This is a snuggle!fic requested by ErinKenobi2893. ErinKenobi, I hope it meets all your requirements. And don't worry, hun, I have your other requests on my to-do list ;)
Title comes from Ben Howard's song Old Pine.
Sputtering and shaking water out of his eyes, Tony stomped into the hotel suite. Most of his teammates were already waiting inside. Steve sat upright on the couch, spine straight and eyes locked on the door. He looked relieved when Tony came in, giving him a small smile before returning his gaze to the entryway. Splayed over the cushions beside him, Thor deliberately pointed the remote at the television screen and slowly pushed the power button with precision. When the glass lit up with color, he grinned and settled himself back against the sofa. Across the living room, Bruce was seated at the small table, his nose buried in the book he propped on the tabletop. Muttering under his breath about stupid SHIELD and their stupid missions and stupid precautions and stupid quarantine, Tony threw himself onto the other couch and crossed his arms.
"Where are Clint and Natasha?" Steve questioned, concerned.
"Oh," Tony snorted. "Apparently since us normal human beings were the most vulnerable, we got to have an extra turn in the shower." He grimaced. "Lucky us."
Steve opened his mouth to respond but before he did, he turned to the door. Tony's eyebrows creased in confusion and he leaned forward, wondering what had caught Steve's attention. Tony hadn't heard a thing. But a few short moments later, the last two members of the Avengers entered. Beneath her limp hair, Natasha looked close to furious. Clint seemed more resigned than angry.
"Are you okay?" Steve inquired, rising and offering Natasha his seat on the couch, which she gratefully accepted.
"Well, since you asked," Tony interrupted, "I feel like I'm missing the top layer of my skin."
"And here I was thinking I was the only one who got scraped raw in there," Clint commiserated.
"Quit being such babies," Natasha snapped. "It's like you've never had a chemical shower before."
"I hadn't!" Tony protested.
"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your experience?" Clint made a motion with his hands, as if holding an invisible microphone out to Tony.
"If one is the worst, then this is negative two hundred," Tony grumbled.
"It wasn't that bad," Steve reasoned.
"Excuse me if I don't think it's fun to invade a secret bad guy lab and save the day, only to be told that I might have been exposed to the most deadly disease ever manufactured, and consequently shoved into a scalding shower that melted the skin right off my bones, after which, I was given these ridiculous clothes that look more like pajamas than anything else. And to top it all off, I'm being put under a quarantine that SHIELD couldn't even be bothered to hold in a hospital," Tony ranted.
"You know, we all had that exact same experience, yet you're the only one throwing a fit," Natasha observed. "Why is that, Stark?"
"Yeah. I mean, personally, I'd rather take three skin-melting showers if it'll keep the mysterious disease from turning my internal organs to pudding," Clint commented.
"If SHIELD was so concerned with our health and safety, then why didn't they take us to the Heilicarrier for treatment? Or at least to a freaking hospital for observation?" Tony complained.
"The Helicarrier is currently hovering over the Asian continent and Agent Hill was called in to deal with a situation nearby," Steve informed him calmly. "This hotel was the closest building with the necessary equipment to decontaminate us."
"Why is that, by the way?" Tony queried.
Bruce glanced up. "Apparently this wasn't always a hotel. We're lucky they hadn't renovated the basement yet."
"We're clean now. Why can't we go to a hospital?" Tony whined.
"We don't know for sure that we are," Steve reminded. "And we can't risk spreading this to the public."
"So a first floor hotel suite is a secure location?" Tony raised a skeptical eyebrow.
Steve shrugged. "This room is right next to the basement stairs. It's not like we've been wandering around the entire hotel."
Thor laughed at something on the TV, gathering the attention of his fellow heroes. Clint gave Tony a good-natured shove, making room on the couch for himself. He settled in and stared at the television.
"What are you watching, Thor?" he questioned.
"I have no idea," Thor replied cheerfully.
"Hooray. We get to spend the rest of the day watching crappy daytime TV," Tony sarcastically celebrated.
"The sun is already setting," Steve pointed out. He crossed the room to the window and pulled back the drapes. "And it looks like we'll be getting more snow tonight."
"Perfect," Natasha muttered moodily.
For the next two hours, the team did little beside watching television. Finally, Tony got up to stretch.
