A/N: I wanted to publish this on Christmas Eve, but got caught up in Christmas cleaning and didn't finish it on time. My bad. So yeah, I guess it's a New Year's surprise? Enjoy, while I'll be stressing out about whether this is actually good 😅

Happy New Year everyone! 🎉🎆

***

You don't know how you've managed to convince Bucky to accept the invitation and go to 'Rogers The Musical'. Or why you yourself thought it would be a good idea. It only resulted in the both of you leaving the show, even more traumatized than you already were. As soon as the pair of you step outside, the cool air hits your face, while you try to hold back the tears that are slowly gathering in the corners of your eyes, threatening to spill out. You turn your gaze to the brunet squeezing your hand.

"Okay, I admit. That was a stupid idea," You mutter, which makes him look at you with his steely blue eyes. "Sorry."

"Hey, you have nothing to apologize for," He assures, giving you a soft smile. "But never again."

"Never again," You agree.

"That was a traumatizing experience," You turn around, hearing a familiar voice coming from behind you.

"Where did you leave the kids?" Barnes asks, gesturing to the door behind Clint. 

"They're getting their jackets. Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?" You once again shift your gaze at Bucky, a questioning look not so unlikely appearing on your face. You stare at each other for a moment, communicating without words, both shaking your heads slightly. "Maybe you'd like to join us? We plan to go ice skating with the kids and then eat something. I'm sure they won't mind."

You intuitively squeeze your fiancé's arm a bit tighter at the suggestion. You love ice skating, and Buck knows that all too well. The corners of his lips turn even more upwards while he keeps his eyes on you.

"If it's not a problem, we'd love to join."

"Of course it's not."

"Hey, Dad," Little Nathaniel, though not as little as you remembered him, walks over to Clint, wrapping his arms around his waist. "Why is everyone dancing and singing about everything?"

"I have no idea," Barton laughs, kissing the top of his head, which makes the corners of your mouth go up in an admiring smile.

"Dad, can we go now? That was ridiculous," Lila mutters.

"I see we're all on the same page about that," Bucky remarks, laughing to himself.

"Have you ever been to New York?" You ask the young Barton's, who shake their heads in response. "In that case, you have to see the tree. Nothing beats the atmosphere of the Rockefeller Center. Especially at night. We're not too far away."

"We better get going then," Clint picks up on the idea, and a moment later all six of you head towards Rockefeller Center. 

With a paper cup filled with hot chocolate in one hand, fingers of the other hand intertwined with Bucky's, you walk along the busy streets of New York, keeping an eye on the youngsters who are well ahead of us, but follow Clint's command to stay in sight. It's nice to see Barton again after so many months and catch up. You miss the days when you spent time at Avengers headquarters. Though Clint never lived there, unlike most, before the time you had to face Ultron, everyone hung out at Avengers Tower a lot. But after those events, Thor and Bruce disappeared, and a year later everything fell apart. Now the organization called 'Avengers' no longer exists. Nothing is and never will be the same, but that doesn't mean it's bad. The new reality, although different, can be good as well.

"Dad, look!" Nathaniel calls excitedly, pointing with his finger to the huge Christmas tree, which is already noticeable from this distance. No matter how long you've lived here and how many times you've seen this tree, the sight of it always brings a gentle smile to your lips.

"Nate, stop!" Cooper shouts, immediately reacting to his younger brother, who wanted to run towards the tree, and stops him with his hand so that he wouldn't accidentally run into the busy street. Clint only responds with a soft sigh.

"What? Too much for you?" Barnes asks with a smirk dancing across his lips.

"I don't know where he gets so much energy from," He admits.

"Come on guys!" Another call reaches your ears. The young Barton's quicken their pace, heading for the nearest lanes to get to Rockefeller Center as quickly as possible.

"Be careful!" You suspect he initially wanted to stop with that warning, but changed his mind and, accelerating to a jog, begins to hurry toward the children before they can cross the street. You chuckle, tightening your fingers on Bucky's hand, who in response to this gesture moves his blue eyes to you, slightly lifting the corners of his lips. Without haste, you continue your stroll, heading towards the ice rink. When you finally get there, Cooper, Lila and Nathaniel are already getting on the ice while Clint is still getting his skates on. You immediately go to borrow two pairs of skates and pass one to Buck, who grabs them rather hesitantly.

"You do realize that the last time I had skates on, was in '43, right?" He asks, sitting down on the bench and starting to take off his shoes. 

"I know, but before all this, we'd been skating almost all winter," You remind him, taking a seat next to him and copying his movements, while a smile appears on your lips before you can even realize it, recalling those moments. Two kids, who would skate for hours in the cold because it was fun. And that one time, when the ice broke beneath your feet, and you fell into the freezing water. You were sick for two weeks after that, but had no regrets whatsoever. After all, if you don't take risks, you're not even truly living. "Skating comes as natural to you as breathing. You'll remember in the blink of an eye, you'll see."

Placing a quick kiss on his cheek, you get to your feet and enter the rink, doing a little spin and look at Bucky, who also got up and now heads towards the ice. He steps on it a bit hesitantly and skates a bit, which boosts his confidence, but his facial expression changes immediately the first time his foot slips. Within a second, you notice the frustration building up in him. "Easy, you have to get used to it, it's okay," You say, skating in front of him.

"Says the one who's skating backwards," He grunts, regaining his balance. He has gone a good distance when he wobbles a bit again, to which he reacts with an exasperated sigh. He never liked to admit he had a problem with something. And before he learns anything, he's able to give up 10 times, throwing the thing or activity in the corner in frustration for a while. You extend your hand towards him, offering some help. One look is enough. His eyes say it all, so you put your hands up in mock defense.

"Okay, if you change your mind, let me know," After these words, you turn 180 degrees and, accelerating, start the first lap. Halfway up, you notice a familiar figure, so you reach out and tap him gently on the shoulder as you pass. Clint responds with a smile that you instantly return as you go on until you finally find the ex-assassin, who is slowly gaining momentum. "See? I told you you'd get the hang out of it," You call out as you pass him, starting the second lap. Christmas songs are playing through the speakers, which causes you to lose yourself a bit in the melody of the all too familiar music, that's being played everywhere this time of year. After a while, you start looking for Bucky, but to your surprise, can't find him anywhere.

Did he get off the ice already?

Probably looking like a lost puppy, you're skating around, trying to find him, when you feel a gloved hand taking yours, which causes you to instantly turn your head. The moment you do that, your irises meet a familiar pair of steely blue ones, whose owner gives you a cheeky smile, his confidence visibly increasing with time. 

It feels surreal and normal at the same time. Surreal because the both of you, born in the 1910s, are somehow still alive in 2023, trying to find yourselves in this new reality you were thrown into. Because even though you're over a hundred years old, you don't feel older than 35. But at the same time, it feels at least a little normal because for once, you get to do something the both of you are familiar with, instead of fighting aliens and robots or dealing with organizations that are trying to brainwash people.

Who would have thought that such a normal activity as ice skating would count as something extraordinary?

It's so unusual it feels weird, almost guilty to simply... live life. Without worrying about some sort of apocalypse. Just you and the love of your life showing off your moves on the ice. And you can tell that for once Buck isn't cought up in his distructive thoughts. For once, he lets go. Even if it's just for an hour or so. Seeing a genuine smile on his face is the best thing you can ask for. And the only thing you need in your life. Because as long as you have him by your side you lack nothing.