lently, and steve lets him go to hold onto sj more securely.

※take your attack dog and get him out of here,§ seven says, and six-one-eight laughs, the sound twisted and bitter.

※attack dog? look at yourself,§ he says, and there＊s something not right in the way he speaks, something loose and bent out of shape. his eyes dart over steve and then back to seven, and steve is still shocked at the sheer contempt in the gaze.

※we＊re not here for you two to fight,§ the director says, sounding impatient, and then turns towards steve again, interested and contemplative. ※i＊m here for him. what are we calling you?§

※i＊m still steve rogers,§ steve says, and he wants to step up in-between seven and shield, but he can＊t, not with sj in his arms. ※don＊t need a nickname.§

the directors mouth twists, still almost smiling. ※of course,§ he says easily. ※you＊re special, aren＊t you?§

※yeah, i reckon i am,§ steve replies.

※word is that tony stark killed you,§ six-one-eight calls out. his eyes lock on steve＊s and there＊s something manic there, unsettling. seven makes another violent move, wrestling against shield＊s hands. six-one-eight notices and starts to laugh.

※still hurts, doesn＊t it? hearing about your husband and killing in the same sentence?§

※fuck you,§ seven snaps back, the profanity raw and jarring.

※how many universes has he killed people in?§ six-one-eight demands, taking a step forwards. ※hundreds?§

※you can＊t justify what you did to him!§ seven roars back, and oh god, this is alling down to tony again, but this isn＊t just sex and marriage, this is oceans of torn up emotions, people left broken beyond repair.

※he started it,§ six-one-eight spits. ※he started the war. not me-§

※shut up,§ the director snaps over them, smilepletely gone. ※you＊re wasting time and i＊m not in the mood.§ his eyes lock on steve＊s again, and he jerks his head towards the stairs. ※put the kid down ande with me.§

steve debates it for a moment. he considers passing sj over to someone else and standing his ground against the director, because this is his fight and he didn＊t be captain america to back away from his own damn battles.

the director makes an impatient noise in the back of his throat, obviously unused to being kept waiting. ※i will prise him out of your hands if i have to.§

steve stiffens at the threat, and the urge to put sj down grows, because he wants nothing more than to go over and take the guy out, but then sj＊s breathes in sharply against his neck, obviously trying valiantly to not cry.

steve abruptly changes his mind.

sj has chosen to cling to him and that means he＊s the one who＊s got to protect him from whatever this is. suddenly, he＊s seeing the whole situation differently; the whole point of captain america isn＊t to fight battles, it＊s to protect people. the battles are a secondary issue, they＊re not the cause but the effect; the battles he fights are just a result of the main goal, to protect everyone he can. it doesn＊t even matter that sj is already dead and possibly not even real; the terror on his small face certainly looks and feels real enough to steve, and as long as it does it matters.

he hitches sj up again, not because he needs to but because he wants to prove a point. he sets his jaw and lifts his chin defiantly, looking the director in the eye.

※not a chance.”

distantly, there＊s a bang and it sounds like a door being busted open. six-one-eight turns his head but the director doesn＊t so much as blink.

※you＊re alive. i want to know how you did it,§ the director says bluntly, and folds his arms across his chest. e with me, and this can be easy. i don＊t have to hurt you.§