Raising Cain

Brothers by choice and by blood

So this one goes out to Athena Silverwolf on ff.net who asked me to do a bonding time between Steve and Percy. I really hope you like it cos it turned out angstier than I thought it would so, sorry about that. Anyway, again guys, if you wanna see something, just pm me or put it in a review. I would love to do it. Also unless someone gives me a good idea for the next one, it's gonna be Percy beating up on Steve AND Bucky for what the civil war trailer gave away and is something I'm nearly done with. Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy!

Percy was pounding a punching bag when Steve walked into the gym; the nineteen-nearly twenty- year old was going at it like his life depended on it, rage in his every movement. He spared Steve only a glance before he returned to slowly destroying the bag as if it had personally offended him. Steve couldn't say he blamed the kid, not after what happened earlier that day.

~memory~

The Fantastic Four were on holiday for a bit, Steve wasn't sure about the exact details and at the moment he really didn't care. Doom was attacking New York again and about half the Avengers were unattainable since Thor was in Asgard and Bruce and Nat had disappeared somewhere for a week. Great going guys. Of all times they had to pick now? Apparently, yes.

Anyway, after a long and hard battle, Clint and Bucky were on the ground fighting doom bots since both eventually ran out of ammo. They were eventually joined by Percy and all three were holding their own pretty well. Until they weren't and Percy was about to be overwhelmed by the five bots that had cornered him.

Steve didn't know if Percy would have been able to get out of the situation himself, he probably would have been able to but Bucky- Bucky didn't work on maybes and what ifs. He operated on worst case scenarios and dealt with them accordingly. He took a hit for the kid and very nearly died. Even with Stark's tech, he was still not entirely out of the woods just yet; it would take a bit before he was fully healed.

Percy's fury was a sight to behold. A shock wave of power erupted from the young demigod, water from the rivers nearby freezing the bots and tearing them apart. The raw power that burst from him destroyed everything that could be classified an enemy within a mile radius. The last time Percy had been like this was when Pietro nearly died. It was just as terrifying as it had been then.

~back to the present~

So really, he couldn't blame the kid for taking out his frustrations on a punching bag while their brother (Percy's by blood and his by choice) lay unconscious in the infirmary. Especially considering he planned on doing the same himself.

As he wrapped his hands with tape to protect them from the rough leather of the bags, he noticed Percy had taken no such precautions and his knuckles were red and raw. God, how long has he been here? he thought. Clearly far too long but he needed the distraction so he let the kid be for now. In the meantime Steve lost himself in taking out his own frustrations on the red leather bag in front of him.

After a while he was disturbed by a continuous soft plink sound. Turning, he was horrified to see blood literally dripping from the demigod's hands, never missing a beat as he hit the bag, a continuous barrage of punches, never slowing, never faltering.

"Percy? Percy! C'mon kid, I'm not sure where exactly you're lost in that head of yours but you need to come out. I'm not very good at this. I mean, Tony can bring you out of a flashback, Bucky can too obviously, but I'm not the best at dealing with this sort of thing. I probably shouldn't have mentioned Bucky right? See, this is what I mean when I say I'm not good at this sort of thing." Steve knew he was rambling by this point but he was kinda freaking out so cut him some slack.

Percy was slowly pulled back to reality by a soft voice, speaking nearly as rapidly as Stark and most definitely rambling. He shook his head to clear it and raised a hand to his face. That was just about when he noticed the blood that was dripping off his closed fists. Recoiling sharply, he attempted to wipe his hands on his jeans, panicking more as the blood still dripping from his knuckles was spread all over his hands by the action.

"Percy!" Steve's voice finally cut through to Percy as he grabbed his hands, bringing him out of his panicked haze. "C'mon, you need to calm down. Bucky wouldn't want you like this. I should know."

"That's probably because you would try and play hero and get yourself beaten up by people much stronger you while you had a boatload of health problems." Percy said, his voice hoarse, with anger or pain Steve couldn't tell, although there was a small hint of amusement about it. He wasn't wrong though. Bucky was a natural caretaker, he was there for the both of them when they needed it, regardless of consequences to himself. Him being in near critical condition because of it was inevitable, he knew it and Percy knew it too. Didn't mean either had to accept it.

"Yeah well, I guess both of us were stubborn bastards back in the day. I picked fights and he finished them. Saved me a lot more times than I care to remember." He said when the silence between them got to be too much.

Percy scoffed. "Back in the day? You still are. Especially you, don't bother denying it. Wilson's told me stories. I mean, jumping off a helicarrier on the off chance he'd catch you? That's like, my level of crazy." Steve let out a small chuckle as Percy sighed. "But yeah, he's good at that isn't he? Saving us even when we don't know we need it." His tone grew bitter then, an undercurrent of anger running through him as he rubbed a hand over his face. "Doesn't matter if it puts himself at risk though, does it. Gods! Why does he have to be so stupid? I've been taking care of myself for seven years, he shouldn't have to endanger himself for me!"

"Percy-" Steve began only to be cut off by the demigod who slumped to the floor in defeat, head in his hands.

"I just got him back. I don't want to lose him again because he got hurt saving me. There are rules even Hades has to follow. I just got him back." His voice was soft and tears sparkled in his eyes as he lifted his head to look at Steve, looking for all the world as if he were a lost child.

"I can't lose him either kid. I spent a long time thinking he was dead only to find he was enslaved by HYDRA. I'm not losing him again and neither are you."

Percy nodded before slowly getting to his feet. He ran a hand through his hair, before quickly fisting them in his pocket when he remembered the state they were in. He swallowed thickly before nodding once more at Steve who caught the unspoken thanks in his eyes, and made an excuse to leave. Steve let him go and after a minute punched the bag hard enough to break it. He waited about ten minutes before going after Percy. God only knew the kid shouldn't be alone after everything. If it got too bad he'd call in the big guns, aka Tony and Clint. He really didn't care if they were busy.