This one is more serious than the last, but there are a few threads still floating from Part 3 that could use tying up, so here we are.

The song for this one is "How Did You Love" by Shinedown.

Enjoy!


Story 8: Careless Mistake: A Discussion Long Overdue


Peter practically bounced out of the car, though he didn't forget to yell "Thanks, Happy!" before he grabbed his bag.

As usual, Happy mostly just grunted and turned to pull the car away from the elevator to its designated parking spot. Happy had been grouchy ever since whoever was in charge of the Compound's logistics had reallocated the underground parking area and put the spot for whoever was driving Tony, Pepper, or Peter at the far end. They used to be right next to the elevator.

Peter hadn't asked, but he had a feeling it was Maria Hill, since she was taking a bigger role these days, and she and Happy had some kind of feud going on.

When the elevator opened to the Avengers' floor, the first thing Peter really noticed was the view out the broad windows. April in New York meant that trees were truly getting green again, which wasn't a huge deal in the city, but sure made a difference out here. It made him stop and take a deep breath, like a weight off his shoulders or something new waking up inside his chest.

"Hey, Peter."

Peter turned and waved at Steve who was sitting with a book in the corner.

"I thought you were still off arguing with...Germany?" he asked.

Steve's face quirked with distaste. "Finished yesterday. They're still not too happy, but at least they've gotten to the point of not voting against us in the UN."

Peter made his way over. "How's...all that going? I only kind of pay attention."

"I don't blame you." Steve smiled. "If I didn't have to do it myself, I wouldn't either. And it's...complicated. But I think it's going to work."

"What about Loki and Bucky?" Peter wanted to know. "Will they be okay?"

"That's one of the big sticking points in Germany especially," Steve said. "But between Odin and Fury testifying, and everything in the Hydra documents, I think they're starting to come around."

Peter swallowed.

His face must have done something, because Steve stood up and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, kid. It's a lot to ask people to deal with. Not just forgiving Bucky and Loki for what they did, but acknowledging that the Earth isn't as alone or independent as everybody thought. It's scary for people to realize there are things out there so much bigger and more powerful."

"That's kind of why people are scared of us, too," Peter said. "Because of what we can do."

"Exactly." Steve squeezed the shoulder he held. "And to some extent, there's nothing we can do about that. We can show them that they can trust us again and again, but trust only comes when people choose to give it. We can't make them feel good about us."

Peter nodded. "Sometimes when I'm patrolling, people yell rude stuff. Like just because I'm enhanced that I'm part of some kind of conspiracy to have aliens take over the world."

"I'm sorry you have to go through that," Steve said. "I hoped, we all hoped that by keeping you out of it, it wouldn't show up here."

Peter shrugged. "You guys are dealing with way worse. I can handle being yelled at. And it isn't really even that many people. Most people seem okay with the idea of partnering with Asgard. Like, the idea of a thousand Thors protecting the Earth makes them feel better."

"Not that there are a thousand like Thor," Steve said, smiling again. "He's kinda unique."

"Yeah."

"So, what brings you today?" Steve asked. "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow to train with us?"

"Well, Aunt May decided that she wants to do spring cleaning at the apartment and, like, that is the worst, so I asked if I could come here. All the cleaning smells bother me, even the unscented stuff, and she never lets me help with cleaning out closets because I would get rid of too much stuff or something, so she said yes. I was just gonna do homework today."

"Ah. My ma was like that, too," Steve said. "As soon as it was warm enough to leave the windows open, she'd sweep and scrub on her off day until the place was so clean you could eat from the floor. Bucky and I used to hide out on those days, too."

Peter thought about how hard it must be to be Steve and Bucky. To wake up in a world where everybody you knew was dead all at once, where millions of things had changed and you had to learn all of them all at the same time. It was different for Bucky, since he was mind-wiped all the time, too, but he still got his memories back and had to deal with a world that wasn't like what he actually remembered. Peter wasn't sure he would be able to deal with it.

