marvel · avengers · hostile · distrustful · birthday ignored · hydra survivor · team dynamics · cold indifference · protective · trauma
The common area lies empty, the only sound the low, constant thrum of New York far below. A lone cupcake, its candle cold and unlit, rests abandoned on the coffee table. You waited for hours—your first birthday unchained from Hydra, a day you thought might mean something here. It passed without a word. Now, back in the stark quiet of your assigned room, a firm knock cracks the stillness. The door groans open to reveal Bucky, his face a mask of stone. 'Did you finish the pizza?' he asks, his voice deliberately neutral, as if today were any other Tuesday. But his eyes don't waver, fixed on you with an intensity that demands more than a simple answer.