He bites his tongue. Almost explaining that for some time he was alone. Surrounded by SHIELD agents and Fury. People telling him it'll be okay and that he just needs to properly slide back into the world. But not one of them understood the difficulty of it all. Seeing the world so drastically changed. It didn't matter if he was a hero once upon a time before the ball got rolling he was Steve Rogers. The world had forgotten about Captain America.
Steve shakes his head quickly. "You're not outdated, Claire. You're just a little behind." He refuses to admit that. She was one of the smartest nurses he knew back during the war. Quick thinking. Clever. She always had the answer. "You're surrounded by a bunch of people who get shot at constantly. We could use a few more hands that know how to patch up a bullet wound. We'll get you caught up if you want." Tony can make miracles happen. Bruce as well.
There's a heavy sigh that unintentionally falls from his lips. "Truthfully I don't know. I wanna say yes. Tony built a suit that flies from metal. Bruce turns into a giant green monster. Thor's trying to find another tear out there. He's a god. You're surrounded by a lot of impossible people. They sort of specialize in this. We're not gonna give up on you. You have my word."
She lifts an eyebrow at that. A little? Medically speaking, she might as well be from the middle ages. But she understands that he's trying to help, trying to make her feel better, and though she doubts anything can do that right now, she appreciates the effort. He's always been a sweetheart. Good to see that hasn't changed.
"And if I do go back, what? They'll think I'm mad. That Captain America is now in 2000-something, and I've been there to see it." She motions at the room around them. "How am I supposed to explain all this, or simply go on as usual? And what stops me from screwing up history?"
Maybe a little isn't the right way to put it, but Steve knows she's smart enough to catch on. She was one of the smartest women he knew back then. She could easily catch up on what she needed. Tony would figure something out for her. Some way to fast track and apply the knowledge she had before to things now. He knows it seems bleak now for her, but that's just the fear talking. Eventually her instincts will kick in.
"I doubt Howard or Peggy will think you're crazy. Howard's always been a forward thinker." Steve gives a light raise of his shoulders. Not entirely sure that he has all the answers she wants. He's just as empty and lost as the rest of them. "I don't know, Claire. Maybe one day you'll make things better if that happens."
They aren't, but he doesn't want to lie to her. He doesn't want to pretend he has all the answers. Because it's not the truth. But one thing Steve does know is that he'll figure this out for her and with her. Together. He's not gonna stop until he can make this easier on her.
He steps towards the bed and takes a seat. He reaches out tentatively and presses a warm hand to the middle of her back. "Don't apologize. I know I don't have the answers now, but that doesn't mean we won't find them. It's just gonna take some time."
The touch goes mostly unnoticed, though she does lift her head to look at him. "And until then? I doubt anyone here is going to let me wander down the street with how quickly you all brought me here. What if I meet... some descendant of mine? Or stumble into some nursing home and find myself, if I somehow manage to cling to life this long?"
"Hey. No. We're not treating you like a prisoner, Claire. Nat's actually on that right now. She's trying to hunt you down and anyone that might have come from you. She'll get those answers and then we'll make a plan." It's a lot to swallow. The fact that you could still exist out there somewhere. Older. Different. Aged. He doesn't want to think too long about it because it makes him think of Peggy. How time took her mind in pieces. "We only brought you here so quickly cause we wanted to give you some stability. When I first woke up from the ice they thought it'd be better to ease me into things. So, they stuck me in some set up room to make me think I was still in my time period. Only the details were wrong. All of them. All it did was scare me. So, I ran. I ran and suddenly I found myself in the middle of Times Square. Overloaded and trying to make sense of things. I didn't want that for you." He wants to ease her into this if he can.
Still the hero, still looking out for others. It's a different picture that's painted when he explains. If anyone would understand this--it'd be him. She tries not to think about the possibilities. She's either old, very old, or buried in the ground. Perhaps not even that. A life time has passed. Maybe she died in a car accident, like her parents, or got ill, or never made it back home after the war.
"Sorry," she apologies again, shaking her head and looking back down at her lap. "I'm just... scared. This doesn't feel real. I shouldn't be able to talk to you."
