The rustling of sheets and soft grunting, the dipping of the mattress, and slight squeaking of the bed are what Y/N wakes. She rouses just lightly, definitely able to fall back asleep in seconds, but she doesn’t. Instead, she opens her eyes and glimpses into the dimly lit room of hers to see a tall figure walking around, stretching. She whines. “Go back to sleep, doll.” Bucky smiles at her and crouches down next to her side of the bed, stroking through her hair with soft strokes, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “How late?” She slurs a little, voice laced with sleep and eyes already drooping again. “Just shortly past eight.”
“You slept in.”
“A little.” Bucky snorts and plants another kiss on her nose. “Got late last night.” Y/N hums knowingly. She heard Bucky come back late, almost at 2 am. He hadn’t done much then, just got into the shower and then plopped down next to her like a bag of potatoes, pulled her close, and kissed her neck before they both fell asleep right after again. The mission probably was filled with lots of waiting but staying focus. As a sniper, he’s highly expected to alert any movement. “You’re not tired?” She yawns again. “No, I’m gonna get up and go train a little, prepare breakfast. Take Lady out as well. Go back to sleep, beautiful.”
“Hmm, kay.” She hums as she feels Bucky’s lips softly pressing against her forehead and drape Steve’s arm over her waist, who’s sleeping silently behind her. She almost hasn’t noticed him at all, but now scoots a little back to press against the blonde’s chest. Bucky strokes her hair a few times until she’s almost fully asleep again. She only feels his hands leave before she loses herself in dreams and Steve’s pleasant warmth.
The second time she wakes up, she still feels sleep warm, a little dazed as well but fully rested and ready to start the day. She rubs her eyes tiredly and turns to lie on her back. She stretches as far as her body lets her and makes a small, high-pitched sound while doing so before she flops back into the warmth. Just then does she notice the man that’s cuddled up impossibly close to her. Steve has rolled together to a small ball, as small as a six-foot-something man can be. He’s still fast asleep and not looking like he wakes anytime soon. His hair stands up in all angles, at least what she can see of it. His face is pressed into her shoulder now, his one arm slung around her waist and his legs somehow entangled with hers and almost upon her hips. That he did not wake from her turning and stretching lets her wonder a little, but not as much as the fact that he’s actually still asleep. She glances at the clock on her bedside table. It’s almost 10 am already. Steve’s usually awake by now, had his run and breakfast. Carefully, Y/N rolls to her side, facing the blonde man, and runs her hand through his hair and over his arm. She looks at him for a while, running her fingers over his arm once or twice. He looks a little pale and red around the eyes, the skin feels pretty warm. Steve doesn’t stir, though. So Y/N presses a kiss against his temple and extracts herself from his arm. She makes quick work of her trip to the bathroom before she walks into the living room. She can smell the coffee in the hall. A small wave of nausea comes up, but she swallows it down. She has grown to hate the smell of coffee in the morning. Knows the hell why. “Hey, doll.” Bucky smiles up at her, sipping on his coffee and rubbing his metal hand over Lady’s head. Y/N smiles at him and walks to the couch, leaning forward to press a lingering kiss to his cheek and patting Lady as well. “Hey.”
“You okay? You look a little green.” Bucky frowns lightly but Y/N waves him off. “Don’t like the smell of coffee in the morning.”
“Really? Since when?” His eyebrows raise and Y/N shrugs. “Just occurred to me.” She walks into the kitchen to prepare herself a cup of tea. “Did you have breakfast already?” She calls for him while looking for a teabag. “No, came back just twenty minutes ago, thought I wait for you two.”
“Well, Steve’s still sleeping. I don’t think he’s waking up anytime soon.”
“Still?” Bucky’s voice comes closer as he stands up to join her in the kitchen. “Yeah.” Y/N turns around to look at Bucky. His frown is deep, and he seems deep in thought, maybe trying to figure out what’s wrong with their blonde third. “Do you know when he got home last night?” Bucky’s eyes snap up to her and he nods. “Shortly after I did. Half an hour maybe? You didn’t wake when he got in bed, but he almost hit his knee in my best part.”
