"No kidding," Julia agreed. "Worth every penny." She grinned. "And now you've gotten a proper birthday meal, even."

"Thank you so much," Clare said, smiling. "I'll have to return the favor sometime."

"No problem," Julia said with a smile. "Now let's head home, we can listen to the radio a bit before we have to get to bed."

She did pause though when she noticed a few neighborhood guys hanging out outside one of the buildings near theirs.

Clare paused as well when she saw them. She recognized a few of them; they lived nearby and had for a long time. But the others, she didn't know at all. They sounded like they were having some sort of argument.

Indeed they were having an argument, which devolved into a fight when one of the bigger jerks took offense to Steve telling him off and threw a punch. Steve went down hard, but popped back up again almost immediately.

Julia stopped, staying out of the way of the fight and not interfering. But ugh, boys. Always getting into trouble.

Clare couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Isn't that bitty one that Rodgers guy from around the block?" she asked. "He's always starting fights."

"Yup," Julia agreed, watching as his friend joined the fight to defend his buddy. "And there's his constant shadow, whats-his-face."

"The one that drags him back out again," Clare said, nodding. "B-something. Bu... Buford? No, that's not it. I don't remember."

"I'm not sure either," Julia confessed with a little grin, watching the dark-haired friend turn the tide of the fight. "But he definitely looks after Rogers."

"He's got his work cut out for him there, that's for sure," Clare agreed, watching the fight. "Rogers needs looking-after, with all these fights he gets in."

"No kidding." Julia watched as the fight ended, the other guys leaving, while Rogers and his friend stayed where they were, giving each other a quick once-over.

"So, now that the excitement is done, back home?"

"Sounds good to me," Clare said, nodding. She headed back towards their building, skirting around where the two guys were still milling about.

Julia nodded and stayed arm-in-arm with Clare, walking back to their apartment.

Steve watched them go out of the corner of his eye. They were a really nice-looking pair of dames, he'd seen them around pretty frequently. But he'd never had the nerve to talk to them.

Bucky followed Steve's gaze, and he gave his tiny friend a bit of a shove.

"As if you'd have a chance with them right now," he said, though he was grinning a bit. "You look like you lost a fight with a meat grinder. C'mon, let's get you home and cleaned up."

"You don't look much better, jerk," Steve shot back with a bit of a grin. But he did straighten (carefully) and start back for their apartment.

"Just get moving, punk," Bucky said as he helped Steve back to their place.

Fortunately, it didn't take long to get cleaned up, and Steve slept relatively easy that night.

But when he saw the girls again the next morning, apparently off on their way somewhere, he was tempted to try talking to them.

Bucky was more than tempted.

"Good morning, ladies," he said as the girls walked by. He grinned charmingly. "Beautiful day. Almost as beautiful as you are."

That got Julia to stop and look at him, because she didn't really appreciate bad pick-up lines like that.

"Really," she drawled, her lips half-curved in a little smirk, just watching to see if he dug himself in deeper.

Bucky saw the smirk for what it was, but he couldn't help himself.

"Of course," he said. "I like to think I know a pretty girl when I see one."

"Well, I suppose you have seen a few," Julia allowed, because he was a known flirt. She was mocking him with her smirk, though.

"None so pretty as you," Bucky replied, grinning. He couldn't help giving her a quick once-over, though he didn't let his gaze linger anywhere in particular for too long.

Julia's eyes narrowed a bit at that, because that had been a pretty obvious once-over, and it wasn't even noon yet. So she looked at Clare in apology before she turned and punched Bucky, hard enough to make him fall on his ass.

Steve watched, partially stunned, and partially so, so amused. Because it was very rare that Bucky find a woman he couldn't charm.

The punch came out of nowhere, and Bucky blinked at her from on the ground. Damn, he hadn't expected that kind of reaction.

Clare just bit her lip a little to fight off the snickers. Yup, she'd seen that one coming.

"It's a good thing you're pretty," Julia told Bucky, looking down at him. "Although not so pretty with a shiner." Which she hadn't even given him. This time. Turning, she tucked her arm through Clare's again.

Steve started snickering at that. Oh, that had really been kind of priceless.