Chapter Text
The creature was enormous.
And wrong.
Not wrong in the universe-altering, mind-defying way of Cthulhu. Wrong in the gross, horror movie way.
So, still pretty wrong.
Even with its hunched back it towered over its elven minions. Its blood-red robe, though extremely tattered, set it apart immediately from the drably colored elves. A stray gust of wind momentarily lifted its long, dirty robes, revealing honest to god cloven hooves to match the massive two-foot horns sprouting from its head.
Steve shuddered. Besides him, Becca let out a gagging noise. “Ugh, god what the fuck is it?”
The creature turned its massive head at her question and stared right at her. Holding up one clawed finger it shook it back and forth and hissed.
Slowly it placed one cloven hoof in front of the other and began to advance upon the small party. With a shout, Thor flew straight at the creature, hammer first. Before he could connect the creature pointed a finger at him. In shock, the other Avengers watched as Thor was sent flying into the forest by some unseen force. With a tremendous crash, he landed heavily, knocked unconscious.
Lifting his gnarled hands, Krampus slowly drew back his hood and smiled. His face was a hideous mirror of Santa's. The liver-spotted skin pulled tight across bony cheeks and pointed teeth. Its eyes were those of a goat, its tongue too large for its mouth.
The creature took another step towards them.
“We are officially screwed,” said Clint as he dug around for one more arrow to shoot.
Behind Krampus, the elves began to chatter excitedly. Bucky pushed Becca behind him, stepping forward and in line with Steve. Without the bonfire, the bite in the air was sinking into his exposed skin. He ignored it, shaking out his limbs as he prepared to fight the creature before him.
“My lord, stop!” The plea was out of breath as Nicolas staggered forward from the woods Christopher not far behind him.
Both men had a few scratches here and there. Judging from the deep bruises around Christopher’s eye, Nicolas had ended up being better at fighting.
Putting on a burst of speed, Christopher pushed the older man aside to prostrate himself on the ground before his horned lord.
“My lord, this, this, heretic has ruined our plans! It is not too late, we can still break your chains. We can still punish those who are naughty all year long.”
All was quiet except for Nicolas’ heavy breathing. With bated breath, everyone waited for the dark creature’s response.
A rattling laugh filled the air, the noise like nails on a chalkboard.
Risking a glance upward, Chris sent a triumphant look to Nicolas. He began to push himself upright when, with one cloven hoof, Krampus pushed him back down.
Behind Krampus, the elves began to laugh again. From deep in the crowd of elves Rumlow was roughly pushed forward. His mask had broken from Bucky’s punch revealing a terribly scarred face.
Besides Bucky Steve’s entire body tensed up.
“What’s Rumlow doing here?” whispered Natasha.
“Wait, how do you guys know him?” asked Becca.
“I dropped a building on him once,” explained Steve as if that was something that routinely happened. Knowing Steve and his job, it probably was.
With another rough shove, Rumlow was pushed to the ground as well.
“My lord? What is this?” Chris asked, trying in vain to push himself upright. There was another horrible rattling laugh as Krampus reached one clawed hand into a pocket of his robe, withdrawing a rusted looking jack in the box.
An elf moved forward and took the box from the horned creature. Turning around, it retreated back into the crowd. Two more elves stepped forward and, roughly grabbing Chris and Rumlow by the collars, turned to follow.
“My lord? My lord, please!” screamed Chris.
“Get me the fuck out of here!” cried Rumlow. But all of the men’s struggles and all of their cries fell on deaf ears as they were dragged through the crowd and back into the woods.
“Where are they taking them? What’s happening?” asked Bucky.
“They have been naughty. And those who are naughty need to be punished,” explained Nicolas with a shrug.
“Why does he get to be the one to judge? They need to be brought trial, not dragged to the woods for torture,” protested Steve.
Deep in the woods came screams as whatever punishment Krampus had deemed was carried out.
“These men tried to kill your true love, to kill your friends, to kill you. Yet you still defend them?" asked Nicolas incredulously. "You truly are one of the most good Captain Rogers. It has been an honor to be in your presence, but our time grows short. It is time to be done with this.”
“This?” asked Clint. “What’s this?”
There was a rumble and below their feet the ground began to fall away, revealing an overwhelming bright red light.
