There Goes My Hero

Bucky had a lot of questions. There were things he couldn't remember, things he remembered but wasn't sure if he'd made them up to cope or if they were real. There were things that didn't make sense to him, and he wanted answers. So when he'd been at the Smithsonian a few days before just checking things out to see if it would be helpful at all and he found a pamphlet mentioning the people who'd worked on the exhibit he'd come up with an idea. Clearly this Eliza person knew an awful lot about Captain America, and Bucky was pretty sure he'd known Captain America really well so maybe this girl knew something about him too. And if she did then hopefully she could answer at least some of the questions he had floating around in his head.

It hadn't been too hard to locate her since he had her name, and some other information thanks to the pamphlet. So he'd asked around a little until he found an answer and now he was standing outside her door trying to knock as non-violently as he could, which actually took effort. He wasn't even sure why he was knocking when he knew he could bust the door open if he wanted to. Of course, he also knew he shouldn't just bust the door down because well it wasn't civil and people didn't do that. And he was trying to be civil.

---

"Back again Calla?" Calla heard Julie ask her pulling Calla from her book. She smiled at laughed softly before sticking her bookmark in her book and setting it on the table. "I can't stay away, and it's much nicer than being stuck inside my apartment all day," she said knowing she could get things done at her apartment, and she wouldn't have to get dressed or spend money if she never left her apartment. But when she did leave her apartment and come to this amazing little cafe she wasn't keeping herself away from people. She could still get her work done and not feel so far away from the world. She could drink some amazing coffee, and every once in a while she'd be struck with inspiration from everything surrounding her.

"I guess that's an upside, well I assume you're going to have your usual?" Julie asked already scribbling down what the blonde in front of her ordered every day she was there, which was almost every day. "You know me so well," Calla said still smiling. There really was something about this little cafe that just made Calla happy. She felt content there, plus it wasn't far from her apartment, the people were nice, the food and coffee were great, and she never felt rushed to leave like she had in so many other places before this one.

[ hope this was okay! Sorry, it took me a while, I got in a lot later than I'd planned last night, and then today I ended up going out with friends after church so I've been busy!! ]

So many people didn't appreciate history. They saw no reason to study the past, and only wanted to live in the present. Eliza had never been one of those people. From a very young age, she found herself loving and appreciating history immensely. Her love and appreciation for the subject, along with the war stories she grew up hearing from her grandfather, led her to where she was today.

She'd studied at Boston College as an undergrad, and moved onto John Hopkins for her masters and doctorate. She specialized in WWI and WWII propaganda. With that came her expertise in just about everything Captain America. Her expertise had been needed for the Smithsonian exhibit that had opened a few months ago, and she'd written a number of different scholarly articles, published a book, and wrote her dissertation on the war hero as well.

In addition to teaching two American history courses at a nearby community college, Eliza was working on an article that she planned on submitting to be reviewed by other scholars within the field soon. She'd taken a break from filing through primary source documents to make herself a cup of tea when she heard a knock at the door. She looked in the general direction of it, a puzzled expression written across her face. She wasn't expecting any company today. "I'll be there in a second!" She called when whoever it was knocked a second time. Once she had set her mug down on the counter, she approached the door and peered through the peephole. There was a man standing on the other side and he wore a baseball cap, his trained on the ground so she couldn't get a good look at his face. Who the hell was it? She kept the chain on the door, though she unlocked the bottom portion and opened the door slightly. "Can I help you with something?"

---

Steve was still at a loss. He couldn't believe it. Bucky was alive. SHIELD had fallen. The Triskelion had been destroyed. None of it made sense. He knew that he'd do whatever it took to find his best friend though, and he and Sam had been following what appeared to be empty leads ever since he'd been released from the hospital. They followed anything and everything that they came across but to no avail. He still hadn't found his best friend, but he'd die trying if he had to. He wasn't going to stop until he found Bucky. He felt as though he owed his best friend that much.

Sam had suggested they take a break for a little while. They'd been searching and following cold leads nonstop for a while, and as much as Steve wanted to continue looking, he knew that Bucky would only be found if he wanted to be found, so he took his friend's advice and put the search for his best friend on the back-burner for the time being. He helped out at the VA every once and a while, though today he had nothing planned.

