Log: A March birthday

[punched_hitler]

Who: Steve, Winter, and a small group of friends (he would've invited Yelena, Kate, Cortana, Rue, Martin, and Jaeger)
When: March 10, dinnertime
Where: Winter/Yelena/Kate's apartment
Summary: A birthday dinner!
Warnings: None so far (warnings in any threads)



Steve maybe just kind of assumes Winter knows it's his birthday. So, it's not like he means for this to be a surprise party, exactly, but he does ask a small group of people he either knows are Winter's friends or thinks should be invited to get together for dinner on the 10th in Winter's apartment. And he doesn't bother to tell Winter, other than to somehow subtly make sure he plans to be home that night.

He can't imagine actually jumping out and yelling Surprise! at Winter is ideal. So, when Winter arrives back after work, it's simply to find that his friends are there and dinner is in the oven.

Steve is admittedly no great cook, but he also isn't sure he trusts the local restaurants right now. So he's been working on if not perfecting, at least learning to make a passable chicken casserole (and if anyone in said friend group doesn't eat meat, he'll make a vegetarian version as well). He knows it might be a little awkward for Cortana to sit through dinner with nothing to eat, so he's made up a little bouquet of colorful flowers to go on her plate so it's not just sitting empty.

He has asked people to bring something sweet (preferably chocolate) for dessert if they're able, figuring Winter can't possibly have too many treats. It is his birthday, after all! And Steve's learned to make enough chocolate cupcakes to go around so they can stick a candle on Winter's and sing him Happy Birthday at the end of the meal. Presents in addition to sweets are of course welcome but optional.

He's brought a couple of decks of cards if people want to stick around and play after dinner, but of course that doesn't have to be the only option for entertainment. And he absolutely makes sure everything is cleaned up again and in order before he leaves for the night.

Comments

OTA!

[punched_hitler]

Steve's not the most experienced dinner party host, but he does all right, probably with some help from others. He makes sure everyone's got everything they need during dinner and tries to ensure that they're having a good time. He doesn't think that's really a danger with a small group like this, which is probably good, since no one should ever rely on Steve Rogers to carry an entire dinner conversation.

But he will of course happily converse with any of the guests, and does try to keep a sharp eye on whether Winter's having a good time. Steve's gotten a couple of old sci-fi pulps from various thrift stores around town and, after hanging onto them for at least a month to make sure nothing weird happens while they're in his possession, wraps them up as gifts to hand over at some point during the evening.

[bossyboiler]

At some point in the evening Kate notices that Steve is doing a little bit of clean up. Bless him. She moves to help him, mostly because it's her space and he shouldn't have to do it alone.

"Here. Let me help." Let her load the dishwasher please.

"This is a really nice thing you did for Winter."

[punched_hitler]

It was his idea, Steve figures, so he should absolutely help clean up afterward. But if she wants to start putting dishes in the dishwasher, he won't stop her - just offer her a grateful smile and keep out of her way.

"It's been a while since we were in the same place at the same time on one of our birthdays," he admits, voice a little subdued. "It was nice to have the chance. Although I - probably should've realized he didn't remember which day it was."

Sometimes it's still a little too easy to forget what Winter doesn't remember.

[bossyboiler]

In every household there is one person that loads a dishwasher like they were a NASA engineer and two others that stack a dishwasher as though they are hobgoblins. Kate is the NASA engineer. To be fair, she does most of the cooking. (Territorial? Her? Just a little.)

She starts loading the plates. "It was a nice thing. It lets him know that he is loved." And that love goes a long ways when trying to keep the Stranger at bay. "And that's important."

She continues to load the plates. "How long has it been for you?"

[punched_hitler]

Yeah, Steve is definitely not on the NASA engineer end of that spectrum. So this is probably for the best.

Of course, the question makes him pause, laughing a little. "I guess it depends on how you're counting. Decades, technically. Like... 80 years? For me. If you're counting everything."

Including the years one or both of them was on ice. And the five that Bucky was dusted.

Steve shakes his head. "All that matters is it's been way too long. I never got a chance to fix it back home, so - " Here he is, trying to celebrate. "Thanks for being a part of it. I know you're important to him."

Winter OTA

[worthallthis]

Winter comes home late most evenings, after work and then an hour or two in the gym and shooting range or an impromptu patrol around the city. He's a little earlier than usual tonight because Steve said he was coming for dinner and he doesn't want to miss that.

He does not expect to walk in, shaking mud and slush from his boots, to find quite so many people in his apartment. He maybe stares a little at everyone.

He maybe stares more when Steve tells him what they're there for. "I have a. Birthday. And you're here for it."

He might find himself crying a little bit at the feeling of it.

But once he gets that under control, he's happy to eat, to see what desserts people brought, to look awkward but grateful at being given gifts. "I've never had gifts before," he says. "That aren't. Food, I guess."

And everyone who comes gets a hug before they leave. He is experimenting with expanding his physical touch abilities.

[failedpromise]

Awww, Winter.

Cortana is delighted to receive what is most likely one of, if not the, very first hug she's received in her entire life and she absolutely will hug Winter back, if very gently so as not to risk making him feel overwhelmed or confined.

