Steve isn't prepared to cope with realities diverging. It would mean, inevitably, abandoning the living, as far as he's concerned, and as much as he wants Bucky and Sam back, Natasha has given him a hell of a lot. She's also the most resilient person he's ever known; he has no doubt she'll adapt to whatever reality they make, but he can't pretend he's not feeling some very real grief in the face of departure.

"...take care of each other," he adds, like he can't stand not to have some kind of final goodbye, even when he's pretending it's not a big deal. Just another mission. "Till we get back."

No making dance dates this time.

Rocket is the best equipped to break the tension. "Yeah, yeah, we'll be here to pull your asses out of the fire when you screw up. Get goin'."

Steve and technology don't blend well. He's competent with his phone, and anything he really wants to learn how to work, he will, but like many old people he has a minor mental block for devices he doesn't feel are his business. Tony's armor has, up until now, been one of these. Now it's going to have to be Steve's business, though, so he steps up and into the suit with a looks of visible trepidation.

It's far less uncomfortable than he feared, although there's a moment of claustrophobia until he discovers how easy it is to move around and let the armor move with him. "FRIDAY? I never mentioned this before but your accent sounds just like my mom's did when she was really ticked off with me."

That's a good basis for a human-AI relationship, right? He picks up Stormbreaker again, carefully, then peers through the mask at Tony. "This is going to be really counter-intuitive for me; you get that, right? I'm grateful, just keep in mind there's gonna be a learning curve."

Tony, you get to be mama bird for a Steve duckling today.

"But I'm ready. Let's do this."