riverviewlogs | [OPEN] apple pie is officially banned from this party, aka Steve Rogers' birthday

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[OPEN] apple pie is officially banned from this party, aka Steve Rogers' birthday

who: ANYONE
what: 616 Bucky, Peggy, and 616 Tony throw a birthday party for Steve.
when: July 4th, afternoon into the evening
where: A nice park
warnings: Birthday fun. :v

Steve Rogers, former (and still) Captain America, was born on the Fourth. It was pretty much fated. That said, he deserves a party that has nothing to do with Independence Day, and that's what Bucky, Tony, and Peggy set out to do. They rented a nice little park with some good open, grassy space perfect for a pick-up game of football (American, of course). On one end of the park, in the relative shade of a couple of large trees, they've set up two long tables - one for food, and one to deposit presents for the birthday boy on. The picnic tables already in the park have nice blue tablecloths to eat on. A banner hung between the trees proclaims, "Happy Birthday, Steve!", in blue letters on white.

The decor tries to stay away from Fourth of July colors - there isn't a speck of red, just shades of blue and white, and it's all very put-together and classy looking (thank you, Peggy and Tony). It's the sort of party they thought Steve would want, outdoorsy and casual, just a gathering of friends and whoever else wants to come by to wish the birthday boy a happy one.

Invites
Invitations have mostly been word of mouth and texts sent to people Steve is friends with, nothing too fancy. They just say to drop by and wish Steve a happy birthday, have some food, and spend some time hanging out; Rogers wouldn't want anything fancy anyway. That said, they won't turn anybody away from the barbecue if someone decides to just crash the party, as long the behavior stays respectful.

Food
The food is mostly standard American barbecue fare. Two large grills have been set up near the tables and someone (often Bucky) is usually cooking on them - an array of burgers, hot dogs, steaks, even some ribs and chicken. Side dishes are laid out on the food table, the usual simple things. Here and around the picnic tables are a good place to mingle; there's plenty of food for everyone, and metal tubs full of ice and bottled soft drinks. There isn't much alcohol present at this party, though, just one of the tubs set aside with beers in it.

There's also a massive cake for Steve, with close to a hundred candles dotting its layers - Bucky's idea, payback for the time he couldn't see his own cake for all the candles.

Tossin' the Old Pigskin
They're all (mostly) adults here, so there aren't 'party games' necessarily, but there are a couple of footballs and some frisbees in the grass for anyone who wants to play a game in the lush field. Just be careful if the heavy hitters decide to arrange a game, it could get pretty out of hand.

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[Bucky has gotten used to pretty much ignoring any looks any Steves give his arm. It's easier not to comment; he knows with his Steve, there's still a lingering guilt about what happened back in '45.]

See, that ain't right. At least we get to show you a good time this year. [The more Steves the merrier, he thinks.] Fireworks are alright, but it's better to get to enjoy your birthday as your birthday. Not as the Fourth of July.

[ Usually, the fanfare over the Fourth of July took precedence over his birthday but Steve never really minded much in the past. Things tended to be difficult to celebrate when the day only served as a reminder of how much he lost with crashing the plane and waking up in a completely different time.

Here in this place, Steve appeared to have a lot more than usual - at least, the other Steve had. He still felt a little on the outside but again he never really minded. ]

Did you and your Steve celebrate in your universe? [ The multi-verse thing continued to throw him for a loop but he wanted to come around quickly enough. ] Your birthday is the same as my Bucky's? [ He wanted to make sure to not miss anything. ]

[Bucky has found that he's fond of just about any Steve he's met. (He's on the fence about one of the Tonys' President Cap, but he's never met that one.) It's nice to see them both getting to have a good time.]

Usually we'd at least get drinks or somethin'. Not always time for it, during the war, and with everything going on, but we tried. [He always tried to do at least a little something for Steve's birthday, because Steve always did something for his.]

I don't know his, there isn't a lot about us that is the same. Mine's March 20th though.

[ While he still needed to come around to the multiple Tony Stark's, he had little issues with two Bucky's. His Bucky still needed to come around a little more but the other Bucky had been nothing but friendly. It made him feel a little less uneasy about everything. ]

I never really did anything after I woke up from the ice. Kind of avoided everyone. This is probably the first birthday I've actually celebrated in seventy plus years. [ A sort of wistful smile filled his face for a moment. ]

Okay, yeah, you have different birthdays. His is March 10th. [ Why did they have different birthdays but he shared the same one with the other Steve? ] I'm starting to see that. Have you guys talked much? [ Bucky talking to anyone would make Steve happy. ]

[ Grabbing for a tomato slice, he popped it into his mouth. ] Not sure yet how much I have in common with your Steve. But your Tony is really different.

We've... spoken once or twice. [Stilted conversations that the other Bucky is all too eager to flee from, usually. He bites off the end of his popsicle.] Enough to know that we're barely the same person. I was born in Indiana, didn't meet Steve 'til I was sixteen. I never lived in Brooklyn until after I came back to the world. My team was the Invaders, not the Howlies. There's a whole laundry list of things that don't match up. [Easier to talk about this than the things that do match up. The big thing - the Winter Soldier.]