“Run!” screamed Natasha. But it was too late, all around them, the ground was disintegrating. Trees were tipping over, elves laughing at the destruction. In horror, Bucky watched as Thor’s unconscious form slid into the expanding hole, too far away for any of his friends to reach him. “Thor, no!” yelled Becca and Clint as the god disappeared from sight.
Clint’s scream continued as the ground below his feet collapsed, sending the archer falling down. Without hesitating, Natasha dove in after him.
“Natasha, Clint!” screamed Steve and Bucky as they watched the two disappear.
The hole continued to widen, encircling Steve and Bucky and Becca on a lone island of land in the center of an unjumpable gulf.
There was no way out of this. Not even Steve or Bucky’s super-soldier strength could help them jump the massive hole that surrounded them.
Below them the red light burned, casting eerie shadows.
Across the growing divide, Krampus stood silently, his elves rejoicing and dancing behind him. Nicolas stood by his side a small, strange smile on his face as he watched the chaos unfold.
"Why are you doing this?" shouted Bucky. "Steve and Becca are innocent, let them go. Take me instead! I'm the one you guys want."
"No Bucky, don't," protested Steve.
"But it makes no sense. It's not fair!"
Across the divide, the elves began to disappear into the woods, their laughter fading. With one last nod, Nicolas turned to follow.
All that was left was Krampus. The trio stared at the creature, protests dying on their lips as its eyes bore into theirs.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the creature gave a lazy wink before disappearing as well.
Below them the island of land shook, more of it falling into the abyss below.
“Looks like the only way out of this place is down,” Bucky’s voice cracked a bit as he stated the obvious.
“Yeah, looks that way,” agreed Steve.
“This Stark thing is completely busted,” said Becca on a sob as she hit her Stark bracelet again and again. “I thought maybe it could, I don’t know, get us out of here but I guess… I guess we really are stuck.”
“I’m sorry Becca. Thanks again for coming to get me,” Bucky pulled her in close to his side, reaching out to Steve with his free hand.
“I’ll always come to get you Bucky,” she sniffed, momentarily composing herself. “My only real regret is that Sam’s not here. Not that I want him to die by a massive hole in the ground thanks to an evil goat creature. But… just to say I love him again. I was really looking forward to living with him.” Her voice cracked and tears began to run down her face in earnest.
“You guys are moving in?” asked Steve in surprise.
“Oh my god, seriously Steve?” Becca snorted, pulling away from where she’d curled into Bucky’s side to shoot a glare at the other man. “Jesus, you guys are so terrible at timing I don’t know how you get anything done.”
Looking between his boyfriend and his sister Bucky smiled. If he had to go at least it was with good company.
“I love you guys,” he said. Below them the land shook again, its collapse imminent. Holding out his hands to each of them, Bucky grasped them tightly to his side.
“On the count of three?” He asked with a somber smile.
“One…” said Becca.
“Two…” said Steve.
“Three…” finished Bucky.
In unison, the three of them stepped out and into the abyss.
***
Somewhere bells jingled softly.
Unwilling to give up on sleep just yet, Bucky snuggled deeper into the warm surface below him. Beneath his ear beat the steady rhythm of Steve’s heart, a soothing lullaby designed especially for him.
A stray thought struggled to the surface of his sleepy brain.
Something about gingerbread men. And elves.
Flashes of porcelain masked creatures raced through his head.
With a start, Bucky jerked upright, sleep forgotten.
He was in the Tower’s common room. Blinking into the sunlight that streamed from the overly large windows he quickly took stock of his surroundings. In the corner of the room, the Christmas tree Tony had insisted upon stood tall, its lights twinkling cheerfully. Everything was in place, the room the cleanest he’d ever seen it.
On the couch behind him, Steve slept on. Clint was passed out on the coffee table, Natasha and Becca on the other couch while Thor had apparently taken the floor. They were all there. Somehow, someway, they were all still alive.
Scratched and dirty from the fight, or in his own case practically naked, but alive.
There was a ding from the elevator and Tony, Bruce, and Pepper piled out.
“What the fuck happened?” Tony yelled.
Around Bucky the various Avengers and Becca jerked awake.
“Where did it go? Where’s Krampus?” Steve asked, pushing himself forward and lurching to his feet to scan the room for danger.
