*A/N In honor of 4th of July, also known as our favourite Captain's birthday :)

July 4, 2014

Steve woke up to find the right side of the bed cold, making him tense reflexively.

He relaxed almost instantly however, as he smelt the pancakes and heard the familiar soft clattering in the kitchen. Steve stretched briefly as he slipped out of their bed, pushing open the partially closed bedroom door to walk out into the living area.

He spotted his girlfriend instantly by the stove, humming lightly as she flipped another pancake onto a plate already stacked high with the golden-coloured treat.

Arianna glanced back as she felt the familiar presence by the doorway, and she smiled.

"Morning, sleepy." She teased as she poured another spoonful of batter into the frying pan.

Steve grinned at her, moving into the kitchen to come towards her as he greeted: "Morning, babe."

He kissed her cheek, reaching out an arm to hug her as she smiled widely at him. Arianna reached up on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek as well before she turned back to the sizzling pan.

"You know, you don't have to do this every year." Steve commented as he nodded at the large plate.

Arianna smiled, shrugging as she answered easily: "I know, but I want to. And seeing as you spoil me every year on my birthday," she nudged him as he grinned, "it's only natural I return the favour."

"Well, I'm not complaining about it." Steve commented lightly as he slyly wrapped his arms around Arianna's waist. "But I also wouldn't mind just waking up with you like any other, regular day."

Arianna laughed at that, turning her head slightly to look up at her boyfriend with eyes alight with amusement and warm with love.

"You mean when you wake up beside me, not with me." She teased. "No other sane person would get up at 5am every day. Except maybe Sam."

Steve laughed, smiling down at her when she grinned up at him. His eyes sparkled as he bent his head, leaning down to press a soft kiss on her. Arianna smiled into the kiss, answering it as she pressed back onto the Captain slightly. But when Steve swiped his tongue across her bottom lip, trying to deepen the kiss, she broke away, turning away as he tried to follow her.

"The pancakes are going to burn." She scolded teasingly, giggling as Steve contented himself with kissing along her neck instead.

"Let them." He answered dismissively as he kissed behind her ear and Arianna laughed at him.

Shaking her head, she pushed him slightly with her shoulder, scolding lightly: "Steve!"

"Fine." He sighed, pretending to be hurt by her rejection, but it didn't work as he failed to keep the grin off his face and she laughed at him again. Steve chuckled back at her as he let go of her to reach up to the kitchen cabinets, grabbing two mugs as Arianna flipped the last of the pancakes onto the plate.

She grabbed the syrup, whipped cream, and the chopped fruit she'd prepared, covering the pancakes with them as the finishing touch while Steve took the cups, two plates, and the coffee pot to the dining table. They set everything quickly, both moving out of habit now, before they settled down for breakfast.

As Steve dug into the pancakes, Arianna sipped on her coffee, watching him fondly.

"Take a picture," Steve joked when he noticed her gaze, "it'll last longer."

"I already have one from last year." Arianna returned as she touched her locket, and Steve laughed, shaking his head in amusement. He remembered that - the first birthday they'd celebrated as an official couple.

"That was nice." Steve admitted as Arianna finally started to dig into the pancakes as well. "Just the two of us having a picnic outside; I'll never get tired of your apple pie."

"Yeah, it was good," Arianna agreed with a laugh, "until Tony crashed in to drag us to his 'Avengers bonding' 4th of July party."

"Well," Steve joked, "I try to forget the traumatizing parts."

Arianna laughed again, making Steve smile at the sound. He leaned over the table to kiss her softly once more, leaning back in his seat with a satisfied grin as she blinked at him in surprise.

"What was that for?" Arianna asked, puzzled, and he answered lightly: "Because I love you."

She raised a brow before a soft smile spread across her face. Leaning forward, Arianna pressed a kiss on Steve once more, whispering softly on his lips: "I love you, too."

Steve smiled, kissing her one more time before she leant back in her seat once more.

"Come on." She smiled. "If you want to enjoy that 'alone time', we need to get going. Otherwise we won't have time before the party tonight."

"Why does Tony need to throw a party every year?" Steve sighed, and Arianna joked: "To torture you."

"I knew it." Steve joked back, making Arianna laugh again.

