Steve grinned boyishly. "You did ask what kind of cake I like, and that's the only thing you didn't pull out for us to eat right away, so... Yeah, I had a hunch."

He didn't know what to say at first to the last part of her words. Steve never felt entitled to anything, and to the rest of the world, his birthday was just another day - a national holiday, in this case, which just made it easier for him to accept that he wasn't going to get anything special or personal that day. A couple gifts from friends, a few well-wishes. His ma had tried every year to have some of his favorite foods prepared, but eventually her health had deteriorated and Steve had taken over the household chores, not letting her cook and not worrying all that much about his birthday. And then war had broken out, and he'd had much bigger issues to deal with.

Finally, he tightened his arm around her shoulder and smiled contentedly at her. "This is probably the best birthday I've ever had."