[Some of the tension seeps out when Tony touches him. God, it's been a hell of a day, and he hasn't even been punched through dimensions (although some of those swings felt hard enough to do it).]

Are you complimenting me, Stark? [Steve laughs, a little bitterly, and shakes his head.] Now I know you're from a different world. [Not that he's ever complimented Tony, come to think of it - their relationship has always been one full of verbal jabs and sparring, even when they got along. Now he wishes he'd told him more, said something genuinely nice to him.]

I tried not fighting for five years - there was nothing to fight. [That's not strictly accurate; they hadn't had a team monitoring the situation for nothing.] It didn't feel right. I think I'm the kinda person who just needs to be doing something to make a difference, you know? [He glances at Tony. For years, he wanted to be able to stop fighting - and now that he could, he realizes that the fight is part of him, that it's been part of him since before he'd ever heard of Project Rebirth.] I just need the right person by my side.