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“Home sweet home.” You surveyed the tiny room with its oversized bed, chipped dresser, and peeling floral wallpaper.
“I guess you could say it has its own charm,” Steve said over your shoulder. When you didn’t move, he placed a hand on your arm to squeeze past into the room and set his duffel bag on the bed before placing his shield against the wall. He glanced at where you were still in the doorway. “You okay?”
“Yeah, just…I don’t know if you’ll be able to sleep on the floor. There’s barely any room.”
When you’d found out down at check-in that the only available room had one bed, Steve had casually remarked that he’d sleep on the floor. You hadn’t been expecting the bed and dresser to take up three-quarters of the room, leaving little to no space for anyone determined to take the floor.
“I’ll make it work. I’ve done worse,” Steve said, pulling out some clothes from his bag.
He was still in his suit and you were still in your tactical gear, which had had the receptionist looking on with wide eyes as you and Steve walked into the hotel late at night. The two of you had just come back from a mission with Sam and Natasha when they were called away on urgent official government business in the complete opposite direction of the compound. Assuring them you could wait it out a night, you’d had them drop you and Steve off in a rural town you’d been flying over, after which they’d be back the next day to pick you up.
You entered the room with uncertainty and placed your bag on the bed, eyeing the hardwood floor. “Steve, I think you should just sleep on the bed. It’s really not a big deal. This floor can’t be comfortable, and this bed is more than big enough for the both of us.”
“Trust me, it’s not a big deal for me to take the floor. Nothing worth expending your energy on,” he said with a small placating smile. “Now, are you going to take that shower first or am I?”
You rubbed the back of your neck, still dubious about the whole sleeping situation. “Uh, I guess you can.” You didn’t know about him, but you were filthy and wiped out, ready to bask in the warm, steady spray of water. You could do that without feeling guilty or rushed only if you knew he wasn’t next in line.
While the shower ran in the adjoining bathroom, you pulled out your clothes from your bag. Then, with nothing else to do, you took turns between sitting at the edge of the bed and peering out the window.
You were on the second floor of a quaint hotel that overlooked the main thoroughfare of the town. As to be expected, it was completely dead at that time of night, but even when the sun would be at its peak the following day, you expected it wouldn’t be terribly busy, making it easier for you and Steve to head out without a hitch. The pleasant encounters you’d had with civilians outnumbered the more unsavory ones, but it was still preferable to go undetected altogether.
Before you knew it, the sound of streaming water in the bathroom halted and Steve stepped into the room. Wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.
“Forgot my clothes.” He gestured to the clothes on the bed, which had been blocked from your view by his bag so you hadn’t been able to see them before.
Your chuckle was weak. “Good one.” You were absolutely not checking him out. Absolutely not.
“Must be the late time.” He gave a tired, lopsided smile.
You smiled back, though it was somewhat strained, and sidled around him to get to the bathroom as quickly as possible.
Once the door was shut, you released a lengthy breath. There was no point in even thinking about what had just happened. Acknowledging that Steve was an attractive man beyond measure—fine. You were only human. Thinking anything more than that—nope. He was a teammate, somehow a friend, and you had other things to worry about. You would not complicate matters by adding anything more than friendly feelings into the mix.
After a long hot shower, you reentered the room in a tee and light sweatpants. Similarly, you saw that squeezed between the opposite wall and the bed, Steve had also put on a shirt. He’d set up a makeshift bed out of blankets in the cramped space, and if it were the only option available, you might’ve been okay with it. But there was a giant bed right next to him that could fit the both of you without his having to worry that you’d be in each other’s space.
“Nice shower?” Steve’s eyes followed as you moved about the room. He had his arm curled beneath his head to act as extra cushion, putting his bicep on prominent display.
“I think I’m never taking showers for granted again,” you said, sliding under the covers, finding yourself settling on the side of the bed closest to him. “I’m absolutely wiped. What about you?”
“Yeah, me, too. With any luck, Sam and Nat’ll take longer than expected and I can sleep the next week away.”
Your chuckle sounded extra soft in the quiet, lamp-lit room. You curled up on your side, facing his direction. You could see about half of his body from your vantage point. “Yeah, same here. Or maybe we could explore the town, go sight-seeing.”
“I think we passed something about the country’s biggest pumpkin on the way here. We could definitely sight-see that.”
You chuckled.
