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(Name)'s eyes fluttered closed as her professor went on and on about her adventures with rowdy patients. The syllabus for today said they were supposed to be learning about what to do in case of a surprise seizure but her professor was quite the Chatty Carl. Resting her chin in her hand, with her sweatshirt hood pulled down and book propped up, (Name) hoped that she could nap and be ignored until class was over.
But since Karma was a little tattle-taled bitch, her book slipped and jostled against her arm, causing her chin to slip right out of her hand and collide onto her desk. It was loud enough that everyone noticed and chuckled at her. (Name) cradled her jaw and glared at her fellow classmates. So she attempted to nap in class, sue her.
"Late night, (Name)?" Her professor asked in a condescending manner. The old hag. "Yes actually." (Name) yawned. Some of the frat boys decided to giggle at the nonexistent implied sexual encounter. (Name) paid no mind to them, used to it by now.
"Maybe we should save the drinking for the weekends, hmm?" Her professor added, glasses sliding down to the bridge of her drooping nose.
"Yes ma'am." (Name) replied with a sigh.
Her professor seemed pleased with her response and after twenty more agonizing minutes of her storytelling, finally dismissed the class, but not without assigning a paper for them all to write first.
(Name) followed the groaning students out the door, and cut through the football field until she reached her car. Throwing the bag in the back seat and buckling herself in, she slumped against the steering wheel with an exhausted sigh.
It was true that she had a long night, but not by what her professor was insinuating. She had gotten back from class last night to find her boyfriend, Steve, clutching at his chest, sobbing in pain. It had scared the hell out of (Name) and she had quickly hauled him into the car and booked it to the emergency room. He couldn't even talk to her as the pain was so extreme. (Name) had hoped that it wasn't anything serious, she'd take a ruptured appendix over Ebola any day. But the serum was almost like an immortality charm. It was very rare for Steve to get sick, and that only upped the fear factor.
(Name) had called Sam after she finally got to the waiting room. The both of them were panicked through the whole thing but Sam had said that he was taking the next plane out to New York.
It wasn't until a horribly long four anxiety filled hours later that the doctor finally came to her. She had explained that Steve would be just fine, that there was a complication with and blast from an alien gun from his previous battle.
"He will be able to go home tomorrow, but we want to keep him overnight just to make sure everything is healing as it should. Other than that, he should be right as rain by the end of the week. I'd recommend light movement and bedrest for a few days." The doctor had explained.
"Thank you so much." (Name) replied, wanting to get up and hug the woman. The doctor seemed to sense her gratitude and just offered her a small smile.
"He's awake if you'd like to see him."
(Name) didn't need to be told twice.
When she finally entered Steve's room, she felt like she could collapse in relief. Steve looked absolutely wrecked but as long as his heart was beating lively, (Name) was okay with that. He was feeling too weak to speak, so (Name) just grasped his hand and smoothed his hair back, chatting softly with him about this and that.
That was yesterday and (Name) hadn't slept that night, wanting to make sure that Steve wasn't going to suddenly flatline on her.
Merging onto the freeway, (Name) couldn't help but let her worries cloud her mind again. Why did the blast take effect days after his battle? What did that blast contain? Why did the serum fail in healing his body correctly? How long had Steve been screaming before she got home?
(Name) pulled up in front of the hospital, the nurses waiting for her outside with an annoyed looking Steve sat down in a wheelchair. (Name) could only imagine what he was feeling. Steve wasn't one to enjoy being restricted from anything, so she wasn't surprised if he was a little grumpy about recent events.
(Name) had got out of the car and helped the nurses get Steve into the passenger seat, all while the super soldier swore up and down that he could do it himself. They finally got the brat into the car and (Name) thanked the nurses for all their help before jogging back around the car and getting into the driver's seat.
With a soft sigh, she started it up again and glanced over to Steve who was staring at his hands. "How are you feeling?" She asked.
"M'fine." Steve replied, moving his gaze to out the window.
"Please don't do this to me, Steve." (Name) sighed. "I'm not doing anything." Came her boyfriend's sullen reply.
"Look, I get that you're upset to be bedridden, but wouldn't you rather have that than be in extreme pain?" (Name) prodded gently.
"I'm sorry." Steve said. "I just don't like feeling so useless."
"You're not useless, you just need a little help, nothing wrong with that."
Steve nodded and fell silent again, watching the streetlights change from red to green. "I need someone to fill in for me at Shield-"
"I called Tony today, he's gonna talk to Fury, and Sam flying in."
