WHO: Bucky Barnes and Tony Stark (MCU) WHAT: A stock broker and a lumberjack get all stupid together WHERE: A winter wonderland of sorts WHEN: Premiering on Hallmark channel at 8:00PM EST RATING: Stupid cute? Sounds about right.
Look, their outing hadn't been intentionally planned. Bucky was heading through the doors to do some Christmas shopping and lo and behold, ran into Tony Stark (the human; one of them) at the weird house with the doors. It was always better to go through them with someone than alone purely for safety reasons and since they were both there for the same reason they opted to go through together. That didn't mean they were going to do all their shopping together because, hey, Bucky had grown to like the guy but that didn't mean they were BFFs just yet. In other words, he wasn't planning on sitting down with Tony and having hot chocolate with peppermint sticks thrown in to have festive quality time. This was a go get your shit for Steve and get out situation. A little more friendly than that, but that was the basic idea.
Definitely not what ended up happening.
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James Barnes was a town staple; a man loved by basically everyone despite his gruff appearance. Born and raised in the same small town all his life by his mother Winifred Barnes, he was the oldest between himself and his younger sister Rebecca. Affectionately given the nickname of 'Bucky' as a child, he was unfortunately thrust right into being the man of the house when his father, George, passed away due to illness when he was just ten years old.
Their family owned a Christmas tree distribution plot and made a living through sales from it. During the off season, they made their money through wood carvings made by Bucky, and hand made ornaments his mother and sister made and sold online as well as the quaint cabins they rented out on their property. The whole town thrived on Christmas, and everything was in full swing now as the holidays approached. Bucky was neck deep in Christmas tree sales, which was good. He liked staying busy. It kept him from getting lonely, and it definitely kept the busy bodies away who liked to meddle in his personal life.
Bucky had been in love exactly one time. It hadn't worked out, and left him with a broken heart. Rather than talk about it or deal with it the healthy way, he just busied himself with work and pretended he was unaffected by it. He was the type of person who would give the flannel shirt off his back to someone in need, and not say a word about it. Bucky didn't want attention, didn't want praise for things he did or pity from anyone who knew about his unfortunate love life situation. He just wanted to sell Christmas trees and carve beautiful things. He wanted to wake up and have a cup of coffee every morning, and go to bed every night after a glass of whiskey. He was a simple man who'd made the mistake of giving his heart to the wrong person. He'd gotten it back, and he wouldn't make that mistake again.
Bucky lived in one of the cabins among those that were rented out to visitors, so after a full day of setting up Christmas trees to sell, he was making his way back home where he intended to eat some sort of leftover dinner his mother prepared the day before and maybe craft something. On the way he was stopped by no less than seven busy bodies asking him if he was going to the Winter Wonderland festival at the end of the week. Bucky did not intend to go, but he knew he'd have a hard time convincing his mother and Rebecca that he wasn't going.
As he turned on one of the six streets in town, Bucky saw a man in a suit who he'd never seen around before. "You lost or lookin' for someone?" He asked as he approached. City slickers. Bucky did not fit that mold. With his shoulder length hair and at least forty eight hours worth of stubble growth along with his flannel shirt, work jeans and boots he wasn't exactly ready for the cover of Fortune 500. But this guy was.