A Christmas tree decked out in twinkling lights and baubles revolved into view, a hand clutching an American flag, took it upon itself to align the branches that had been knocked off-kilter. Steve carefully inserted the miniature triangular flags onto the side of the Christmas tree as well.
The sound of high heels approached from afar, the alluring figure of Natasha appeared, she walked over while greeting her colleagues on the side. Upon seeing Steve wearing a Christmas sweater, she arched an eyebrow and whistled, saying: "Hey, sweetheart, why the special get-up today?"
Steve gave Natasha a smile, but she seemed taken aback. Then she opened her mouth to ask: "Captain, did you take something wrong?"
Natasha scrutinized Steve from head to toe and found nothing unusual, but she felt quite bewildered.
The sexy and beautiful female agent, who was usually adept at flirting with handsome agents and superheroes in S.H.I.E.L.D, had teased almost everyone. Most people were used to it and even took pride in it, like Stark.
After all, Natasha was known for her high standards. If she, a seasoned female agent, took the initiative to flirt with you, it meant that you stood out among the men.
But not everyone was that open. Captain America, it appeared, belonged to the more conservative group. In the past, whenever Natasha teased him, Steve would furrow his brows, turn around to check if there were any minors around, to make sure he wasn't setting a bad example.
However, Natasha had clearly seen Steve wink at her just now. The experienced female agent felt, it was definitely not an illusion. Captain America was in an unusually good mood today.
Natasha stood in front of the Christmas tree, arms crossed, and asked, "What's up, Captain? Anything good happen? Do share."
Upon finishing, Natasha leaned into Steve, placing her arm on the rail behind Steve, getting close to him.
Steve was busy fixing the Christmas tree, but for once did not dodge her like before. Instead, he turned around, looked at Natasha, and asked:
"Any good news? Isn't Christmas the best thing? The holiday is tomorrow, shouldn't I be a little happy?"
"Yeah right." Natasha scoffed, saying: "You've been back for years now, when have you ever been this excited about Christmas?"
Suddenly, Natasha acted as if she had noticed something. She patted Steve on the back and said: "Stay like this. The person you're waiting for is coming."
As soon as she finished, Natasha turned around and left. As Steve watched her retreating figure in confusion, another female voice piped up next to him: "Um… Captain, do you have a moment?"
When Steve turned his head, he saw Sharon Carter with her carefully applied makeup. The somewhat younger female agent didn't appear as seasoned as Natasha. She was standing at least two meters away, her hands clasped together, looking a bit nervous.
"... I came here to apologize. My invitation last time was too forward, and I know you haven't moved on from your heartbreak with my aunt yet. And as her niece, it wasn't right for me to..." Carter said uncomfortably.
"But, Captain, please believe me, even without this familial connection, I truly admire you. After all, I grew up hearing your stories..." Carter seemed exceptionally nervous, as if she was reciting lines from a script.
When she looked up, she found that Steve's deep blue eyes were fixed intently on her. This made her forget what she was about to say. She stood there dumbfounded, as if mesmerized by Steve's charm, unable to speak.
Suddenly, there was a coughing sound from far away. When Carter turned her head slightly, she saw Natasha leaning on the rail on the far end, one hand occupied with her phone.
Carter's communicator on her waist suddenly beeped. She picked it up in a hurry. Then, a message from Natasha showed up on the screen: "Go for it. Kiss him."
Carter took a deep breath, putting the communicator back on her waist. She brushed her hair aside, took two steps forward, and said to Steve: "Mr. Rogers, may I invite you to be my dancing partner at this year's Christmas dance?"
Steve's eyes shone brilliantly, as if capturing all the Christmas tree lights in his gaze. He took Carter's hand, gently kissed her knuckles, and said, "My pleasure, miss."
Just as Carter was about to shyly run away, she spotted Natasha kicking the railing with the tip of her boots and forcefully coughing twice in the distance.
Carter held her chest, took a deep breath, quickly stepped forward and gave Steve a soft kiss on the cheek, then turned around and ran off.
Steve touched the spot where Carter had kissed him, chuckled and shook his head. Suddenly, a metal hand landed on his shoulder. As he turned his head, he indeed found Bucky's face.
"She does have a resemblance to Peggy, right?" Bucky asked, observing Carter's retreating figure. "At least in terms of their looks."
"They are aunt and niece, how could they not be alike? However, their characters are completely different." Steve replied while shaking his head: "If it were Peggy, she wouldn't have cared about the occasion. She would have given me a kiss by now."
