Hey happy birthday, I have a prompt of Steve being so used to ignoring his birthday cow it's always over shadowed by his countries birthday, but Tony suprises him with the perfect gift and celebration
Thank you for the birthday wishes and happy birthday to our favorite supersoldier! I've been eagerly sitting on this one for weeks so I could time it with Steve's birthday :)
~
It’s not that Steve hates his birthday. It’s not. He has very fond memories of celebrating his birthday while he was growing up, of inviting Bucky and his family over for a small dinner, of the cakes his mother would bake for him, of saving money from odd jobs for months so he and Bucky could go down to Coney Island for the day and return sunburnt and laughing. Things were a little different during the war, but the Commandos always scrounged up something for him.
It's not that he hates his birthday.
It’s that he hates what it’s turned into.
It starts in the months following the Chitauri attack on New York when the World Security Council, which has started insisting that Steve attend their meetings like he’s some sort of mascot, starts making noises about needing something to bolster spirits during the rebuilding efforts. Steve, who has long since stopped paying attention to the meetings—nothing ever happens anyway since the WSC got its hamstrings cut for voting to nuke New York—in favor of texting Tony who is rapidly becoming his closest friend in this century, thinks nothing more of it. And then Fury brings it up during a debriefing—apparently, they’d been serious—and while it’s clear that he’s thinking of maybe a couple televised interviews, Clint brings up Steve’s birthday.
“It’s in his file, yeah? He shares a birthday with our great country,” Clint points out.
And before Steve knows it, his birthday has been rolled into a celebratory gala for the Fourth of July, which Tony quickly coopts as a fundraising opportunity for the Relief Fund for victims of the battle.
That’s how it goes for five years. The parties get bigger, the fireworks get louder, and each year, Steve feels a little more invisible under the weight of the country’s celebration.
At least he doesn’t have to go alone anymore. Ever since Tony asked him out right before Christmas two years ago, he’s been Steve’s date to the gala. It’s better with Tony by his side. Steve still feels invisible to the rest of the country on his birthday, but he’s never invisible to Tony, who’s attentive at all times, but especially on his birthday.
“What kind of cake do you want this year?” Clint asks at breakfast about a week before the gala. He’s wound up planning the thing ever since the first year since it was initially his idea. He’s actually surprisingly good at event planning, turning his sniper’s focus from the battlefield to the ballroom.
“Putting it off kinda late, aren’t you, birdbrain?” Tony comments idly, sipping on a cup of coffee as he looks through the news on his tablet.
Clint waves an airy hand. “We worked out a design ages ago—don’t worry, Cap, it’ll be red, white, and blue, of course,” he adds with a cheeky wink. Steve tries not to flinch. “All we need is the flavor.”
Steve bites back a sigh and says, “Chocolate’s fine.” It’s not fine. There’s this incredible lavender flavor that he tried at a cupcakery he and Tony went to a few weeks ago that he would have loved to have for his cake, but he learned his lesson about unusual flavors after the disaster that was the maple and blueberry cake four years ago.
“Again?” Clint asks. “Come on, Steve-o. Try something different for once!”
“I like chocolate,” he replies, trying to sound enthusiastic and not defensive. Besides, chocolate’s inoffensive, and most of the guests will like it, even if he couldn’t care one way or the other.
Tony is being strangely quiet, and when Steve glances over at him, it’s to see him watching him through thoughtfully narrowed eyes. His fingers are tapping out a pattern Steve can’t pick up on against the table.
“What?” Steve asks, shoulders hunching.
Tony shakes his head. “Nothing.”
~
He might have forgotten about that conversation except that Tony keeps giving him those odd thoughtful looks over the next few weeks. It mostly seems to appear whenever Clint mentions something about the gala, particularly whenever he asks Steve for his opinion on some decision or another. He can’t figure out what it is, exactly, that has Tony so intrigued (he’d like to think that it’s Tony realizing how much Steve hates the birthday galas, but since it doesn’t seem like the preparations are slowing down at all, he figures that that can’t be it).
And then, the day before his birthday, Tony bursts into a mid-afternoon meeting Steve has with Fury, Maria, and Nat. He snags Steve by the arm, pulling him up out of his seat, and says blithely, “I’m kidnapping Captain America. Sorry, but you know how it is. If you have any complaints, you can leave them with my office. I’m available between two and three in the afternoon on every other Tuesday. Bye!”
No one seems very surprised by this turn of events, so Steve lets Tony pull him out of the room. They get all the way to the waiting car outside before Steve asks, “Wait, where are we going?”
Tony gives him a sardonic look. “I told you, I’m kidnapping you. You don’t get to know where we’re going. Now put this on.”
He hands Steve a blindfold. Steve laughs bemusedly and informs him, “I don’t think I’m supposed to be the one putting the blindfold on myself.”
“If you’d like, I can have Happy do it,” Tony says sweetly. Happy, standing by the open door, grins.
Steve puts the blindfold on.
It’s not hard to figure out where they’re going, even with the blindfold on. He’s always had an excellent spatial memory and that was before the serum enhanced everything about him.