"Why?"
"Because he’s your friend and he's worried about you? The team all came to visit you last night when you were asleep." (Name) informed.
"Really?" Steve asked, seeming faintly surprised.
"Check your toes, Natasha painted them."
(Name) watched out of the corner of her eye as Steve toed off his shoes to glare at his toes.
"I hate that color." He said.
"That's too bad, because it's Nat's favorite." (Name) replied with a smirk.
They pulled into the driveway of their apartment complex. It wasn't much, just a simple 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom place. But it had many attributes that both (Name) and Steve really enjoyed. So for now, it was home.
Steve had tried to prove that he was independent by rushing himself, which only made him trip over the curb and face plant into the grass. (Name) walked over to him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you done?"
Steve didn't reply, so (Name) hauled him up and wrapped her arm around his waist. It wasn't easy to get Steve up the stairs, only because her boyfriend kept persisting that he was capable of, quote, 'walking up the damn stairs himself,' but eventually they made it into the apartment and (Name) deposited Steve onto the couch.
"Let's get your shoes off." She said, reaching for his feet. Steve waved her away immediately, with a defiant, "I've got it."
(Name) shook her head and went to the kitchen to start dinner. She set a pot of water on to boil, knowing that it was a simple pasta kind of night. Once the water was boiling, (Name) added the dry pasta and set the sauce on.
"Oh, forgot my bag in the car, I'll be right back." (Name) said to Steve over her shoulder as she ran out of the apartment, moving quick so the pasta noodles didn't boil over.
With her school bag in hand, (Name) entered the apartment gist as she heard a crash and Steve's pained yelp. Dropping her bag at the door and dashing for the kitchen, she wanted to scream.
Steve had wandered from the couch and into the kitchen. He knocked over the pasta pot and fell. He was unlucky to be burned by the hot water, but not badly, and only on his arm. "Guess I'll order pizza." (Name) stated as she set to work of patching Steve up.
Once that was finished and the kitchen cleaned, (Name) plopped down next to Steve on the couch, pulling her laptop out of her bag and into her lap. "What kind of pizza do you want?" She asked.
"Mhm, I don't care." Steve replied, and (Name) wanted to smack him. Steve was so unlike himself when he was bedridden. More so, he was such a stuck up brat. She understood that he hated being sick, as he was his whole life before the serum, but that didn't give him a right to act like such a little bitch.
"I'll just get a pepperoni...?" (Name) suggested, glancing over at Steve. "That sounds fine." He replied. "Okay." (Name) placed the order and closed the laptop. "How's the burn?"
Steve frowned. "It's fine."
Not wanting to fight about it, (Name) just nodded, pulling her legs up onto the couch and grabbing a notebook from her bag. Might as well get that paper started.
Steve grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, absentmindedly flipping through the channels. He felt guilty about how he was treating (Name). He knew she was just trying to help, but he hated this helpless and smothered feeling. He was about to apologize when the news popped up, live footage of the Avengers fighting doombots.
(Name) looked up at the TV from her paper and quickly reached over to pluck the remote from Steve's hands, shutting it off. "(Name)!" Steve protested, reaching for it.
His girlfriend stood up, out of his reach. "No, no, you're not watching that."
"I have a right to know what's going on. That's my team!"
"You're just gonna try and leave to go fight and you're in no condition-"
"I'm in perfect condition!"
"Yeah, cause I thought that too when you were sobbing in pain!" (Name) shouted. There was a knock on the door and the couple ignored it, too busy fighting and snarking with each other.
"The serum is doing it's job, I'm fine, I can fight!"
"No you can't! The doctor said-"
"To hell with the doctor!"
The knocking on the door persisted so (Name) marched over to it and whipped it open. "What!?"
The poor delivery boy cowered underneath her glare, holding out the pizza box with shaky hands. "D-delivery?"
"Oh! Uhm, right, how much do I owe you?"
"$12.34."
(Name) dug through her bag and grabbed her wallet, handing over the money, adding a twenty for a tip. She thanked him and grabbed the box and closed the door. Her anger resumed and she chucked the box at Steve. "Here's your fucking pizza you ungrateful brat." She hissed before scooping up her bag and laptop, storming into their bedroom and slamming the door.
Steve sighed, knowing that he'd been banished to the couch for the night. He shouldn’t have even said anything.
(Name) was absolutely right, he was being a brat. He should be grateful that she was willing to take care of him and had taken care of everything with Shield. But instead, he just turned around and was moody and rude to her. Running his hand through his hair, Steve used the arm of the couch to push himself up to a standing position. His head spun and he tripped, almost calling out for (Name), but thought better of it.

