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It had been a trap from the start. Steve didn't know where the information had been tainted down the line, Natasha was usually very good about knowing things like that, but this time, someone had been just a little more clever. They only had to be lucky once, after all. Steve and Bucky had to be lucky every time.
As half of Hydra had descended on them, something strange had happened. Two of the marksmen had been yanked away rather suddenly, by what had looked to Steve like a giant spider web. This was confirmed a moment later when the red and blue figure entered the fray, battling the rogue agents without hesitation.
Fighting himself, keeping Bucky at his six, Cap still had enough awareness to see the costumed figure fighting. It was a raw fight, led mostly by instinct and unnaturally fast reflexes. But while the young man was effective, Cap could tell he hadn't been properly trained in how to fight. This was made all the more clear when one of the agents managed a trick move, grabbing the vigilante by the neck, and ripping away the mask he wore.
Steve's shield met the attacker's face a second later, and the young man slipped away, but not before Steve had seen just how young he was.
The fight wrapped up quickly after that. The young man quickly recovered his mask, but his excitement betrayed him in every quiver of muscle as he approached Cap and Bucky. "I didn't realize it was you," he said, and Cap was already wincing at the youthful excitement in his voice. "I just saw the guys going into the building, and I knew there was trouble, so I--"
"So you barged in to handle the situation," Steve interrupted. "No thought to yourself, just go in and be the good guy. Someone had to be in trouble, right?"
The young Spider-Man nodded, his hands gripping one another under his chin. This was Captain America! The man was a legend!
Steve nearly growled under his breath. "You're hurt."
Peter waved off the concern. "It's okay, I heal pretty--"
"You're hurt, because you were reckless. There were thirty guys in here. How many did you see before you came in? Do you know who they are? They're trained assassins, every one of them. Have you ever been trained?"
Some of the excitement had seeped away, and the voice coming from behind the mask now seemed hurt. "I've... been doing this a while..."
"Against what, petty thugs? Purse-snatchers? You're good, kid, but you're not on this level. You're too young, too inexperienced. You're a distraction to the trained fighters, because I was trying to make sure you weren't getting killed over there." Steve shook his head, angry. He wasn't entirely sure where the anger was coming from, but it was spilling out at the young man in the homemade costume looking up at him. "Go home. Be a kid, for god's sake. I don't want to see you out here again."
Spider-Man stood there a moment longer, hands now curled and low at his sides. He looked from Cap to the stern figure of Bucky, standing just to the side, arms crossed, watching impassively, but there was no help there. His shoulders dropped, and the young man walked out of the building before swinging away. Back home.
Steve let out another growl, but turned sharply when he heard Bucky snort. "What?"
Bucky raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't you think you were a little harsh?"
That well of anger rose again. "You saw him, Buck. He's what, 16? 17? Black and blue--"
"Red and blue, actually."
"Bucky!" Steve stared at him. Bucky met his gaze, expression somewhere between amused and exasperated. "He's... he's reckless!"
A smirk appeared on Bucky's lips. "Wow, I wonder where I've seen that before." Bucky shook his head a bit, and clapped a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Train him, then. I've seen that kind of determination before, too. He's not going to stop."
With a huff, Steve shrugged off the hand on his shoulder and walked away.
----
"Peter? Are you awake?"
In the bedroom, Peter pulled on a shirt, hiding the bruises on his ribs. They would heal soon enough, but he was sore this morning. Those guys had been tough. "Yeah, Aunt May. I'm up."
"There's someone here to see you."
----
Steve watched him come down the hall, the stiff way he moved, clearly (to his eye) moving gently to avoid hurting some already sore muscles. Tony hadn't asked many questions for someone being woken up at 2am, had just run the facial recognition software and instructed JARVIS to handle the rest. Steve had been up the rest of the night, reading. Ben Parker's murder in particular had readjusted his view of the vigilante. That kind of motivation wasn't something that could be stifled. Bucky was right - the kid wasn't going to stop. That was clear enough from the oodles and oodles of reports on Spider-Man's heroic deeds.
Which was why Steve was here now, dressed in his civvies, the cup of coffee Aunt May had given him cooling in one hand. He stood when Peter entered the room. The young man looked part baffled, part starstruck, and part terrified. Steve gave the brunette woman a smile. "Mrs Parker, may I talk to Peter in private for a few minutes?"
May smiled, giving Peter a look of incredulity as she stood. "Of course! I have go get to work anyway. Peter, dear, there's breakfast in the kitchen. Mr. Rogers--"
"Steve, please."
"Steve, then. Help yourself if you're hungry." She picked up her pocketbook and coat, gave Peter a kiss on the cheek, and left.
Peter shuffled over to the opposite chair as Steve took his seat on the sofa again. He was a little too overwhelmed to speak.
That was okay. Steve went first. "Peter. I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night."
A breath of relief flowed out of the young man. "Oh, thank God. I thought you were going to threaten to tell my aunt if I didn't promise to stop."
Steve arched a brow, an amused smile playing on his lips. "Why, would that have worked?"
Peter blinked. "Uh. No?"
Steve laughed. "Didn't think so. So let's talk about your training instead."