"Yelena!" Natasha shouts, waving her arm. A shorter blonde girl comes bounding up to them, eyeing Clint and Tony.
"Who are these guys?" She asks.
"How was class?" Natasha asks, flipping the younger girl's braid over her shoulder.
"It was good."
Natasha smiles, "this is Clint," she points, "and Tony. We're going over to his house for a bit, is that okay?"
Yelena considers this… She looks at Tony with narrowed eyes, "you got any good snacks?"
Tony laughs, crouching down a bit so he's eye level with Yelena, "Oh, you better believe I got only the best."
"Okay." Yelena says, looking at Natasha, "I'm cool with it."
Natasha rolls her eyes at Tony's smirk and they walk towards Jarvis who stands waiting by the car.
—
They settle into Tony's room, Yelena sitting on his bed with a bag full of popcorn and a humongous fruit smoothie between her legs. Tony lends her his headphones and connects them to the TV where she's watching some old animated show Tony had pulled up for her.
"Okay," Tony starts, his eyes on the computer in front of him. "Here goes." He clicks through a couple screens and hits some button that has his speakers crackling to life.
"—I'm just saying," they hear Bucky speaking, "you're welcome to come over for dinner anytime. My mom would love to have you. Okay?"
"Thanks, Buck." Steve's voice is louder since he's closer to the device. "I really appreciate the offer."
Natasha can just picture the look on Bucky's face as he doesn't receive a promise that Steve will actually take him up on that invitation.
"Okay, see you!" Steve calls, and his breathing picks up as he starts running. Bucky yells something in the background but they can't hear it.
"So much for walking him everywhere." Clint huffs.
Steve's breathing eventually slows and they hear him walking up wooden steps. There's a silence as Steve moves about but soon they hear something.
More voices start to be audible and there's a chorus of chatter that gets cut off with a, "Steve! What happened to your face? Was it the brothers again?" It's a girl's voice..
"Nah," Steve says easily. "I'm fine, this actually happened in the baseball game."
"Your game was today?"
"Did you win?"
"Did you score?"
Steve is laughing, a soft quiet laugh that they've never heard from him before. "Yeah, we won, not because of me though—" Steve launches into the story of Bucky scoring the last run and how that got them the win. "It was really cool." Steve finishes. "What about you guys, how was today?"
"Pretty quiet actually. She had some appointment downtown or something and he was busy on the phone after he got home from work."
"That's good. I'm glad. Where are the others?"
Natasha sees Clint look over at her in question "others?" He mouths. She shrugs.
"They're up in the attic, sorting through the clothes."
"Oh." Steve says something strained in his voice "I can't believe I forgot, I should have started organizing that a while ago."
"You're busy." A little kid replies easily. "You were playing baseball!"
They can almost hear the grimace in Steve's voice, "That's not a good enough reason to leave you guys to organize all the stuff."
"Speaking of stuff." A boy's voice speaks, a little older, "I found newish running shoes in the donations! So now I don't have to check the dumpster behind the running shop."
"Pietro, that's great! I hope you make track captain this year. You're the fastest kid I know."
"I hope so too. Tryouts are before the school year starts so I'm glad I found them."
"Oh!" They hear Steve exclaim, "that reminds me, Peter?"
"Yeah?"
"I—"
There's a loud bang of a door being flung open and the voices cease. The group looks around, wondering what's happening before another voice cuts in.
"Shouldn't you be downstairs making dinner?"
Steve's voice is instantly flat and emotionless. "Yes, I'm about to head down there now."
"Good. The little rats aren't going to feed themselves."
"Yes, ma'am."
There's another door slam and Steve sighs. "Is there stuff for soup?"
"Um… I don't think she went grocery shopping today."
"That's fine, I'll make PB&J's for you guys."
"Steve no. Just make oatmeal, it's fine—"
"We need to save the oatmeal for the mornings. It's fine, I'll be careful."
The group listens as Steve descends stairs and starts rattling around a kitchen. "He's allergic to peanuts." Clint says, his eyes flat.
"Why is he making dinner for all these kids?" Tony asks, "Why isn't she? Whoever the hell she is. And why is she calling them rats." The anger in his voice surprises Clint.
