A/N: That last one was heavy, sorry. This one's quite a bit lighter :) Please read and review!

13. We've lost so much, so many of those we love are dead. In which surprise birthdays are celebrated.

Bucky was sitting on the couch in the living room, his tablet on his lap, reading. Trying to catch up, like always. Well, on good days, he looked into all that had happened since he was last in the world. On bad days, when he struggled with his own circumstances, that sort of thing didn't seem too important. Today was a good day.

"Hey, James," Natasha's voice brought his thoughts out of the past and into the present and he looked up to smile faintly at her. Her eyes were bright with mischief and his expression faltered as he contemplated what that might mean for him.

"What is it?" he asked hesitantly.

"I need you to do something for me," she answered, smirking.

He cleared his throat, glancing briefly around the room. "What?"

"Take Steve and go shopping for a while. I'll text you when you can come back," she told him seriously.

His brow furrowed. "Take him where?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, Barnes."

Still frowning, he got to his feet and went to fetch his shoes and gloves. Then he went in search of Steve. His friend was downstairs, jogging on the indoor track. That probably meant it was raining outside. Bucky waited patiently for Steve to finish, uncertain about the time table of this particular mission. Natasha hadn't specified when they needed to leave.

"Hey, Buck, what's up?" Steve asked somewhat breathlessly as he came to a halt beside him.

"Were you finished?"

"Yeah, that's enough running for today. It's pretty boring in here," Steve replied, accustomed by now to the way Bucky rarely answered indirect questions these days.

Thoughtfully, Bucky looked around the area and concluded that, yes, it was not visually stimulating. "Do you want to go to the store with me?"

"Sure thing, Buck, let me just get changed. Where are we going?" Steve asked as he led the way to the elevator.

As the doors dinged closed, Bucky considered if he was supposed to say this was Natasha's idea or not. "The bookstore," he said after a moment.

Steve smiled at him faintly. "The big one?"

"Yeah," Bucky replied, thinking that would be the best way to kill some time.

"Alright. Be right back," Steve said, and left Bucky waiting near the elevators. He glanced around almost nervously as he considered whether or not they were already supposed to have left the building. Fortunately, Steve didn't take too long to get ready, and they were soon back on the elevator. He pulled his sleeves down around his wrists and slipped on his black gloves. They might be remarked upon, and had been from time to time, but a shiny metal hand would definitely be noticed.

He was silent on the ride to the bookstore. Barnes & Noble's, it was called. Someone, probably Tony, had joked that it would be a good name for him and Steve. He didn't disagree, but didn't like to think about it. Perhaps it cut a little too close to home. Steve was used to his general reticence and didn't interrupt his thoughts as they drove.

"Are you after anything in particular, Buck?" Steve asked as they walked into the building. It was two stories, and largely open on the first floor. There was a Starbucks in the corner, another thing Tony had called them.

"No," he replied, glancing around and pulling his cap a little lower over his head. Steve smiled at him before doing the same.

"Okay, well, I'll let you wander. Come find me when you're ready," Steve said amiably, then headed off to explore on his own.

Bucky watched him go, wondering how so few people recognized Captain America. He definitely looked like a damn superhero. Shaking his head, he walked around and looked for a new book to read. His tablet was useful, and he had gotten quite a few books on it, but there was something pleasant about the feel of having a real book in his hands. Hand.

After about half an hour, his phone buzzed and he set down the cookbook he'd been perusing to check the text. "Come home, James J" it read. He bit his lip, and looked at the four books he'd been considering. After a moment, he chose two and went in search of Steve. He was not surprised to find him in the art section. People walking by were pausing to look at Steve thoughtfully before continuing. He wondered if anyone had stopped him today.

"Hey, you ready?" he asked quietly.

Steve glanced up, momentarily surprised. "Oh, sure. You getting those?"

"Yeah."

"Great. Let's go."

Other than the cashier looking at Steve intently, as though trying to place him, they left the store and got back to the car without incident. Bucky wondered what he should be expecting when he got back to the tower. If Natasha was up to something, he was pretty sure that was reason to worry. He glanced over at Steve and contemplated if he should say something as they parked.

