Grandmothers, Luck, and Honey Cake

"Okay," Natasha said after several minutes of silent smirking on Bruce's part while they loaded the dinner dishes into the washer, "if you're not going to tell me, I'm going to start guessing."

"Now, now, patience. I thought you were the one who ignores birthdays because they're bad luck, 'nevezeniye'."

"I still want to know how you knew about mine. It's not even correct in my files."

"All I did was make an educated guess and get some input from the Big Guy who has a better sense of smell than I do. I also asked Nick."

"Uh-huh," she huffed, making a mental note and moving on. "Hurry up then, I want to open it!"

Bruce rolled his eyes, "You, my dear, are a woman of extremes, but you know what you want and I love that about you. Fill the kettle so we can have tea and go put some music on." That kept her busy long enough for him to retrieve the china plates that had belonged to his grandmother from the cabinet's top shelf. He only had a few pieces left, but this was a special occasion, and he knew she'd appreciate the old-fashioned floral pattern.

He opened the bakery box with the Cyrillic script and carefully brought out the medovik or Russian honey cake. The multilayered confection fit perfectly on the serving plate, and he soon had the tea ready and the serving tray loaded. He could hear a slow dance number from the Glenn Miller big band album she'd picked playing on the sound system.

"Do you need any help?" she called from the living room.

"No, I've got it." he said with a grin as he stepped into the room and finally set the dessert-laden tray on the coffee table with a mental sigh of relief.

"Oh, it's just like my babushka made when I was a tiny girl!" She launched herself into Bruce's arms and he hugged her close, pleased that he'd gotten it right.

"Happy Birthday, Natasha!" he said smiling contentedly as he gazed at her delighted face.

"I love you, Doc!" she said. "Now hush and kiss me." Her lips were warm and eager as they met his, and he began to sway with her to the strains of "Moonlight Serenade" as they continued their embrace.

He'd take that for a "thank you" any day, and he kissed her back for a "you're welcome" that lasted into the night.