Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Christmas With The Avengers

***The next morning***

I was up at four which means I didn't sleep at all. I carefully got out of bed so I didn't wake Tony up. God knew he needed the sleep.

"Jarvis, keep an eye on him," I whispered as I walked out of the bedroom.

"Always," Jarvis replied.

I went up to my room, changed into my running stuff and went for a run. It didn't matter that it was Christmas morning, running was the only way I was going to make it through the day without getting antsy. When I got back from my 20 mile run I showered, put on some sweats on and my property of Stark Industries long-sleeve shirt. I went down to the kitchen to start breakfast for whoever was going to be up. I was in the process of flipping pancakes when Jarvis alerted me of Tony being up.

"Captain Rogers," Jarvis said, "Sir is awake and making his way into the kitchen."

"Traitor," Tony mumbled as he walked into the kitchen, "I was going to scare her."

I snorted, "You know that gets you shot right. Need I remind you about the toaster?"

He grimaced, "No, you don't. My poor toaster." He slid onto one of the stools at the counter. I grabbed a mug, filled it full of coffee then walked over to him.

I set it in front of him the wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Merry Christmas, Tony." I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going back to the stove.

"Merry Christmas, Kennedy," he replied before sipping his coffee.

"Hmm," Bucky said coming into the kitchen, "Smells just like what Mama used to make." He went to stick his finger in the batter but I swatted him away.

"That's because it is, brat," I said.

"So what was Christmas like in the Barnes household?" Tony asked.

"Full of Kennedy getting what she wanted," Bucky said as he got himself a cup of coffee.

I rolled my eyes, "And by everything, I got a doll, some new books, and an art set. Bucky got some trucks, and a bat and ball. Then when the Great Depression rolled around we were lucky if we got books. Food was more important than any type of present."

"Wow," Tony breathed, "Sounds rough."

I shrugged, "Not as bad as the Christmas of '42. Steve's Ma had just died a few months before so he was living with Bucky and I. Our parents had died back in '38. We tried everything we could to make ends meet that year, but it was hard. The war had been going on for about three years. I had scraped together every last penny I had and bought both boys a gift and a turkey for dinner. What I didn't know was that they had also scraped together everything they could to get me something and some bread for dinner as well as a damn good bottle of bourbon."

"The turkey was dry and the bread was stale," Bucky commented.

"Yeah," I sighed, "But that was the last Christmas we had in that apartment." I turned around to put the plate of pancakes on the counter, but froze when I realized that all of the Avengers were now sitting at the counter.

"What ever happened to that apartment?" Bucky asked.

I put the plate down and turned around to get the bacon, "I sold it when I got back in the states."

"Where did you live then?" he asked.

"In Howard's house."

Tony choked on his coffee, "You lived with my dad?"

I shook my head, "No, I lived in his house. He was never there. He was actually on the run from the law. I wasn't there all the time either. I went back and forth between New York and Europe."