Chapter 7
Stephen heals slowly over the next few days, his color returning to his skin as his light returns to his eyes.
We spend hours in my room, talking together peacefully as I nurse him back to health.
His lips find mine again and again, his fingers trailing up the sides of my body as I carefully straddle his waist, kissing him deeply.
A knock on the door sends us separating, breathing shakily as we do.
“Come in.” I breathe, buttoning my shirt as I lean against the pillows.
Nat swings the door open, her hand covering her eyes as she steps into the room.
“Everyone decent?” She asks, laughing. “I’m not going to see anything I shouldn’t?”
Rhodey walks in behind her, laughing too.
“They’re decent.” He says, looking over to our positions on the bed.
Stephen chuckles beside me, his cheeks reddening slightly.
“What’re you two jokers doing in here?” I ask, rolling my eyes as I shoot them a lazy smile.
Nat drops her hand, crossing her arms over her chest as she smiles at us.
“We’re here to invite you two hermits to movie night.” She says, looking at Rhodey.
He smiles too, stepping closer to us.
“Yep.” He answers. “We’re making Peter watch The Breakfast Club.”
I raise my eyebrows, genuinely surprised that they thought to invite us.
“Will a certain Star-Spangled asshole be there?” I ask, resting my hand on Stephen’s thigh.
Nat’s smile drops slightly, and Rhodey looks at the ground.
“No.” She says after a minute. “Bucky actually took care of that.”
I cock my head to the side.
“What do you mean ‘took care of it’?” I ask.
Rhodey sighs.
“Well, he didn’t like what he did to Stephen.” Rhodey says, his eyes flitting to the remaining bruises on Stephen’s face. “So they had a bit of an argument. Steve’s in the infirmary.”
I sit up a little bit, looking at them head on.
“The infirmary?” I ask.
Nat nods now.
“Yeah, he’s alright.” She says. “Movie’s in an hour, hope to see you guys there.”
She smiles before turning and leaving the room, Rhodey in tow.
I turn towards Stephen as the door shuts.
His eyes scan mine before his mouth pulls into a soft smile.
“You want to go talk to him.” He says softly.
I sigh.
“Unfortunately, yes.” I groan, resting my forehead on his shoulder.
He laughs quietly, wrapping his arms around me as his lips press gently on the top of my head.
“Are you mad?” I ask, looking up at him.
He shakes his head.
“Mad at you for having a good heart?” He murmurs, his fingers trailing along my cheek. “Never.”
I smile at him softly.
“Thank you.” I whisper, pressing a kiss against his lips. “I’ll be back soon.”
He smiles, leaning back against the bed as I get up.
“I’ll be here.” He says with a wink.
I leave the room, stepping into the elevator and going down to the infirmary.
My heart races as I step into the room, and Bucky looks up from his position beside Steve’s bed.
“Hey.” I say quietly.
He stands, walking over to me.
“Hey.” He answers. “What’re you doing here?”
I gesture towards the bed, Steve’s face and most of his body obscured by the curtain around him.
“Came to see him.” I answer, my eyes falling back to Bucky’s.
His face is slightly bruised on one side.
Looks like Steve tried to fight back, at least for some of it.
He nods solemnly.
“I’m sorry that happened.” He says quietly, the fingers on his metal arm twitching as he talks. “Wasn’t fair to you, or Stephen.”
I nod now.
“Me too.” I answer.
He nods once more before walking past me, getting into the elevator and shutting the door.
I slowly walk towards Steve’s bed, his face coming into view as I round the curtain.
He looks up at me with wide blue eyes, one slightly swollen and yellowed with a healing bruise.
“Hey.” I say, spinning the chair beside his bed around and straddling it as I look down at him.
His lip is slightly split, the edges of the cut are a light pink as it starts to heal, and he has an IV pumping who knows what into his massive arm.
He takes a deep breath, sitting up slightly.
“Hey.” He answers, looking me up and down, sizing me up. “What do you need?”
I sigh.
“I came to see if you were okay.” I say reluctantly, looking out the window beside his bed instead of at his face.
“Oh.” He says quietly. “Why?”
I shrug.
“Because you’re still my teammate.” I answer, looking down at my hands now. “No matter if you’re a dick or not.”
I risk a look up at him, finding the corner of my mouth to be turned up in a small smirk.
He notices it too, smirking back for a second before he looks down at the sheets.
“I have been a dick.” He mutters. “I am sorry.”
I look back out of the window.
“It’s alright.” I answer. “Barnes kicked your ass pretty good, so I guess we can be almost even.”
He chuckles lowly.
“Yeah he did.” He replies, shaking his head. “But thanks.”
I stand, spinning the chair back around.
“Wait, Tony.” Steve says as I turn to leave.
I turn back around to face him.
“Is Stephen okay?” He asks quietly.
I nod.
“Yeah, he’s okay.” I answer, just as quietly.
He nods, and I turn away again.
This time, he lets me leave.
I step back into the elevator, going back to my room.
The doors open, and I hear the sound of the shower running.
I smile to myself as I walk towards the bathroom, following the soft sound of Stephen humming a melody.
I unbutton my shirt silently, dropping it to the floor before removing the rest of my clothes.
I pull the shower curtain open, stepping into the shower beside Stephen, relishing in the look of surprise on his face as I run my fingers up his wet body.
His eyes trail down my own body, his mouth falling into a lazy smile as he bends down to kiss me deeply.
“How’d it go?” He asks, murmuring against my lips.
I groan.
“Don’t ask me about Steve while we’re naked.” I mutter back, eliciting a laugh from him.
He pushes me back gently, pressing my back against the wall of the shower as he kisses from my lips down to my chest and back.
“We’re going to be late for movie night.” He whispers, sending a shiver down my spine.
“They always start it late anyway.” I whisper back, pulling him closer.
He laughs, pressing his lips back against my skin.
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We step into the living room, hand in hand, hair still wet from the shower, only 15 minutes late.
And, as I anticipated, half of the group hasn’t even made it to the living room yet.
I pull Stephen to the couch, sitting down beside him and putting my legs over his lap as he sits too.
Peter comes to sit beside him on the other side, and the rest of the group trickles in soon after.
Nat presses play on the movie, winking at me before sitting by Wanda on the opposite couch.
We watch the movie as a group, laughing and talking as it plays.
Stephen’s head rests against my shoulder as he watches, and he falls asleep towards the end of the movie.
As the credits begin to roll, I look down the couch, realizing that Peter’s head rests on Stephen’s shoulder, and he’s asleep as well.
I smile, kissing Stephen’s forehead gently as he sleeps.
Nat turns the movie off as people quietly leave the room.
Wanda smiles at me softly as she brings a blanket over, covering the three of us with it.
“Thank you.” I whisper at her, giving her a smile back.
She and Nat leave the room, turning the remaining lights off as they go.
I wrap my arm around Stephen’s shoulders as I rest my head on his, my hand falling on Peter’s shoulder.
And for once in my life, I feel like my family is complete.
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(Sorry this is a bit of a shorter chapter y'all, I have COVID so I'm feeling rather uninspired, but I wanted to give you guys an update!!)