“You know we have to be back in time for the gala tomorrow,” he says once he realizes they’re headed for the airport.
Tony sounds very dismissive and not at all concerned when he replies, “Yes, yes, it’s all worked out. Now would you relax? I’d hate to have to drug you.”
“You wouldn’t do that,” Steve says, feigning a confidence he doesn’t feel. He doesn’t think Tony would hurt him, but Tony is the type of person who hates to have his plans spoiled, and he might actually go ahead and drug Steve to get him to stop worrying about things.
Sure enough, when Steve can’t stop thinking about the gala and starts to say, “Okay, but—” the next thing he feels is a pinprick in his neck.
~
When he next wakes, it’s to the lack of any road noise, which tells him they’ve already boarded the plane to whatever exotic destination Tony has in mind. The next thing he realizes is that the blindfold has been removed, he’s lying on a bed instead of sitting in a seat, and there’s a metal pole running from floor to ceiling off to one side, which tells him that they’re not just on a plane, they’re on Tony’s plane.
He groans, thumping his head back against the bed.
“I hope that doesn’t mean you have a headache,” he hears Tony say and twists to his other side to see Tony sitting next to him, back braced against the headboard. “Bruce and I were pretty sure the dosage was low enough you wouldn’t have any of the side effects, but then you slept longer than either of us were expecting so.”
“The gala—” he begins.
“Fuck the gala,” Tony snarls. Steve stops, surprised by Tony’s vehemence. He’d always thought Tony—if not enjoyed them per se, then didn’t mind them. Tony takes a deep breath and purses his lips. “You hate the gala.”
“I don’t—”
“Steve.”
He stops again.
“You hate the gala,” Tony repeats. “And you hate the fireworks, and you hate that it’s all about America while you’re an invisible figurehead. And I missed it, which is what I hate.”
“It’s not—” Steve begins weakly only for Tony to throw a quelling glare his way. “Okay, fine. I want a quiet celebration with the people I care about, not all of this.”
“So that’s what I’m giving you,” Tony says. “An entire day just for you at a secluded location that no one knows about.”
“But what about Clint?”
Tony shrugs. “He’ll make do. I already told everyone I was kidnapping you. I told them right after the cake thing.” He gives Steve a curious look. “You were more interested in the lavender cake than chocolate, right?”
Steve can’t bite back his chuckle. “Nothing gets past you, huh.”
“Good. That’s what I got for you.” Tony looks very self-satisfied with himself, and Steve wants very badly to kiss him, but whatever Tony gave him still lingers in his system, enough to make him not want to sit up, so he leans over and kisses the curve of his hip instead.
Tony smiles at him and cards his fingers through Steve’s hair. It’s soothing and lovely, and Steve lies back, contentedly closing his eyes. Tony noticed. He wasn’t forgotten about this year. Tony saw him, and Tony planned something else far away from New York and the gala.
“Where are we going?” he asks after a minute.
“It’s a surprise,” Tony says immediately. He should have expected that.
“You know I can probably guess based on how long we’re in the air, right?”
“You forget you’ve been asleep for a few hours.”
He had forgotten that. “And what about when the pilot announces the descent?”
Something lands on his face, startling him. He opens his eyes again to see a pack of earplugs on top of his nose. It’s just so ridiculous that he laughs, burying his face in Tony’s hip.
“You might as well sleep, darling,” Tony murmurs, petting his hair again. “It’s a long flight.”
~
Steve wakes up again just before the plane lands, though Tony quickly blindfolds him before he can look out a window to gain some sense of where they are. If the pilot announces where they are, then he misses that too because Tony climbs into his lap and kisses him until he forgets how disorienting it is to be in a descending plane while blindfolded.
He gains more of a clue when they’re out on the tarmac as Tony guides him to a waiting car: the scent of grapes. It narrows down the choices considerably, but he keeps his mouth shut. Tony clearly went to a lot of trouble to keep all of this a surprise. He doesn’t want to ruin that for him.
They drive for what his internal clock tells him is close to an hour before they turn onto a gravel driveway and slow to a stop. He hears Tony get out of the car and come around the other side to let Steve out, threading his fingers through Steve’s.
“Alright,” Tony says, sounding oddly nervous. “Here we are—oh! Forgot about the—”
He reaches up and pulls the blindfold off in one quick motion, revealing a beautiful villa. The house is built from a welcoming, warm brown stone, balconies dotting the upper floors. Behind the house stretches miles and miles of fields, plants swaying in the light breeze. There’s a hand-painted mailbox next to the car, welcoming them to the Villa Carbonell.
“Carbonell,” he murmurs. “This was your mother’s?”
“My grandparents’ actually,” Tony says, free hand jammed deep in his pocket. “They planned to leave it to my mom, but then she passed away, so they left it to me instead.” He gives Steve a sidelong look. “It was never hooked up with phones, and I left everything but our Avengers comms on the plane. The fridge is fully stocked, the villa recently aired out. We’re here for three days.”
Three days.
Three days of having Tony all to himself, no business meetings, no interruptions, no three-hour phone calls. The only thing they’ll have to worry about is an Assemble, and if he knows Tony, he’ll have likely arranged for one of the other teams to be called out before they try to contact the two of them, so they’ll only be called in the event of a world-ending emergency.
