Damn Shoes

𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞 - 𝐞.𝐦.

eddie munson x fem!reader

warnings anxiety, description of a panic attack, fluff, comfort, an overuse of nicknames (sweetheart, baby, etc.), general warning for heavier content (2k+)

authors note today was a bad day for me, so i wrote this little blurb about eddie helping you through a panic attack and comforting you afterwards. i hope it can be a small piece of comfort to someone <3

You were at Eddie’s, both of you sprawled lethargically across the length of the couch, your legs over his lap and your head resting on the arm of the couch. The lights were all turned off as the television played some film Eddie had picked up from family video the other day. His hands ran absentmindedly over your bare legs in a gentle pattern, whilst his attention was wholly on the film.

You had felt relaxed, calm, safe. Of course you had, you were with Eddie. But soon enough, for no apparent reason, you’re heart had started racing and your hearing had gone muffled and you didn’t know what to do.

You didn’t want Eddie to see you like this. He couldn’t see you like this.

You made a split-second decision to pull your legs from his lap and drag your body, heavy with panic, from the couch and make your way to the bathroom. Away from him.

If it wasn’t for your hazy state, you had have realised just how flustered you looked. You tried to tell Eddie what you were doing but no words came out when you opened your mouth.

The bathroom door slammed behind you, and in your rising panic you didn’t remember to lock the door.

It was as if your brain had shut off, perhaps it was trying to protect you from how overwhelmed you were. But before you had any time to process what was happening you found yourself sat on the cold tile floor, your back resting against the bathtub and the palm of your hands pressed flat to the floor, trying to use the coldness to ground yourself.

Your heart felt as if it could beat out of tour chest and your face and arms felt tingly. There was no other way of describing it apart from it feeling like tv static had taken over your body. One of your hands went numb and you couldn’t move it. This happened every time too, you would lose control of your own body and you had never felt as isolated as you did when this happened - your own body betrayed you.

There were tears running down your face, silent cries that you didn’t even realise were happening until you felt the salty tears land on your lips. You couldn’t slow your breathing down, you couldn’t move your arms, you couldn’t-

“Sweetheart? Are you okay?”

Eddie.

Oh thank god-

No.

No, he couldn’t see this.

“Baby, talk to me. What happened?”

Come here. Go away.

I need you. I don’t want to need you.

You couldn’t speak. You wanted to but you couldn’t.

When Eddie didn’t hear anything he felt a fear he hadn’t felt before. He needed to know you were okay. You had to be okay, right? You were just with him. But what if you weren’t? What if you were sick? Or upset? He needed to help you.

Your hearing had gone muffled so you didn’t hear the knock on the door or the click of the door handle when he pushed the door open and was met with the sight before him.

He was lent down in front of you within a second. His heart broke just looking at you, he didn’t know what was going on, but the sheer panic and confusion on your face was enough for him to feel like the world had just been ripped away from under his feet.

“Hey, hey, okay baby. You’re okay, huh?” His voice was small, cracking on those last words because the truth was he didn’t know that you were okay.

Eddie was smart. He knew you struggled with anxiety. You had never told him, but he had picked up on it. He never confronted you about it or asked questions, he simply held onto that knowledge in case he ever needed it. Like now.

He had seen someone have a panic attack before.

His mom, when he was seven years old.

“Can I touch you sweetheart? Can I hold your hand or do you not want to be touched right now?”

You shook your head and he felt his heart shatter all over again.

You didn’t want to be touched. Not yet. You didn’t feel safe in your own body, how were you meant to trust someone else.

“Okay can you just listen to my voice, baby? Just listen to me, okay? Shh shh shh, you’ll be okay.” Eddie dropped his voice so it was soft like silk. His calming tones washing over you.

“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Your breathing started to pick up again and Eddie was genuinely worried about you passing out.

“Hey, sweetheart you’ve gotta breath okay. Or you’re gonna pass out- come on just breathe for me.”

Eddie took exaggerated breaths and you finally met his eyes, watching him. He nodded his head at you when he realised you were focused on him, continuing to breathe in and out.

“That’s it. Just copy me, okay? Just in and out, you’ve got it baby”

You tried to copy him. Your breaths were uneven and shaky and occasionally you lost your way again. Your cries would get harder and your breaths would be lost on you again.

But Eddie was in front of you and you found yourself reaching a hand out for him.

He took it hesitantly, whispering out a yeah? this okay? when his fingers intertwined with his. You still couldn’t talk, or nod, but you hoped he knew you were trying to tell him that yes, yes that was okay.