[worthallthis]

It's not bad. Winter's not going to be doing it every day, maybe, and he wouldn't go so far as to call it nice exactly, but it's still not bad. He pats Cortana's back gently before letting her go. "Thank you for coming."

[failedpromise]

The end of her first hug leaves Cortana feeling just a little bereft, but she doesn't let on to it, letting go when Winter does and smiling at his words.

"I'm glad to be here. You're a good friend and a good person Winter. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

[ruevealing]

Rue waits until all of Winter's proper friends have had a chance to celebrate with him before they approach, a towering owlbear in the midst of a more human-sized group. Pinched gently between their talons is a small wrapped gift, topped in a glittering bow.

"Happy day of birth! Such a beautiful annual celebration, I am quite excited to have been witness to such a lovely event! My name is Delloso de la Rue, but you may call me Rue. What an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, dear. Your friends speak most highly of you."

[worthallthis]

He's seen them around, of course. They're hard to miss. He dips his head a little at the flowery speech, looking maybe a little bashful, maybe a little overwhelmed still. "People have been. Talking about me to you?"

[ruevealing]

That's a very fair assessment! Rue is nearly impossible to miss!

"Only your friends, of course." His bashfulness doesn't escape their notice, though Rue is certainly too polite to point it out. They give the man plenty of space, not wanting to overcrowd him with their larger, more feathery frame.

"Steve spoke quite highly of you! Throwing a party you would truly enjoy meant a great deal to him."

[musicdied]

"Only because we have been very lax as your friends," Yelena says of the previous lack of gifts, though the sparkle in her eyes and the faint scrunch of her nose suggests she isn't being entirely serious. The brightly-wrapped parcel she nudges towards him isn't huge, but it is heavy, or at least heavier than its dimensions would suggest at a glance.

[worthallthis]

"I don't need gifts," Winter protests, but he accepts it, and finds that he very much would like to find out what's in it. He gives it a gentle shake, listening to how it might sound inside, but not hard enough to actually damage it if it's delicate.

[musicdied]

"Nobody needs gifts. It's still nice to get them. And you deserve to have nice things happen."

There's a muffled thump as the weight in the box shifts, as though what's in there is heavy, but soft. Or padded. It definitely doesn't sound delicate.

[bossyboiler]

"Does that mean you want me to stop baking you brownies?" Kate asks in a light but clearly teasing tone. Her gift comes in a blue gift bag with tissue paper sticking out from the top. She hopes he likes the movies that she's picked out for him, the Lord of the Rings trilogy. They are supposed to be good.

[worthallthis]

"No," Winter says immediately and with something like scandalized horror that he might have made her think that, ever. "Gifts of food are great. I like them."

[bossyboiler]

"I'm teasing you, Winter." She lightly touches his wrist. "I would never withhold brownies from you. Now come on, open your gift."

Re: Winter OTA

[punched_hitler]

"You definitely have a birthday," Steve confirms, softly, and whatever he's feeling, it's definitely bittersweet. "And this is it. So now you know. For next year."

He does add, to try to inject some humor: "Probably not worth figuring out how old you are, but I'm sure you look great for your age."

[worthallthis]

Winter is not really processing humor at the moment. He is, point of fact, wiping his cheek with the back of one hand, because whatever he's feeling, it's spilling out onto his face. He doesn't think it's bad... but it's a lot.

"I didn't know," he says, a little thickly. "That I had one." That's very much a person thing, isn't it.

[punched_hitler]

It is very much a person thing, yeah.

Steve immediately digs into his pocket, pulling out a handkerchief and offering it over.

"I forgot. That you didn't know," he admits, feeling not exactly sorry for it, himself, but somehow sorry about it. "But now you do."

Cortana OTA

[failedpromise]

Cortana has had a good month so far: she's bought new clothes, hung out with friends, and she's now attending her first ever birthday party.

...It figures, she supposes, that it would be Winter's birthday party.

Since it's Winter's day, she's apparently decided to wear the hoodie he gave her in addition to some very comfy black pants. Additionally, she's brought plenty of gifts: a box of lofthouse style sugar cookies, some pain au chocolat pastries from a little bakery she found, several science fiction books, and the cuddliest, plushest blanket she could find. She might not have needed to go overboard, but it is the first birthday party she's been invited to... besides, she likes Winter.

The attempts Steve has made to be inclusive toward her are an entirely unexpected but entierly pleasant, surprise. "The flowers are a nice touch." She comments, amused at the bouquet on her plate.

[punched_hitler]

Steve does smile sheepishly at that, but he's relieved. "I didn't want you to feel left out, since it was a dinner," he admits. "They're definitely yours to take home, too."

[failedpromise]

"So you're talented at being a host, too." Awww, buddy. Cortana is practically beaming.

She picks up the bouquet and examines it, pinching a petal of one of the flowers delicately between her fingers. The scent and look of the flowers intrigues her, but she loves to touch things.

[punched_hitler]

"Well, I had some help. Rue let me bounce ideas off them, and took care of a few things." But Steve had wanted flowers for Cortana from the start; he's glad the idea went over well. He still feels like he owes Cortana for his poor planning on her birthday.

"I'll be better about yours next year," he promises. Less public. No mentions of age. People might have forgotten, by then? And lots of flowers, it looks like.