Title: Parties and Plans - Steve's Birthday
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Hope everyone's doing wonderful! In honor of Valentine's Day, here's a nice, fluffy one of Steve/Kono celebrating Steve's birthday. I wrote one about them celebrating Kono's birthday as a separate story so feel free to check that out if you'd like. Take care & thanks in advance if you comment!
"Wait, wait, don't come down here yet! Go back to bed!"
Steve halts in the stairway as Kono rushes at him from downstairs, arms spread out, not letting him take another step past her.
"Um... okay. Why?" he asks in confusion, glancing over her shoulder into the living room to assess the situation. All clear. He looks back at her, brows raised in puzzlement, waiting for an explanation.
"Because I said so! Go!" She makes him turn around and gives him a firm push back up the stairs and waits to make sure he's disappeared down the hall to their bedroom. "Are you there?" she yells as she rushes back into the kitchen to grab the tray.
"Yes," he calls back, his voice becoming louder to her as she climbs the stairs. "What's going on, Kono? Why were you up so early anyway? I would have gone surfing with you-"
He stops abruptly when he sees her in the doorway carrying a tray of food, including a cupcake with a candle in it giving away her surprise intentions.
"Oh no," he groans, making a move to get out of bed.
"Don't you dare, mister," she warns, her tone making him stop abruptly. He has no choice but to sit and watch her carry the tray to the bedside table and set it down. It wobbles precariously, the plate of pancakes and the glass of orange juice sliding, and Steve makes a move to grab at it. Kono swats his hand away as she rights the tray herself, then quickly straddles him in bed, her knees firmly in place to ensure he doesn't move.
"Kono," he begins but goes silent as she reaches to the tray for the cupcake and a cigarette lighter. His eyes widen as she lights the candle and holds up the single cupcake in front of him, the flame flickering at him invitingly.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Steve," she pauses dramatically, smiling brightly at him, "Happy Birthday to you!"
"Yay," he says sarcastically, scratching at his ear in a nervous gesture he does when he becomes uncomfortable with attention.
"Make a wish." She pushes the cupcake in front of his mouth so suddenly that he moves his head back from the dancing flame.
"I don't really-"
"I said make a wish, Steve," she repeats, her voice leaving him no room for argument. He mutters to himself but decides he may as well blow out the candle before she lights the sheets on fire. He looks at Kono, who is still smiling broadly, and back to the candle, opens his mouth to suck in air and-
"You have to close your eyes and wish it," she instructs him.
He rolls his eyes. "Kono, come on," he grumbles.
"Close your eyes, Steve," she says, and waits for him to do just that. "Okay, now make a wish and blow."
He feels the heat of the flame flickering in front of him as he keeps his eyes closed, thinking of birthdays past and a mother who used to make him the most delicious caramel cookies every year when she'd been alive. He smells the coconut of Kono's shampoo, and feels the weight of her legs trapping him, her warmth more tangible to him than the burning heat of the candle flame. He inhales a breath and blows, then opens his eyes to watch the flame disappear in a puff of air, Kono smiling merrily at him. The candle may have went out, but she's still here, she's still real.
"Yay!" He rolls his eyes, fighting to keep from smiling at her enthusiasm. "Be thankful I only put one candle instead of all of them or you'd never have managed to blow them out," she teases as she leans sideways to put the cupcake and lighter back on the tray.
"Shut up."
She continues to grin, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders as she gives him the first kiss of the morning, the first kiss of his birthday. Her lips are firm as she presses them against his, her body arching toward him so their chests brush, her arms around his neck to pull him closer.
They part for a breath and she leaves her lips on his, brushing them back and forth sensually with a smile. "Happy Birthday, Steve."
"Thanks, Kono," he replies softly. After a kiss like that, he's ready to agree to whatever she wants.
She knows it and she winks at him, then grabs the cupcake again and shows it to him. "Cupcake time! And I made pancakes for you, and scrambled eggs. But birthday cupcake first."
"Wow, that's a lot of sprinkles," Steve comments, wincing to himself at the thought of some falling onto the bedding as she eagerly peels back the wrapper. Kono, of course, doesn't seem to care about a little thing like that.
"Yes, it is, and a lot of chocolate frosting too. I made it just for you," she proclaims. He gives her a knowing look. "Okay, fine, I made it for me too, but you'll love it." She takes a finger and swipes dramatically at the icing, holding it up to his lips invitingly. "See?"
He smirks and takes her finger into his mouth, licking the icing and her skin thoroughly, watching her bite her lower lip to hold back a moan, her eyes widening with desire. "It's good," he agrees, his voice low. Come on now, what else is he going to say?
She grins slyly, licking the cupcake herself for a healthy dose of icing. "Told you so."
"Did Danny remind you about today?" Steve asks, taking half the cupcake she hands him. Usually he has a strict no sugar first thing in the morning rule, but she said she baked it especially for him. He wouldn't want to offend her. "I told him not to say anything."
"Hey, now what kind of a girlfriend would I be if I forgot your birthday?" Kono says, horrified that he'd think that of her. "I didn't celebrate with you guys every year but I remembered. I don't need Danny to tell me everything about you. Just the stuff you try and hide from me."