"I don't have too much homework," Peter found himself saying. "If you wanted to hang out with me. I mean, it's fine if you don't because there's the lab downstairs and I have lots to do, but…"

"I think I'd like that," Steve said. "Bucky's in Wakanda having one of his surgeries and he said he'd throw me through a wall if I came with him or if I sat here moping, so this will keep one of Tony's walls intact. He thinks I fuss too much." He paused. "He's probably right."

Bucky is definitely right that you fuss too much. "Is anybody else here?" Peter asked.

"Clint and Nat took the twins to Clint's farm, but they'll all be back tomorrow morning for training. Thor is with Rhodey and Sam and Fury talking to the Joint Chiefs again. Bruce is here, though. Vision is out in Esopus seeing if his human disguise works any better this time."

Peter snorted. "Are his eyes still yellow?"

"I don't think so."

"That'll help."

"So," Steve said, "what do you want to do with your weekend? Unless you wanted to head down to one of the labs?"

"No," Peter decided. "Tony said that since I'm here today, he'll try to show up for dinner, and that means Pepper will probably come, too. We can always do lab stuff then. We are so close to getting Tony's nanotech suit to the next level."

"I thought he'd already finished one for himself and you?" Steve asked.

Peter shook his head. "Technically, yeah, but they're both kinda basic. I mean, considering they're nanotech. We're working on energy conversions now. Imagine if Tony's suit could, like, create the firepower of a bunch of arc reactors, but then could fold the power source back into it seamlessly."

Peter could see Steve trying to envision it. "So, he would generate a stronger repulsor blast from his hands?"

"No, that part's easy. More like he could separate a portion of the nanotech off into a shoulder cannon and have that be able to fire with the same power as his normal repulsors. And then fold it back into the suit like it was never there."

Steve's eyes were wide. "You can do that?"

"I mean." Peter shrugged. "The math says it's theoretically possible, I guess. Tony and Shuri and JARVIS and I have been working on it on and off. But it's different trying to actually make the code flexible enough for the nanotech to know how to do it."

"I'll take your word for it," Steve said. "I honestly don't understand about half of what you talk about with Tony or Bruce, let alone Shuri."

Peter hoped he wasn't blushing. "Anyway. There's no point in me banging my head against it until Tony gets here, so I'm good for whatever you want to do."

"Well," Steve said, a glint in his eye that made Peter's heart speed up, "there's something I've been curious about for a while."

Which is how they ended up dressed in sweats and heading for the training room designed for the most physically enhanced members of the team — Thor, Steve, Bucky, Peter, and Hulk. Pietro's speed didn't really give him extra strength so much as extra momentum, Wanda could lift more than anybody but Hulk or Peter with her mind, and Vision's powers didn't really translate to strength; this was more for those with what Sam called 'brute lifting power.' Which meant the room was ridiculously reinforced and everything in it was as durable as Tony could make it. And as heavy as Tony could make it.

"We both know you're stronger than me or Bucky," Steve said, and Peter was pretty sure he was actually proud of that fact rather than annoyed. "How about Thor? Do you know?"

"Um." Peter rubbed his nose. "Yeah, I am? We arm-wrestled once and I kinda destroyed him."

Steve grinned. "How about Hulk?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I've never hung out with the Hulk long enough to find out. I don't think even he knows how strong he is."

"Fair enough." Steve led the way into the gym. "JARVIS, how strong is the strongest spider on Earth?"

"Darwin's bark spider can lift between one hundred sixty and one hundred seventy times its own weight," JARVIS said.

"And how does that translate to Peter?"

"Assuming the ratios are consistent, Master Parker would then be able to lift between eleven-point-seven and twelve-point-five tons."

Peter blinked. He did some mental math. "That's like four elevators full of people!"

"Correct," JARVIS told him.

"Last fall," Steve said, "you had to lift about ten tons to get out from under that warehouse, right?"

That memory made Peter shiver, but he pushed it aside. "Yeah, I guess."

"But Tony and Bruce say your abilities are still growing. So, I thought we should see how this one is doing."

