leaving soon. Only a few minutes later, Steve and Bucky exited the apartment and began walking down the streets of D.C. towards the church. It was chilly but pleasant, and although they did not talk, they enjoyed the stroll. At about six o'clock, they reached the church and went inside.

The pews were filling up, and they found a decent seat in about the middle of the room. Bucky picked out Joshua among those people busy at the front, but the associate pastor did not seem to notice him. It did not take long for the lights to dim and the senior pastor to take the stage. He kindly greeted those who had come and then gave the floor to the music minister.

The Candlelight service consisted mainly of two things: singing and reading Scripture. A person would come forward to a microphone and read a passage about Jesus' coming into the world, the true meaning and origin of Christmas, and then the small group of singers would sing a carol. Even the church's children came forward to perform a song. It was not a long service, but it was very pleasant, and Bucky and Steve were left feeling the authenticity of the faith held by these people. Last of all, each person in the congregation was given a candle, and a flame was passed from person to person until everyone's candle was lighted. Then the congregation sang one last hymn and blew out their candles. It was a beautiful evening.

Just before they left, Steve and Bucky sought out Joshua and wished him a merry Christmas. He was glad to see Bucky again, and he was thrilled to meet the legendary Captain America. The trio did not talk long, but Bucky was happy to hear from his friend whom he had not seen since Thanksgiving.

The night was cold as Steve and Bucky made their way back to the apartment. Christmas lights shone brightly all over the street, and the holiday cheer made both their hearts light. Steve hummed a Christmas tune as they walked, and Bucky couldn't help but smile.

Both men turned in soon after they arrived home. Bucky waited until he was sure that Steve had gone to sleep before sneaking out of his room and to the Christmas tree. He took his present from its hiding place and placed it under the tree. Somehow he knew that he should put it there. Then he scampered silently past Steve's room into his own quarters and went to sleep, finding that this night, for the first time, he was not disturbed by even one nightmare.

In the morning, Bucky awoke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee, and he quickly got dressed and entered the kitchen. Steve was there, filling up two mugs with the wonderful coffee, and he smiled when he spotted Bucky.

"Merry Christmas," he said, handing Bucky a cup of the steaming liquid.

"Merry Christmas," Bucky replied, taking the drink and smelling it. "Thanks for the coffee."

"Don't mention it."

Bucky tried to casually bring his friend into the living room, sitting in the chair opposite the shining Christmas tree. "So," he said, still trying to act normally, "what sorts of traditions are there for Christmas morning?"

Steve walked into the room and sat down on the couch, setting his cup onto the table. He slowly turned his gaze to the tree and smiled. "Well, it is typically customary to open presents."

Without even glancing at the present from Bucky, Steve picked up a different package that Bucky had not noticed and handed it to his friend. Bucky hadn't even given thought to the fact that Steve would get him something, but now all of his curiosity was focused on the little bundle in his hands. He tore off the paper eagerly.

Inside a little box was an elegant, shiny pocket knife. Its handle was a milky color, almost like bone, and it was polished to be very smooth. The blade was, when Bucky opened it, about four inches long, perfectly sharp and straight. Not only was it beautiful, but it showed how much Steve trusted his friend.

"Thank you, Steve," Bucky breathed, still fingering the knife. "It's perfect."

"You're welcome, Bucky." Steve seemed content, and he rubbed his hands together and sighed. "Well, I was thinking it might be good for us to read-"

"But you haven't opened yours yet!" Bucky interrupted, having nearly forgotten the second present himself. He quickly stood, swiped the unopened package from under the tree, and gave it to Steve.

Steve seemed taken aback, as though he had not expected this. He looked at Bucky with love and joy evident in his eyes, smiling widely. He then glanced back down at the oddly shaped present in his hands and opened it. The wrapping fell away to reveal a snow globe, one that fit in Steve's palm. Inside the glass ball, tiny figurines of the Howling Commandos were pictured marched in formation following their leader, Captain America, through a wintery forest in Europe. Steve lightly shook the globe, and snow whirled around the unit's members.

"I saw it at the museum," Bucky explained. "I thought you might like it."

"Like it?" Steve said, looking back at his friend with moist eyes. "I love it. Thank you so much, Bucky."

Steve rose from the couch so that he was standing right in front of his friend. A tear slipped down his face and he rushed forward to embrace his friend. "I thought I'd lost you, Buck," he sobbed. "After you fell…I was sure you were gone. And yet here you are; the greatest gift I could ever ask for."

Bucky felt liquid sting his own eyes, and he tightly hugged his friend back. He might be a man out of time. His family was all gone, and he was far from the land of his birth and childhood. But Steve was here with him, and that was all he needed to be happy on this Christmas morning. He was home.

I hope that brightened up your Christmas a bit! The Candlelight service was directly based off what my church does, and let me assure you, it's absolutely beautiful. Be sure to check out my other stories; I've posted a lot as of late. Oh, and PLEASE leave me a review! Consider it a Christmas present, or spreading the Christmas joy, or just being nice. Thanks again for reading!