"Maybe the man just has a lot on his mind," Clint says with a shrug. "You know Cap. He likes to brood every once in a while."
"I'm just worried, Clint," Jan says.
Natasha sighs. "I have to agree with Janet, Clint. Even for him, this is... unusual."
Jan perks up. "Yes! Exactly. It's not like him."
"Not you too, Widow," Hank groans, setting down his book on the table.
"Steve hasn't been joining us for meals. You know how much he likes making sure we come together as a team," Jan says.
Clint nods. "Yeah, I haven't seen him around the training rooms that much either…"
"Yeah, same here," Rhodey adds, "It's weird. You can almost always find him there."
"He hasn't come by to chat as often as he used to," Bruce says. "I've come to enjoy sitting with him while he draws."
"Steve often joins me for meditation. He's been distracted as of late," T'challa says.
"He hasn't been as enthused by my tails of war and valour," Thor chimes in.
"I've noted an urgency to the Captain's actions lately," Vision says, "He… seems to be in a rush to be elsewhere. He powered through the last four conflicts we attended, which I find very unlike him."
They all nod. Steve had made some risky plays during the last few battles, putting himself on the line to end the fight sooner. It had kind of seemed reasonable at the time. The faster a fight is over, the less chance there is for more casualties. But now… in this new light, they weren't so sure.
"He was very distracted in the post-mission debriefs, wasn't he?" Carol says, "That wasn't just me?"
"No, it wasn't," Clint frowns.
Talking to Steve was fine, asking him direct questions, he gave them his attention, but beyond that, he was quiet and absent during the meetings.
"Captain Rogers hasn't been visiting Sir in his lab as often," JARVIS chimes in.
Everyone goes silent.
"Maybe something is up with him," Hank admits, frowning.
Steve picks Alice out of the box, a white chick with a black stripe that went from the top of her head, all the way across her back and down her legs. She chirps at him between pecking at his fingernails.
He watches her, laughing softly to himself. She was precious. They all were.
Biting his lip, he thinks about an article he read last night. He could give it a try.
…maybe.
His cheeks flush red with embarrassment.
It was fine. Nobody else was around. Nobody would know but his girls, and who would they tell?
Steve takes in a deep breath, readying himself… and tries to chirp at them.
…Unsuccessfully…
It just doesn't come out right. He's too nervous, he supposes, that and his voice is too deep for such a high pitched sound.
Steve sighs, laughing a little at the end. "I tried, that's gotta count for somethin' right?" he says to them.
He puts Alice back into the box.
Mildred and Peggy rush up to his fingers looking for food. He runs a finger over Millie's back, humming to himself.
TBC