Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, the Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, etc. Just Jamie.

Chapter 8
26

January was quickly approaching once again, and as usual, Jamie made no plans for her birthday. All she really hoped was that she didn't receive any more flowers from the stalker that there were no leads on. The last time he sent her flowers had been on her birthday last year. She had gone a whole year without getting a single flower, and as weird as that sounded for something that she would have loved to get flowers for, she was very happy about that.

Steve, the day before her birthday, had asked if she wanted to have a nice quiet night in with pizza and a movie, their usual gig and she accepted, of course. He gave her no indication that he knew it was her birthday though. She was very pleased about that. She was always so awkward with receiving presents.

There was a knock at her door, and Jamie got up. Steve probably had his hands full with pizza and beer. He had started to bring more and more pizza each time he went over. He had been modest in the amount he could eat, but his mobilising was too fast and he'd be hungry half an hour later. Jamie had been doing the same thing too. They were just more comfortable with one another now that they didn't care and would eat as much as they wanted while together.

"Hey Steve," she greeted, opening the door. Her smile fell when her eyes didn't land of Steve, or anybody. Before her on the ground was a vase of purple tulips.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Jamie growled, once again stopping to the trash once slamming her apartment door shut. She ripped the flowers apart and dumped them in the garbage. Her happy mood completely destroyed. She debated whether or not to read the card. She didn't enjoy her brithday to begin with, but she had always been content with just sitting along. Not she dreaded her birthday because it meant such unwanted attention and an invasion of privacy.

Her privacy was already invaded so much as it was. She worked for the worlds best spy agency, after all. They were, of course, going to watch their own people to make sure they weren't doing anything else. Even then, they were going to watch her because of what SHIELD knew she could do. Add the fact that people may recognize her from all the footage from the Battle of New York and she had very little privacy to maintain.

Having a freaky flower sending stalker was something she really didn't want to worry about and deal with.

Jamie decided to read the note, just to make sure it didn't threaten her beyond what had been going on so far. What she found didn't settle her stomach or put out her fiery anger whatsoever.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I deeply apologize for not paying you the attention you so greatly deserve. Showering you in beautiful, delicate flowers has become increasingly difficult, but I made sure to, at the very least, deliver to you a lovely gift for my beloved's twenty-sixth birthday.

I wish I could be there with you to celebrate, as I know you are greatly unappreciated and are so very modest when it comes your self worth. If only wish you are not burdened by the less deserving and highly overprivileged of those people call your colleagues: The Avengers. They are dim, meaningless sparks compared to your beautiful, brilliant, radiant light.

Happy Birthday, my beloved Jameson.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"Jamie screamed in madness, her hands pulling at her brunette locks.

Jamie was so sick of this person. He acted as if he knew everything about,everything about her friends. He knew nothing! He had no right to say things like that to her about them. He had no right to have opinions on her life, or her friends.

He didn't know her. He didn't know any of them. She cared for them because they were good people. They all had flaws, especially her, but that didn't mean they were the "dim, meaningless sparks" the asshole referred to them as. What pissed her off more than her invasion of privacy was this very disrespectful act of putting down her friends she depended on so dearly.

"Jamie? Jamie! Are you okay? Open the door! Jamie!"

Jamie's head snapped to the direction of the door. Steve's voice was loud even with how far it had to travel through the door and into the kitchen. He had to have heard her scream in frustrations.

Great, just great. You sure know when to turn up, don't you, She thought irritatedly, though it wasn't necessarily towards Steve. She tried to fix her hair, tossing the note onto the counter as she rushed to the door to prevent her blonde friend from breaking the door down to save her some somebody that wasn't even there.

She opened the door quickly, almost right when Steve was about to kick the door in. "Sorry…." she muttered, looking at him apologetically until her eyes landed on the content dropped on the floor.

Beside a rather flat wrapped present, blue and green birthday paper, was a bouquet of yellow roses. Her eyes didn't move from them even when Steve took her by the arms and have her a small shake, addressing her about her scream.

"Jamie? Are you okay? Hey, Jay? Jamie?" Steve kept asking in concern.
"I'm okay," she sighed. She finally looked up to Steve, his blue eyes still deeply concerned as he remained holding her.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked.

Jamie shook her head. "Nobody," she answered.

He obviously didn't believe her.

So she was left with one thing to do. "What's that?" she asked in regards to what was dropped on the floor.
"Your birthday presents," he answered, obviously seeing that this was an attempt to distract him.

"H-How did you know it was my birthday?" she asked picking them up off the floor and leading him in, just in case there was the off chance that her stalker was still there watching them. "I never told you when it was. Or anybody, for that matter."

Jamie smelled the flowers as she lead Steve into the kitchen, fully intending on putting them in a vase despite the the urge to toss them in the garbage with the others. I really hold I don't get the urge to through every flower I get into the trash, she thought, a soft, sad sigh escaping her.