Eddie held your hand and placed your palm flat over his heart, covering it with his own. His chest was rising and falling with his breathing, and being able to feel it felt… calming. It felt like he had brought you back down from where you felt like you were floating before.

After a while, your breathing started to match his. Your hands were shaking and you still didn’t feel okay. But you felt a little safer.

“Good, that’s good angel. Keep doing that for me, I’ve got you.”

It might have been five minutes or half an hour. But your heart slowed and your breathing evened out. Your classy eyes met Eddie’s and the pain you saw behind them made you feel sick.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, I don’t-”

Eddie cut you off, rubbing his thumb in circles over the back of your hand, “Don’t apologise. Just take your time, okay?”

You nodded and relaxed even further back against the bathtub.

“My face feels bad.”

“Bad? What- baby, what does that mean?”

“It’s tingly.”

You thought you sounded like a small child. Eddie thought you sounded like the bravest person he had ever met.

Eddie moved closer to you, dropping your hand down to rest on his leg as he raised his hands up to your face.

He placed one on either on of your cheeks and rubbed his thumbs into small circles over your soft skin. “You’re body just freaked out a bit, it’s okay. It was doing its job, trying to protect you.” Eddie whispered in front of you.

Eddie’s touch on your face made more tears fall. You weren’t sure why you were crying anymore, but he let you get it all out.

“How’s that feel?” Eddie asked you with a small smile on his face.

“It’s better, thank you.” Your voice was scratchy, but the words weren’t getting trapped in your throat anymore.

“Of course.” You saw a small flash of uncertainty paint his face for a second. He wanted you to tell him what you needed, but he wasn’t sure you could do that right now; you still had a distant look in your eyes and your whole body had gone cold. He knew it was just you coming down from the shock and hyperventilating, but nonetheless it killed him to see you like this.

“Baby, do you want to- shall we get off this floor?” Eddie did what he did best, he tired to make you laugh, “I love you more than I love myself, but this floor is really cold.”

You didn’t laugh, but that was because toy felt so tired, and he knew that.

You nodded your head and let him help you up off the floor, leading you back to the lounge and sitting you down on the couch. He disappeared for a minute but soon came back with a glass is water for you.

“Drink some of this for me, okay? Just small sips.”

You did what he asked of you and he breathed a gentle thank you when you passed the glass back to you.

He sat down next to you and you clung to him. You never wanted to be around anyone after a panic attack, but with Eddie in his arms felt like the safest place in all the universe.

Eddie gently moved you both so you were laying with your head tucked under his and his arms wrapped reassuringly around you.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I- I don’t know. I don’t know what happened.” your voice was small but he slowly started to recognise it again.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to know why.” he gently kissed the top of your head and you fought to get even closer to him, letting your hands wrap around him and under slide under his jumper, so they were resting against his back.

Eddie took a steadying breath before he said, “You know I’m always here for you, sweetheart. I love you, and I don’t want you to ever go through that alone again, okay? I know you’ve done it alone before, but you should never have had to.”

You felt small tears form in your bloodshot eyes and you turned your head so it was pressed against his neck. He realised what you were doing and he mimicked your earlier actions, slipping his hand under your top to feel your skin and rub his hands up and down your back.

“I’ve got you,” you nodded against him and tightened your grip on him, which he took as a sign to carry on talking.

“You don’t need to hide from me. I love every part of you. I even love it when you wake me up in the middle of the night because you want to tell me about the dream you just had. I mean baby, if anyone else tried to wake me up I’d kick them out of my room so fast they’d get whiplash.”

You let out a very small laugh and the sound of it was the best thing he had ever heard.

“I’m serious angel. Don’t run from me again, huh?”

You lifted your head slightly and Eddie was floored with a flood of emotions when he saw your face. He truly loved you more than he could explain or even understand.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You lay back down against him, chest to chest with your head buried in his neck and Eddie settled into the couch below him. No words were exchanged between the two of you, but you both fell asleep in the comfort of being wrapped around each other.

When you woke up, you found a blanket had been gently placed over the top of of both of you, someone had tucked the blanket around the both of you and turned the tv off.

Not someone.

Wayne. His shoes and coat were by the front door, and you saw that the light in the kitchen was on.

Eddie woke up soon after you, and you whispered l something against him that had him sitting the both of you up, still not letting you stray far from him, keeping his hand resting against you constantly.

