Steve just sighs, as though heavily put upon (he is not). "Why is that the slang you picked up? I mean - don't tell me. I know why."

He waits until they're through the door before pointing down the block - the malt shop isn't far, and they've been there before. Plus, there are little tables outside, so they can sit down and talk without being cooped up in the shop, which he thinks might be best. "I might have an idea," he says as they walk, intentionally vague, when they're nearly to the shop. "I figure we can see if you think it'll go anywhere."

Steve waves a hand between the two of them. "About the thing that we keep coming here to talk about," he says nonchalantly; he won't say graduation necessarily, mostly because he doesn't think this is actually how it's going to happen. But it's maybe what's got to happen, nonetheless. For at least one of them.

"Gimme your order, first. Unless you just want chocolate, because that's what I'm getting."

He isn't sure if having a milkshake in front of her will make Yara more likely to sit and hear him out, or to just have something to throw in his face, but he figures it's worth the gamble.

Steve just grins a little, tossing her a salute and disappearing into the shop. It doesn't exactly take long to get the drinks, so he's back pretty quickly with two glasses, spoons, and straws.

He even sets one in front of her and lets her actually have a couple sips before he figures he might as well just jump into it.

"I think you should go home," he says, quietly, but steadily. He lets that hang for a moment, before he adds, "Not because you're failing. But because you don't need this. You don't need a deal, and I don't want to be the thing that's keeping you here. Not like this."

It's pretty much the argument he expected. He's not sure it's one he can get her past, but he knows he owes it to her to try.

"Why not?" he asks, stirring his drink up with the spoon, just for something to do with his hands. "Why not, if it's what I'm asking you to do? As your friend?"

He considers just letting her answer that, but he ends up adding, "We're both frustrated, and - you've gotten me this far. I don't want to see you sit here for another year or five or ten when what you need is to go home."

"Maybe it won't," Steve allows. He takes a breath, and pushes on with, "I'm not suffering. Not - the same way. If I graduated tomorrow, I would go with you, but I would come back. My husband is here." And he's sleeping in a cryotube back home. That doesn't seem likely to change anytime soon. "Lark is here." And Steve had come back for him, in the first place. He won't leave him here, not until Lark can choose whether he stays or goes.

But Yara - "That's the thing. The longer you stay here with me, the longer you are abandoning your people. They're in Westeros, and you came here to help them. I'm telling you, you don't need what the Admiral promised you to do that. And if I'm fit to keep your counsel, then let me counsel you: I'm not asking you to abandon me. I'm asking you to look at the bigger picture, and do what we both know you're capable of doing. I'm asking you to listen to me when I tell you I want you to go, because I care about you. "

His mouth twists a little, because, "This isn't like the Bill thing. This isn't - I'm not trying to get you out of the way. I'm not trying to get you to leave me. I'm trying to get you to move forward."

He doesn't know if that makes sense, even. But it's what he wants her to do, for her. For her people. For him.

Steve maybe looks a little pleased, because, "Exactly. Fuck the Admiral. I don't wanna give him the satisfaction of thinking he helped you achieve what we both know you can do without him." But if she stays, if she waits it out, if he graduates, then the Admiral wins. "I can do it without what he thinks I need, too."

Steve doesn't know if that's true, if he can do this, but he does know he'll only get the chance to figure it out one way. And that way is best for both of them. So he presses what little advantage he might have, reaching out to take Yara's hand.

"Yara, I love you, too. And I know you're here for me. I know you'd stay. And I love you for that. But you don't need me any more than you need a deal. You've said it yourself - what's one extra guy gonna do? Or even two? This is your crown to take, and I want to help you take it. I promised you I would. But - I think this is how I help you. By not keeping you from it any longer.

"So we stop playing his stupid game. We prove this system isn't the only way that works. And if I'm wrong, you can come back and say 'I told you so' to my handsome, wrinkled face."

"I don't know if he would," Steve says, honestly. "But I hope you never have to, either."

He's quiet for a minute; he can't blame her for not wanting to leave him. He understands it. Like she'd said - if their positions were reversed, he wouldn't want to leave her, either. He can respect that. He does respect it.

But he isn't sure that the first justification that comes to mind is going to be much help. It hadn't helped with Tony. He doesn't think it'll help with Yara. She won't let him be that guy that lies on the wire. Because she's his warden. Because she's a good warden.

"Not even if I plan to make him regret keeping me here? Sometimes you can do more damage from inside than out," he points out - not necessarily arguing, just... talking, now.

Steve laughs a little, squeezing her hand. "Yeah, well. He's not the first, and he won't be the last. I still think it's his mistake."

He sighs, though, because, "We could. I know. And of course I don't want that to be the case. You're important to me. I don't want to lose you. But I can't hang on to you just because of that. You're gonna be a fucking queen, Yara. And you're gonna be great at it."

Not that it was ever really in question. Nor is, "I'd miss you. Like hell. But that's what this place is like. That's what life is like, right? I could lose you tomorrow, anyway. I'd rather it be a choice. For both of us.