“Did he look… off?” Y/N cocks her head a little and sits down at the dining table after filling her cup. “Off, no. Just tired. Why? Does he look off now?” Bucky shrugs and gets up to get the pancake batter out of the fridge that he had prepared that morning. He also has brought some jam to go with it on his run. Y/N loves these mornings when Bucky actually is up for making pancakes for her. They always taste better than hers, even when Bucky claims that it’s not true, and she eats more than she should each time, only to complain about a stomachache afterward. Secretly, Y/N knows that Bucky likes it when his pancakes make her moan because of the pleasurable taste.
They eat in silence for a while. It’s not uncomfortable or awkward. Silence with Bucky often feels like a content warmth in the room, as if it’s enveloping everything and settles deep in the bones. Like a hot chocolate in front of a fireplace after a day out in the cold. Y/N loves these morning hours where they both just sit and read the papers or eat, no one saying something. The only thing that Y/N has grown to do is pressing her feet against Bucky’s, trapping them effectively. Bucky always smiles at that and continues what he’s doing with that smile. Sometimes he hisses when her feet are freezing cold and she presses it against his calves or some other skin she can reach under the table.
With Steve, it’s a different kind of morning. It’s not quite at all. He’s always chatting about his runs, what he saw today when it’s something special, and what he would like to draw soon. Sometimes he asks about things he has seen or heard of and doesn’t know what it is or what to do with it. These times, Y/N likes as well, since she has the feeling that Steve is raw and vulnerable in front of her, showing his innocence of the 21st century. He never shows this side to anyone outside of the family and rarely this deep to the team. They have teased him from time to time and he’s tired of it, so he mostly hides his confusion around them. Even she and Bucky see it on rare occasions, though they have learned to read his body language. Y/N feels the same kind of warmth flood herself on mornings with only Steve like she does on mornings with only Bucky. And Lady, who’s again sitting pleadingly next to the brunette and glancing at one of his pancakes. Y/N can see his gaze shifting from his plate to Lady and back, seemingly decide if it’s a good choice to give the dog something. A stern look from Y/N lets him drop that thought and patting Lady’s head apologetically.
After Y/N finishes cleaning the dishes and put some of the breakfast away for Steve, she cuddles close to Bucky on the couch, whining. “Buckyyyy…”
“I know. I’m the worst to make such marvelous pancakes.” He snorts and Y/N pouts at him, then grabs her laptop and starts tapping away on it with minimal whining. Bucky picks up the book that Clint had brought him. Y/N is surprised that Bucky actually seems to like it. Usually, he doesn’t like any book recommendations from Clint. His free hand settles on her thigh and each time she whines he rubs it in comfort.
It’s calm and quiet. Then the dragging of feet on the hardwood floor is heard, Lady’s head snaps up and the girl rushes off the couch to greet the disheveled blonde that enters the room. Y/N and Bucky both look up and eye their significant third closely. Steve pats Lady but continues strolling to the couch. “Hi.” Y/N smiles up at him, but Steve doesn’t react. Instead, he grabs her laptop and places it on the coffee table before picking her up somewhat and placing her down, head on Bucky’s thigh, the rest stretched out on the couch with her back against the backrest. “What-” Y/N can’t even finish her sentence as Steve flops down beside her, enveloping her in his arms and snuggling close, his head resting on Bucky’s thigh, too. Steve sighs and closes his eyes, blindly reaching up for Bucky’s hand and placing it on his own blonde hair. Y/N only raises her eyebrows and looks up at Bucky who looks equally surprised. “Hey, punk. You okay?” All they get is a hum from Steve as he nuzzles closer to Y/N, nose on nose. Y/N smiles a little and drapes her arm around his middle, slowly running her fingers up his naked spine. Steve shivers a little and presses even closer. That is until Y/N hears a sniffle. She stops her hand and listens closely. A second sniffle. “Stevie? Are you crying?”
