Marvel Oneshots

Do Not Disturb (Steve Rogers)

Written for Man With A Plan Bingo on Tumblr! It's running through the whole year, so go check it out if you get the chance!

Prompt: Cuddles

Summary: Steve's exhausted and a little run down with the hero business lately. Thankfully, he has Y/N to come home to and cuddle with. And they're not going to let ANYBODY interrupt what little rest Steve gets.

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I flipped to the next page of my book, trying to block out the noise and focus on the story as someone came into the living room. I'd been trying to finish the newest book in my favorite series for a while, and I'd decided to do so on the couch in the living room of Avengers Tower. If I wanted to be confident no one would disturb my reading, I would've stayed in my room, but I wanted to venture out of my cave for a little bit, and most people were training or on missions, so it felt likely that no one would bother me.

Apparently, I was wrong. Someone flopped down onto the couch right next to me with a heavy sigh. I wouldn't have set down my book, except I recognized that sigh. It was my boyfriend, Steve Rogers, sounding more exhausted than he usually ever let people see.

I bookmarked my page and set my book aside, then turned to Steve. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he was about to pass out, right where he was. Usually, he was a pretty upbeat person, but clearly something was weighing on him today.

"Hey babe," I said, shifting on the couch so I was facing Steve. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. It's just... the job's wearing on me a little more than usual."

"What do you mean?" I asked, shuffling a little closer and putting a hand on his arm. Steve didn't look at me, just kept staring holes in the ground.

"I've been running around putting out fires and getting the shit kicked out of me for days. I don't think I've slept more than a few twenty-minute naps in... four days?"

"Oh my gosh, Steve!" I cried, wrapping one arm around him and pulling him into me. His head landed on my chest, and slowly, he leaned the rest of his weight against me.

"I'm just so tired," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. I pursed my lips, but didn't say anything. I hated seeing him like this, and I hated what this job did to him sometimes. But at the end of the day, he loved it. Nothing would ever convince him to give it up.

I pulled Steve a little closer as I gently stroked his hair. I could feel him focusing on taking deep breaths and staying calm, so I slowly leaned back until we were reclined on the couch, Steve on top of me with his head on my chest.

"I'm so sorry you've had such a bad stretch of days," I mumbled, wrapping myself around him tightly. He just hummed in response. I kept running my hands through his hair, trying to help him relax and make him feel safe despite everything he'd gone through.

After a few minutes, I felt the tension fade out of Steve's body. His breathing evened out, and I quickly realized he'd fallen asleep.

I smiled to myself. About damn time he got some rest.

We stayed like that for a long time, and I'd just started to drift off myself when I heard footsteps and loud voices coming up from the training room. I turned to glare at the doorway whoever it was would have to come through, trying to move as little as possible so I didn't disturb Steve.

After a few seconds, Tony and Bruce appeared, chatting away about some science project or other they were working on. They stopped short when they saw me, and Tony opened his mouth (probably to ask why I was glaring), but he stopped short when I put my finger to my mouth in an aggressive shushing gesture.

They both gave me questioning looks, so I pointed sharply at Steve, who by some miracle was still passed out on top of me. He must've really been exhausted to sleep through the noise and activity no matter how hard I'd been trying to limit it.

Bruce and Tony tiptoed over until they got close enough to see Steve. Bruce nodded and clearly understood why he needed to be quiet. Tony got an evil gleam in his eye.

"Hey!" I hissed, smacking him in the arm to get him to look at me. Our eyes locked, and I slowly shook my head, giving him a stare that promised death and pain if he acted on whatever idea was clearly bouncing around in his head.

I could literally see the gears turning in Stark's head as he weighed his options. Bruce put a hand on his shoulder and nodded towards the lab, giving Tony another activity to do other than messing with my boyfriend, which I appreciated. Still, it took Tony a minute to consider. And I didn't let up with my stare once during that minute.

Fortunately for Steve, although I wasn't as involved in the superhero business as I used to be, I'd proven time and time again that I could hang with the assassins in our group skill-wise, which made me a dangerous enemy if someone in the Tower chose to piss me off.

After a little bit more considering, Tony seemed to remember this, and my history in the training room and on the battlefield won out. He rolled his eyes and huffed, but turned and headed for the lab instead of waking up Steve. Bruce smiled, giving me a wave as he headed off with Tony. I waved back and watched the two men disappear, then went back to gently stroking Steve's hair.

Absolutely nobody was going to get in the way of him getting some much needed rest if I had anything to say about it. The two of us were too comfortable, and cuddling on the couch was too rare to shorten it any more than we absolutely had to.

Maybe one day, when the younger generation of superheroes were ready to take over, Steve and I could relax and retire and do this more often. But for now, I was going to take every moment I could get.