Not Happy, Not Independent, but still a Day to be Remembered

[red_room]

It's two days before when Natasha finally remembers.

There's fewer channels than there used to be but the world has somehow kept on spinning after Thanos. People need a news source. There's a somber section tacked on at the end of the morning program reminding people to contact their remaining loved ones and be safe this coming Independence Day and that's it. The next thing Natasha knows she's shattering a perfectly good souvenir coffee mug Tony stocked this place up with and swearing up a storm because it's about to be the Fourth of July.

Now, Steve's never been big on birthday celebrations. Tony threw huge parties for him the first couple of years after they all came together on Independence Day half as a joke and half because no one actually knew when his real birthday was. It was Clint who finally got it out of him that, yes, all joking and propaganda aside this was his actual birthday. The jokes were twice as bad that year. Lately though things have been a lot quieter. The team started to fall apart. Steve and Tony never did see eye to eye.

And now...?

If Natasha doesn't do something for Steve there's a good chance no one will. Oh sure, people might make some blog posts or tag an abandoned building in Captain America's honor. It's touching. Sweet. But they're not friends nor are those wishes for Steve Rogers as a person. The man himself certainly isn't going to do it. If he remembers his birthday at all it'll be to sit in his room listening to old records sipping alcohol that won't affect him while he remembers people who are dead. Birthdays should be for the living.

It's about time Steve remembers he's got people here.

The spy scoops up her phone, fingers tapping impatiently at the lock screen so she can make a call.

"Rocket. Tell me you're in this sector. We've got work to do."

Comments

[juststeverogers]

Steve's nearly forgotten what it's like to feel normal. But sitting here, next to Thor and sharing a meal, he doesn't feel like something Else. It may not be a hangup exactly anymore. Too many things are much more debilitating than his eating habits. But this small moment is one he's going to quietly cherish for weeks to come. This feeling of being completely at ease among his peers.

Something Steve hasn't had a whole lot of lately or really ever since he woke up with his enhanced body.

Thor may be upset that he hasn't brought anything to give Steve but just him being here is giving the soldier a reprieve he hadn't even known he'd needed. He slows down while he eats, glancing over at Thor while the other speaks.

"Lotta folks are having to learn new ways to adapt. I'm surprised every day by how resourceful and resilient they are."

They're both going to get a generous slice of the bread handed to them by Natasha when she sits down nibbling on what looks to be a literal Grilled cheese sandwich. She hasn't been in on the conversation up until now but settles herself into a chair easily as though she'd been here the whole time.

"Speaking of getting the hang of things, you can both keep your opinions to yourselves if the pound cake isn't very good. I'm a lot of things but a homemaker sure as hell isn't one."

[pirateangelbaby]

It's a little strange coming back to the Avengers after everything that's happened, so assured that he wouldn't be welcome back even if he'd been told otherwise. But nobody's looked at Thor with blame in their eyes, or told him to leave, or done anything other than wave hello or invite him to sit down at the table. He's missed this, sitting among friends who have come to know him as he is, not as the distant prince or the reclusive king. Asvera may feel like home in time, but now, this feels closer than he's been since Ragnarok.

The longer he sits here, the more his nerves ease, and he can't blame it on the weak beer this time. It's been harder to smile in recent days, but today, it's just a little easier.

"I am too," he agrees, and hopes that the Asgardians can learn to be just as adaptive as those whose homeworld they now share.

Thor smiles when Natasha joins them, accepting the bread with a nod of thanks. He doesn't quite laugh at her preemptive defense of her cooking, just shifts in his seat a little to include her in their comfortable little circle. "It's a cake, how bad could it be?"

[red_room]

"He's got a point, Nat. Besides, you don't wanna know the kind of stuff I grew up eating." It's the first time Natasha's seen Steve smile in months. It's tired and it's ragged but it's there all the same. She has to wonder if her own has softened this much after everything they've been through.

It was never something she had to wonder about before but there's been no reason to school her expressions when she spends most of her time working alone in an office.

"We're supposed to be celebrating your birthday not reminding you of the goddamn Great Depression. But I'll keep that in mind next time I want to fix you a snack. Onion sandwiches maybe." She chuckles softly around her beer but outright laughs when Steve nudges her chair to tip back precariously before he lets her settle in her seat.