After finishing his morning run, he decided to stop someplace for a cup of coffee. There was a little cafe that he'd spotted in passing on a number of different occasions, and so he chose to go there. He figured it was worth trying. If he didn't like it, he wouldn't go back again.

[You're fine! I haven't been on much so]

[ same. work and church had just really been keeping me busy. ]

Bucky couldn't have actually thought that she'd open the door all the way for him. And even though he had at some point on the walk over here believed that she might've just let him in no question asked he wasn't shocked right now. He wasn't exactly the nicest looking guy in the world and even though he would never intentionally bring harm to anyone, he knew that the last 70 years might've made him out to be a liar. Of course in his defense, he had kind of been brainwashed and held against his will until he could no longer tell what was real and what he'd made up in his mind. And it was all confusing. Which was why he was even in the first place. This girl knew a lot about Captain America, and he was pretty sure that he'd been good friends with him even before he was known as Captain America. But Bucky knew he couldn't be sure of anything anymore. And he just wanted to see if maybe she knew things about him as well and could answer questions he had maybe.

"Actually, you can," he called through the crack in the door she'd made. "I was at the Smithsonian earlier and saw you worked on the Captain America exhibit and I just had some questions to ask you about it," he said kind of thinking off the top of his head. He wasn't sure if she'd let him in, or if she would even really be helpful like he hoped she would be, but it never hurt to try he supposed. And that's what he was going to do, try and get her to let him in so they could sit down and talk.

---

When Julie walked away to go and put the order in Calla leaned back into the booth she was sitting in and picked her book back up. Yea she probably should've been actually getting work done on her computer, but she was putting it off for a little while longer because she'd been up so late the night before working that she just wanted to relax a bit this morning before diving back in. Of course, she knew that she couldn't put it off for long, after all, she did have a deadline and her publishers would not be happy with her if she waited to close to the deadline to give them anything, luckily though she was actually almost done so she could put it off for just a little bit this morning.

And while her book was very important she was putting it on the back burner for now. She had to admit though that even though once it was published it would be her third book, and the first two had really taken off, she was glad that people didn't always recognize her when she went out. They could pass her by without a second thought, and she could still enjoy the little things in life like going out for breakfast in the mornings without being bombarded by fans. Yea it was amazing that people were really enjoying what she wrote, and that she was able to do something she loved. But the thing was she didn't write to gain fans or for the money. She wrote because she enjoyed it, and if it changed someone's life then that was awesome.

Eliza liked to think that she was a very trusting person. She had common sense though, and knew better than to open her door wide when a complete stranger showed up at her apartment and then just let them waltz right on inside. She didn't like to go off of appearances, she never liked to judge a book by its cover so to speak, but this man honestly seemed a bit out of place around this particular apartment complex. He could have been the nicest person on the planet, and looked very trustworthy, and she still wouldn't have let her into her apartment straight away. Her parents had taught her well when she was younger.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly at his words. She knew her name was in some of the pamphlets for the exhibit, however, she knew for a fact that her home address wasn't anywhere in there. And it wasn't in any of her books she'd had published either. The only information she gave out to the public was her work email address, not her personal one, and a P.O. box that she could also be reached at, so how the hell had he found her? She was unsure how to respond. She didn't know if she should act on the offensive, or pose a few questions. Was this guy some sort of a stalker? Was that how he'd found out where she lived? Did she reach for her cell phone and call the police? She really didn't want to jump to conclusions, but it was kind of hard not to. She made no move to let him into her apartment.
"That's what my email address is for..." She said, before setting her lips into a tight line.

---

Steve hadn't been living in the district for very long before the SHIELD/Hydra fiasco all went down. He hadn't really taken the time to look around and see different things. One of the few places he'd been was the Smithsonian exhibit. When he didn't go there, and when he wasn't needed for missions, he'd gone to visit Peggy in the hospital. The thought of her, and the exhibit, sent a pang through his chest. Both were a constant reminder of just how much time had passed since the forties, and just how much had changed in that time. Peggy had lived an entire life without him. Bucky had been brainwashed into working for the enemy. Most of the other Howling Commandos were dead or in a home of sorts like Peggy was. He'd missed out on so much while under the ice. And he still didn't know what to make of that at all.

