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“You know, Buck, I get wanting to support Carol,” Steve commented as he finally caught up with Bucky and grabbed his arm to force him to slow down, “but stomping into the theater with that Murder Stare of yours on your face doesn’t exactly give the best impression.”That finally got Bucky to stop, but all he did was turn the full force of his old Winter Soldier glare on Steve. Which didn’t exactly work on Steve – not since the helicarriers, over twenty years ago – but he had to give Bucky props for trying.“There are trolls, Steve. Trolls everywhere.” Bucky shot a side-eye to some kid over by the refreshments that reminded Steve a little bit of himself before the serum, and he had to shake his head as the kid went wide-eyed and scurried off, his popcorn littering the floor in his wake as he booked it into the theater Steve and Bucky were headed for. Bucky turned back to Steve, expression now full of smug satisfaction. “See? One less heckler.”Steve huffed in exasperation. “Okay, one, you have no idea if that kid was going to heckle during the film –”“Oh, I can spot these fuckers –”“And second” – Steve waved a hand to cut Bucky off – “I really don’t want to spend your birthday getting into fights with people over a movie.”Bucky narrowed his eyes before pulling Steve off to the side. “It’s not just a movie, Steve. It’s Carol’s story.”“I’m aware of that.”“And that fucking tomato site –”“You mean Rotten Tomatoes?”Bucky scowled. “There’s definitely something rotten about it...” He shook his head and blinked back up at Steve. “Anyway, that fucking site has trolls trying to tank the score of this film simply because Marvel Studios finally got around to telling the story of one of the girls on our team –”“Okay, you and I both know the only reason they haven’t told Nat’s story yet is because she wasn’t ready.”“But she’s ready now.”“Yes.” Steve nodded. “Which is why the script is in the works.”“Okay, but...” Bucky looked around again, more wary now than anything. “But what if this movie does tank, and they decide to scrap Nat’s?”Steve just shrugged and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Then we make good on our threat.”“You mean we walk.”Steve nodded again. “Yup.”“Easy for you to say; they’re just about done telling your story. They still have that Sebastian kid signed on for a fuck-load more movies to keep telling mine. Oh, and apparently a TV show they’ve started talking about.”That was news to Steve. He frowned. “What TV show?”Bucky leaned back against the window they were standing next to and wave a dismissive hand. “Oh, just, you know, about that time right after you gave up the shield and mantel entirely? After Thanos? They sent me an email about a limited series they’re cooking up about that time when Sam and I were working together under our old callsigns. You know, right before I picked up the shield for a while.”Oh, Steve knew that time well. Six months his boyfriend and his best friend were...well, Steve wouldn’t go so far as to say they were working together, but more trying not to kill each other while they finally did what the new SHIELD never could – which was to well and truly put an end to HYDRA.He said as much. “You mean when you and Sam were trying to find new and creative ways to kill each other and make it look like an accident?”“Yeah, they say they want to make it a comedy.”That did it. Steve busted up laughing, stumbling a little as he did, because holy shit. There was no way that wouldn’t be one of the funniest fucking things he’d ever see, not with the way Sam and Bucky had kept escalating and one-upping each other. At the time, Steve had been in a constant state of panic that they really would either kill each other or get themselves killed with the shit they were pulling. Honestly, Steve was still amazed they managed to complete their mission at all.Bucky grabbed his hand and pulled him back in, and he dropped his head onto Bucky’s shoulder, the laughter subsiding to giggles. Bucky snaked an arm around him, holding him close, and Steve could feel the vibrations of Bucky’s own laughter reverberating through both of them. It felt real, whole. Like maybe they’d survived over a hundred years of insanity and still managed to come out intact. Come out human.He kissed Bucky lightly on the neck then leaned back to smile at him. Bucky was smiling back, small and amused, and Steve just loved him a whole lot.“Happy Birthday, baby,” he said, quiet. Just for them.“Thanks, sweetheart,” Bucky answered, just as quiet. He ran newly soft fingers through Steve’s hair, and Steve leaned into the touch, still marveled at Shuri’s latest creation. It was, hands down, the most human arm Bucky had had in this century, and yet it still was fully made of vibranium, and still just as powerful. It was remarkable.He turned to place a kiss to Bucky’s palm. “Feel like going to watch the movie now?”Bucky snorted. “I was ready ten minutes ago.”“No, you were ready to murder a bunch of wannabe fuckboys ten minutes ago. I wanna know if you’re ready to watch the movie.”“You mean the one we just saw at the premiere last week?”“That was the premiere. This is solidarity.”“So would be killing fuckboys.”“No murdering on your birthday.”“Spoilsport.”Steve smiled then wrapped an arm around Bucky’s shoulder, steering them back towards the theater. “Yeah, well, I said no murdering on your birthday. Tomorrow is a different story.”“Now you’re talkin’.”