Author's Note- This is a Christmas prompt for serenityscribbles on tumblr.

This story takes place after CA:TWS. It is not canon compliant with Age of Ultron. At all.

The Twelve Days of WinterShock

Day 1

Bucky was just sitting down to a sad little microwaved dinner that consisted of a grayish brown lump of meat covered in a grayish brown gravy nestled next to a white mealy-looking mound that claimed to be mashed potatoes when he heard a buzzing sound. He huffed a bit and then got up and went to his apartment door, looking through the electronic peephole. The video screen showed that there was no one standing there and he nearly turned around to sit back down, when he heard JARVIS's unmistakable British accent.

"Sir, a package has been left for you."

Bucky opened the door and reared his head when he saw what had been left in the hall in front of his door.

"What is that?" He scratched the back of his neck as he examined the basket on the ground, wrapped in clear cellophane with a large red bow stuck on the top.

"It appears to be a gift, sir," JARVIS helpfully replied.

"Yeah. I get that. Who left it?"

"I'm not at liberty to say, sir. As per Mr. Stark's Secret Santa protocol."

Bucky groaned softly as he reached down and scooped up the basket. Tony had insisted that they all do a Secret Santa exchange for the holidays. The rules were that each gift couldn't be more than $5 and that no one was able to use JARVIS or any of the surveillance cameras to try to figure out who their Secret Santa was.

Bucky had drawn Clint from the hat and winced a bit, not having the faintest clue as to what to get the archer. He finally settled on a box of arrow-shaped Strela candy. Bucky had found a small Russian market in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn and after rummaging around for a good ten minutes, he finally found what he was looking for. The small round box of cognac filled chocolate candy put him back $4.98, but he made it just under Stark's silly spending limit. He'd dropped the box off at Clint's door at the Avengers Tower, glad to be done of his obligation.

He was an accepted member of the group, but he still felt separate, apart from the others. While everyone had been sympathetic to his plight, he really wasn't interested in their pity. It had taken Steve three months to convince Bucky to move into the Tower, taking the one bedroom apartment across the hall from Steve. They'd been inseparable ever since Steve and Sam found him, going on missions together, spending almost all of their free time together. Steve had convinced Bucky to see a therapist to help him manage his PTSD and while it was slow-going, with lots of fits and starts, even Bucky had to admit he was making significant progress. His panic attacks were few and far between and he hardly ever had any nightmares any more.

But, then his metallic arm started to act up and Steve and Sam had to take a mission without him while Tony ran diagnostics and tried to repair it. It was the first time in six months that Bucky had been by himself and he was taking it harder than he should have, holing himself up in his apartment, not wanting to talk to anyone.

Bucky peered into the basket that had been left for him and a smile formed on his face. Inside were three oranges and a dozen old-fashioned peppermint sticks nestled in crinkled strips of green and red tissue paper. He remembered as a child how excited he'd been to get an orange at Christmas time. While citrus fruits were abundant year round nowadays, as a child to get an orange at Christmas had been a special treat that his mother had to save up for. He remembered savoring every section, eating it slowly so that it would last. The red and white peppermints sticks had also been a delicacy, and he'd be lucky if his mother could afford two of them.

For a moment, he wondered if Steve had sent them to cheer him up. "JARVIS, was this delivered by a courier or something like that or was it left by someone in the Tower?"

"It was left by someone in the Tower." JARVIS's tone made it evident he wasn't going to answer any more questions on the matter.

Bucky's shoulders fell. Of course, Steve was on an assignment halfway across the world, taking down an alien arms dealer with Sam. The last thing he'd be doing is sending gift baskets to cheer Bucky up.

Still, at least the person who'd drawn his name had been thoughtful enough to get something that Bucky would really enjoy. At least he'd have a half decent dessert to go along with his crappy dinner.

He carried the basket back to his kitchen table, letting the door shut behind him. He looked at his pathetic attempt at a meal and shook his head. He wasn't going to eat it. He tossed it in the fridge, still not able to throw away even the diciest of meals after living on the run for months. Food was food after all. He grabbed his overcoat, shrugged it on, and shoved his hands in his pockets. He was going to go out to dinner. He would treat himself. He looked over at the basket, a smile forming on his face once again.

It was Christmas time after all.

Author's Note- So, if you're all interested, I'm thinking about doing 12 days of gifts. Because Bucky deserves a little love and care at the holidays, doesn't he?

Reviews are my favorite Christmas gifts! Well, that and fudge.