[for Various] Steve Rogers' Birthday

[onlyapassenger]

Memorial Day had passed by with little more than a couple of a beers and a five minute conversation, but Bucky'll be damned if he lets Steve's birthday go the same way. Even during the darkest days of the War, birthdays were always given the special treatment; hell, Toro once blew their cover making sure Bucky had a good one. The gruelling grind of the past couple of months is still fresh in body and mind, but in the simple preparation for the day's get-together, Bucky's found some semblance of peace.

He's not much of a party animal -- he's not even much of a planner -- but things fall into place easily enough. They set up in and around Steve's place, that nice bar of his getting some use for once. There are a couple of goats spinning on a spit outside, courtesy of Thor, and a more traditional grill manned by Bucky himself. Platters of cheeses and fruits and vegetables line a table covered in a red, white and blue tablecloth, and there's more than enough flag-themed birthday cake to go around (strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream make up the familiar stars and stripes, doubling as both food and decoration). Music from Steve's youth plays in the background out of borrowed speakers, and in lieu of streamers, there's a banner that stretches over the front door of his house that reads HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLD MAN.

It's not a lot, but it's something.

[Open to Marvels, significant others/close friends of Marvels, and any assorted friends of Steve. This post will be linked to the main community on July 4th. Slated post here. ST/LT welcome!]

Comments

[onlyforthedream]

It was the absolute last thing on my mind until I came back from the morning routine of running, hitting up the Compound for breakfast, a shower, and checking in at the council office to find Bucky hanging a banner.

I didn't even put up a pretense of objecting. It's so rare to see Bucky looking at ease or anything vaguely resembling happy that even if it wasn't tradition, with us, to consider birthdays excessively important, I wouldn't have had the heart to nay-say it.

It's nice, for a day, for the primary concern to be whether or not the goats Thor set up to cook will perturb anyone. They haven't so far. And the music is great, so all in all, Bucky made the right call.

[onlyapassenger]

Bucky possesses few skills that aren't related to survival or war. With recent events having eaten up most of his time and options on the island as limited as they are, Steve's present isn't anything special: a few reels pilfered from the shelf to remind him of a simpler time and some blank notebooks he could use to sketch in, all 'wrapped' in a plain canvas bag. When the last of the meat's been cooked and Bucky finally has a quiet second, he wanders towards Steve with the bag in hand and holds it out.

"Don't say I never gave you anything."

[onlyforthedream]

"Wouldn't dream of it," I reply, turning, and bite back a grin, shaking my head a little. I accept the bag with one hand, but hold it in both to turn it over a little, and let out a low whistle.

"Nice wrap job."

[onlyapassenger]

"Shut up," Bucky says with a roll of his eyes. "It's better than ripping up a copy of the Times for wrapping paper. You can find some use for it after."

[onlyforthedream]

"You know I appreciate practicality." It's true, as much a product of being a kid in the Depression as anything else, I guess. I open the bag, making sure I've got a hold on the contents with one hand, then push the open end down to get a look.

My smile is immediate, and genuine. I thumb over the sketchbooks, the thin kind that flex easily, great for carrying around in a pack pocket. The reels I'm curious about, and look forward to setting up later. Maybe we can get Lip and Spud to take a load off.

"Thanks, partner."

[onlyapassenger]

"Don't mention it," Bucky replies. "Figure that makes up for your last birthday."

It's another reason he wanted to go all out for the party this year; given what happened last July, it seemed all the more important to take the time out to celebrate.

[notawastedlife]

"Okay, actually, though?" Tony said, as if they'd both been involved in the debate he'd been having with himself for several minutes until he'd turned around and found Steve there. "It is actually today? They didn't just make you pretend like it is?"

[onlyforthedream]

"It is actually today, yes," I answer, smiling a little and glancing over at Tony.

"If they'd released my identity to the public at the time, I'm sure the PR guys would have had a field day."

[notawastedlife]

"Right, you did the whole... mask thing," Tony said, nodding to himself. "I never bothered with that. I mean I had a mask, but I took it off. Metaphorically."

[onlyforthedream]

"Really? You didn't even try to float the 'body guard' thing?" I ask. Another difference, but I'm learning to take those in stride.

"It's always been a strange line to walk. I think it's easier for some of us to pull the mask back, so to speak, than it is for others."

Discussing this with Tony here and now is strangely unsettling, but I don't want to randomly veer the conversation in another direction. Knowing the way Tony burns through trains of thought, we probably won't be on it long, anyway.

[notawastedlife]

"Your guy really did that? People bought it?" Tony said, raising his eyebrows. "Coulson tried to get me to do it, I decided against it. I'm not really the secret identity... type."

[manwithoutfear]

With Ellen settled for the moment, I decide to pay my respects to the man of the hour.

"Dare I ask how old this makes you?"

[onlyforthedream]

"To be honest I stopped keeping track after I hit 90," I answer wryly, turning to Matt and briefly clasping his shoulder.

"How are you, Matt?"

[manwithoutfear]

Lying to Captain America takes both a certain amount of skill and a degree of audacity. I possess both in spades, but I can still feel myself hesitating. I've known him for years, much as I've known a lot of these people, but I've been hesitant to breathe a word of Ellen's pregnancy to anyone. I had a moment of weakness with Natalya last month, but beyond her and our doctor...

"Fine," I say, managing a smile. "And you? I imagine you've been busy these past couple of months. What are the chances you'll get some rest soon?"