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Chapter 47: Happy Birthday, Nat

Summary:

Steve takes Nat out for her birthday, and they're treated to an unexpected sight.

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

“C’mon, Nat. It’s one day,” Steve says, trying his best to sway his friend despite her obvious (and predictable) reluctance to agree to his plan. “You’ll have your phone on you so FRIDAY can forward anything urgent, and Rhodey’ll be here to keep an eye on things while we’re gone. Right?” he says pointedly while looking over where the man is perched on a stool, eating breakfast, pretending to not be overhearing their conversation.

“Yeah, sure. You two kids go have some fun,” Rhodey says with a vague gesture that has Steve wondering if he even heard what he said. Then again, he had already told him about the impromptu plans for her birthday a few weeks back and he’d easily agreed to cover things, so he supposes he probably did have an idea of what he’d asked.

Nat eyes Steve with a look of uncertainty. He can already hear the protests she’s going to put up; he’d worked them all out when he’d started thinking of planning this outing for them in the first place. “Steve, I-”

“Nat,” he interrupts, not letting her pick up any steam, “please. One day,” he adds, holding up a single finger for emphasis. “Just one. You deserve to have at least this one day, if you won’t take any other days off.”

Time stretches on as she holds his gaze and he wonders for a moment if she’s going to say anything at all, until she sighs. “Fine.”

He schools his expression of shock into nothing more than a gentle, excited smile. Truth be told he wasn’t entirely convinced he would manage to persuade her at all, and he’d definitely thought he would have had to go a few more rounds to have a chance. “I was hoping you’d say that,” he says, shooting her a wider grin, “because I brought you something, and I really wanted it to not just be a consolation gift.”

She arches an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “Oh?”

“Mmhmm,” he hums while stepping away and back into the small kitchen area adjacent to her desk. He retrieves the box he’d picked up earlier that morning, and then walks quickly back to her desk before putting it down and pushing it toward her. “For you. Happy birthday, Nat.”

Her mostly neutral expression breaks and he sees a gentle, but cautious smile curl on her lips. He wonders if she thought none of them would remember, and his heart sinks a little at the thought. He may have moved out of the Compound years before, but he’d always made a point to visit on her birthday. She’s one of his closest friends. Surely she didn’t think he’d have forgotten?

She eyes him for a moment longer before she relents and breaks their eye contact to look down at the box. She slides a finger under the flap at the front and lifts the lid, revealing four cupcakes, each impeccably decorated and displaying a different flavour. He sees her smile widen into one he recognizes. I’m about to get teased for something...

“Couldn’t remember my favourite flavour?” she teases lightly and Steve grins. There’s the Nat I know . He tries not to think how long it’s been since he’d seen her like this. Like herself.

“Double chocolate,” he guesses at the same time as Rhodey pipes up with “salted caramel.”

She chuckles, and Steve welcomes the sound. He knows joy has been at a premium for them all, and he’ll take whatever little bits he can get for her. Even if they’re at his expense. “Should I be offended that you’re both wrong?” she quips.

“I figured a few options couldn’t hurt,” he says, trying to be nonchalant about it.

“And covers your bases,” she adds knowingly.

Steve can’t help the slight blush at being caught out. He’d stood in the bakery staring at the menu trying to remember her favourite flavour for at least five minutes before he gave up and picked four at random. Still, he’s not going to let her know that, so he arches an eyebrow in a challenge. “You want ‘em or not?” he asks with a smile that he knows completely gives away his teasing intent.

“Thank you, Steve,” she says as she offers a genuine smile. He tries again not to think about how long it’s been since he’d seen her smile like that.

“Okay,” he says, standing up straight and clapping his hands together, “you’ve got 30 minutes to get ready, Romanoff. Not a minute more.” She nods as she runs a hand through her hair. He watches as she grimaces and then frowns as she rubs her fingers together afterward appraisingly. “Okay, 45 minutes,” he amends with a smirk.


Forty-four minutes later he’s sitting at the table, leg bouncing in anticipation as he checks his watch again. The minute hand ticks forward and he exhales, unable to contain his excitement.  

“Don’t be so dramatic, Steve,” he hears her tease him from the doorway. “Forty-five minutes, as promised.”

“Actually,” he says as he spins around to look at her, “you were a few-”

“Not my fault you didn’t look up until after the forty-five minute mark,” she interrupts him.

There’s an amused expression on her face that he used to see far more frequently, and it has him flashing a grin of his own. Still, he can’t let that just slide, not on this day where she’s actually engaging in some banter with him, so he opens his mouth to argue, but Rhodey cuts him off. “I’d quit while you’re ahead, if I were you,” he warns. “Stay on mission, Rogers.”

With a nod of agreement, Steve gets to his feet. “Right,” he agrees as he stands, spinning his keys into his palm as he does. “You ready to go?” he asks as he meets her gaze.

She nods, though Steve can see the apprehension on her face. She hasn’t ventured out of the Compound much over the past few years, and even though nothing catastrophic or urgent had happened on those rare occasions, she was still leery about leaving her post. He gives her credit though, because he can see she’s talked herself into this enough that she’s okay with leaving. Mostly.

