#bjdksbada

“ It’s meant to be a symbol. ”  Steve replies with the calm that comes with having heard it plenty of times before. He’s unbothered by Namor’s dislike for the suit, and instead quirks a brow over at his teammate. Namor wouldn’t be the first to complain about his suit … Steve’s heard plenty remarks and comments, from fellow soldiers and the Axis alike, about how gaudy his suit looked, how much of a target it made him. No armor, bright glaring colors, and a star painted on his back for guns to aim at. Steve knew all this. He knew the dangers – he’d grown used to the eye-rolls and the disdain. He’d yet to really prove himself, after all. Captain America was still new — the Invaders in their early days yet. People had their reasons to doubt, their reasons to dislike the fact that instead of camouflaging himself, he was announcing himself to the world.

But that was the point, wasn’t it? To announce himself to the world. To show the world that he was here, he existed, and he was going to fight, regardless of how many people saw him, how many bullets whizzed past his head or how many Panzers attempted to crush him beneath their metal links. It made him a target so that others could slip by, so that the fire was focused on him and not his men. Maybe it was ridiculous … but it stood for something. 

After a moment, he quirks a smile at Namor, one corner of his mouth higher than the other.  “ Guess you’ll have to get used to saying it, then. ”  The other man didn’t really have much room to talk either, after all —- though Steve made sure not to mention that part.  “ But if you really hate it that much, there’s one way of getting this suit off me … It’s called winning the war. So I guess we’ll just have to do that part faster. ”