Couldn't Get to You.

James made no attempt to gather attention as he set foot into the diner, his hand curling up to hide within his jacket so it didn't stick out to anyone. The technology was beyond what the people of today understood... It was easier to hide it than it was to explain it. He'd become somewhat self-conscious. James was extremely aware of the fact he didn't belong, he didn't fit into the life of the normal man. Things like a robot arm would single him out, make him recognisable, make him 'weird'... He could go without the drama of it all when his mind was elsewhere. Instead of simply making his way to a table without waiting for Clara, he stood holding the door open for her. He may have wanted to keep his head down, and avoid attention, but he still needed her to help him blend in. In his mind, a man travelling alone looking as dark and worn as he did was suspicious.

Clara wasn't all that worried about drawing any attention to herself as she followed James towards the diner. She was sure that he was though, and she didn't really blame him either. If there was anyone who really needed to worry about laying low it was him. Of course, he didn't know that she knew that, he didn't know that she'd known him before, but maybe he would in time. She didn't know just yet if she'd ever tell him that they'd once known each other. It would probably only confuse him. She smiled when he held the door open for her, thanking him quietly, before she walked inside. She glanced around for a moment, before heading over to a vacant booth.

Even if no one was in fact looking at James, he felt like the entire world has eyes on him. He knew he didn't fit in, that he didn't belong... And it made him feel like he stood out amongst everyone else, and not for the right reasons. Once the dog had found it's way under the table, he slid into the booth, sitting opposite Clara. His body posture as he sat was not one of a confident man. He'd been lied to, manipulated, and pulled apart only to be put together again at someone else's leisure. The longer he had taken to think about it, the more it was beginning to get to him. He was slumped slightly in his seat, trying to make his sculpted body as small as possible. If he took up less space, he would be less obvious to others... Or so he hoped. The fact he was so awkward in his own body was probably enough to give anyone away.

He was different now. Clara could see quite clearly that the man seated before he was not the same man that she'd gotten to know. Maybe he knew more of who he was or, rather, who he used to be. Maybe he realized exactly what Hydra had been doing to him. The mere thought made her sick to her stomach. She couldn't believe that someone would do something like that to another human being. It was inhumane. And that was part of her reasoning for wanting to help him remember. He deserved that much. He deserved to know who he used to be. He deserved to know that he was more than the machine Hydra had made him out to be.

It was a huge conflict between who he believed he was, who Hydra had built him to be, and the man he had supposedly been. Having spent hours in the Captain America exhibition, James could easily say that he did not feel like any of those people... Especially not the man he was supposed to have been all those years ago when he fell off the train. It was dysphoric, feeling as though he was being pulled in different directions of who he was, and who he was supposed to be. There was a sense of betrayal and deceit looming over him. "I don't have much money," He confided in Clara after a few more moments of tense silence, his eyes fixed on the table. "I can't pay you for gas..."

Clara knew that he probably wouldn't be the same man that she'd gotten to know. She knew that there was a chance that he might not ever remember her, but she didn't want to think too much about that. She knew that it wasn't his fault. And she honestly blamed herself. She shouldn't have let him take the fall for her. She should have confessed and let them know that she'd been compromised as well. What happened, it just wasn't fair. She was taken back to the present when he spoke for the first time since they'd entered the diner. Her gaze shifted over to him. "It's fine. I've got it covered." She told him quietly, a small smile on her face.

"If you could just take me as far as you're going..." His eyes finally flickered up to catch hers, hints of a thousand yard stare still evident. His mind was racing with questions, none of which he had yet to answer... And he was starting to lose hope of finding answers. Hydra had thoroughly buried themselves into S.H.I.E.L.D for years, and he knew they were capable of going as far underground as they possibly could. Alexander Pierce was long gone, Zola's files undoubtedly destroyed... He didn't know where to begin, or where to go. "I would really appreciate it." The conversation seemed to fizzle out there as a waitress approached the table, with two laminated menus for the both of them. Despite having just met her, James only felt comfortable talking to Clara. He didn't want others to hear what they were talking about, she was the only person he cared to address. She was the only person he was somewhat comfortable with.

Clara opened her mouth to say something else when a waitress approached the table. Instead of saying anything, she simply nodded her head, able to tell that he wasn't comfortable with anyone else hearing what they were talking about. She hoped that that meant that he was at least comfortable enough around her. If that was the case, it gave her a flicker of hope. Maybe he would eventually remember her. She wanted him to, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up. "Coffee, please." She told the waitress politely when asked what she wanted to drink.

"Coffee, black, please." James murmured after Clara. It wasn't necessarily that he was being impolite, but more that he was too tired and run down to really interact with someone that he didn't know, especially not when he lacked trust for everyone. "Oh, and a bowl of water..." He added on to the end, not initially realizing what a weird request it was before he had said it aloud. "Thank you." He murmured once more as the waitress left to get their drinks. Despite the time they'd spent in the car, James was enjoying sitting down for once... The walking he had spent the last few days, or weeks, doing was wearing him out. He hadn't slept, or eaten properly in weeks.