“Ndo.” Her eyebrows rise even higher and she leans back a bit, looking at Steve’s tired features. He sniffles again and whines a little at the loss of warmth, shivering again. Bucky leans forward a bit, too, to take a closer look as well. Steve’s eyes are still a little red-rimmed and his nose is also a little shade of red, as are his cheeks. His voice sounds a little hoarse like his throat is bothering him. “Are you sick?” Bucky’s voice is a little higher than usual and he looks surprised. They don’t get sick. Never! “N-ndo.” Steve opens his eyes; they water a bit and his breathing stutters for a second before he looks down between Y/N and himself and lets out a loud sneeze. “Aw, poor baby.” Y/N smiles and runs her hand through his bed hair. Steve sighs and cuddles closer again, shivering once more. “How was your mission, sweetie? Everything went alright?” She looks lovely at Steve, which he doesn’t see because his eyes are closed again. He just hums again, and Y/N giggles a little as the first soft snore escapes his lips. “Why is he sick? He was alright yesterday.” Bucky’s still frowning, voice hissing. Y/N turns a little to look at the brunette. “It can happen, Buck. You were sick a few times too. Besides, it’s not unusual to develop a cold in a matter of hours since your metabolism runs fast.”
“Yeah, because of HYDRA.” He scowls a bit and scratches Steve’s hair a little furious for a second. “But a common cold? That was before the serum.”
“Hm.” Y/N’s eyes wander back to Steve. His mouth is slightly opened, and he looks calm and relaxed, only the light shadows under his eyes interrupting his features a little. He shivers again. “Let’s just see what actually is up with him when he wakes again. Could have been a coincidence, that sneeze I mean.” Bucky doesn’t look convinced, but he stays silent and picks his book back up, running his free hand through hers and Steve’s hair. If Y/N is honest, she hasn’t convinced herself as well. She wraps Steve up in her arms and tries to provide more warmth on his naked skin.
* * *
Throughout the day, Steve’s sniffles turn into a constantly running nose and vanishing of tissues. A minor cold. Around dinnertime, a little cough settles in, too and Steve complains about a scratching throat and feeling slightly nauseous. Y/N thinks that he looks like a mess. He’s still red around his eyes and nose, the light blush still coating his cheeks but if he’s sporting a slight temperature it’s not really noticeable. What makes Y/N a little concerned is the look in Steve’s eyes. It has developed, from tired and a little glassy to afraid and panicked. He’s fidgety and with every chough, his hands shoot up to his chest. Y/N bites the inside of her cheek as she watches Steve cough again, doubling over a little. Bucky sits beside him on the couch, patting his back and whispering to him. “Hey, you two.” Y/N gets Lady from the leash after coming back from the nightly walk. The dog walks to Steve, sniffs at him a bit, and settles at his feet to keep them warm and provide comfort. Y/N can see small tremors running through Steve, despite him wearing one of the thicker Henleys and sweats. “How are you?” She crouches down in front of Steve, draping the blanket from the armchair around his shoulders. The man just whines a little and leans forward, resting his head on her shoulder, and presses his cold nose against Y/N’s throat. “Bad, huh?” She drapes her arms around his board shoulders as well, kissing his cheek and rubs his back. Steve nods a little and sniffles again. This time, it does not sound like running-nose-sniffles because of a cold but like Steve’s typical crying sniffles. Then he starts to cough again. His hand shoots up to his chest again and Y/N can see him wince a little. The couching must hurt by now “Hey, hey. Shh… You’re just a little under the weather. That’s okay, sweetie.” Steve shakes his head a bit and sniffles again. Y/N frowns at that and gazes over at Bucky. The brunette shakes his head as well and mouths ‘I’ll tell you when he sleeps’ before he kisses Steve’s shoulder and gets up. Y/N’s eyes follow him for a moment, then she concentrates back at Steve. “Hey, how about we go to bed, lie down and I read to you? I’ll make you a nice cup of tea with honey for your throat and give you something for the cough, so you can sleep through the night.”
