Winter Soldier

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Peter, with a sincere smile after taking a bite of noodles, nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, Captain! It's great, thank you very much for the meal and for everything."

Peter replied, still with that smile on his face, as he took another bite of pasta.

"There's no need to be so formal, kid. Captain's only on missions. Here, you can just call me Steve."

Steve replied with a warm and welcoming tone, facing Peter.

"Okay, Cap... I mean Steve."

Peter retorted, almost making the mistake of calling Steve by the formal title he had been told not to use. He quickly corrected himself, realizing the slip in time and adjusting himself in the chair with one hand behind his head, revealing his slight discomfort.

"I'm glad you liked it! After all, Wanda was the one who came up with the idea to make this dish."

Steve added, with a genuine smile on his face, as he pointed with a subtle gesture towards the redhead, who now showed a blush of slight embarrassment at being mentioned in the conversation.

After Steve said that, Wanda started to feel a little embarrassed, but this intensified when Peter turned to her with a sincere smile on his face and thanked her.

Wanda tried to hide her embarrassment upon receiving Peter's thanks, but her eyes shone with gratitude and a certain pride mixed with shyness. She looked down for a moment, subtly stirring the food on her plate, before responding in a soft voice:

"Ah, it wasn't a big deal. I'm glad you liked your choice."

While dinner continued in a relaxed manner and everyone talked normally, the only person there who ate quietly and with their head down, with their mind somewhere else, was Sam.

"Boy, is there any way you can answer a question I have?"

Sam asked, in a relaxed manner, looking at Peter.

Peter turned towards Sam and, slightly interested in the question he was going to ask, said:

"If I know the answer, I don't see why I shouldn't answer it."

"And I wanted to know if that giant lizard you faced and that appeared in the newspaper was your first villain."

Sam asked, with a curious expression on his face, as he waited for an answer from Peter.

"Not really. I also faced others before him. My first villain, if I'm not mistaken, was a guy called Chameleon, but after him I also faced others."

Peter took a deep breath, preparing to narrate one of the most difficult battles he had.

"And there was one, in particular, that I even had a little trouble with. I remember it as if it were yesterday. That day, I was injured a lot, I was in bed for months, and I have rapid regeneration."

Peter added, while remembering that day. After that, he made an ugly face remembering the beating he had received.

Natasha, curious about this villain that Peter had faced, decided to ask, but without any malice or malice behind it.

"And who was this villain that left you like this?"

After Natasha's question, Peter placed his hand on his chin as he tried to remember the name.

"I don't know if it was because of the beating I took or if it was because of the trauma I received, but I can't remember almost anything from that specific day..."

Peter said, with a neutral expression, as he paused briefly before continuing.

"But if there's one thing I can remember very clearly, it's your arm made of really tough material, breaking my rib."

After Peter said that, both Natasha and Steve raised their eyebrows, as they knew someone with that peculiarity, but they weren't sure yet.

"But, do you know his name?"

Natasha asked calmly, trying to undo any change, both in expression and in her voice.

"His name, I don't know, but... while I was getting beaten up by him, I kind of heard some people calling him by the name Winter Soldier."

After Peter said that name, Steve and Natasha automatically looked at each other. Before, what was a simple suspicion had just been confirmed.

Steve didn't want to believe that his best friend almost killed a child. Natasha, realizing that it could end up revealing something, decided to intervene.

"Peter, are you sure that was his name?"

Natasha asked, while trying to hide some of her concern.

"I can't say with complete certainty if that was his name, but that's what he was being called..."

Peter replied with a tone of uncertainty in his voice, as he paused briefly.

"And that's also what I heard from Mr. Fury. He told me that this Winter Soldier was responsible for more than twenty murders in the last fifty years alone. As for whether that part is true or not, I don't know that, until because after that beating, I never met him again."

After Peter said that, the expression on Steve's face changed to a sad one, but it was also mixed with a slight discomfort. However, as everyone was so oblivious to the conversation, they didn't even notice anything different.

After that, a brief silence was about to settle in the room. Therefore, Pietro broke it down by complementing what Peter had just said.

"I also heard a lot about him when I was trapped in HYDRA. There, they said he was the most perfect killing weapon ever created."

Pietro said, while leaving almost everyone impressed, except Peter, who had already fought with him, and Natasha and Steve, as they already knew that person.

Steve, upon hearing that, was unable to hide his discomfort.

Just like Pietro, who hadn't been able to feel the tense atmosphere that was forming around Steve, Sam did the same thing.

"Now, I'm curious. How did you find this guy?"

Sam asked, still a little curious as to how Peter had met this person, whom not even he, being a war veteran, would want to meet.

"Well, since it's been a while since it happened, I don't remember much. So, I apologize."

Said Peter, a little embarrassed about it, but already letting them know.