Ninety-six.
Today was Adelyn Frost's 96th birthday.
She hadn't asked for anything – honestly, she just wanted to be left alone for her birthday at some old bar where no one would recognize her, and she could sit peacefully while having a cold beer. That's all AJ wanted. And that was not what AJ got. She should have known better.
Tony was going all out for her birthday(/valentines day party), inviting all the Avengers and some former SHIELD agents that AJ had been close to before the fall of it. He also invited some of his favorite people; Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey. And AJ did not mind that because she adored all three of them. Bruce had been told he could invite a guest; Natasha was bringing Jordan as her date and Steve was flying in with Sam and Andrew (though, Andrew would have come either way seeing as it was his Aunt's birthday.) Clint would be solo for the party, and Thor was bringing his girlfriend Jane Foster. The two had been reunited in November but Thor had to go back to Asgard after the Battle of Greenwich but had come back a week ago after Tony somehow got a message to Thor about AJ's birthday.
Which was incredibly odd to her...what did Tony do? How did Thor get the message? And honestly – couldn't Tony have called from him during the fall of SHIELD? A birthday party for a ninety-six-year-old was a bigger priority than protecting the world from Hydra? Okay.
But she was happy that Thor had decided to come back to Earth for her birthday because it would be nice to not be the oldest person in the room. And, of course, he wasn't the worst company. And she did enjoy Jane Foster's company, so that was a bonus.
The press would come (briefly) to snap pictures of the 'Woman in Time' on her big day. If it weren't for Bucky being out there somewhere – she would have told Tony 'no' when he told her that the press had contacted him. But Bucky came to AJ's mind. He was out there and maybe somehow, he'd see the pictures and it would trigger memories? She was willing to do just about anything to get him back but there was only so much she could do. Natasha had talked her out of dying her hair back to her natural shade of brown and wearing it in a 1940's style fashion, 'That's a bit drastic, Adge.' Natasha had said. But if AJ couldn't be out there searching for Bucky with Steve, Sam and Andrew, she wanted to be able to help from home.
Tony and Bruce had her working harder than she had in years – not since Project Rebirth. AJ had forgotten just how much she loved science and working in the lab. AJ felt right at home in that lab coat with her hair kept up in a bun with her pencil while she was looking at her blood in a petri-dish under a microscope. They were comparing her blood to Bruce's, Steve's, Thor's, and Clint's to see the difference between all of them. AJ hadn't wanted to use Steve's blood, but Tony had spoken to him over the phone before he had left to look for Bucky and Steve gave him a sample. Right after they had compared his blood AJ had thrown out the vile.
"AJ, how could you do that? We need to do more testing!" Bruce said, slightly irritated with AJ for throwing out Steve's blood without discussing it with them.
"There is no more testing needed," AJ told him feeling overly protective of Steve. "We compared my blood to his and it was not a match to the serum – we don't need it anymore."
"-But with his blood there was a chance we could try and replicate-"
AJ stopped him, "Not happening, Bruce. It didn't work in the 40's when we studied Steve's blood – it won't happen now. I don't care how much science and technology has changed. The only way we could ever create the serum again was with Erskine's part of the project. And those notes died with him." Talking about Dr. Erskine made her emotional, angry, a bitch. Because Hydra had killed him, and Hydra had taken Bucky and programmed him into the Winter Soldier and that made her furious, so her next words were out of anger and she still regretted them to this day, "-Having Steve's blood is not going to cure your angry green alter ego. You really screwed that pooch on that doc, there's no fixing it!"
Tony had made AJ leave the room upon seeing the flash of anger in Bruce's eyes. But the scientist hadn't Hulked out. Bruce had nearly complete control of the Big Guy so AJ hadn't been too concerned. But Tony had become overly protective of her in his own Tony way and didn't want to bet on the chance that Bruce could control the Hulk from coming out and risk AJ getting hurt or worst.
After both AJ and Bruce had cooled off, AJ went back to the lab and apologized. AJ explained to him why she was so protective over Steve's blood – about how her mentor had died because of the serum and how testing Steve's blood was too risky. Bruce understood, and he apologized for getting upset with her over tossing the blood. 'This is your project, AJ. Tony and I are just here to assist you whenever you need it. I'm sorry I overstepped. I guess I've been working alone for so long now that I forget what it means to work with a team – especially when I'm not in charge of that team.'
Banner's blood was nowhere near a match to AJ's, Clint's had some similarities but that it was the parts of any ordinary human. Which meant that AJ was part human – but she had already known that. AJ was born and raised in New York and her family was as normal as any other family on the block.
Thor's blood wasn't a match either but that wasn't the least bit surprising to AJ. He was a literal God. There was no way that AJ was part God, that never even crossed her mind and when Tony suggested using a sample of Thor's blood she had laughed in his face. But Tony wanted to test every possible source of blood that was not human and compare them to AJ's.
They had yet to figure out what she was and though they did spend time researching her blood still, they had moved on to a project that was more helpful, and incredibly successful.
