James Buchanan Barnes sat quietly, ignoring the burger and fries in front of him. The diner, one of those 24 hour types complete with frowning middle aged waitress and greasy fry cook, was at a truck stop somewhere not far from New York. When he had arrived it had been nearly empty. Bucky sat in a far corner booth alone. Two truck drivers had been lounging at the bar drinking coffee and chatting up the a'fore mentioned waitress. A few boys, probably just out of their teens had taken a table closest to the door and sat ignoring each other engrossed in their cell phones.
Then a blonde behemoth of a man had entered the diner proclaiming it to be "a fine dining hall" and cheerfully bellowed for coffee. One woman was hanging on his arm, smiling a dreamy smile of one young and in love. A third dame followed after, a lopsided grin on her face as she took a seat across from the first two.
The intel he had been provided as the winter solider had left him with enough knowledge to identify the man as Thor Odison, and the woman on his arm as scientist Jane Foster. The younger one, with dark hair and full red lips, had not been in any intel files. He watched them surreptitiously from the corner, intent on staying overlooked. He didn't want another awkward reunion with Captain America.
His memory of his life as Bucky had started to very slowly return Bits and pieces, more feeling than anything. He remembered looking out at the street he grew up on looked like. He remembered the crooning of long dead singers in smoke filled speakeasy's. He remembered smiling widely, laughing loudly, being carefree. But these memories seemed long ago and faded around the edges, a stark contrast to the vivid red of the life he had lead as the winter soldier.
And so he avoided the Captain, who had bombarded him with information on who he was the weeks after the mask came off. He didn't feel like either the boy who Captain America knew, or the machine that Hydra had created. So for the last few weeks he had been traveling aimlessly around, living at dilapidated old hotels and trying to avoid all contact with the outside world.
Which he knew was the smart decision anyways. Despite the Captain greeting him with open arms and a promise of old times, to much of the worlds powers he was still a dangerous assassin misplaces in time.
The waitress took the threesomes order, and returned to her conversations with the truck drivers. Thor and his woman became lost in conversation very quickly, and Bucky planned on staying until the waitress came with their orders when he would quietly make his exit.
He stared more intently at his food, his body becoming tense as from his peripherals he saw the dark haired dame sashaying towards the bathrooms, which were past his booth. Thor and his girlfriend were engrossed in conversation, seemingly oblivious to the fact their young companion was no longer at their table.
He kept his head low, inconspicuous he knew how to be.
Which was why he was surprised when there was a falter in her steps. Chancing a glance up their eyes met, and he knew he'd been made.
