That's the thing, isn't it? Steve hates to be lied to, and he's not that great at lying. There are some things that just...shouldn't be shared, not all at once, not here, not now. And Tony expects him to be able to know which things those are and to keep them on the down-low. But he's going to have to offer more information, rather than less, if he wants to be believed or accepted here.

He already knew what proof he would offer up here, knew that he would be asked, and this is a dangerous one to offer, but it ought to destroy the 'clone' theory at the very least. "One of the last things Schmidt said to you," he tells him quietly. "'You could have the power of the gods, yet you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations. I have seen the future, Captain. There are no flags."

He remembers hearing those words, remembers the strength of his revulsion in that moment. Then, the last few seconds before the plane crashed, planning his doomed dance with Peggy while wondering what he had really become. The crash, the ice, hypothermia setting in, and thinking 'well, I can still die, at least'. Letting go. He never told anyone. He has to assume this Steve hasn't, either.

Now, he just has to hope this one doesn't conclude he's some kind of Hydra agent, or Red Skull himself in disguise.

"He was wrong," he adds, folding his arms across his knees. "Nations change, rise and fall. You start looking out the window and seeing a bigger world than you realized was there. A greater universe. Bigger problems than you imagined, more complexity than any human should have to navigate. The flags are less and less relevant, but they're still there, and when they stop standing for a nation, they start standing for something bigger."

"We've always been fighting for free will. Not the sovereignty of a particular government or people. That's the part he never got, and never could. Stars and stripes and self-determination. That's our flag. And that is exactly what's at stake here."