Of course she would come and help him if he truly needed her, but it didn’t feel fair to bother her after how he had treated her. With some swearing and stumbling, Steve shrugged on his leather jacket and grabbed the keys off the counter. Without alarming (Name), Steve left the apartment.

#

(Name) finally left the room a few hours later. She was able to finish the paper her professor wanted, as well as catch up on a few pages of curriculum she missed when she was at hospital with Steve. After cooling down from the shouting match and watching a few pointless youtube videos, she was ready to go out and face Steve again. Hopefully he chilled out as well. If not, (Name) could call Sam over and bunk with one of her friends for the night.

She peered out into the bedroom, and with no sign of Steve, she checked the other bedroom, the kitchen, and the bathroom. When she noticed the keys to his motorcycle gone, she panicked. Was he that upset with her? If he had left after their argument, then he had been gone way too long.

(Name) ran back to the bedroom snatching her car keys from her bag and dashing outside, almost forgetting to grab shoes in the process. Thinking that Steve might have gone to Sally’s diner, an old fashioned place that Steve adored, she peeled out of the driveway and headed that way.

It didn’t take her long to get there, maybe 10 minutes. She parked and rushed inside, almost colliding with Sally herself. She was an old and kind lady, she loved Steve dearly and this wouldn’t be the first time Steve came here when he was stressed or upset.

“Oh dear, it’s freezing out, where’s your coat?” Sally asked, placing the back of her hand on (Name)’s forehead. “I didn’t even think to grab it. I’m kinda freaking out, Steve and I had a fight and I can’t find him, is he here?”

“I’m sorry dear, I haven’t seen Stevie today. But maybe you should try that bookshop down on 3rd. He mentioned it to me a couple weeks ago. It might be a good place to start.”

“Thank you so much!” (Name) said, rushing to the door but stopping when Sally called out to her. The old woman disappeared into the back for a moment and came back with a brown paper bag, placing it in (Name)’s hands. “Steve’s favorite soup, for when you find him, I’m sure he’s hungry.” Sally informed.

(Name) smiled and wrapped Sally into a quick hug and giving her a peck on the cheek as thanks before dashing out of the restaurant.

She parked in the alley behind the bookstore, running to the front and had dread fill her when the sign outside told her it was closed. She went back towards her car and leaned up against the exterior of the bookshop in the alleyway, head in her hands. Where the hell was he?

Just as she was about to call Tony for help, she heard a loud clang from behind the dumpster a few yards away. She walked towards it cautiously, shocked to find Steve leaned up against it, his motorcycle a few feet away. “Oh my god.” She gasped as she fell to her knees, grabbing at his shirt. “Are you okay? What the hell were you thinking!?”

“I’m sorry.” Steve replied, hand coming up to cup her chin. “I was being horrible to you and I wanted to apologize-” He reached next to him, picking up a bouquet of slightly crumpled flowers, passing them over to (Name).

“I was about to head back when my legs gave out.” He said with an embarrassed smile. (Name) pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and then to his temple. “I forgive you. Let’s get you home okay? I have soup from Sally.”

“You were at Sally’s?” Steve asked in surprise, putting his arm around (Name) as she helped him up. “I thought that was where you might go.” (Name) shrugged. “I’m lucky that you even wanted to come out and look for me.” Steve said as (Name) got them settled in the car. “Of course I would, I was going out of my mind when I couldn’t find you. I thought something might have happened to you. I’m really glad you’re okay.” (Name) said as she threaded their hands together over the cup holders.

When they got home, (Name) gave Sam a call, asking if he could bring Steve’s motorcycle home tomorrow. They shared the soup from Sally’s while they watched a movie, (Name)’s toes tucked under Steve’s thighs. The bouquet of flowers sat in a vase of water on the coffee table in front of them.

“Thanks for taking such good care of me.” Steve whispered that night while (Name) lay in his arms, right where she should be. “No need to thank me, it’s in the girlfriend job description.” She replied sleepily. Steve chuckled and kissed the top of her head, reaching over to turn off the bedside lamp, the two of them fading off into an easy sleep.