Stony Oneshots and Imagines

Not that kind of nightmare

Tony's eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times as he took in his surroundings. He had fallen asleep down in his lab earlier that evening, having been in there for more than 24 hours and had now been woken by a nightmare. But not the kind of nightmare where you toss and turn and then eventually jolt awake with a scream. The kind where you can't seem to wake yourself up no matter how bad it gets, and then finally the events play out and you're left to wake up slowly, with tears in your eyes and soft whimpers. The kind where it takes you a few minutes to fully adjust and you're left feeling needy and alone. And when this kind of dream happened to Tony, more often than not he was left wanting Steve. Except this time, with the sheer lack of sleep taking over his brains ability to make conscious decisions, Tony slowly stood up and wondered blearily out of his lab and through the complex.

He wasn't really sure where his legs were taking him, but he knew that wherever it was, it was where he wanted to be. He made it to the elevator, reaching a hand out and pressing a button, the position of each floor etched into his memory. He leaned back against the wall as he started to move up, shivering from the cold, with it only being January and he only had a loose vest on. His face was blank, and had it not been for the tears still collecting in his eyes, anyone would've thought he was feeling no particular emotion at all. But he was and it hurt and he couldn't think clearly enough to deal with it.

Steve was having trouble sleeping. But then again, thanks to the serum, he didn't really need to sleep as much as the next man, and so he had decided to sit in his bed and draw by the light of his lamp, until he felt sleepy or until the morning light shone through from behind his blinds, when he would go for a jog. He was just shading a sketch he'd done of the Statue of Liberty when he heard the elevator bell go as the door opened on his floor. Steve frowned, wondering why on Earth someone would be entering his floor at three am unannounced. He set the pad and pencil down on his bedside table and went to go and investigate when his bedroom door was pushed open slightly and none other than Tony Stark stood in the frame. Only he didn't have the same confident-verging-on-arrogant air that he normally had about him. Instead, he seemed dazed and...upset? Neither man spoke a word, but neither breaking eye contact-Steve's eyes showing confusion and curiosity whereas Tony's conveyed only desperation. The smaller man walked slowly from the doorway to the opposite side of the bed to Steve before stopping again. He looked down at his hands, sniffing quietly, and still shaking from the cold; what followed caused Steve's heart to melt into a pool of empathy. As Tony clumsily played with his fingers, he all but whispered 'please. I need you.' Steve stood calmly, walking around to Tony and grabbing one of his softer hoodies out of his dresser on the way. He tenderly pulled it over Tony's head, pushing the slightly too long sleeves back over his hands and pulling the hood down, delicately running his thumb over his cheek. Softly pushing him down onto the bed, allowing him to climb under the covers, he walked back around to the other side. He flicked off the lamp and climbed in too, deciding that even if he couldn't sleep, he could still watch over and comfort Tony. The smaller man timidly curled into Steve, burying his face in his soft T-shirt, his hand resting close to his head, gripping the material to ground himself. And finally, he relaxed, a deep sigh of contentment escaping his lips as his eyes fell closed and he breathed in Steve's scent as he finally drifted back to sleep. Steve only watched, concern clinging to his features.
When he was sure he was asleep, he leaned down slightly and pressed a gentle kiss onto Tony's temple before leaning back and closing his eyes.
A half-asleep Tony felt the kiss and a small smile broke out on his lips as bad thoughts turned good.