[PSL] Steve and Sam ; mid-Winter Soldier

[stark_spangled]

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[sizeofyourbaggage]

Oh, that's encouraging. But really, no matter what condition it's in, Sam'll take it. He'd prefer 'ready for a day of hanging out,' but it's not like he doesn't know that being Captain America means that probably doesn't happen very often.

Honestly, Sam'd started to see a little of that respect when Steve actually showed up at the VA. From a lot of people, 'I'll keep that in mind,' was a very polite 'not a chance.' Especially around a subject as touchy as trying to get a soldier to realize there's options out there, that they don't have to go it alone.

His smile widens when Steve laughs, turning from teasing to just a little bit pleased. It always feels like a win when Sam can get a real laugh out of someone, and he gets the feeling it doesn't happen with Steve as often as it should. "Yeah? I'll remember that next time I need a recommendation for a pizza place."

He takes another drink of water, nodding his head slightly in acknowledgement. They've got plenty of time, and that kind of figuring out doesn't happen in an afternoon.

"Your partner, that the redhead in the gorgeous Corvette?" She'd been pretty gorgeous herself, but it'd only taken Sam one look - and he can own up to the fact that he'd definitely looked - to get that there was a hell of a lot more to her than gorgeous.

"Sounds like she knows what she's talking about. Everyone needs hobbies, man, what'd you like to do before?" Usually when Sam asks that question, he means before the war, but here? Well hell, he's not even entirely sure.

[stark_spangled]

"You do that," Steve fires back, as easy as a Sunday afternoon. The smiling and laughing he needs some work on, but bantering and exchanging good-natured insults? That sort of thing you never lose, if you're going to survive working with the kind of people SHIELD works with. It means he feels comfortable enough to let his guard down, anyway.

His smile grows a lot more lopsided when Sam asks about Natasha. "I'm surprised you even noticed the car."

When Natasha's in the vicinity, she tends to grab attention. It's what she's good at, and Steve's not so cynical that he can't admit she earns it, beauty, skill, or not. There's a lot more to her than meets the eye. He just wishes she'd let him see it every so often without wondering if she's just playing him. He sighs without even thinking about it, and bobs his head.

"Yeah. I guess I can be kind of focused," he admits, which is a watered-down way of saying he takes everything a little too seriously. It drives her crazy. "Before?"

He leans back for this one. There's a quip like the one he gave Natasha dancing on the tip of his tongue, because it's easier defusing the conversation with self-deprecation and jokes about barbershop quartets than it is to let himself think about how everything he knew really is dead and gone. But he knows when the moment is wrong, and right now he'd rather be honest. It still comes with a small, dismissive wave of his hand, though. "I was an artist. I used to work as a freelance illustrator before the war."