"Well, you know Tony. When he finds something like that out, he doesn't keep his mouth shut," Steve admitted, sitting at one of the stools at the island counter. "Why didn't you tell me though? I mean, you get me birthday presents every year."
Jamie just shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really like doing anything. I just sit around and watch TV."
"You don't have to do that alone," he reminded her. A gentle smile graced his lips, one that she always loved seeing him wear. It was a sweet smile, one that let her know that he really was comfortable and content just relaxing with her.
"I know," she said. Her hand went to his arm, giving him a slight squeeze to let him know that she really did take in his words. "You're sweet."

Steve's sweet smile remained on his handsome face as he nodded at the wrapped package on the counter. "Open it?"
"Okay, I can see you're excited…" Jamie smirked at him before reaching out and chuckling. "Where did you learn how to wrap?"
"Hey, I tried…" Steve laughed, not at all offended at her words. He knew her well enough to know that she didn't mean anything by them.
"Tried and failed, my friend," she added, slipping her finger in the folded corner. She broke the tape off with ear, slipping the two sheets of paper out of the very flat present.
Her fingers touched smooth, white bristol paper, a relatively expensive paper, by the estimated feeling of the thickness she had in her hand. She knew, after doing research for presents for the artist before her that it was somewhere around three ply bristol paper that would cost about three dollars per sheet.

The first sheet was a light drawing of a young pretty woman, obviously drawn by Steve's own hand. She was reclined, peacefully slumbering on a familiar couch. One hand was under the pillow, the other resting gently on the cushion in front of her face, though not blocking a clear view of the face.

Her face.

Steve had gone and drawn her while she was asleep one day when they were having one of their movie night after she had gone and told him not to draw her. And though he had gone back on his word (though it wasn't as if it was really all that important) she was rather pleased. The picture was beautiful. She looked innocent and at peace.

It had to be idolized!
"You made me too pretty," she stated right of the bat. She didn't believe that were was any way she could look that pretty. His drawing was too good. He made her look too good.
"I didn't do you justice," Steve corrected.

Jamie blushed at the compliment,glancing up at him through her lashes before looking back down at the work. "That's a bit of an exaggeration…" she muttered, trailing off.

The soldier just rolled his eyes. "There's," he muttered, becoming more nervous now, "one more…"
Jamie glanced up at him before placing the drawing of her on the counter to shirt to the next image. This one, also on the same paper as the first, caught her attention far more than the one of herself.
She instantly knew who it was. There was no question about it. Despite having much thinner cheeks, large bags under his eyes, and a much scrawnier frame of the body than it was now, it was very clear to see that it was Steve. It was Steve before he had gone through the super soldier experiment.

"I-I know you said you wanted to know what I looked like before and I only have one picture, so I thought, you know, a drawing would be good enough. I hope that's okay. I mean, you like photo's of your own so I knew you'd want one for yourself." He trailed on and on in his nervous rambling.
"Steve, sweetheart, this is perfect," she looked up, smiling at him. "I love it. Thank you for trusting me with this. I…" She looked back down at the image fondly. "You're so cute. I wish I knew you then," Jamie said, a single finger ghosting over the paper. She didn't want to risk smudging the graphite on the paper.
"It would mean you wouldn't be here now though," he stated. "I like having you around. You," he sighed, looking at her a bit vulnerably, "make me feel at home."

Jamie smiled at him a bit sad, though she was trying her best to be comforting. She walked around the counter and right out wrapped her arms around him in a tight, warm hug. "You always have a home here, Steve. I promise. For as long as you want it, and even then some."

Steve hesitantly hugged her back, and didn't indicate that he was going to let her go anytime soon. "Thanks, Jamie."
Jamie pulled back only enough to look up into his face. She gently place a tender hand on his cheek, thumb caressing the smooth skin. "Anything for you, Steve. Anything."

I know it's been a while. I apologize. I've got a really rough schedule this semester and then I was in the ER and I'm still not really 100% so looking at screens kind of hurts my head. I'm fine, but eh. The next chapter is already partially done. I hope to have it up next week. It's an Agents of SHIELD chapter too...so I hope you looke forward to that. Again, I'm sorry!

Thanks go to the following for their reviews:

xenocanaan- I'm glad you liked it. I hope you liked this one as well!

Jo- I read in another story that wrote in fanfiction and ever since then I wanted to do something like that.

StillDoll13- You write the best smut...Just saying...

Jedi Jelsa777- Hope it was worth the wait and a good filler chapter. And yeah, I'm so stoked for the next movie...I have to see Deadpool this weekend.

dleshae- I'm so glad.I hope you like this one as well.

Guest- THEY CAN'T CANCEL IT I LOVE THAT SHOW! I'm gonna be pissed if they do...Troll phone does come back...just saying...Oh, Tony def. knows about the fanfiction...I should do something with that. And sorry for the long wait. I had vertigo...

KnowInsight - I'm really glad you liked the fanfiction!

seasidewriter1- Well, that's a pain. Hopefully it's all taken care of now. And I'm glad you liked the chapters! Hope you liked this one as well.