Chapter 9

Bucky arrived at the edge of the park at the usual time, just as they had agreed. He was more nervous now than he had ever remembered being in recent years. He thought that was saying something.

He took a deep breath and entered the park. Heading towards the concrete tables.

He found Ella there, in her usual spot. As was customary, she was surrounded by a pile of notes and notebooks. Bucky noticed that she had brought extra paperweights with her today and snickered to himself.

As he approached, she looked up from her work and gave him another heart-stopping smile. Only his heart reacted the opposite way and sped up considerably. All of the previous night's planning on what to say and do immediately flew out the window.

She was wearing her usual black hoodie and leather jacket combo. Her hair was loose, pulled over her left shoulder. Its wavy ringlets undulated in the slight morning breeze.

When he reached the table, Bucky waved his arm at the array of information spread out in front of Ella and tried to keep his voice steady and succeeding.

"What are you working on today?"

"Just a research paper I have been working on for a scientific journal. The deadline is coming up and I'm still not quite happy with it." She responded with a slight frown. She began gathering up all of the notes, notebooks, and various other papers. Putting them into a messenger bag she had stashed under the table.

Bucky waited patiently and watched with intent as she did so. Mulling over what she had just said. Very much interested in what she was working on.

Ella hitched the bag onto her shoulder, leveled Bucky with those green eyes, and pointed her thumb over her shoulder.

"The place I was talking about yesterday is about a block that way. It's decent. Not great. But decent."

As they made their way towards this coffee shop, Bucky made awkward conversation about the weather. Not knowing what else to talk about, desperate to fill the silence. Ella didn't really seem to have a problem with it, but she went along with it anyway.

"This is my favorite time of year. Where I come from, we don't have a proper spring or fall. Autumn as it's supposed to be called. We're lucky if we get two weeks of either every year. This morning I saw a tornado of fallen leaves and it inspired me to write a poem."

Bucky looked over at her walking next to him and gave her a curious look.

"Oh, really? What made you feel so inspired?"

Ella furrowed her brow as she looked ahead, tilting her head to one side as she thought that question over.

"I don't know. I had a song stuck in my head all morning whose lyrics went 'Feel like we've been falling down like these autumn leaves. But baby don't let winter come, don't let our hearts freeze.' And sometimes I just have ideas that won't leave me alone until they are executed. Actually, that happens relatively regularly."

"Can I hear it?" Bucky looked over at her again, with a slight smirk on his lips.

She looked over at him with narrowed eyes.

"Only if you promise to not make fun of me."

Bucky staggered and pretended to look shocked and scandalized.

"I would never! Cross my heart." He said as he crossed his heart with his finger.

Ella surveyed him for a second longer before she stuck a hand into her pack and pulled out a leather journal. She opened it to a page near the middle and began to read.

"Going mad. Losing your mind. It is like Autumn. It is slow and steady. At first. At first, it seems beautiful in its colors. Then one by one everything falls. Falls apart. Until the tree is left bare and dormant. Waiting on the hope of regrowing green again. Some day. Which sometimes seems impossible."

As they continued to walk on Bucky contemplated the verses Ella had spoken. They resonated with him. It certainly wasn't prose-worthy publishable, but he grasped what she had been trying to say. And that message was one that he was all too familiar with.

Ella snapped him out of his momentary lapse into silence.

"I am not particularly a fan of it, but I had to do something with it to get it out of my head. It could have been worse."

Bucky was about to respond when he was cut off by them arriving at a very crowded coffee shop. Bucky held the door open for Ella and then walked in himself.

It was extremely loud and even more crowded inside than the throngs of people who were gathered outside. Bucky was immediately uncomfortable. He noticed Ella take a slow and deep, shuddering breath next to him.

"This is why I really don't like these places." She said under her breath, more to herself than to Bucky. It was almost lost within the cacophony of the crowd. He decided it would be better to pretend he had not heard her since it seemed as if she hadn't intended him to.

He watched her intently as she carefully surveyed the shop and its patrons before walking up to the counter.

As they approached, Ella asked Bucky what he wanted to drink. He decided to keep it simple with just a black coffee. An answer to which Bucky could see a half smile break across her face though not entirely sure why it warranted such a reaction.

When it was their turn Ella ordered two large black coffees from the man behind the counter. He was fairly tall. He wore his hair up in a small bun at the top of his head. He had the look of a lumberjack about him, but Bucky was sure that he was nothing of the sort. Not even close. He thought it was something called a hipster.

The barista's face immediately lit up upon seeing Ella.

"E! I haven't seen you around here in a minute. Where have ya been?" He threw a glance in Bucky's direction.

Bucky watched and listened to Ella as her demeanor changed drastically as she began to banter back and forth with this man behind the counter after she had placed the order. She suddenly became extremely playful and teasing.

"Just getting into all the trouble I can. You know me. Kicking names and taking ass." She sighed and scrunched up her face and then turned semi-serious. "I swear to God, Todd. Just give me ten minutes and a pair of clippers and…."

This Todd guy cut her off with a hearty guffaw.

"Oooooo, no, no, no, E! You are not touching my man bun!"

Now it was Ella's turn to chuckle.

"Man bun? Dude, that's a fucking twat knot and it needs to go! You know I'm right. One day, man. One day." She pointed at Todd almost threateningly, then scoffed and added, "Put these on my tab. I'll be at my table."

Todd just smiled and nodded. Then he gave Bucky an appraising look. Bucky just stared right back, then followed Ella into the shop. Todd quickly turned away which made Bucky laugh under his breath. He liked making people uncomfortable sometimes.

She led them back into the very back corner of the shop where there was a small table. It was vacant and had a RESERVED sign on it. They both removed their jackets, Ella put down her bag and sat down. Bucky looked her up and down quickly. Even in an oversized hoodie and jeans, she was breathtaking.

Bucky wondered to himself how this all came about. He wondered how two years ago this woman was just another face in the crowd. Then a year ago he had perceived her as a threat. And now here they were. They were getting coffee together and he was full-on checking her out. How had everything changed so drastically? How had he even thought of her as a Person of Interest in the first place?

Bucky pushed that train of thought from his head. There would be more time to think about that later. He quickly diverted his attention from his thoughts to the room. He found that from this vantage point they had great views of the coffee bar. As well as strategic views of the exits and everyone who had managed to pack their way into the place.

Ella was in a seat with her back to the wall and Bucky sat across from her, his back also to a wall. He watched as Ella overlooked the coffee shop, seemingly assessing certain people in the crowd. It was at this moment Bucky got a distinct feeling that Ella was, or is, military.