The three of you sat around the small table and ate dinner together that night, talking about everything and anything. Eddie let his hand rest against your leg under the table, like an anchor keeping you next to him.

Soon enough the day ended with all of you crashed on the couch and watching one of Wayne’s favourite films. He spoke through the whole thing, explaining his favourite things about it. You loved it.

You lay resting against Eddie and closed your eyes to the sounds of the film and gentle conversation between Eddie and Wayne.

You had never felt like you could call somewhere home before, you never truly knew what that meant. But you thought you might know now.

.

.

.

(defense against tumblr deleting anything <3)

im just gonna leave these here…..

IM INTERNALLY SCREAMING 😩😩😍😍

Niall performing Heaven | The Show Live On Tour in Düsseldorf, Germany (March 26th, 2024)

robin: you need a hobby.

eddie: i have a hobby.

dustin: staring at steve’s face isn’t a hobby.

eddie: you’re right. it’s a profession and i excel at my job.

Seeing Joseph Quinn wearing glasses made me think of a typical father, opening Christmas presents in a warm jumper. So maybe Joe is spending Christmas with the reader and their little girl, who has drawn her daddy a picture of their whole family or some other sweet gift? Generally lots of sweets, fluff, cuddling together by the fireplace, watching movies, a blanket and kissing under the mistletoe. I'm already in the mood and I'm sure Joseph would make this Christmas even more wonderful ❤️🥹

Stop this is a total fucking mood and I'm living for it

I went for a Christmas Eve scenario, I hope it's what you wanted 😚 thank you for your request x

🎅🎄 Christmassy Daddy Joey it is

"Daddy, daddy! Look what I got!" Joe moved to watch from across the room, stood in the doorway looking upon his little girl receiving her Christmas Eve box especially sent by Santa Claus himself.

He pretended to look surprised, folding his arms, mouth gaping open. "What's that my darling?"

"Santa sent it for me so I'm all ready for the morning mummy said!"

You sat on the sofa looking back at your husband, totally excited that this is the first of the holiday's you'd spent as a family where your little girl truly understood the magic of Christmas. It made everything so much more special.

"Shall we take a look inside?" you smiled, Joe joining you on the sofa, he snaked his arm around your shoulder and you leaned into him, admiring her open her gift.

Inside were brand new pyjamas, slippers, a certificate which confirmed she had been put on Santa's nice list and a small Candy Cane patterned teddy bear for her to take to bed.

"Oh my goodness!" You both shouted in unison as your daughter's sweet brown eyes sparkled shooting looks at the two of you, just the way Joe's did when he happy. It brought an enamoured ache to your heart, watching your 4 year old practically cheering with pride at her new things.

"Shall we go put them on?" You offered and she quickly ran over, passing the teddy to Joe to hold and grabbed your hand to pull you up out of your seat and into the hallway. "Come on then." you sighed contently.

When you returned, Joe was just putting on her favourite Christmas movie, as promised you would all watch it together before she went to bed. A small bowl of popcorn lay on the coffee table with a a glass of chocolate milk each and a bigger bowl for both of you to share. "Look at my beautiful little angel, all ready for Santa coming."

"Where's Bear Quinn?" she moved along the room, searching for her stuffed toy.

"Bear Quinn?" Joe barked a laugh at her, pointing in the direction of the middle of the sofa, there it was snuggled up under a blanket waiting for her arrival.

"Yes he's part of the family now, so he needs my last name." She showed Joe what only could be described as a teenage death stare, as if he was supposed to know that.

"Of course, silly me." Joe nodded slowly, smirking, his eyes twinkling between you and Y/D/N, their bond was something phenomenal.

Joe sat one side and you sat the other of her, she pushed the blanket over for you all to share and Joe started the movie. The living space had never felt so cosy, the lights were dimmed, the fireplace provided the welcoming heat with your named stockings hung above it, keeping the cold outside where it belonged.

"Daddy, I almost forgot what me and mummy did together for you today, can I show you?" She didn't even wait for his reply instead she escaped from the middle of you, racing to the dining table to collect the piece of paper, a chaotic little busy body, again just like her dad.

She came scooting back in, edging herself between the tight space in-between you. "Close your eyes." she braced herself as she placed a drawing of the 3 of you on his lap. "You can open them now."

Joe looked down, a hitch in his breath as he fell in love with it instantly. "Oh my goodness, look at this! My talented girl" Joe flashed a wink at you and placed a kiss down onto Y/D/N's cheek, she blushed a little looking so proud of herself and fell straight into his side snuggling down into him, her legs laid flatly across your lap, he placed his arm around her and found your hand to intertwine his fingers with. No matter how far apart you were placed, he'd always find a way to caress you one way or the other. Touch was absolutely his love language and it was hers.