"Alright," he sighed as he placed his fork down on the now-empty plate (they really needed to learn to eat slower) and started to pile the dishes up, "let's get started."

"Oh, no you don't, mister." Arianna chuckled as she took the dishes away before he could pick them up. "Today, I get to spoil you."

"You know you don't have to, right?" He almost whined. "I already love you, even without you trying to spoil me."

"I know." She laughed back at him as she walked off towards the kitchen, carrying the dirty dishes. "This is me trying to make myself feel better about abusing you on the other 364 days of the year."

"I thought you were an advocate for gender equality?" He shot back as he followed her almost like a lost puppy towards the sink. "I'm doing my part in the household chores - isn't that the idea?"

"Yes, Steve," she chuckled as she turned to look up at him with eyes sparkling with amusement, "but the key word there is 'equality'. You doing the dishes every day isn't equality."

"You do the washing." He tried, and she pointed out: "You do your own washing though."

"You do most of the cooking." He smiled, and she laughed: "But cooking is actually fun; washing dishes isn't."

"It is." He countered. "For me, cooking is the bigger chore."

"Alright, I give up." Arianna laughed, shaking her head. "You win."

Steve grinned, before leaning down to give her another kiss and making her giggle. She nudged him with her shoulder again, trying to get him to stop as he pressed kisses on her face, and she reprimanded with a laugh: "Steve!"

"That is my name." He joked, and she narrowed her eyes playfully.

"Don't get clever with me, mister." She teased as she pulled her head back in an attempt to desist his kisses.

He simply followed her, continuing to kiss her until she gave in with a laugh, smiling with him as Steve grinned when she gave in.

"Happy birthday, Steve." Arianna told him sincerely, and Steve smiled as he answered back: "Thanks for being here to celebrate it with me, Ria."

July 4, 2016

Steve sat staring at his one of the few photos Arianna had kept on the quinjet, and therefore one of the few they now had as they stayed in hiding.

It was the photograph of his 30th birthday, back before things had gotten complicated between the Avengers. The photo – taken by Pepper – had been taken at Tony's 4th of July/Steve's birthday bash, and showed the team and only the team, before the first real wave of changes had happened.

In the middle was Steve as the 'birthday boy', smiling widely behind his cake with Tony as the billionaire stood with his arm around Steve's shoulder. Beside Tony was Rhodey, and then Banner, the scientist looking a little awkward as usual but still smiling for the camera.

Rhodey of course was smiling as usual, while Sam stood on Banner's other side, laughing raucously at something – Steve forgot what. But Thor was laughing with Sam on the Falcon's other side, the God of Thunder having made it down for Steve's birthday.

On Steve's other side was Arianna, slim and as beautiful as she always was in Steve's eyes. She, too, was laughing, her hazel eyes sparkling even in the photograph as she looked towards Steve and Tony fondly.

Natasha stood beside Arianna, her own red mane thrown back as she laughed with her 'sister'. Clint stood slightly behind the two women, also grinning widely as he enjoyed the festivities with his two 'girls' and his friends.

Of course, the picture was also taken before the rest of the Avengers knew Clint had a family hidden on a farm in the middle of nowhere, so to Steve it had always felt like Clint was happy with the only family he had in his DELTA team, and the Avengers. Not that it changed now that he knew Clint's secret, but there was always something more family-like in this photograph than in the ones taken after they all knew Clint's secret.

Steve sighed as he brushed his thumb over the photograph.

So much had happened since Steve's 30th two years prior – not even including Clint's secret.

Of course, there were the others who had joined later – like Wanda, and Vision; and Scott Lang, and even T'Challa. Steve felt another small pang as he remembered Pietro as well. New teammates, and people Steve felt he could trust and count on.

Then there were the personal changes.

First of all, Steve was now proud to say he was the husband, not boyfriend, of Arianna Hart Rogers. Secondly, Steve was proud to say he would be a father in about a month, now that Arianna was safely in her third trimester and almost through with her pregnancy. It was something Steve had always longed for, and a part of him still couldn't believe he was about to be a dad. That wasn't to say he wasn't ready; it was just that it still felt so much like a dream.

However, not all the changes were good either.

