[Steve definitely understands that - he's living it. He can't stop being a soldier, it would be like throwing everything Erskine gave him on the ground and stomping it into the mud. He's Captain America, he can't ever stop being Captain America. It's his responsibility to keep going, fight the good fight, whether there's a war on or not.
He has a feeling Bucky feels the same way - would have felt the same way, if he'd gotten the chance. It's why Peggy and Howard and Phillips founded SHIELD in the first place. It's why Steve worked for SHIELD, after he woke up.
It's why, sometimes, he actually feels bad for the guys who did have to go home and become bankers, or accountants, or salesmen, or whatever else, because he doesn't know how they did it. He both envies them and respects them for it, but he knows it's just… not an option for him. And it's not an option for Bucky. It's part of the reason, he knows, why Bucky hasn't given up the uniforms.]
Yeah. It kind of is.
[Still, he tries to smile a little.] It doesn't mean a ticker tape parade and a couple of girls willing to hang on your every word wouldn't be welcome though, huh?
[It's sort of that fantasy of what every guy wanted when he got home. But regardless of the form it took… what every guy wanted was recognition. Thanks. Just some kind of acknowledgement that you went through hell, and that somebody appreciated it.
There's a really, really long pause. He isn't sure he should say this. He doesn't want to bring up Bucky's death, whether it's "real" or not, but after a minute, he sort of figures Bucky does deserve to hear this.] Your name, it's - there's this memorial. I've seen it, at the SHIELD academy. You're on it. Everyone who goes through that place knows who you are and what you did.
[Okay, that seriously might have been one of the hardest things he's ever said. And he hasn't even mentioned the Smithsonian exhibit.]
Private
He has a feeling Bucky feels the same way - would have felt the same way, if he'd gotten the chance. It's why Peggy and Howard and Phillips founded SHIELD in the first place. It's why Steve worked for SHIELD, after he woke up.
It's why, sometimes, he actually feels bad for the guys who did have to go home and become bankers, or accountants, or salesmen, or whatever else, because he doesn't know how they did it. He both envies them and respects them for it, but he knows it's just… not an option for him. And it's not an option for Bucky. It's part of the reason, he knows, why Bucky hasn't given up the uniforms.]
Yeah. It kind of is.
[Still, he tries to smile a little.] It doesn't mean a ticker tape parade and a couple of girls willing to hang on your every word wouldn't be welcome though, huh?
[It's sort of that fantasy of what every guy wanted when he got home. But regardless of the form it took… what every guy wanted was recognition. Thanks. Just some kind of acknowledgement that you went through hell, and that somebody appreciated it.
There's a really, really long pause. He isn't sure he should say this. He doesn't want to bring up Bucky's death, whether it's "real" or not, but after a minute, he sort of figures Bucky does deserve to hear this.] Your name, it's - there's this memorial. I've seen it, at the SHIELD academy. You're on it. Everyone who goes through that place knows who you are and what you did.
[Okay, that seriously might have been one of the hardest things he's ever said. And he hasn't even mentioned the Smithsonian exhibit.]