“Ndo. I wandt to stay.”
“Okay. I’m still getting tea and medicine, though.” The congestion is clear in his voice and Y/N notices the slight rasp of it that comes with the occasional coughing that he does. “Then we lie down here and cuddle. I can rub your chest a little, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Steve nods slowly, but he’s not letting go of her or lifting his head. Y/N just stays like that for a few seconds, pressing kisses against his hair before she slowly takes her hands away from his back. “Ndo, please. Stay.”
“I’ll stay, Stevie. Just need you to lie down and let go of me for a second. And get you out of that shirt.” Steve whines again and Y/N is a little reminded of little Stevie. New concerns flow up again. Why is he not dropping?
With coaxing and kisses, she manages to get Steve’s shirt off and the man settled on the couch. She has called Bucky to get her the bottle of Japanese mint oil and eucalyptus cream from her bathroom. She usually uses them to rub on their chests if they come down with colds as kids. Then she settles beside Steve’s hip and rubs his chest until Bucky drops by to pass her the requested items and drops some coughing syrup on the coffee table before he vanishes in the kitchen to make tea. Y/N takes the cream and smears it on Steve’s chest, starting to massage it onto the skin. It usually helps to clear up the nose, so Steve can breathe easily while sleeping. She presses down with light pressure and Steve sighs at it. She smiles at him. “Good?”
“Yeah. Keep going.” His voice sounds blissed out and Y/N thinks for a second that she should do it when he’s healthy as well. It seems to relax him, he’s almost puddy in her hands and she thinks she could do what she wanted with him in this state and he wouldn’t complain. She needs to try when he’s better. Bucky joins them back on the couch with Steve’s tea in his hands and places it on the coffee table. Then he takes Steve’s feet on his lap and starts massaging his calves, knowing that they are achy as well. Steve moans loudly. Y/N chuckles a little. She’s sure that if someone outside would hear him, he would think of something wholly different happening inside. Steve throws an arm over his eyes and smiles a little while still sniffling. Slowly his whole body relaxes and goes limp. “Stevie?” Y/N looks at him and stops her hand after fifteen minutes of non-stop rubbing. “Steve?” She asks again but gets no answer. She turns around to look at Bucky. He’s still massaging Steve’s legs. His eyes are already on her and she doesn’t have to ask because Bucky just sighs. “He’s afraid that the serum is failing. He thinks he’s going back to his sick and skinny body.”
“What?” Her head snaps back to Steve’s face and she frowns while grabbing the blanket, that has fallen to the floor while he lied down and drapes it around him as he shivers in his sleep. She drops two droplets of Japanese oil on the blanket under Steve’s nose to help clear it up as well. It’s something her mother has sworn on and so does she. “Why does he think that?” She turns back to Bucky as she settles on the armchair to stroke through the blonde hair of Steve’s. “I don’t really know. He said his chest sounds like it’s rattling, but I think that he just imagines that. It sounds normal to me.” Bucky shrugs again and eyes Steve closely, still messaging. “He has a fever.” Y/N raises her eyebrows and switches her eyes back to Steve. “He was claiming that he feels hot but shivered all the time. And he said his ears feel a little like he has cotton in it.”
“I see. I thought he was warm this morning.” Her eyes stay on Steve for a moment, then she stands up and tucks Steve tighter into the blanket, pressing a kiss to his hair. “We get him to medical first thing tomorrow morning if he’s not better by then.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. It might be a common cold, but maybe it calms him. I don’t think the serum fails, but better someone tells him that who knows what’s actually going on. And it doesn’t hurt to check him out.” She sighs and walks to Bucky who slowly stands up as well, carefully placing Steve’s feet on the couch. Y/N drapes her arms around his middle and lets him pull her in. He kisses her forehead before he rests his forehead on her hers. “He’ll be alright.” She has seen the worry in his posture and eyes. The slight notch of fear in his voice and slowly it has crept up on her as well, makes her anxious. She knows that he tries to play tough, despite being worried sick. For a second, she thinks that Bucky is thrown back to the 40s when Steve constantly was sick and on the verge of dying. “I know. Still don’t like it.”
