Summary: Finals are coming up so the group decides to study in the living room and hold each other accountable until they're all ready for their tests. No one seems to notice Natasha fall asleep on Steve's shoulder until it's too late and Steve's too paralysed to move. The rest of the team thinks it's the greatest thing to ever happen to mankind while Steve just really wishes they'd shut up.

Steve was pretty sure he was going to die. Not from homework, like most of his peers worried about, but from the explosion that was currently happening in his stomach. What had started out as a simple study night with the entire team of friends had ended with Natasha fast asleep on his shoulder.

At some point during the study time, she'd thrown her legs over his lap. That in itself wasn't unusual, but then she'd curled up around his arm and laid her head on his shoulder to continue reading over her notes. Steve had immediately frozen, only relaxing after everyone had stopped staring at them and Natasha hadn't reacted. An hour later, he'd turned to ask her something, only to see her notebook had closed and she was fast asleep.

"Looks like someone's comfortable," Tony said, a teasing smirk on his face.

Steve scowled at him as he carefully took Natasha's notebook from her hands and set it aside. Natasha moaned softly, curling closer to Steve in her sleep.

"Oh please," Clint scoffed, rolling his eyes from across the room. "Like any of us are surprised."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve demanded quietly, trying not to wake up Natasha.

Maria and Bruce simultaneously raised an eyebrow at him.

"You two are practically dating," Maria told him.

Steve's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. Maria laughed quietly.

"You're always together; like always. She wears your clothes half the time," she pointed out.

"So? She forgets to bring sweaters and I always overdress," Steve defended.

The whole group rolled their eyes at the same time, making Steve wonder if they'd practiced it at some point.

"Why don't you just ask her out already?" Tony groaned, rolling onto his back and looking at Steve upside down from the ground.

"It would make things awkward," Steve answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "What if she says no?"

"She won't say no," Maria immediately assured him. She leaned forward from the recliner she was sitting on and put her hand on his knee. "If you ask her out and she says no, I'll pay for you to start a new life in China."

"Not helpful," Steve mumbled.

Maria shrugged and leaned back in her seat, picking her notebook back up.

"I'm just saying, she isn't going to say no," she said.

The group went back to their individual studying, but Steve couldn't focus anymore. He glanced at Natasha, not able to tear his eyes away from her. When Thor and Clint got a little too loud and she began to stir, Steve decided just to take her up to her room.

He twisted around and gently lifted her off the couch. Her eyes fluttered open and the room went silent. Natasha either didn't notice they weren't alone or didn't care as she snuggled closer to Steve and closed her eyes again. Steve glared at each of his friends as he carefully walked through the living room with Natasha in his arms.

The walk up the stairs and into her room was quiet as he avoided the squeaky steps and made sure to open her door carefully. When he gently laid her on her bed, she opened her eyes sleepily and reached for his hand, keeping him from leaving unnoticed. Steve gently pulled her hand off of him and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Good night, Nat," he whispered.

She smiled and snuggled into her covers, releasing his hand as she drifted back off to sleep. Steve smiled down at her then slipped out of her room to return to the living room.

He was met by a multitude of smirks and raised eyebrows, all of which he ignored as he sat back down and picked up his notebook. They were all delusional if they thought he and Natasha would ever work out. He'd just have to take what he could get when he got it.