He wasn't going to let time get away from him anymore though. He was going to find Bucky. Maybe he'd get that apartment in Brooklyn he'd been telling Sam he wanted to get. He'd continue catching up on as much of what he'd missed while under the ice as he could. And, while he was doing that, until he decided whether or not he was actually going to make the move to Brooklyn or not, he'd familiarize himself with DC a little bit more. Starting with this little cafe. The scent of brewing coffee always caught his attention as he ran past, and he wasn't going to keep on going back to his apartment like he normally would. No, this time he was going to stop. And he did just that, hoping no one would pay too much mind to his sweaty appearance as he took a seat at an empty table and waited for someone to come over to take his order.

[ I totally meant to reply to this before today ]

Bucky sighed mostly to himself because he had no idea what he was supposed to do now. Clearly she didn't want him to enter her home or she probably would've let him come in by now. And if he really wanted to show that he was trying to go back to his old self from or even at least trying to turn over a new leaf then he knew he shouldn't force his way in and do whatever it took to get answers. Even though he really wanted them. Realizing suddenly though what she said he was a little confused. He didn't know an email was or how to use it. And he just hoped she didn't think he was insane when he told her that as a last attempt to get in so he could talk to her.

"While I'm sure that's a great way to get in touch with you," he started running his fingers through his hair really hoping this would work, "I don't know what that means. I'm just trying to find out some information about Captain America and maybe some of the people he might've known," he said wondering to himself if he should mention that he was one of the people who might've known Captain America back in the day and needed information about himself. Or if that would make him seem odder than he already was. "You're the only one who can help me, though," he added not sure who else he could run to right now. After all, it wasn't like the people who knew them back then were reliable still or even still alive for that matter. Plus no one else had put nearly as much effort into learning as much as they couldn't about what Bucky was looking for.

---

Calla looked up from her book for a moment when she heard the little bell above the door go off indicating that someone had just opened the door. And one of her many specialties was people watching. She often watched people right there from her booth because it helped her pick up different quirks that she could use for characters in her own story. After all, the best way to write characters people loved was to make them real and relatable. The person who'd just walked in though was for whatever reason someone Calla couldn't quite take her eyes off of. And so she stared for a moment taking him all in.

He was tall, handsome, and very well built. He was also sweaty which she assumed was from a run or working out or something. Either way, he looked nice. And there was something oddly familiar about him, but she didn't know what. Because she knew she didn't know him. After all, with a face and body like his, she would've remembered his name if she knew him. That didn't change the fact though that he looked familiar. She just didn't know why. "See something you like Calla?" She heard Julie ask startling her a little but pulling her away from looking at the gorgeous man across the diner nonetheless. She felt her cheeks flush a little and just smiled at the girl setting her drink down on the table. "Thank you,"

"Not a problem. You should talk to him though, I bet he'd like you," Julie said walking away with a wink and a smile before Calla could say anything back. And maybe she was right.

His words surprised Eliza. “You don’t know how to send an email?” She repeated slowly. She hadn’t gotten a very good look at him, he was avoiding eye contact for the most part, which was rather suspicious if you asked her, but he sounded young enough that she figured he would know how to send an email. Even older generations had seemed capable of mastering that skill, had he been sleeping under a damn rock for the last couple of decades? “Look, I’m flattered that you thought to come to me with your questions, but look at this situation from my perspective. You’re a complete stranger and you’ve shown up to my apartment, which I still don’t know how you got my address in the first place, but that’s a different issue entirely. I’m sure you’re a nice guy, but I don’t know you. You could be an axe murderer for all I know, I’m not saying that you are, but it’s pretty easy to jump to that conclusion with all the crime TV shows that are out there nowadays.”

She was feeling pretty conflicted in that moment. The rational part of her knew that letting a complete stranger into her home wasn’t the best idea, but the slightly less rational side of her wanted to help him. She always loved answering questions about her research. She’d put so much blood, sweat and tears into her thesis and dissertation. It was just slightly unnerving that he’d shown up at her apartment out of the blue like this. Letting out a soft sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “I’m definitely going to regret this.” She mumbled to herself as she undid the deadbolt.