“Buck.” She feels his lips on her forehead again, but the trembling of his hands on her back is not lost to her. Instead of saying anything else, she drapes her arms closer around him, pulling him flush to her chest, and kisses his shoulder. “Let’s start a movie, yeah?” The man nods somberly and gets some more blankets while Y/N prepares the rest.
* * *
Waking Steve up feels like a crime. In his sleep, it seemed like he actually got air through his nose. He didn’t snore more than usual. After waking him up he’s a whining mess, claiming he has a headache. The nose is running again, and all stuffed up lacing his voice with congestion. They eat a quick breakfast; Steve eats less than usual. That makes Bucky looking panicked and Y/N has to comfort both men. Steve because his head and throat hurt and Bucky because he seems stuck in the 40s. Eventually, she manages to calm Bucky down enough so that he can haul Steve up from his spot on the couch that he hasn’t left, except for breakfast, and practically carry him to the med bay. Steve’s fever has risen through the morning and makes him somewhat uncoordinated. Y/N has called in sick, despite Pepper telling her that she doesn’t need to call in for something like that since she understands it completely. She still feels better if she does.
The examination of Steve goes by rather quickly with minimal fuss from the blonde. He’s in and out of sleep the whole time. Y/N and Bucky wait in the hall, while Dr. Cho does what she does in situations like that. It takes about half an hour until she comes back out of Steve’s room. Bucky immediately stands up, Y/N is only slightly slower than he is. “How is he?” Y/N eyes the brunette step from foot to foot with worry, she notices him sweating. Taking his hand and squeezing it, she steps right next to him and looks at Helen who smiles politely. “Well, he’s fine now. We found a small puncture that seemed odd on his hip. We inspected it closely and found a small metal ball, about the size of a pin needle, maybe slightly bigger. It sat right under the skin; he probably didn’t even notice the stab of it. Could have gotten there during a fight or something. Do you happen to remember the murder of Georgi Markow?”
“Yeah, I think. He was a writer from Bulgaria if I’m right. Got murdered by a secret police of his own country in London because he criticized the communist regime and ridiculed the dictator openly or something. He got poisoned through an umbrella, right?” Bucky looks at Y/N with raised eyebrows and a shocked expression, but she shrugs. “I watched some documentaries recently when you were both away. One happened to be about poisons and murders. Markow’s case was one of them.”
“Well, she’s right. The ball in Captain Rogers's hip seemed to have the same purpose since it was poisoned. We try to find out what kind of poison it was, but for now, we are confident to say, that it was the cause that makes him so sick. Now that it’s out he should recover soon.”
“Can we get him home?” Bucky’s voice is so full of hope that makes Y/N look back up at him. He looks still pretty worried but just as relieved. Still, she runs her thumb over the soft skin of the back of his hand to soothe him. Helen nods. “We would like to monitor him for a few more hours. His fever has risen, but you can get him home around lunch. Bring him back if his symptoms worsen on any rate or the fever doesn’t get down around dinnertime. I give you some medications for his fever. It’s on his nightstand.” Y/N nods, thanks her, and walks into the room, seeing Bucky following her wordlessly until he pulls her back on her hand. “Hm?” She turns to him with a questioning face. “I didn’t know you were interested in poison.”
“I’m not really, though I have to admit that the documentary was rather interesting. Why, is it shocking you?”
“No.” Bucky shakes his head, and a small smile curls upon his lips, exchanging his worried expression. “I find it rather sexy.” Y/N snorts at him, punches lightly on his chest as a small croaky, congested voice sounds from the bed. “Ged a room.”
