Work Text:
It was the perfect fall day! The sun shone through the few fluffy clouds in the sky, and a light, cool breeze made it perfect sweater weather. You and Bucky had decided to make an afternoon date to enjoy the nice weather while you could. Upstate New York’s weather was unpredictable at best in October.
As you both were getting ready to leave the Avengers Compound, the other Avengers still around got curious.
“What are you two up to?” Steve asked, looking up from his book.
You were silent for a moment before Bucky answered, “We’re going to a pumpkin patch. We wanted to celebrate Halloween and enjoy today’s good weather.”
“Pumpkin patch?” a voice from the kitchen piped up.
Natasha came from the kitchen, followed by Clint. “Those are so fun,” he said. “The kids love picking out pumpkins and carving them after we get home.”
“Did you say carving? You mean with a knife?” Thor asked, finally being interested in the conversation.
You sighed as there were more and more exchanges of words until it seemed like all the Avengers were now joining your date to pick out pumpkins. Even Tony wanted to join since he and Morgan were having a daddy-daughter day. You were lucky that Bucky and you were able to drive separately from the others, but in the end, Steve, Natasha, Clint, Thor, Tony, and Morgan all took their own cars to the pumpkin patch.
“I guess we’ll have to postpone the date part of today,” you murmured as you wrapped your hand around Bucky’s.
He looked briefly from the road to you before saying, “Just a temporary inconvenience. They can’t stop us from having some fun later.”
You giggled at Bucky’s insinuation. The thought of what tonight held made your cheeks warm, but you tried your best to keep those thoughts for later.
It was nearly half an hour before your car pulled into the parking lot of a local farm. Dozens of other families and groups of people milled around, picking out their own pumpkins, apple cider, and other fall favorites. With everyone here, it was shocking that you and Bucky found a parking space at all.
Once he’d turned the car off, Bucky came around to the passenger’s side to open the door for you. His hand extended to help you outside. As the cool fall air brushed against your skin, you couldn’t help but wrap your arms around Bucky’s neck to pull him in for a quick but deep kiss. A soft groan came from his throat before he drew back to rest his forehead against yours. You let the moment of intimacy wrap around the two of you before you went to join the others.
Your group walked into the pumpkin patches to search for the perfect pumpkins for carving. Thor, Bucky, and Steve all ended up in a competition for who could find the largest pumpkin. Tony was helping Morgan find the “best” pumpkin for carving. Clint and Natasha were busy finding three pumpkins that Clint could bring home for his kids. And you were left to watch your friends – and boyfriend – darting all over the pumpkin patches. With a small smile on your face at their antics, you started your own search.
By the time you had found a pumpkin, Bucky had wandered his way to you, carrying an enormous pumpkin in his metal hand. It had to have been almost as big as his chest and probably weighed half of your weight. Your pumpkin was a good size, nearly perfectly round, and had a cute vine wrapped around the stem.
Bucky took the pumpkin out of your hand and balanced it on his flesh hand, his eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. You rolled your eyes, hiding the fact that you loved his strength, and turned away towards the store.
“What’s with the sass?” Bucky laughed, jogging to catch up to you.
You giggled, “You’re showing off. And what for? You already got me as your girlfriend. You don’t have to show off. I know just how strong you are.”
“Are you sure you know that? I thought you might have needed a reminder.” He smirked, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. The overt flirting sent a shudder of heat through you as delicious, tantalizing thoughts crossed your mind again.
As you and Bucky joined the others, you saw that everyone had at least one pumpkin. You all went into the small building and gathered up some jugs of apple cider and other fall snacks from the farm’s store. The owners recognized your group and struck up a conversation as you all went through the check-out line. They thanked you extensively before you managed to leave the shop with more than one freebie from them.
It felt like before you all were back in your cars and headed towards the compound. Bucky and you were the first to leave the farm and return home. You brought in your pumpkins, along with the apple cider, candy apples, and apple chips you’d decided to buy.
As you waited for the others to return, Bucky pulled you into his arms. You loved the feeling of his arms wrapped around you, of his body pressed against yours. He dipped down, and his mouth found your lips. Your hands reached up to his neck, your mouth curving into a smile. This was how you had imagined your day going before the rest of the Avengers had thrown a wrench in that plan. Even now, as you and Bucky were enjoying this quiet moment just the two of you, you could hear the voices of the others coming in too.
Bucky sighed heavily but kept his arms wrapped around you. He didn’t want to give you up yet, and you were more than content with that decision. Your hands remained on Bucky’s shoulders. The smell of his cologne and the fresh air on his skin drove you crazy. You weren’t going to leave his arms until you had to.
You watched as the others entered the large dining room, where a large table was set up. Normally, it was used for meals, but it was also a perfect place to carve pumpkins. Chaos erupted as the table was covered with a plastic tablecloth and all the pumpkins were laid out. You found a few carving kits and placed them around the table, but some people also picked other tools for cutting.
You and Bucky picked one corner of the table and started to carve different designs into the pumpkins you’d picked. Soon enough, the room filled with laughter and conversation as everyone took the time to carve faces into the pumpkins.
The afternoon flew by as bits of pumpkin scattered around the table. Some pumpkins were simpler, with traditional faces, while others had detailed pictures carved into them. You even caught some of the others using non-traditional carving tools. At some point, Tony had pulled out some type of laser device that was carving precise lines into the pumpkin. Natasha and Bucky had both decided that they had better knives than the carving kits and pulled out some of their own elite knife collections. Clint was helping Thor, as Thor had never carved a pumpkin before, and Clint was a bit worried that he would cut his pumpkin in half or something dramatic. You and Steve were traditionalists and used the carving kits to make toothy, smiling pumpkins with triangle eyes.
Soon, everyone seemed to be happy with their pumpkins, and you all showed off your different faces and designs. Tony and Morgan made a detailed fairy princess, and Tony put a special light inside that glowed pink. Thor and Clint showed off a carved Mjölnir in their pumpkin. Natasha had carved a detailed fight scene in hers. Bucky chose a highly detailed, but pretty traditional pumpkin face. Yours and Steve’s both looked most like a classic pumpkin carving that you had done almost every year. Even though they weren’t the most perfectly carved pumpkins, you both agreed that they had the most Halloween spirit.
After a quick cleanup, you brought out the snacks from the farm. Bucky disappeared into the kitchen for a few minutes to warm up the apple cider. As Clint turned on some Halloween music, the rest of you all lined up your pumpkins on display and started hanging out.
“Here’s some apple cider,” Bucky told you as he passed you a mug of hot, dark golden liquid.
You took a careful sip and almost choked on the apple cider, finding it spiked with whiskey. Bucky couldn’t help but smirk. “Oh yeah, it’s got a little somethin’ extra in it.”
“Yeah,” you replied in a raspy voice. “I can tell, Bucky.”
You giggled before taking another sip. Bucky’s free hand rested on your lower back as he stepped closer to your side. You leaned your head against Bucky’s shoulder, enjoying the sudden closeness you had with him.
His fingers brushed circles on your lower back through your sweater. This was how fall was supposed to feel. Warm and cozy with all the people you cared about the most. And most of all, you had Bucky, and he had you. You felt comfortable and cared for in a way that you hadn’t for a long time. Even through the chaos of today, this was home, and you never wanted to give it up.