She ran a hand through her hair before opening the door fully. “You can come---“ She froze, eyes widening slightly as she was able to get a good look at him for the very first time. After spending hours and hours helping with the Smithsonian, and putting so much time into her own personal research, she’d recognize him or any of the other people featured in the exhibit anywhere. It was him. Bucky Barnes.

---

“Thank you, ma’am.” Steve said politely as the waitress set a cup of coffee down in front of him. A much-needed one at that. The place was small, but the atmosphere was very homey. It was nice. Since coming out of the ice, he’d noticed that there were a lot less mom and pop shops than there used to be back in the forties. Most of them had been replaced with bigger named businesses and restaurant chains. He understood that it was even more so about the all mighty dollar in today’s day and age than had ever been the case before, but it was still a shame. He supposed that was why this little establishment had caught his eye when he first went by it on his first morning run in the district. It was smaller, and a lot less flashy than most of the other places he’d gone by, and that was what he’d liked about it.

“Can I get you anything else to go with that?” The waitress asked. Steve shook his head. “This is perfect, thank you again.” He sent a polite smile her way. He hadn’t noticed the exchange between her and the blonde seated a few tables over that had happened just moments before she’d brought over his coffee.

“Alright, well, my name’s Julie. Just holler if you change our mind.”

[You're totally fine! I'm going to try to get a post up on the OUAT one tonight. If not, it might not be up until after finals are over.]

Bucky looked up when she finally opened the door to let him in. And he had a sense that she knew who he was, or knew something about him by the way she suddenly stopped talking midsentence. "So does this mean you'll help me?" He asked her hoping it did because he really did have a lot of questions. There was just so much that was hazy or that he couldn't remember if they were real or if he'd made them up as some kind of way of dealing with everything he'd been through. And while he wasn't sure she'd know everything he was looking for or even if she'd actually know anything he was looking for, he felt like it was worth a shot. Because right now anything was better than nothing.

"I know it's a little crazy for me to just show up like this," he said letting out a breath, "but I really do think you're the only person who can help me right now," he said biting his lip almost afraid she'd just opened the door and was having second thoughts about him. Something he was sure was a possibility. One thing Bucky was sure of was that this time they were in now was a lot different than it used to be and he really couldn't make out a lot of the memories from then. Not sure if they were real or made up.

---

Calla had never been in this position before. She was 24 and single, she lives alone and hadn't really dated in awhile. Not that was it wasn't for her or anything, it wasn't even that she hadn't met people, or wasn't willing to try. Because she'd given it a go a couple of times, and even went on a blind date or two when her friends thought they had someone good for her. Hell, she even mingled and gave flirting a shot when she saw attractive guys at conferences and whatnot that she went to. But well she'd always had this belief that dating should lead to something more, so if you don't see a future with that person there was really no point in dating. And so far all the guys she'd went on dates with to see if it was right weren't right. So she hadn't been on a date in a while. The thing was though that usually Calla was the girl who'd wait for the guy to make the first move and if he didn't flirt with her first then it wasn't likely she'd flirt with them at all. However, right now she was sitting in her normal corner booth coming up with the best way to flirt.

Once she'd figure it out though she was calling Julie over then sending her dear friend off to help her with her plan. And she just sat back and decided to open her laptop back up and wait to see what happened next. "Okay so here's a slice our delicious coffee cake. Which you can think that lovely lady over in the corner for if you'd like," Julie told him with a smile before sending Calla back what she hoped was an unnoticeable wink. Either way, he would know who sent him the coffee cake, and Calla was hoping it wasn't too forward or anything. Because it was kind of a bold move for her, which wasn't something that she did often. Or ever. Really she couldn't think of a time when she'd made such a bold move on a guy. And for all she knew it wasn't even really that bold.

