stardustly | happy birthday, Steve !!

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happy birthday, Steve !!

I'm up for just about anything and will gladly use regular Steve here, pre-serum Steve or rule!63 Steve - Stephanie. Just let me know which you want. Regular Steve can be during TFA, CA:WS, CA:CW, post CW or any other kind of timeline. Pre-serum Steve can be pre-war, during the war or time travel and in the present time period. Stephanie can be any time period.

Here are some suggestions -

PARTIES: Whether group based, like a surprise party or something more lowkey with just a duo.

OUTINGS: Something non-party related. Art museums, BBQ/picnic, dinner etc etc.

CAKE TIME: What's a birthday without an amazing cake? Steve's favorite is vanilla bean with apple frosting because it's what his ma used to make when he was younger.

PRESENTS: Good luck getting him to take anything. Birthday or not, he doesn't accept presents very easily.

DANCING: Always bittersweet but one of the ultimate ways to connect for Steve.

FIREWORKS: It's the 4th after all!

SOMETHING ELSE: The sky is the limit. Mix/match, come up with something else. Throw whatever at me.

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[It had become a tradition.

The years came and went, and the city changed. Businesses came and went, buildings were refurbished or knocked down, new being built in their places. But the dance hall was still there. A little shabbier with the passing years, but still standing. The clientele had changed over the years, the music played was different, but that didn't matter. Once a year Diana would come, claiming a corner stool at the bar, where she could see the door. Order a drink or two, chat with the bartender, but otherwise seeming content where she was. Sometimes only staying for a song or two other times staying longer, the last customer out the door, but either way she never danced, no matter who asked.

It had started as an optimistic hope. Steve had promised her a dance when he returned from the war. It had become a memorial as those who knew him joined her. As the years passed and the others moved on, it became more of a quiet vigil that she kept herself, for the singular man who occupied her thoughts. As if it were any surprise.

It was his birthday after all.]

[ Once and what seemed like so long ago, Steve loved and enjoyed birthdays, finding a certain kind of delight in the cake and the fireworks. A kind of liberation against the everyday gloom and doom of their circumstances. Life could be harsh, yes, a lesson quickly learned by those of the era but holidays and birthdays reminded all of them what they ultimately lived and breathed for. Something new and startling in every possible way.

Crashing into the water to save hundreds kind of put a damper on any kind of celebrating and for over seventy years things passed in a hazy glow. Nothing marked, nothing recognized.

Until the first gasping breath. He should have died and yet somehow he lived. Defying the odds stacked against him once again. The months swirled and eventually his birthday arrived again but the luster the day once held had shrinked down into nothing and he decided to take a walk by himself.

His feet eventually led him to the dance hall, a relic of times past and for some unknown reason he pushed himself inside and good thing he did because there she sat. The one who plagued his mind and seeped in and out of his dreams. Diana. The one who got away somewhat. ]

I think I owe you a dance, don't I?

[It took her a moment to realize that he was actually there. There had been years before when she'd imagined just this moment, when Steve would come waltzing back into her life with that smile that made it impossible to stay mad at him, that charm that was so uniquely him. She'd pictured it so many times over the years, and even with the changes to the man, it was still him speaking to her.

Diana was stuck staring for a moment when the reality of him hit her, feeling like the air had been sucked from the room, and it took some effort for her to find her voice again.]

You owe me more than that at this point- [She hesitated at the tremor she felt at that point, similar to the quaver in the small smile she offered him as she reached to take his hand.] But for now I would take that dance.

[ There were so many things to discuss but where to even start with any of it? The years had been a confusing mess of ordeals but he imagined she had more than her fair share of events as well. How could she not with how much time they spent apart from one another?

