Written in the Stars: Bucky Barnes

2. Birthday Girl

The next two months seemed to fly by for Stella after meeting her now best friends. The three spent every day with each other after school and the whole weekend. Some Saturdays they'd all sit together and Stella would read to them, especially the times when Steve was sick. She was beyond thankful to have friends that encouraged her love for knowledge and books. This particular Friday morning Stella was awoken to her mother calling for her to come to the kitchen, their tradition of a birthday breakfast awaiting her. Stella dressed and made her way towards the smell of food.

"Good morning sweetie, your nana Franklin dropped some extra stuff off this morning." Rose Turner indicated to the table showing a large spread of hotcakes, fruit, and bacon. The economy combined with her mother's struggle for money usually meant meals this large were far and few in between. Stella never minded though she was never one to fuss over her birthday since she knew it was difficult enough time for her mother. Her stomach growled and she smiled gratefully. Breakfast was eaten and Stella made it a point to stop by Mrs. Franklin's to thank her.

Stella got through the school day and met with her best friends at their normal spot. Bucky was the first to spot her and smiled. She had decided some time ago not to tell either of them what today was. The three spent the rest of the day running around the neighborhood and getting into trouble Stella had to admit it was the best birthday to date. At the end of the day, Steve had to go home before he had a chance to walk Stella home leaving Bucky to take up the job of seeing the young redhead home safely. The pair walked in comfortable silence when they approached the doorstep to her apartment. She decided it was time for at least one of her friends to meet her mother. "Do you want to come inside and meet my mom she's been dying to know who I've been spending all day with?" Stella asked surprising Bucky as she had never once given either boy the slightest hint she ever wanted them to know her parents.

"Yeah, that would be nice," he replied, following her into the apartment. He took in his surroundings and saw they lived very humbly similar to Steve and himself. A woman who looked very similar to Stella walked into the common area and smiled at the two waiting for an introduction. He looked her over for a moment seeing where Stella got her hair and facial features; the only thing setting them apart was their eye color. Mrs. Turner had green eyes with hints of brown Stella's was a dark deep blue bordering grey reminding him of a stormy sea. Stella's eyes were probably his favorite feature of hers next to her smile, or even her bright copper hair that seemed an impossible color. Stella's eyes though were the type you got yourself lost in especially when she was reading to them her eyes took on such fire and spirit. He was pulled from his reverie when Stella cleared her throat introducing the two.

"Mom this is James," she said, causing Bucky's face to screw up at the formality of using his first name causing Stella to giggle "okay sorry mom this is Bucky. I would've brought Steve too but he had to be home earlier than normal today." Rose considered the boy with a small smile on her face.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Stella has told me so much about the two of you. Thank you for taking care of my Stella. It hasn't been easy on her to make friends and I'm glad she had the two of you to spend her birthday with today." the older woman said, making Stella cringe at the admission of what today was. Bucky quickly looked over to his friend, shocked and a little offended that she didn't tell them it was her birthday.

"It's your birthday," Bucky asked a small amount of what Stella perceived to be anger spilling into his words "why didn't you tell us?"

"I don't like making a big deal out of it Buck, it's not exactly an overly momentous occasion especially for us." Stella retorted.

"Well, you still should've told us we are best friends Stells."

"Why should I tell you exactly? I hate this day!" Stella said, her voice rising to match. Great, she thought, their first fight as friends. "You have no right to be upset with me today is just a reminder for us that my dad is dead and I never got to meet him. It's not particularly a day I care to celebrate." This knocked all the wind out of Bucky's sails; he never knew her father was dead as well. It seemed the friends shared far more in common than he knew. He still hated secrets being kept from him but his heart ached for his friend.

"Stella!" her mother chastised not approving of her tone. "That's enough I will not have you being so rude to someone that's a guest in our home. Bucky, I apologize for my daughter's outburst." Stella's head dropped as she mumbled an apology.

"It's okay I should be going, my mom will probably be wondering where I am," Bucky said before making his way home leaving the two Turners alone. Stella couldn't help but notice his normal promise of seeing her the next day went unsaid. She figured their friendship ended just then and went to her room with tears in her eyes. Stella looked at the small picture that sat on the nightstand of her father and mother when they found out Rose was pregnant with Stella.

"Stella, I'm sorry I didn't realize you hadn't told them about your birthday." Rose noticed Stella's gaze staying in the photo, "I miss him too you know. He would've been so proud of the amazing young woman you are becoming. Do you know why we decided to name you Stella?" she enquired Stella shaking her head "Your father always loved the stars he said it was one of the few constants no matter where you went. He said he wanted a star of his own to be able to hold and that's when he decided your name. I would've named you Edith had it not been for him." Stella's face screwed up at the name causing her mother to laugh "Yeah, I think his choice was better too."

"Mom, did I just lose my only friends?" Stella's meek voice asked.

"Oh, honey if you saw what I saw in that boy's eyes," her mother started before sighing "I don't think there's anything you could say or do that would cause him to never want to see you again." Stella clung to that hope as she fell asleep even if she wasn't entirely sure just what her mother meant by it. All Stella knew was that Bucky and Steve were important to her. Steve was like a brother, something she had always secretly wished for. It was commonplace for both Stella and Bucky to protect him fiercely from bullies. And Bucky.... well he was Bucky, her Bucky, he was something entirely different that Stella couldn't place. Bucky always blew away all assumptions of who she figured he would be and how he would act. Bucky was kind and caring; his resolve to take care of his friends was beyond comparison. It was in those moments Stella realized the same thing her mother did. Her feelings for Bucky were entirely different from those for Steve; she had a crush and it was undeniable.

Bucky had left the Turner residence in a hurry and went to Steve's house knowing full well he didn't actually have to be home at all and his mother would just assume that's where he was anyway. He and Steve needed to talk. He needed to make this right. He understood now why Stella didn't tell them about her birthday, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to do everything in his power to make it the best she'd ever had. Stella deserved that, his Stella needed to know how important she was to them, to him.