[Maybe, just maybe, they had revealed a little too much to each other too soon, the rawness of a soldier's life that only another soldier could understand. Sacrifice, loss, pain, and bottling it all up neatly because letting it show was the kind of weakness they had all been trained never to expose to the world. They were their country's defense and offense, so they had better root themselves in that position and hold it together.
It was interesting to think that he and the Soldier might have a few similarities. He could see Barnes in the man now, far more than the bitter cold efficiency of the Winter Soldier fresh into action. At their base, they were two old men in a profession where men were supposed to die young, and they bore the scars of their service quietly.
Put on a mask. Be who the world needed to see. Don't burden others, especially not one's friends or family with the experience.
He plastered a smirk on his face and leaned his elbows on the table, looking the Soldier over as if trying to decide which article would be best to have in his possession first.]
Let's start simple: jacket.
[He made a grabby hand motion, pulling all the previous pain up and away, burying it as he was supposed to. They both needed the distraction, needed the simplicity of being just two guys enjoying a game that would likely expose a completely different set of scars.]
no subject
It was interesting to think that he and the Soldier might have a few similarities. He could see Barnes in the man now, far more than the bitter cold efficiency of the Winter Soldier fresh into action. At their base, they were two old men in a profession where men were supposed to die young, and they bore the scars of their service quietly.
Put on a mask. Be who the world needed to see. Don't burden others, especially not one's friends or family with the experience.
He plastered a smirk on his face and leaned his elbows on the table, looking the Soldier over as if trying to decide which article would be best to have in his possession first.]
Let's start simple: jacket.
[He made a grabby hand motion, pulling all the previous pain up and away, burying it as he was supposed to. They both needed the distraction, needed the simplicity of being just two guys enjoying a game that would likely expose a completely different set of scars.]