2/2
As soon as Stark began talking about intelligence though, Steve's mouth was open, ready to protest that he was working on that, actually, that he had some pieces in motion and was just... waiting. But he didn't think Stark would take that as anything concrete. He didn't have Scott's files in his hand yet, didn't have any idea if they'd be useful to him once they were, and didn't know if any of the names listed would be willing to help his cause - hell, didn't know if any of them would even still be alive. It would have been deeply satisfying to throw that back into Stark's face, prove that Steve wasn't charging blindly ahead, but Stark's next words brought Steve up short.
I do.
Steve knew he was staring, mouth parting in disbelief, because that admission - that offer? - changed the meaning of Stark's preceding words. If that was Stark floating the idea of joining Steve, then his previous ramble hadn't been a lecture so much as outlining what it was Stark might be able to contribute.
"Are you offering?" Steve asked, words choked with disbelief. "Are you - involved already?" He cleared his throat, then raised his glass to his lips for a sip, then decided what the hell and knocked the whole thing back. He winced at the burn, past caring whether or not Stark might tease him for it, and set the tumbler on the coffee table, his eyes back on Stark.
"Are you actually - look, is this sincere?" Steve could hear the tremble of excitement in his own voice, because if Stark was offering to take sides with Steve in this - he knew what a gain that was, what an unbelievable asset Stark would be. It had simply never occurred to him that it was even a possibility, that Stark would be interested in toppling the current power structure of Panem.
If Steve was wrong and this was a trap, well... that would no doubt end with a very painful public execution for Steve. But he'd always been willing to trust his gut, and his instincts were screaming at him that Stark meant this. That it wasn't a set up. Because while Stark may have been a far better actor than Steve when it came to public displays of reckless, drunken antics (possibly because the 'drunken' part wasn't much of an act), Steve had seen his face after the demonstration, had paid attention to his expressions while he was exclaiming about tides and the things Steve needed for a revolution to succeed. There'd been a naked honesty there that Steve didn't think Stark was capable of faking.
"I know a shift in the tide isn't enough," Steve said quickly. Somewhere along the line, he'd come to perch on the edge of his seat, a mirror of Stark's own posture, alive with energy and possibility. "That's not - it's just a start. It's about people finally being more angry than scared, reaching a point where they might be willing to act. I have - " He hesitated, because maybe this was showing his hand too much, too early, but Steve had always been a risk taker, and so he plunged ahead, recklessly determined. "I don't have it yet, but... I might be getting a - a list. Of names. People the Capitol's kept an eye on - I thought. Reaching out to them would be a good place to start. Intelligence, like you said."