Natasha walked into the kitchen. Bucky was sitting down eating grapes from a bowl while scrolling through his phone.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" She asked as she picked a couple grapes.
Bucky rolled his eyes and snatched the bowl away.
"There's some more left in the fridge. And i might just chill and hang out with Sam. Why?"
Natasha walked over the fridge to get her own grapes and a water bottle.
"What about the present?"
She walked back to the counter and sat across from Bucky.
"What present?"
Natasha sighed.
"You forgot again didn't you?"
"What?"
"Tomorrow is the 23rd. September 23rd…." She trailed off.
Bucky sat there for a minute while the gears in his head were spinning.
"Oh my god!" He finally exclaimed.
"Oh my god. His birthday. How could I forget his birthday?"
Nat shrugged as she continued to eat.
"Shit. What do I do? I don't know what to get him. What does he even like?"
Nat's eyebrows shot up in confusion.
"You don't know what your boyfriend likes?"
"I mean I do. It's just that this is his first birthday with us being a couple and all. I want it to be special y'know?"
She nodded in understanding and grabbed her keys.
"C'mon."
"Where are we going?" Bucky asked as he set their now empty bowls in the sink.
"To the mall. Text Steve and tell him to keep Sam occupied."
20 minutes later and the duo arrived at the mall. They entered and they were surrounded by multiple different shopping outlets.
"Okay. What does he like?" Nat asked.
"Um…birds. And music. Anything that smells good and a bunch of other stuff I can't think of right now."
Nat shrugged.
"Why not get him cologne?"
"Because it's a cop out. I feel like that's too simple."
Nat looked around and the various stores and started walking towards a clothing shop.
"Um Nat?" Bucky said as he followed her.
"I don't know what size he wears in like anything."
"Trust me." She replied as she walked to the back of the store. Nat walked to a corner labelled "scarves" and put a couple of them in Bucky's arms.
"A scarf?" Bucky said.
He examined the multiple colored accessories. A couple of them were just one color like red or blue. Some had designs on them like snowflakes, polka dots, or rainbow colored stripes.
"I'm trying to find a specific one, just keep holding these."
Eventually Nat let out a soft "aha!" and held out a specific scarf. It was red and it was littered with a ton of tiny brown birds.
"Or.." Nat said as she held up another scarf.
This one extended to the floor and it was thin. The scarf was white and on the front was a pair of bird wings where if you wore it a certain way it would appear as if you had wings yourself.
"Hmmm…" Bucky said.
"What? You said that he liked birds."
"He does. But I don't know this doesn't seem that thought out."
"One: its fall and this will warm his neck. Two: it has birds on it. I've seen him in boxer briefs with a similar pattern to one of these. And three: its funny. A guy that dresses as a bird wearing a bird themed scarf."
Bucky just stared at her.
"You've seen Sam with just boxer briefs on??"
Nat just rolled her eyes.
"Do you want the scarf or not?"
Bucky nodded his head.
"Okay fine. We're getting the one with the wings."
Nat smiled and helped him put all the other scarves back.
"Perfect choice." She said as she walked to the counter to pay for it.
After paying for the scarf the duo decided to go the the food court and eat. There they discussed a previous mission and the dumb things they caught their fellow Avengers doing including Spider-Man trying the film a video of himself lip synching to a Rihanna song while upside down.
When they got in the car, Bucky looked down at the gift and sighed.
"What's wrong? You wanna return it?" Nat asked from the driver's seat.
"No. You're right it's a funny gift. It's just that I want something from the heart. I want him to know that I love him."
Nat gave quickly gave him a reassuring shoulder pat before returning both hands to the wheel.
"He knows that you love him." She responded.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Nat spoke up.
"Try a mixtape. I heard those are popular these days."
Eventually they headed home and walked back inside the tower. Bucky rushed to get his laptop and headphones and sat in the living room.
After trying to wrack his brain thinking of love songs, Bucky sighed and decided to take a snack break. He walked into the kitchen and started making him a sandwich when Sam walked it. He was sweaty and breathing heavily.
"Hey babe." The taller man said as he kissed Bucky's cheek.
"You're gross." Bucky said with a laugh.
"I was busy all day with Steve. He kept trying to get me to do a bunch of workouts with him. I never realized he was super competitive until now."
Bucky had a small smile on his face.
"That's Stevie for you. Constantly trying to prove himself."
Sam laughed his beautiful laugh and put his hand on Bucky's shoulder.
"So… What are you getting me for my birthday tomorrow?" He asked.