[ That's fine. I'm sure school's been keeping you busy. So just take your time and focus on your finals. Oh and just a heads up I finally have money and a day off so I'm going to see Captain America tomorrow and I'm so excited!!!! ]

Bucky looked up when she finally opened the door to let him in. And he had a sense that she knew who he was, or knew something about him by the way she suddenly stopped talking midsentence. "So does this mean you'll help me?" He asked her hoping it did because he really did have a lot of questions. There was just so much that was hazy or that he couldn't remember if they were real or if he'd made them up as some kind of way of dealing with everything he'd been through. And while he wasn't sure she'd know everything he was looking for or even if she'd actually know anything he was looking for, he felt like it was worth a shot. Because right now anything was better than nothing.

"I know it's a little crazy for me to just show up like this," he said letting out a breath, "but I really do think you're the only person who can help me right now," he said biting his lip almost afraid she'd just opened the door and was having second thoughts about him. Something he was sure was a possibility. One thing Bucky was sure of was that this time they were in now was a lot different than it used to be and he really couldn't make out a lot of the memories from then. Not sure if they were real or made up.

---

Calla had never been in this position before. She was 24 and single, she lives alone and hadn't really dated in awhile. Not that was it wasn't for her or anything, it wasn't even that she hadn't met people, or wasn't willing to try. Because she'd given it a go a couple of times, and even went on a blind date or two when her friends thought they had someone good for her. Hell, she even mingled and gave flirting a shot when she saw attractive guys at conferences and whatnot that she went to. But well she'd always had this belief that dating should lead to something more, so if you don't see a future with that person there was really no point in dating. And so far all the guys she'd went on dates with to see if it was right weren't right. So she hadn't been on a date in a while. The thing was though that usually Calla was the girl who'd wait for the guy to make the first move and if he didn't flirt with her first then it wasn't likely she'd flirt with them at all. However, right now she was sitting in her normal corner booth coming up with the best way to flirt.

Once she'd figure it out though she was calling Julie over then sending her dear friend off to help her with her plan. And she just sat back and decided to open her laptop back up and wait to see what happened next. "Okay so here's a slice our delicious coffee cake. Which you can think that lovely lady over in the corner for if you'd like," Julie told him with a smile before sending Calla back what she hoped was an unnoticeable wink. Either way, he would know who sent him the coffee cake, and Calla was hoping it wasn't too forward or anything. Because it was kind of a bold move for her, which wasn't something that she did often. Or ever. Really she couldn't think of a time when she'd made such a bold move on a guy. And for all she knew it wasn't even really that bold.

[ That's fine. I'm sure school's been keeping you busy. So just take your time and focus on your finals. Oh and just a heads up I finally have money and a day off so I'm going to see Captain America tomorrow and I'm so excited!!!! ]

Eliza was at a loss for words. One would think that Cap’s discovery in the ice a few years ago, and the alien attacks on New York would make the appearance of a seemingly dead war hero a bit less…daunting than it actually was, but that wasn’t the case at all. James Buchanan Barnes was the only Howling Commando known to have been KIA. From what she understood, Captain Rogers had put a great deal of time and effort into searching for his childhood friend but to no avail. Clearly something was amiss in that whole theory though, because there he was, standing right outside of her apartment, completely and utterly alive.

“Y-you’re supposed to be dead…” She said slowly as the initial shock of it all had not yet entirely worn off. She knew that she was sort of stating the obvious, in her case at least, but it was the first thing that came to mind really, and it was the truth. Every American history book and textbook out there stated that Captain America’s friend, Bucky Barnes, had died on the mission the Howling Commandos had gone on in which they had successfully captured Arnim Zola. He had fallen from a train. That alone should have killed him. It clearly hadn’t though.

She nodded slowly in response to his later words, still trying to process the whole situation. He wasn’t wrong, the situation was pretty damn crazy, but she took a moment to allow his words to sink in. He wanted to know more about Captain America. That was information that he should already know. Clearly there were some answers that he was looking for and that he needed help finding. “Come inside…I’ll do what I can to help.” She told him as she stepped out of the doorway so that he could walk in.