“Wonder what it must be like to grow up in a small town,” he said more softly.
“Oh, right. Your childhood was pretty much the complete opposite.”
His nod was lazy.
“You ever wish you grew up differently?”
“Maybe not wish. Just wonder sometimes.” His voice took on a teasing note. “But then that’d mean I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now. Probably wouldn’t know the same people. And some of those people aren’t so bad when I really think about it.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. Those people mean a lot to me, and they know just who they are.”
“And everyone else sucks?”
“Everyone else sucks.”
“So who doesn’t suck?” you teased, totally transparent in the way you were trying to goad him into saying you.
“Oh, you know. Bruce isn’t so bad. Sam’s all right; so’s Nat. There is this one person on the team I’m not too sure about, though. They just keep talking while all I’m trying to do is go to sleep. Sometimes I really wish they’d stop, but I guess I don’t quite know how to tell them.”
“Oh, shut up!” You laughed and hit him with your pillow, sending him sputtering and laughing along on the floor. After recovering, you resettled the pillow under your head and reached for the lamp. “I’m turning the light off.”
In the dark, you lay there quietly. The whole scene was oddly reminiscent of your sleepover days from when you were younger. The thought that you were sharing something that elicited fond memories with Steve of all people, something so wholesome, had something inside you feeling inexplicably…warm.
You could hear Steve shifting around. “You sure you’re okay down there?”
“I’m sure.”
You were more aware than ever of what seemed to be the yawning expanse of empty bed behind you. It seemed a total waste of space.
“Steve, I think you should just get up here. You’re basically sleeping on top of a single thin quilt on top of hardwood floor. There’s no point in sleeping down there when there’s a perfectly good bed up here. We’re both grown-ups. It’s just sleeping.”
“I’m good down here.”
“Really, I don’t mind, and I don’t think it’s ‘improper’ if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s not like I haven’t slept in the same bed as a guy platonically before.”
“You have?” He sounded all of a sudden curious.
“Yes. And I’m pretty sure five people could fit between us anyway if you slept up here. Don’t worry, I won’t roll into you in the middle of the night or anything.”
There was silence on his end, which had you hesitating. It was entirely possible his reservations had nothing to do with impropriety or making you feel uncomfortable. Maybe he just didn’t want to sleep in the same bed because it made him uncomfortable.
“Just letting you know you can,” you said, less sure of yourself, before rolling over in the opposite direction.
The air was somehow thicker now, the silence heavy. But maybe it was just in your imagination. It suddenly occurred to you that he might’ve already fallen asleep and you’d been talking to yourself. It would’ve been quite the feat for him to fall asleep in such a short span of time when he’d been up and talking just seconds before, but anything was possible.
You were yawning, having already accepted that he was going to stay down there, when you heard shuffling behind you. At first, you figured he was readjusting to get more comfortable. But then you heard him get up and his movements draw farther then nearer as though he was circling the bed.
Surprised, you watched in the dark as he plopped his pillow down on the bed before he lay down on top of the covers, covering himself with the quilt.
“You don’t have to sleep on top of the covers,” you said. “I mean, you can if that’s what you want, but I don’t care if you don’t.” With that, you rolled onto your back to mirror his position.
It was silent for a good while.
“That floor was really uncomfortable,” he said after sometime.
You snorted soundlessly. “I know.”
It got quiet again, and then he maneuvered himself so he was under the covers along with you. Even still, he felt a million miles away. There was certainly no danger of accidentally knocking into him.
“Goodnight,” he said softly, and there was a strange note in his voice you didn’t know what to make of. He promptly rolled onto his side so his back was to you. Stupidly, you felt a pang in your chest at the act.
He felt miles away, but in actuality he was a mere arm’s length away. If you only reached out, you were sure you’d be able to touch him. Instead, you just mirrored him again, rolling onto your side so your back faced his.
“Goodnight,” you murmured, hoping for sleep to take you soon.
Longing. That was what you’d almost have thought was that strange note in his voice when he’d said goodnight.
But you’d have thought that if you didn’t know better. And you did know better. Things between you and Steve were strictly platonic. If he felt any different, you doubted he’d turn his back to you and try to distance himself as much as possible when you were in the same bed for the first time.
It really didn’t matter. You were worrying over a nonexistent problem. You were the one who’d suggested you could sleep together platonically in the first place. He was simply taking you up on that offer, trusting you not to be a hypocrite, even if it was only in your thoughts.