"How long are we going to have to stay here?" he inquired.
Steve glanced at his SHIELD communicator, which had been silent since the early morning call that had sent them on the mission in the first place. "I'm not sure," he answered. "I guess we'll wait for Hill to contact us."
"I'm hungry," Thor declared.
"Thor has a point," Clint agreed. "How are we supposed to eat if we're not allowed contact with the outside world?"
"Calm down. This is only a temporary quarantine. You're not in a monastery," Bruce reminded, not looking up from his book.
"Steve's hungry too," Clint pointed out, as if that statement carried enough weight to win the argument and release them.
Steve started. "What? I didn't say anything about being hungry."
"You didn't have to. I know you are," Clint asserted. "You have to eat all the time because of the serum, right?"
With a blush creeping over his cheeks, Steve gave no reply, which only confirmed the archer's words.
"I think it would be okay if we went out to grab a bite to eat," Tony claimed. "I feel fine."
Steve shook his head. "It hasn't even been twenty-four hours."
"What happens if one of us does suddenly start liquifying?" Natasha abruptly queried. "It's not like we have any medical equipment in here."
Five pairs of eyes swiveled to pierce Steve. His eyebrows knit and he frowned. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."
"What kind of an answer is that?" Tony burst out.
"Look, we'll cross that bridge if we come to it," Steve reasoned.
"That is not comforting. But of course you're not too concerned about it since you've got your serum to protect you. Thor's got nothing to worry because he's an alien and I'm willing to bet Bruce's green blood won't let him get sick either," Tony accused, sweat beading on his forehead.
"My blood is not green!" Bruce protested.
"That's not true, Tony," Steve defended. "This is something Hydra cooked up. We have no idea what this virus is or how it works. All we do know is that it can kill so we're not taking any chances. Which means staying here, where we can't infect anyone."
"Where we can't get medical help, you mean," Tony countered, beginning to pace nervously. "My stomach is going to turn into a slushy and my liver will be a milkshake and then I'll die. But of course none of that matters because at least the public will be safe."
"Stop being so dramatic," Natasha instructed. "It's getting annoying."
"I can't!" Tony squeaked. "Why does no one else seem concerned about this whole situation?"
"Maybe because we're adults who can handle our misgivings in a mature way?" Clint offered.
"Misgivings?" Tony repeated, aghast. "We're talking about life or death here."
"Stark, I want you to do something for me." Steve stood and grabbed Tony's shoulders, halting his pacing.
"What?" Tony growled.
"I want you to take a deep breath," Steve informed him calmly.
"No! You're being ridiculous. Get off me and let me die in peace." Tony tried unsuccessfully to break free from Steve's grip.
"Tony, you're not going to die," Steve asserted quietly. "Breathe."
"I'm not four years old. Quit telling me to take deep breaths. It's not helping," Tony snapped.
Steve merely increased the pressure he had on the billionaire's shoulders by a fraction before inhaling and exhaling slowly. Tony glared at him. Unperturbed, Steve repeated the breaths in an even, rhythmic pattern. Clint helpfully turned down the television's volume until the only sound in the room was Steve's steady breathing. Subconsciously, Tony began to match Steve breath for breath. His panic subsided and he sagged slightly in the soldier's arms.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Steve murmured, attempting to catch Tony's eye.
Feeling a light flush of embarrassment for his near freak-out, Tony chose instead to stare at the carpet. Satisfied that the scientist's full blown panic attack had been averted, Steve lowered his hands and took a step back. Even though he knew it was ridiculous, Tony wished Steve would brace his shoulders again. The touch was grounding and Tony always dealt with live-threatening situations better when he could feel someone beside him. Just as he was wracking his brain for any excuse he could use to re-instigate the contact, Steve dove for him, knocking him flat on his back.
"What the he-" Tony began but a ferocious explosion swallowed the rest of his exclamation.
The entire building shook, window panes shattering into thousands of glass pieces, and all the lights went out. Rolling beneath the team's feet, the earth trembled for a few more seconds, which Tony spent struggling to draw breath beneath the weight of the super soldier lying protectively over him. Wind raced through the broken window, whipping the curtains and slinging snowflakes around the room. As soon as the ground came to a complete stop, Steve leaped off of Tony and darted to the table Bruce was cowering under. His words were lost in the wind and the rising noise of panicking citizens but Tony was certain he was calming the doctor as efficiently as he had soothed Tony himself. Tony was grateful. They didn't need an appearance from the Other Guy to make things worse.
