The taxi ride didn't take as long as Peter had thought it would. May hummed happily beside him as they pulled up to the run-down apartment building.
His aunt didn't seem to be bothered by the appearance of the place as she hopped out and waited for Peter to grab his bag.
"Got everything?" She asked kindly. He nodded.
"Yup. But I have my key for the apartment if there is anything I forgot." He assured her.
They headed upstairs to the apartment of one Matthew Murdock.
May knocked politely and they waited for only a moment before the door opened.
"Hello Matt," May greeted, taking the man's hand.
"Hello May, didn't have trouble finding the place I hope?" Matt Murdock smiled.
"No, no problems. Thank you again for keeping my boy for a few days. It's not that I don't trust him, but I feel so much better if he was with an adult. He has a habit of finding trouble, even when he isn't looking." She shot the teen a glance that said she clearly suspected he found then he should.
Peter expertly avoided her stare.
Matt chuckled.
"Teenagers, right?" He commented lightly. "Come on in."
Peter had been in Matt's apartment before, but it wasn't a story he was willing to share with his aunt. He had been out of it at the time, and Matt had to look after him.
May gave Peter a hug and kissed his cheek.
"Alright sweetie, I will be back in a few days. Be good for Mr. Murdock!"
"Of course, Aunt May. Please don't worry and have a good time with your friends. You deserve a vacation."
May kissed him again.
"OK. You boys have a good time. Bye!"
Once May left Matt tilted his head towards Peter with a smirk.
"So how long were you planning on waiting before hauling the suit out of your bag?" He asked.
Peter pulled a face.
"How did you know I even had it?" Peter demanded. Matt simply raised an eyebrow and Peter had to concede the point. He would never go anywhere without it. "Well, I was going to wait till this evening anyway."
"Well you might have to wait longer then that. I thought since your Aunt was taking a vacation maybe we should too. When was the last time you took a night off?"
That was a loaded question and Peter wasn't stupid enough to answer. He hadn't taken a night off since Matt had been hurt, in fact he had expanded his parole zone to include Hell's kitchen, so his mentor could take the time to heal.
Matt shook his head when the teen remained silent.
"That's what I thought."
"Where are we going?" Peter asked, he was curious despite himself.
"Well, normally I'd be drinking with Foggy at the bar if I wanted to relax, but that's obviously not what you will be doing. May would definitely disapprove of that."
That would have been an understatement. His thought was cut off by another knock at the door. Matt disappeared for a moment and when he came back, he was followed by two more people.
Steve Rogers and James "Bucky" Barnes strolled in, both decked out in the best hiking gear. Peter stared at them as if they had three heads.
"Hey Pete!" Steve called with a growing smile at the teens confused look. "This, as you probably know, is my friend Bucky. He couldn't stay away when I told him what was happening this weekend."
"What is happening this weekend?!" Peter demanded eyeing the soldier's boots, and utility belt.
"Have you ever been anywhere outside the city?" Matt asked.
"No," Peter admitted.
"Well, we need to change that. It'll be nice to get away from all the sounds." Matt admitted.
"Let's not waste time here! We have a three-hour drive ahead of us and I am excited to see what the hell Steve plans on doing with a blind man and a teenager in the middle of a state park!" Bucky declared with a huge smile.
Peter frowned at the other man. He would be the first to admit he knew nothing about camping, but he was sure Matt would prove to be more then capable. To be fair, Bucky didn't know who he really talking about.
Downstairs, Steve was super proud to show them the new Jeep he had rented jus for this adventure. It had all the bells and whistles. Moments latter they were on their way.
The city lights, sounds, and the tall buildings slowly disappeared into walls of green. The highway merged into a two-lane road, where cars became scarce and houses even more rare.
At one-point Steve even pulled the car to the side of the road so Peter could see a Deer in the wild.
The teen stared out the window in wide eyed wonder which made both Steve and Bucky smirk to each other. Matt smiled as well but it was more because he could almost feel the tension leaving the tightly-wound teens body.
Finally, they arrived at the Rangers station out side the park. Steve got out and stretched his tall frame and took a deep breath of fresh air.
"Oh yeah! This is what I am talking about!" He declared. Bucky joined him and looked around at the greenery.
"Yup, this is pretty nice! All this open space, greenery, and no one shooting at us!"
