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marvelvillian23 · 2 months

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A/n: Bucky's celebratory day! This is a long-term fic, so make sure to check out the Serendipity Masterlist for more Alpine and Bucky! I am open to requests and love hearing feedback - don't be shy!

So we get to see a little bit more of Alpine's character, other than the absolute chaotic mess that she was introduced as. This ended up being a lot more angsty than I wanted it, but I like how it went, Alpine's character needed a bit more development.

warnings: some absolute pure unfiltered fluff and angst (mainly angst), Alpine being a little sweetheart, Bucky nearly cries (for good reasons), mentions of both Bucky's and Alpine's trauma, an extremely angsty father's day (i am so sorry it just sort of happened)

Alpine's First Father's Day Celebration

Now, mother's day was a success. Much to Bucky's disappointment, Alpine and Sam had gone out for dinner that night, wanting some 'mother-daughter' bonding

Sam outright refused to acknowledge it as such

but seeing these two bond and grow closer over this celebration, Bucky was nervous about father's day

would he say he thought of Alpine as a daughter?

yes

does he think he deserves the absolute pleasure to be considered her father?

he did a lot of bad things in his past life and a part of him

a very small but frustrating part of him

would do it all again if it meant that Alpine would be in his life

it scared him and he hated that part of him

the part that was okay hurting people as long as Alpine was in his life one way or another

it was this type of thought that would cause Bucky to fear that the Winter Soldier still remained within him

despite everything he had done and all the help he had received, no matter how many therapy sessions he went to or how many people he apologised to

he still thought of himself as a monster

and he wasn't sure he'd think of himself any other way

which is why, on the days leading up to the first father's day they would celebrate together

Bucky avoided Alpine

she was livid

normally, she could just walk into his apartment

unafraid of him kicking her out, or of him attacking her out of pure instinct

she knew he wouldn't hurt her on purpose

or at least, she thought he wouldn't

so when she skipped across the hall, put her hand on the handle to twist and push it open, only the faceplant into the locked door

she was fuming

"JAMES BUCHANAN BARNES"

was her nose bleeding?

oh most definitely

after going back into her own apartment to stuff her nose full of tissues, she steps back out into the hall, knocking on the door

once

twice

thrice

"Bucky? You in there old man?"

silence

honestly, this man

she checks her phone in case he had gone on a mission late last night but normally he'd wake her

he knows she worries about him

when three more knocks went unanswered, she called Sam

he hadn't heard from him either

but he had heard that Bucky asked for an emergency therapy session

which surprised her because Bucky HATED going to those

"Sam, I'm real worried. His door is locked, LOCKED! I'm just looking for the spare key now then i can-"

"Hey, you still haven't gotten him a father's day present, why don't you run into the city today and see what you can get? I'll meet you later on, I just need to do something first."

she wasn't stupid

she knew what Sam was doing

she knew what he was thinking

Bucky had relapsed

impossible

Bucky would not have relapsed, not after everything that had happened with Zemo and the flag-smashers

after all the stress he had been through in those first few months of them meeting, everything that happened with Yori...

Bucky Barnes had not relapsed

he just needed some time to himself

to be reminded of who he was

and who he wasn't

what he wasn't

"Alpine? Al, you there kid?"

"Yeah! Sorry! I just panicked for a minute because I totally forgot i hadn't got him a present, thanks for the reminder. You'll check in on him right? Before you come and meet me?"

she could feel Sam's tension be released when she responded

"Yeah, yeah. You know, he's probably just being a little princess, jealous of all the time we're spending together. You know how much of a drama queen he can be."

Alpine can't smile at the joke

not when she knows it's only there to try and trick her into a false sense of relief

no, she wasn't stupid.

but she'd play the part anyway.

"Tell me about it, never thought I'd see a 106 year old super soldier be jealous of little ol' me, guess I'm just that amazing"

they say goodbye and Alpine takes one last glance at Bucky's door

worth a try

"Buck... I don't know if you can hear me, you might be in your room. If you are then you know, fuck you for making me talk to myself."

on the other side of the door, Bucky smiles

"I just... I want you to know that you're okay... and it's okay to not be okay... but you are. I know you are. Whatever this is, it'll pass and you'll work through it because you're James fucking Barnes and..." She pauses for a second because jesus christ

she is deadass about to tell Bucky she loves him

that he is her family

that he is her hero

that she would do anything for him

but she can't

because she would actually die of embarrassment

Alpine is not good at emotions

"a-and so, get your shit together, because i'm not giving up until you remember that James Barnes ain't no ones bitch!"

