Purple Hope

Salzburg

"If any of you are coming you better hurry up," Pepper said as she came into the living room.

"Where are you going?" Clint asked.

"Europe. Christmas markets," she replied, "We're leaving in fifteen minutes. Be on the landing pad by then."

She left the room and people scrambled to find their winter gear.

Only eight of them decided to come. The four Starks, the twins, Natasha and Bucky. The Starks always went to Christmas markets as a family tradition and the twins liked visiting Europe when not on missions. Natasha and Bucky decided to come last minute, thinking it would be fun.

They sat together in the front of the jet, Nat teaching Bucky all the controls. They stayed in the cockpit the entire flight, even while the jet was on autopilot. 

The only sound they could hear was the engine and each other's voices. It was nice to just be by themselves for a while.

When the jet landed everyone split off into three groups, enjoying their time in Austria. This year they had chosen to visit the Christmas markets in Salzburg.

Nat, always being prepared, had brought her bike so she and Bucky road into the city, parking it somewhere close by so they could walk around.

It was freezing and the streets were covered in snow. They walked through the markets talking calmly and seeming completely relaxed. Neither of them would let their guard down completely but they knew how to relax around that, otherwise, they would never actually be even a little calm in public.

The markets were adorable, all festive and selling a large assortment of items. They bought a few things, helping each other to pick out presents for the team. After a while they stopped at a cafe, deciding to sit outside because to them the breeze was nice, not too cold. And the cafe had those tall standing heaters. 

They ordered their drinks and sat in silence for a moment.

"I like Christmas markets," Bucky stated.

Natasha smiled softly, looking around at the stalls. "We visited one of these in Germany a few decades ago," she said.

"Yeah, I remember. It was for that undercover mission," Bucky said, trying to hold back his joy at remembering and talking so freely.

"Yeah," Nat said, her smile growing, "Emma and Felix Müller."

"The most normal Christmas I've had since the forties," he reminisced.

"This will definitely be a Christmas. Don't know about normal though." Nat laughed.

"Nothing will ever be normal," Bucky mumbled.

"Who needs normal?" she asked him with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

He knew that look and couldn't help smiling as well. As soon as they finished their drinks they left, finding a nice building to climb to look over everything. They sat up there for a while, talking a little bit but also enjoying the silence.

It was nice.

"Let's race into the city," Pietro suggested as they got off the jet.

"No. That's dumb and cheating," Wanda stated.

"What dumb is you dragging me to the Christmas markets every year."

"You love it."

"You don't know that. And also I was going to say racing without powers."

"You still cheat," Wanda grumbled.