Together, AJ, Tony, and Bruce came up with a wristband that the other Avengers could wear while out on the field during missions that would protect them from AJ's powers. She had been absolutely terrified of testing the wristbands because she didn't want to hurt any of her friends, but in the end, Tony convinced her to do it by promising that he'd wear his Iron Man suit to protect himself in case it didn't work.
It had worked on the suit, it had worked on Bruce, Clint, and Natasha. They were just waiting to rest it on Thor and Steve.
The wristbands didn't stop AJ's powers. They just protected the person wearing them from feeling the affect of her powers. AJ could freeze an entire room and turn every object, humans included, into a block of ice but while wearing the wristbands, her friends would not feel any change. They'd be protected and that's what was important to her. After they tested it on Thor and Steve, AJ would have some made for Sam Wilson, Rhodey, Pepper, Andrew, and Maria Hill, and Fury.
And now AJ had finally worked up the courage to ask Tony to make one for Bucky as well.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Tony said, denying her request as he fiddled with the first prototype for the wristband. He looked up at her and AJ had given him a stern look, folding her arms over her chest, not backing down. Tony huffed in irritation and shook his head, "Didn't the guy try and kill you the last time you two had an encounter."
"No, actually, the last time I saw Bucky he had saved Steve from drowning." AJ reminded Tony. He turned his back on her by spinning in the chair to face his lab bench and continued working.
She hated that most of her friends only remembered the fact that Bucky had tried to kill Steve and AJ – not that he had saved Steve from drowning and that even while he was the Winter Soldier AJ was able to trigger him, and that Steve could as well!
Tony couldn't look past the fact that Bucky had tried to kill her.
Sam didn't understand why she and Steve were so desperate to get Bucky back either, but he was still willing to help them.
Natasha told AJ that it was too dangerous, but she understood why AJ couldn't let go of him and that she would never be the one to stand in her way from getting Bucky back to who he truly was. Because Natasha knew just how much AJ still loved Bucky and that no amount of time would ever change that. But the red-headed assassin did worry and was incredibly vocal about it to AJ. Which meant Jordan worried about it as well.
Clint wanted AJ to be safe, but more than anything he wanted her to be happy.
Andrew was cautious when it came to the subject of Bucky. He didn't give her his opinion about Bucky, but he did tell her that he just wanted her to be careful. And he was still willing to go with Steve and Sam in her place to search the world for Bucky.
Banner was hesitant after watching the footage that citizens had taken on the bridge in D.C of the Winter Soldier – but he told AJ that love was a powerful force and he understood why she couldn't give up on Bucky.
Thor was mostly in Asgard and even before, the two of them didn't really talk about Bucky – but Thor was her friend and AJ hoped that he would support her.
And Steve? Steve was searching the world for Bucky, wanting him back just as much as AJ did. She knew that Steve felt responsible for what happened with Bucky – that if he hadn't called off the search and rescue that they might have been able to find him before Hydra got too deep in his head and erased who he was. AJ had begged Steve not to give up and though it had been so long ago, and the two friends were closer than ever, AJ believed that Steve could still hear the words she had spat out at him when he called off search and rescue.
"How can you give up?! Bucky would never give up on you! I will never forgive you for this!"
She had been angry, devastated, and so absolutely determined to get the man she loved with her whole heart back. And she had blamed Steve. But really, she blamed herself; AJ had begged Bucky not to go and he still had – maybe if she had told Howard to go solo to London she could have gone on the mission with the Howling Commandos and maybe...
It didn't matter.
There was no changing the past.
"Bucky would never hurt me, Tony." AJ told him.
"And what about the Winter Soldier?" Tony spun around in his chair to face AJ. "Hm?"
"Tony," She sighed in frustration. "-I don't think he's the Winter Soldier anymore."
"Well, Adelyn, just because you think that he's back to being your boyfriend that you loved from the 40's and is no longer the Winter Soldier does not mean that I am going to automatically hand over one of these," He held up his arm, pulling down his sleeves to show AJ his own wristband, "-to him someday. Because if there is a chance that he still is the Winter Soldier and has one of these on, you can't defend yourself. He could kill you and that's something I'm not going to let happen."
"Tony, I can take care of myself! I've been around a lot longer than you have!" Her voice raised.
"-No, actually – you haven't!" Tony yelled at her. "-Because you were only twenty-seven when my Dad put you on ice. You may have been born in 1918 but you've been in that chamber for more than half of your life. Hell, I've had more experience on this earth than you have!" She opened her mouth to argue but he didn't let her speak, "-You might technically be 96 today – but in reality, you are really only turning thirty-one. And I'm forty-four so that makes me older than you so stop arguing with your Elder."
AJ tried her hardest not to smile but sometimes Tony reminded her so much of Howard it was hard not to. Her features did soften, though, and Tony took that opportunity to try and change the subject.
"-Now, I know that you probably aren't up to date with some of the hottest trends," Tony said, getting up from his seat and walked over to AJ, "-That's why I had Romanoff and Pepper pick out your outfit for tonight." He moved behind her, his hands going to the back of her shoulders and began to push her out of the lab.