"What? Is that tomorrow? I had no idea." Bucky replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm and a little bit of anxiety.
Sam just smiled and looked at Bucky like he was the best thing that ever happened to him.
"You won't know until tomorrow, anyways." Bucky continued.
"Okay then, be like that Barnes."
Bucky just rolled his eyes and pushed him.
"Go take a shower you stink." The brunette commanded.
Sam took a bite of Bucky's sandwich before mock saluting and walking away.
Bucky continued to eat his sandwich before sitting back down and thinking of nice songs to add on Sam's playlist. A few minutes later, Rhodey walked in talking on the phone.
"Yes.. Yes.. Yes sir I'll try my best. Thank you sir. Okay bye bye." Rhodes hung up the phone and sighed.
Rhodey walked into the kitchen and opened up a cabinet. He moved a few things around and the beeping sounds of buttons being pushed filled the silent room. He then came out of the kitchen with a small bottle of whiskey in tow.
Bucky knit his eyebrows in confusion at this.
"Tony has a secret hiding place for his alcoholic drinks." Rhodey explained.
"Don't tell Pepper or any one else." He continued as he poured himself a glass.
Rhodey held out the bottle to offer some, but Bucky declined.
"I won't tell anyone if you help me out with a thing."
Rhodey moved closer to the man sitting on the couch.
"What kind of thing are we talking about?"
So for the next hour or so Rhodey helped Bucky put songs on the playlist. The air force veteran explained the reasoning behind having the songs saying that "its a classic" or "you two can slow dance to this one" or "it's not too fast for your white self to dance to" and "it'll be funny". The playlist ended up being 25 songs all about Sam or about the relationship between Sam and Bucky.
Afterwards, Rhodey got up and stretched.
"Alright, I gotta go. I have a girl at home who misses me."
"Wait… you have a girlfriend?" Bucky asked.
Rhodey winked.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Barnes."
They hugged each other before Rhodes made his departure.
"See ya, James #2."
Bucky smiled slightly.
"See ya, original James."
The next night, all the non busy avengers showed up for Sam's birthday party. It was a fun time with food, drinks, and music all around. The best part was the gift giving part. Steve got Sam a fitbit for "health reasons". Peter got Sam a bluetooth speaker. Rhodey got Sam a book on birds. Tony gave some cash. Nat got him a book on Maya Angelou.
"Stop hacking into my search history, Nat."
Was the response she got from Sam.
Finally, it was Bucky's turn. He handed Sam a box wrapped in blue gift wrap. Sam opened it and was delighted to find the scarf with wings on it. Sam smiled brightly and gave Bucky a kiss.
"I love it!" He said as he wrapped it around his shoulders.
A couple of hours later the party was slowing down and everyone left the living room to go to their respective places. It was just Sam and Bucky on the couch now, cuddling.
"I got you another gift." Bucky said.
Sam looked at Bucky.
"Is it in your pants?" He asked.
Bucky laughed softly.
"No but I can see why you would think that. It's something better."
Bucky got up from the couch and walked away. When he came back he had his laptop in hand and opened the tab to where he left off last night.
"Sam's birthday playlist." Sam read from the screen.
He grabbed the laptop from Bucky and looked at all the songs.
"Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Earth Wind & Fire, Janelle Monae…" Sam read from the list. His voice getting more excited with each name.
"Babe, how did you get all of this? They're all my favorite artists."
Bucky smiled shyly.
"Rhodey helped me out a bit." He admitted.
"I…well I wanted it to be special for you. Since this is your first birthday with us being a couple and all."
Sam looked over and smiled at his boyfriend.
"I love it. I really do." he said.
"Are you sure? It's not too cheesy is it?"
Sam leaned over and kissed Bucky softly.
"It's perfect."
"Besides," Sam continued.
"It's nice to know that my boyfriend got me 3 presents this year."
"3??" Bucky asked in confusion.
"The scarf. The playlist. And you." Sam said as he grabbed one of the bows from his previous presents and stuck it on Bucky's shirt.
Bucky laughed deeply.
"You're so lame, you know that?"
"You love it." Sam replied with another kiss.
They sat there in peace enjoying each other's company.
It was quiet until Sam exclaimed: "Really, Barnes?"
Bucky looked panicked.
"What?" He asked.
"Surfin Bird by The Trashmen?"
Bucky just shrugged with a smile.
"I love you, Bird Boy."
Sam playfully punched the other on the shoulder.
"Love you too, Robocop."