with that she very quickly leaves because ew, emotions

Bucky can't help but smile at her words of encouragement as he listens to the sounds of her footsteps getting further away, the elevator dinging as it opens for her, the almost silent, barely there sob that leaves her mouth as those same doors close

it's an hour later that he breaks out of the shock he was in when Sam knocks on the door, frantically calling for Bucky to open the goddamn door

he does and can't even register that Sam is furious with him for going no contact with both him and Alpine for two days

and Bucky stands there and takes the verbal abuse

because he made her cry

and he deserves Sam's angry shouts

and he needs him to knock some sense into him

because if Bucky knew one thing after hours of torturing himself with hateful thoughts

it was that he never wanted to be the reason for Alpine's tears

ever again

Now, Alpine hadn't meant to cry

in fact she was pretty sure that the last time she cried at something not induced by stress or laughing to hard

she was a child

back at home with... them

and she will be damned if she ever cried about anything not stress induced ever again

so in the short elevator ride to the lobby of their building, she had straightened herself out, wiped her tears and faced the city with a determined attitude

she would find Bucky a present that reminded him of who he was

she had introduced him to a lot of things in the 21st century

but nothing seemed to connect

that was until they watched The Hobbit, of course Alpine ended up falling asleep and Bucky stayed up like an actual maniac to watch all the movies in a span of 9+ hours (with bathroom breaks, he was sure he could have binged it but he also wanted to put Alpine to bed, so ended up having to pause it just to tuck her into his bed before returning to finish the movies)

She had heard Sam say that Bucky had claimed to have read the book when it first came out

when she heard that, she'd been looking at trying to get a first edition book for her dear friend and father figure

keeping tabs and making friends with local antique bookshop owners just to be able to get a chance.

what harm would it do to do the rounds whilst she brain stormed some other ideas for him

on her trip, she'd managed to get a few books she thought he'd might like

the harry potter series, eragon, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe

she would spoil him with love and affection (a very different route to Sam who was cursing Bucky out at this point)

the first few shops had unfortunately been duds in her search for the first edition Hobbit book, and she had started debating on just getting him a newer version of the series until the last shop she walked in

"Ah! I was just about to call you missy! I have that booked you've been looking for!"

She could have screamed

she did scream

so loud the other patrons thought she was actually getting stabbed

"NO YOU DON'T!"

she couldn't believe her luck! on the day she truly really needed it, she had found a first edition book, one exactly like the one Bucky would have owned

the yellowing pages, hardback cover, faded title

used, loved, a timeless piece of history

sure the pages were slightly ripped, it had very obviously been well loved but still preserved

as she looked through the pages, she smiles at the pencil marks - whoever had this book must have loved it

the only issue was the price

"$200?! I can't persuade you to lower that?"

"It's a rare collectable my dear, if you don't get it now, someone else will."

Alpine had the money

she had savings for rainy days and emergency funds just in case the worst happened

again, she wasn't stupid

but $200 on a book?

she sighed once again, flicking through the pages

could she really justify spend-

hold on a hot damn second

was that

she frowns, looking at the faded hand written ink

"Sorry, can I borrow your glasses?"

the old bookstore owner nods, allowing the girl to use the glasses to look at the name handwritten on the cover page

'PROPERTY OF James Buchanan Barnes'

Alpine had never handed money over so fast

out of all the first edition books to get, she had managed to somehow find Bucky's copy

it belonged to him and she would have sold her entire soul to the devil just to be able to get that man his own property back

she had to get back to him

father's day was in a couple of days but this discovery could not wait and if Bucky Barnes had his door locked still then Alpine was grabbing the emergency axe in the hall way to smash that mans door down

she never ran faster in her life

that was a lie (but a story for another time)

by this point, it had been a fair few hours.

Sam had been and gone, having knocked some sense into Bucky before leaving to report that he had in fact NOT relapsed into the Winter Soldier

Now, the grumpy old man waited outside his apartment for Alpine to get back, sighing and huffing with every minute that passed, pacing back and forth, watching the elevator move between floors

he had heard the door to the stairs slam open, the panting and gasping before the rapid footsteps and a frantic

"BUCKY!"

He turned, running down the hallway and crashing into the young girl, grabbing her and stabling them as he hugged her

"Al, I'm so sorry kid. I can't explain what happened, but I promise I will never-"

"Bucky shut up and listen to me."

fucking

rude

he frowns at her, like the fucking audacity

"I'm trying to apologise for being a jackass here."