"Tony, I've had four years to get accustomed to the new world – you act like I woke up yesterday."
"Well, then why are you wearing flannel? Tony asked, pushing her throw the door and letting of once she was out of the lab. "-The nineties are done, Adelyn. Get with the times." The door automatically closed, and AJ couldn't help but laugh.
"This is your shirt!" She yelled through the glass doors, but Tony had already started blasting old rock music from the 60's. Pepper had been the one to give her the long-sleeved men's flannel shirt. It had been from Tony's grunge phase (that's what Pepper told her) during the nineties and since Tony was what Pepper called a 'hoarder' he kept all his old clothes. It was small enough to fit AJ and allow her to wear it comfortable over her tank-tops.
It wasn't the first time she had seen someone wearing flannel and the only reason why she even took it from Pepper was because the leather jacket she always wore had caught on fire in the lab thanks to Banner. Thankfully AJ's skin was always covered by her lab coat whenever Tony or Bruce would catch things on fire – but when she walked out of the lab that night, Pepper had gone up to her and gave her the flannel shirt.
'It's drafty in here and I know Tony likes to keep the lab coats in the lab, so I figured I'd bring you something, but you hadn't unpacked your boxes yet and I didn't feel comfortable going through everything to find you a jacket, so I just grabbed this.'
AJ had thanked Pepper and took the shirt. Even though she couldn't technically feel when it was cold anymore. Cold temperature no longer affected AJ the way they might affect Tony or Pepper, but it was sweet of the woman to think of AJ.
"Oh, it's no problem, Adelyn."
Both Tony and Pepper called her by her actual name. It had been strange at first to hear someone refer to her as Adelyn, seeing as even back in the 40's most people called her by her nickname or the nicknames they had given her; frosty. But it was somewhat comforting when they called her by her name. Thor called her by her name as well, but mostly because he was a true gentleman. Steve rarely called her Adelyn, he only ever called her Adelyn when he was trying to snap her out of something or when he was angry with her. Other than that, everyone else just called her AJ, Jay, or Adge (really that was only Clint, Natasha, and occasionally Maria and Jordan.)
The press referred to her as Adelyn Frost, too. After it came out that she was born in 1918 journalist had dug, and dug, and dug into her past. They even went as far back as her college years. The one thing that they hadn't found (and AJ was incredibly thankful for that) was that AJ had helped Erskine create the Super Soldier serum. The SSR and Howard had done a good job keeping her name out of all the documents to protect her.
AJ walked over to the elevator that Bruce was exiting out of, "Hey, Banner." She greeted him as they walked past the other to leave and enter the elevator.
Bruce smiled, giving her a little wave. "Happy birthday, AJ." He told her, using his hand to keep the elevator door open. "-Did I hear Tony correctly when he said you're ninety-six?"
"I know, right? I don't look a day over 75." She winked and Bruce chuckled, "Are you going to go help Tony with the wrist bands?" She asked.
"Yeah, we're working on one that will expand when the Other Guy makes an appearance. I can't just hope that I have time to slip the wristband off it something happened to trigger me...Or, the Other Guy." Bruce said quietly as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
AJ smiled softly. It was hard to believe from just looking at Bruce that he could form into such a dangerous thing. He was so shy and clumsy and good – how was it possible that Bruce could turn into this giant green rage machine? (That's what Tony called the Other Guy.) "How is your training going with Nat?"
Natasha was level headed, she was the first person to ever experience the Other Guy on the team, and she was slowly earning Hulk's trust. Or maybe it was just Bruce? Either way, she calmed him. And that was very good. Bruce felt the most comfortable working with Natasha on ways to come back down to who he truly was after a battle. To go from the Hulk to Bruce was very difficult for the scientist. But Natasha was helping make that process easier for him. Jordan had helped Nat, teaching her something she learned while studying psychology and hypnosis. Everyone on the team knew the words to say – but it was the easiest for Bruce with Natasha.
The words; 'Hey big guy, the sun's getting real low' followed by the person trying to calm Hulk down raising their hand up. When or if Hulk mimicked the gesture, the person would move their hand down, palm up for Hulk to place the back of his hand in. After he would do that, the person would slowly remove their hand out from under his and gently tap his wrist where there was a pressure point, sliding their hand down his until they were no longer touching.
AJ didn't know how it was possible that Bruce was able to come out because of that, but each time Natasha did it, it worked. Maybe it was because of their bond? The point was; it worked.
"Have you talked to Betty at all?" AJ asked.
Bruce chuckled, clearly uncomfortable by AJ's question. He shook his head while rubbing at his jaw, "No. I...I don't want her in danger."
"Understandable."
Betty Ross. The love of Bruce Banner's life. The one he had run from in order to protect her. The woman AJ knew Bruce must miss terribly.