---

Steve took the cell phone out of his pocket and fiddled with it for a bit as he sipped his coffee. He still wasn’t used to this whole technology thing. While there were some perks to the 21st century, the food was way better, there were still some things that he missed from the forties. Things were much simpler back then. There weren’t any alien threats to cities. No Asgardian gods. And his best friend wasn’t a brainwashed Hydra assassin either. What he wouldn’t do to go back to how things used to be. If only time travel were a thing. He was honestly pretty surprised that Tony hadn’t figured something like that out. If Howard could invent a flying car, surely Tony could figure out time travel. He knew better than to make a comparison between the two though. From what he understood, Tony and Howard never really saw eye to eye. Things just got really tense whenever Steve would mention him, so he kind of did it less and less now.

He was taken from his own thoughts when the waitress walked back over and set a plate down in front of him with a piece of what appeared to be coffee cake on it. Looking up at her with confusion written across his face, Steve was about to tell her that he hadn’t ordered it and that it must be some sort of a mistake when she spoke. His gaze shifted over in the direction she motioned to and he noticed the blonde typing away on her laptop in the corner. He was sort of shocked, and he could feel the heat rising on the back of his neck as he spoke. “Uh, alright…” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and mustered up a nervous smile. He didn’t know what else to say. Seventy years had gone by and he still didn’t know how to handle a woman. She hadn’t even spoken to him, she’d only sent a piece of cake over to his table. He’d thank her on his way out, he decided, and hopefully he wouldn’t make a complete fool out of himself in doing so.

The cake was delicious, and it went down real well with his cup of coffee. He paid for his drink, and left a decent sized tip on the table for Julie, before making his way over to the corner table. “I uh just wanted to thank you for the cake…” He started, mentally scolding himself for probably sounding like a dope. If only Bucky were here to laugh at him right now. Or Peggy. She’d get a kick out of it too most likely. He’d have to visit her and tell her about it.

Bucky knew it was weird he wasn't dead. After all, he had fallen off the train and probably should've died. Sometimes he even wished he would've died just so he wouldn't have had to go through all the pain and torture he'd been through. But he'd barely survived the fall and then was 'rescued' by hydra who tormented him until he'd become nothing more than a pawn in their game. And now he was known as the Winter Soldier and couldn't make out what memories were real and which ones weren't. Some things were starting to come back and would make sense if they were real, but it was still just confusing. That was why he was here because this girl in front of him had studied Captain America, which Bucky assumed meant she'd studied him as well and if that were true then she'd be able to hopefully give him some much-needed answers.

"I know that's what everyone thought, but well really it's kind of a long story," he said running his fingers through his hair. "And I mean I guess since you're trying to help me out here I can tell you if you want me to," he added before thinking that maybe it'd be helpful if she knew the story of how he was alive right now. At the same time though he had no idea how it would be helpful at all. Especially if she didn't work for Hydra or know about some of the more advanced projects they worked on. It was just another thing to add to the list of things that confused him for the time being.

"Thank you for doing what you can to help me by the way," he finally said once he'd walked into her home glad that he found her, and hadn't given up on getting her attention when she'd first tried to blow him off only moments ago. It actually really meant a lot to him that someone was willing to help him figure some things out. He just hoped it wouldn't be too much for her, or that he hadn't freaked her out too much with him still being alive and all. Especially with everyone thinking he was dead and all.

---

Calla had decided to go back to her work once she'd sent the coffee cake to the cute man across the diner so she hadn't even noticed if he'd eaten it, which was a good thing for her. Because she was still a little shocked with herself that she'd sent it at all, and the last thing she really wanted was to be weird and watch him the whole time like a weirdo. Plus if he was creeped out by it or something then she'd rather not be caught staring at him making the whole situation worse. The only issue with her going back to work was that when Calla was really paying attention to her writing, editing, or really anything regarding how she made her living, she had the tendency to get really caught up in it and kind of forget about the rest of the world. Which was sometimes taken the wrong way by people who didn't know her.

She looked up from her laptop when she heard a male voice speaking to her, and had to bite her lip to keep herself calm. This wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting, but it was nice. "You're welcome," she said closing her laptop and smiling at him. "I mean you haven't really lived until you've had a piece of Julie's coffee cake. I'm Calla by the way." She said not sure if she should stick out her hand for him to shake or not. He seemed like the kind of guy who'd want to properly introduce themselves with a handshake but she could've been wrong about that. And for whatever reason she still couldn't quite place why he looked so familiar, which would end up bothering her for awhile, but she'd eventually get over it.

