"So, imagine the dummy is the President," Ward said, sitting on a rafter beam with a gun and aiming it at the dummy on the other side of the room. "Say I haven't seen you, which obviously I have, how would you do it?"

The long space of gymnasium stretched between Steve and Ward. Steve tapped the screen on his right hand, locked it in on Ward, shrunk and then pressed the activation button. Steve shot through the strange, ephemeral light tunnel and appeared beside Ward. The strategy wasn't complicated here, but it was an effort to stay oriented and focused.

But he had a president to save. Steve kicked Ward down, leapt down after him while enlarging to get a pin, and pressed his hand against Ward's neck. "And if you move an inch, I'll fry it off."

"Frying the gloves, they're not gonna like it if you fry the gloves," Ward said, looking up at him with a smirk.

"You're trying to kill the President," Steve said.

"You could just crush my trachea," Ward said, "And you wouldn't be at risk of me do-" and Steve knocked the gun out of his hand.

"Too much taunting, not enough flaunting," Steve said, laying his hand around Ward's throat. "Now I'd crush your trachea."

Ward laughed, "Damn it. I like my trachea. Let me up?"

Steve got up and offered him a hand. "Not going to be fun to do that in a live fire combat."

"It's not," Ward agreed, walking over to their water supply. "Grateful for that Extremis regeneration after you kicked me out of the rafters."

Steve raised his hands, "You said the dummy was the President."

Ward shook his head and took a drink. Steve flicked his helmet off and opened a bottle of water, "They should figure out a way of doing that size reduction for a glove," Steve said.

"Too many joints and range of motion, according to He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named," Ward said, poking fun at Steve's distaste for Michael Trent.

"Oh, come on. I haven't made that big of a deal out of it."

"It's a reference," Ward said. "Klaue worked out a deal. Get's a comfy cell in the United States to die in, instead of being shipped back to Wakanda, and coughs up his black market contacts."

"Good for him, I guess," Steve said. He didn't think it was fair to silver tongue your way out of a punishment like that, but he also didn't care for executions. It all came out to nothing to him. They let the silence breath between them for a few minutes, drinking water, reflecting.

"Hey, Cap," Ward said. "You ever wonder if you would've fought for the Third Reich if you'd been born in Germany?"

Steve put his hands on his side. "I don't think anybody ever knows," Steve had thought about. He'd thought about it a lot, over the years, especially on the nights he laid awake after his missions, thinking of the soldiers he had killed. "But I really believe - Well, it sounds old fashioned, but I think all men are created equal. I don't think I'm made of different stuff than a Hydra agent. Maybe that means that they should be blamed, you know, they did the wrong thing and I did the right thing. Maybe it means that I would've done the same thing. I don't know. I didn't fight them because I resented them, though I won't say I never did, I fought them because they had to be stopped."

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Ward looked at Steve for a few moments and Steve thought he wanted to say something, but then he shook his head. "Everything they said about you is true," Ward said.

Steve tensed at the statement, he'd turned into a legend in his time under the ice but he hadn't asked for that or wanted it. "I'm just a kid from Brooklyn who ran into a German scientist at the right time, Ward."

"Nah," Ward said, shaking his hand in rebuke. "You're not. You're a good man. They don't make those anymore."

"Made you."

"Not a good man," Ward said, putting down the water bottle like he'd been insulted and started walking out.

Steve didn't believe that. "Ward," Steve said, walking after him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not great at accepting compliments either. But I promise it won't kill you." Ward had a difficult childhood, he'd stepped up to serve his country. Joined the SHIELD Academy and served. Fought all over the world. There had always been people in the Army interested in it for the adrenaline, for the thrill of laying some other guy out or in a grave. Ward wasn't. Every time he fought, he was all business. Clean, efficient. He didn't have to be, the way they were now. Almost nobody could even injure them on a standard deployment, except a lucky shot to the head with an armor piercing round or a rocket launcher. Some guys started treating it like a game and Steve was increasingly questioning the wisdom of dosing them with the Super Soldier Serum. Not Ward.

"I don't need anybody's approval," Ward said, but he didn't remove Cap's hand.

"Not saying you need anything," Steve said.

"I hate this, you know?"

"Compliments? Conversations?" Steve had no idea what 'this' was in this context. The situation was authentically confusing.

"Yes! No! Sort of. I was an operator before, I was the whole solution. Send me in, I cleaned up the mess. Did it on my own. I'm more than skilled enough to handle it on my own. Now I'm stuck in this crowd because they think I need like a whole team of super soldiers."

"Ward, feel more like it's us who needs you."

"Nobody on this team needs me," Ward said. "Everyone is so good and then they're also laser handed super soldiers who can recover from a bullet like a paper cut."

"I don't know, I could use a hand. You all were agents before you became super soldiers, I always feel like I'm catching up."

"You have a year of live fire experience in the densest warfare in American history," Ward said. "What are you catching up for?"

Steve shook his head, "Maybe it's stupid. It just feels like you've all proven yourselves on a you basis and I'm just the guinea pig you keep around as a pet."

"You're definitely not," Ward said. "Never seen anybody take a beating like you can. Can't believe you do those stupid air jumps, things hurt so bad, Super soldier serum or not, Extremis or not."

"You get used to it, but it'll be nice to use the quantum tunnelers and not do that again."

Ward snorted. "Anyway, I'm just saying I can do this on my own."

Steve looked at him and said the words he'd needed to hear a long time ago, "But you don't have to."