On the couch, Becca and Natasha stood as well.
“Bucky! We didn't die!” Becca exclaimed, racing towards him and crushing him in a big hug. After a moment she pulled back again, “Wow, you kind of stink right now.”
“Barnes where are your clothes?” Tony demanded. “Not that I’m really complaining... Hey, Pepper stop ogling him!”
“It seems Krampus and his elves found us worthy,” interrupted Thor. “He truly is a creature of power."
“No, no, no, no, no - this was NOT MAGIC!” Tony practically screamed. Pepper lay a calming hand on his arm. “Tony dear, let’s get you some coffee, okay?” Crossing his arms in a huff, the man trailed along behind her to the kitchen.
“I don’t care what happened, I’m just glad we made it out of there and Bucky didn’t get possessed by an evil goat thing,” said Becca.
“Jarvis, can you please scan the news for any reports of disappearances along Riverside Park?” Bruce asked.
“Pepper, make that coffee for two please!” Clint called from where he still lay on the coffee table.
“Dr. Banner there have been no reported disappearances within Riverside Park in the last week. News reports for today are centered around the Christmas holiday and the weather totals which are above average for Christmas Day due to yesterday's storm. The totals are being reported at ten inches,” reported Jarvis.
“Ten inches?” Natasha sniffed. “From what we saw I would have imagined the snow to be twice that. It was almost eight when we drove over to the park.”
“Did you say it’s Christmas Day?” Clint pushed himself upright. “That can’t be right. How long were we out for? It was barely Christmas Eve when we left to go find Bucky! This is giving me a headache,” he trailed off and fell back onto the coffee table.
“What about the park security recordings from yesterday? Jarvis, pull up those video feeds,” asked Bruce.
“I’m sorry Dr. Banner, but I received no requests for recordings from anyone on the team yesterday and I have no recordings from Riverside Park in my database.”
“You mean you don’t remember anything from yesterday? Our mission? Bucky’s disappearance? GINGERBREAD MEN AND ELVES?” Tony yelled, almost spilling his coffee.
“Gingerbread and elves, sir?” Jarvis repeated slowly.
“Is it possible this isn’t real?” Steve asked as he prowled around the room. His sharp eyes scanning all of the corners for bugs. “This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve woken up in a fake environment.”
“I don’t know why you persist in denying it, this is obviously the result of very powerful and ancient magic,” argued Thor. “We were meant to rescue our friends and learn a lesson and we did! We should be celebrating our successful development as individuals.” He beamed at them, ignoring his teammate’s faces, which ranged from paranoid beyond belief (Steve), dangerously neutral (Natasha), possible asleep (Clint), mildly puzzled (Bruce), and apoplectic (Tony).
“Bucky, what’s that on the tree?” Becca whispered nervously, her voice carefully pitched below the ongoing arguing.
Ignoring the Avengers’ continued bickering, Bucky moved closer to the tree. While beautiful, it had been decorated by one of Tony’s decorators, which meant it was very impersonal. All of the lights on it were a clear white and it didn't have ornaments.
Except for one.
Hanging from a branch dead center in the tree was an old rusted bell. Something about it made Bucky uneasy. Reaching up, he gently untangled it from the tree and pulled it closer.
Around the top of it was engraved a single word, Krampus.
“It was all real,” Bucky interrupted the increasingly heated argument. “It was real and he left us the proof.” Turning around to face the rest of the room he held out the bell, inadvertently jostling it. Its sound was clear and high and while it rang Bucky felt like he was back in those cold, dark woods, listening as something came for him.
Silence fell over the common room as all of the Avengers felt the effects of the bell’s magic.
“Okay,” said Tony finally. “I’m willing to maybe consider the possibility that there was some sort of magic involved.”
***
Despite their best efforts, Jarvis was unable to recall anything that matched their own memories and, when Becca called Sam, he confirmed nothing out of the ordinary had been reported the previous day. There was nothing on the news, social media, or the security footage Tony pulled.
It was as if the Avengers had existed outside of the normal world for a day. A fact that had Tony on the verge of losing his mind.
It was eventually decided that everyone was better-served showering, changing, and otherwise trying to regain some sense of normalcy instead of continuing to talk through the events of the night.
