I signed up for it. Our country - there's a lot of stuff it does really right, and a lot of stuff it does really wrong. Sometimes the people in charge and I disagree on what falls into what category.
[ It's soft but matter-of-fact, and his expression is more pensive than anything else as well. There's a part of him that's angry about the way the Accords went down, about the kind of people they gave authority over it, about the Raft's existence and the way its prisoners were treated, about a hundred or so other things. But he wouldn't have served in the Air Force, worked at the VA, or become the Falcon if he didn't believe in fighting for change, for what was right.
It's a complicated jumble of emotions, really, and he does his best to keep it from trickling through as he takes another drink from the bottle.
Barnes is easier, even if he definitely causes complicated emotions in a different way, enough that Sam gives a little chuckle. ]
I first ran into him over two years ago, been looking for him on and off since, but nah, I haven't known him that long. But he's a soldier, and so am I. I worked at the VA for a few years - the Department of Veterans Affairs, I think it was still the Veterans Administration in your day. I did peer support, ran some support groups.
[ One side of his mouth quirks upward, chin ducking down as he tips his head to one side. If it wasn't already obvious to Steve by now why they get along so well - ]
So you stand your ground.
[ On a much bigger scale than chumps getting disrespectful at the pictures. There's a lot to admire in a guy like Sam.
When the topic changes to Bucky and services, Steve nods. ] My father served - guess you already knew that.
[ It was his mother that dealt with the VA when she was alive. Steve's known plenty of vets from the Great War, but support of any kind wasn't something folks liked talking about unless they'd had one too many drinks in them. ]
Chasing after Bucky and superheroing must've become a full time job.
[ Sam doesn't have to ask to figure that Steve knows a little something about standing your ground - hell, even if he didn't know already, he'd guess just based on that response. He shoots him a smile, tilting his head in understanding. ]
If you don't, who else will?
[ Maybe a lot of people, really, but Sam's never been the kind of guy to sit back and do nothing. There's always been something to fight for, one way or another, whether the battlefield was the streets in Harlem or the skies in Afghanistan or his own mind and the minds other veterans - or the whole damn world, after joining the Avengers. Sometimes he thinks it should make him exhausted, and some days it does, but mostly he's made peace with that. ]
Don't know much about it, but yeah, I remember that. Things are different back where I'm from, but not as much as they should be. [ He lets out an exhale, quirking a slightly wry smile. ] I kept up working at the VA for a while, just chasing leads on Barnes, but eventually, yeah. I still go to groups, do guest speaking some times. Or I did, anyway.
no subject
[ It's soft but matter-of-fact, and his expression is more pensive than anything else as well. There's a part of him that's angry about the way the Accords went down, about the kind of people they gave authority over it, about the Raft's existence and the way its prisoners were treated, about a hundred or so other things. But he wouldn't have served in the Air Force, worked at the VA, or become the Falcon if he didn't believe in fighting for change, for what was right.
It's a complicated jumble of emotions, really, and he does his best to keep it from trickling through as he takes another drink from the bottle.
Barnes is easier, even if he definitely causes complicated emotions in a different way, enough that Sam gives a little chuckle. ]
I first ran into him over two years ago, been looking for him on and off since, but nah, I haven't known him that long. But he's a soldier, and so am I. I worked at the VA for a few years - the Department of Veterans Affairs, I think it was still the Veterans Administration in your day. I did peer support, ran some support groups.
no subject
So you stand your ground.
[ On a much bigger scale than chumps getting disrespectful at the pictures. There's a lot to admire in a guy like Sam.
When the topic changes to Bucky and services, Steve nods. ] My father served - guess you already knew that.
[ It was his mother that dealt with the VA when she was alive. Steve's known plenty of vets from the Great War, but support of any kind wasn't something folks liked talking about unless they'd had one too many drinks in them. ]
Chasing after Bucky and superheroing must've become a full time job.
no subject
If you don't, who else will?
[ Maybe a lot of people, really, but Sam's never been the kind of guy to sit back and do nothing. There's always been something to fight for, one way or another, whether the battlefield was the streets in Harlem or the skies in Afghanistan or his own mind and the minds other veterans - or the whole damn world, after joining the Avengers. Sometimes he thinks it should make him exhausted, and some days it does, but mostly he's made peace with that. ]
Don't know much about it, but yeah, I remember that. Things are different back where I'm from, but not as much as they should be. [ He lets out an exhale, quirking a slightly wry smile. ] I kept up working at the VA for a while, just chasing leads on Barnes, but eventually, yeah. I still go to groups, do guest speaking some times. Or I did, anyway.