controlledvariable | (no subject)

[With an element of something - sadness, maybe - to his voice, he just. Exhales.]

I know. Believe me when I say I'm not trusting to divine providence on this one. But he's been out of the Second World War for less than two weeks. I'd like him to have a little peace before he hears what I have to say.

There's no peace here.

[It might be quiet at the moment, but she's sure it would've been quiet in the war sometimes. That doesn't mean it's peace.]

More than what we had back home.

[And he doesn't just mean the War.]

[She has enough not to point out things must've been really shit, then.]

Still, don't keep it to yourself too long. It seems like Yao Corp likes playing games, and if they know whatever this is...

[It could be bad.]

I'll keep my head above water, Steph. You don't have to worry.

[It's a mirror to her unspoken statement of earlier.]

Worrying's what I do best, don't take that away from me.

[She figures his comment was enough of a dismissal of the topic that she can roll in with a joke.]

Then you must be an Olympic-level worrier.

[He's still not. Comfortable joking with her, because how does frand, but he's trying.]

[She hums in agreement.]

I've got gold in worrying and in witty comebacks. It's why I have so many friends.

Well, how's one more for the pile?

[Yes he is offering to be your friend, Steph. He's good with people. And words. And pretty women.

Actually none of the above.]

Does this mean we weren't already friends?

[She's hurt, Steve.]

I did only meet you once.

[Faintly teasing.]

Hey, I hadn't even met my boss before I decided we were friends.

[That's because phone calls were a thing.

Also don't lie, Steph, you were terrified of Oracle.]

Sounds a little like friendship roulette.

[In. A weird way. Does she seriously just point and click...]

[pretty much tbh]

It's a lot more fun than the Russian version. [a beat] Actually you might wanna ask my friends about that. Their opinions might differ.

Well, I'm not really one for talking to myself--

[Steven Grant Rogers]

-- But I could always ask Bucky.

[That's cute, and it earns a small chuckle.]

You might not wanna trust his opinion, I think he's biased.

[She means it well, just that she, well, she's noticed how he looks at her. And she doesn't mind, but it is a thing.]

Well, I tend to trust his opinion regardless of bias.

[He keeps his tone light.]

That's cause you're biased too. It's a best friends thing.

[She's the same with Cass.]

Funny how that works, huh?

[But he's all fondness. Having his bff back is actually, honestly starting to sink in and Steve is damn near over the moon about it.]

I'm still getting used to it again.

[Ellie and Peter were basically her best friends in Exsilium, but it was - different. They weren't Cass.]

[Ohh chinhands that's nice she's got someone here.]

Someone from home?

Yeah, it's... a bit complicated. She thought I was dead.

[That's probably more than a bit complicated, but she's talked through it enough times that she doesn't consider it much of a secret anymore.]

[Welp, there's an uncanny similarity he wasn't quite expecting. It's probably Cassandra, he realizes. The symbols, her attitude. She'd been glad to see people, best friends, together. Ah. Very quietly,]

Were you?

[More and more he's seeing death treated as a cheapened currency. It doesn't mean what it used to. Bucky survived the fall, Steve survived the ocean ice, Coulson came back from being stabbed in the heart, and Fury took three sniper rounds to the chest and barely took a vacation.]

[It's funny, she's been dreaming about this a lot.]

Not then. My doctor faked my death and whisked me off for a vacation in Africa.

[Death has always been a cheap kind of currency for Steph; she couldn't count the number of people who've come back, but she knows she isn't important enough to be one of them, if Sionis really had managed to kill her.]

[There are a million questions he could ask, but they still barely know each other, and there's pain there, something just beneath the surface all in tatters. He'd never question her strength, it's bright and shining in her, just as much as it ever was in any soldier Steve ever served alongside, but that's no excuse to dredge up old hurts.

Just because people are strong doesn't mean they need to endure more than their share. He's seen Bucky do the same, and it never pains him less to watch.

Quietly,]

Well, if you ever want to talk about it, I've been told I'm a pretty good listener.

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