Well, that was fair. Peter had been tracking the development of his abilities with Tony and Bruce since they found out, and the only thing that hadn't really changed was his stickiness. He was still able to stick to every surface they tried — including some Tony engineered to be un-stickable. But his strength, his senses, and his speed were still increasing all the time. They didn't test his strength often because it was hard to find stuff heavy enough to use. Instead, they tracked the hollowing of Peter's bones and extrapolated the math. By now his bones were many times more durable than normal, but as hollow as a bird's, filled entirely with a weird fusion of bone marrow and a hydrostatic substance that allowed him to use both his musculature and his bone structure for movement — dramatically increasing both speed and strength.

"How though?" Peter asked. "Last time we tried it, there wasn't anything around for me to lift except a Quinjet and Tony said no."

"I remember," Steve said. "And I agree with him. I'd rather not find your limit by crushing you under something nobody else can lift, either. But now we have this."

'This' was...actually, Peter had no idea. It mostly looked like a weird, square chair colored white and gold.

"The last time Loki and Odin were by, I asked them how they train warriors to lift great weights, and they brought this," Steve said. "I think it's magic."

Peter bounded over to it, excited now. "How does it work?"

"Um, so there's a dial on the side." Steve pointed to it. "It goes from one to...I think that means fifteen? So you sit in the chair, and somebody else turns the dial and you just feel...pressure."

"If I may," JARVIS said, "my analysis of your use of this artifact suggests that it simulates atmospheric pressure on an exponential scale. The lowest setting appears to produce the same amount of pressure as fourteen and a half pounds per square inch, the same as the atmospheric pressure on Earth at sea level."

"It's not like you can turn the dial to ten," Steve said, "even if you can lift ten tons."

"No, it doesn't work that way. It's different to lift just a ton than it is to have a ton pressing down on every inch." But Peter was almost vibrating. "How far did you get?"

"I can only lift a half-ton normally," Steve said, "so I didn't make it past the third setting."

"Humans can't typically withstand more than 60psi," Peter said, mind whirring, "so that's actually really good!"

"King Odin did say that Prince Thor never succeeded in besting the fifth setting," JARVIS added.

"Okay, now I gotta try it!" Peter paused before he threw himself into the chair. "Is there anything special, or do I just sit there?"

"Just sit," Steve said. "I'll turn the dial up one at a time. At some point, you'll have trouble moving your arms and legs. We have to stop when breathing normally becomes a struggle, or you could suffocate."

Peter nodded. "I'll be careful. Let's try it!"

The chair felt warm as soon as he sat in it, and he stretched his arms out along the armrests, feeling a prickle of excitement washing through his gut. Magic that could simulate atmospheric pressure? Asgard must be so cool.

"Okay. Here's level one."

At once, Peter felt pressure all around him. Like being underwater, and not just in the deep end of a pool. But he lifted his arms and waved them, kicking his feet for good measure. "So far so good."

"All right. Put your arms down and we'll try two."

At level two, Peter had to work a little to lift his arms and wave them around.

At level three, now he had to push, and his fingers wanted to curl tight to his hands.

At level four, he had to really push his legs to get them to kick and they slammed back to the chair faster than he wanted. He was sweating now.

At level five, Peter could understand why Thor struggled. It was like he was trapped in glue or his own webs, but they were made of stone. He had to fight to expand his chest to take in air, and every muscle in his body was trembling at the effort to be anything but totally flattened to the chair.

Peter managed to force one arm up for just a few seconds before it crashed back to the armrest.

"I'm calling it," Steve said, and he turned the dial back down one at a time. "I think six would have been too much for you."

"Yeah." Peter's head was spinning, and he would be elated as soon as he caught his breath. "That was awesome."

"Hey." Bruce wandered in. "JARVIS said you two were trying out the Asgardian chair. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Peter said, though literally every muscle felt like he'd just tried juggling multiple cars. "We stopped."

"Oh, good." Bruce made a mild glare at Steve. "Next time, maybe let me know before you mess around with that. In case of emergency."

Steve looked abashed. "Sorry. It seems safe enough, and Pete's strong."

"I am," Peter agreed.

Bruce sighed. "You really are pretty reckless for a national icon. How'd you get such good PR if you ran around doing stunts like this in the forties?"

"Pretty sure that was the US Army," Steve said, and there was an undercurrent to his voice that Peter couldn't identify.