"It's your decision. I can't force you to make it. I'll stand by what you decide. But I just - I want you to know that if you left, I'd be okay. Because of you. I - don't think I could've said that a couple months ago, even."

He doesn't know what changed, or when. But he just feels like it has. And yeah, part of it is probably Bucky. But not all of it.

"I know you heard the song. I am the man with a plan."

The tone is just as fond, on his part.

As for the question... he can't help the way he looks embarrassed, the way he glances away. But, "Some. Yeah." Maybe more than 'some,' but, "It's not - he isn't you. I'm not trying to get rid of you because of what we did." Got married, he means; and now he's looking at her again, because, "Please tell me you know that."

Because - yes. Yes, Bucky is a big part of it. Knowing that they did what they did and even the Admiral can't undo it means a lot to Steve. But Bucky isn't his warden - would be a terrible warden for him - and Steve doesn't want Yara to think he thinks he doesn't need her, just because he's got Bucky. Because that isn't true.

He just believes, truly, that what Yara needs isn't to sit around here, frustrated with him, when neither of them know where to go from here. He doesn't need a keeper, and he hopes she can trust Bucky to at least take care of him if he needs it. He knows Bucky wouldn't do anything less.

It's pretty amazing, he'll agree. And a hell of a stupid thing not to grab onto and hold close. Even he can recognize that, and he knows he's slow on the uptake about these kinds of things. He is trying to be better.

"Not yet," he admits, honestly. "But I will. He'll understand. I don't think you have to worry about him thinking that."

He knows maybe he hasn't had the best track record with convincing Bucky of things when it came to Yara, but not the worst, either, given recent events. "Does that mean you'll consider it?"

Steve lets out a little snort. "Yeah, he really shouldn't have done that." Although not, Steve believes, because he doesn't deserve to be an inmate. But more because, "I still aim to be his worst nightmare."

And honestly, in that same vein, "If I do this... I don't want to do it on his terms. I want to do it on mine." He sits forward a little. "On ours. I think maybe that means sending you home with a big fuck you to the Admiral. And maybe it means figuring out how to graduate without playing his stupid little game. No warden. No deal. Just - whatever I can do to do it my way, without giving him any satisfaction in it."

He isn't sure how that's going to work out, or if it will. After all, graduating kind of implies some sort of Admiral approval. But even so, "I've graduated an inmate. I helped, but... she did it on her own. I have to do this on my own, too. Not because I don't want you here. But - it's like you and your crown. If you don't do it yourself... then where's the victory?"

He lets out a slow breath. "I'm not asking you to leave me. I'm asking you to trust me."

Honestly, it's a good look on her. And it's a relief as much as it is a joy to see. He knows she'll probably still want to think about it, and she might still change her mind. But he also knows that she doesn't need a handout from the Admiral, and frankly? He doesn't want one, either.

Not that Yara is a handout. She's been a fucking amazing hand up, quite frankly. But he can't deny that there is still some part of him that thinks graduating on his own is what he needs to do, for a lot of reasons. Not the least of which is the giant bird they'd both be flipping in the Admiral's face.

"It's not," he says, with a smile on his face, but his tone is still serious. "I know I - it might have been, once. That would've been the wrong reason to ask you to go, and we both know it. I promise. This isn't that. This is us, getting what we want. I really believe that it is."

"I promised I'd go to your home when I graduated," he says, solemnly, getting up when she does. "I mean to keep that promise."

Also, "I'll bring cookies."

He only hesitates for a second before he reaches out and pulls her into a hug. "And you can tell me everything you did to that miserable uncle of yours."

Steve makes a sound that's mostly a laugh, if a little wet. "Good. He definitely deserves nothing less."

Besides, "We'll save the cookies until after, then. Just in case. For my sake, obviously."

He wants to apologize for not being there to help her. For breaking that promise, but he figures she probably won't want to hear it. The best he can do now is what he says - graduate, and show up to prove it. So, he will. Somehow.

Steve, at the motion, loosens his grip a little even as he blinks at the question. It's... not actually one he'd expected, even though it seems like a reasonable one.

"I - don't know," he says, genuinely thinking it over. He can think of pros and cons for both, too, really, but in the end, "I think big, public fuck yous don't generally end well for the accusing party." Not that he imagines Yara cares, at this point, but - maybe it's better for her to leave on the terms she has with people now, rather than by inciting their anger. It never seems to do much, for all that part of Steve doesn't want to stop trying.

Still, "You should do what you feel better doing. I don't care if you go public or private, but - " He grins a little. "Just knowing that you'll tell him somehow is good enough for me."

"There's no rush," he confirms - if she's going to go, he's certainly not going to push her out the door. She has affairs to put in order, and people to talk to.

He ends up wrapping an arm around her one more time for a quick squeeze. "Look, you - when you said I'd always be welcome at your table. That meant everything to me. It still does. I'm honored to be part of your family. I mean - it's pretty kickass. I wish I could help you prove it to everyone else."

Although - "Look. When you go. Take my uniform. I mean - it's armored and it's lighter than anything you have. Tear it up and use it for whatever, but if I can't protect you, maybe it can."