"Uh huh," he says, chewing thoughtfully. "Well, thanks," he says with a genuine smile, gesturing toward the plate of food and the cupcake they've split between them.
Kono smiles at him broadly, and leans down to give him a quick chocolate-y kiss. "You're very welcome."
"As long as there's nothing else planned," he says. He's never been comfortable being the center of attention or having a fuss made over him, especially on birthdays. She avoids his gaze, apparently very focused on the last bites of cupcake in her half of the wrapper. "Kono?" he asks, his voice firm as he questions her further. "There's nothing else planned, right?"
"Well..." She trails off with the intention of teasing him and withholding information, but Steve pokes her leg to get her to keep talking. "Okay, okay, stop poking! Grace and I may have put together a little birthday dinner for her Uncle Steve."
"Kono!" he exclaims, closing his eyes in frustration. When he opens them, she's still sitting there, smiling mischievously. "This is not funny. I know you put her up to this."
"I did not!" she protests in mock outrage. "I didn't! She thought of it all by herself. She was the one who asked me for help organizing and if we could hold it here so she could swim. It was really sweet."
"Sure, sure." He can't help but be a little touched at all the thought the little girl put in for him. He's loved getting to know Grace over the years and being a part of her life. Her open affection and enthusiastic greeting every time she sees him makes his tough SEAL heart melt at the edges.
Kono continues to smile, knowing he's not really as angry as he says he is about the surprise party plans. "You'll love it. Danny's bringing steaks to grill, and Malia's making that caramel gingerbread cake that you love so much."
"Yeah?" Steve can't help but smile a little at the news.
"Yeah," Kono responds, her eyes twinkling at his shy eagerness. "And presents! You'll get mine tonight."
"Wasn't this it?" Steve asks, pointing to the tray on the bedside table. She quickly remembers her planned out breakfast tray and gets up to place it in his lap. He stares at the pancakes soaked in whipped cream.
"Are you sure this breakfast isn't for you?" he comments again, shaking his head at all the sugar. The woman's going to clog his arteries before he can get around to celebrating his next birthday.
"Come on, it's your birthday! You're allowed to go crazy one day." She hands him the utensils and takes a seat next to him, kissing his cheek when he begins eating despite his initial complaint. "But, no, this is just breakfast. Your real present will be given to you tonight after everyone gives you their crappy presents so you can be reminded of what an awesome girlfriend I am."
"How do you know they'll be crappy?" he asks in between bites. Once you get past the overwhelming taste of whipped cream, the pancakes are pretty good. She must have been very careful to follow all the instructions on the bag this time when it came to making the batter.
"Hm, good point." Kono stops to think. "Well, okay, Chin and Malia's will be good, but Kamekona? He'll just give you shave ice coupons." Steve nods in agreement. "Which you'll give to me, of course."
"Why can't I keep them for once? He flirts with you and never makes you pay anyway."
"Well, what if he's not there when I go one morning and the guy asks for an official coupon and I don't have them on me? Then what? I'd have to pay for my own shave ice, Steve. The horror." He snorts at her outrage. "So, yup, gimme those coupons."
"Fine, fine," he agrees, digging into the scrambled eggs next.
"And Danny's present is the worst," she says, laughing already.
"Of course it is. What is it?"
"Nope, not telling. I wanna see the look on your face when you open it. So, yes, after all that, you'll get my present later tonight," she proclaims.
"I definitely want your present later tonight," he says, tossing a wink in her direction.
"Not that kind of present, sicko," she says, shoving his shoulder playfully even as she laughs at his innuendo. "Your real present. So eat up cause you've got a big night ahead of you, birthday boy."
Later that night, Steve releases a sigh of relief as Danny's car disappears down the driveway, Grace waving goodbye to him from the front seat.
"They're finally gone," Steve says. He loves them, but the birthday attention had been a little overwhelming. It's nice to have the house to himself again. Well, himself and Kono.
He closes the front door and turns to see Kono on the couch watching him, helping herself to another slice of cake.
"Okay, so I love Malia's cake, too," she admits with a shrug. "You want?" She holds out her fork, which he accepts as he moves toward her. Her legs are stretched out on the couch so he drapes them over his lap to sit next to her.
He can't help but let out a little moan at the mouthful and she giggles. "This cake is so good, seriously." Hey, he's only human, he has his weaknesses too.
"I told her you loved it when she made it at Thanksgiving and asked her to make it for you tonight," Kono confesses, giving him another forkful.
He turns to her in surprise, touched that she remembered a little detail like that and ensured the cake would be made for his party. "Really? Thank you."
"You're welcome," she says with a soft smile. "So, did you like your party?"
"It was okay," he says, but he can't hide the smile that appears on his face. It had been more than just okay - it had been pretty damn good. The whole team had been over, plus Max and Kamekona, and a few officers from HPD he'd gotten to know over the years. Mary Ann had called and he got to speak to her and she promised his present had been mailed and should be arriving soon, and to blame the Postal Service, not her. Danny had grilled steaks and Malia's cake was the most delicious dessert. Grace had been at his side constantly, asking him over and over again if he liked his party. Even though he likes his quiet space, he has come to love the occasions when this big house has been full of laughter and cheer. It's been happening more and more frequently now that Kono's moved in.
