Natasha and Bucky are on mission in Britain. They join in the fun of Guy Fawkes.
"Coulson's giving us a day off."
"What?" Bucky stared in confusion as his long time girlfriend walked into their shared room.
"Yeah, we aren't due back on base until tomorrow afternoon."
"Well we might as well enjoy London then." She hummed in agreement. As he finished packing she flicked through several different leaflets.
"Have you heard of Guy Fawkes?"
"Wasn't he the guy that tried blowing up parliament?"
"Yep, apparently there's this tradition all over Britain where they put a model of him on a huge bonfire and celebrate his death with fireworks."
"Really?"
"Honestly, no jokes. It happens every November fifth, in fact there's one in Hyde park tonight at 7. Fancy going?"
"Hang on, the British people celebrate a guy getting burned to death?"
"Yeah, and there's fireworks."
"Are we ok with fireworks?"
"We should be, I mean we still fire a gun practically every other weekend."
"Then sure, why not?"
"Great."
At seven the two joined the throng of Londoners heading towards Hyde park. The admission fee was relatively cheap and they took a spot as close as the barrier would allow them, close enough that they could feel the heat of the flames.
The crackling of a megaphone brought everyone to attention. Someone explained the story of Guy Fawkes as a cart wheeled towards the bonfire. Flames leapt up to two metres high and greedily gobbled up the straw figure as he was launched into the fire. Cheers rose up through the crowd and Natasha laughed at the raising of Bucky's eyebrows. He leant down to whisper to her. "You weren't kidding when you said they celebrate him getting burned."
"Nope."
"British people are weird." She slapped him gently.
"So are Americans."
The count down began. 3, 2, 1. Cheers erupted as the first firework went off. It whistled high into the air and exploded with a loud bang. Colourful sparks rained down. Natasha heard several snapping sounds and swivelled around, what she saw was people waving glow sticks in their hands, wearing glow sticks around their necks and adorning their clothing with luminous glow sticks. Bucky handed her a bright green one. She snapped it and shuddered at the similarity to a snapping neck. Bucky wrapped a comforting arm around her.
Firework after firework exploded in the sky. Sparks of all different colours rained down and Natasha smiled as Bucky tucked her under his arm. She leaned against him and put a hand against his chest. He looked down at her and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. They stood together for ages, watching the sky and feeling the warmth of the fire.
When it finally ended the fire was put out and all the different vendors packed away. Families and couples ambled home. Giggling children ran with sparklers and glow sticks, weaving between everyone's legs. Bucky jumped to the side as a group ran charging between them. Natasha laughed loudly at his terrified face. He pouted at her and drew her closer to his side. They watched as a man picked up one of the little girls and twirled her in the air. She let out little squeals of laughter and he put her on his shoulders to carry her back. A mother swung her little boy onto her hip and another grabbed the hands of two slightly older siblings.
Bucky noticed the wistful look on Natasha's face. "We could always adopt?" She looked at him sadly.
"You know that's not an option. With as many enemies as we've made it wouldn't be fair." He nodded and kissed her hair.
"What about a dog?" She scrunched up her nose and shook her head.
"Lucky was enough, what about a cat?" Bucky frowned.
"Cats don't like me." She laughed.
"I'm sure Liho would have."
"Liho?"
"My cat. He's probably wandered off somewhere. He was a good companion but not really a pet." Bucky nodded.
They wandered through Hyde park for a bit before making their way back into the streets of London. All the families had gone home and all the teenagers and young adults were coming out. Clubs blasted music and fast food chains had neon signs lighting the pavements. Pubs either had live bands or sports tv playing. James held Natasha protectively to him as people took bar fights to the back alleys. Natasha nudged him and he loosened his grip.
They made it back to hotel. The rumbling of traffic and barely intelligible murmurs almost made them feel like they were back in New York. They shared a bed and Natasha lay curled into Bucky's side, her head on his chest. He stroked a hand through her hair before pulling the duvet over him. This meant that Natasha was suffocating and so she yanked it back down. This sparked an all out cover war.
In the end they both lay tangled with the covers half on and half off. Both exhausted and lying draped over the other, their limbs entwined. The chilly air only pushed them closer together and they eventually drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