You watched half of the movie in complete silence, looking down you noticed she was dropping to sleep, you figured now would be a good time to end the pleasant evening and get her up to bed so you could begin to prepare for tomorrow. You shot a look at Joe and his eyes fell straight down to her. Joe picked her up in his arms, cradling her as if she was still a new born baby and stood up to take her upstairs.

She stirred, waking up slightly when you both got half way up. "Daddy." she let out a huge yawn in-between her words.

"Yes princess?"

"We forgot to do milk and cookies for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph."

"Oh no! Well we must do that before you get your beauty sleep mustn't we." Joe halted onto the stairs, nodding for you to head back down.

He put her down onto her steps that huddled against the countertop so she had enough height to help do her duties. You handed her the carrot and cookies to set out onto a plate and Joe helped her pour a glass of milk into a small cup. She took the plate into the living room and set it beside the tree, Joe placed the milk onto the top of the fireplace which was beginning to burn out.

"There, now he'll have something to keep him going on his long journey." He nodded in acceptance at her and she beamed a sleepy smile so bright. Joe offered his hand back to your daughter as she rubbed her eyes.

"Mummy, will you come up and tuck me in with daddy please?"

"Yes of course I will." you smiled down at her, she reached her other hand to yours so you were both holding one side. A happy family.

You put her to bed, wishing her the sweetest of dreams, stroking her hair and singing her the same lullaby your mum sang to you as a child. Joe watched in complete awe, his heart could burst at any given second with the beautiful view in front of him, you two were his life, his happiness and he felt so lucky, more than ever right in this moment. Both of you kissing her goodnight, you closed the door and headed back downstairs.

"How long shall we give it?" Joe asked, obviously too eager to get the presents downstairs.

"We'll check on her in a little bit Joey. I can't wait to see her face in the morning."

"Me neither. But for now I've got something for us to enjoy."

"What's that?" You scrunched your face up, a little smile rising onto your features.

Joe ran into the kitchen himself just as your daughter had done to bring him her drawing, hiding the object behind his back he mimicked the words your little girl had said to him earlier. "Close your eyes, my love."

You closed them and Joe hung his arm in the air, giving you the all clear to open them once more. You did, taking your gaze from his face up his arm and what was being held above the two of you. Mistletoe.

"Merry Christmas, here's to the best one yet, my perfect wife."

"Merry Christmas, my most amazing husband."

You slowly moved towards one another, closing the gap when your lips magnified together. A slow and impeccably sweet kiss beneath the mistletoe was shared, just like in the movies, this Christmas Eve was joyful and bright and you couldn't wait for the day ahead.

Santa was on his way.

“Babe?”

Eddie’s voice echoes through the house, letting you know he’s finally home from work.

Making your way down the stairs, now dressed in a pair of pajamas, your eyes take in his post-work look. A pair of coveralls with the arms now tied around his waist, after a long hot day, showing off the black tank worn underneath.

His hair thrown messily up into a bun with his black and white bandana wrapped around his head.

The smile that lights up his face when he sees you melts away some of the mess of feelings that had been simmering throughout the day.

“Hi, baby.”

Something in his hand catches your attention. You tilt your head a bit to get a better look before his arm shoots back behind his back.

You look up as he begins biting his bottom lip, watching you with a sparkle in his eyes as he sways back and forth on his feet.

“What’s that?” You question as you mirror Eddie, placing your own hands behind your back, swaying from side to side giddily.

He immediately jumps into telling you about his stop for a second coffee, “you know the little coffee shop on the corner across the street from the park?”

You nod along maybe a bit too enthusiastically.

He chuckles before continuing, “well, I saw this little guy and I knew you would love it.”

He holds up a crocheted dinosaur in front of your face. But, not just any dinosaur. A stegosaurus.

Your favorite.

With fingers reaching out, you touch the softness of the dinosaur that was shaped into an orange slice, running your fingers along the four spikes along its back as a smile spreads across your face.

“Eds.”

Your response comes out more watery than intended, the emotions from the day spilling over as you take in the fond look staring back at you.

“I just wanted to make you smile, sweetheart.”

The words left unspoken are what sent you into his arms, taking the dinosaur with you.

From SEBASTIAN STAN's IG Stories June 2022.

