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It was 3 A.M. and Steve couldn’t stop tossing and turning. He was exhausted, he could feel it in his bones, but his mind kept poking and prodding when he closed his eyes. An easy solution would be finding Tony.
They slept together most nights, unless there was some sort of mission that kept them out late. Or on an off day when they couldn’t quite face each other because a mission had gone south and had caused an argument.
And of course, some nights Tony was up and about in the workshop till dawn.
On those nights, Steve would usually refrain from bothering Tony. He didn’t love the fact that he stayed up so late and lived off minimal amounts of sleep and loads of coffee but he didn’t know if it was his place to say anything. They were together but they hadn’t been for long. Steve wasn’t exactly sure what they were, he wasn’t even sure if he could call Tony his boyfriend. Their teammates didn’t even know about their relationship.
Steve rolled over in bed, glancing over at the glowing digits on the clock sitting on his bedside table. He sighed, and flipped back onto his back. He drummed his fingers against his chest, realizing vaguely that he picked that habit up from Tony.
He ran his tongue along his teeth, wondering how much longer it would be until sleep finally came. He couldn’t even bring himself to get up and go to the gym. Steve sat up and switched on the lamp on his bedside table. Tony always reminded him that he could just ask FRIDAY to turn it on for him. Steve hated doing that, it felt wrong, so he always turned it on manually and Tony always smiled.
Steve picked up the notepad he had been sketching on earlier and his pencil. He put the notepad in his lap, and twirled the pencil between his thumb and forefinger. He flipped through the scratchy pages filled with doodles. Mainly of Tony, sometimes of the team.
There were rare occasions when he would wake up and forget he was in the future. He remembered fairly quickly, but those first few seconds would shake him to the core. On day’s like those, he wouldn’t leave his bed for hours and he’d miss his morning jog. He’d let his feelings out onto the blank pages of his sketchpad before getting up and starting the day.
Tony had a sense when it came to the bad days, most likely because he wasn’t immune to them either. He’d hang out around Steve more than usual, probably resisting the urge to ditch him for his workshop. He’d listen when Steve gave orders out on the field and he wouldn’t object or blatantly disobey.
Steve appreciated it more than anything because someday’s weren’t so easy. But Steve never got to return the favor and that made his stomach curl. When Tony wasn’t feeling himself he locked himself in his workshop and didn’t allow Steve access. Steve had the override codes but he could take a hint.
Steve sighed and opened his drawer, putting away his art materials without putting a scratch on the surface of a new piece of paper. He knew sleep was distant, so he picked himself up off his bed and walked out of his bedroom. His first thought was to go to Tony’s floor.
His second was to go down to the communal kitchen. He settled on the latter and the elevator took him down to the floor once he stepped inside. It was quiet when he stepped off the lift and that wasn’t unusual considering the time but it still made Steve feel uneasy. He was used to the bustle of the team lighting the room, but in the dark it was eerie and it made Steve’s skin crawl.
Steve approached the kitchen and he frowned when he saw that the lights were already on. The first thing he noticed was the body slumped against the counter. His eyes widened and his body grew taut before he recognized the brown mess of hair as Tony’s. His posture slackened, and a small breath fell from his lips.
He walked up to the counter, glancing over at the coffee machine. The pot was full and the coffee was still producing steam which meant Tony had come up from his workshop for fuel and had passed out in the process.
Steve shook his head and stared at Tony who was fast asleep with his arms pillowing his head. Steve knew the position was going to result in an aching back but he also knew it was hard to get Tony to sleep in the first place. Steve was going to have to take his chances.
“Tony? Babe, wake up. You’re going to break your back sleeping like that.” Steve reached over the counter and gently shook Tony’s arm.
Tony made a small noise of complaint before lifting his head. He looked around blearily, and Steve couldn’t help but find his obvious confusion amusing. “Steve? Did you have a bad dream?”
Steve felt his chest ache. “No, just couldn’t fall asleep.” He watched Tony push his hands through his hair, mussing it even further.
“Probably because you didn’t have your human teddy bear with you.” Tony pointed out with a yawn that made his eyes water. He sat up a little straighter and looked over at the coffee machine and then at Steve. “That’s probably some sort of hazard. Watch out, Captain America didn’t have his human teddy bear! Might have adopted the personality of Oscar the Grouch. Will probably still help you cross the street.”
Steve’s smile shined from his eyes. “You don’t know that I will help anyone cross the street.” Steve walked around the counter and helped Tony out of the stool he had been sitting on with a hand on his back.
“I said probably.” Tony leaned into his touch for a moment before slipping away to get rid of the pot of coffee. Steve couldn’t have hid his surprise if he had wanted to.
Tony must have picked up on it. “I think you forget that I have grown as a person.” At Steve’s dubious look he changed his statement. “I think you forget that I have unlimited amounts of coffee at my disposal.”
Steve still felt a rush of gratitude nonetheless, and he pulled Tony back towards himself once he was within arm’s reach. “Thank you.” He buried a soft kiss in Tony’s hair.
“Yeah, yeah, don’t go getting all sentimental over it. It was one pot of coffee, keep it in your pants Rogers. I’m trying to save the poor pedestrians trying to cross the street. Actually dismiss that previous statement, don’t keep it in your pants. I hear sleepy sex is the best kind and we should really try to figure that out for the betterment of humanity and all that. I’m trying to win the Nobel Peace Prize, in case you forgot-” Tony rambled as they walked over to the elevator, still tangled together.
“Tony, we are going to sleep.” Steve said firmly, not because he didn’t always want Tony but because Tony was sleep-deprived and Steve was exhausted even with normal amounts of sleep.
“And that is why you and Dum-E have a weird bond. I get it now. You’re both in the Party Pooper club.” Tony pressed the button that would take them to Steve’s floor. Steve liked his harder mattress more than Tony’s soft one and Steve found it endearing that Tony always remembered the small things.
“We’re your favorites.” Steve commented teasingly as the elevator signaled that they were on the right floor. Steve led them to his room. Tony had designed the floor and had been there countless times but he was practically dead on his feet.
“Shh!” Tony slapped Steve’s chest but it was light and Steve barely felt it. “Don’t say that out loud. People could hear you and my reputation would be...obliterated. Could you imagine what people would think of me?”
“That you are actually a soft-hearted and misunderstood genius?” Steve laid down on the bed with a sigh, pulling Tony down with him without any difficulty.
“You forgot like three nouns.” Tony mumbled into Steve’s chest, and Steve glanced down to find his eyes already closed.
“Two. Can’t be a playboy anymore. You are totally and completely taken.” Steve curled his arms around Tony and shifted so his cheek was pressing into Tony’s curly hair. Tony obviously hadn’t gotten a haircut in a while but Steve didn’t mind it.
“I’m dating Captain America, I think I’ll live.” Tony pressed closer to him and Steve could hear his heartbeat. “Now go to sleep.”
__________
“Well, you know what Clint, I don’t need to beat you at Mario Kart.” Tony crossed his arms over his chest, always childish when it came to losing in video games.
Steve rolled his eyes from his place in the kitchen. He was leaning against the island, watching the screen and keeping an eye on Tony’s coffee. Tony had a growing fear that a ninja was after his coffee and Steve was on watch because Tony “couldn’t let Clint’s ego go unchecked”. Steve was pretty sure the ninja was just Natasha.
“Why not?” Clint asked, raising his eyebrows doubtfully. He was lounging back against the couch, controller already forgotten somewhere between the cushions.
“Because I’m dating Captain America. So I win. Game over.” Tony stood and dropped his controller dramatically. Steve dropped Tony’s coffee mug at the same time.