A sheepish look filled his face as he took her hand tightly and brought them closer together. ]

I apologize if this isn't all you hoped it to be. [ Dancing would never be considered a strong suit of his. ] We can talk later. I promise. [ Hopefully, nothing faded away as they started to dance. ]

The idea had originally occurred to Sam sometime around Valentine's Day - even if they couldn't make it legal, it could at least be binding among the three of them. Tony'd agreed when he mentioned it to him - made a crack how Sam could have at least gone down on one knee for him - and immediately reached for his tablet to start sketching ring designs. He hadn't pegged Stark for a jeweler, but it turned out that what he'd had in mind was an interlinking puzzle ring, with three bands locking into one. It was, he had to admit, kind of genius.

Tony had made the rings himself, and Sam had spent more time than was strictly necessary watching - look, he had a certain appreciation for Tony's biceps and the way he looked when he was intent and sweaty - and they'd settled on Steve's birthday as the right time to propose. The penthouse of the tower offered a panoramic view of all the fireworks, and they'd dimmed the lights to watch.

(Maybe there had been some shenanigans involved, too, but it was Steve's birthday, after all, and they had to celebrate.)

They'd settled down in time for the finale, and Sam surreptitiously tried to fumble for his pants on the floor. He thought he managed to get the box out without Steve noticing, anyway, and he glanced over at Tony to make sure he got the cue.

It took a moment for him to register why exactly Sam was moving -- it was warm and comfortable, why mess with that? -- until it registered why he'd be fishing around in his discarded clothing. Tony twitched just a little, then made himself relax before something about that tipped Steve off and met Sam's eyes. Despite the fact that they'd been planning this for literal weeks, he couldn't help a quick frission of nervousness, even if he wasn't sure why.

"So," Tony said, nodding once in Sam's direction. When in doubt, start babbling. "I know we said no presents, but Sam and I wanted to do something anyway." And yes, he was well aware that no presents was pretty much directed entirely at him, which was rude, but whatever.

Love will find you when you least expect it to and when you need it the most - something his dear ma told him often growing up, especially on a particularly bad day but weren't they nearly always bad days in a way? Actually, they tended to vary in most cases but he always thought of his ma more than usual when his birthday approached. Mind sliding through memories of his life before but for the first birthday ever he did not wish to go back to the past. For once, his present had become far greater than he ever anticipated achieving. He had not one love but two and somehow it made up for all the time he went without.

Tucked against them both, he watched the fireworks and kept sneaking glances to both of them too. Yes. He couldn't imagine anything better but when Sam began to move and Tony began to talk, he couldn't help sighing. What were they up to? Something of a spectacle if Tony had a hand in it but he caused a twitch of a smile rather than annoyance.

"I never expected either of you to keep to that," Steve responded, sitting up more to look between them. "Please, tell me it's nothing I'll see on the 5 o'clock news tomorrow." Tony had a way of making things overly grand, after all.

"Well, good news, I talked Tony out of the giant Cap shield fireworks finale." Sam grinned at both of them, only half-joking. "And out of figuring out some way to make your face out of fireworks." Actually, he wasn't sure that was possible, but he wouldn't have put trying to figure it out past Tony.

Sam had tried to come up with something to say - had ended up with about twenty scribbled drafts all crumpled up in his trash can. Nothing had sounded right. And here, in front of Steve, he still didn't know what to say, but he had faith that he'd manage to stumble through this somehow without making too much of a fool out of himself.

"I've loved you for so long," he began. "And I never said anything 'cause I didn't know if it was the right time, if you loved me back, if you even wanted anything. I didn't think being with you was even possible, and it took a push from Tony to make me realize that I was being an idiot." Sam glanced over Steve to look at Tony and grin ruefully. "And what all three of us have is something greater than I ever could have imagined. Something I never want to end, and I'm pretty sure Tony feels the same way, since he agreed to help with this project."

Sam held the box out in front of Steve, his grip on one side, leaving room for Tony to pick up the other half and the thread of the conversation.

Tony shifted a little but did reach out and take the other side of the box. He'd tried to argue that Sam could just do all the talking -- he was well aware of his own tendency to either start babbling uselessly or say exactly the wrong thing -- but Sam had insisted that this had to be both of them. So. Here went nothing.

