Pride Is Not The Word I'm Looking For

Chapter 11

-+*+- Peter -+*+-

Peter ducked a punch aimed at his head and in one fluid motion, then he sidestepped and swept his opponent's legs from under them. His attacker stumbled up and regained their fighting position. Their arms were up and loosely protecting their face.

"Bring it on Kid," Captain America said with a confident grin.

Peter smirked and charged at the super-soldier again. They were sparing over who made dinner. Tony was fighting Natasha, while Bucky was paired with Wanda, and Rhodey was with Sam. Peter knew that he wasn't going to get picked to make them dinner even if he lost all the fights but he still tried. He wanted to prove something. He didn't know what it was. All he knew was that he wanted it.

His spider-sense wasn't working too well but he still fought with all he had. His moves were slower than normal and it felt like he was trying to fight in water. It was apparent earlier that his senses weren't going to be of much use when Cap had floored him with a single punch. After a string of apologies from the war veteran, they fought again.

He reacted too slowly when Steve launched himself towards him and knocked him over on his back. The burn on his chest stung and it almost brought tears to the teenager's eyes. He clenched his teeth and got back up again.

Peter jumped over a low kick that Steve tried landing, he landed back on the ground behind his opponent, and knocked the super-soldier over with a kick to his back. He stumbled over and landed on his stomach with a huff.

Peter heard a chuckle from the other side of the training room. He turned and saw Natasha sitting on Tony's back. He was lying on the floor with his head to the side looking at Peter with amused but annoyed eyes. He was not happy with how his fight with Nat went.

Natasha was smiling at him with approval and Tony tried shaking Natasha off. She looked down and smacked him over the head. He stayed down.

"Nice job kid," Steve said, picking himself off the floor and stretching his arms.

"Thanks Mr. Captain America Sir," Peter replied with a blush creeping up his face.

He heard Tony snicker from under Natasha and his blush deepened.

"You don't need to call me that Kid," Steve explained, "Just call me Steve."

"Okay Mr. Steve."

Tony barked a laugh from across the room and Steve even cracked a smile and shook his head. Peter looked down at the ground.

"Why you looking so down son? You just beat a super-soldier in combat for the first time," Steve asked.

Peter looked up with a smile. "Technically, I've bested you at least three times now," Peter smirked and heard Tony laugh from the other side of the room. He had apparently been freed from Natasha's grasp and was now grabbing a bottled water while everyone else was cooling down.

Steve laughed and shook his head. "You sure did."

They walked to where the others were sitting on the floor. They were all exhausted and sweaty. They breathed heavily and chugged water for about five minutes before Natasha pointed something out.

"Peter," She said cautiously, "You're bleeding."

Peter followed her eyes to the spot on his chest. Yeah, he was bleeding. Blood was soaking through the light gray fabric that made up his workout shirt. He was mesmerized for a moment. The deep crimson tendrils floated around on his chest and all he could do was stare.

"-ete, come on." Peter snapped out of his trance and looked upwards to see Tony standing and holding out a hand for him to grab.

He took the offered hand and stood up. They left the room and walked down one of the many corridors of Stark Tower. They stopped at what seemed to be a bathroom and walked in.