--- JULY 4th 2017 ---
Bucky may not have been a fan of technology, but he was really wishing for some air conditioning right about now.
The summer heat had made its way into the valley of the village, finding a comfortable home among the sun-bleached rooves of the clay huts. Their architecture at least allowed for some cooling, catching the higher breeze and funneling it downward through small openings near the ceiling.
However, there is only so much cooling a breeze can do, especially when you have plans that require you to go outside.
Bucky was joining Songbird in gathering some ingredients around her farm and having a small celebration for 4th of July. It wouldn't be a big party, but it didn't have to be. Most years, Bucky and Steve would celebrate the occasion with a simple birthday cake and some fireworks going off around New York City.
Most years, they'd celebrate Steve's birthday together.
"Happy birthday, Steve." Bucky said to himself as he sat at the end of his bed looking at his hands. He hoped that, somewhere out there, his friend was able to hear him.
And with that, he started packing his things for Songbird's place.
---
"Hey there, Yankee!" Songbird called out from her field as she saw Bucky approaching. "Happy 4th of July, ya filthy animal!"
Bucky scrunched his eyebrows as he approached her simple wire fence.
"I don't think you're using that quote right."
"Is that not for 4th of July?"
"That's from Christmas movie. Not a 4th of July one. I don't even think they make 4th of July movies..." Bucky paused, trying to think of an example to disprove his own theory.
"Ah, well, I tried!" She shrugged, leaving the fence to carry her basket of eggs inside. Bucky followed her along the fence line, making his way to the front door of her house before going through the cabin to join her.
"So what ingredients do you have?"
"I got the sugar, flour, butter, and eggs set. Also some cream cheese for the frosting and berries for decoration. All that leaves is the milk."
Bucky's eyes slowly moved from the ingredients to the goats outside.
"... Oh you have got to be kidding me."
"Hey, I spent all of last night churning the butter! Least you can do is help watch some baby goats while I milk Miękki."
With that, Songbird turned to the small overhang she had made for the goats while Bucky turned to guiding the kids away from the shade and towards the tall grass waving in the summer's sunshine.
Tiny took to surveying the fence, doing hai best to perform a perimeter check with the proudest of trots. Tina was much harder to coax away from Songbird, but once she was by Bucky's side she refused to be anywhere else. All that left was Steve, who--
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
... Had taken a passion for hitting Bucky in the shin over and over again.
Bucky couldn't help but laugh, picking up the kid to try and stop him from doing any more damage. "Just as stubborn as the real thing." He joked to himself, wrapping the kid in his arms and swaying him gently in a desperate effort to calm him down.
"All done!" Songbird called out to Bucky, but seeing his hands full, she couldn't help but smile. She took the bucket of milk to the kitchen before making her way back to Bucky.
As she approached, she couldn't help but smile at the way he gently held the baby goat in his arms, trying to make sure it was as comfortable as possible. Bucky rubbed his thumb in circles against the animal's light fur, coaxing the goat into a stillness Songbird had never seen before.
"Looks like you handle kids well!"
Bucky paused, turning to stare at her wide-eyed. She stopped her stride, processing what she said before her face flushed. All Bucky could do was burst into laughter.
"You know what I meant!"
"I know what you said!" Bucky joked back, slowly lowering Steve to the ground.
The goat quickly found his footing, bolting to the nearest fence post to try and pick a fight with it. Gladly, his older brother Tiny was there to forcefully push him away and back to the shade to stop the younger from causing himself permanent head trauma.
"W-whatever." Songbird stammered, coming up to Bucky's side to guide Tina to the shade.
"Isn't today's Steve's birthday too?" Songbird asked as she prepped a water trough for the goats.
"Yup. Only Captain America would be born on Independence Day." Bucky joked as he helped Songbird move buckets of water from the nearby well to the trough.
Songbird sat a bucket next to the trough with a heavy thud against the loose dirt. "How old is Steve?"
"Too damn old."
Songbird's eyes crinkled with a playful smirk. "Then what does that make you?"
Bucky shrugged. "A bit older than that."
"So you're older than Steve?"
Bucky nodded. "I'll be 100 next March. Or 30. Depends on how you count it." Bucky shrugged as he leaned against the house, watching Songbird prep food for the goats. "What about you? How old will you be turning?"
Songbird's shoulders froze with her breath, staring at her hands as they moved on her own. "I... Well, I don't know the date. I know it's the Spring, but that's about it."
Bucky paused. "You don't know your birthday? Do you at least know a year?"
Songbird shrugged, doing her best to provide a convincing poker face. "It's fine. I probably wouldn't want to remember anyway."
"Yeah, no. I'm not standing for that."
Songbird looked up at Bucky, confused. "What do you mean?"
"It's your birthday. It's the one day of the year that's supposed to be about you!"
Bucky's eyes lit up with an idea. "C'mon." He commanded, holding his hand out to her to help her from the ground.
"What are you up to, Barnes?" She snarked, taking his hand.
"I'm going to show you a birthday."
---
The next few hours were a whirlwind. The two had a mess of a time trying to bake a cake without an actual recipe, which led to many failed attempts and more wasted batter than they cared to admit. In the end, they had settled on cookies instead since they were easier and Bucky had a vague memory of how to make them from his childhood days.
Songbird prepped the snacks in a basket while Bucky went off to prep a surprise for her. She wasn't sure what he was up to, but did know he used a basket of hers to carry two blankets, a pillow, and a large plank of wood. By the time she had their dinner picnic prepped, Bucky was at the door ready to whisk her away.
"Ok Mr. Mystery, can you tell me where we're going now?"
"Just trust me." He smirked, grabbing her hand to guide her around the house. At the back of the house, he had used the plank of wood and a ladder she had outdoors to make a way up to the roof.
"This doesn't look sturdy..." She stated with a waiver to her voice.
"It's all good! I already tested it."
"You have one arm!"
"So?" Bucky shrugged, making his way up the ladder.
"And what if you'd fallen? I wouldn't have known where you'd gone!"
"You would have found me eventually!" Bucky yelled behind him as he got to the top. "Besides, isn't a little risk worth this?"
As Bucky held out his hand to guide Songbird up the last ladder rung, she looked at the horizon in awe. The sunset over the Wakandan wilds was beyond comprehension. The bright red ring around the sun blended into the tangerine and amber tones of the sky, cascading into a thin line of teal before breaking way to the dark blue and purple hues taking over the night. The blanket of stars above peppered the rainbow sunset, turning the entire landscape into a nature so beautiful it looked man-made.
"Is this what fireworks are like?" Songbird asked, unable to look away from the horizon.
"No." Bucky smiled. "It's better."
With that, he guided songbird to his rooftop picnic setup and the two enjoyed their dinner and dessert as the day gave way to the night.