"You were still very brave," he repeated, since he so rarely acknowledged other people at all let alone the dangers that they had just possibly exposed themselves to. He admired in his own way that Steve had not hesitated to go down that alley despite the fact that he knew his friend could have been the one to end up injured. The weapons of today were different and heroes were more likely to end up dead for helping. He had gone to keep Steve safe, but he certainly never wanted to coddle his friend; he knew it would never be tolerated.

Even now as they walked, he didn't slow his pace much despite awareness that Steve no doubt struggled to keep up with him. He moved well and was keenly aware of his location, the depth of Steve's breathing, the way his friend put one foot in front of the other and subtly shifted his own gait to keep things as easy as possible without making it seem like he was going to make Steve feel babied. He knew his friend could do it, and so he simply gave Steve an opportunity to do that even as they neared the apartment. "Maybe we'll both fit really comfortably inside it. You can still lay on me though if you want."