"Is everyone okay?" Clint called in the darkness.
"I think so," Natasha answered.
"What was that?" Thor queried. "Are we under attack?" His voice rose.
"I hope not. Our weapons are in the basement and we're sitting up here in these ridiculous jumpsuits," Clint grumbled.
Something vibrated near Tony's head and he sat up, glancing around the dim room. He explored his vicinity with his hands until a square of plastic and glass buzzed against his knuckles. He grabbed it and held it close to his face to inspect it.
"Cap, your phone's going off," Tony informed his leader.
"It must be Hill," Steve mused. "Take the call. I'll be right there."
"What the hell is going on?" Tony obediently answered.
"Stark? What are you doing with Rogers' communicator?" Hill questioned suspiciously.
"What's going on?" Tony demanded. "What happened?"
Steve crossed the room and snatched the phone from Tony. "Hill, do you need us?"
"Thankfully, no," Hill answered. "Believe it or not, that explosion was the situation wrapping up."
"Oh," Steve commented.
"Unfortunately, the villain did manage to take out one of the transformers in the power plant before we stopped him so the city will be without electricity for a bit," Hill summarized.
"How long until power's restored?" Steve inquired.
Hill sighed. "A while. Four or five hours, at least."
Tony, who had been eavesdropping, saw his chance. "Do you need a world-renowned inventor to come take a look at it for you?" he hinted, shouting at the phone in Steve's hand.
"The quarantine is still in effect," Hill stated.
"Damn," Tony grunted, disappointed.
"Keep me informed," Steve directed.
"Yes, Captain." Hill signed off.
"Could this day get any worse?" Tony groused.
"Don't jinx us, Stark," Natasha warned.
Thor wandered over to the hole in the wall that had been a window only minutes before. "It appears several of the other structures in this area have befallen the same fate as ours."
The other Avengers crowded around him, peering into the dark night. A few lone cars rolled down the streets, driven by citizens leaving the city for destinations where the power hadn't been destroyed by a random criminal, and the headlights sparkled on the broken glass that lay scattered over the freshly fallen snow.
"Great," Clint grunted, trading his place at the window for a seat on the couch.
One by one, his teammates drifted over to join him. Pale light slid into the room, its source being the building next to them. Bruce glanced over at the the neighboring structure and his eyebrows knit.
"Shouldn't the hotel's back-up generator be on?" he questioned.
"It should be but it isn't," Clint grumbled. "It figures. Nothing ever goes right for us."
"Okay, is freezing to death a good enough reason to break curfew and sneak out?" Tony proposed.
"It's not curfew, it's a quarantine," Natasha impatiently reminded him.
"But it's cold in here!" Tony argued, a shiver running over his body.
"We're not leaving," Steve sternly asserted.
"Fine then. SHIELD can come in the morning to collect six superhero-shaped ice cubes." Glaring, Tony crossed his arms.
"It's not that cold in here," Natasha argued.
"You don't get to comment on the temperature, Miss I-Grew-Up-in-Russia. That's the coldest country on the planet. So you might think this is a balmy vacation spot but the rest of us know cold when we feel it," Tony shot back, rubbing his palms rigorously over his biceps.
"Easy, Stark. You'll be back in your California sunshine in no time," Clint promised.
"Not if I get frostbite first," Tony whined.
"Maybe you won't," Steve muttered.
"What?" Tony turned to him.
"You might not have to be cold at all," Steve expounded, voice a little louder.
"How?" Tony inquired.
"Clint, get up," Steve ordered.
"Why?" Clint inquired, even as he stood and moved out of the way.
Steve began pulling the couch cushions off. "When Bucky and I were little, we used to make these pillow forts," he explained, tone tinged with the quiet sadness that always slipped through when he spoke of his past.
"What is a pillow fort?" Thor questioned, tilting his head curiously.
"Basically," Steve started, giving the sofa a shove that turned it parallel to the couch, "it's a small house made out of furniture and couch cushions."
"That doesn't sound like a formidable structure," Thor objected.
Steve lifted the chairs from the table, one in each hand. "It's not supposed to be."