She had lived in D.C for awhile though and she came to this same cafe almost every day and had never seen him before so she knew it wasn't because he'd been here. And there weren't many other things she did on a regular basis that would've allowed her to interact with him before. Though surely she would've remembered someone as handsome as he was had she ran into him before. So she was just going to drop the whole why he looked familiar thing before it drove her mad.

Eliza nodded slowly as she was still trying to wrap her head around the situation at hand. She knew that she probably shouldn’t have been all that surprised, what with everything that had happened in the last couple of years, and maybe it would have been a bit less shocking if he hadn’t shown up at her apartment and asked her directly for help. Maybe if she’d read about it in the newspaper or seen it on the news it would have been a different story entirely, but something told her that there wouldn’t be any such news story any time soon, and that honestly made her wonder just how this all was made possible. What happened after he fell off that train?

“That might be helpful.” She said with a slight nod. She was going to help him regardless, but knowing his story might make things easier. It was clear that he didn’t remember much of who he once was, he wouldn’t be asking her to fill in the gaps for him if he did, and that was another question she wanted answered too. What had happened in seventy-some-odd years that made him forget who he was?

“It’s not a problem.” She assured him. Realistically, she didn’t think that she could turn him away now that she knew he was alive and all. He was a war hero, and Steve Roger’s best friend. She’d done enough research on both of them to know just how important they were to each other and just how important they both were to the nation’s history. “I have a few questions to ask you, but I think you should start by telling me how it’s even possible for you to be here right now first.”

---

Steve had never been gifted when it came to talking to women. Back during the forties, Bucky normally did most of the talking. He was the one who always arranged the double dates, none of which ever went well for Steve at all, and he was also always the one who seemed to have a gaggle of girls crushing on him and admiring him from afar. No such thing ever happened to Steve.

He was always judged by his outward appearance. No dame ever wanted to be with someone as skinny and short and poorly as he once was. None of them ever wanted to spend time with the guy who was always found outside sketching on his stoop in Brooklyn instead of playing baseball with the other guys in the neighborhood because his asthma was acting up again. He was never any of their first choices, nor was he their second or third or even fourth, and he certainly wasn’t ever sent over a piece of cake in a diner before either. His outward appearance might have changed a great deal, and he might have witnessed a great deal since coming out of the ice, but, inside, he was still little Steve Rogers from Brooklyn who couldn’t sweet talk a dame even if his life depended on it.

“It was very good.” Steve said before mentally chastising himself for doing so. It was really good? Seriously, Rogers? You couldn’t think of anything better to say. For some reason, the voice in his head sounded a lot like Bucky. Maybe it was because his friend was one of the few things on his mind as of late, or maybe it was simply because he knew that was something he would have teased him about back in the forties. In reality, it was likely a combination of the two. “Steve Rogers.” He said, offering her his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Calla.”

[Sorry for the wait! This week has been crazy busy since it's the first official week of summer for me.]

Bucky was glad that she'd decided to help him with his issue, which he understood was a little out of the ordinary. It wasn't like every day someone everyone's presumed dead for seventy years shows up at your doorstep asking for help about his past. But he really did need help with it came to his past and he really did feel like she was the best person to ask. So hopefully she could, even if it was just a little. At this point, anything would helpful.

He was a little worried about Hydra still being out there, looking for him, though he wasn't sure if they knew he was still alive or not. Of course, if they did know and came after him then he'd make sure that he did whatever he could to keep everyone who knew about him. He wasn't sure how but he would. Because enough people had died by the hands of Hydra, and he didn't want to be the cause of anymore.

"Well I'm not entirely sure, I mean I remember falling. I remember darkness and pain. It's when things get fuzzy, though. Because I'm not sure how I survived the fall. But I did and when I woke up I was in this room surrounded by people I didn't know with all these wires and tubes and things sticking in me. I was still in a lot of pain and continued to have flashes almost like I was watching my life flash before my eyes. However, these people messed with my brain so much I got to the point where I couldn't, and still can't really tell which ones were real and which ones aren't. I remember at one point too I eventually registered that my arm wasn't my arm anymore and instead they'd put this metal arm in its place," he told her knowing that it was kind of a vague response, but it was kind of the best he could give her.

