A Love Like Ours

THIRTY EIGHT

After reluctantly leaving Anastasia in Stassie's Sweet Shoppe, Bucky loaded Rosie safely into her carseat and began their journey through the mid-day traffic plaguing the city.

45 minutes later, They finally arrive at the Manhattan Mall.

Making their way up to the main entrance, They find Sam leaning against the stone wall with a half eaten jumbo pretzel in hand.

"Is Annie rubbing off on you or something?" Sam asks, His voice muffled by the pretzel filling it.

"I'm not even going to pretend I understood what you said." Bucky chuckles, Pushing Rosie's stroller to the side to pull the door open and quickly entering to escape the cold.

"But if you're complaining about having to wait, I am sorry. I had to make sure Stassie was okay to be alone with Steve." Bucky continues as Sam falls in toe beside him.

"Well how long do we got before Rosie needs a nap?" Sam asks, Bending down and baby-talking to Rosie. His face lighting up when he sees her wearing the polar bear onesie he bought.

"So it does fit!" He exclaims proudly.

Two weeks ago when he was trying to get his Christmas shopping done early, He had the most frustrating time trying to figure out why the clothes in the kids section were labeled in letters and numbers, And why some had both.

Eventually with the help of a cute cashier, He was able to walk out with the adorable onesie Rosie now wears. However after all the work it took him to leave with the correct size, He couldn't wait for Christmas to see if it was actually the correct one, so he gave it to Bucky the last time he saw him.

"I told you, 3 months if you want her to wear it now, 6 months if you want her to fit in it come spring." Bucky reminds him, Pausing to show Rosie the large 20ft Christmas tree which shines brightly in the middle of the mall.

"Yo are we going to do pictures with Santa?! We should totally get her a picture with Santa!" Sam exclaims, Brushing the last bit of pretzel crumbs off from his hands.

"No, No, Not today, Samy. Stassie would be heart broken if she wasn't in Rosie's first picture with Santa. Plus, I'm not comfortable with some stranger holding my daughter." Bucky argues, Strolling through the rather empty mall.

Soft Christmas plays on the overhead speakers all around them, And indistinct chatter from the other few guests roaming about continue to keep Bucky on his toes as he passes each one.

Even though he's been back in the city for almost a year now, Going into large areas full of potential threats still kept him on edge. And when he has one of his girls with him, The subtle anxiety he usually feels is always amplified. Especially when it comes to Rosie.

"What, So you're just never gonna let Rosie get a picture with Santa? That's fucked up, Buck. Kids love Santa!" Sam protests.

"No, She's going to have plenty of pictures with Santa. But a Santa that we know and trust, Not some creep who rented a suit and set up shop in a mall."

"A Santa that you know? What poor bas-" Sam trails off mid sentence, Stopping in his tracks as Bucky shoots him an evil side-eyed grin.

"Oh hell no!" Sam laughs with his arms crossing tightly over his chest.

"You can take it up with your sister, Shes already bought the suit." Bucky grins, Continuing to walk as Sam groans from behind him.

"Why'd you let her do that?!"

"Let her? Pal, I don't let Stassie do anything." He chuckles, Pushing Rosie's carriage into the dimly lit Victoria's Secret.

Sam follows in after him, Too focused on arguing against all the Christmases in his foreseeable future being spent with him donning a red velvet suit and having a pillow strapped to his belly, To notice where Bucky was headed.