"Then what is its purpose?" Thor queried.
"Well, for one thing," Steve moved across the room and yanked the blanket off the bed. "It'll help us stay warm in here."
Clint's eyes lit up and he hurried to push the armchair closer to the circle Steve was setting up.
"Turn it the other way," Tony advised, mind automatically performing equations for the proposed project.
Raising an eyebrow, Clint turned to look at him.
"It'll increase the overall spacial capacity," Tony explained.
Surprised by Tony's sudden willingness to help, but not about to turn down the offer of free advice, Clint rotated the chair in the way he was told.
Natasha spoke up from the shadows. "Cap, if you put the couch over here on this side, it'll help block the draft from the window."
"Oh yeah," Steve smiled. "Good idea."
As he maneuvered the couch into position, Bruce used the cushions to plug the gaps between the sofa and the chairs. Thor lifted the blanket, shook it once to unfold all the wrinkles, and spread it over the top of the assembled props. When all activity ceased, the Avengers took a step back to admire their handy work. It resembled a lopsided cave.
"Well, what do you think?" Even though it was too dark to see his face, Steve's grin was evident in his voice.
"I think maybe you caught the disease and it's beginning to turn your insides to mush, starting with your brain," Tony commented. "Because there's no way we are all getting inside that thing."
"Oh, come on, Stark. Don't judge it too soon. You just might end up liking it," Steve reasoned.
"I, for one, am eager to experience this 'fort'," Thor asserted, lowering himself to his hands and knees and crawling into the shelter.
"I'm game," Clint agreed, scrambling after the demigod.
"What the hell?" Natasha shrugged before dropping to the floor and crawling after them.
Bruce quietly headed that way as well, leaving Tony staring at the outline of Steve's body that the neighboring building's lights give him.
"After you," Steve invited, sweeping a hand at the hole the others disappeared into.
Tony shook his head.
"Tony, you know you want to," Steve encouraged.
A breath of wind puffed through the empty window and Tony shivered.
"We're grown adults. And super heroes on top of that. We don't do slumber parties and doggie piles," he gave a half-hearted protest.
"No one has to know," Steve coaxed.
Tony hesitated and Steve pulled out his last card.
"It'll be warm in there," he promised.
"Why didn't you say so?" Tony enthusiastically dove under the blanket.
And promptly stepped on Natasha's toes, kicked Clint's shins, poked Thor in the eye and grabbed a fistful of Bruce's hair while trying to gain his bearings in the pitch black.
"Stark!" A collective cry went up and Steve hurried inside to diffuse the situation. He pulled something from his pocket and a small spark jumped to life, illuminating the interior of the pillow fort.
"You smoke?" Tony questioned in surprise, gazing at the lighter in Steve's hand.
"No. But I keep this around in case of emergencies," Steve replied, careful to keep the flame away from linens, stuffing, clothing and hair.
"'Always prepared'," Clint snickered. "He is such a boy scout."
"I suppose being on the brink of death does count as an emergency," Tony mused, causing a shadow to pass over the group.
It had been easier to deny the possibility of a long, painful death when they were all standing around the hotel room in the bright light of day. But now, sitting in the dark on the scratchy carpet, death didn't seem like quite as much of an impossibility as it had before. For a moment, they all sat in silence, contemplating their grim fate.
Natasha was the first one to move. Boldly, she grabbed Steve's arm and wrapped it over her shoulders as she slipped into the natural warmth of his side. He startled but didn't push her away. Encouraged by that, she took Thor's arm as well and tugged him until he was next to her. Sandwiched between the two, Natasha was surrounded in a cocoon of heat. Content, she closed her eyes and settled in for a long nap.
The men all exchanged glances, wondering if they too could cuddle with the same abandon Natasha exhibited. Figuring that his reputation as a tough, masculine hero wasn't worth passing up the opportunity before him, Tony decided to give in. Besides, his totally awesome Iron Man suit would more than make up for a few minutes of weakness. If he lived to use it again. The thought twisted his stomach and he hurriedly searched for human contact to chase away his morbidity. Too far away from Steve who had already been a source of comfort for him, Tony considered his other options. Clint was on his right and Bruce was on his left. Tony leaned over and snagged Bruce's collar, yanking the unsuspecting scientist closer.