"I don't really know where I'm going..." Clara admitted quietly once the waitress had left to get their drinks. She figured that she should just throw it out there now. Her plan was to get as far away from DC as she possibly could and to find him, but could she really tell him that? He didn't remember her. He didn't know that she knew him, and maybe she was better off keeping it that way for the time being. It would make things easier and less confusing in the long-run.

Travelling with someone else who didn't know where they were going should have been a little bit more uncomfortable than it was, yet to James, it came as some sort of strange relief. He wasn't the only one in the world who didn't know where they were going, or what they were doing... Granted, he was on the run, and he was searching for something. He couldn't say if Clara was experiencing the same thing as him... They were both just wandering. He had no idea just how closely linked he was to Clara, but the sense of ease between them was slowly beginning to grow... Especially now he knew she was just as lost as he was. James gave a small nod, eyes drifting as he thought. "Let's just go wherever then."

It was a strange feeling, not knowing where one was going. Clara honestly had never felt so lost before in her life, however, now that she'd found James, it honestly put her a little more at ease. She felt as though she could relax a little bit now that she'd found him. She was sure that there were people out there looking for him right now, more so than anyone else who had been affiliated with Hydra, but she would worry about that when the time came. For now, she was just glad that she'd found him. She nodded. "Alright..."

James was beginning to wonder if it would be worth finding Hydra. It was clear that the remaining members had gone as far underground as they possibly could, undoubtedly avoiding anyone who knew who they were... And avoiding being found by himself, or Captain America. Laying low may have been the better idea. Maybe he didn't have to reclaim the man he supposedly was, or be the one Hydra wanted him to be... He could just be who he wanted to be. There was still a sense of responsibility though, that he deserved answers to the questions that had been swimming around in his head for days now. Still, he couldn't impose on Clara for too long, even if it was a sort of comfort to have someone who was as lost as he was. The silence continued as the waitress came back to the table, putting their drinks down in front of them. It must have seemed like things were incredibly tense between the two of them as they sat at the table.

Clara wasn't so much concerned with Hydra as she was with finding James. She knew that most of the remaining members were laying low just as she was. The only reason she'd stayed in the district as long as she had was so that she could find James. Now that she had, she really didn't know where she was going, and that was, surprisingly enough, something that she was completely fine with. "So, were you just planning on walking until you got somewhere that interested you?"

Once the waitress had walked away again, the first thing James did was take the bowl of water and place it on the floor for the dog. It had become a strange habit of his, to think about the dog first and himself later. He always made sure the dog had something to eat before he did, and the dog's well being slowly seemed to be becoming more important than his own. It had crossed his mind that maybe it came as some sort of redemption, to be caring for something else instead of himself... He was helping, not hurting. He straightened in his seat once mores, his eyes directly coming to Clara instead of drifting as they had done before. "Yeah, I guess so..."

Clara watched as he gave the dog the bowl of water as soon as the waitress had walked away again. He seemed to really care about that dog, and he also seemed to put it before himself too. She could tell that he cared about it. It was actually rather sweet. Her gaze shifted back to him when he spoke, frowning slightly. "And you didn't have the slightest clue as to where you were going?" She was glad that she'd managed to find him when she did. She was glad that he hadn't gotten very far outside of the district, and that she'd managed to find him before anyone else did.

"No," He admittedly quietly, his gaze shifting to the menu as he picked it up. It was filled with food that he'd never had the chance to try, or even think about, despite how popular and obvious they seemed to be. The list before him really made him realise just how hungry he really was, and how long it had been since he'd had a proper meal. Everything just seemed so tempting all at once, had he the money to do so he would have ordered about five different things. Not to mention finding something that seemed okay for the dog to eat. "I just hoped I'd figure it out along the way..."

Clara frowned slightly. She couldn't really help it. She just didn't like the idea of him being out in the open like that, not when there was probably some sort of a manhunt going on for him at that exact moment. She was glad that she'd found him when she had, even more so now than before. "Well, you don't have to do so much figuring out anymore." She didn't know where she was going either. She knew that she needed to lay low, but she didn't know where exactly.

It was hard to explain to someone who didn't understand his situation why he was just walking the way he was. Unbeknown to him, Clara did understand. It would either be comforting to James to know someone understood, and that they wanted to help... Or concerning that there were in fact people out in the world who were searching for him. Clara may have been one of many for all he knew, and not all of them would have the same intentions as her. "What about you?" He asked after a moment, eyes trailing from the menu to rest on hers once more. "Did you know where you were going?"

They had a lot more in common than he realized. Clara wanted to tell him the truth, she wanted to tell him that he knew her, or that he should know her, but she knew that she couldn't. She knew that it would only confuse him, and it would be selfish of her to do too. She should be helping him remember things in general, not just her. It wasn't all about her. Maybe he didn't remember her for a reason. Maybe she wasn't that important to him after all. "Vaguely." She responded, taking a sip of her coffee. "I like to keep an open mind though."