"How many voices did we hear? It sounded like a few, and they talked about others."
A soft sound has them looking at each other in disbelief as they realize it's Steve, humming 'take me out to the ball game' to himself as he makes PB&Js.
—
The next day at school passes normally. They text Bucky to join them at Tony's house after he walks with Steve as far as he can.
"He always manages to ditch me when I get close to my house. I don't know how a kid that skinny can move that fast." Bucky grouses, looking over at Yelena who they've once again brought over. Tony sets up the audio and it's muffled.
"I bet the shirt's in the laundry, or his drawers." Tony mutters, tuning the audio.
Nothing much happens as they continue to listen. They try to listen to as many different voices as they can, counting them as they go. "I'm thinking there's at least 7 kids there." Natasha says, her face concentrating on the chatter. "So it's some sort of home… Maybe Yelena's jerk classmates were right and he does live in an orphanage?"
"I don't think they call them orphanages anymore." Tony clarifies, googling something. Aren't they called 'children's homes' now?"
"Who cares what it's called." Bucky snaps. "We need to figure out where it i—" He stops. His eyes go wide and he makes a choking sound as he stands up suddenly, causing the others to startle at his sudden movement.
"What?"
"Bucky, what is it?"
"Barnes, what the hell?"
His voice is a rasp as he speaks. The information that had been right in front of his face the whole time. "I know where he lives."
—
"What!?" Clint and Natasha shout at the same time. "How!"
"Guys?" Yelena asks from the bed, sliding off the headphones, "everything okay?"
"Yeah, Lena" Natasha says quickly, her eyes still on Bucky, "everything's fi—"
"Guys!" Steve's voice cuts through the room, "remember to put your laundry in the dryer, okay?" Yelena pulls back in surprise.
"What was that?"
Tony slams his fist down on the keyboard, turning off the sound, "nothing."
Yelena's eyes narrow and she comes off the bed, walking over to them. "What are you guys even doing here?"
"Nothi—" Tony starts again but Natasha cuts him off.
"Trying to help Steve."
Yelena's face softens, "oh, okay. Good. Is there anything I can do?"
"Not at the moment."
"Okay, let me know." She slips back to the bed, pulling the headphones back on and pulling out homework.
"Barnes, explain."
Bucky is gripping the back of the chair he was just sitting on. "You know when I showed up with Steve after he'd been beaten up by the Fanning brothers?"
"Fleming" Clint corrects.
"Whatever." Bucky snaps. "After that fight I took him to my house, and I remember thinking that the closer we got towards my house the more antsy he got. Like he was afraid of where we were going. But now…" he slams his palm into his forehead, "I feel like such an idiot! We got to my house and Steve looked like he'd seen a ghost. Now I realize why. He lives across the street from me. There's a home there. The entrance is on the opposite side of the building, so I've never seen him come and go, but that place always has screaming and fighting and geez I've heard glass breaking and all types of commotion out of those windows. I never even thought to pay attention…" he makes a harsh sound of annoyance at himself in his throat and he's tugging on the front of his hair, "this whole time. This whole time I was so close, I could have checked on him those two days he was missing!"
"You didn't know—"
"Yeah, well I should have."
"Now that we know." Tony cuts them off. "What do we do?"
"I don't think we can just show up…"
They sit silently for a moment before Tony clicks the sound back on. Some sort of chatter is heard before the girl's voice speaks again.
"Steve, what about you? You need to eat, I can make you toast with jam and bring it up?"
"Nah, Wanda, thanks, I'm good. I want to save the bread for you guys tomorrow. If she hasn't grocery shopped by then you'll need all the slices you can get. I'll eat at breakfast. Promise."
"Okay…" The girl's voice says reluctantly.
It's a little while later when the younger boy's voice speaks, "hey, Steve?"
"Yeah, Pete?"
"Do you think you'll ever get more of those muffins you had that one day?"
"Oh… I don't know kiddo. Those came from someone really nice who had extra that day. I think that was just a one time thing."
"Oh, okay." The disappointment in the kid's voice is palpable, but the effect of Steve's words on Tony is like a knife to the heart.