“Steve!” Bucky practically bolts away from Y/N and all but runs up to Steve’s bed to tackle him. He acts as if he hasn’t seen him in days or as if he were severely injured. Which he was, though it’s not bad at any rate since the poison only made him sick. Y/N laughs at him and follows slower. “Hey, Stevie.” She takes his unoccupied hand and smiles at him while he turns a deep, smudged grin at her. “B-buck.” Steve pats his back with a croaky voice, hoping to get Bucky to back off. “Bucky, let him breathe, will you?”
“Sorry.” Bucky gets up from Steve with a light blush on his cheek. It disappears as soon as Steve starts a hacking cough that shakes his whole body. In a flash, he gets the blonde to sit up and strokes his back to ease the cough down. “I can’t believe you got yourself poisoned!” Bucky looks scandalized at Steve, but the blonde looks surprised. “Poisoned? When?”
“You had a ball in your hip, Steve! How have you not noticed?”
“Buck. It was as small as a pin needle head. How could he”, Y/N says and shakes her head, directing her gaze to the blonde. “How are you?” Y/N tries to distract the blonde form his cough and gets him to take even breaths and somehow it works, he still sounds breathless and only choughs small breathless coughs in between words. “My ear hurts, nose is still running.” He sniffles as if to prove it and then coughs again. Bucky makes a displeased sound and Y/N only watches. She doesn’t like the sound of his coughing. It sounds like he’s hacking out his lungs.
Steve slowly lies back down as the coughing stops. He looks tired but clings to Bucky’s hand. “Home?”
“Yeah, around lunch.” Bucky smiles at Steve and then leans in to kiss his forehead. The blonde hums, closes his eyes and Y/N just knows that he’s going to be asleep in a matter of seconds.
They stay in his bed for a few hours. At one point Y/N leaves to transform the living room into a cozy, warm nest with lots of blankets, hot chocolate, her favorite tea for colds, and whining and pleading Lady who wants to go with her to see Steve. Y/N decides to shoot Bucky a short text that he can bring poor Steve up now, then settles on the couch with Lady half on her lap. She bathes the dog in attention as her phone pings with a massage. She picks it up and sees a text from Tony. “Game Night at 9! No getting out of!”
She sighs instantly. That’s just their luck.
Instead of bringing Steve up to their apartment, Y/N makes quick changes and carries some of the pillows and blankets to the common room. She earns herself some curious glances as she rudely shoos Tony’s sprawled out form from the couch and drops the blankets and pillows on it, arranging them. “What are you doing?” Clint looks up from the coffee table, abandoning the arranging of the monopoly board for a few seconds. “Tony won’t stop harassing us if we don’t come up”, she sends a playful glare at the brunette scientist. “So, we take our sick third up here for you all to ogle at and keep the yelling down.” The frowns around the room deepen as the elevator dings and Bucky shuffles in. Steve is leaned against him, looking tired and worn out, clad in the same thick Henley. Y/N notice that he swapped the sweats for a pair of Bucky’s fluffier and thicker ones. His red cheeks seem even more colored and as soon as he reaches the couch he flops down, starting to cough. It sounds dry and painful. Y/N sees more than one of their friends wincing a little at the sound. She waits for the coughing to subside to wrap him into the blankets and settle down. He manages a small smile and sighs as she drapes a wet rag over his burning forehead and strokes his hair for comfort. They both listen to Bucky telling the story of why Steve is sick until they start with one of the quietest Monopoly games that was ever held in the tower. The several insults are still thrown but silently and the shooting matches are now small punches and pokes into the side of the other. For a moment Y/N thinks Steve has fallen asleep until the man softly tugs on her arm. “Yeah?” She turns to him with a smile and continues stroking through his hair. “Cuddles?” He has the cutest puppy dog eyes thrown at her with an adorable rough but quiet pleading voice.