"It might not be legal," he said finally. Not if it was genuinely going to be the three of them. And possibly not the best way to start this off, but Tony soldiered on. "But we wanted something to show that this is real. Permanent. Important." It had been so much easier to just make the ring.

And with a sigh, he held the box up for him. "Happy birthday?"

Expect the unexpected had become something of a life motto for Steve with everything he went through over the past few years and he foolishly believed not much could surprise him any longer. How incredibly wrong he had been because with wide eyes he listened to both Sam and Tony talk. The ring box almost paling everything else around them. What. They were proposing to him? On his birthday? With a ring that looked beautiful.

Okay, it couldn't be technically legal being there were three of them but this made it official for them. To think no one ever wanted or looked twice at him growing up but now he had two people who wanted to be with him. Fully and completely.

Lump rising in his throat, he gave a nod of his head as he tried to compose himself. "Yes, I want - yes." He needed another moment. "I love both of you so much. Yes. I want this." The ultimate in commitment. "The ring is - wow."

"Tony made it," Sam felt obligated to point out. "Well, I say made- I mean designed and made, 'cause he's an overachiever like that. He made all three of them, actually." The twining bands were subtly toned in different colors, and in a different order on each of the three rings. It was, Sam had to admit, a work of art. But, then again, Tony had never been one to slack on aesthetics.

He nuzzled Steve's neck as he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto his finger. "I mean, we could still find an Elvis impersonator to do some kinda ceremony if you really wanted to," he teased. "People'll do anything if you throw enough money at them." Not that Steve really understood the cultural significance of being married by an Elvis impersonator, so the joke fell a little flat.

Tony shifted just a little as he listened to both of them, wearing an expression that on anyone else might have read a shy. Okay, so maybe genuine gratitude was something he still struggled with sometimes, and this was something a bit more.

Which wasn't to say that he couldn't power through it. Pasting on a grin and clearing his throat as he leaned in. "I mean, hell, we could do a whole blowout if you really wanted to. Wedding of the century. We could make so many conservative nutjob heads explode. But. You tell me," he finished with a shrug.

Then, added a bit quieter, "this thing, this is for us. It's whatever you want to make of it. So."

Awe spilled over onto his face and he could not take his eyes off the ring once Sam slid it onto his finger. How lucky could one person be? A balance of karma perhaps after everything he endured before. The love he found with the two men almost enough to make up for all the other things he had to work through to make it to the point they now were in. As good as married and he had been all in for so long. Much more than he readily cared to admit to.

Emotions were always a difficult thing for him to come to terms with. Another mark of his past. As for progress, it made him sad to know culture had moved very little on the acceptable love front since his time. There should have been far more strides made.

"Would you both want a really big ceremony?" he asked, not wanting to take away another from them. If left up to him, he'd want something private and lowkey, more of his benchmarks.

Grinning, though, he leaned in to kiss them both, one after the other.

"Can't say I'd mind making a few conservatives shit themselves." Sam pretended to stroke his chin contemplatively. Captain America marrying two men, one of whom was black? Oh, yeah, some people would have heart attacks at the very idea, and it made a very small vindictive part of him happy. Plus it would probably be entertaining to see just what levels of excess Tony could manage - although, actually, it was probably Sam's job to rein it in and rain on his parade. Maybe he'd let Pepper handle that.

"But I'd be just as happy with a small one," he added, more seriously. "Whatever size it is, it doesn't matter - or if we even have one at all. You two are all I need." He paused for a moment. "And cake. Definitely cake."

"We can do cake," Tony agreed easily, leaning into both of them like he was chasing the contact. He didn't look all that upset by the idea of going smaller, which probably meant he hadn't been huge on the idea of the big circus himself. There were certain things that just were expected of him, whether he honestly wanted them or not.

