Steve x Reader |Morning|

Of course she woke up alone. That's always how it went. (Name) didn't blame him; Captain America had Captain America things to do. One does not simply sleep in when one is Captain America. (Name) had gotten used to that fact by now, sinking into the bedding as her eyes slowly opened.

The sunlight filtered bright into the room, peeking out between the blinds and alerting her that yes, it was time to get up. At least, that's what she thought. 

Her morning was interrupted by the sound of someone banging on the door. Three hard knocks, that sounded a little urgent. Her brow furrowed, glancing at the clock. Who in the world would be bugging her at eight in the morning? (Name) sighed, listening as the knocks continued. Clearly whatever they wanted, it had to be important. 

With an annoyed grunt she pushed herself from the soft bedding, throwing a hoodie over her top before padding down the hall. The apartment was silent save for the knocking, which she hoped to end very shortly. Putting on her most convincing I'm-miffed-you're-here-whoever-you-are face, (Name) pulled the door open.

"What the heck do you want, man? Have you ever heard of a thing called common courtesy-"

"(Name)."

She froze.

"Steve?"

The blood caking his face made him barely recognizable, sending shivers down her spine. A hand flew to her mouth, staring at the frightening image. Steve looked like he was about to drop any second, possibly due to the foot that was twisted at an extremely odd angle.

"Oh, my God, Steve- w-what happened to you?!" She choked, quickly coming to his side and wrapping an arm around him. He sank against her, barely able to hold himself up. "How did this happen?"

"Ambushed." He explained weakly, limping alongside her as (Name) lead him into the bathroom. "Didn't...didn't see them coming until it was too late. D-don't know how they did it, but-"

"But they did. Got it." She cut him off, helping him over to the toilet. She managed to sit him down without too much effort, her heart twisting when she saw how much pain he really was in. The blood stains ran from his face to his boots. "...Whoever did this wasn't messing around. How did you get back home like this?"

"Took...took a lot of work." He muttered, managing to crack an eye open to look at her. "Didn't want to go to the hospital, again."

"Talk about eating up a paycheck." She mused; hospitals weren't exactly the cheapest places in the world. "Five hundred dollar fees just for walking into the E.R., if you even got that far, and-"

"That's...not why." He interrupted (Name), almost winning her over with a small smile. "I trust you more than...any doctor."

She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and she looked away. "Don't let Strange hear you say that." 

"It's true."

(Name) rolled her eyes, carefully working to pull away parts of Steve's suit to try and find his wounds. A particularly nasty gash along his bicep caught her attention, first. With a deep breath, she pressed her hands to his skin, covering the bloody injury with gentle fingers. At first, he cringed, the pain bursting through his body lasting only moments. It was then replaced by a soft, warm glow.

She would never forget the first time she used her powers on him. The night of their first date, almost ruined when a HYDRA agent suddenly appeared with intent to kill. He took a bullet for her, only for him to discover she could heal the wound away with a touch of her hand...literally. Needless to say, it was an interesting night (she was just glad he didn't drop her after finding out she had weird powers). Tony called it "trans-curamentum", or some sort of Latin for her ability to use a heal factor on others. He was pretty proud of coming up with the name, which didn't really impress either her nor Steve.

She was just glad she could put it to good use.

"Who would've thought the great Captain America could be so reckless." (Name) said, amused with herself as she moved to his splintered ankle. Steve bit his lip, fists clenched as she gingerly turned the detached appendage to the right angle. Her hands closed around the wrecked bone, concentrating hard to bring all the tissue back together. "Guess these weren't your average street thugs, huh?"

"Bad guys...j-just can't get enough." Steve said through clenched teeth, relaxing only once he could feel his toes, again. "Can't imagine what they wanted with me this time, though."

"You never can." She shrugged, working to remove the top of his suit. The underarmor he wore beneath wasn't nearly as bloody as the rest of him, for which she was thankful; chest wounds were a little more difficult to take care of. The heart was a fickle thing to heal, after all. Her eyes flicked down, finding a number of dark bruises along his core. She worked real hard to suppress the joy she felt at peeking at shirtless Steve. "Though I can't say I'm complaining."

"You mean you want me to get hurt?" Steve quirked an eyebrow, which she hardly noticed under all the blood on his face. She grinned, pressing her hands to his tantalizing musculature. 

