Steve knew that the PR circuit was part and parcel of being a Victor. The Capitol had no problem trotting out its most famous faces at the slightest provocation, always for some particular purpose - to make Stane look good, or perhaps to sell some bullshit about how wonderful everything was in Panem, how lucky its citizens were to live in such a glorious nation. Steve had escaped being forced to participate in these sorts of attempts to rouse Capitol support if only because he'd proven so wildly unreliable when it came to touting the party line. Stane wasn't stupid enough to let him near a microphone - but still, that didn't mean that Steve didn't sometimes get dragged in for the occasional photo op.
A photo op was what had brought him to the Justice Building today, decked out in one of the fanciest coats he owned - an intricately crafted affair intended to show off the prowess of District Eight's most skilled craftspeople. He was, apparently, going to be posing with Thor, of District 2 fame. Thor's name had been making the rounds lately. He'd apparently done some heroic deeds in his home district, which had been enough for Stane to handpick him as his current favorite puppet, primed for trotting out to the districts for the greater glory of Panem.
It left a bitter taste in Steve's mouth, how willingly Thor seemed to be going along with this whole charade, but perhaps there was more to it than met the eye. After the series of revelations he'd had in the last few weeks, Steve was at least trying to keep an open mind about Victors who seemed to go along with whatever Stane asked of them. There were moments that was easier said than done, however, and this was one of them.
If nothing else, Steve was at least grateful that his years of noncompliance meant he'd cultivated a reputation for being mostly somber. So long as he didn't let his expression shift into 'pissed off' territory, the Capitol photographer that was working with them tended to let him get away with serious expressions - assuming (correctly) that it was the best they'd get from him.
Bucky was here somewhere, but Steve hadn't seen him. That was probably for the best, since Bucky had an ability to draw smiles out of Steve that few others possessed, and the last thing Steve wanted was to appear happy in any of these photos. Besides - who the hell knew what kind of pictures a photographer might try to get from them, now that the rumor mill had them sharing a bed. Best to maintain some distance and avoid any awkwardness from that direction.
Overall, the actual photographing went about as well as could be expected, but Steve had been ready for it to be over before it had even properly begun. Just when he thought he'd finished, he heard the photographer mention something about maybe getting a few more in front of some statue. Assuming he and his team would be debating this for the foreseeable future, Steve stepped into an empty side room, where to his surprise he found a visibly fatigued Thor.
Just his luck.
"Thor," he said with a nod, wondering if it would be unspeakably rude to step right back out again. Probably. It seemed like the sort of thing Peggy would scold him about.
With retreat out of the question, that left small talk, and Steve cast around for something to say. "You've, ah - recovered okay from that mine collapse?" he asked. Because oh yes, they'd all been hearing for weeks about brave Thor Odinson, risking life and limb to save District 2 miners from a life-and-death situation. The cynical part of Steve couldn't help but wonder if it was even true, or if it was instead a story manufactured by the Capitol PR machine. Still, this wasn't a bad opportunity to hear Thor's side of things. Maybe he'd be pleasantly surprised.