She gets a one-shouldered shrug. "Won't know until we try," he points out, maybe a little aware that he sounds like an optimistic broken record, which is kind of funny, really, but he does believe it.

They have an advantage, knowing how to deal with the impossible. And they owe it to this world to try. He knows Yelena may not feel that way, and yet he doesn't doubt that she'll step up. Maybe him believing in her will be enough to let that happen.

"After all, I don't think I know how to live a quiet life." It's rueful, the way he says it - but also true.