Yeah, none of the Tonys seem that similar either. It's weird how that works. You and Steve would probably get along, though.

[ So many differences, which only made a dozen or so more questions pop into his head but he decided to not ask them for the moment. Maybe sometime. Maybe never. There were some things probably better off unspoken. ]

I grew up with Bucky. We met as kids. Guess that gives us different types of bonds. [ This Bucky and Steve met a lot later in life than he met his Bucky. He couldn't imagine not growing up with him. ] Did you guys fight in the war together?

[ He nodded his head, drinking more of his ice cream float. ] I bet there are a lot of jokes there. Getting along with myself. Facing myself. [ He gave a short laugh. ] I hope so anyway. I mean, that we'll get along. Some shared life experiences there. Even if the events aren't exactly the same.

[A slight smile tugs at the corners of his popsicle-stained mouth.] Not so different, really, where it counts. Steve's like my brother, my partner. We hit it off just like that, it was never like fightin' with a stranger. [It only took them a couple of weeks. They grew close really quickly, found in each other something neither of them had had - a family.] Yeah. I was his partner. Captain America and Bucky. I had an outfit and everything.

I think the important things are usually the same. You're all good men. The Tonys, you and Steve.

[ he listened with interest as Bucky talked, nodding his head here and there. despite the differences of how they ended up, the bonding still mattered at the end of it all. they cared about one another and he could only hope it would translate on opposite sides as well. they all needed more support to get through things.

an outfit? ]

What kind of outfit was it? Are there any pictures?

[ he gave a nod of his head. ] I look forward to getting to know everyone better. I'm not sure what kind of universe all of you come from but mine was really troubled. Having all this support feels - nice.

You'd have to ask Steve for a sketch. [His grin turns wry.] You're just gonna make fun of my domino mask. I was the only kid in the Army whose gear kit had a bottle of spirit gum in it. [Honestly he figures he will get made fun of for the blue short-shorts and the red tights, more than anything. God he's glad he never has to wear that again.]

What kinda trouble? We've got trouble just about every other day where I'm from. [He makes a distasteful face; it's slight, but on Bucky, it's almost an exaggeration. He's not the most expressive these days.] It's the two-thousands an' I'm still punching the lights outta neo-Nazis. Some people never goddamn learn.

[ the mention of a sketch had a smirk filling steve's face and he made a mental note to do just that later on. there had to be SOMETHING more embarrassing than his time during the tour. ] I'm sure you looked dashing. [ already teasing? just maybe. ]

[ but his face looked a little more solemn a few moments later. ] In my time, we were battling against this thing the government wanted to pass. The Accords. It would force a registry of all superpowered individuals and make it harder for the Avengers to do what needed to be done. Plenty of red tape. [ he shook at his head head, sadly. ] It divided us. Pit some of us against each other.

Were they like HYDRA in your world or were they something different?

Damn right I was. ['Was', past tense. He doesn't exactly think much of himself these days, appearance or otherwise.] Me an' Toro got all the girls when we went out in our olive drab.

[And then - yeah. That's a lot to take in right there. Bucky blows out a slow breath, wondering how much he wants to say. This is supposed to be a birthday party, after all, and the corresponding time period in his world... It was one of the worst.] It was the Superhuman Registration Act for us. We can have that talk if you wanna, but it ain't much of a birthday conversation.

[ Oh, Steve picked up on the was term because how could he not? He tended to have varying opinions of himself and knew the signs to pick up in others of the same thing. Given the whole 'Cap' thing with this Bucky he could understand the guilt and remorse better than most. ]

Since this is a birthday celebration, maybe we can talk about it later? Looks like we'll both have the time here. [ He offered a small smile. ] For what it's worth, I'm sure you did a better job with things than you think.

Plenty of time. [That much is true, at least. The portal is difficult to control, which means Bucky is planning to be here for a while longer still. Not forever, but... in a way, he kind of likes it on the moon. Sixteen year old him would have gone nuts for this.] Whenever you want. Just text me, we can meet for drinks. [Because if they're going to have that conversation, it needs to be later, and over some supersoldier-grade whiskey.]

Better job with what things?

The Cap things.

[ The words were simple but deliberate because he knew very well how difficult they were to accept. There were so many things he felt he handled incorrectly and he always questioned whether they should have made him the leader in the first place. During the war, he knew the score but leading the Avengers had been a much different and often times very unsettling experience. ]

I'll take you up on that. I haven't really gotten the chance for drinks yet.

Oh. I didn't know anyone had... mentioned that. [He seems a little embarrassed, almost, like he's been caught out playing dress-up or something. At least Steve isn't judging him for it. That's a plus. Then again, did he ever think any version of Steve wouldn't get it?] Thanks.

[He shoots him a smile at that, still a little sheepish, but genuine. Bucky reaches into one of the tubs of ice and pulls out a couple of beers, handing one over to Steve.] First one's on me.

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[OPEN] apple pie is officially banned from this party, aka Steve Rogers' birthday

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