"And Danny's present?"
Steve groans, turning to her as she laughs at his reaction. "The worst." He plays with the hem of her red sundress, smiling to himself as tiny goosebumps appear when he brushes his fingers across the soft skin of her knees. "I can't believe he even wasted his time buying me white t-shirts. I can do my own shopping."
"Well, in his defense, you do spend a lot of time shirtless. Not that I'm complaining," she adds.
"He should have given me the money and saved himself the time."
"But then we'd have missed seeing the look on your face! It was a present to all of us," Kono explains.
"Speaking of, where's your present?" Steve questions, remembering she promised to give it once their guests left. "Everyone's gone. I have Kamekona's coupons, and Danny's gag gift, so you're up next, Kalakaua."
"Right you are. My turn." She angles her body toward the coffee table and bends down to look underneath the couch. Steve grabs her legs to make sure she doesn't flip over, trying to figure out the reason for her sudden acrobatics. Finally, she rights herself and hands him a small gift-wrapped box with a blue bow on top.
"You hid it in under there?" The amusement is clear in his voice.
"What? I had to make sure your Spidey senses didn't find it. Okay, open it."
Steve starts peeling off the blue wrapping paper slowly, inch by inch. Kono scoffs at his method but he refuses to hurry. And it's fun to see how impatient she gets when she's not even the one unwrapping, and already knows what the gift is. Finally, it's done and he stares at the gift. She shifts next to him, putting the plate of cake on the coffee table, and resting her chin on his shoulder to watch his face more closely.
"It's one of those underwater watches where you can record all your times. I noticed you didn't have one. I know you use a stopwatch to record your lap times, but you can wear this while you swim and it records your pulse rate and average speed, and everything," she explains. He looks from the watch to her. "I... Do you like it?"
She sounds hesitant all of a sudden, as if despite her bravado and confidence, she really wants him to like the gift she picked, as if his opinion and happiness mean that much to her. It humbles him.
"I... I love it. I've always wanted one of these. Thank you," he says, smiling at her widely.
She lets out a small sigh of relief. After all, he's a hard man to shop for. It's not like she can pick up some grenades at the mall's sporting goods store. "You're welcome. It does a lot of other cool stuff too, so read the manual later."
Steve turns to look at her, her brown eyes twinkling with joy at him having liked her present. His hands drag up her bare legs to rest at her knees, and he watches her shiver involuntarily as she follows his line of thought and leans closer to him, their mouths nearly meeting, but not quite. His fingers flirt with the delicate skin of her thighs as her breathing hitches softly at his ministrations.
"It's one of the professional kinds. It must have been really expensive, Kono. You shouldn't have spent so much," he tells her as she runs her hands under the collar of his shirt, her mouth dropping a quick, teasing kiss on the corner of his own. He lets out a whining noise in protest when she moves her head back too soon.
"It's okay. I'm sleeping with my boss so I'll ask him for a raise." She kisses him again as his lips turn up in a smile.
"Oh, yeah? Lucky guy." He puts the watch on the table and turns to fully cover her body on the couch, her sundress bunching up around her thighs as he lays between her legs. He kisses the ridge of her collarbone and smiles as she arches into him in delight.
"He is definitely getting lucky tonight. He's getting old though," Kono comments, her hands looped around his neck to keep him in place.
"Hey!" He forgoes the seductive routine and slides his hands under her dress to tickle her sides, grinning as she shrieks and tries to twist out of his hold. It only ends with her wrapping her arms and legs around him more tightly, gasping for breath, her hair flying all over the place.
"Okay, okay, sorry! I said sorry," she huffs, blowing strands of hair out of her face. He stops and slides his hands down to hold hers. "Jeez, someone's sensitive."
"I think you're the sensitive one, sweetheart," Steve says, his voice husky as he bends down to kiss her, angling his body between her legs so she gasps in surprise at the intimate contact. He grins and does it again, smirking as she moans and lets go of his hands to frantically grab onto his shoulders.
"I meant young. And virile," she adds with a grin, and he chuckles.
"That's what I thought," he says, slipping a hand between her back and the couch to slide down the zipper of her dress. "Can I have the rest of my present now? I want whatever's under this dress."
Kono smiles at his request, kissing him firmly. "Someone's in a birthday mood all of a sudden, imagine that." Steve just grins. "Well, there's not much underneath, but help yourself, sailor."
Steve groans in approval at her comment, his hands already reaching to slide down the sleeves, head bent to kiss the bare skin being revealed inch by inch. "Hey, Kono?" She makes a sound that she's listening even if she's lost in the kisses he's placing down her neck. "Next year, can I have waffles instead of pancakes?"
Kono tries to hide her grin but is unsuccessful. She smiles at him, tilting her chin up to kiss him again. "You got it, Boss. After all, it's your birthday," she says just before their lips meet again.
the end ~