He's up and out of the room in an instant.
"Where's he going?" Clint asks. Bucky and Natasha look at each other, she smiles and he smiles back.
"I'd bet a hundred dollars he's asking his kitchen staff to make a million muffins." Natasha quips. Clint chuckles and Bucky nods in agreement.
Steve's voice speaks again, and they can picture the soft expression on his face, "But hey, if I ever get my hands on one of those muffins, it's coming back home straight to you, okay Pete?"
"Really!?"
"Oh yeah, for sure! Growing kiddos like you need all the muffins they can get to make sure they're big and strong."
The kid's next words have all of them pausing, "I wish I could come with you to school."
The strain in Steve's voice is audible. "I wish you guys could too, I wish all of you could come. I've met some really cool people. I think you guys would really like them. And I know they'd love you."
"Yeah?"
"Course, Peter! Who doesn't love you?"
"She doesn't." There's no need to ask who she is.
"She doesn't count." Steve's voice is a harsh whisper. "Don't you listen to a word she says about you guys. She's wrong. Adults are wrong sometimes, okay? Don't ever let anyone tell you how you should feel about yourself or stop you from doing what's right. Even if they're older than you."
"I won't, Steve."
"Good. Now go get ready for bed, Peter."
"Okay."
Ambient chatter fills the space again as the two stop talking and they stare at each other, Steve's words ringing in their ears.
—-
They get to the cafeteria the next day and Tony taps thoughtfully on the table. "I don't want to cause alarm but we have a big event coming up."
They look at him in confusion. "What?" Clint asks, unscrewing the cap of his Gatorade.
"July 4th, of course. Steve's birthday is on Saturday."
Steve's eyes widen and he looks at Tony in surprise, "Oh, uh, I—"
"You should celebrate it with us." Tony finishes for him. "Unless you already have other plans?"
"Oh. Uh." Steve stammers, his cheeks heating up, "No, I just have uh, some kids to babysit that day so—"
"You have to babysit on your birthday?" Bucky asks, not noticing the weighted looks of the other three.
"Well Steve, could you bring those kids you're babysitting?"
His eyes go wide as saucers, "you'd be okay with me bringing kids?"
"Well," Tony huffs good-naturedly, "it's half your birthday too, I don't think America will mind. I told my mom that one of my group was having a birthday and she flipped. My mom loves planning parties and she always makes way too much food. It's your party so you can bring whoever you want. My friend Rhodey will be there, you guys can meet him. Natasha you can bring Yelena, and Clint, anybody you want to bring too. So… Saturday, the party starts at 1p.m. Gravesend Park."
Bucky turns to Steve, "what do you think, can you go?"
Steve smiles, his cheeks rising, "It's at Gravesend? I can probably make it. If you guys are sure…"
Tony smiles, "totally."
—-
The rest of the week passes quickly and soon it's Friday.
"Okay, I'll see all of you tomorrow." Tony says, shoving the prototype for their device into his bag. "Don't forget. Bring backpacks to haul food away because I swear we could feed a pack of wild horses with the amount of food we're bringing tomorrow."
—-
"I can't believe you got her to agree to this." Wanda says quietly, eyeing Peter as he bounces up and down excitedly on his bed.
Steve sighs, watching the 8 year old, "I can't really either, but after I told her that the kids wouldn't need anything from her for it, that dinner would be taken care of, and that she'd have the house to herself, she was fine with it."
Pietro rolls his eyes and tugs his shoelaces tighter. "Of course she was. So, it's a 4th of July party?"
"Yeah." Steve answers, pulling on his own sneakers, "one of the guys from my group, the one who gave me the muffins, is throwing it. Should be fun."
"And he's okay with you bringing 17 kids?"
Steve smiles ruefully, "I didn't exactly tell him how many. But I'm thinking we just go to the playground,. Let the kids play there, they haven't gotten to do that really. Tony said there's a lot of food, so we should be able to feed them something. If not, I'll make toast when we get back."
Wanda wriggles her shoulders, "I'm excited, I can't remember ever going to a party!"