Peter had to silently agree. But the rustle of the leaves, and the buzz of insects was a bit unnerving, as if there was something sitting in wait, ready to pounce.
"Calm down Peter," Matt laughed, "It's different for sure but there is nothing to fear out here."
"If you say so," Peter said uncertainly. His heightened senses seemed to be straining to pick up anything in this environment, but it was an odd sensation not a painful one.
Steve came back from the station and put a paper pass in the car window. Then he opened the trunk.
"Alright everyone, here are your bags. I didn't put too much in yours Matt, I wasn't sure how well you can navigate out here, plus Peter can handle the extra." Steve said.
"No worries," Matt replied, "I feel my surroundings well enough."
Bucky was watching the interaction with a mixture of amusement and confusion. It only increased when he saw Peter's bag was almost as big Steve's. He didn't say anything though, he just stood back and waited.
Peter didn't notice the older man staring at him and lifted the bag without any problems.
Steve hefted his own gear onto his shoulder and pulled out the map.
"Alright troop! We have a nice two-hour hike into our campsite so let's get going!"
The super-soldier took the lead followed by Bucky then Matt. Peter took up the rear, making sure Matt didn't have any issues but also allowed himself to gape openly at his surroundings without the men making fun of him.
Bucky glanced back a couple time to see Matt picking his way along the trail about as well as any man with vision, and Peter carrying the massive rucksack without even breaking a sweat.
"So, what aren't you telling me about your new stray and his blind lawyer?" Bucky asked quietly. Steve glanced over at him and smiled.
"What do you mean Buck? They are just a couple of nice guys."
"Right. And I am Tony Stark's daddy." Bucky said with a raised eyebrow.
Peter and Matt could both hear the conversation no problem, but they kept their mouth's shut and just grinned.
They made it to the campsite by early afternoon. Peter followed Steve's instructions to set up two tents, then helped gather wood for a fire.
"Great! Now, how about we have a little friendly competition?" Steve asked. "I brought food, but I feel as though we should catch our meal."
"Sounds good to me old man," Bucky laughed, "Winner gets his dinner cooked for him?"
"You're on!" Steve smiled.
"I'll wait for you lot here, I am going to enjoy the peace and quiet." Matt said as he settled himself onto one of the fold-up chairs. Steve and Bucky looked to Peter. He wasn't given a choice.
That is how he found himself on the lake's edge with a twisted-up fishing line and the beginnings of a sun burn.
The teen snorted to himself and tossed the fishing rod aside.
"Alright Parker, you have the IQ of a genius and the reflexes of a super hero. Surely you can catch a couple freakin' fish!" He muttered.
Upon searching the area Peter found a tree over hanging the clear water. With sticky fingers it was no problem to position himself precariously over the surface. From this vantage point he could make out the forms of the fish underneath him.
Fingering his web-shooter he ran the calculations through his head. The web solution could go through a little bit of water and still work, but it wouldn't be able to go very deep before dissolving.
Carefully he leaned forward to time his shot perfectly. Just as the web splashed into the water a loud crack and a blare of his spidey-sense warned him too late of the impending danger.
He crashed into the water with a surprised yelp. Soaked from head to toe, and still sitting in knee deep lake he looked up to see Steve and Bucky standing on the shore. Laughing.
Peter's face burnt red the whole walk back to camp. He glanced up at Matt and could sense he was going to ask but he bolted into his tent to change before the man got the chance.
The event left his mind once the group was settled in around the campfire. Steve had shown Peter how to gut and cook the fish but then supplemented the meal with food he had brought.
Bucky again had a look of confusion on his face as he watched the skinny teen pack away just as much food as the Captain.
"Did you find him in a mini-me super-soldier orphanage?" Bucky demanded. Steve smiled at him per usual but said nothing.
Matt chuckled into his plate of food.
Peter was enjoying himself until a loud, human like scream, made him jump to his feet in panic. The three adults were close behind him.
"What was that!?" He demanded.
"A bear," Steve said slowly, "A not-very-happy bear."
"So that's our cue to leave right?!" Peter breathed. Matt shushed him with a hand movement and they heard the sound again.
"It's in pain." Matt determined somehow. That gave Peter pause.
"What would hurt a bear? Isn't it the biggest predator out here?"