“I have my phone if anything comes up,” she says to Rhodey with a serious expression on her face that Steve knows Rhodey understands.

“Understood, boss,” Rhodey replies, a hint of teasing in his otherwise serious tone. At her look of warning, he smiles. “Go have fun, enjoy your day. I got this covered. Promise all your paperwork will still be here when you get back,” he finishes, adding a ‘shoo’ gesture of his hands for emphasis.

“So, you ready?” Steve prompts, spinning his keys into his palm again.

“You seem awfully excited about this,” she says, a scrutinizing frown creasing her brow.

“Well, it’s not every day your friend turns thirty-eigh-”

“I thought your mother would have taught you better, Steve. It’s not polite to speak of a woman’s age,” she interrupts with a pointed look, though Steve sees a ghost of a smile on her lips too.

“Psshh,” he dismisses. “You’re still young, Nat.”

“That’s only because everyone is young to you. You’re a fossil.”

“Hilarious,” he deadpans, pointedly ignoring Rhodey’s laughter from behind him. “You need to grab some food before we go? Or should we just grab coffees on the road?”

“Depends. How far are we going?” He shrugs noncommittally, because he’s not giving away the surprise. Not that easily. “Fine. Let’s get coffee. But you’re buying me a chocolate croissant too.”

He chuckles as he gestures for her to head to the door. “That I can do. Oh, and don’t forget these,” he says as he snags the box of her cupcakes from the fridge where he’d put them after she went to get ready. “You can have some later.”

“Only some?” she teases lightly.

“You know what, Romanoff?” he warns playfully with a tilt of his head.

“What?” she replies impishly as she glances back over her shoulder at him.

“You’re the worst.”

She laughs. “You’re only catching onto that now, Rogers? They’ve been saying that about me for decades.”

He frowns as she turns back around, because he’s never been a huge fan of her self-deprecating remarks. She says them in jest but he’s always wondered if on some level she believed them at least a little. People always said there was a lot of truth in humour, after all. But today isn’t the day to dwell on those types of thoughts, so he pushes them aside and opts to continue the banter instead. “Keep talking, maybe I’ll decide to drive according to my age.”

“You already do, Steve, so that’s not much of a threat.”

“She’s got you there, Cap!” Rhodey yells just before the door closes behind them.

“So, do I get to know the day’s itinerary?” she asks as she slows to fall in step beside him.

“No,” he replies plainly, focusing on unlocking the car and walking swiftly to open the door for her. She offers a shake of her head at his chivalry, but he knows she appreciates it at least a little, or she’d have bitten his head off for it.

“Playing hard ball, huh?”

“Today? Yes. Just go with the flow, Nat,” he suggests.

“Fine,” she relents with a sigh.


A couple of hours later he pulls into the parking lot of a fairly remote and nondescript building, nestled right on the edge of a forest and some beautiful trails. The snow that had fallen steadily over the last few days has blanketed the area, leaving the green trees covered in a swath of white.

“Okay. I’m stumped,” Nat says, brow furrowed. “Where are we? Because this is usually how horror movies start.”

Steve chuckles, remembering the slasher films she’d made him watch back when he was fresh out of the ice. “I thought we might do a little exploring.”

“Again, horror movies start this way…”

“Oh, just indulge me, would you?”

“Can only do that if you tell me what we’re doing.”

He sighs dramatically. “Snowmobiling.”

Her brows rise in surprise. “Okay, that I did not expect.”

“Mmhmm,” he hums as he unbuckles his seat belt and turns to face her. “Listen, you say the word and I’ll drive us back to the Compound, maybe pick up an expensive lunch for you on the way as an apology for bringin’ ya all this way. But I thought you might enjoy a day off from your responsibilities. Just...driving around on the snow, exploring, enjoying the sights and the fresh air,” he explains, watching her face carefully for her reaction. When he sees what he thinks is hesitation in her eyes, he continues quickly, “And I know you aren’t a huge fan of the cold, so I brought that expensive winter gear Tony bought us all that one year for Christmas. And I figure we can stop and build a fire if we need a break, plus I’ve got a bunch of blankets if we get cold. I’ve got all the permits, and the supplies. Oh! And I brought some, uh, external battery pack things for your phone if you need, so you won’t be outta contact. But it’s totally up to you.”

“You really thought this all through, huh?”

He smiles sheepishly. “I wanted to do something nice for you. I remember you telling me about how you and Hill ended up on snowmobiles for an op once and you said you really enjoyed driving it. And I know how you miss riding your motorcycle...”

She shakes her head in disbelief. “I forget sometimes that your memory is frustratingly perfect.”

“So...” he prompts, hoping she’s on board with his plan. She’s been buried for too long under the weight of her self-imposed responsibilities and guilt over their collective failure Wakanda. She doesn’t smile often enough these days, and it hurts him to see her as a shell of the woman he’d first gotten to know all those years ago. She deserves a chance to just…let go.

“Yeah, okay. Let’s go. We came all this way, might as well.”

“Great,” he says, blowing out a breath he’d been holding in anticipation and grinning widely. He had hoped, but hadn’t banked on her agreeing with his plan. “I’ll leave you here to get ready while I get the snowmobiles sorted out. The stuff’s in the trunk.”

