Avengers/X-Men One Shots - The Blood/White Phoenix Saga

ONE-SHOT LXXXII: Happy Birthday, Old Man!

Set in the two years before White Phoenix 11

Bucky Barnes

'Get up, James...' I heard Adelaide droll in my ear. 'Get up, big boy... come on.' I groaned, hiding my face in the pillow. I felt her nails rake across my bare back and I groaned again. I opened my eyes to meet her bright blue ones as she leaned on the pillows next to me. She was fully dressed, wearing a pair of black leggings and a blue shirt. Over it was a short, black leather jacket. She reached out, running her human hand through my long hair, which was still not cut. I never minded about that, though. She begged to let me keep my long hair, making the excuse that she liked it. 'Get up. Come on. It's your birthday.'

'Can I sleep for a little longer?' I groaned out.

'Maybe. But we have a big day planned. I pulled the kids from school just for Daddy's birthday.'

'You're terrible,' I said, giving her a mock glare. She put her hand over her heart.

'Oh, wow. I'm so offended. Come on. Get up. I give you ten minutes.' She hopped off of our bed and sauntered towards the door.

'Give me five!' I shouted, throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. She ducked around the corner, her blue eyes shining.

'I'm feeling rather nice today. Take as long as you want.' A smile teased her lips as she whirled around the corner and was gone. I heard her shout from the hallway before long. 'Got eggs and bacon for you. And your black coffee!' I chuckled, getting into the shower. She knew me so well. After getting out of the shower, I dressed and headed out to the kitchen. Upon smelling the food and the thick, aromatic smell of pure black coffee, my mouth watered with anticipation. My wife was there, serving up a large plate of food. I nearly drooled with excitement as I kissed her on the cheek. She gave me a quick peck on the lips before giving me the plate.

'You're too good.'

'Coffee's on the pot.'

'You eaten yet?' I asked her.

'Why're you so concerned? Don't worry about me. I have food already. Right over there.' She pointed to the steaming pile of food over on the kitchen counter. 'Better eat it before it gets cold,' she muttered to herself. She picked up the plate of food and wandered over to the table, first pouring herself a cup of coffee. I caught the sweet sight of her wedding ring on her left human hand and smiled. Our eyes met, and she blew me a kiss, giving me a wink, then sliding me a mug of coffee. Just then I heard the sound of slipper-covered feet padding, shuffling on the floor. Our youngest, Shannon, wandered out.

'Food?' she asked.

'I'll get some for you, liebling,' I heard Adelaide say from the kitchen. She came out with a small plate of food, then picked the little girl up and set her on her child chair, giving her the plate of food. A few moments later, Emily and Wolfgang wandered out as well. Emily gave me a peck on my bearded cheek, which was quite rare, and flashed me a quick smile.

'Happy birthday, Dad.'

'Thanks, Emily.' I reached forward and ruffled her hair with my metal hand carefully.

'Happy birthday, Dad,' I heard Wolfgang say from where he had his mouth full of food.

'Love you too, son.'

'Happwy birfway, Daddy!' Shannon shouted from her chair, banging her fork on the table. I grabbed it gently and I heard Adelaide laugh at our youngest's childish antics.

'Can I have some coffee, Mom?' Emily asked.

'Sure, sweetheart.' Soon, my wife sat at the table with us and she reached out and fingered the wet strands of my long hair with her metal fingertips, letting the water run down. 'I've always loved you with your hair wet. It looks handsome.' She leaned forward and kissed me full on the lips, earning groans of annoyance from the other kids.

'Oh, get a room, lovebirds,' I heard Emily snark to us from the other end of the table.

'Who's kid is she again?' I asked against the melding of mine and Adelaide's lips. She pulled away, giving a chuckle. 'Because I definitely think she's yours.'

'Please, we all know the girl gets her snark from you.'

'Definitely not.'

'You sure?' Adelaide asked, giving me a quizzical look. 'I think she's your kid.'

'Nope. That snark is all you.'

'Oh, right... Cause the mysterious closed-off behaviour is all yours.' I shot her a mock glare, to which she laughed.

'That's not fair. I'm getting you for that.' Just then she clapped her hands loudly.

'Don't worry, James. Today's your lucky day. You get to annihilate me and the kids in laser tag. You'll get to get me back for that. Alright, kids. Shower, dress. Meet me in the living room, 20 minutes tops.' The kids bolted to their feet and scrambled to get out of the room, except Shannon, who was in her chair still. I pulled my daughter out of her chair and settled her on my hip, walking over to Adelaide. She took our daughter from my arms and held her on her hip. The little girl smiled, a big, toothy smile, and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

'She's not coming, is she?'

'No. I'm leaving her with Erik and Amelia.'

'Waser tag!' the little girl garbled. Adelaide laughed, then let her down and Shannon toddled off to her room.

-Time skip-

The bright lights of the arcade flashed in my face, almost blinding me. I locked into target mode.

Second round.

All it takes is one shot.

Just one.

Adelaide and I versus the kids.

I saw Emily up ahead, handling her weapon like it was an extension of her body. Raising the gun, I shot. She turned around and cursed lowly in Russian. Final child was Wolfgang. The problem was, he was a fast kid. Very fast. I saw Adelaide to my right, and she signalled to my right, then dropped and rolled to another structure far to my right.

Crouching in a firing position, she raised her gun and fired. The laser shot just missed Wolfgang. I ran after her with light feet, not letting her win the fight alone. But when I got there, she had already risen and aimed the gun at Wolfgang. He was completely unsuspecting, his back turned to her, as he was not very good with guns, not like Emily, Adelaide and I were. But he was still good with spy stuff, being raised with HYDRA and all. By the time he looked up to the mirror, to see Adelaide crouching behind him, aimed for the shot, it was too late. She fired her laser, and it hit him square in the back. He turned and gave a sigh. We both high-fived. We walked out later that day from the laser tag arcade, the kids' arms full of candies and stuffed toys. Adelaide was sucking on a lollipop as she walked, our arms swinging, her flesh hand intertwined with mine.

We were happy.

It was my 100th birthday, and I was spending it with my kids and the girl I loved most.

We were very happy indeed.

We laid in bed that night, holding hands. She was laying on my chest, her hand softly resting where my heart was. I was still awake, and I guessed she was as well. My thoughts were confirmed when she sat up and pressed a gentle kiss to my cheek, then sat up near fully, tracing my cheek with her human hand.

'Happy birthday, old man,' she said, laying down next to me again. 'I love you.'

'I love you too.' She laid back down. There was silence for a moment. Then I spoke again. 'Really? Old man?'

'Oh, shut up, James.' This elicited a chuckle from me, and she rolled over on her side, grabbing my arm to put around her waist. Pulling her to me, I could have sworn I saw a smile on her face before I felt her relax under my grip as she fell asleep.