The protest dies when Steve's hands settle on his shoulders, warm and solid and a little bit terrifying. It's not his place to protest, his training screams at him, but Steve had told him again and again that he doesn't have to obey training anymore, that he doesn't have to take orders. Except this still feels like a test, and from the look on Steve's face he's just failed it.
It's a visible struggle for him to think of something to say that isn't a product of protocol but he flounders towards what he hopes is the correct response in his own time, haltingly.
"If-- you don't go back. If you chose not to go back. What will you do instead?"
His mouth shapes the word 'chose' carefully, like it's a foreign word.
no subject
The protest dies when Steve's hands settle on his shoulders, warm and solid and a little bit terrifying. It's not his place to protest, his training screams at him, but Steve had told him again and again that he doesn't have to obey training anymore, that he doesn't have to take orders. Except this still feels like a test, and from the look on Steve's face he's just failed it.
It's a visible struggle for him to think of something to say that isn't a product of protocol but he flounders towards what he hopes is the correct response in his own time, haltingly.
"If-- you don't go back. If you chose not to go back. What will you do instead?"
His mouth shapes the word 'chose' carefully, like it's a foreign word.