It sounds perfect.
“Good birthday present?” Tony asks, and now the nervousness makes sense. This is a piece of Tony’s past, something that he’s possibly never shared with anyone. Of course his Tony would be nervous.
Steve turns and swoops him up into his arms, swinging him around. “It’s the best,” he enthuses and kisses him.
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Fic Back Friday: Recs
Fic Back Friday
Make a post recommending a fic you love from at least a year ago. Dust off the archives, dig through your AO3 history and share those old fics with newer fans who might not have seen them - and the fans who’ve been around forever and might want to revisit an old fave.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Pairing: Buffy/Spike
The Barbverse by Rahirah
“ A saga of sex, violence, violent sex, pizza, gods, demons, ex-demons, ghosts, road trips, black magic, white magic, sorta greyish magic, felonies and misdemeanors, cooking with pig's blood, ethical dilemmas, the importance (or not) of the soul, tying the knot, the care and feeding of small children (demonic and otherwise), life after undeath, the founding of dynasties, the folding of laundry, Ultimate Evil, blood play, channel surfing, true love and (ooh, that word) redemption, in which is explored the question of whether or not one Buffy Anne Summers, vampire slayer extraordinaire, and one William the Bloody, vampire of infinite heart and limited ethics, can reach a certain degree of mutual accommodation after diverse discourses and considerable ass-kicking.”
Riverdale Pairing: Betty/Jughead
A Mustard Stain Over His Heart by Pestilent_orange
“If he had been somewhere else, maybe sitting behind his computer in a booth at Pop's, trying to describe Betty Cooper from a safe distance, he would have said that she smelled like vanilla candles and fresh-baked snickerdoodles and strawberry lip gloss.But the truth of the matter, he found himself thinking as she inched open her bedroom door while he stood very close to her and psychically willed her parents to stay asleep, dammit, stay asleep, because Jughead did not fear many things in this life, but he feared Alice Cooper -- the truth of the matter was that Betty did not smell like those things either.“
Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Pairing: Reylo
Cupcake Wars by Crossing Winter
“Entirely by accident, Rey ends up fucking someone who works for Snoke's Cupcakery. She's just blowing off steam. It doesn't mean anything at all. It certainly won't come back to bite her in the ass.”
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Jurassic World Dining
Whether herbivore, omnivore, or carnivore, something tasty is always around the corner in Jurassic World. You'll find everything from cheeseburgers and churros to sushi and steak at the restaurants and cafes located throughout Isla Nublar.
Winston's Steakhouse
Unleash your inner carnivore! Feast on the finest steaks on Isla Nublar in a formal setting. The Chilean Sea Bass comes highly recommended
[View Menu]
Margaritaville
Margaritaville is more than a restaurant, it's a state of mind. Mellow out with a Mesozoic margarita, chomp on a cheeseburger in a Jurassic paradise or just relive your daily adventures.
Mike and Ike Candy
As your official candy partner of Jurassic World, mike & Ike has got your treats covered. Open your jaws for the new mike & Ike Jurassic world tropical fruits with mystery flavored dino eggs inside--available at Jurassic traders
Warning: do not feed them to the triceratops !
Nobu
Legendary sushi meets Jurassic ambience in Nobu's Isla Nublar offering. The amber sushi bar and stunning views make Nobu Jurrasic world a truly unforgettable experience. Reservations are strongly encouraged.
Dave & Buster's
There's no telling how big we can make your smile at our Jurassic world location. Play Race the Raptor, chow on some volcanic Stegosaur bites or watch your favorite sporting events on more than 38 flat screens. It's the most fun you can have under one roof.
Ben & Jerry's
Everyone's favorite ice cream is even better on a tropical Isla Nublar day. Ask about their surprise flavor of the day!
Sunrio
It's a paleo-party every day all day at Sunrio Tequila Bar & Mexican Restaurant. Taste our 100% Jurassic era tequila made from Cretaceous age agave.
Starbucks
Our baristas are here to help start your Jurassic World day right--whether you spent the night sleeping in a tree or just need a healthy morning snack. We recommend our Isla Nublar roast, made wiht coffee beans hybridized with plants from the Mesozoic era.
Yoshinoya
The fast food favorites that put fast food in a bowl have no come to Jurassic World! Omnivores of all ages will love the Teriyaki Combo Bowl.
Baked by Melissa
Everyone deserves a special treat. The popular cupcakery's Jurassic World location has all of your favorite confections and brand-new favorites like Cretaceous Caramel and Fossil Fudge
Jamba Juice
Your source for Fruit smoothies, all natural baked goods, steel-cut oatmeal, and other healthy snacks. If only the dinosaurs had a Jamba juice, they might never have gone extinct.
Daily Food Consumption
Curious about how dino-sized appetites compare to ours? Interact with the chart below to get a sense of how Jurassic World's dinosaurs eat compared to humans in the park on an average day.
[ “Pouds/Kilograms (thousands)” is written along the y axis, and the x axis is time. ]
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