"So, party with cake. Any other requests? I'm guessing we're inviting our nearest and dearest." Which essentially just meant the rest of the Avengers. Though Sam might have had a few outliers, and he turned a curious look on the man himself.

Now the cake Steve eagerly agreed with, already picturing something with plenty of frosting, the best part of anything. He could eat nothing but frosting but they would need something to hold it together to eat. Plus, there were some traditions he wanted to hold onto, the wedding cake being one of them.

Idly, he wondered what his mother would have thought of such a thing. In the end, Sarah would have been thankfully for others loving her son. He just had to believe that.

Looking between them, he smiled widely. "We can go fancy and over the top with the cake. A layer dedicated to each of us or something and then the top for all three of us." If they didn't have a ceremony at all the others would be upset, which he never wanted to have happen. "We can invite the others, Pepper and whoever else you guys might want to." He didn't really have anyone outside of the Avengers and those closely associated with the group.

"I - we have to have a first dance. That's one tradition I've always wanted to keep to." He added a second later, "Are we doing anything with our last names?"

"That sounds like it'd get unwieldy fast." Sam made a face. "Let's just keep our last names the same so Tony doesn't have to spend a fortune rebranding everything." Someone had to draw a line somewhere, and becoming Sam Wilson-Rogers-Stark was definitely it.

"I'd like it if my dad could perform the ceremony, if you guys don't mind," he added, a little more quietly. "A non-religious one, obviously." He'd dragged both of them to meet his parents - separately, so nobody got overwhelmed - and, given time, his parents had approved of it. (He'd also taken them to his father's church services for the sheer amusement factor of it, because Sam occasionally had to troll the people he loved.)

"Gonna dance with both of us at once?" Sam was admittedly curious about how it would work.

"Don't think I've seen 'bombs bursting in air' taken quite so literally before." They'd been in London in between missions for a bit of r&r, which just so happened to be on Steve's birthday. The Commandos had been celebrating in a pub when the air raid siren started, and now they were all in an Underground station. Sam had dragged Steve back from the crowd a little for a bit of space, huddling against one of the curved brick walls with him. It wasn't really cold, per se, but a lot chillier than Sam was used to at this time of year.

"You got any plans for later?" Sam nudged him gently, with a teasing smile on her face. "Assuming we ever get out of here, anyway."

Being in the middle of a war zone really put a damper on most celebrations but Steve only really needed Sam to make everything better. She gave another reason to keep fighting, especially on days he just wanted to lay down and not get up again. Few would believe he ever experienced the hopelessness but the war eventually took a toll on everyone regardless of drive and passion.

Curling up against her, he gave a quiet chuckle. "Don't think there's anything too important to celebrate is there?" No matter what, he would never lose the ability to take personal jabs at himself. Yet, they were far less brittle now than in his youth. "But you know I'd follow you anywhere."

"That's the kinda talk I want to hear, Rogers." Sam gently threaded fingers through his hair, dragging blunt nails against his scalp. "I traded a few favors, managed to scare up a record player. If we keep the sound low enough, we could have ourselves a dance or two." Although she suspected a fair few of their friends might be out for the night finding themselves company in the city, that didn't mean all of them would be out of the small boardinghouse they'd taken over.

"Couldn't get you a cake, though, 'cause of rationing." Not that Sam was much of a baker, or that she had anywhere to bake a cake. "But I've got some chocolate bars I saved up from our rations."

The softest smile filled his face as he leaned in to give her a kiss. "Few alone moments with you without bombs goin' off is the only present I need," he remarked, eyes fluttering open and shut from the attention to his scalp. She knew far too many of his weak spots, not that he wanted to complain about that.

"Would love to twirl round with you and haven't had chocolate in awhile." Now, he knew why with her stashing them back.

Kissing the tip of her nose, he motioned in the general direction of their boarding house. "Shall we? Or are ya hopin' for somethin' more here?"

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happy birthday, Steve !!

Give me reunion feels

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fireworks and proposals

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