Couldn't Get to You.

"So you were just driving?" There was a small sense of disbelief building within James, simply at the fact their stories seemed so similar. He didn't want to ask if she was running away from something like he was, or that she was looking for answers... It seemed slightly invasive, especially when they didn't know one another very well. They could end up anywhere together if neither of them knew where they were going. It was comforting that there were people in the world who were as lost as he was, but at the same time, it was slightly concerning that there was no structure in their plans. They could end up on the completely wrong side of the country, and James would be left with less answers than he had before.

"More or less." Clara said, giving her shoulders a slight shrug. She knew that their stories were extremely similar, more so than he realized. And they were both running from the same exact thing, they'd both been a part of that horrible organization, but she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't tell him that she was affiliated with Hydra. She didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She needed to make sure that he trusted her again first, and she needed to try to build up their relationship, if that was the right word for it, again before she did anything else.

If neither of them had a plan as to where they were headed, one of them would have to come up with an idea eventually. There had to be somewhere James to go to find some sort of answer to who he was, or used to be. He tried to remember the information there was of 'James Buchanan Barnes' in the Captain America display. There had been a whole section on who he apparently was, and his relationship with Steve. It was a start, building blocks of sort. "If neither of us have a particular plan, can I make a suggestion?" He asked softly, unsure if Clara would be willing to just cart him around at his request. She would either agree, or James would need to find a new way of getting around... Even if it did mean he had to start walking again. He was tired, and he would have preferred not to... But if it was necessary, then so be it.

Clara knew that not having a plan of action probably wasn't the best idea. In fact, it was probably a terrible idea, but it could work for a while, right? She hoped so anyway. She sipped her coffee, nodding in response to his words. "You can." She said, curious as to what his suggestion would be. She wondered if he'd come up with something. Maybe he did have somewhere that he needed to go. So, she was silent, waiting for an explanation.

"New York," He responded simply, as though he had no actual passion to go there and find answers. It seemed like the best place to start... It was apparently where he was from. There had to be something there that would help him remember, or simply explain some things he didn't understand. It was where he was supposed to have grown up, with Steve... There had to be something there for him. Even if it was just something to jog his memories, or someone that could explain one or two things to him. "There are some things I need to do in New York."

Clara nodded her head slowly. His explanation was a rather vague one, though she didn't really know if she should ask any questions. He still saw her as a complete stranger. He probably didn't trust her yet. She'd be surprised if he did. It had taken her a while to build up the trust that he'd once had in her. "Alright." She said after a few brief moments of silence. "We can go to New York." What else was she supposed to say? No? She knew more about him now. She knew that he was from New York. This could be good. This could help jog his memory.

"Where are we now anyway?" He asked quietly, finally taking a sip of his coffee. He didn't even think about the fact he was using his metal arm to hold the cup. Despite the fact he was determined to hide it from everyone in order to avoid gaining unwanted attention, it was still part of him... It was instinctive to use it. He'd been walking for so long that he wasn't entirely sure where he was anymore, not when he'd spent as much time away from main roads, or on the side of them when he really had to. He had just walked, with no specific direction or intention. He just wanted to get away from Washington.

"Delaware....I think we're getting close to Pennsylvania." Clara told him. Going to New York wasn't out of the way at all. In fact, they were headed in the right direction. And, even though he hadn't actually told her his reasoning behind wanting to go to New York, she was sure that it would be helpful. It would be harder to lay low in a big city like that, but if it would help him remember, she was willing to risk it.

"Delaware..." James repeated, surprised that he had actually made it that far out of Washington just by walking. It was a comfort to know that they'd been heading in the right direction all along. New York seemed to be the most sensible place to go, it would give him an opportunity to re-explore what was supposed to be his old life, and to rediscover who he was before Hydra had gotten into his head. He wanted to know what had happened to him, what had caused him to become Hydra's weapon, what they had done to him. He knew that even if Hydra were laying low, as he was trying to, they'd have eyes everywhere... They'd found Steve easily enough, so who knew how long it would be before they found him to. He didn't want to think about what would happen to him if they found him again.

"You seem surprised." Clara could sort of just tell. It was how he'd said it. She was kind of surprised that he'd gotten as far as he had on foot though too. She was glad that he hadn't gotten too far though. She was glad that she'd managed to find him when she did. Any longer, and she wasn't sure if she would have come across him or not. She would have continued looking though. She wouldn't have stopped until she found him. She opened her mouth to say something more when the waitress came back over to take their order. "Just a burger and fries for me, please."