"I call dibs on Bruce as a snuggling partner!" Tony blurted.
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "That was one of the most awkward things to come out of your mouth, Tony."
"This is only as awkward as you make it," Tony reminded.
When Bruce gently removed the billionaire's hand from his collar, Tony merely repositioned it on Bruce's shoulder. The doctor tried once again to dislodge him but Tony only held on tighter. Finally Bruce gave up, submitting to the notion of being used as a security blanket.
"My friends, will you not come closer?" Thor urged, beckoning the two scientists over.
Before Bruce could say a word, Thor got impatient and for the second time, Bruce found himself being dragged around. This time, he ended up getting a one-armed hug from an Asgardian, while Tony clung to his other side. Not wanting to be left out, Clint unceremoniously dumped himself on Steve, using the captain's shoulder as a pillow. Steve barely managed to move the lighter out of the way before Clint slumped against his chest.
"Clint?" he inquired cautiously.
"You're warm," Clint explained, voice muffled against the fabric of Steve's shirt. "And comfy," he added sleepily.
Curious as to the truth of Clint's assertion, Tony sneaked his feet across the floor and slipped them under Steve's knees. When heat immediately flowed into his toes, quickly spreading to the rest of his body, Tony felt a small twinge of jealousy as he looked at the two lucky agents who had managed to claim a spot on the human furnace. Yet, as Tony glanced around the pillow fort, a wave of contentment flooded him, extinguishing the jealousy and fillling him with happiness. And, sure, they might all be dead in the morning, but at least they had company for the long night. Drowsiness soon came over Tony and, in the flickering light of the flame cradled in Steve's hand, he fell into a peaceful slumber.
Pepper hardly waited for the taxi cab to come to a complete stop before she stepped out onto the sidewalk, regardless of the snow slipping into her heels. Still in full business attire, dressed for the meeting she'd abandoned in favor of booking the quickest flight here, she raced through the hotel lobby. The phone call she had concluded with Maria Hill three hours previously ran circles in her brain and Pepper was too distracted to even notice the receptionist, who was assuring her that the hotel's temporary power outage had been dealt with. As she hurried down the hall, the man called out an apology for any inconvenience she had suffered. The only suffering she had been through was thinking that her fiance was going to die. Despite Hill's repeated confirmation that SHIELD had thoroughly examined the enemy virus and determined that contamination only occurred when it was ingested, Pepper wouldn't be consoled until she saw for herself that Tony and all his super powered friends were okay.
She checked each door number as she passed through the corridor, searching for the one Hill had reluctantly given her. At the very end of the hall, she found it. The door was cracked open and Pepper's heart skipped a beat, wondering what could have made the normally cautious group forget something like securing the lock. Her hand paused for only a careful second before she burst into the room.
The sight that met her eyes confused her and she blinked a couple times to make sure she was seeing it correctly. Most of the furniture in the room had been pushed to the center, with cushions stuck between the different pieces to form walls of a sort, while the bed covers served as a ceiling. The television played silently on the table to the side of the structure, forgotten. A draft blew over her and she looked in surprise at the broken window. Her anxiety aroused again, she glanced around the small apartment for any sign of the missing team. After a quick circuit around the living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchenette left her empty handed, she returned to the strange pillow fort. Left with no other option, she lifted the corner of the blanket and peered inside. And a warm fuzzy feeling melted her heart.
The Earth's Mightiest Heroes were piled on top of each other, sleeping soundly. Steve appeared to be the central point, and, judging by his sitting position, he had been the last one to drift off. A closed lighter was clenched loosely in the hand he had around Clint's shoulders. The archer was practically using the soldier as a mattress. Natasha was curled between Steve and Thor. Even as the demigod made her back into a pillow, his arm held Bruce pinned to his side, as if the scientist was some kind of teddy bear. Pepper felt sorry for the doctor, who also had Tony's arms around his middle. Pepper knew well Tony's sleeping habit of clinging to whoever was within his reach. With a fond smile on her lips, Pepper snapped a quick picture of the cuddling bunch of superheroes with her phone so she could pull it out and look at it any time she needed to cheer up. Now that she had proof that her boyfriend and his companions were safe and sound, the fear abated and Pepper felt herself calming down. So she willingly basked in the moment, watching over the slumbering Avengers with quiet amusement.