He nods, slowly, and fights the urge to grip her hand tighter, to try to keep her with him, here, safe. It wouldn't be fair; it wouldn't be right.

It was always coming, he realizes, this moment or something like it. A distant, deep part of his mind has to admire how neatly Fury'd maneuvered things.

"Then I guess we better figure out if there is a good enough reason."

And if not, well, maybe that spot on Steve's team that he'd offered to her before is still open. Maybe that'll be enough. He'd feel better knowing she had someone he trusts watching her back.