MUSIC PLAYED IN the apartment. Clint Barton was in the bathroom freshening up while Kate and Y/N were in the living room. Pizza Dog was on the floor beside the couch the boy laid on.
Y/N wore a black t-shirt and shorts that Kate ended up giving him. He had only underwear underneath his Spider-Man suit, so he was thankful. His damaged and ripped suit was in a bundle on a seat nearby.
He let out a long exhale, recovering from the tiredness and discomfort from his ordeal with Rhino. It's been a little over an hour since then, and his healing factor was doing work. Still, Kate tried applying any form of first aid beforehand...which made the recovery more bearable.
"You feeling okay?" Kate asked as she stood over him.
He nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I've...I've gone through worse."
"I bet." She said with a breathy laugh. "You've...I know you've been through a lot."
Y/N looked at her as she continued. The girl crossed her arms.
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"You're Spider-Man. I remember hearing about you and the airport battle in Germany back when I was twelve. When you took down Vulture and helped the Avengers defeat Thanos."
"Yup. Did those things." He simply replied.
"You're a superhero. An Avenger." She knelt beside him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
There was a beat as Y/N stared at Kate, thinking about how to answer that question. The teenager sighed and looked away.
"I've learned that letting people in on such a secret...can cause more harm than good. I've seen the consequences of that mistake...experienced it. I don't...I don't want that to happen again. Especially to someone...I care about."
He looked back at Kate as she attentively listened. Y/N continued.
"You said it well before. Spider-Man doesn't need the recognition or appreciation. He needs just to know people are safe. Give their families hope. Make sure those around him are okay...that the people around me are."
Kate looked down at her hands. "You thought I'd get hurt if I knew?"
"You can definitely handle yourself. You've proven that ever since I've known you and especially these last couple of days. But there's still that part of me that believes that the day something serious happens to you...it'll be because of me. It'll be my fault. Just because you know who I am."
"You shouldn't blame yourself if—"
"Spider-Man will always have enemies. I've made some already, just like this Ronin guy has in the past." He interjected. "It scared me at first, getting close to you, and I battled with myself on whether I should push you away or let you in."
Kate kept staring at Y/N. "And which part won the battle?"
Y/N had glanced away but ultimately looked back at the raven-haired girl.
