To the Right Bedroom!
"Thanks, Mr. Baird. I really appreciate it."
Steve chuckles slightly as Baird mentions Scott's idolization.
"It wasn't that bad...he seemed pretty professional. I've been around much worse. You should have seen the climate when I first woke up; people threw their underclothes at me like I was some sort of idol singer or something. Dodging flying brassieres and pantyhose isn't my idea of a good time."
His face reddens with a blush.
"Anyway, I thought those days were behind me. The government found out a secret of mine after they signed me up with the Avengers...the kind of secret that, in my day, could have gotten a man killed."
He looks darkly out a nearby window. That's not what I fought for.
"As it was, I thought I'd awakened into a more 'enlightened' age. It was enlightened all right...now you can only lose your job and every friend you have because of being what I am, instead of being beaten to death by those same 'friends'."
The bitterness in his tone is palpable.
"The saddest thing is, my friends on the Avengers don't even hate me. SHIELD issued a government order forcing them to stay away. My best friend's a Smart Guy, like you. He's the one who was most helpful in acquainting me with the modern world after my time knocked out. He even got me an apartment, in his civilian identity, fully paid for until I can find some real work. I was going to go back to my original calling...writing and drawing comics."
Steve runs a hand through his hair, the reality of the situation sinking in at last.