"Me either," Pietro says, a smile tugging on his lips. In that moment it hits Steve just how young they still are. Kids. They're just kids. His eyes land on Peter who's pulling on his favorite threadbare t-shirt. The hem is fraying, but they're saving the new clothes for when the school year starts. It will have to do.
"Come on." Steve says, "let's round up the others."
—
Clint arrives early.
He hadn't told anyone he was going to do so, but something in his stomach tells him that he should be there early. So he arrives around 11 and hangs out at the skatepark, then moving to the grove of trees, and lastly, settling on a high branch that gives him sights to the park entrance he hopes Steve walks through.
His intuition proves correct.
At around 12:30, Clint's eyes widen as a crowd of 18 kids approach the park. Steve is at the back, herding the younger ones, making sure they don't wander off. Clint hears him laugh and watches as another pair of kids, a boy with silver hair and a girl with reddish-brown hair help him keep everyone in line.
Clint's eyes don't leave the group as they walk through the entrance and head straight for the playground. He can't help but smile when he hears Steve call out "be careful on the slide!" To a pair of small boys tussling at the top.
The next to appear is Tony with a woman who Clint instantly recognizes must be his mom. A huge truck pulls up to one of the large metal pavilions and begins unloading party supplies.
He almost falls out of the tree when his Uncle Ricky shows up. He watches as his uncle unloads box after box of sandwich supplies and it hits him that he's the caterer for the party.
He looks back to Steve who hasn't noticed Tony's arrival as they're a good distance apart, and blocked in sight by the grove of trees. A young boy circles around Steve, talking excitedly and gesturing wildly with his hands.
His feet make a small thud as he hops from his branch onto the ground. He walks towards where Tony and his mom are opening boxes.
"Hey, Uncle Ricky!"
"Hey! There's my nephew, quite the amount of food your friend's mom ordered." He smiles and Clint looks over at Tony and feels a smile pull up on the side. His uncle's shop does very well, but big catering gigs like this can really be a boost.
"Yeah, he's pretty cool."
"Here help me with these last boxes."
Clint helps his uncle unload the rest and then is shooed away. "Go help Tony."
Clint walks over and stops behind the two. "Hey, Tony, anything I can do to help?"
Tony turns around, and grins, "hey Clint. Mom, this is Clint, Clint, this is my mom."
"Hi, Mrs. Stark."
"Hello, Clint, you're in Tony's group?"
"Yep."
"That's so nice, I'm glad he's liking it more this year."
"Mom-"
"What? It's true. Usually you're such a grouch."
"Mom!"
His mom laughs and waves them off as she starts laying out table cloths on the picnic tables.
"Steve's here." Clint admits.
"He is?" Tony asks, looking around, "Where?"
"He's over at the playground… with 17 other kids."
"Seventeen? Holy hell."
"Yeah, and from who I could see? He's the oldest."
"Geez."
"Hey Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for asking my uncle to cater. That… that's really cool, man."
Tony gives a huff and then grins. "Hey, if it benefits him that's great. But I just told my mom that I wanted to serve the best sandwiches in Brooklyn. So, that's why he's here."
Clint grins back.
—
Natasha and Yelena show up a little bit later, walking slowly, talking about something that has Yelena laughing. Tony nudges Clint, "you have any siblings?"
"Nah, you?"
"No. Never wanted one. I got all the attention." Clint laughs and Tony chuckles back, then his face turns thoughtful as he watches the pair of girls get closer. "Maybe it wouldn't have been too bad."
Clint looks at him and takes a big breath in, letting it out noisily. "Well, maybe that's what friends are for."
Tony looks at him thoughtfully before asking, "you bring anyone?"
Clint smiles, "nah, all my friends are already going to be here." Even as Tony rolls his eyes, a genuine smile crosses his face.
—
Bucky's dragging a younger girl behind him as they run across the brick.
They slide to a stop in front of Clint, Natasha, and Tony. "Hey guys," he says a bit breathlessly. "Sorry we're late. This is my little sister Rebecca!"
She looks up at them and smiles, "Hello!"
Natasha looks at her, "how old are you?"
"I'm almost 12."
"I'm 12" Yelena says quickly, "where do you go to school?"