---

Calla took Steve's and smiled at him feeling a sudden joy wash over her. There was just something about people introducing themselves with a handshake that made her happy and feel like they might've even done other things she felt had died off in the last twenty-some years. Which yea she was still in her twenties so when she was like five, but still. Calla felt like there just used to be a time when people shook hands when they held doors open for one another when people just recognized that people were still around them. But they were in a new era. One full of technology that Calla felt always took top priority with people anymore. And she'd admit that it wasn't often she was seen without her laptop at least, but in her defense, she kind of used it to write her novels. And she also kind of made a note to make sure and look up every once in a while to acknowledge the world around her.

"Well Steve it's nice to meet you," she said really glad she'd sent him that coffee cake. No matter how out of the ordinary it was for her to make the first move. "And I was hoping you'd like it," she said with a smile. "It's actually some of the best coffee cake in town. Really everything here is really good. The coffee, the desserts, the breakfast. My favorite thing on the menu though is for sure their turkey burgers. I don't know what it is about them that makes them so amazing, but there's something," she said not realizing that she'd started to rant about this place and it's food. Once she realized she'd started ranting though she knew that clearly her sending him that coffee cake was a fluke or something. Because this was much more like her.

Being a little awkward and rambling about anything and everything was her. She was pretty sure that all came from her lack of social skills, though. After all, she did spend a lot of time alone working. Mostly because she always had a new deadline to meet and didn't have the time to be distracted. She felt like that was a turn off for some people, though, she didn't really go out with friends to bars all the time. She wasn't even sure when the last time she'd been to a bar was. And she was awful at replying to texts which always upset people. But she really couldn't help that when she was trying to reach a deadline sometimes that meant no outside world until whatever she needed finished was finished.

[ you're fine! I would've replied over the weekend, but I was busy. And the last two days I haven't really been on much anyways because I was catching up on some shows. However awesome news I bought a Mac today! So I'm all giddy at this brand new macbook air! ]

It was still a lot to process. If it wasn't for the events of the last couple of years she probably would have found it to be more shocking than it already was. Up until a few years ago, there had been no super soldiers uncovered in the ice, no alien invasions in New York, no neo-Nazi organizations still believed to be in existence. But now all of that was true. All of that had happened, and the fact that a war hero who had been presumed dead for seventy some-odd years now no longer shocked Eliza as much as it should have.

"Who were they?" She asked quietly. "The people in the room with you, who were they?" She had a feeling that she knew the answer to her own question already, but she wanted to hear it from him. If he told her everything that he could muster, she'd have a better idea about how to approach the situation at hand. She wanted to help him, but until she knew what he knew what he didn't know she wouldn't know how to do so. "What exactly do you remember? Or, I guess what do you think you remember?" If he didn't know if what he remembered was real or fake, maybe she could help him decipher all of that first and then they could go from there.

---

Steve still really didn't know what he was doing. His outward appearance might have changed immensely after the serum, but he still felt like the slightly awkward, skinny kid from Brooklyn. The kid who got picked on all the time in school. The kid who no one wanted on their baseball team because his asthma prevented him from running the bases fast enough. The kid who had little to no experience with women and had absolutely no idea how to talk to them. He might be Captain America, but he still felt like Steve Rogers more frequently than he was sure anyone really expected him to.

"It's definitely some of the best that I've had in a while." He told her, chuckling slightly. "Well, I've only really been here just this once, I pass by all the time when I go for runs, but I'm going to take your word for it." He made a mental note to come back some other time to actually get a meal at the place. He passed by frequently enough that he figured he could some time in the near future, but that was hard to say with everything else that was going on. Sam had gone out to follow a few leads on Bucky. Steve went with him whenever he could, but they always came up empty handed.

[Oooh, yay! How do you like your Macbook? I got my first one back in high school and I've only ever gone with apple products ever since.]