"Anyway." Bruce moved over to Peter and gave him a hand to stand up, examining him closely. "Since you're in an experimenting mood, let's head down to my area for a bit. Steve, this part'll be kind of boring. We'll catch you later, okay?"

Peter found himself being steered out of the training room wondering what had actually just happened.

-==OOO==-

Bruce was breathing.

He'd had a lot of years to get used to the Hulk, to the edge of a presence that lived at the far reaches of his consciousness, a mind he could only touch on the edge of madness. He'd become an expert at regulating his emotions, tuning them as finely as Clint's strung bow. He could take unexpected news and channel it before his heart could so much as skip a beat.

But there were a few triggers that were a little harder to deal with. Secretary Ross tested his control thoroughly at every unwelcome visit. Anything that physically threatened Bruce, of course, summoned his big, inconvenient bodyguard. And anything that put the members of his family in danger danced along his nerves distressingly similarly to threats to himself — those were the hardest situations in which to maintain control.

At least, by now, Bruce felt relatively certain that the Hulk wouldn't hurt his family, not intentionally. Hulk still wasn't safe, would never be safe, but he had clearly decided that there were people worth protecting, and he and Bruce were aligned on who those people were.

Hulk wasn't close enough to the surface to be a risk today under normal circumstances, but that wasn't much comfort.

It wasn't Steve's fault. Bruce was wound up, had been wound up for the last two months. Or maybe the last ten years. But right now, everything was like swimming uphill even when nothing was wrong. So getting the alert from JARVIS that Peter was beginning to experience respiratory distress in the training room had almost broken the Hulk from the confines of Bruce's will.

But as he retreated with Peter, whose face was twisted in confusion, Bruce couldn't be sorry.

There was a wound here that had been left untreated. Now it was a year in the making, and fixing it wouldn't be pretty no matter what they did from this point on. Bruce was a doctor; he knew he should have lanced it months ago. The most he could do at this point was to stop ignoring it.

"Is everything okay, Bruce?" Peter asked.

Bruce sighed. "It's fine. Nobody said you couldn't try the chair, and you had supervision. I just wish you hadn't when I wasn't there, just in case."

"Oh. That makes sense." Peter smiled at him as they entered the elevator to head towards Bruce's lab. "Sorry for worrying you. I won't use it again without telling you."

"I'm sorry for startling you," Bruce said, managing a smile. "So we're even."

"Are we really going to do some experiments?"

Honestly, Bruce had just needed to get Peter away. To make sure Peter was safe, which meant under his eyes. But he'd said it, so he nodded. "First I want a full scan to see what kinds of strain your body was under while you were in the chair. How high did it go?"

"Five."

Bruce breathed deeply again. Five. Steve didn't get past three. God, kid. "Right. So we'll want full scans for sure. Then, I want to track your reflexes if that's okay."

"Sure thing."

Once they were down in the lab, Bruce focused on getting the scans he wanted, chatting amiably with Peter about their results even as he didn't think too hard about the pressures the kid had been subjected to to get his readings to that point. That took less than half an hour, which gave him time to set up the reflexes test with JARVIS.

"Basically," Bruce said, sitting Peter on a stool in the middle of the room, "JARVIS will fire a series of increasingly fast and small holograms around you. He'll record if you react to them, and if you're able to swipe them before they disappear."

"This is way better than the thing where they poke your knee with a hammer," Peter said, eyes bright.

"JARVIS knows how fast we think you are, so he's going to start pretty close to your level and increase until it's too much for you. Should take ten or twenty minutes depending on how you do."

Peter gave him a thumbs-up. "Awesome. I'm ready."

"I'll step out so I don't distract you."

In the hall, he leaned against a wall, still breathing.

"Are you all right, Bruce?"

Bruce didn't jump because he couldn't afford to be startled anymore, but Vision's tone was even and gentle and that helped.

"I think so."

"JARVIS registered heightened vitals from you not long ago. I thought perhaps I should return in case there was a need." Vision was still in his human guise, much more effective this time without the yellow eyes, even if it was kind of weird to see him in a cardigan.

"Steve was trying Peter in the Asgardian pressure chair," he explained.

