Reality in Motion

surprises

The rhythmic knocking on his door alerted him to her arrival. It was much later than her usual time - she had let him go on his run alone and it was already close to mid morning by the time she arrived. After his run, he had walked around, gone to the diner, sat there with his coffee and breakfast, then walked back to the apartment. It had taken him a bit to get to his apartment - he still needed to ask her if there was some sort of transportation that he could take. He knew of the subway system and the buses that ran, but he didn't know the routes. Still, he didn't mind the walk, it was nice to walk through the city, especially on a day like it was.

His run might've been early, but by the time he started walking back to the apartment, the crowds were forming to kick off the celebrations. Of course DC would be a popular place for Fourth of July - it was the nation's capitol. There was plenty going on, parades were getting started, small bands were playing, people were everywhere. The Fourth of July celebrations were starting to look similar to the ones he remembered, just on a larger scale. Everything these days seemed to be bigger than it used to be: food, televisions, drinks...even celebrations.

Fourth of July was always a big deal back in his day. The day was a welcome relief from the stresses of living in a country that was seemingly always at war - it was like everyone forgot about what was happening across the oceans. Brooklyn was always buzzing with excitement. He remembered the decorations, the flags hanging from fire escapes, everyone dressing up in their Sunday best, kids running around with sparklers and noisemakers, and all the different kinds of foods. Sometimes he and Bucky would watch the parade together from the fire escape of one of the apartments, other times they would go down to the street and watch the parade, getting food from the different sellers and Bucky would always try to flirt with the girls around them. They would usually end up watching the fireworks with the girls. It was a day filled with friends, food, and plenty of fun.

"Happy birthday!" Agent Proctor greeted him with an excited smile.

And it was also his birthday.

He was surprised by her greeting and the way she greeted him; there was an actual emotion behind it. With the summer getting into full swing, she had started to wear her hair up in a high ponytail so that it was off her neck, but she was still decked out in her blazer and skirt, a small American flag pin on her lapel as if that was the most she could do for the holiday. Then he noticed that she was presenting him with a cupcake that had a candle stuck in the middle. It was vanilla flavored with red, white and blue icing. His eyes darted from the cupcake to her eyes.

"You remembered." His brow involuntarily furrowed; he knew he mentioned it and of course she had his file, but he thought that she wouldn't make it into a big deal or even recognize the day as something special.

"Of course." She looked a little confused by his statement and she shook her head a bit, her ponytail swinging behind her, "It's your birthday." He nodded at her and she motioned with the cupcake, "Make a wish." she encouraged. He reached out for the cupcake, taking it in his hand and bringing it up to a bit.

A moment passed as he thought about what to actually wish for; sure he had wishes, but a lot of them couldn't actually come true and he didn't really want anything else. Still, he blew the candle out, thinking of a simple wish that he could work toward. At the action, she clapped her hands together and the corners of his mouth quirked up at her reaction.

"Thank you, Agent." he twisted the cupcake in his hand and nodded at her, "I appreciate it." She gave him a nod in response, paired with that warm smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Letting her step into his apartment, he followed her to the dining room area. She walked past the boxes that were still in the process of being unpacked - it was something they were working on a bit at a time since some of them contained memories he wasn't ready to relieve quite yet. She set her bag down on the table and looked over to him. He set the cupcake down on the table, brushing his hands together before waiting for her to pull out her notepad and pen so they could get started with their morning talk. But she didn't, instead turning to look at him, hands settling at her hips,