Title: Day 11
Author: tarotgal
Fandom: Marvel
Rating: PG
Pairing: Tony/Steve/Logan
Disclaimer: Not my characters! I make no money from this.
Summary: It’s late at night and Captain America has a cold.
Notes: Written during my 12 Ficlets in 12 Days in 2012 project for brigidmn

Steve was fast asleep and dreaming deeply of something he wouldn’t remember when he woke up. It was the repetitive shoving that snapped him awake. He felt strong arms on his arm and shoulder, shaking him back and forth, and Steve pulled his arm away from that. “Wha…?”

He gazed into Tony Stark’s eyes, wanting to know what this was about. Tony answered immediately. “You were snoring.”

“Oh.” He scrubbed his face. “But I don’t snore. Are you sure it was me?”

They both looked to their lefts to see Logan lying on his front on the bed. His head was turned away from them, cheek smashed into the mattress because he’d given his pillow to Steve. His legs were spread slightly and one arm dangled over the side of the bed. He was clearly dead to the world still.

“Do you hear any more snoring?”

Steve shook his head. Tony poked him. “Then, yeah, I’m sure it was you.”

“Sorry.” Steve rubbed at his nose. Then his breath caught with tiny, quick gasps. Steve waved a hand in front of his face then gestured to the bedside table. Tony pulled a Kleenex out of the box there and handed it over to him. Steve snapped forward. “Ihhpshuhhh!” He rubbed at his nose again. “I’ll go sleep downstairs on the sofa until my cold is gone.” He gathered a pillow then his energy in order to throw himself forward in order to get out of bed from between his two lovers.

“Hey.” Tony reached out, touching Steve’s side. “Hey, I didn’t mean that. You can’t leave me here alone with that one.” He tilted his head toward Logan. “He’s not the cuddling type.”

Steve chuckled. “Right, I… I…” He pointed and Tony passed another Kleenex to him. “IhhhhhHihshhh! IhhhKschhh!” He glanced over to see Logan still asleep and Tony looking worried. He crawled on all fours to the end of the bed. “I’m going to let you get some sleep.”

“Where are you going?” Tony looked like he’d lost his favorite toy.

“I’m going to get some tea in the kitchen. That might clear me up a little.” The way he was sniffling, he’d be lucky if it made a dent.

Tony jumped out of bed and grabbed their bathrobes off the chair. He wore scarlet, satin, long-sleeved pajamas and Steve wore a t-shirt and blue plaid boxer shorts; the kitchen would be cold. “I’ll make the tea for you.” Tony led the way out of their bedroom and Steve followed right behind.

Steve got only a few paces down the hall before he turned back to grab the Kleenex box off the nightstand.

*

Tony knew how Steve took his tea. He didn’t drink tea all that often, but still Tony somehow knew he liked the herbal stuff with four sugars. Steve drank it with his eyes closed. He was tired, yes, but awake enough to not fall asleep sitting at the kitchen table.

Avenger’s Tower was never silent. The cast permanently living there changed from time to time. Natasha had just moved out to get her own place and Hank and Janet had moved in. At any time of night, sounds could be heard from any of the laboratories—clanks of test tubes, explosions of things not going right, shouts of victory when things did go right. But it was quiet enough in the kitchen at two in the morning. It was almost like he and Tony were the only people in the world.

At least that’s how it was until Logan arrived, rubbing the side of his stubbley face, looking completely pissed off. “I just woke up in a cold, empty bed.”

“Sorry,” Steve apologized again. “I was making too much noise, so Tony brought me down here for some tea. Do you want some?”

The idea of tough Wolverine drinking tea was practically laughable. Yet Logan glanced over at the electric teapot plugged into the wall. “You got some hot water left?”

Tony nodded.

Logan crossed the large kitchen and dug around in a cupboard. He reached far into the back, finally extracting a small tin with Japanese characters and cherry blossoms on the side. Steve smiled, sure Logan would never stop surprising him.

“ihh-Kitchh!” Steve sneezed again as Logan took a seat to his left. Tony to his right and Logan both grabbed for the Kleenex in the box. It ripped and Steve ended up snuffling into the sleeve of his bathrobe instead. His sneezes and even his sniffles sounded louder as they echoed through the giant kitchen.

Tony noticed. “And that right there is exactly why I won’t be able to get any sleep tonight.”