"You okay, Buck?" Steve asked, his tone light, but expression concerned.

He took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Steve," he answered shortly.

"Alright."

They walked over to the elevator and Bucky clutched the bag with his books a little tighter than was necessary as he watched the numbers increase. "Natasha told me to get you out of the house for a while," he said suddenly, right before the doors opened.

Steve looked at him quizzically, and was about to respond when the elevator stopped and they were greeted with deafening shouts of "Surprise!"

"Wow," Steve said with a grin, looking out at the heavily decorated living area. "It's not my birthday," he added, taking in one of the banners.

"Yeah, well, Pepper figured you fellas had missed a few and probably wouldn't mind trying to make that up," Tony explained, smiling.

The rest of the Avengers stood around the table, which contained a very large cake thoroughly covered in candles. It was possible that they rendered it inedible from all of the wax dripping onto the top. There were balloons and streamers, mostly red, white, and blue, filling the rest of the room. Glancing at Steve, who looked at him reassuringly, Bucky stepped forward and over to look at the cake. In the center of it, there weren't any candles and it said "Happy Birthday, Cap and Bucky!" He smiled hesitantly.

"I'm surprised the smoke isn't setting off any alarms," he said, gesturing to all the candles.

"Yeah, did you really need all of these?" Steve asked, joining him to look.

Natasha sighed heavily. "Did we need one hundred and ninety-one candles? No, Steve, we didn't. But people generally put the number of candles as the age of the birthday boy, so it seemed fitting. Plus, then we needed a huge cake, and I'm sure no one here is going to complain about that."

"I'm certainly not," Clint agreed with a grin.

"I have not had Midgardian cake before, but I look forward to trying it," Thor added.

"See, it'll be worth it," Tony explained triumphantly.

Bucky looked at Steve again. "Well, punk, you think you can manage to blow these out?"

"I don't know, jerk. It's a lot more than I ever expected to see, but my lungs are pretty great these days," Steve answered.

"Not yet," Pepper chided. "We have to sing."

The assembled Avengers groaned at that idea, but she gave them a look that reminded Bucky of Peggy when she was commanding a room. It was very effective. Dutifully, everyone sang Happy Birthday while Bucky and Steve looked at each other, at the cake, and awkwardly around the room. When it was finished, they clapped along with everyone else, then leaned forward to blow out the candles. It took a while.

"Finally!" Tony said when they were all out.

"Why don't you boys take a seat and I'll cut the cake," Natasha suggested.

"I think Bucky's better with a knife, Nat," Clint teased.

"That can be his job at other people's birthdays, then," she replied with dignity.

"I can't say I have a lot of experience with cutting desserts," Bucky admitted as he and Steve took a seat on the other side of the table. Natasha smiled as she sliced deftly through the cake, and put two pieces on plates for them. They started eating while she and Clint served everyone else. "How is it?" she asked.

"Delicious," Steve replied.

"Did you make it?" Bucky asked.

"No, we got it at the store. We don't really have the tools to make one this size," Pepper explained, digging into her own slice.

"I can make whatever tools we need," Tony interjected, sounding hurt.

Bruce patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sure making a cake for all of us would be quite a challenge, not just because of the size of our kitchen supplies," he said calmingly.

Tony frowned at him, but then Clint handed him a slice and he focused on eating. Once everyone had been served, they found places to sit and enjoyed the cake.

"How'd you guys get all this up?" Steve asked, motioning to all the decorations.

"Legolas has some pretty useful arrows," Tony answered with a grin.

"We also did it the old-fashioned way," Pepper added, smirking.

"It looks great. Right, Buck? Best birthday we've ever had," Steve stated, elbowing Bucky lightly.

"That's definitely true," Bucky agreed. He looked around the room, taking it in. "We were lucky to get cake more than once a year, usually for Christmas. We certainly couldn't afford this kind of decorating."

"Well, good thing you guys came here, then," Pepper said kindly.

"Yeah," Bucky replied with a smile.

"Is everyone ready for presents?" Tony called to the room. The response was exuberant, and Bucky couldn't help but be swept up in it. It reminded him of partially recalled memories of his childhood, and it felt like home.