Prompt: You swear you meant to say “Happy Birthday!”
A/N: Happy 100 Stevie!! At least according to the MCU!! Posting this now because I’ll be out all of July 4th. Have some fluff this Fourth of July, my friends. I also have another fic lined up in the works, so here’s to more consistent posting!
“Wake up, Steve!” You gently knocked on his door. You waited anxiously for him to answer, bouncing up and down on your toes.
You heard his heavy footsteps trudge to the door. “Can’t you let an old man sleep in on his birthday?” He rubbed his eyes, but still gave you a weary smile.
You let a giggle slip out. Seeing him like this made your heart melt into a tiny little puddle. “For a century old man, I’d say you have had the most beauty sleep in history.”
He chuckled along with you, combing a hand through his hair. “Fair enough. What time is it anyway? The sun’s barely out.”
“Four in the morning. Don’t worry, you can still go on your run with Sam and Bucky,” you reassured him. “I just wanted to give you this before you left!”
You placed a large serving of waffles in Steve’s hands. Four whole stacks with assorted berries littered around the plate and powdered sugar. To top it all off, the golden disks were drizzled in warm syrup that spelled ‘Happy Birthday" on top. He spent a good while admiring it before beaming at you.
“Y/N, I don’t know what to say.” You didn’t notice the way his face became dusted in pink.
“A thank you, would suffice,” you teased, elbowing him gently in the ribs. “Now, get to it! Meet me in the lobby at exactly oh-nine-hundred hours in your best suit. And that’s an order, Captain!” You gave him a final hug before dashing off. Steve was left smiling to himself at your actions.
Figuring out how Steve wanted to spend his birthday was troublesome, to say the least. The man was so unpredictably predictable. One day he’ll want nothing more than spend a day in Brooklyn with old types of vinyl playing and feel that forties nostalgia. Other days he craved big festivities where everyone was having a good time and enjoying themselves. You’ve spent a variety of birthdays with him in the past, all with mixed results. You sort of hedged a lot of your own pride on how Steve reacted to your every move. Especially birthdays. It was no secret in the tower that you have had the biggest crush on him since he came out of the ice. This year had to be different.
This year was going to be different.
He was going to spend the entire day with you, with different friends tagging along for each activity. True to his word, Steve waited patiently for you at exactly 9:00 AM. He looked at his watch once before the ring of the elevator signaled your arrival. You walked out wearing the prettiest forties-style inspired navy blue dress you could find. Steve’s mouth involuntarily gaped, eliciting a shy smile from you.
“Ready to go?” Steve swore that every time you spoke it was the sweetest sound he’s ever heard.
You spent the day traveling all around New York- going to art museums, picnicking, boating in Central Park, even exploring ye olde forties landmarks in Steve’s homeland of Brooklyn. All the while, Sam, Bucky, Tony, and Natasha switched in as an obligatory tag-along. What Steve didn’t know was that you planned a small little party back at the tower, which was why everyone was rushing around and keeping him as far away from the surprise as possible. Thus throughout the whole day, Steve was entertained to the max. By the time you finally let him return to his floor at 8:00 PM, you were getting worried that he would be too tired to party. Luckily for you, he was fully awake and eager to see what you had in store next.
“Surprise!”
The whole team burst out from different parts of the room as red, white, and blue streamers fell from the ceiling. Cap had a good laugh as everyone took turns clapping him on the back and giving him hugs. With the cover of the crowd, you slipped away to get ready for one last surprise for Steve.
Steve looked around, noticing that you weren’t where he left you last. His brows furrowed. Surely you had to be in the room somewhere. He loved every bit of his birthday, especially getting to be with you.
“Looking for your girlfriend?” Sam teased. Steve’s face heated up.
“Sam, she’s not-”
Bucky clapped him on the back as he doubled down in laughter. “Come on, Stevie. We all know.”
The room suddenly felt very stuffy as each of his friends gave him knowing looks. Was everyone aware that he was head over heels for you? His face paled at the thought of you already knowing.
“Ease up, Cap. Y/N doesn’t know,” Natasha reassured him, “but I have a feeling she wouldn’t mind if you asked her out.”
“Pardon, but what’s this about knowing what?” Thor came up from the kitchen, clearly having taken advantage of the large amounts of free food available.
“Cap’s in love with Y/N,” Tony teased.
“C-c’mon, guys!”
“Hah!” Sam slapped his knee. “Man, you are whipped.”
The teasing went on for a few more minutes. Wherever you were, Steve hoped that you didn’t witness him blushing like a shy schoolboy at the thought of you. He could barely get a word in as his teammates mapped out your entire life together. He didn’t want to admit it, but the sound of spending eternity with you was really appealing.
“Alright, enough guys-” Tony finally put an end to the jokes. Steve breathed out a sigh of relief, but it quickly picked up again. “-Besides, there’s still one more surprise!”
“What, more?” Steve questioned.
Everyone looked at each other, more giggles filling the room. Steve was about to ask more, but Tony and Bucky guided him to the doors leading outside. With a final, “happy birthday, Cap!” by Tony, he was shoved out into the cool summer air. The balcony doors shut with a whoosh, muffling the chatter of the party indoors. Now it was just him, the Manhattan skyline, and a giant frosted cake.
Wait, wha-
“I love you, Steve!” From the very top of the cake, you popped up, showering him in even more confetti and glitter. You had on the brightest smile, with a cute little party hat strapped to your head. But he couldn’t focus on that. Not when you declared your love for him. From a cake.
“W-what did you say?”
“I said, ‘happy birthday.’”
“No…I don’t think you did.”
You furrowed your brows for a moment before realization dawned on you. “O-oh! I, uh…ahem. I-I love you.” The last part was mumbled, but Steve heard you loud and clear. He strode over, scooping you up in his arms as to prevent you from shrinking into the cake. You fit rather snug in his arms, face frozen from embarrassment.
He only smiled down sweetly at you, face inching closer to yours. “I love you too.”
As you shared your first kiss, fireworks exploded in the background (and in your heart), lighting up the night sky. You wrapped your arms around his neck. Pulling away, seeing bursts of the colored light stream across both your faces, Steve couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend his birthday.
Toad's Cave 