Logan sipped his tea, leaning back in his chair. “I should have warned you that Steve snores in his sleep when he’s sick.”

With wide eyes, “You knew?”

Logan chuckled.

“But you didn’t wake up.”

“I knew from… before.” He glanced hesitantly at Steve. They didn’t much talk about the time when they spent together during the Second World War, mainly because of Tony’s tendency to become insanely jealous, and partly because Logan’s memories after that were spotty at best and Logan wasn’t much of a talker anyway. “It takes a bomb going off overhead to wake me up.”

 “But that’s exactly what his snores sound like!” Tony laughed.

Logan merely shrugged, as if he didn’t care much for Tony’s exhaustion. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you some earplugs.”

Steve just drank his tea, feeling, like always, that he was stuck in the middle of them. They would probably rip each other’s heads off if not for him. He stirred his spoon in his tea, swallowing down his feelings with each sip. He’d lost so much—a love, a world, decades of time. And he’d found something so wonderful, so special; he couldn’t imagine losing either of them.

The tea was cooling slowly, so he drank it down faster. But the steam tickled the underside of his nose. His nostrils flared in warning, with just enough time to set his mug down. “Ihhh-Tshooo! Ihtchooo!”

Logan reached for a Kleenex for him but Tony reached for the box, pulling it away with a victorious whoop. He pulled a Kleenex out and rubbed it at Steve’s nose for him, tenderly wiping. Steve rubbed his nose into the Kleenex, into Tony’s warm hand. Then he shivered.

“Are you cold?” Tony reached out and felt his hands. They must have been cold, because Tony jumped up at once. “I’m going to get you a blanket.”

“Tony, you don’t have to—” But Tony was already gone.

Logan waited a whole three seconds before he sat up, scooted his chair all the way over to Steve’s side of the table, and put his arm around Steve’s shoulders. “I’ll keep you warm until he gets back with that blanket.”

Steve found himself leaning into the warmth. Maybe it was those mutant powers of his, but Logan was somehow always warm. And even though they sat side-by-side in kitchen chairs, Steve desperately wanted to curl up and crawl onto Logan’s lap.

“You’re taking medicine for this cold of yours, right?”

“Yeah.” Steve rubbed at his nose. “Bruce gave me a little something. It’s twelve-hour stuff. I can take more at ten, not that it’s helped much.” He coughed a little. “You know, you guys can go back to sleep. You don’t have to stay up with me.”

Even from the doorway, Tony was loud and clear. “I don’t mind.” He strode over with a blanket. Then he
not-so-subtly shoved Logan aside so he could wrap the blanket around Steve’s shoulders, gather it around his front.

“I don’t mind either,” Logan insisted.

Steve smiled at Tony, then at Logan. “Thanks. Sniff! Both of you. I… ihhhh…”

Tony went for the Kleenex box again, which was closer to his side of the table now anyway. But Logan extended his Adamantium claws and stabbed the box. He retracted them, bringing the box straight to him. Then he offered Steve a Kleenex just in time. “ihhhhh-HIHShhhh! Ihhtshuhhh!”

Tony stroked his head, kissed his cheek. Logan put his arm around Steve’s shoulders again, squeezing tightly.

It felt good. Too good. Steve felt himself get light-headed, like he was ready to fall asleep again. Tony had either given him the decaf stuff or he was worse off than he thought. “Look, guys, sniff, sniff, as great as this is, I think I’d better go back to bed. I’m really beat.”

*

Steve imagined Logan scooping him up like he’d done so many times on the battlefield after a hard day of fighting. Steve imagined Tony as Iron Man wrapping strong arms around him and flying him up to their bedroom. He didn’t imagine heading back alone, which is what he ended up doing.

Shivery and sniffly, he crawled into the middle of their big bed alone. He propped himself up on two pillows, pulled the covers up to his chin, and propped the tissue box on his chest.

It didn’t take long for Tony and Logan to return. But by then, Steve could barely keep his eyes open. He squinted tiredly, making out the blurry form of Tony with a pillow that he passed to Logan and Logan with earplugs that he handed over to Tony. As his eyes closed, he saw the two of them lean over him and kiss each other deeply. Then Tony settled on Steve’s right, putting his arms around him and holding him tight, kissing his temple and stroking his blond hair. And Logan lay down on Steve’s left, not cuddling by any means but lying close enough to keep him quite warm under the covers.

Steve drifted back to sleep with a smile on his face.