Letting out a sigh of resolve, you curled up and eventually found sleep.
. . .
Warm. You were really warm.
Your eyes were still glued shut and you were only half-awake, but you knew instinctively that you were in no danger. Wherever you were, you were safe.
Intending to fall right back asleep, you shifted a little to get more comfortable. Except you couldn’t.
You tried to move a second time, and still you got nowhere.
As your mind swam further and further back up into consciousness, you finally registered that there was a foreign weight around your middle preventing you from moving, and that the weight came from an arm. A heavy arm.
More than that, there was a bare leg tangled up with yours, and a very broad, very firm chest pressed up against your back. You were, for all intents and purposes, pinned to the bed with no hope of escape.
Deep, steady breaths stirred your hair from behind. Meanwhile, your mind whirred frantically.
Who’d snuggled up to whom? Was it a mutual snuggling? Did you snuggle up to him first, drift apart, then he snuggled up to you? Was it a completely unconscious snuggling or had some part of him been aware when he came up to spoon you?
Oh, God. Steve was spooning you. And you couldn’t even bring yourself to pretend you didn’t like it.
It was most likely unconscious on his part. You couldn’t even imagine how he’d react if he woke up to find himself wrapped around you like that. Maybe he’d even think you initiated it. To spare yourselves the awkwardness, you had to get away before he woke up.
Carefully, you tried to extricate your legs from his, but they were far too tangled up to do it without waking him up. You then shifted your focus to the arm around your waist.
You were attempting to remove yourself, thinking you were maybe getting somewhere, when the arm around your middle suddenly tightened, pulling you in and preventing your escape. His arm was curled around your waist so completely as though he feared losing you even in his sleep.
Undeterred, you made another effort to get up by gingerly taking his arm and attempting to pry it loose from around your waist.
Which promptly earned you a soft growl and an even tighter grip which he used to haul you back against his chest. “Stop moving,” he said in a gravelly—intimately close—voice.
“You’re up after all?” you said, slightly breathless from your maneuvers. It was the very scenario you’d wished to avoid. Now that he was up, you had no idea how to tactfully go about the post-spooning process.
He gave a mild grunt in response, clearly still half-asleep. He shifted around subtly to get more comfortable, which apparently meant readjusting his hold around your waist—still tight—and brushing his leg against yours, not to mention resting his nose right against your hair. It was clear he had every intention of falling right back asleep with you as his personal teddy bear.
“Steve.”
“Hmm.”
“You’re spooning me.”
“What’re you talking about, ‘spoon’?” He still sounded groggy.
“Are your eyes even open?” You looked over your shoulder to find that no, in fact, they weren’t. “Steve. I have to use the bathroom.”
His breathing remained steady, his eyes closed.
“Steve.”
“Mmm.”
“I have to get up.”
At last, his eyes fluttered open. He took his time, like he’d been utterly relaxed and had not a care in the world.
Finally, he blinked. Then blinked again.
Then launched himself to the opposite side of the bed so fast it was as though he were Quicksilver himself.
“Jeez, try not to inflate a girl’s ego so much, will you?”
“Sorry, I’m—sorry.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “I had no idea I was—that we were even—”
“It’s okay, really. I didn’t know, either. It was pretty cold last night, so I guess it just…happened.”
“Yeah,” he said, though it was clear he was still hesitant. “Listen, I don’t want you thinking I was trying to take advantage of you or anything. I knew I should’ve just slept on the floor.” He said the last part more to himself as he rose without further delay and pulled on a pair of jeans over his boxers.
“Steve, really, let’s not make a big deal out of it.” You watched as he checked his phone, unable to help the feeling that he was somehow slipping right through your fingers.
“They’ll be here in about thirty,” he said frankly, looking down at his phone.
That had you reaching for your phone on the nightstand. You unlocked it to find a text from Natasha sent about half an hour ago.
Turns out meeting with Sec’s been postponed. En route now. Back in an hour.
You looked up to find Steve gathering his things, and you got the distinct impression that he was avoiding your eye.
“I’ll check us out,” he said as he zipped up his bag. “Then we can head out to the woods. Meet me downstairs in ten?”
You nodded, then realized he still wasn’t going to look your way. “Fine.”
