Steve put his elbow on the table and crushed his mouth against his knuckles as he listened to Ward talk. Really talk, and probably say a lot that he wasn't expecting to say at this, or any meeting. He tapped on the side of his glass with his free hand as he tried to think of what to do next, of what to say next. It wasn't hard to decide, not really. But he was weighing his options, because he also had a pretty good idea about what Ward wanted him to say, and that wasn't exactly what he had in mind.
"Do you want me to be shocked? Do you want me to tell you that killing someone -- that killing Loki because he hurt your friends -- because he murdered Coulson -- makes you a bad person? Because I can't do that. You said it yourself, didn't you? That you haven't done anything that Fury, hasn't, that Barton hasn't, but listen. Listen." This was a hard decision to make, not because he hadn't already made up his mind, but because drawing attention to the fact they weren't alone wasn't one what he'd wanted to unless he had to. "You know, I didn't come here alone, because there was someone who wouldn't let me. Someone who shot and killed people to protect me long before HYDRA ever got hold of him, someone who would kill you now if I so much as gave the word -- and I have never thought less of him a day for it. Turn around, if you want, take a look. You'll recognise him. I believed that he was worth saving, I believe that he should always trust his heart, why would I think any different of you?"
Steve downed the rest of his glass and slid to the edge of the bench, getting to his feet. He took his wallet out and dropped the money on the table with a hefty tip. He didn't have a lot on him, but that didn't matter. He'd figured the money situation out later. Probably around the same time he worked out where he could get a motorcycle. "But I can't change what anyone else sees when they look at you, and you don't have to listen to me if you don't want to. But if you don't want people to see you as a monster, Grant? Then you prove you're not. That's it. You prove it. It won't be easy -- it wasn't easy for Natasha, it hasn't been easy for Bucky. But right now? He's not going to kill you, and that's his choice. It's not an order, it's not my call. It's his choice. And he's making it so you can make yours. What happens now is up to you."