Hey, hopefully, I'm not too late, I just saw that you have one spot open so if I am don't even worry about it that's my bad. Anyway. I was wondering if you could write for Steve Rogers and reader cleaning each other up after a fight and both realizing like while they're tending to each other's cuts and whatever that they're both in love with the other or something? kinda angsty but ends on a happy/hopeful note?
I have two versions of this request so if anyone wants to see the other version let me know and I’ll post it.
Warning: Description of injury
You pressfirmly against the gash on your side, feeling the rough fabric of your shirt stickeven further to the blood that is simultaneously dripping into your ruinedjeans and drying to the skin of your stomach. In front of you, Steve Rogersfumbles with the key in his hand, trying to unstick the ancient lock thatseparates you from the decrepit safe house that hasn’t been used by SHIELDoperatives in decades. The two of you are deep in enemy territory, far from anyform of rescue. Your mission had gone wrong in almost every way possible,leaving both you and the Captain injured and worn down. Though compared to youSteve looked untouched. The few scratches and bumps you could still see werehealing rapidly and would be almost completely gone by the end of the night.
Finally, thelock gives and the door swings open. You barely take a glance into the shedbefore the sounds of your enemies crests the hills that surround the small townthe safe house resides in. Steve ushers you quickly into the single room. Thedoor shuts firmly behind you and you are immediately thrown into completedarkness. There are no windows to allow the small amount of light remaining inthe day to enter the safe house, and with your pursuers so close, turning onthe lights could be a fatal error. You hear Steve shuffling through the smallspace and you want to follow his lead and find the medical supplies that shouldbe stored there, but your adrenaline has disappeared and the wound on your sideis throbbing with some of the worst pain you’ve felt. At the same time yourfeet feel heavy and you can barely stand upright. You become so lost in yourdrowsiness that Steve gently wrapping his hand around your upper arm startlesyou enough to cause you to jump.
“It’s justme.” Steve mumbles gently pulling you deeper into the safehouse. “Are youhanging in there?”
“I guess so.Still awake so that’s good.” He pushes you onto a soft surface that you thinkmight be a cot.
“That is agood thing. We can’t do a whole lot for it until morning, but we can clean itand stop the bleeding.”
“Sounds likea plan Captain.” You grasp the edge of your shirt and weakly try to pull it offof you but the combination of the dried blood pulling on your skin and thestretch of the wound forces you to stop. Steve gently takes over where youleave off and eases the fabric over your shoulders and head. Now exposed to theopen air, your wound begins to sting anew. Before you can catch your breath,Steve presses a cold wet piece of fabric to your wound. A sharp gasp leaves youand your hand instinctively shoots out to grab a firm grasp of Steve’s arm. Youcan feel his skin give beneath your fingers, but he doesn’t relent in pushingfirmly against your wound.
“Can youeven see what you’re doing?” you ask breathlessly, fighting against thepersistent pain.
“More thanyou could see. I think we have betadine and rubbing alcohol we could use toclean it. Which do you want?”
“I don’tcare what you use. Just do it and get it over with,” you grind out. Tears wellup in your eyes and your voice breaks in the middle of your sentence. It hurtsto cry in front of Captain America almost as much as it hurt to get stabbed infront of him. You couldn’t remember a time where you’d gone on a mission withthe hero and escaped unscathed. It was becoming embarrassing. He patched you upmore times than you could count and you never got the chance to return thefavor.
Stevereplaces the soaked rag with a rag that reeked of chemicals. The instant it touchedyour skin you wanted to scream. The only thing keeping you from blowing yourcover was Steve’s gentle reasurrances that it would be over soon. By the timethe wound is cleaned and bandages as best as it can be your lip is sore andbloody from where you were biting it.
Stevefastens the bandage tightly. “How does that feel?”
“It feelsworlds better than what just happened. Almost as bad as that time you had topush that barbed arrow through my leg. How do I keep ending up in thesesituations?”
“Probablythe fact that you follow me into battles you have no business being in.”Steve’s hushed response is followed by him gently lowering you so that you’relying down on the cot.
“Well Ican’t have you running off without someone to watch after you. Though maybe atthis point I’m more of a burden.”
Steverummages some more off to your side. The last light of the day has disappearedand the small safehouse is in complete darkness. You feel the cot dip down nextto you.
“Where doyou want me to sleep?”
“Are youseriously asking me that question after we’ve slept in the same bed like fiftytimes already. I’m not going to make you sleep on the floor. Just don’taccidentally kick me or something.”
Steve givesyou a soft chuckle before he lowers his weight further into the cot. The cot isso small that you end up pressed against Steve’s side. His arm snakes underyour neck, supporting your head and giving him a little more room. In any othersituation the position would be romantic, but in this case it’s nothing butroutine. Even if you wished it meant something else. You’re eyes are droopingclosed when Steve breaks the silence.
“If youwanted to take a break from the running around and getting hurt there would benothing wrong with that. No one would say anything ad you deserve a break.”
“I don’twant to stop. I don’t want you to be out there on your own.”
“I can takecare of myself,” he says with a small chuckle that shakes your entire body.
“I know youcan, but it’s more than that.” You cut yourself off, seconds away fromconfessing something you’ve kept hidden for a long time. Steve remains silentnext to you, but there’s a sense of anticipation in the air now that you’vestarted. “If you ever got hurt on a mission without me, I’d never forgivemyself. I just…” you cut off again, trying to gather your thoughts. At thispoint it was too late to go back. Finishing now would be way too suspicious. “Icare for you. A lot. Probably more than a normal partner should. And the onlyway I know of showing it is by trying to be there for you. Even though youdon’t really need me.” You let your words die in the still air.
The silencepersists for much longer than you’d like, but Steve makes no moves to talk ormove away from you. He’s being so still and silent that you almost think thathe’s fallen asleep despite talking to you less than thirty seconds ago. Withoutwarning his arm slides out from under your head and for a split second youmourn the lose of comfort along with the lose of a close friendship. Steve sitsup in the cot and flips himself so that he can lean over you with one handpressed into the mattress for support. In the darkness he can barely see you,but he runs his fingers across the planes of your face. Your heart is beatingso hard he must be able to feel it underneath his fingertips.
“Can I behonest with you?”
“Of course,”even your small laugh sounds nervous. “I feel like this night couldn’t beanymore honest at this point.”
“I feel thesame way. Every time I have to patch you up after a fight I think about what Iwould do if I lost you for good. And it’s never a world that I want to livein.” The two of you hang in this position for a few seconds before Stevesettles himself back onto the cot. “But I think we should have thisconversation after we’re back at base when we can actually see each other’sfaces and don’t have to worry about rogue agents hearing us. And maybe we couldgo out and get dinner in the process?”
You smile atthe question in his voice even if he can’t see you. “Yeah I think that’s a goodidea. Let’s try and get some sleep. We still have a long way to go.”
Stevereplaces his arm under your head and pulls you even closer than you were tobegin with.