"It's not that I want you to get hurt, per say...I just enjoy the healing process. When else do I get to feel you up like this?" (Name) giggled, watching the tips of his ears turn pink. The blood might've hid the blush on his face, but the rest of him gave away what he was thinking. "I know you do, too."

"Only because it doesn't keep me out of work for weeks." He countered, taking a deep breath now that it didn't hurt to. (Name) *reluctantly* zipped the suit back up, before turning her attention to his face. Her expression was no longer amused.

"You don't plan on going back out there, do you?"

"If the rest of the team isn't already wondering where I am, they're going to. If you're healing me, all I do is tell them what happened and come in late. It's a much better alternative." He informed her, much to her distaste. (Name) frowned, removed his helmet, took a wet cloth and got to work wiping away the macabre paint on his face.

"That's true, but if you went to all the trouble of coming home, why bother going back out there?" She reasoned, gingerly dragging the cloth along his jaw. Steve watched her (now that he could actually open his eyes), "I'll let them know what happened, myself. And if they're wondering, we'll just say you're currently recovering and'll be better by tomorrow."

"But I'm going to be fine in a few minutes, right?" He pointed out. You paused when you found the gash responsible for the bloody mess, brushing back his hair. Her fingers ghosted over the cut, careful not to hurt him more than he already was.

"Yeah, but they don't have to know that." She said with a wink, "Unless you're trying to tell me you don't want to spend the day with me?"

"I've got a job to do, (Name)." He replied with just an ounce of regret, seeing how hopeful she looked. "If I'm not out there saving people, who will?"

"Let me think...literally everyone else who's an avenger." Her voice was so flat, Steve couldn't help chuckling. "It won't kill you to take a break, you know. As you can see, trying to work almost did."

"Part of the job."

"Then let's take a chill pill from the job and relax for a change, okay?" She responded tactfully, finishing up her cleaning. Steve's face was clear now, devoid of blood and nasty cuts. He smiled up at her gratefully, only to shake his head.

"I'm sorry, but...I just don't think I can."

(Name)'s shoulders slumped in defeat. "Honestly...you come crawling back home for some free medical attention, only to thank me by turning around to go get yourself hurt, again. Have you no shame, Captain?"

"Well, to be honest-"

"Don't you sass me." She stopped him, tapping his nose. "I'm grumpy with you, now. Get out of that nasty suit and take a shower- I'll clean this thing up so you can leave again when you're done."

Steve looked at her oddly. "Really? But if you're mad, then...?"

"Because, if you're going to be so bullheaded about running off to do a job literally any other Avenger can do, I know I can't stop you. Might as well help, right?" She told him with a sigh, looking all sorts of disappointed. She held out an expecting hand, "Hurry up and change. I'll get everything ready for you, because I care. Not that I'm bitter, or anything."

"You're not?" He mused, "I couldn't tell."

"Just go on and get cleaned up, you workaholic." She snapped, snatching away the suit when he finally did as he was told. She'd barely turned around before his hand caught her wrist, prompting her to wait. "Steve-"

"You don't want to stay and shower with me?"

She choked on oxygen. "C-come again?"

"Well, you're the one who wants me to stay home, right? Even if I can't stay the rest of the day, why don't we try and make the most of it?" He reasoned, smiling with that rare mischief she only saw once in a blue moon. "You don't want to just leave me alone, do you?"

"Yes; I'm mad at you, remember?" She did her best to maintain her grouchiness, despite how absolute divine it sounded to take a shower with him at eight in the morning. Steve could see her will crumbling, sliding his hand from hers to her waist. 

"Then let me make it up to you. We can wash the suit later." He promised, "We'll just let the others know that I'm gonna be a late a little longer."

"I don't know, love." She set the suit, carefully folded, onto the counter, along with the hoodie she gladly pulled off. "If you give me an inch, I'm taking a mile. You don't want me to shower with you right now- I might not let you leave."

"I'll take my chances." He winked, pulling her flush against his chest. "Though I should warn you- I'm gonna make the most out of this morning."

"Trust me," She leaned up, her lips just inches from his. "So will I."

Make the most of it, they did...not that either of them were complaining.

Well, save for the Avengers, who were suddenly caught fighting in a life-or-death match against Magneto-
but yeah, no complaints here.