𖦹⋆ ༘ ☼ 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.

# 01 — steve rogers x fem!reader # 02 — cw: none, only cute tooth-rotting fluff! set after ca:tws, established relationship # 03 — wc: 1.09k # 04 — a/n:  *sing-songy voice* i’m backkk *normal voice* so i know i’ve been pretty much mia for the past few months but i think i’m back for good now. which also means, i'm going to be writing and posting whenever i can, so requests are open again, feel free to send them in! 

as for this one-shot (which was originally supposed to be a drabble), i chose stevie to break me back into posting because i love him and he’s steve and i just love fluffy and adorable steve so much. this idea just flowed in as i wrote and i sort of love how it turned out, so i really hope you enjoy! feedback of any sort is always appreciated ♡

steve didn’t usually sleep in. never really had the habit of doing so, and his job with s.h.i.e.l.d. never really allowed him the opportunity either. but it had somehow started happening since he started spending the nights with you. maybe it was the fact that he had finally gotten a free day on the weekend or that he was simply too tired from his last mission. nevertheless, mornings with steve were pretty much one of your favourite ways to begin your days.

so it was pretty weird when you woke up and found steve in bed at 9 a.m., curled up into you and still asleep. the sun streamed in from the window behind him, covering him in sunshine and god, was he beautiful. your breath hitched at the sight of his peaceful expression— no furrows between his eyebrows and no frown twisting his lips— and made the decision to let him sleep in for as long as he wanted and whenever he wanted. you were rather well acquainted with steve’s bad habit for not stopping until he’d run himself completely ragged. sometimes not even then. he could use all the sleep he got.

but you just couldn’t resist pressing your hand to his cheek, thumb gently— just barely caressing the dark bags under his eye. steve hummed lowly but did not seem to stir from his sleep and, pulling your hand away before he could wake, you moved to gently untangle yourself from him. 

breakfasts with steve were also an uncommon occurrence with the unpredictability of his job, but the both of you cherished and made the most of every time you got to do things together. even the mundane ones like this.

but just as you began to move, a strong hand tightened around your waist, pulling you back into a firm chest. “where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?”

goddamit.

your heart lurched at the sound of his voice— deep and rich, rough and tired from his sleep. you couldn’t stop a smile pulling at your lips as you turned back around to face him. “good morning stevie,” you hummed quietly, hand raising to press against his cheek.

steve tightened his arm around your waist until you were pressed up entirely into him, and then pressed his face into the crook of your neck. “good morning my love,” he mumbled, “care to tell me why you were abandoning me in bed like this?”

you huffed a laugh. it wasn’t a long shot to say steve got a bit dramatic sometimes, usually when it was just the two of you and especially when he was fishing for some love. “hush, you big baby. i just wanted to go get breakfast started.”

“breakfast can wait, i wanna stay in bed with you for a bit longer.” he moved his face and brushed his nose against yours, before pecking your lips softly. “please y/n/n?”

the world could’ve been coming to an end, and with the way steve was looking at you— golden hair mussed from sleep, the prettiest blue eyes still sleepy but soft as they gazed upon you, and his lips pulled into a tiny pout— there was no way in hell you would’ve refused him.

“alright darling, we can stay in for as long as you want.”

his hand squeezed your hips in thanks before he pressed his face into her hair. he inhaled, his strong chest rising and falling under her hands, and then he spoke, “i hate that we don't get more of such mornings. i can’t get enough of you like this. when there’s no hurry for me to rush somewhere, when it’s just the two of us.”

you sighed quietly. you knew how much steve hated not being able to spend enough time with you because of his job. he always beat himself up over missed dates, movie nights and the time lost, despite you knowing steve couldn’t help it and never giving him any grief over it. besides, you knew steve would never be able to rest without having done his best to help in any situation. that was one of the traits that simply made him so special. something that made him him. plus, he never missed any chance to make up for it, and damn did he do a good job at it.

“i know, my love.” you moved so you could look him in the eyes, rubbing his hands over his shoulders and biceps. “someday, we will get all the time we want for ourselves. but until then, i don’t mind sharing you with the world a bit longer.”

he smiled softly. “i love you, y'know that?”

you hummed your reply and pressed closer before putting your lips to his in a soft kiss. steve made a soft sound in his chest that had your heart lurching in your chest. his hand skimmed up and down your back, fingers spreading wide over the fabric of the t-shirt you’d stolen from him, before they finally settled on your waist again. his fingers scrunched your t-shirt, pulling you impossibly closer as the kiss grew heated; another sound leaving him, this one louder, as your fingers found his hair, nails scratching gently at his scalp. the sound jolted you out of the trance steve’s touch never failed to put you in. you gasped as you pulled your lips from his and ignoring steve’s unhappy whine, you settled back into the mattress after putting some distance between your faces.

