The Falcon and Winter Soldier

Trying to Fly Ho-Ho-Home

//SLIGHTLY SMUT//

Santa is missing so his elves turn to a real hero to track him down, Captain America!
The problem is Sam and Bucky really need to be in Delacroix for AJ's school Christmas Pageant. It's a race against the clock to save Santa and Christmas and make it home in time.

December 21st

Sam was either dreaming or going to kill Bucky, and as the small creatures that claimed to be elves made themselves at home in his and Bucky's DC apartment, he was leaning ever closer to the kill option. Barely able to tear his eyes away from the creatures he opened the fridge to ensure he had used the correct mushrooms in his omelette that morning, while grumbling internally that even though he had, Bucky really needed to label those more clearly. Sam could hardly blame the guy; with his speedy metabolism he had found something that allowed him to feel kind of drunk and it wasn't like they were going to hurt him. He just needed them kept away from his breakfast ingredients. A crash made him slam the fridge door and search for what was broken. What he saw was an 'elf' use some kind of magic to fix a now broken lamp.

OK, so he was dreaming then.

All he needed to do was wake himself up. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

He tried pinching himself on the soft skin of his forearm. Nothing. So he tried it again. And again. And again. Pinching various parts of his body but only getting the typical sharp pain response and no sign of waking himself up. He could have sworn he wasn't this deep of a sleeper. By this point there were several pairs of emerald-green eyes on him, observing him like anthropologists. He could have sworn he heard one mutter to another, something along the lines of: "I told you humans we're weird," and Sam just felt more confused.

Was he not dreaming?

Were these 'elves' real and actually in front of him?

"Are you quite through with your... Human ritual?" One of them asked him.

Great, now they thought he was crazy.

"So, um, you guys are... real?" Sam said.

"As real as you are Captain," another replied. "If you're through, we have much to discuss, and the stakes are high. Is Sergeant James Barnes home? He is needed for this too."

"He'll be home soon," Sam explained, distractedly as he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. A glance at the screen told him it was Sarah trying to Facetime him, he answered, intending to tell her he'd call her back but was met with AJ's excited face.

"Uncle Sam!" AJ called into the camera, "it came, and it fits great," he exclaimed passing his mother's phone to someone else, likely his brother, and stepping back to give his uncle a look at him in the festive print suit Bucky had made for him. One of Bucky's many surprising talents. "Is Bucky there for me to thank him? His phone is off and probably ran out of battery again."

Sam was careful not to turn his back on his guests, should they appear in the shot as he replied. "That's great AJ, you look fantastic, you're gonna look awesome for your pageant next week. Bucky isn't here, he's out, but I'll get him to call and see it later OK? I got a..." Sam paused, "work thing to take care of." He said, well, the elves did say the stakes were high.

"Oh," AJ's face fell, "are you gonna have to go on a mission?"

"Maybe, but I'm sure it'll be a short one and I'll be there in time for your pageant. I promise." AJ looked unsure. Sam had missed a lot in the boys' lives while he'd been blipped, and he was determined not to miss more than he had to. He was looking forward to seeing AJ perform his first solo in a school concert and knew he had to be there. He couldn't let him down. "We'll be there, promise. OK?"