Bucky chuckled: "Exactly. That's why no one would confuse Agent Carter as your old lover. Their characters are like chalk and cheese."
"How come you're here?" Steve asked.
"Howard invited me. He said he made me a new mechanical arm as a Christmas present. It utilizes the most recent technology, much better than the one I'm using now," Bucky responded.
Bucky looked down at his hand while Steve lowered his voice, "Howard seems to feel guilty about your accident. The other day, he nearly went to the military to confront them, questioning why they shared his technology with Hydra."
"Regrettably, most of the generals he used to work with are dead. Those still alive are almost incapacitated. Howard looked at the generals, who were already halfway into the coffin, and had no heart to trouble them."
Bucky shook his head, "I'll tell you, my capture had nothing to do with Howard. It was my own tactical mistake. Actually, I should be grateful to Howard's reliable technology. If it was Hammer Arms Industry, I would have had an arm as temperamental as an 'ex-wife'."
Steve laughed upon the mention of the joke about Hammer Arms Industry, which had apparently made rounds in their circle.
Steve walked out from behind the Christmas tree and said to Bucky, "Nick handed me the job of decorating the Christmas tree for the dance party. I think he chose the right person."
Bucky took two steps back and eyed the large Christmas tree adorned with a riot of colors, "Not bad at all. Is it going to be placed in the center of the dance hall?"
"That's right. At that time, everyone will be dancing around the tree. We will all pray together and then wait until midnight to usher in the new year."
Touched by his sentiment, Steve lamented, "I haven't been as happy as I am this Christmas in a long time. Even if those years before I woke up are included, this is the happiest Christmas for me."
"No war, no conflict, only a lot of friends, and a hopeful future..."Steve looked down, his eyelashes flickering in the glow of the multi-colored lights as if they were a band of beautiful elves dancing on the branches.
"By the way, the guests and the dance partners have been confirmed, right?" Bucky asked, "Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, you can't wait until then to confirm it, right?"
Steve looked up from the Christmas tree, stretching out a finger, "You just reminded me... Natasha! Natasha! Wait for a minute, where's Coulson? Is he responsible for the guest list?"
"He's upstairs." Natasha said. As she passed by Steve, she tossed a set of keys to him, "Move this tree to the warehouse afterwards."
Bucky waved at Steve, "You go up first. Leave the Christmas tree to me."
As Steve left, he placed the keys in Bucky's hand, giving him a warm smile.
Upon reaching the upstairs office filled with people coming and going, Steve found Coulson answering the phone in an office full of clerks, "Yes, that's right, thirty thousand. What's the problem? One Magician assigned to a thousand apprentices. Is it too much?"
"How can you apply regular university rules to Mages? Do you even understand magic? Do you know how complex and dangerous magic can be? What's wrong with a thousand apprentices?"
Coulson grumpily hung up, quickly picked up another phone and said, "What? There's not enough customer service at The Sanctum? Why don't you go to the Supreme Magician? What's this got to do with S.H.I.E.L.D?"
"How many people do you need? ...Ten??!! My God! You're joking right? You guys have so many simple and convenient magical tools, but you still want ten people??!! Dream on!!!"
Steve couldn't take it anymore, he waved at the others in the office, said hello, then approached Coulson. Upon seeing Captain America, Coulson immediately left his work aside and asked enthusiastically, "What can I do for you, Captain?"
"Nothing much, go on with your work. I just wanted to ask if the list for the dance is ready? Can I have a look?" Steve asked with a grin, "I'm curious about who some of them chose as their dance partners."
Coulson, sitting near the phone, showed a somewhat awkward expression, cleared his throat, and looked up at Steve, "Captain, I can tell that you're looking forward to this year's dance. This year, we've made great progress and improved in every aspect of our society. Isn't that right?"
Steve nodded, and Coulson rubbed his hands together, "So everyone is busier. Until the New Year, I still have five or six cases on hand to deal with, and I assume others are in the same situation..."
Steve understood his implication, his initial excitement seemed to dampen. He looked at Coulson, "You don't need to feel awkward. Give me the list. I'm an adult now, I understand not to impose on others or insist on my own arrangements..."
Coulson sighed, took out a sheet of paper from the drawer, and handed it over to Steve. Steve quickly scanned the paper, his eyes twitching at the contents.
Half an hour later, Coulson found a somewhat inebriated Steve in the bar in the S.H.I.E.L.D's basement. Coulson patted him on the shoulder, sat down next to him, took a swig of beer and said,
"...We're all adults here, right?"