[steve looks at him, this alternate version of himself, briefly dumbstruck at what he says. he presses his lips together, tension in his jaw, in his forehead, his shoulders. he's a walking ball of it.]

I'm sorry. [there's a little heaviness at the words. no matter who it was, he knows they meant something to this man, meant a lot.] The Accords were documents, an agreement. It basically said that the Avengers couldn't act without the approval of the United Nations first, and that's not even going into the fine print.

[steve frowns as he thinks back, giving the other man a slow shake of his head.]

I couldn't agree to it. I've seen things like that go sour before, and too many innocent people die when it does.