"If I'd dropped my grilled cheese you'd all be dead men. Anyway, I made a fruit topping to go on it. It looked a bit dry."

[pirateangelbaby]

Onion sandwiches? Is that supposed to be a joke, or yet another bizarre concoction that people ate back in Steve's youth? Thor honestly can't tell; humans eat some strange things. Either way, his friend does not look like he's in any hurry to take her up on the offer, so Thor chuckles a little, taking a drink from his beer.

"I'm sure it'll be delicious," he says, in regards to the cake and its accompaniment. And then, because Steve is in a good mood and because Thor knows this Midgardian birthday tradition perfectly well, he adds, "Are you planning to make us all sing?"

[red_room]

"Make you?" That voice is pure trouble. Steve's head is snapping around so fast it's a wonder he doesn't get whiplash from the motion. Nothing good ever comes from that tone. Empires will collapse and be torn asunder by the machinations that voice has wrought.

"No, I couldn't make you do that. And Steve could stop me if I tried." The former spy takes a far too dainty sip out of her bottle and nibbles at her grilled cheese sandwich while a silence falls across the little patio chairs and table they're all sitting on and around.

Just long enough for the hope to maybe be there that she's going to let the conversation drop. Nebula is eyeing this from across the yard carefully.

"But he really couldn't stop you if you wanted to, Thor. And it is tradition."

Steve's groan is going to make anyone in earshot crane heads to see.

[pirateangelbaby]

Thor's smile falters a little when he realizes that everyone's attention is on him. It's not a position he hasn't been in countless times before, but he hadn't exactly expected it right now, and a vague look of I've made a mistake flashes in his eye as he struggles with how to respond. Does he make a joke and laugh it off? Should he just start singing? He'd look like a fool if he did it alone.

It's Rocket of all people who comes to his rescue. He's had enough experience with Terran birthday nonsense to know this tradition, too. "Not until we set the cake on fire, it ain't," he says, immediately abandoning his plate of food next to Nebula to get candles and a lighter.

"Yes, exactly," Thor agrees quickly, rallying himself in the reprieve that moment gives him.

[juststeverogers]

"You set your festivity food on fire?" Nebula's dark eyes track across the humans before she climbs to her feet to go and follow Rocket inside. "I need to see this." Of course, it's them so if the candles end up being sparklers or some other ridiculous nonsense really they've only themselves to blame.

Steve watches the duo disappear inside with a slow shake of his head. He knows not what he does, only that it seems to have caught Nebula's interest. She's quiet so much of the time but it's clear in moments like this that she is starting to feel as though she belongs.

"I don't want to hear smoke alarms going off you hear me!" Rhodes is calling out after the two Guardians, more aware than most of what is being risked here. But he won't leave his spot by the grill. Not while there's still meat to churn out. "Alright you guys help yourselves in the meantime. I've got a decent spread available now."

"...Thanks Rhodey." Steve flashes the fellow soldier a tired smile before he climbs back out of his seat. "Nat, Thor? Can I get you anything?"

[pirateangelbaby]

"Hell yeah they do," Rocket answers enthusiastically, making a beeline right for the flammables. Of course he knows where they are. At least Natasha shouldn't have to worry about them blowing up the cake; Rocket's been wanting to eat it ever since she started baking it and he's not about to ruin his chances now. Though perhaps it's a good thing that there aren't a hundred and one birthday candles in the kitchen drawers, because he would still be tempted to try making them all fit.

Since they seem to have things well in hand, Thor is free to focus on the more immediately interesting part of the gathering, which is the plethora of grilled meats beginning to pile up next to the grill. Though at first he intends to let Steve fetch food for his friends since that seems to make him happy, once he opens his mouth to answer it occurs to him that between the two of them, plus Natasha, that might be a tall order for one man to carry alone. Even if that man is Steve Rogers. Plus, it's his birthday, he probably shouldn't be doing all the work. "Steak, of course, but I'll give you a hand with it."

[juststeverogers]

Natasha watches them disappear inside but doesn't put down her beer about it. She's aware more than anyone just how much Rocket's been looking forward to this part of the meal. Besides, if the strapping men are offering to grab her a plate full of meat she's not going to argue.

"Chicken's fine for me. The marinade's a family secret, so I've been eager to try it, see if I got it right." A Barton family secret, that is. But they were her family. Natasha's not too proud to admit it anymore, though they're no longer here to know it.