"Bears can fight with each other, but most likely the culprit is a human." Steve informed him.
They heard the bawling again, and despite the fear Peter took off in the direction of the sound.
"Peter! Wait …" He heard one of the guys' yell, then their foot falls as they followed him into the woods.
As he got closer, he could feel his spidey-sense start to tingle. The dark was so absolute in the woods he had a hard time finding his way, if he didn't have his heighten senses, he would never have found the poor creature.
A large female black bear was huffing and pulling at a tooth foot trap that was snapped over it's front paw. Blood could be seen splattered over the ground. Behind the big bear there were two small cubs halfway up a tree.
The bear caught wind of him and started to pull and huff in earnest. The two cubs cried from their nearby perch.
Peter should have waited for the men to show up, but he saw a problem and his conscience would not let him walk away. Fortunately, he came armed with his web shooters, and he trusted the strength of his web fluid to be enough to contain a three hundred pound black bear.
The teen spoke very calmly to the beast, hoping it at least understood he was not there to hurt her. He aimed carefully so as not to cause more work for himself later. First, he bound the bear to the ground by it three free paws, that way it couldn't cause more damage. Then he side-stepped to catch the bear on the side of its muzzle, it took three attempts to get that shot right.
Now that the bear had no where to go, and no weapons to defend itself, Peter guessed it would be safe to approach. His palms were clammy enough he had to wipe them on the side of his pants as he inched his way forward, still calmly talking.
"I know this is scary, and I am sorry that you had to endure this thing with your babies right here, but if you could just let me take it off, I can get you on your way."
The bears dark eyes followed his every movement, and the cubs continued to cry.
The crunching of dry leaves and twigs alerted him to the other men arriving. Peter ignored them as they stopped short of the clearing. They wanted to yell at him and pull him away, but he was too close now, and they could only stand there in tense silence and watch.
The teen reached out timidly and gently pressed his hand onto the bears forehead. Her fur was a little course, but her body was warm, and her breathing was a steady in and out.
"Ok, this is good. Right? I am just going to reach down here and pry this off. I am no medic but I can at least seal up the wounds enough to slow the bleeding. Easy, now, easy."
Peter kneeled in front of the bear and hooked his fingers around the metal. He was aware this paw was still equipped with deadly daggers so, with a deep breath to steady his hands he pulled the large trap apart. Accidently tearing the metal completely in two.
Shocking himself with the strength, he set the pieces aside and got to his feet again.
"Ok. The trap is off. I have a soluble here that will disintegrate that webbing if you don't want to wait around for it to dissolve. How about I go ahead and put a bit of this on your paws huh?"
The little eye dropper bottle held enough solution to put a couple drips on all the bindings.
It would take thirty seconds for it to work through the strands, so Peter took that time to step back to where the three men were waiting for him. Steve's and Matt's fingers bit into his upper arms as they pulled him back and held him as if he was going to do something stupid again.
As the webbing fell away the bear took a tentative step back then grunted. Its large head swung to its injured paw for a moment the over it's shoulder to where the two cubs were still treed.
Two low grunts had the cubs scrambling down the trees and to their mothers' side. The bear looked back at the teen one last time before the family lumbered off into the woods.
Matt was the first one to speak.
"You really do have a hero complex, you know, that right?" He snapped. "I can't even take you on vacation without you throwing yourself head first into danger!"
"Don't tell Aunt May!" Peter suddenly pleaded. His face having lost all colour.
"Tell your Aunt that I let you tackle a bear rescue? Oh yeah, I would definitely be able to see you again after I say that." He sighed loudly. "Maybe I should have just taken you to the bar with Foggy!"
Steve shook his head and pulled the boy into a hug.
"Don't do that again. Please. You have to be smarter then that." He whispered.
"It was hurt. What was I supposed to do?"
"Wait for us. Wait for the four of us to come up with a plan to help. It doesn't always have to be you!"
Peter nodded. The walk back to camp was a silent one.
Steve made a call to the ranger station to let them know about the illegal trap while Peter and Matt took a seat by the fire. The teen could tell his mentor was still fuming at him, so he wisely shut his mouth.
Bucky finally spoke up.
"I am sorry, but you all need to fill me in here! Where the hell did you get this kid? Was that web stuff coming out of you? Was I the only one that saw the fucking bear trap get torn in half!?"