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‘This is not how this mission was supposed to go.’ Steve thought to himself as he marched through the snow in the direction of what he hoped was a town. Not that there were any signs of civilization as far as the eye could see, so he was kind of hoping he was right. ‘The team should be searching by now anyway.’
“Achoo!!” The sneeze echoed in the air. Steve turned to face his companion.
“Doing okay, bud?”
“Uhh... I think my suit’s heat function finally failed, Mr. Rogers.” Peter had his arms wrapped around himself, shivering slightly. The poor kid was only in his Spiderman suit in the middle of nowhere in the dead of winter. “In fact,” he pulled his mask off, “I think my suit up and died. Karen went silent a few minutes ago.” Peter looked sadly at his mask.
“I... uh...” Steve really didn’t understand AIs beyond the basics of they’re computers. “I’m sure she’ll be okay. Tony can probably help when we get back.” The teen brightened at the statement. “But for now we need to keep going. It’s going to be dark soon, and I don’t think either of us wants to be out here at night.” Peter nodded, and they continued walking. After a while they came across the start of a forest, Steve glanced over at Peter as they paused to consider their options.
The kid did not look okay. He was shivering violently, teeth chattering, and Steve could make out the tiniest hint of blue tinting his lips.
“Jesus, kid,” the super soldier quickly drew Peter to his side inspecting him closer. The teen sighed softly at the slightest bit of warmth being offered.
“I-is now a b-bad time to mention that spiders c-can’t thermoregulate?” Brown eyes were slightly glazed over as they looked up to meet the Captain’s.
“Kind of, Queens.” Steve deadpanned. “We have to make it through the night if we’re going to survive. Maybe we’ll come across some type of shelter in the woods.” He paused for a second. “Are you okay to continue walking or...?”
Peter tried to contain his whine, really, but the idea of having to continue walking in the cold- so so so cold- was not appealing in the slightest.
“On second thought.” Cap moved his shield to the ground, working quickly to take off the shoulder belt. “Here, Peter.” He helped the boy put on the belt before adjusting the size to fit his smaller frame.
“U-uh... C-captain America, s-sir?”
“I need you to carry the shield on your back while I carry you on mine. Okay?” Peter could only nod slightly, too cold and tired to argue at this point. The shield was securely placed on the boy’s back, and Steve soon had the spider clinging to his back. Hooking his arms with the boy’s knees, the soldier started his trek through the woods, hoping to get somewhere before sun down.
It probably wasn’t the best idea to have Peter stop moving which would slow blood flow, but he noticed that the kid seemed to stop shaking as much. So he continued his hike.
“Any better, son?” Steve ventured as he scanned the forest around him.
“Hm... yeah. I f’l a b-bit w’mer, ‘Spec-ly s’nce I’m s’mm’ch’d ‘tween you ‘n the sh’ld.” It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing. Enough to give Steve hope that they both would be just fine.
Time passed some more, the sun was about to set. Steve was not ready to try and set them up to rest in the snow over night. I’ve been iced once, never again. He noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
It was a small cabin, in the woods, not suspicious at all, but at this point the man needed to get the kid out of the cold and fast. He approached the cabin, noticing the lack of upkeep and the surprising amount of firewood stocked on the side of the building. Steve knocked on the door, gently as not to startle anyone who could be residing there. No answer. He tested the knob to find the door unlocked before opening the door enough to peek inside. Dust covered everything and it was obvious that no one had inhabited the cabin for awhile now. There was a fireplace and blankets. Good enough for the night. Setting Peter in a chair, finding a somewhat clean blanket in a trunk of linen, Steve set the shield aside and wrapped the boy up before quickly preparing for the night.
Soon enough a fire was roaring, casting a warm glow to the room. A nest of blankets was set up in front of the fire, close enough to be warm, far enough to not get burned. Steve sat Peter in the middle of the nest, watching as the boy curled into the blankets, shivering. Studying him closer, the man noticed that the boy’s lips were still tinted blue, and if he had to venture, the tips of his fingers were painted blue under the suit.
“Body heat will help.” Cap mumbled to himself as he took off his suit top, grateful for always wearing a t-shirt underneath. He shifted the teen so he could sit in the middle of the blankets. The blond laid Peter across his lap, wrapping the blankets around them both, effectively making a warm cocoon. The boy immediately pressed closer into the warmth the blond provided. They sat in silence for a while as Peter’s shaking started decreasing.
“C-cap?” A small voice broke through the quiet. Glancing down at the teen, blue eyes met glassy chocolate ones. The man smiled, running a hand through the dark curls. The kid sighed, relaxing slightly.
“Someone should find us by morning, Pete, promise.” Peter nodded, eyes fluttering closed as he curled in Steve’s lap, warmer and now asleep, blankets wrapped around the both of them.
Sure enough, in the morning, the rest of the Avengers entered the cabin looking for their teammates, and found the cute sight of Peter Parker cuddled up under the arm of Captain America, in a nest of blankets, in front of a burned out fire.
“Fucking adorable.” Natasha whispered as she took a picture with her phone.