rodrikstark's headcanons (part 1)

candlelight (firefighter!steve rogers)

a quiet click, and your bedroom floods with a warm, dim light. you squint, only long enough to see steve squatting at your side of the bed.

"you're home," you mumble happily.

"i am." he barely whispers, the loudest noise in the room being the shuffling of your cotton bedsheets as you roll over to face him. steve pokes somewhere near your chest. "who's this?"

you bury your nose into the velvet-soft fur, which you had tucked into your neck before falling asleep. "captain a-bear-ica." steve chuckles. "some toy company sent a box for your birthday and i opened it."

"you opened my birthday present?" he asks incredulously.

you can tell he's kidding, but crack one eye open anyway. "are you mad?"

he scratches the belly of the bear with one finger, testing the material of his little cap suit. "thought we agreed to donate this stuff. don't want it cluttering the apartment."

you frown. "you're so mean. donate him?" steve almost loses his balance when you pull the teddy from its place in your blanket, shoving it toward him. "look at his face, stevie, he looks just like you."

confronted with the blank, beady-eyed stare, he can't quite agree. but he does like the weird little white wings sticking up from its cowl. cute touch.

you take the bear back tight in your arms, practically crushing it under your chin. "he's mine." as the desire to sleep overtakes your willingness to fake-argue with steve, your eyes flutter closed. "i get lonely sometimes, y'know. when you're gone."

"i know, baby." steve releases a heavy sigh, looking at his own stained navy suit, nothing like the cheery red-white-and-blue of your small friend. "gonna shower and eat somethin', but i'll be back real soon."

"wait." you prop yourself on an elbow, craning your neck and poking your phone on the nightstand. 2:07am, july 4th.

with your thumb, you scrub at a slightly dirty spot on his forehead before planting a kiss there. his eyes drift shut at the contact, a satisfied hum coming from his chest.

"happy birthday."

a"rogers."

steve glances from his book to bucky, who leans on the doorframe. "barnes," he says, equally flat.

"some lady's asking for a tour."

steve blinks in confusion, dropping his legs from where they were propped on another chair. the calendar had been empty for today, last time he checked. "and?"

bucky shrugs. "you're the rookie."

"so out of everyone i actually know the least about the fire station, then," he retorts.

bucky jerks his chin. "c'mon."

he expects some middle-aged mom with whiny kids, but instead he sees you, his girl, in this pretty navy dress, contrasting against the backdrop of the bright red fire engine.

you balance a cupcake in one palm, holding a lighter to the wick of a candle stuck inside.

"baby," he says, trying to hide his excitement in front of bucky, "i thought you were going to sarah's."

"hush steve, you ruined my bit." forehead scrunched, you concentrate on approaching him without accidentally extinguishing the delicate flame. "i'm heading there after this."

you clear your throat, setting the stage again.

"hi, can you help me?" your eyes flicker with fake fear between him and the cupcake. "there's a fire and i need help putting it out."

steve hopes he isn't blushing, at least not enough for barnes to see. he cups his hands underneath yours, raising the treat just a little.

he meets your eyes briefly, admiring the warm candlelight reflecting in them, before letting out a gentle puff of air.

satisfied, you remove your palms from his, letting the cupcake plop into his hands.

"this all for me?"

you grin. "all for you, birthday boy."

it's his favorite flavor, too, a simple yellow cake with chocolate from a bakery across town. "i'm lucky to have you," he murmurs.

"i know, right?" softly, you add, "and i'm lucky to be yours."

belatedly, he realizes that he didn't make a wish before blowing out the candle, and he wishes now that bucky would fuck off so he can have a private moment with you.

maybe he should kiss you anyway; it's his birthday, after all.

"alright," bucky barks out, "get outta here, there could be an emergency any second, and we can't have rookie rogers here all distracted." he shoves your shoulder playfully. "tell sarah i said hi."

"just ask her out, barnes." you groan, hitting him back, then turning to steve. "happy birthday, stevie."

he smiles. "have fun at sarah's."

bucky's distracted, making fun of the nickname, stevie, but steve watches you walk backward out the station, blowing him a half-dozen kisses, mouthing the words i love you.