“Okay.” She smiles and presses a kiss to his cheek before she lifts the several blankets the man is buried under. As soon as she’s somewhat lying down, Steve pulls her in closer, rests his head on her shoulder, and sighs, coughing only a little before settling completely. Y/N catches Bucky’s eyes. The brunette still looks a little concerned and it’s clear to see that he wants to be the one to cuddle the blonde right now. So, Y/N smiles at him and mouths ‘later’. She knows that said ‘later’ will be in about fifteen minutes when Steve is finally asleep and Bucky can’t pretend to have fun with Monopoly or Uno. He then will gently entangle the blonde from her, carry him like a child down to their apartment and settle with him in bed without changing first, so he doesn’t have to let go of him. And Y/N will be the one to pick up the discarded clothes the next morning when she wakes up after the boys shed them in their sleep since they both got too hot. She doesn’t mind, though.
* * *
Three days later Y/N finds Steve on the couch, blanket still around his shoulders and silently sniffling while he sketches something into his sketchbook. The medicine, he hopefully took, rests on the coffee table, several tissues scattered around. Lady lies beside him, head on his lap, dozing. Surprisingly, Bucky is not with him. He hasn’t left Steve alone for more than a few minutes, still not convinced that the sickness will go away that easily, especially after two panic attacks on Steve’s side after he didn’t get enough air because of his coughing and was mentally thrown back to his asthma days. His coughing still sounds dry but it’s not as worse as it was just two days prior. “Hey, Stevie.” She smiles at him and leans over the backrest to kiss his cheek, glancing at his sketchbook at the same time. He’s drawing her again. “Hey.” His voice is soft, still has a small scratchy sound to it but Y/N thinks it sounds incredibly sexy at the same time. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing much. It’s not like I could do anything.” He sounds frustrated and sad, so Y/N leans further over the backrest to look at his face. “What’s wrong, Steve? Something bothering you?”
“No.” He shakes his head, but Y/N sees the lie coming. She runs her hand through his hair and massages his stiff neck muscles. “Don’t lie to me. What is it?” The blonde sighs and puts his pencil down. “I hate being sick, always have but now it’s worse.”
“Why?”
“Feels like I’m skinny again. Always coughing if I move too much or too fast, my nose is always running as if I have my allergies again. I’m always short on air. It feels like I’m having asthma all over again.” He runs his hand over his face and adds in a smaller voice. ”I don’t want this anymore.”
“Stevie.” Y/N smiles sadly at him, abandons the messaging, and rounds the couch to kneel in front of him. She cups his cheeks in her hands, running her thumbs along his stubbled skin. “It’s pretty normal to feel like this and you probably will have these problems for a few more days, but I promise you. The serum is still working, you will get better soon and be as you were.” She kisses him softly on the lips. “But I’m benched Y/N. They just put me on bed rest! Because of some sniffles and coughs!” Steve raises his voice frustrated and Lady jolts up to the loud sound, looking around confused. “Steve. You would have done the same thing!” Her words don’t seem to reassure Steve in the slightest. He’s still glaring a little and Y/N shakes her head. “Okay, you know what? We take a break.”
“What?”
“We’ll take a break. Treat it like a vacation. Just you and I since Bucky has still to work. We both just go around, do some things we rarely have time for.”
“I can’t have sex, at least not if you want me to cough on you.”
“And I don’t mean sex, Steve!” She punches him lightly, amused about his pink cheeks. “I mean things like the aquarium or the zoo. Maybe we can visit an art gallery?” His eyes do light up a little at the mention of art and Y/N knows she just won. “I can bench Bucky too and we make it a vacation for all of us.” Steve pouts a little and pulls a laugh from Y/N. “Okay, okay. Just us. Well, then. Let’s see how fast you can get dressed, take some meds and we can go. Yeah?”
“Okay.” Steve nods and smiles at her. Before she even can get away from him or stand up, he pulls on her hand and kisses her gently before resting his forehead on hers. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”