Women In War

3

Crystal Magdalena Maravilla had grown up quite well. She had started as child who could barely string together a sentence without speaking some Spanish, a child whose accent was thicker than her hair, a child who had no idea where she actually belonged. Today, she could speak fluently not only in her language and the language she was forced to learn, but in two others as well. Today, she could speak each language with no accent, as if the language were her mother tongue. Today, she knew exactly where she belonged.

And it was not stuck in the tree outside Bucky's bedroom window on Christmas morning.

"Get me down! ¡Pedazo de mierda! ¡Estúpida joder! JAMES BUCKWHEAT BARNES, GET ME DOWN, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"

"How'd she even get out there?" Becky asked, peering out the window.

"Allie was chasing her so she jumped out the window," Bucky said as he left the room.

Becky stayed put and watched as her brother appeared under the tree. "Doll, you're going to have to jump."

"LADDER! GET A DAMN LADDER!"

"There isn't one! I'll catch you, lo prometo."

"Oh, I know that. What I don't know is if either of us will survive that."

"Why did you even jump out the window anyway?"

"She had fresh cream in her hand an an evil smirk."

Bucky sighed. "Come on, doll, jump down. Maybe take a good landing in the snow."

"The snow isn't thick enough for that, tonto."

Becky watched with her arms folded and a slight smile on her lips as Maggie gathered her courage and let go of the tree. Bucky did catch her as promised and the pair vanished into the snow he stood in.

"Well done, Allie, dear."

Alice smiled. "Thanks, Beck. What's next?"

Becky turned away from the window. "Did you give Evie the mistletoe?"

"Mhm."

"Then we just wait."

In the snow, Bucky groaned. "You're heavier than you look, Mags."

"I feel like I broke a rib," Maggie groaned.

Neither moved for a while.

"Mags."

"Mm?"

"Snow's getting really cold."

"Oh!"

Maggie pushed herself up quickly and held out a hand to Bucky. He grinned as he grabbed her arm.

"Oh n-- Bucky!"

Maggie lay in her own tunnel of snow beside Bucky, the only thing joining their two Maggie- and Bucky-shaped holes were their entwined arms.

"I hate you," Maggie groaned.

"Nah."

Eventually, when the snow really did get too cold to lay in, they got up and shivered their way to the front door. No sooner did they have one foot forward each did Evelyn spring out from behind the door. "Mistletoe! Buck and Mags got caught under the mistletoe!"

"A tradition's a tradition," Steve said as he walked past, helping Winnifred to set the table. He gave the pair trapped by Evelyn a shrug before disappearing into the kitchen again.

"A tradition's a tradition," Bucky told Maggie, shrugging as well, "I mean--"

"I have to go fetch my father now, anyway," Maggie said quickly. She lifted on tiptoes and placed a chaste kiss on Bucky's cheek before hurrying down the front steps again.