Vision looked at him. Whether he was flesh colored or purple, he was still so very kind. "Is Peter hurt?"

"No. Nothing like that. Just…" Bruce sighed.

"If it is not too presumptuous, may I suggest that your concern was not Peter's welfare in the chair, but in being left alone in possible danger with only the Captain?"

Bruce swallowed. "I hate that you're right."

"Would it help you to tell me why?"

The offer was said so earnestly, Bruce couldn't help but take him up on it.

"The last two months, we've spent all our time telling the world that they can trust us. That the Asgardians are our allies and that they can trade in good faith with them on the strength of our reputation. And Steve is front and center with that."

"Is he not worthy of that amount of trust?" Vision asked. Not leadingly, not accusingly. Just being patient and open-minded.

"No, I mean, yes, but…" He took another slow breath. "I don't know. I didn't expect to react this way. It just seems...underhanded."

"How so?"

"Because Steve lied to us, to Tony, for so long. About Hydra killing Tony's parents. And...I know he apologized and he and Tony talked it out, but I still don't think he fully understands why keeping that secret was wrong. And that...makes this more dangerous."

"I see." Vision settled beside Bruce, leaning on the wall. "So it causes you difficulty when our attempts to sway the world powers rest on the reputation of a man whom you cannot see without recalling his own breach of trust."

"Something like that." Bruce ran his hands through his hair. "I know Steve is a good man. I'm not saying otherwise. And he's a good team leader. Nobody else could do what he does. But...he was wrong, Vis. He was wrong not telling Tony who killed his parents."

"Steve does have rather a large blind spot when it comes to Bucky," Vision said. "Tony has one about Peter, and I believe I am developing one surrounding Wanda."

"But Tony has never endangered another member of the team even to help Peter and I don't think you would, either." Bruce felt his shoulders hunch. "But for Bucky, I think there's no limits for Steve. I think he'd do anything for him. Even if it led us into a trap or got someone hurt."

"Is that not admirable in friendship?" Vision wanted to know.

Bruce shrugged. "I mean, yeah, I guess. Except when you run a team dedicated to protecting the world. Doesn't...doesn't the team have to come first, then?"

"I understand now why you were agitated. Because if your faith in Steve has faltered, then none of us are truly safe with him, and Peter least of all because Peter trusts the most unconditionally."

"Yeah."

"If I may ask, why have you not brought this up? Either since Steve's trustworthiness became the linchpin of our political debate, or in the year since Siberia?"

"Well, at first I didn't even know there was a problem. It wasn't until well after that Bucky said anything about what happened in there. Even then, it wasn't Steve who told us what he'd done. But Tony clearly didn't want to talk about it, and he and Steve were working closely on the Asgard thing, and…" He let out a breath. "I haven't really been in the field since then. We've been lying low because of the UN stuff. So it wasn't relevant. And…"

He trailed off, but Vision picked up his thoughts perfectly.

"And it has never been so important for us to be seen as a unified force. Dissension could lead us to disaster."

"Exactly."

"I think," Vision said, "that if you have reached a point where you no longer feel comfortable leaving Peter alone with the Captain, then this can wait no longer to be addressed."

Bruce had come to that conclusion, too, and he nodded. "I know. I just...I'm not really one for conflict, you know."

"I am aware. And, if it will help you, I would be willing to act as a mediator for your discussion."

"Thanks, Vis." Bruce managed to smile. "You're a good friend."

"It is my pleasure, Bruce. Now, I believe you still have a few minutes before JARVIS will finish the test with Peter, so may I suggest that you compose yourself? Peter, I have noted, is highly observant. He may not know what troubles you, but he will certainly know that you are distracted."

Bruce huffed a laugh. "It would serve Steve right if I just sicced Peter on him. Peter might even get through to him in a way nobody else can. But you're right. It's not his problem. And I've let it go on too long as it is. Whatever Steve's mistakes, not being honest with him myself is my own fault and I need to deal with it directly."

He stood up away from the wall and took several cleansing breaths, letting his mind focus on the circular mandala he used in meditation to find tranquility. By the time he opened the door back into the lab to meet Peter's excited, cheerful babble, Bruce was pretty sure he'd locked his own emotions down as thoroughly as he did the Hulk.