“is this why you’ve been trying to keep me in your bed, captain?” you murmured, swiping your thumb on steve’s lower lip as you looked up at him coyly. if staying in bed is what he wanted, you could at least tease him a bit first.

he groaned quietly, squeezing his eyes shut tightly after eyeing the smirk pulling at your lips. what was he doing playing a game he knew he’d never win?

“i was only hopin’ for some snuggles from my best girl,” he murmured, tucking some hair out of your eyes. “but you know i’d be the last person to say no to more, sweetheart.”

“mhm, i see that with your eagerness.” you laughed finally, leaning up to press kisses across his cheeks. hearing a big, burly man like steve ask for snuggles was just enough to crack your resolve. "you can have your snuggles, stevie."

steve chuckled as he pulled you closer and on top of him, and the sound filled your heart with so much love you could feel it vibrating throughout your entire body.

yeah, mornings with steve were definitely your favourite way to start your days.

taglist @demigoddess-of-ghosts (you filled out my taglist form for steve like months ago, so i have no idea if you still wanna be tagged, but i hope this is fine bae <3)

feel free to comment if anyone else would like to be added!

— © property of couragemydearheart. do not copy or post on any other site without permission.

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Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader Rating: T Words: 564 Content: 2nd person, fluff, a tiny dash of angst, cuddles Summary: Steve returns from a long, unsuccessful mission searching for Bucky.

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It had been another months-long chase of whispers and rumours but, like every time before, Steve returned empty handed.

No solid proof of Bucky, no glimpses, no certainty that the chatter was ever true, or if Bucky was even still out there.

You knew Steve was coming back today but the sky had turned black and inky by the time he entered your rooms. He toed off his boots and socks at the entranceway and it hurt to watch those broad shoulders slump in defeat, in remorse.

“Hey,” you greeted softly.

“Hey,” Steve whispered back, forcing a smile to his lips that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “We didn’t…”

“I know.” How could you not? You took his hands and wrapped his arms around your waist, coaxing his head down onto your shoulder. “I know,” you repeated, running your hand through his hair and down to the base of his neck.

He squeezed you in response. A silent thank you communicated in a simple movement.

You pressed a kiss to his temple and just swayed gently as he breathed you in, as he grounded himself in being home. You felt him breathe deeply, pressing an open mouthed kiss to your neck that made you shudder, but you didn’t push it. “Go take a shower, Steve, it’ll help you relax, yeah?”

“Yeah,” he mumbled back, planting a kiss on your cheek and leaving, with a final squeeze, for the bathroom.

You were settled in bed in your comfiest pyjamas when he came through in a pair of sweats, hair dry and fluffy from the hair dryer.

You pulled him down on top of you, hushing his grumbling about his weight and height as you all but dragged him into you.

You tucked his head under your chin, placing a kiss on his temple before your fingers rhythmically slid through his hair.

Steve held himself stiff, not wanting to totally let go of himself, but your touches slowly coaxed him closer to relaxation and to giving in to you.

“You always look after us, let me look after you, for once. It would make me feel better.” It’s the final nail in the coffin of Steve’s stubbornness and you find yourself finally pinned by his weight.

It wasn’t crushing, he felt a lot like a very warm, weighted blanket and if you hadn’t been so focused on Steve you could have probably fallen asleep like that. But you kept up the gentle touches, every so often pressing soft kisses to his forehead.

“I just…” Steve sighed heavily. “I don’t even know if he’s ok.” His words remained quiet and forlorn. You dropped a hand to his shoulders, rubbing in slow, soft circles.

You nodded, nuzzling into his hair. “I think it’s more likely we’d hear if he wasn’t.” It was a lot easier to identify a dead man than a live one. “You’ll find him when he’s ready.”

He sighed again but you felt the corner of his mouth twitch. “S’what I get for making Buck come to my rescue all the time.”

You chuckled and ruffled his hair softly. “Karma’s a bitch, Stevie.”

He huffed a laugh and pressed a kiss where his head lay. “I missed you,” he added in a whisper.

“I missed you too. Welcome home, love.”

Steve hummed, eyelashes settling against his cheeks as he breathed out slowly. “Thanks, doll.”