Lessons in Rule Breaking and Other Reader-Inserts*Steve Rogers*Reader*

The Line between Respectful and Stupid - Pt.3/5

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Taking a shower was the best idea you had in the past few hours. Making coffee was the second best, starting the report was the third, the fourth being taking a new dose of painkillers.

You weren't sure if checking on Steve was the fifth best, but it was what you did – for all you knew, he could have taken pain-meds too. And what kind of an agent would let their commander to suffocate in their sleep because of an overdose? Not you, that was for sure.

Not to mention that you would be in an awful lot of trouble if Captain America died on your watch, especially like that.

You sneaked into the bedroom as quietly as you could, terrified he would catch you lurking around him despite promising not to disturb him. It turned out that your worries were baseless; Steve was curled up on the bed on his side, tangled in the covers, not facing you, soundly asleep. As you observed his form, examining whether his chest was rising and falling regularly, you noticed another movement.

Shivering.

You blinked, taking several cautious steps closer, half-expecting him to jolt awake if the floor creaked under your feet or something. But nope. You managed to circle the bed, enough to see the distress displayed on the soldier's face, his brows furrowed, mouth twisted in the exact opposite of the smile you remembered seeing earlier today. And yep, he was totally shivering as his fingers were tightly gripping the sheets.

Was he cold? Was he just having a nightmare? Reliving an ugly memory? Not that you would blame him with what he must have seen during his years as a soldier and an agent-- you could only wonder if it was all of these combined together. For all you knew, he could even remember some of his frozen time...

You shook your head at your stupid and useless thoughts and rather decided to take action. Reaching for the covers on the other side of the bed, you pulled them over him – biting your lip the whole time, your heart racing at the idea of him catching you.

Once again, a baseless worry; he was out cold (no pun intended) and when you got a little bolder, trying to muffle him in the covers so the draft wouldn't steal the tiniest bit of warmth you suspected he needed to savour, he didn't even flinch or whimper or anything.

Mission accomplished.... Except while the shivers were less visible under the pile of covers, his face was still twisted in a grimace.

Your brain decided to go full carrier-suicide mode, because there was only one way to let the nightmare go away. And you didn't like it. You sighed, mentally preparing for— god knew what. A yell. A scolding. A firing. Everything and anything.

You touched his shoulder carefully, attempting to wake him up – preferably without getting punched in your face if he jolted awake. He didn't. To be honest, he seemed grounded by the touch. His lips, releasing a tiny whimper, parted. A shaky exhale escaped him. Unwittingly, you did the same, your heart aching in your chest with both compassion and relief.

Well, you'd be damned. Captain America – and no, that wasn't right, he was more Steve Rogers than anything else when interacting with you – was touch-starved in his sleep. Or maybe not necessarily touch-starved, but... clearly, the contact helped.

You kept your hand on place, pretending your heart wasn't beating its way out of your ribcage, melting at the same time. Pretending that this wasn't the most beautiful picture of a man you had seen for years and that it wasn't doing things to you. That it didn't move you and physically ached you not to lay next to him and-

Alright. Stop it right there. No cuddles.

Seeing that his breathing evened and his face relaxed, you gulped and raised your hand, forcing yourself to spin on your heels and head out before he could wake up and call you out on your boldness, even when driven by worries.

You froze in the doorway when he let out a distressed noise you didn't quite identify.

Well, shit.

You closed the door again soundlessly and made your way back, finding his previously softened features in a frown again. You sighed. You had to wake him up. You were not happy with that any more than before, but hey, what else-

Or.

That's a stupid idea.

Not if you don't cuddle him.

Fine.

You mentally shushed the two voices in your head, sitting down on the floor beside the bed, your shoulder leaning onto the mattress in around Steve's waist, you guessed – it was hard to tell with all the covers. With a shaky inhale, you reached for his shoulder again, your hand hesitantly slipping under the covers into their pleasant warmth.

Steve stirred at first – effectively giving you a heart attack –, but you could tell the tension of his muscles eased within a moment. You smiled despite yourself, not charmed by the peaceful expression on his handsome face at all.

Right. Keep yourself telling that. And that you are not falling for the man who hides behind the mask of a hard-ass commander and the famous shield of his. Yeah, you're great at lying to yourself, keep up the good work.

You barely held back a giggle when cute and almost soundless snore escaped him.

Yeah. Cute. Right. You totally have this under control. Not falling for him at all.

----Notes:
*throwing fluff around like a confetti, grinning like a maniac* You get (plotless) fluff, and you get fluff and you get fluff as well!