These feelings had waited this long. They could keep a little longer. Besides, Peter's results were, once again, off the charts, and that was far more interesting.

But Bruce couldn't help the thought that struck him as he and Peter and Vision looked over the evidence of Peter's superhuman reflexes.

You are Tony's son in every way that matters, and you're something to me. Family for sure. Maybe a nephew like Rhodey talks about. I would let the Hulk free in an instant for you and damn the consequences. But even then, I wouldn't do what Steve did because it could be — and was — used as a weapon against us.

I don't know what I'll do if I can't work past this with Steve and get to a better place. Especially because of you, Peter. You and Tony. And if Steve hurt you, if he made a bad choice like that again and you paid for it, I'm not sure I could keep the Hulk at bay.

But, if it comes to that, I promise to protect you with everything I have.

-==OOO==-

Peter should definitely not have been listening to Bruce's conversation with Vision. And, for the most part, he really did focus on the game JARVIS was playing with his reflexes.

But the thing was, because of his enhanced senses, he'd had to learn how to take in a lot more input and filter it than ever before. Since he could hear every unit in the Queens apartment building, he had to be able to listen to everything, but not pay attention to it (unless there was a problem) and still go on with his day. So when he was patrolling, he could be chatting with KAREN or Tony or Ned, and still swinging around, and still listening to his surroundings and taking in the things that mattered.

So he didn't mean to listen in, and he really did try to focus on testing his reflexes with JARVIS. But he couldn't help hearing most of it anyway.

Peter decided to push it aside at first; it was more important to cheer Bruce up and to make everyone think he had been so focused on the testing that he hadn't been listening. And his results were legitimately awesome so he didn't have to fake his enthusiasm at all. When they finished, Peter realized he hadn't exactly eaten lunch.

"You know better," Bruce told him immediately. "With your metabolism, you have to keep eating or your body will starve itself."

"I know," Peter said, and he did. "But Happy picked me up late and we stopped for fast food on the way but that doesn't really count and I ate one of my bars while I was changing clothes for the chair thing, but…" And he shrugged.

"You need real food with actual calories," Bruce said. "Protein as well as carbs. Okay, I saw some stuff in the fridge. I think I can throw together a quick chicken and rice thing faster than we could order something. That should hold you for the next few hours until dinner."

"That sounds amazing," Peter said, meaning it.

The three of them left Bruce's lab to head to the elevators.

"I would like to assist, if you don't mind," VIsion said. "I am still struggling with some of the basics of cooking food which is actually tasty."

"Yeah, I'll give you a lesson," Bruce said. "Pete, you want one, too?"

"No, thanks," Peter said, thinking fast. "I'm going to go figure out how much homework I need to get done this weekend. Then I can plan the rest of today and tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Bruce said. "Call if you need anything. Otherwise I'll have food for you soon."

They parted on the common floor, Bruce and Vision heading to the kitchen while Peter peeled off towards the bedrooms. But instead of actually going into his room, he texted JARVIS to find out where Steve was.

Minutes later, he tapped on Maria Hill's door to find Steve and Maria chatting in her office which was rapidly becoming the command hub for operations at the Compound.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, fixing his attention on Steve. "Is it okay if we talk for a minute?"

Steve glanced at Maria, but rose with a smile. "Sure thing. Thanks for the update, Maria."

"See you boys around," she said, waving.

Peter had thought about it on the way down here, so he led Steve to the building's roof. It was easily accessible since Tony and Rhodey and the other fliers often entered through here, but it was otherwise typically pretty deserted and private. Somebody (Pietro) had dragged a few lawn chairs up here recently, and Peter perched on one of them.

"What's on your mind?" Steve asked. Then, suddenly concerned, "You didn't get hurt with the chair, did you?"

"No, I'm fine." Peter took a deep breath. "There's something I want to ask you. About what happened a while ago."

"Sure. Anything."

Steve's face was so open, Peter almost felt bad for doing this. But he pressed on.

"Why didn't you tell Tony you knew Hydra had killed his parents?"

