( The outright laugh's unexpected, and it earns an involuntary little twitch to his lips right after — like he's conceding to the humor in the moment, if reluctantly. Set Redwing on your ass earns no snark this time, just an exasperated half-hearted shake of the head.

The pleasant lightness of relief doesn't manage to stick around permanently; a little lingers, but a lot of it fades as they slip back into talk about time and space.

Didn't change our timeline. )

That should probably make me feel a little better than it does.

( He mutters, and despite the words it does actually sound relieved. It's nice to go from feeling screwed up over two things to just one, but that selfish part of him that still wishes Steve wouldn't have left perseveres. There's no solving all of it, though. There's just picking a lane.

But anyway, enough about his shit. )

How about you? How are you coping? And if you just say fine you're gonna ruin this bonding moment, so... be honest.