Rebecca lights up and the two girls start chattering eagerly about their grades and their friends and what they're looking forward to about the new school year. The older ones walk a bit away, leaving the girls to talk. "That would be really cool if Rebecca and Yelena became friends." Bucky says, "Becca's not shy, but she isn't the most extroverted, so it would be cool for her to have a friend outside of school."
"Yelena's really easy going." Natasha says, a fond smile on her lips. "They'll be best friends in no time."
"Is Steve not here yet?" Bucky asks.
"Actually he's been here for a while, but he's over at the playground."
"With the kids he brought?"
"Yep. All 17."
Their response is the same at Tony's. "17? Geez"
"The building I live by doesn't seem big enough for 18 kids."
They shrug.
"Should we go find him and bring them over?"
"No," Clint says, "let him come to us. I don't think he's going to want us to know about all of them. I think that's why he brought them early."
"Will you have enough food for them?" Bucky asks.
Clint and Tony glance at each other, Tony laughing, "Oh yeah, here, let me show you."
—-
"Okay," Steve says, wiping his hands on his jeans. "I'll be back. I'll bring food if I can, okay?"
Wanda nods and waves him away.
He finds the pavilion easy and approaches his group. "Hey guys!" He notices someone new standing next to Tony. "Hey, I'm Steve."
The guy smiles at him, extending a hand for Steve to shake, "Hey, Steve. I've heard a lot about you, I'm James."
Bucky turns to him in surprise, "wait, I thought your name was Rhodey?"
Rhodey laughs, punching Tony's arm, "That's what I get for letting you introduce me. My name is James Rhodes. Tony, the nickname king, has always called me Rhodey. I'm fine with either."
"James Buchanan Barnes." Bucky says with a laugh. "But I go by Bucky."
Steve shakes Rhodey's hand, "Nice to meet you."
"So Steve," Natasha starts, "where are these kids you're babysitting?"
He scrunches his nose, "they're at the playground," then his eyes widen "but don't worry, I have some other kids helping me watch."
"I was hoping to meet some of them."
"Oh, uh… well I can go bring some of them over, if you want?"
"Yeah, I'd like that."
Steve nods, "I'll be right back."
—-
"Hey Danny?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you watch the kids?" Steve looks at the gaggle of kids playing on the play set, swinging, and laying out on the grass. Danny was 13, the second oldest and good help with wrangling the little ones. "It won't be too long."
Danny smiles up at Steve from the bench he's on. "I've got my book and I'm out in the fresh air, so much better than that house. You go have fun. I'll watch them, no problem."
Steve smiles gratefully and calls out, "Peter! Come over here!"
The little kid bounds over to him and he motions for Wanda and Pietro to come over too. "Hey, my friends want to meet you guys, that okay?"
They nod eagerly and he smiles, but then his face turns serious. "Uh. Guys, just one thing. If they ask about home… I haven't really told them. So, just—"
Wanda nods, understanding. "We know. We won't say anything."
Steve grimaces, "sorry."
"I don't want you in the basement again." Peter says, his eyebrows furrowing.
Pietro ruffles Peter's hair. "No we do not." He says. Steve sighs heavily and motions them to follow him.
—-
Before the others even notice their approach, Yelena is running past them, "Wanda!" Yelena shouts, disbelief and excitement coloring her tone.
Wanda stops in her tracks, her eyes growing wide in surprise and then smiling, "LENA!"
Pietro steps forward and Yelena notices him, "Pietro! What are you guys doing here?!"
"You know them?" Natasha asks, surprised.
"Yeah, from school! We're in the same grade!"
Steve is standing there looking shocked when Yelena turns to him and shrieks happily, "Steve! I haven't seen you in ages!"
"Yelena, you're Natasha's little sister?"
"Yeah!" Yelena wraps her arms around Steve quickly, hugging him, before stepping back and yanking Pietro and Wanda's arms, "come meet Rebecca!" They're gone in a flash and Steve is standing there, Peter's hand in his and a surprised look on everyone's face.
"Um." Natasha says, her eyes roaming the crowd. "I guess they're already friends." She chuckles and it breaks the tension. "Who's this?" She motions at Peter who ducks his shoulders and it's so reminiscent of Steve that it makes her smile.