"But..." AJ said causing Bruce to chuckle again, probably knowing she was going to put her two cents in, AJ shook her head, looking down at her hands. "I miss Bucky every day and...I would give anything to just...hear his voice...hear him say my name even if that's all he said." She admitted, looking back up at Bruce now, "Even if you want to protect Betty – if you think she's safer by you staying away – it's not going to make her stop missing you. It's not going to stop her from waiting for the day you do reach out." Bruce frowned, knowing that she wasn't just talking about Betty. "-So," She said with a little laugh to try and lighten the mood, "-take some advice from someone who is still waiting for the love of their life to reach out...don't waste time." AJ told Bruce, "Reach out. Even if it's just a five-minute phone call...even if you only say her name. You are staying away because you don't want to hurt her, but by you staying away, it is hurting her. Not physically," AJ told him, she grabbed his hand and pressed it against his chest right above his heat, "But in here."
He nodded his head, squeezing her hand slightly. "Thanks, Jay."
She smiled, letting go of his hand, "Now, to repay me for my words of wisdom – I need you to try and convince Tony to make another wristband for Bucky. Because the day that he does reach out, I want him to have one so there's never a chance that I could hurt him."
"I will." Bruce said, dropping his hand from the elevator door so it could shut. AJ waved goodbye just as the elevator door closed.
"JARVIS?" AJ called out for the AI.
"Yes, Ms. Frost?"
"ETA for Captain Rogers?"
"Captain Rogers should be arriving on the quinjet within twenty-minutes, Ms. Frost."
"Thank you, JARVIS?"
"Is there something I can assist you any further?"
"No, thank you, JARVIS. Just alert me when Captain Rogers arrives."
"Will do, Ms. Frost."
AJ was so excited to see Steve, Andrew, and Sam. They had spoke on the phone of course, but she missed them all terribly. Especially Steve. They had been through so much together and the fact that she wasn't with him trying to help find Bucky was killing her.
"JARVIS?" AJ said again.
"Yes, Ms. Frost."
"I think I'd like to start up Project Visio again."
"Of course, Ms. Frost. Would you like me to include Mr. Stark or Captain Rogers?"
"No, JARVIS. This is just going to stay between me and you again, okay?"
"Of course, Ms. Frost."
Project Visio was something AJ had been working on during her downtime. It was a lot like SHIELD's facial recognition system – but since most things SHIELD had been scrapped, a lot of their devices had been destroyed and AJ couldn't use the facial recognition system they had used to locate Loki in 2012. This one was different, mostly because the only person who had access to it, and ever would have access to it, was AJ and it could only follow her commands. Her voice, her fingerprint, her pass-code, her second pass-code, a third one for good measure. It was un-hackable (so far, but then again, nobody knew about Project Visio).
She had gotten one hit.
Project Visio had managed to find Bucky when he visited the Captain America exhibit. AJ watched as he grabbed his dog tags and the note she had left him. He had shoved the piece of paper in his coat pocket and left the Smithsonian. The security footage outside showed him standing across the building gripping tightly to his dog tags. He stood there for three minutes without looking away from his dog tags and then finally, he put them on and tucked them under his shirt.
But then he disappeared. And that was the last time AJ had been able to get a facial recognition.
It had left her gutted and after a few days of nothing – AJ had decided to give up on Project Visio.
But she was tired of sitting around and doing nothing but have her pictures taken in the hopes that Bucky might see them. AJ needed to help find him. She needed to bring him back.
_
He could remember the way her hair felt between his fingers, the way her lips felt so soft against his, and the way her skin always smelt of vanilla with the slightest hint of citrus mixed together. Bucky remembered that her voice was always the raspiest in the morning or when she had drunk too much of Howard bourbon. He remembered her striking green eyes and the mole on her right cheek. He remembered how her dark hair had always perfectly held together in curls even while they were in a war zone, or the way her SSR Uniform hugged her body and the way the fabric felt against his finger tips when they'd sneak away. And oh, he remembered those red painted lips that would smear against his own causing her to laugh, how her thumb would gently brush against his lips to try and wipe the lipstick off so that no one would know what had just happened. He remembered the way her lips were bright red and swollen afterwards and she would hurry off with her hand covered her mouth slightly to fix it and he chuckle while watching her scurry off and how his heart would swell at the mere sight of her.
Adelyn Frost. The first woman he had ever loved.
Things were still hazy, memories felt more likes dreams and each night he'd wake up trying to figure out which were real. Bucky had a small notebook that he could write everything he was starting to remember down in and then study later on.
He knew that he was Bucky, not the Winter Soldier, but James Buchanan Barnes. He was childhood friends with Captain America; Steve Rogers. He remembered Steve as small and large. Bucky knew that Steve was his best friend, I'm with ya till the end of the line, pal.
Bucky knew that he loved AJ Frost, he knew that he missed her, but he also knew that he had to stay away.
He needed to stay away from both AJ and Steve. It was for their own protection.