"I'll have to have a bit myself then." Steve quips with a knowing small nod before he and Thor look over what's on offer. "Smells good. Let's load up."

[pirateangelbaby]

Between the unreliability of his appetite and the difficulty that must have gone into finding enough food for this many guests, Thor doesn't load up his plate quite as much as he would've in the past, but it's still more than a hefty helping by human standards. If Asgard ever had comfort food, big slabs of meat on the bone was definitely near the top of the list.

He takes custody of Steve's plate as well, so the man himself has both hands free to fix Natasha's. With only weak beer in his system so far, Thor's hands are more than steady enough to get two fully loaded plates back to the table safely.

Rocket emerges from the complex, Nebula in tow, carrying a pack of lightly-used birthday candles. He nicks the grill lighter from Rhodes on the way, smooth as you please. "All right, just stick 'em in wherever," he tells Nebula, nodding to the cake.

[red_room]

"Thanks, pal."

It's a quiet murmur from Steve while he carves up a couple chicken breasts, one for Natasha and one for himself, before he tends to the steak to do much of the same. Nat watches him divvy up the food so that she can try some of the beef as well and can't help but to duck her head with a small grin. It's bittersweet, this. But it's almost fun. She thought she'd forgotten what happiness in any capacity could feel like.

"Careful on your way back, boys. Rocket's got the stuff for the cake." She can also see that Nebula's found the compote and the whipped cream from the fridge to top it with. Nat offers her a flit of a grin by way of thanks though it only gets her a blank stare in return before Rocket's got Nebula's attention well and focused on the cake.

"Wherever, huh." Rocket should know better. She's going to stick them perfectly even apart, making a little checkerboard distribution over the loaf cake with every single one of the candles in the box. When she glances back at Rocket she's quietly pleased with herself. "This will maximize the fire on the cake."

"You heard the lady, Steve. Your whole cake is about to be on fire."

[pirateangelbaby]

Rocket does know better. He would have been a bit more haphazard about where he placed them, but in lieu of having a hundred candles, the entire box will do. He grins at her handiwork and pulls the trigger on the lighter, waving the little flame around as if he needed it to get everybody's attention, before lighting each one in turn. "One Terran party torch, coming up."

"I suppose it could be worse," Thor says to Steve, as an aside. "He could have used an actual blowtorch."

Emboldened by the break from everyone else staring at him, Thor impulsively looks around at them again, the look on his face hopefully implying that they'd better not leave him to his own devices on this one, before he clears his throat and begins the traditional Midgardian birthday song. He hasn't had cause to sing in some time, and his voice is rougher than it once was, but this is for Steve and if ever there was a time to push past his discomfort, it's now. Celebrating that someone he cares about still lives, and can share the day with his friends.

[red_room]

Someone's going to hear Okoye ask how he can pull the childproof trigger on that grill lighter with his itty bitty hands but Natasha just grins back at her while Nebula looks on in almost childlike wonder at the cake aflame. Nat rests her plate in her lap to bring her hands up at about chest level and orchestrate from her seat when Thor begins to sing. A sharp look from the spy soon has Rhodey joining in, as well as herself.

Not near enough voices. Natasha sings twice as loud as she normally would for Clint who isn't here. For Tony who can't let the past go. For Wanda and Vis, for Sam and for Bucky. For every person who should be here and either can't or isn't. Those who're left sing.

Because they're all each other's got.

Steve wipes at his eye with the heel of one palm when they've finished. Takes a look at the cake Nebula's holding out to him. He doesn't need Natasha chipping in to make a wish and blow out the candles. There's only one wish any of them have. One that's seemingly impossible but he wishes for it anyway.

A way to make things right again.

Steve blows out the candles to a round of uncoordinated applause.

[pirateangelbaby]

The song is simple, and brief, but as Thor's voice is joined by the others, it doesn't feel so lonely. Not as loud or boisterous as parties of the past, but maybe that's for the best. It's a private, intimate moment, friends joined together in harmony to fill the empty spaces as best they can.

In the past, Thor might have been tempted to ask Steve what his wish was. But not today. There's only one thing that he wants, that any of them want, and if this simple birthday magic has any real power to it, then Thor would believe in it as much as any of them.

For now, they have each other. Perhaps today, that is enough.