Steve looks down fondly at the kid, "This is Peter. My little brother."
The words make Peter smile like the sun and he nods. "Yeah, he's my big brother."
Steve laughs and points to each member of the group. "This is Natasha, Clint, Bucky, Tony, and Rhodey."
"That's a silly name." Peter says matter-of-factly. Steve winces but Rhodey just laughs, nudging Tony,
"You're telling me!"
"You know." Steve says, motioning towards Peter, "Peter is really good at science. He's even skipped a grade and is in a specialty after school program." He points at Tony, "His dad has a whole lab of science equipment!"
Peter's eyes widen into saucers and Tony chuckles, "oh yeah," he adds, "we have all types of things in there, robots and drones and fancy computers, it's pretty cool."
"Wow." Peter says, his eyes alight, "that's so cool."
"It is." Tony agrees, "Steve should bring you by one day so you can see it. My dad will put you to the test to see how good you really are."
Peter tugs on Steve's arm, "can we? Can I? I want to go to the lab!"
"Oh, uh, I mean, maybe? I don't see why not."
"It's settled then." Tony says, waving his arm. "You'll bring Pete here over soon. Now how about some food." Something in Tony's eyes gleam. "Hey Pete, do you happen to like muffins?"
The absolute look of glee on the kids face has them chuckling.
—-
It catches Steve completely unaware when they start singing Happy Birthday. He's blushing fiercely when a cupcake with two candles a '1' and a '5' are lit on top. At the end of the song, they're cheering for him to make a wish and he only closes his eyes for a moment before blowing out the candles.
Tony's mom smiles at him, taking the candles out and returning the cupcake to him. He takes it gingerly and thanks her. He turns around to notice Wanda and Pietro standing behind the now dispersing group of singers. Their faces stricken.
He walks over and before he can get a word out, Wanda is whispering harshly. "Today's your birthday?"
Steve waves his arm and shakes his head, "it's no big deal guys. You know we don't really celebrate birthdays."
"You try to, Steve!" Wanda corrects, "You've always tried to make each kid have something special for their birthday. I can't believe I didn't think to ask when yours was!"
He shakes her shoulder with the hand not holding the cupcake. "Wanda, I'm all good. It's fine. Honestly…" his voice drops even quieter. "Birthdays always remind me of my mom. I… I don't usually like to celebrate."
"But you're 15 today. That's a big one."
He smiles, "and I'm getting a party. See?" He gestures to the whole party around them and she nods thoughtfully.
Tony walks over, "hey, you guys should get food! And take plenty. There's so much."
He walks off and Steve takes a deep breath, "okay, let's get the other kids fed."
—-
Clint watches as Steve walks up to Mrs. Stark and asks if he can take food to some of his siblings on the playground. She's nodding and talking and moving quickly as she loads up one of the catering carts with enough food to fill a van. She's saying something and Steve is nodding and blushing and ducking his head while she's smiling and adding more food to the cart. Clint suspects Tony has told her a bit of what they suspect about Steve.
Steve and Peter disappear for a bit, he wants to follow them, but he doesn't.
Maybe 40 minutes later. Steve walks back with the cart, mostly empty and Peter is smiling and eating another muffin.
Steve returns the cart to Mrs. Stark, thanking her profusely and smiling like he's won the lottery.
She tries to offer more food but he declines, thanking her again for her generosity. She asks if he wants to take some stuff home, but he hesitates. He's shaking his head no, but she's insisting. He finally relents and Clint watches as she packs up bags of leftovers: bread, meat slices, veggies, and muffins.
Natasha walks up behind Clint and taps on his shoulders. "I don't think I've ever seen him this relaxed."
"Well," Clint muses. "If I had to guess, he and his 'siblings' have enough to eat for the first time in who knows how long. That's bound to put you in a good mood." Natasha nods thoughtfully. "It's crazy that your sister knows his. You've got to ask her about that."
"I will."
—
It's starting to get dark and Bucky watches as Steve starts to say his goodbyes. An idea pops up in his mind and he pulls out his phone calling his mom.
—-
"Wanda, Pietro? Can you go gather the kids? I'll be right there."