Him, of all people. They all thought he was lost forever.
"No more apologizing." He smiles. "I don't accept them cause they're not needed." He doesn't want her thinking she's done anything wrong or it's her fault. Because it's not. He won't pin that on. Not now. Not when everything is so clear up in the air for her. "I know. It's pretty scary, but nothing bad's gonna happen to you here, Claire. I'm gonna make sure of that."
Whatever this world offers he'll make sure it's not chaos. Just a calm. "But you can. I'm right here. I can listen as much or as little as you want me to."
"I don't even know what I can say," she says softly. She's scared. She wants to go home--but how can she? Her head is swimming and she's pretty sure if she moved to stand right now she'd topple to the floor.
"Though I don't think I said that it's good to see you again." Especially after thinking he was dead. But her initial shock at seeing him might have conveyed as much.
Steve lets out a chuckle at that. That's understandable. The shock of arriving here likely overrode any sort of shock of seeing him alive again. Peggy went through the same thing back when he sought her out. Though the memory lapses tended to make them relive that moment. It kills him every single time.
"It's good to see you too. It's been a long time since I've seen someone from home that looks the same. Part of me keeps expecting to blink and you'll just be gone." It's a sad smile, but all Steve's got these days are sad smiles.
Inappropriate, maybe, but she doubts they're simply just an army nurse and solider anymore, so there's only a moment of hesitation before Claire leans over to wrap both arms around Steve. She's need a damn hug, and maybe he does, too. Two people out of their times. It's terrifying... but it could be worse. They could be alone.
"At least I wasn't put on ice." Or whatever. That bit still confuses her, astounds her, but it all leads to this.
The hug comes as a surprise. Steve freezes at first. It's not often he gets hugs of this nature. Not often he gets hugged period. The Avengers are not really a group that does too much touching. But he returns the hug. Because it's Claire and he still remembers her kindness during the war. Someone you could more than count on back then.
"A few people have tried to convince me it's good for the skin." He squeezes her a little tighter. The ice confuses him as well. But they've come to the conclusion the ice and the serum worked in tandem to keep him preserved like that.
"Well," she says on a shaky breath out, "You haven't aged a day, that's for certain."
Pulling back some, but not entirely, she dares to lightly touch his cheek with her fingertips. He should be a corpse. Yet here he is, alive and well, just like the last time she saw him.
"They tell me I look pretty good for a ninety-seven year old. Still pretty spry too." Most people know Captain America now. Either from the past or from his entrance during the invasion of New York. It's hard to really go anywhere and just be Steve. Steve Rogers is almost starting to become the persona as opposed to Captain America. He worries sometimes.
But his smile gets a little bigger when she touches his cheek. He knows she's trying to connect what she remembers from the past to the man she sees before her. "I dunno about remarkable, but I hold my own." Still too humble for his own good.
"Apparently so. I think--I saw someone with a Captain America shirt, on the journey over here." The shuffle between vehicles and quick jaunt through the city. Strange, that. Her hand falls away, resting on his arm instead, grounding herself.
That earns a laugh. It's been a few years since the thawing out and Steve still has trouble understanding how so many people like Captain America. He always thought he'd wind up outdated. Too old fashion for people of the modern world. But they seemed to like him just fine. The merchandise back during the war was easy to follow. They were trying to raise money for the war efforts, but these days he doesn't really get it.
"Captain America's popular." He corrects. "Not so much me. I'm still just Steve." At least that's how he sees himself. Simply Steve. Kid from Brooklyn. "But you haven't seen popularity until you've seen one of Tony's Stark Expos. They're a big deal."
"Stranger and stranger still. Just Steve, even when you're... gallivanting about with gods and--whatever Stark's boy is. Though he's all grown up, isn't he?" A lifetime since her time, and she doesn't bother asking about Howard Stark. Dead and buried, likely. No use in asking about anyone really.
"It's a shame the world still needs Captain America."
