Steve stretched his neck, rubbing his face against his pillow. He felt warmer and more comfortable than he had in a while, so he was hesitant to move and ruin the moment. He was still in that haze you stayed in for a little bit right after you woke up, where you forget all your problems and just exist. But as wakefulness returned, so did his recollection of the last day.

It had gotten better once everyone focused on things other than his birthday, which was nice, but after he fell asleep, it was a completely different story. Steve was bombarded with dreams about things he wasn't ready to face. That wasn't too out of the ordinary, since nightmares were an old friend to him at this point, but for some reason, they broke through his defenses. Everything just piled on top of him and he couldn't hold back the emotions he'd been brushing aside for months. And to Steve's horror and relief, Celia had been there for him through it all.

He wasn't sure how she knew what was going on, but when he woke up she was there. She was just so comforting that in that moment he broke, letting out what he'd been holding in. It definitely wasn't everything, but it was a start. And it was right around now that he realized he wasn't resting on his pillow, but on another person.

"Morning," Celia murmured, running her hand through his hair. Steve finally blinked his eyes open to fully process the situation. He was laying almost fully on top of Celia, with his head resting on her chest. His arms were wrapped around her back and he was holding her like some sort of giant pillow.

"Oh my God," Steve moaned, feeling mortified. Why was he cuddling her like a kid cuddled a stuffed animal? "I'm so sorry."

"For what?" Celia yawned. Steve rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"You should've pushed me off."

"You never pushed me off."

"That's different."

"Why?"

"Because- I don't-" Steve cut himself off with a groan.

"If I find a way to support you, after all the times you've supported me, I'm going to take it. You don't need to feel weird about it, because I don't," Celia said simply, stretching her arms before she rolled out of bed.

"You shouldn't have had to get up after you put yourself through the process of falling asleep. Did you get any sleep at all?" Steve asked, standing up on his own side. When she didn't immediately answer, he groaned again. "Celia!"

"I got some sleep."

"But none after you came in here."

"It's not a big deal."

"It is! You can't sacrifice your own well-being for me," Steve insisted.

"I doubt a few hours of missed sleep will really be that detrimental. And besides, any ill effects will be wiped out the next time I go to sleep," Celia pointed out. "What is this really about?"

"It's not about anything," Steve deflected, not wanting to dive deep into his psyche. He was still too raw after last night.

"Are you mad at me?" Celia asked, and the little bit of uncertainty that slipped into her voice broke Steve's heart. The last thing he wanted to do was make Celia feel like she'd done anything wrong.

"Of course not."

"Then why won't you let me help you, like you've always helped me? I don't understand why it can't go both ways."

"It's just different," Steve said, shrugging helplessly. Captain America knew how to rouse an audience, but Steve Rogers was terrible at opening up about personal things. The serum could only do so much.

"I can't keep doing this anymore," Celia sighed, shaking her head. Steve's breath caught in his throat. She wasn't considering leaving, was she?

"What?"

"I'm not going to keep taking while giving nothing in return. That isn't fair to either of us," Celia said, turning to make her way toward the door. "I've got to get ready for work. I'll see you later." Steve didn't say anything, watching her walk away in silence. How had he screwed things up so badly?


How had she screwed things up so badly? Celia flopped her head down on her desk, running through the conversation with Steve in her mind for what felt like the twentieth time. Why, of all the days, had she pushed so hard? Of course she knew why Steve was so uncomfortable, but for some reason she just wanted to hear him say it. Maybe if one of them actually said something honest, it would help get all of their feelings out into the open.

Celia genuinely was frustrated that Steve didn't feel like he could be vulnerable with her. She knew that was a big ask, especially for someone like Steve, but Celia thought they'd been making progress. Neither of them liked discussing very personal things, but she made it a point to open up when Steve asked her questions, or when things naturally came up. But on the other hand, Steve still kept so many things hidden. It wasn't like Celia was demanding that Steve tell her all of his secrets either. Just being able to sit and hold him while he said nothing would be good enough for her. But if his reaction this morning showed her anything, it was that Steve wasn't ready for that kind of relationship with her. And that stung.

She'd gotten into the habit of letting herself rely on him for some things. And with her history, that wasn't an easy thing to do. But he'd always been what she needed, so Celia let her heart lead her instead of her pride. The heart that was pumping some of Steve's blood. But when the situation was reversed, Steve couldn't let his guard down, at least without feeling regret afterwards.

And instead of accepting that Steve wasn't ready yet, she'd pushed. Celia had thought about her own feelings, instead of Steve's. It wasn't Steve's fault that he wasn't seeking her out for comfort. And it wasn't her fault that Steve was better at giving care than receiving it. But she was resolved in the decision that things had to change.

There couldn't be anymore of the going to Steve whenever she had something she felt she needed support for. That was getting into a lopsided, damsel-in-distress, savior type situation that just wasn't acceptable to her. There was too much take and not enough give. Celia wasn't sure what that would mean for their relationship, but it didn't feel like it could go on like it was.

She glanced over at the time, noting it was a few minutes later than when Steve normally came down. Would he just skip it after their incident earlier? He didn't seem like the type to not say anything if he was, no matter what happened. But maybe she'd pushed too far?

There was a soft knock on her office door and she perked up, feeling a bit silly for being so worried. It wasn't like they'd been screaming at each other and weren't friends anymore. They were roommates who had a disagreement.

"Come in," Celia called out. She was just about to make a joke about being late when Craig's head peeked in instead of Steve's. "Oh, hey."

"Did you hear?" Craig asked, sliding into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Hear what?" Celia asked, trying not to sound disappointed by her surprise guest.

"The Avengers got called out for a mission," Craig replied, and Celia felt like the floor fell out from under her. Craig was still talking, but all she could hear was her own blood roaring in her ears. They were out there fighting? Steve was out there? Fingers snapping in front of her face broke her out of her trace. "Are you even listening to me?"

"What?" Celia choked out, trying to get her bearings back. "Sorry, long night."

"I bet. Where is your boyfriend anyways? I thought he'd be in here," Craig wondered, glancing around the office.

"What?"

"You know, tall, blonde, and handsome? The guy who brings you amazing lunches everyday?"

"He's not- what do you know about the mission?" Celia questioned, waving off the other stuff.

"The mission?"

"That the Avengers are on," Celia groaned. Craig could get so distracted by unnecessary things sometimes.

"Oh, I don't know anything. I just heard it through the grapevine myself," Craig shrugged. Celia closed her eyes in frustration, resisting the urge to forget her job and rush upstairs to question Jarvis. It would be too risky to do that from her office. "Dude, what is going on?"

"What?" Why did that seem like the only thing she could say right now?

"You look like you're two seconds from freaking out," Craig pointed out. "You know you have nothing to worry about, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"The contract. It says that even if something happens to Tony Stark while he is doing his Iron Man thing, the clinic won't be affected."

"Right," Celia forced out. The clinic was the least of her worries at this point. "You know, I've got a few phone calls I need to make before I see my next patient."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You need me to leave," Craig said, rolling his eyes. "I'll let you get to your important doctor stuff." Craig walked out with a wave and Celia let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her friends were out there fighting, and she had no idea. Were they okay? What were they even fighting? And where? What if something terrible happened and the last interaction she had with Steve was their argument?

Celia still wanted to say to hell with the rest of her work day and go back to her floor, but she couldn't do that. Her stress and worry didn't negate her responsibilities. She had to get through the rest of her shift, then she could focus on other things. They might even be back by the time she was done. For now, there was nothing else she could do besides wait and hope.