They nod and take off, saying goodbye to Yelena and thanking Mrs. Stark before leaving.
"Hey Tony?"
"Yeah, Steve?"
"I just wanted to say thanks again. This was really nice."
"Of course, Steve. 15's a big year. We had to celebrate."
"Oh, yeah, that too. But just the party in general. Thanks so much, my siblings really enjoyed it."
"Sure." Tony wants to say something. Anything. Let me know when you're being starved I'll send you food. But Steve just smiles and walks away as Tony waves silently.
—
Bucky runs after Steve, "Steve! Hey Steve!"
The boy turns around, "yeah, Buck?"
"You think uh, you could come over tonight?"
Steve tilts his head, "come over? For what?"
"I want it to be a surprise, can you come by at like 9:25?"
Steve thinks about it, his eyes trail over to the playground, "Um… I think I could… Do I need to bring anything?"
"No, no, my parents know you're coming. Just be there by 9:25, okay?"
"Okay." Steve waves and disappears.
Bucky pulls out his phone, texting the group chat.
B: My house, 9:15p.m. Let me know if you can't make it.
C: I'll be there.
N: Me too.
T: For what?
T: You know what, doesn't matter. I'll be there.
—
Steve slips nervously out of the door. The other kids are sleeping, worn out from their day out. He walks down the steps, avoiding the creaky parts and creeping out the back door of the kitchen. He walks quickly around the building and down the alley to Bucky's street, the one right behind his.
He knocks on Bucky's door and Mrs. Barnes answers the door, a smile on her face. "Steve! So glad you could come!"
"Hi, Mrs. Barnes. Thanks for having me."
"Of course, come in, come in."
He follows her through the house and out the back door, unsure of where she's leading him. She stops and points at the fire escape that's been pulled down. "They're up there waiting for you."
"They?" Steve asks, his head tilting in question. She just smiles and points up. He thanks her and begins to climb.
When he crests over the edge onto the roof he stops in surprise. Clint, Natasha, Bucky and Tony sit on a couple of blankets. "Uh, guys?"
They look up and notice him. "Steve! Come over here!"
He walks over, sitting down next to Bucky, "what's going on?"
Bucky looks at his watch. He holds up a finger and they wait. Steve's about to ask again when Bucky looks up and smiles.
He reaches over behind him and picks up something from a white box. He brings it around and sets it in front of Steve's crossed legs.
It's too dark to see with his eyesight and he's about to ask what it is when the first firework bursts across the sky from the harbor. Steve's eyes travel up and watch as the huge blasts of red, white, and blue light up the New York skyline.
Music starts playing, Glenn Miller from the sound of it, and he looks over at Tony who's holding a small radio.
Natasha sets a fork and a plate in his hands and he finally looks down, the fireworks providing enough light for him to see what's been set in front of him. A peach pie.
His throat constricts and he buries his face in his hands, trying to hide the tears he can feel forming.
—-
Tony watches in shock as Steve buries his face in his hands. His wide eyes find Clint's and Natasha looks frozen as well. Bucky's the first to speak.
"Steve?" Bucky's worried voice washes over the roof. "Are you okay?"
Steve doesn't look up, his hands still covering his eyes, "I'm fine, I'm s-sorry." His voice is watery and it hits Tony that the kid is crying. He's crying. His own chest constricts at the knowledge.
In a blink, Natasha is leaning against Steve, her arm around his shoulder. Her eyes are closed and she's pulling him closer. "Hey, Steve. It's okay. Nothing to apologize for."
"I shouldn't be getting emotional over —" his voice cracks and he scrubs his palms against his eyes harder.
"You miss her." Bucky's voice is soft, but Steve stiffens. "My mom uh… when you visited last time? She heard your last name and uh… she knew your mom…"
Steve doesn't say anything, he just leans forward and keeps his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking softly. Bucky scoots over, wrapping his arm around Steve's other side and leaning against him.
Fireworks light up the sky, and the music plays, filling the silence.
—-
*Thank you to 'whenwewerekids' and 'ShuckiestShuck-FaceShuck4ever' for literally making me CRACK up and your comments :D And thank you to the rest for your kind, encouraging and just very nice comments!