Bucky, being the least clothed and arguably the dirtiest from all of the imprisonment, opted to leave first.
He returned to an empty common room. With a sigh, he sat down on one of the couches, taking a moment to just sit and breathe. He knew the emotional impact of the past 24 hours would catch up with him eventually. But for now, he was content to sit and look at the beautiful, if sterile, Christmas tree. It did look good in its own way, the mountain of presents catching the light and…
Mountain of presents.
Presents that had not been there before.
Pushing himself up from the couch he crossed the room slowly, stopping a foot away from the tree to examine them. They were exquisitely wrapped with all manner of glossy paper and sparkling bows. Collectively the lot of them looked like something out of a Hallmark movie.
It made him even more suspicious.
After several moments, he gingerly lifted a slim looking package up and off of the pile. No explosion yet, so that was a good sign.
With delicate fingers, he opened the small tag taped to the package. In curly, unfamiliar writing was the message To Steven from James. Which should have been impossible. He hadn’t had time to finish his present for Steve. Pressing down on the slim package he could tell it was definitely a book.
“Really Buck? You couldn’t wait 20 more minutes for everyone to get back before digging into the presents?” Steve’s voice was teasing as reentered the room and walked towards the tree. “Who’s it from?”
“Me,” answered Bucky distractedly. His mind was quickly putting a few things together.
“You got a gift for yourself?”
“No, no, it’s from me to you but, Steve I’ve been meaning to tell you with all of the craziness before Christmas Eve-”
“The kidnapping,” interrupted Steve. “With all of the kidnapping.”
“Yeah, I didn’t get a chance to finish your present…”
Steve seemed to sag in on himself. “That’s a relief because I didn’t get a chance to finish yours either.” He eyed the tree speculatively. “I wonder…”
Stepping over Bucky, Steve began to dig through the presents. After a few moments, he pulled out a slightly lumpy looking package. Taped to the top was a card labeled “James”
His suspicions all but confirmed, Bucky slowly opened the card.
Dear James,
I owe you and your friends a great debt. You will find a few tokens of my gratitude beneath the Christmas tree.
Remember to be nice, my Lord is always watching.
-Nicolas
"What's it say?"
Wordlessly, Bucky passed the card to Steve.
“Huh, well, what do you think,” asked Steve. “Should we open them?”
“I think we have to. I’m worried they’ll come back if we don’t… but if you hate it it’s because of Nicolas and his elf friends ruining my wonderful gift idea.”
Steve snorted, “Yeah, well the same goes for me too. If you hate it, I blame the elves.”
The only noise was the sound of wrapping paper alternatively being carefully unfolded (Steve) and ruthlessly ripped apart (Bucky).
Bucky’s face blossomed into a wide smile as he unwrapped the coziest looking sweater he’d ever seen in his life. It was a dark blue, complete with a large letter “B” on the front in a lighter blue. It was clear from some of the more uneven stitches that Steve had knit it himself.
Bucky didn’t think he’d ever gotten a better gift. Without hesitating, he scrambled to pull it on.
“Oh Steve, it’s perfect. I love it.” Feeling cozy and warm, he looked back up at his boyfriend.
Steve was standing completely motionless, Bucky’s book in hand.
His face was hard to read. A mix of grief, disbelief, and awe flitted across Steve's face as he stared down at the little book. His heart in his throat, Bucky watched as his boyfriend carefully opened it and began to flip through the pages. He paused at the different photos, a small smile gracing his face at the image of his mother in her nursing outfit. The smile quickly disappeared as he turned the page and came to the first of his father's letters.
“Buck this is…” He stopped talking abruptly, his voice husky. For a heartstopping moment, Bucky thought he’d made the biggest mistake of his life compiling the book.
"If it's too much or..." Bucky began to apologize but was quickly cut off as Steve lifted him up in a spine-crushing hug.
“This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. I love it, Buck. I love it and I love you.”
“I love you too, Steve. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Buck."
There was still so much to sort out. So many questions to ask and try to answer.
But in this moment Bucky couldn’t care less. He had someone who would fight the gods themselves for him. Someone who loved him for exactly who he was.
And if that wasn’t the best Christmas gift a person could get then he didn’t know what was.
The End