"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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"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."