Bucky may be away from Hydra, but he was still not in control of his own mind. He needed to keep running, always on the move, not staying in one place for too long. It was too dangerous. He kept to the shadows and avoiding all things technology. He hid his metal arm with coats and kept his hands hidden with gloves. That was going to be incredibly uncomfortable during the warmer days that were coming up. It was only February, so he could continue wearing the coats and gloves and hats – but people might look at him oddly during the summer and he didn't want anyone looking at him. He needed to be a ghost. That's what they called him. A ghost because of how he would reappear every couple of decades whenever Hydra needed him.
A ghost.
Unnoticeable.
And now; free.
Bucky took the glove off his flesh hand and pressed it flat against the tree he was standing in front of. It was dangerous to come to this place – but this was the place where it all began. His finger traced the letters he had carved into the tree in 1943. It had been cold back then, too.
It had been a secret he never told her – it was something he continued to do while they were together. But it was a secret just for him to know and one day when the war was over; he'd take her to this tree and all the others that he had carved into and she'd know just how long he had loved her.
Bucky Frosty
His fingers traced over the letters of the nickname he used to call her. Bucky could have written Adelyn, or AJ,but Frosty meant something more. It was something only he could call her. Bucky remembered how annoyed she used to get when he first started to call her Frosty and then over time how her eyes would light up when he would call her by that name.
Bucky couldn't help but wonder what her eyes might look like if he were to say that name now.
Frosty.
His Frosty.
He closed his eyes, fingers still tracing against the carving.
It was Valentines Day.
But it wasn't just Valentine's Day.
This day had become something so much more important to him. It was so important that Hydra refused to wake him on or near this date knowing that it somehow, even through all the decades, and wipes, and stays in the cryo-chamber this date still triggered him.
Bucky's eyes opened and looked at the words.
"Happy birthday, Frosty." He said quietly.
Bucky took his hand off the tree and pulled on his glove.
It was too risky to be here.
But he needed to be close to her on her birthday.
Camp McCoy had been a big part of their relationship. Friendship. AJ had made it incredibly clear that they could be nothing more than friends at Camp McCoy. But sometimes he would catch her watching him as he ran drills with the rest of the camp and wonder if maybe she saw him in the way he saw her.
But the first time he saw her truly look at him the way he always dreamt of her looking at him was after he had been taken by Hydra and AJ and Steve had come to save him. He had fought for so long to keep going, to survive, to get back to her so he could see her again. And when those green eyes locked with his, he had thought he was dreaming, or that he had finally died and she was his heaven.
Her green eyes were filled with concern, and happiness, and relief, and just the slightest hint of love. Her eyes were like a green flare in the night letting him know that she was with him, that she was there, and that he was safe now. All the men he had lost, all the pain Zola had put him through...none of that mattered because her eyes were like a million flares lit up in the sky letting him know that he was no longer alone.
Bucky would give anything to look into her green eyes again but he knew it wasn't safe.
He couldn't be with her.
He needed to protect her from Hydra...and from himself.
Bucky was leaving the States for good and this trip to Camp McCoy was his goodbye. Their names were still carved into the tree even after seventy-one years...that had to mean something.
_
The room was loud and full of laughter as AJ opened up her presents that the team had given her. Thor, had given her a lovely necklace that had belonged to his mother. A gift Thor had told AJ had once been given to Frigga from Loki when he was a boy. She didn't especially love the fact that the gift had been a gift from Loki to his mother as a boy, seeing as the man he grew up into had been an absolutely psychotic lunatic – but Thor was still feeling the loss of his death and AJ wasn't going to turn the gift away. And it was incredibly thoughtful for Thor to give AJ something that belonged to his mother. She knew how important the woman had been to Thor.
Privately, Bruce gave her a wrist band for Bucky that he had swiped from Tony and personally worked on. AJ had hugged him tightly, thanking him over and over again telling him just how much it meant to her and he had awkwardly hugged her back while laughing. It meant the world to her that Bucky would be protected from her powers – she was just waiting for the day Steve found him so she could give it to him personally. If he ever finds Bucky.
"Okay, my turn!" Natasha said, pushing past Sam to grab her presents for AJ off the table. AJ laughed as Sam scoffed dramatically that the red head had took his turn.
"It's okay, Sam – you can be after Natasha." AJ said to Sam with a smile and the man looked around at the crowed of their friends.
"You all hear that? I'm next."
Sam had already had quite a few drinks tonight.
Opening presents in front of people had always been mortifying for AJ, even as a child with just her family. She would look up and see all their eager faces just waiting for her reaction and she knew that if she didn't give the right one that she would disappoint them. Birthdays had been incredibly stressful for AJ. Until Bucky.
She took the presents from Natasha, one a medium sized long box wrapped in silver wrapping paper and a red ribbon, and the other was a medium sized box wrapped in red paper and a silver box. AJ was surprised Natasha hadn't gone with red and black wrapping, seeing as she was Black Widow after all. But she had a hunch that Jordan told her not to do it. AJ opened the smaller box first and grinned happily when she saw what it was. "How?"
"-I may have swiped a few of the weapons before SHIELD fell." Natasha said with an innocent shrug.
