Steve laughs again in the same hollow way. It's not a 'yes'. It's pretty damn far from a yes, in fact. Just like his answer is going to be. "Depends," he says honestly, shaking his head. "I didn't lose. Losing would mean I'd be long dead. And I sort of won the second one after the helicopter hit the water."
Too much information, he thinks a bit late. Still, he shrugs and tries to cushion this blow with the only hope he'd stuck to for years, hunting Bucky down.
"The first time you almost killed me. Shot me once or twice," or three times, "but when I dropped my shield and stopped fighting? You could have finished it. And you didn't. You actually pulled me out of the water before I drowned. It...meant you were still in there. After everything. You were still in there."
His smile is honest now. Almost warm. He knows that all will be hard to hear but the end is what matters. The end that shows, even in the worst moment, Bucky was in there. Bucky was going to come back.
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Too much information, he thinks a bit late. Still, he shrugs and tries to cushion this blow with the only hope he'd stuck to for years, hunting Bucky down.
"The first time you almost killed me. Shot me once or twice," or three times, "but when I dropped my shield and stopped fighting? You could have finished it. And you didn't. You actually pulled me out of the water before I drowned. It...meant you were still in there. After everything. You were still in there."
His smile is honest now. Almost warm. He knows that all will be hard to hear but the end is what matters. The end that shows, even in the worst moment, Bucky was in there. Bucky was going to come back.