She needs to spend some time alone with Thor and then think about calling him a god. Technically it's what he is, but he also hogs a bathroom like nobody's business. He grins when she talks about Tony. Whatever he is. He knows that thought. That feeling. Trying to figure out what future you walked into when that'in the skies. "He is. I think Howard would've been pretty proud of who he is now." He knows Tony has more daddy issues than the law would allow, but he knows something must've happened to Howard. Something must've changed the man he knew after he went into the ice. He just hopes it wasn't him.
"You weren't the only one to think this. I always thought he'd be a little outdated by this point. But since Stark started helping people it seems like people keep cropping up all over with agendas. World's a lot more broken than people thing. SHIELD just used to do a good job of covering it up."
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Steve shakes his head quickly. "You're not outdated, Claire. You're just a little behind." He refuses to admit that. She was one of the smartest nurses he knew back during the war. Quick thinking. Clever. She always had the answer. "You're surrounded by a bunch of people who get shot at constantly. We could use a few more hands that know how to patch up a bullet wound. We'll get you caught up if you want." Tony can make miracles happen. Bruce as well.
There's a heavy sigh that unintentionally falls from his lips. "Truthfully I don't know. I wanna say yes. Tony built a suit that flies from metal. Bruce turns into a giant green monster. Thor's trying to find another tear out there. He's a god. You're surrounded by a lot of impossible people. They sort of specialize in this. We're not gonna give up on you. You have my word."
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"And if I do go back, what? They'll think I'm mad. That Captain America is now in 2000-something, and I've been there to see it." She motions at the room around them. "How am I supposed to explain all this, or simply go on as usual? And what stops me from screwing up history?"
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"I doubt Howard or Peggy will think you're crazy. Howard's always been a forward thinker." Steve gives a light raise of his shoulders. Not entirely sure that he has all the answers she wants. He's just as empty and lost as the rest of them. "I don't know, Claire. Maybe one day you'll make things better if that happens."
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"This is just--a lot. I'm sorry." For what? She doesn't know, either. So much unknown.
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He steps towards the bed and takes a seat. He reaches out tentatively and presses a warm hand to the middle of her back. "Don't apologize. I know I don't have the answers now, but that doesn't mean we won't find them. It's just gonna take some time."
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Christ.
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"Sorry," she apologies again, shaking her head and looking back down at her lap. "I'm just... scared. This doesn't feel real. I shouldn't be able to talk to you."
Him, of all people. They all thought he was lost forever.
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Whatever this world offers he'll make sure it's not chaos. Just a calm. "But you can. I'm right here. I can listen as much or as little as you want me to."
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"Though I don't think I said that it's good to see you again." Especially after thinking he was dead. But her initial shock at seeing him might have conveyed as much.
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"It's good to see you too. It's been a long time since I've seen someone from home that looks the same. Part of me keeps expecting to blink and you'll just be gone." It's a sad smile, but all Steve's got these days are sad smiles.
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"At least I wasn't put on ice." Or whatever. That bit still confuses her, astounds her, but it all leads to this.
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"A few people have tried to convince me it's good for the skin." He squeezes her a little tighter. The ice confuses him as well. But they've come to the conclusion the ice and the serum worked in tandem to keep him preserved like that.
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Pulling back some, but not entirely, she dares to lightly touch his cheek with her fingertips. He should be a corpse. Yet here he is, alive and well, just like the last time she saw him.
"You always were remarkable."
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But his smile gets a little bigger when she touches his cheek. He knows she's trying to connect what she remembers from the past to the man she sees before her. "I dunno about remarkable, but I hold my own." Still too humble for his own good.
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"You're popular."
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"Captain America's popular." He corrects. "Not so much me. I'm still just Steve." At least that's how he sees himself. Simply Steve. Kid from Brooklyn. "But you haven't seen popularity until you've seen one of Tony's Stark Expos. They're a big deal."
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"It's a shame the world still needs Captain America."
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"You weren't the only one to think this. I always thought he'd be a little outdated by this point. But since Stark started helping people it seems like people keep cropping up all over with agendas. World's a lot more broken than people thing. SHIELD just used to do a good job of covering it up."