"What is that?" Steve asked.
"-Is that?!" Andrew moved so he was in front of AJ, looking at what she held in her hands now. "Oh my God – I was never allowed clearance to use one of these but I wanted one so bad!"
AJ laughed, looking down at the object in her hand.
It was called the Thunderstick. A weapon that SHIELD used that would release a wave of sonic energy that would incapacitate their enemies.
"It was one of my favorite weapons to use when I first started out at SHIELD." AJ told Steve who sat next to her, looking the object.
"-She damn near leveled a warehouse in Croatia. She was such a rookie." Clint said loudly and everyone in the room laughed. AJ playfully stuck out her tongue at Clint and then carefully set the Thunderstick back into the box and moved to open Natasha's other gift.
It was a brand new black leather jacket. She chuckled, taking it out of the box. "-Stark said that you're other one got destroyed." Natasha told AJ, "-And that you have been wearing flannel ever since."
"-It was your flannel shirt, Tony!" AJ yelled with a laugh, looking at Howard Stark's son who continued to sip his scotch, waving his hand in the air to change the subject. She playfully narrowed her eyes at him and grabbed the present Sam was holding out for her.
AJ pressed her hand over her heart and gasped while smiling, "My very own action figure?!" She laughed, looking at the packaged toy that Sam had given her.
"You're pretty freakin' popular is Canada, Jay." Sam chuckled, "You're their favorite avenger."
AJ had to laugh at that. Mostly because she didn't really consider herself an Avenger. She was a helping hand at most, in her opinion. But with all the information on her now out – she had grown increasingly popular in the last few weeks.
"Thank you, Sam."
"Okay, move aside amateurs." Tony said, snapping his fingers for Happy to bring in a black garment bag. AJ couldn't help but chuckle as Happy tried to make his way through the group of Avengers. She stood up and unzipped the garment bag. "Alright, Adelyn, I see you eyeing our outfits all the time." Tony said once the bag was unzipped and an outfit was revealed. "-So, I had this designed especially for you." Tony told her, "-It can withstand extreme cold, your cold." Tony stressed and AJ smiled. "Now, I thought a whole-body suit might be a bit much,"
"-Liar!" Pepper laughed, walking forward. "-I told him not to do the body suit – you have me to thank for that!" AJ ginned at Pepper.
"Whatever," Tony said, "-Right here," he pointed to the waist of the outfit, "-is your special utility belt that has an attached thigh holster for all your gadgets including that weird police baton thing Natasha got you."
AJ chuckled and walked up to Tony, "Thanks, buddy." She hugged him. It surprised him; the hug. His body went stiff for a moment but soon relaxed and he hugged her back. "I love it." She said as she pulled away from him.
"Yeah, good." He cleared his throat and looked to Pepper who was smiling at him softly, "Anyway – next present?" Tony said, taking the attention off of him.
Maria was next, her gift was something she owed AJ. A bottle of whiskey. Buchanan's Whiskey.
Clint had gotten her a new record player since hers had been damaged in the explosion in her D.C apartment along with some of her favorite albums from growing up.
Steve and Andrew said that they both wanted to give AJ her presents privately. Tony didn't like that – he really just wanted to know what Steve got her and that's the reason he put up a fuss about it. But Pepper pressed a kiss to his cheek and whispered something in his ear and Tony announced to the party that he was retiring for the night. They all laughed and soon after that, everyone started to clear out.
Natasha, Jordan, Bruce, Steve, and Thor were all still at the Tower. Clint had left early to get home before it got too late, and Maria had a flight to catch to London with Jane.
"Hey, Jay," Bruce said when AJ was refilling her drink. She turned around and saw that Bruce was not alone. Standing next to him was a very tall, very muscular man with brown skin and tribal tattoos on his chest (which was barely covered by a dress shirt that he had buttoned down extremely low). His hair was in something Clint once called a 'man-bun' and a scar on his eyebrow. "This is my former colleague I was telling you about; Dr. Kai Palani."
"This is Kai?" AJ laughed in a bit of disbelief. "The biochemist. You're joking right?" Bruce shook his head 'no' and AJ laughed even harder, "I'm sorry, but you look nothing like any biochemist I've ever worked with!"
The tall muscular man named Kai raised his scarred eyebrow up at her, "And you don't look ninety-six. But you don't see me laughing."
AJ made a face, feeling incredibly guilty now. She had a few too many drinks than she had planned on having tonight. "-I just...you look like you are more...Thor," She motioned to the Asgardian Prince. "And not so much..."
"Me?" Bruce said and when AJ looked over at him, ready to apologize, he chuckled. "It's okay, Jay. I was skeptical of him, too, when he first walked into the lab."
Bruce hadn't told AJ much about Kai. Just that he was a biochemist that he had met while working at Culver University, Kai Palani and Betty Ross had worked together to try and recreate the Super Soldier Serum using the notes Dr. Erskine had left behind (which were actually her notes, since Abraham had kept all the information he gathered in the one place no one would ever be able to steal them: his mind.) and ultimately created the Hulk after a combination of the serum they had created and far too much gamma radiation.