"Oh, well in that case- carry on mr i'm going to ignore my best friend in the entire world."

"I heard you crying-"

"Oh fucking ew never mind."

he sighs, grabbing her face gently in his hands as she tries to full away because ew fucking emotions

he smiles at her, watching as she relaxes, confusion on her face before her breathe hitches when he places a gentle and very hesitant kiss on her head

"Al, I can't promise that something like that will never happen again, because my brain is messed up, I'm messed up" He shushes her when she tries to interrupt him, smiling at her

"But, I can promise, that as soon as I come out of that.. place.. I will make it up to you in every way possible. You, my annoying little neighbour, are one of the best things that's ever happened to me and I'll be damned if i ever make you cry again. If I do, you can beat me to a pulp."

they both laugh because Alpine can't fight for shit

she wouldn't even know where to start

"Can I make you watch Real Housewives instead?"

"Anything you want."

They definitely spend about ten minutes just hugging each other

they spent two whole days apart, these touch starved babies are desperate just to know that they still have each other

Eventually, they move to Bucky's apartment, deciding that they deserved a good movie night and they still had to watch the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise (they'd been putting it off for a few weeks because Bucky wasn't convinced that a movie on dinosaurs would be something he was interested in - but Alpine seemed to enjoy it_

Alpine had managed to get distracted by the dinos, laughing and letting Bucky know of the inaccuracies of the franchise

Bucky had managed to calm down, keeping an arm around Alpine, not wanting to let her go just yet, still feeling awful about having made her cry

it wasn't until Bucky mentioned that he did enjoy the fantasy side of the franchise that Alpine gasped and sat up straight from leaning on Bucky

he frowns and watched her as she runs to her bag dumped by the door

he was going to her a coat rack just so she'd stop dumping her coat and bags on the floor as soon as she got in

"Were you in here, when I spoke to you through the door?"

Bucky glances at her

"Depends, do you want me to have been here?"

Alpine thinks back and then nods, "For the last part"

Bucky grins, "Bucky Barnes ain't no ones bitch?"

Alpine grins back, "Bucky Barnes is his own bitch, with his own bitchin' thoughts and his own personality and likes and dislikes'" she nods firmly grabbing the book from her bag

"And, Bucky Barnes, has his own goddamn property back."

she holds it out to him and he pauses, eyebrows furrowed before he takes the book

"Al, you didn't have to-"

"Shut up, and open it. Cover page."

he does and he freezes

this was the book he had shipped over from Britain when it first came out

this was the book that he read at night

this was the book he reread for months

this was the book he left behind when he was sent over to Britain for active duty

this was HIS book

his past

his memories

his handwriting

it had survived all these years

it had survived and somehow so had he

and as he looks at Alpine, who was nervously ranting about how she just saw it and knew he had to have it back, how it was a father's day present albeit early

he knew he was going to be okay, just as she had said

If a piece of his past had managed to survive this long without being put on display in a glass case in a museum, without being caged or made to do something other than it's purpose

then he can continue to heal outside of influence of third parties

she's still ranting as he stands, making his way over to her and wrapping her in his arms, holding her tightly, his flesh hand delicately running through her hair as his tears build

he forces them back, not wanting to panic his neighbour turned daughter

he feels her arms hesitantly wrap around his waist, though she's still tense

one day he'll find out why, he'll find out her real name and he'll help her heal like she had him (more than she would ever truly know)

but for now, he'll cherish the relationship he shares with Alpine, and he'll celebrate every father's day with her, with no worries on whether or not he deserves to have this

because one thing is for sure

Alpine does not care whether or not Bucky Barnes deserves her affection, she want's to give it and that's what she will do. Whether he likes it or not (spoiler alert - he loves it and he loves her)

"So if we could spend next years father's day not in a maybe kind of argument that would be great, because this was a really emotionally exhausting day and I don't think we need to do this type of thing for a hot while."

"Of course. If Sam asks, Father's day was better than mother's day."

"Sure, sure, so long as you say I found that book in a dump because i spent maybe $30 on Sam and $200 is a lot more."

Bucky laughs and nods before processing her words

"$200?!"

and as Bucky tightened their hug and Alpine started nervously laughing and trying to get away from him to avoid this punishment (is it really though?)

neither one of them would rather be anywhere else

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