Thirty minutes later they set off on their snowmobiles, with Steve guiding them along a recommended route. He glances over at her occasionally, and though he can’t see her face because of the helmet, he supposes if she were bored, she would have told him by now. That counts as a victory, right? he thinks as he smiles.


A few hours later they’ve made their way down a few connected trails and decide to stop for some lunch, and a chance to warm up a bit.

“This is quite the feast,” she says while munching on a small meatball sandwich he’d brought along. “What were you gonna do with all this food if I’d said no?”

“Honestly? Didn’t really think of that.”

She laughs and her eyes seem to twinkle in amusement. He’s struck suddenly by the redness of her hair, set against the white snow of their surroundings. He’d grown used to her changing hairstyles over the years, but the change to blonde had been a shock and he found he’d missed the red a little while they’d been fugitives. It’s not as vibrant as he remembered when he first met her before New York, but it’s getting there.

“The star-spangled man with a plan didn’t have a plan? How scandalous,” she teases.

“I have a plan for the day,” he defends, “I just made a calculated guess that I wouldn’t need one for that part.”

She shakes her head and smiles at his weak defence. “So, how late in the day is this plan of yours taking us?”

“That’s up to you actually. We’re booked in until tomorrow in terms of the equipment, and there’s a spot here where we can refuel if we want. There’s a cabin here too we can stay in if we want to spend the night out here.”

“You really did cover all the alternatives, huh?”

“I told you, I wanted to do something nice for you.”

“You have,” she assures him with a warm smile. “This has been the best day I’ve had in a long time,” she says and Steve can hear in her voice that she really means it.

“It’s not over yet,” he says, choosing to believe that the ceiling of this day can get even higher for her. If he can bring some lightness into what seems to be continuing darkness for his friend, it’s more than worth it.

“No, I suppose it’s not.” She looks thoughtful for a moment. “Pass me my phone?”

He reaches over to grab her bag and hands it to her, watching as she pulls out the device and taps on it a few times.

“Checking in with Rhodey?”

“Checking the forecast actually.”

“Should be clear all day and overnight. I checked before we left this morning.”

“The aurora borealis forecast,” she clarifies.

His brow creases into a slight frown. “The northern lights? I thought you couldn’t see them this far south.”

“Usually, no, but I think I remember reading that there’s a geomagnetic storm, so it might be visible further south,” she explains while scrolling on her phone. “And... yes. We’ve actually got a good chance of seeing some tonight.”

He grins at the prospect, not only because he’s never seen them, but also because it means she wants to extend their day. “So, are we heading to the cabin?”

She smiles. “Might as well. Let me just tell Rhodey we’ll be gone ‘til tomorrow.”


“Oh wow,” Steve murmurs. He’s lying on the ground with his hands behind his head, staring up and watching the green lights dance across the night sky. Aside from their brief trip into space, it’s unlike anything he’s ever seen before and he wonders what these lights look like further north, where he knows there are often more colours and that they’re even more vibrant.

“Yeah,” she agrees, her voice a little breathless and filled with wonder, he thinks. A quick glance over at her confirms that she’s just as blown away by the sight as him.

“Have you seen them before?” he asks, curious as to whether in her travels across the world for missions she’d come across the sight.

“Once,” she replies, her gaze sliding down from the sky to meet his. “In Russia. Siberia, actually. I was there on a mission. Because it was so far north, the colours were so vivid. I can’t even really describe how beautiful it was. If you ever get the chance to get that far north to see them...it’s amazing, Steve. So worth it.”

“Well, I’m pretty blown away by this,” he says with a gesture to the sky, “so I’m pretty sure that would definitely render me speechless.”

They fall quiet then, both slightly overwhelmed by the beauty above them. The slight cold of the air doesn’t even register in the face of the twisting green light dancing across the black sky, dotted only with starry pinpricks of light.

“Steve,” she says suddenly, her voice soft and holding a depth of emotion he’s not used to hearing from her. He turns his head to look at her and finds an expression on her face that he can’t quite put a name to. It’s a mix of happiness, gratitude, yearning, and sadness all rolled into one alongside a bunch of other emotions he can’t parse out. “Thank you for this,” she says quietly, meaningfully.

He nods once and reaches over to squeeze her hand. “You’re welcome, Nat. Happy birthday.”

She smiles and as she turns to look back up at the sky, he swears he sees some tears in her eyes.

“Here’s to another year around the sun,” he adds softly with a smile, giving her hand another squeeze. “And to many more to come,” he continues when she glances over at him, shooting him a gentle smile.

As their gazes rise back up to the lights above them, he thinks that even if the world isn’t what it used to be and everyone who should be with them still isn’t, if they can have some more of these moments of pure joy and beauty, then maybe they could be okay.

Notes:

I tried to keep this one a bit light-hearted, and stay away from the heavy stuff...but all I could think as I was writing it was 'this is the last birthday she got to celebrate' 😭
(and if I had to suffer that thought then so do all of you 😉)

as always, any and all thoughts, comments, and feedback are welcomed!

more to come...