He'd lost his best friend in Tony, something both he and Arianna still struggled to come to terms with. Of course, she had it tougher than him considering she'd been closer to the self-proclaimed billionaire philanthropist for longer than Steve had, but the hurt was still raw for Steve as well.

He wasn't sure he'd ever forget the look in Tony's eyes when Steve had smashed the older man's arc reactor – the look of utter betrayal and pain.

And it wasn't just Tony either; it had felt like Steve had been sawing his own heart open when the Avengers team had split the way it had. The only thing that had got him through was knowing he had been right in chasing Zemo; that, and getting Bucky back.

But even if not all had been lost, too much had been. Delta had been torn apart and now Natasha now in the wind with no contact; Rhodey was recovering from the crash that had paralyzed his entire lower half of his body; Vision and Wanda's friendship was shattered, though Steve hoped that there was still time for them to pick up the pieces; and Steve wasn't even going to begin on the subject of Tony bringing a kid into the fight.

Not that the kid didn't have heart – because he did – nor was he lacking any talent; but he shouldn't have been brought in the way he had. He should have been there to join the Avengers in defending the Earth, not when they were fighting against each other…

Steve broke out of his thoughts as the familiar smell of baking apples hit his senses.

Smiling slightly, Steve put the photograph down on the bedside table before he left the bedroom, moving to stand in the doorway as he watched Arianna hum softly while she drained some pasta that she'd just finished cooking.

"If you're not busy, can you reach the plates for me, babe?" Arianna called, and Steve chucked.

"You heard me, huh?" He asked lightly as he moved to get the plates for Arianna while she stirred the pasta she'd drained into the pan with the sauce she was making.

"Well, the apple pie's starting to smell really good – I figured that would draw you out." Arianna answered lightly.

"You know me too well." Steve chuckled, as he set the plates down for her.

Arianna glanced at him briefly before looking back at the pasta.

"I miss them, too." She said softly, and Steve nodded. He should have known she'd know what he'd been thinking about – heck, Arianna probably had been thinking about the same thing anyway.

"I remember how I used to think it a pain that Tony would drag us out to his big, fancy parties." Steve murmured. "But now that it's gone…"

"You miss it." Arianna finished for him, and Steve nodded.

He took the heavy pan from her, moving the pasta onto the plates in her place while Arianna rubbed her stomach as she watched him. She'd long given up trying to protest what she called his over-worrying; and after seven months of carrying their child, she had to admit she was getting tired and sore easily.

"Well, as they say, sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone." Arianna sighed. "I also thought Tony was a pain sometimes, but I miss him and the others."

She patted her stomach slightly as she added quietly: "And I can't say it doesn't bother me that our baby won't know Uncle Tony and Aunt Nat, and the others – at least for a while."

Steve nodded as he agreed: "Yeah. Who'd have thought I'd actually regret not having Tony Stark around my son or daughter, potentially placing them in life-threatening situations while he did experiments around them."

Arianna smiled slightly, a hint of wistfulness in her expression as she murmured: "Yeah. And Nat trying to teach them to defend themselves before they could even walk."

"I'm guessing she tried that with Clint's kids?" Steve asked, and Arianna chuckled: "Only with Cooper apparently. She mean it as a joke… sort of."

Steve chuckled as well, before he drew Arianna in close into his embrace, pressing a kiss on her. She answered it softly, before she pulled back as she smiled up at him.

"Come on – baby's hungry." She admitted, patting her stomach and making Steve laugh.

"And we can't have that." He said as he let her go, reaching to grab the plates of pasta while the apple pie continued to bake in the oven.

"Steve?" Arianna added, and he answered: "Hm?"

"Just for the record – I'm still really happy you're still with me right now." She informed him, and Steve turned to her in surprise before a smile appeared on his face.

"Me too." He answered. "It doesn't matter how much I miss the others; I'd give it all up if the alternative was losing you, Ria."

Arianna smiled, before leaning in to kiss him again quickly as they made their way into the dining room to enjoy a quiet, peaceful family dinner.

"Oh, and Steve?" Arianna added as they walked, and Steve hummed: "Hm?"

"Happy birthday."

*A/N I know, I haven't updated in a while! I've just been busy with other things, but couldn't resist doing one for Cap's birthday. Hope you all enjoyed it although it got a bit unintentionally morose near the end.