AJ still felt guilty every time she watched Bruce struggle with trying to control his anger so that Hulk wouldn't come out.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Palani." AJ apologized, extending her hand for him to shake. He did and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Bruce has told me a lot about you."
Kai laughed, dropping AJ's hand and nudged Bruce, "Hopefully nothing too bad! But if he did, I got a few stories about him, too." He then reached into his pocket, "Oh, uh, I got you something." Kai handed AJ something she had not expected. "Happy birthday."
"Um," AJ looked up at him with a raise of her brows. "...Blood?"
"Blood sample." Kai explained. "Bruce mentioned you are studying a rare type of blood and the blood samples you've tried to match it with weren't successful."
Her eyes darted to Bruce, shocked that he'd share such sensitive information with someone not in the inner circle. "Hear him out." Bruce told AJ. She took in a deep breath before looking back at Kai.
"This blood sample was one I took from a guy I met in Cuba last year."
"-And you've just been carrying around his blood sample waiting for the right moment to give to someone as a birthday gift?" AJ said, her tone snarky.
But Kai laughed, "No, I kept it locked away in one of my labs." He told her, "But I think that if you compared it to the sample Bruce told me about – you'd see that they are similar, if not the identical."
She opened and closed her mouth, not knowing what to say, "-Who...how...the sample, who does it belong to?"
"Josh Hendrix. He was...unique." Kai worded it carefully.
"Do you have any idea why his blood was different?"
He shook his head, "Never told me."
"Is there a way I, or, Bruce could reach him?" AJ asked Kai.
"-Afraid not. He died."
AJ looked down at the ground, feeling defeated. "Do you mind me asking how he died?"
Kai frowned, "Killed."
"Hydra." Bruce told her. But the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice told AJ that it wasn't just Hydra. She closed her eyes and licked at her lower lip. The Winter Soldier.
"I'm sorry for your loss." AJ apologized, truly meaning it.
"Thanks," Kai smiled. "Anyway, uh – I'd love to be a part of the project you're working on with Banner."
AJ looked to Bruce who raised his brows, eyes hopeful, she chuckled and looked back to Kai, "Well, I'd love to have you on board." Her eyes then went back to Bruce, "But you, are going to be the one to try and convince Tony to let him on board."
"I was afraid you were going to say that," Banner chuckled.
AJ told Kai that it was nice to meet him again and that she hoped to work with him soon, to which he said the same. He and Banner left, as well as Jordan and Natasha. Andrew gave AJ her present when it was only him, Sam, Thor, and Steve left with AJ. Andrew and Sam were headed out by Andrew wanted to make sure that AJ got his present before he left.
Thor left, leaving only AJ and Steve at the top of the Tower. AJ wanted to speak with Steve privately about Bucky and Howard – but she didn't feel right having that talk while in the Tower.
"Happy birthday," Steve said once Thor was gone, hanging AJ a leather-bound sketch book. She smiled, AJ always loved Steve's drawings. When they first started hanging out after Bucky left for Camp McCoy, Steve would always come over with a new drawing he had done the night before. The first one he had ever drawn her was a beautifully detailed snowflake. She opened the book and inhaled sharply, eyes filled with tears as she looked down at the drawing. "I uh," Steve cleared his throat but AJ kept her eyes on the drawing, "Zurich," Steve told her, "I uh, I was taking a walk around base on Christmas and I saw you and Bucky walking, too. It was before you guys told me about you two."
It was a picture of Bucky hugging her, a big grin on his face, eyes closed tightly as his arms wrapped around her middle. Her feet were up in the air, mid spin while her hair was covered in snowflakes, her arms wrapped around Bucky's shoulders. Her face wasn't shown, but AJ could still remember exactly how she felt in that moment.
She flipped to the next page, a drawing of her and Bucky the night of Howard's expo. The fireworks that had gone off that night were drawn above them. This time the drawing only showed AJ's features. It showed Bucky's back, his regulated army hat on top of his head as he stood a bit away from AJ while she raised her hand in a little wave.
The next was a drawing of AJ and Bucky laughing. She was sitting on the table in the lab, her head was thrown back as she laughed at Bucky who was hunched over a bit laughing too, the crinkles in the corners of his eyes were deep and his open-mouthed grin made AJ give into a shaky breath.
"You guys never did tell me what was so funny." Steve said with a little chuckle, standing in front of AJ and looking down at the drawing.
AJ smiled and looked up to Steve, "Uh," she chuckled, "I had surprised Bucky by making an extremely dirty innuendo," She confessed, "-You see, what you didn't draw was the mess he made when he had knocked over a bunch of Howard's beakers and they spilled all over a bunch of my notes. The look in his eyes after I made that innuendo, I had never seen anything funnier," AJ chuckled, "-And then the look in his eyes after he had knocked everything over was just...priceless. I kept laughing about it throughout the rest of the day."