James straightened in his seat once more as the waitress came back to their table. He understood she was just doing her job, and that it was important for her to do it properly, but there was something in the back of James' mind that meant that he just wished he could be alone with Clara. He was becoming increasingly more comfortable and confident around her... Other people still concerned him, for the wrong reasons. "All day breakfast, please." He murmured, glancing up at her. "With an extra plate of bacon." He must have seemed like an odd customer, but he knew he wasn't the only one who had been on the road, and was starving... He had the dog to look after as well.

Clara hoped that he was at least a little comfortable around her now. She wasn't going to get her hopes up though, not when they'd only just met a couple of hours before. Once the waitress had walked away, her gaze shifted back over to James. "Is there any particular reason why you'd like to go to New York?" There. She'd asked it. She didn't want to seem nosy or anything like that. She was just curious.

It was hard to explain to someone who James thought he didn't know why he wanted to go to New York. If he explained his entire situation to someone who was unaware of Hydra, and what they had done to him, he would have been deemed a mad man... Especially when the story went as far back as allegedly falling from a train in the second world war. He clenched his jaw for a moment, trying to think of the best way he could possibly phrase it. "I'm from there." He stated a little less than confidently, only just stopping himself from adding 'I think' onto the end of it.

Clara could sense the struggle without even actually looking at him. She could tell that he wanted to tell her, but he wasn't sure if he could. She just wanted to know what it was that he did know. What could he actually remember? He was calling himself Bucky now instead of James. Did that mean that he at least knew some things about the man he used to be? She had so many questions that she wanted to ask, but most were ones that she wasn't sure that she even could ask. "When was the last time you were there?" She asked curiously, sipping her coffee. "I'm sorry if I'm asking way too many questions, I have a tendency to do that sometimes."

"A long time ago," It was the only way he could possibly respond. In his memory, and what he knew of himself, he'd never been to New York. Washington, and the locations of assassinations that Hydra had told him he was responsible for, were the only places he had been in his life... Or so he thought. According to the information about him in the Captain America exhibition, he was a New York native, Brooklyn to be precise... He'd rather someone he didn't know wasn't asking him so many questions, but he could see the benefit of it. Maybe one of her questions would jog his memory, or at least it would let him piece together his story. They were questions anyone would ask him, and he needed to get used to this identity if he planned to survive. People who didn't know him would believe he was no one of importance if he had a feasible story.

Clara nodded. "I'll stop asking questions if you want. Like I said, it's just something I tend to do sometimes." She said, a sheepish expression on her face. She could tell that she wasn't going to get a more specific answer out of him. That was going to be it. She was sure that it was partly because he didn't fully trust her just yet, and partly because he couldn't really give her much more of an answer. He didn't realize that she knew who he was. And he probably wouldn't ever realize it unless she told him. Or he remembered who she was in the first place, but she wasn't banking on the latter. She wasn't going to get her hopes up just yet.

"It's okay," He told her, his voice softening for once. It was a genuine tone, much different to how he'd spoken to her before. As he grew more comfortable around her, he felt as though he could open up slightly more. It was slow progress, but progress nevertheless. "I'm just not good at conversation..." It was true. He'd never really had a conversation with someone, not a long lasting one at least. It had been orders and mission reports... Hydra had truly deprived him. Human contact was soon locked down when Hydra had realised he'd been compromised. Orders, mission report, orders, mission report. That's what his life had become following the wipe.

Clara was caught off guard by his sudden change in tone. It was different from how he'd been talking to her up until now. It was familiar. It reminded her of how he used to talk to her back before everything had happened. And, for her at least, it was a glimmer of hope. One that, maybe, somewhere deep down, the man that she'd gotten to know was still there. Maybe he just needed to be reminded of that person. Maybe she could get him to remember. I know. She wanted to say. But she couldn't. If she did, it would cause confusion between them. She'd have to tell him the truth, that she knew who he was, and she wasn't sure that she was ready for that. So, instead, she smiled, nodding her head wordlessly, before taking a sip of her coffee. Once she had set it down on the table, she spoke. "Well, we're just going to have to change that."

There was just something comforting about Clara, even though he barely knew her. James could just... tell. He wasn't sure why, but it was just there. It was a weird sensation, but there was just something in her features that told him she was the type of person who cared about people, unconditionally. She felt safe, and comforting. He would never admit it, especially when he was so on guard about everything else at the moment. He was instinctively beginning to trust her, for unexplainable reasons. He still couldn't shake that familiar feeling about her, as hard as he tried to. There was something in her smile that just felt like home to him.

Clara wanted, more than anything in the world, for James to remember her. She knew that there was a possibility that he never would, and she wasn't about to get her hopes up or anything like that, but she really just wanted him to remember her. Though, that wasn't why she'd gone looking for him. She'd gone looking for him because she wanted to help him. Her offer still stood, even though she doubted that he remembered it if he didn't remember her, and she was going to help him. She was going to help him remember who he once was. And, if he wanted to, she'd help him to become that man again.