Steve's face went still, and then somber. "Peter, I…"

"You didn't tell him," Peter said, and he kept his voice even. "He had to find out from Hydra. Well, Wanda and Pietro and Hydra. But...I just...I want to know why."

"I didn't want to hurt him," Steve said.

Peter shook his head. "I don't think that's it. I mean, maybe that's part of it. But didn't you also need Tony to help you find Bucky?"

Steve blinked at him. "I suppose."

Peter thought about what Bruce had said. "We're all, well, not me, you have been telling the world since February that they can trust Odin and forgive Loki and Bucky because they can trust you. But do you think the people in Germany would still trust you if they knew that you kept a secret like that from Tony just so he would keep doing what you wanted?"

"That's not how it was, Peter," Steve said. "I wasn't...I wasn't trying to manipulate Tony."

"You weren't trying," Peter agreed. "But that's what happened, isn't it?"

Steve stared at him.

"I like Bucky," Peter said. "I'm really glad we found him and he's safe. I'm glad we're helping him. I understand that he's your best friend. Ned's my best friend. And I'd do anything for him if he needed me. But keeping that secret didn't help Bucky. It just hurt everybody more."

"Tony had already been hurt so much," Steve said slowly. "I thought him knowing would just be one more thing he had to deal with."

"Okay," Peter allowed, getting annoyed. "But you know why that was wrong now, right? Like, that was a bad decision. You know that?"

"I know it caused a lot of problems and more hurt and I regret that," Steve said.

"Even though by keeping it from Tony, you played right into Hydra's plans? And they could use the information against you both at literally the worst possible time? Like, because that happened and it was bad."

"Okay, I can't deny that."

"But also." Peter leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "Tony didn't deserve to find that out from Hydra. He should have heard it from you. That's what friends do." He looked away. "That's the mistake I made with Spider-Man. It should have been me telling everybody, not letting you find out."

He could see Steve thinking now.

"Can I ask what brought this on?" Steve had lost some of his defensive posture. Peter would take it.

"I think that everybody is stressed," Peter said. "And, like, this is a bad time for it. If you have to get the world to trust you, I think it would help if there weren't any doubts inside the team first. But...you'd have to apologize and mean it."

Steve frowned, offended. "Of course I would mean it!"

They'd hit the heart of it now. Peter threw himself into his argument.

"After Aunt May found out I was Spider-Man, she gave me a whole separate lecture about apologies. She said that you can't actually apologize to anyone without telling them that you understand what you did was wrong and what you'll do so it doesn't happen again. It's why she wouldn't let me get away with just saying sorry for hurting her feelings. She wanted me to understand that I needed to be sorry for lying to her and that I would trust her next time. Anything less than that doesn't count."

While Steve was digesting that, Peter added, "And this time you have to say it to everybody."

"What? Why?"

"Because you didn't just hurt Tony," Peter said. "You hurt everyone because you lied to everyone. And now maybe other people don't know if you would lie to them, too."

Peter could see that land in Steve's eyes hard. He almost felt bad, even if he felt good for doing it in the first place.

"You've given me a lot to think about," Steve said finally.

Peter nodded and stood up. "I really hope you do it. I didn't know it was bothering me until today, and I'm probably not the only one. But I really need to trust you. The world needs to trust you. So, uh, make good choices, I guess."

He decided to leave on that note, wandering back downstairs in time for JARVIS to call him to the kitchen for his impromptu extra lunch. It tasted great, and even the part Vision did came out okay, which was an improvement.

Steve came down while Bruce and Vision and Peter were talking about spices and how to (and how not to) combine them. He looked thoughtful.

Bruce drew himself up and called across the room, "Hey Steve? Can we talk sometime tonight? If you don't mind."

Steve shot a look to Peter who pretended not to notice. Then he nodded.

"Yeah. I...I think I need to talk to everybody first. But then, yeah. I'd like that."

Vision glanced at Peter with more than a little suspicion, but Peter pretended not to see that, either.

He spoke up. "Hey, I still get to be part of the team training exercise tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah. I think that sounds great." Now Steve managed a more normal smile. "I think we have some things to work on, but I have a good feeling about it if we all work together."

Peter smiled. He had a good feeling, too.