a lack of familiarity with someone when they know him is not an uncommon occurrence. whereas his face is well-known to general public, he does not know those of everyone who can speak his name, nor does he know their titles. and that can be rather disarming, having people know details about his personal life when he’s blind to those of everyone else. and still he finds himself directing attention at the woman who has called out to him, and with her choice of words, he can tell that there might be something wrong here. nothing about this currently one-sided conversation settles right with him.
he allows the muscles just above his brow to become more prominent as he narrows his eyes slightly, measuring her words and deciding just what sort of response is the appropriate one here, but seeing as hers isn’t exactly commonplace, he doesn’t see why his has to be either.
❝ can’t say that i agree, about it being pointless, but everyone has their opinions, i guess. ❞
the search continues for a friend repeatedly lost and found, and that in itself, the fact that he is, as far as steve knows, free again, that’s enough for him.
"oh, it's not an opinion. it's an observation."
she can't say she's a fan of superheroes. coulson and his band of merry misfits she can handle -- between them all, they harbor enough moral ambiguity to kill a grown man. but everything is always so painfully black and white with superhero types. one thing is good; another is bad. saving lives is good; sacrificing them is bad. never mind the big picture, the long-term consequences, the ultimate fallout.
anyone whose morality is so strict that they would never murder one to save thousands loses some of her respect.
but she digresses.
"you underestimated hydra, captain. their numbers - their reach - their resources. and in your misinformed quest to defeat them, you succeeded only in bringing down the one organization capable of opposing them. shield lies in ruin while hydra remains strong. i'd call that pointless -- if not a loss in its entirety."
