"He has something important to come back to. To fight The Other Guy for control for." He didn't explain further than that. Stark might take it that he meant the team, or how charming he found himself, but the truth was, Maria gave Bruce a center. Something that ran deeper than a team of people who were will in the process of learning to work together. Steve knew that regardless of what the Avengers were doing now, they would make sure Maria was okay until Bruce got back.
Not that he was all that worried about her physically. She was in damn fine shape, and had better training than most of the survivors. It was the mental toll that he worried about. Losing someone you care about was never easy; losing them when the world seemed on it's way to hell made it worse. He took notice of every tree that was missing from it's place. A path made of rage and who knew what else. The ghosts had taken their toll on many.
He clutched the shield tight, ready to deflect any attack. His senses on high alert given where they were, and what had happened the last time he escorted someone out of their safety zone. Pausing, he settled in a crouch to study the ground and the brush on either side of them. After a long moment of memorizing everything, he nodded toward the right. "Someone went through this way without taking care to cover their tracks."
It could be any number of people or things, but he was hoping it would be a lead on Bruce. Maybe it would give them a lead to bring him home to Maria.