"-Innuendos?" Tony said, walking into the room, "I hope for good ol' Cap's sake that they are not dirty."
Steve rolled his eyes at Tony's words and watched as AJ carefully closed the sketchbook. She looked up at him and whispered her thanks, "I'll look at the rest later." She told him quietly.
"-What's this?" Tony asked, moving to pick up the shoe box sized gift. "Did you forget to open one?" He asked, walking over to her and Steve, handing over the box.
"That's from Andrew, he had to leave." AJ told Tony as she took the box from him. She moved over to the large couch and sat down, opening the gift. Steve and Tony took a seat on either side of her. It was almost as if they both knew what the gift was. She tore off the wrapping and opened the top of the box and inside was a bunch of pictures. AJ grabbed the first one, extremely old but kept in great shape, it was a picture of AJ and all of her brothers.
"Wow," AJ whispered, her voice shaking. Steve moved his hand to her leg, giving it a little squeeze, encouraging her to look through more of them. The next picture she had to quickly cover her mouth when she began to laugh loudly. "Oh my God," she said, words muffled by her hand. "Oh, Henry." She continued to laugh.
"Andrew said that it was his Graduation picture."
Somehow, even aged, Henry still looked like her baby-faced little brother. His smile was wide and unfortunately his eyes were closed in the professional shot picture.
"Very photogenic." Tony said with a snort.
There were pictures of her and her brothers growing up in New York, of Sam and Eileen's children, Dougie, Lauren, and Juliet as they grew up throughout the years. There were pictures from Henry's wedding to Andrew's mother; Margaret and baby pictures of Andrew and Brian with Henry.
Her baby brother so grown up, so handsome, so in his element as a father. She saw the way he looked down at his twin boys with such pride and joy and AJ couldn't even imagine what it must have felt like. Andrew told AJ that Henry had been an amazing father – AJ would have never doubted that.
There were more family pictures, even a few baby pictures of AJ that had Tony laughing hysterically, threatening to steal them and upload them to the internet.
The very last picture was one that finally caused AJ to break down into tears.
It was a picture of her mother and father at her college graduation.
"Is that Ma and Pa Frost?" Tony asked, seeing the tears roll down her cheeks. She nodded her head as she looked down at the picture in her hand. "I see where you got your looks," Tony said causing AJ to let out a laugh, "-Your mom was a fox."
"Shut up, Tony." She sniffled, wiping away her tears.
"Bucky was terrified of your Dad." Steve said causing AJ to quickly turn her head to look over at Steve.
"What?" She said in disbelief, "-He never even met my Dad!"
Steve frowned, "Bucky, he uh," He shook his head as if he were debating on telling her what he was keeping in, "-He had been working on a letter to your Dad."
AJ blinked in surprise. "He what?"
"On the way to the Alps...he started writing your Dad a letter."
"Why?" AJ asked in confusion. Steve gave her a look; come on, Jay. You know why. Her eyes went wide in shock. "He was asking his permission?"
Steve nodded his head.
And the tears came back and they were overwhelming and felt like they were never-ending and she must have looked like a complete mess sitting between Tony and Steve, hunched over fighting back loud sobs. And then she felt Steve move his arms around her middle, resting his head against the back of her shoulder as she cried. Tony pressed his hand to hers and AJ grabbed onto it, gripping onto it tightly as she held onto the two of them as if they were her only lifelines.
"I would have said yes." AJ said, sniffling and trying to catch her breath as she tried to calm herself down.
"I know." Steve whispered. Tony squeezed her hand and AJ felt incredibly embarrassed.
"God, I am so sorry." AJ pulled away from the both of them, wiping away her tears and moving her hands under her eyes to wipe away her messed up makeup. "-Tony, you did such a good job with the party – I'm sorry I'm ending it on this note." AJ stood up, sniffling again and straightening her dress.
"Hey, don't worry about it." Tony told her, "You know the song; it's your party, Adelyn, you can cry if you want to."
She nodded, grabbing the box of pictures as well as the sketch book that Steve had given her. The two men stood up and AJ smiled at them both. "Thank you."
Steve nodded, moving forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek, "Happy birthday, Jay."
Tony was next, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, "Don't stay up too late, Adelyn. We have work in the morning." He told her causing AJ to chuckle.
AJ took the elevator to the floor where her bedroom was on and walked until she was at her bedroom door. She entered the room and set the box of pictures down on her dresser and brought the sketchbook to her bed. AJ slipped out of her heals and climbed into the bed, flipping through the pages of the sketchbook Steve had given her. There must have been at least forty pictures Steve had drawn from memory.
The sound of a large boom went off and her room lit up in a light green. AJ sat up a bit, looking out her window and saw fireworks going off in the sky. AJ crawled out of bed, setting the sketchbook down on her nightstand and walked over to her window to watch the fireworks.
The sky filled with color, reds, and greens, and purples and pinks. There was one that caught her eye though, it didn't explode in the sky like all of the others did; it was just a long stream of green light.
Almost as if it were a flare.
It made her think of Bucky for some reason.