Without another word, he shouldered his bag and left the room. You sat there for approximately five long seconds before disappearing into the bathroom.
Ten minutes later, you met him down at reception, after which you made the short trek to the patch of woods nearby where the others had dropped you off and would later swing by with the jet.
Conversation was scarce, and it was only once you were back on the jet that you felt you had room to breathe. Sam and Natasha stayed at the front of the jet, while Steve had wandered off to do who knows what. You were sat down trying to work on one of the gadgets Tony had supplied you.
“Think you’ll break it if you keep doing that.”
You looked up to find Steve standing over you, still in his jeans and tee. He nodded down at where you were fiddling with the gadget.
“Don’t really think I know what I’m doing, to be honest,” you said.
“Probably more than me.” He took the seat across from you, watching as you toyed with the gadget. You could feel the words itching to come out of his mouth.
“Hey, listen, about earlier…” he started. “I just wanted to apologize again. I don’t want you to think I was trying to…I don’t know, cop a feel or something.”
“Steve, it’s okay. Don’t worry, I don’t in any way think you were. It was just an accident. Something we can laugh about. Like I said, it was pretty cold, so…”
He eventually nodded. “Right. Yeah, okay.”
You thought back to the incident, unable to hold in a laugh. “You should’ve seen yourself. You’d think you saw a ghost with the way you jolted back when you realized where you were. Like you were caught with your hand in the cookie jar or something.”
He took your ribbing with good humor. “All right, all right, listen, I was caught off guard, all right? It’s not exactly every day I wake up to find myself snuggled up to a friend who’s…”
“Who’s…?”
He kept his eyes on yours, and you could feel it as he worked out what to say. “My friend.”
Ouch.
“Yeah, well, it’s not every day I wake up to find myself acting as the personal teddy bear for a 200+ pound super soldier, either, you know,” you said.
“I don’t know, I’d like to think having you around is a little better than having a teddy bear.”
“Just a little?”
“Just a little.” He flashed a brief teasing smile. “Hope I didn’t crush you.”
You shook your head. “It was actually kind of…comforting.”
His expression didn’t show any overt signs of surprise, but you could sense it. “Really?” he said.
“I mean, yeah, it—I didn’t mind it so much, so don’t worry. Anyway, it’s nice to have that sort of…physical contact with someone. You know?” You chanced a glance up at his face, horribly anxious that you’d just put your foot in your mouth. You quickly looked away, so you couldn’t tell what his reaction was.
“It is,” he said. “Nice, I mean. I…didn’t mind it so much, either.”
“What, potentially crushing me? Of course you wouldn’t mind. You weren’t the little spoon in that scenario.”
Instead of playing along like you’d expected, he kept his gaze pinned on you. “I think you know what I mean.”
Your heart pounded in your chest. You had no idea what to say. “So…looks like neither of us minded, then.”
“Looks like it.”
The silence that followed was weighty.
“Come to dinner with me,” he said suddenly. That swiftly grabbed your attention. “Or whatever it is people do these days.”
“I think people still eat dinner these days.”
“Come on, you’re not exactly making things easy for me here. You know what I mean.” His focus was trained solely on you, his gaze just shy of too intense. You didn’t know how you hadn’t run away yet.
“I’m probably not supposed to be laying all my cards out on the table all at once, but…when I say I didn’t mind it, I mean I really didn’t mind it. If I’m being honest, I’ve been wanting to ask you out for a long time. Just was never sure if you’d say yes.” He looked equal parts uncertain and resolute. “So how ’bout it? You think you’d maybe want to grab dinner with me sometime? Or do something else? I mean, whatever you can think of; it doesn’t really matter to me—”
“Okay.”
He paused. “Okay?”
You nodded. “Let’s go out to dinner. Or whatever it is people do these days.”
At that, a smile, beautiful and tender, blossomed on his lips. And then he couldn’t seem to stop smiling, though he did his best to rein it in. He nodded, planting his hands on his thighs to stand. “Okay. Dinner it is.”
“Or whatever.”
“Or whatever,” he confirmed in a mock-serious tone.
The two of you shared another smile, and time came to a stand-still. Then he looked at you one last time, like he was taking it all in—taking you in—before nodding to himself and going on his way.
Just an accident.
If what just happened between you and Steve was all only the result of what had transpired earlier that morning, then it was a happy accident, indeed.