Anamnesis [Lacuna #2] {Completed}

Chapter Eight

"Basorexia (n.) an overwhelming desire to kiss"

~Erin~

Bucky didn't ask Erin what Joe and she talked about. He hadn't even seemed to notice she had been gone. When Erin returned to their booth and sat herself across from him, he was still in some silent moment with himself.

            Erin opened her mouth to tell him what she had just heard. Tell him everything. "I-"

            "Joe coached my little league baseball team." Bucky said before she could get the words out.

The half smile that spread across Bucky's face made Erin clamp her mouth shut.

            "Joseph Bergman. He had a son about the same age as Rebecca. I... I played sports as a kid. I liked baseball and- boxing." His grin widened. "I loved boxing. I remember..." Bucky beamed so broadly Erin wasn't sure her heart could take it. "I remember." He looked down at his plate. "And these are still definitely the best eggs in Brooklyn."

*****

Bucky talked all the way through their meal. Erin couldn't believe all the details he began to recall. He talked her through much of his childhood and the things he did when he was younger. He told her how he met Steve and all the trouble they always seemed to get into. He avoided the subject of his family, but Erin knew it was something he didn't want to talk about it just yet. Once they finished their meal, Erin put down some cash on the table and they left the diner.

The cold wind blasted Erin's face as they walked out the door. The late morning air was chillier than yesterday and Erin chastised herself for not wearing a heavier coat. She thought she was doing well at hiding how cold she was until her teeth started to chatter.

            "Are you cold?" Bucky asked slightly amused. Erin could feel the shift in his mood. He was happier, more cheerful and she couldn't help but smile.

            "It'll get warmer as the day goes on." She gritted through her chatter teeth.

            Bucky chuckled beside her and then slipped his arm around her waist and a different kind of heat washed over Erin as he pulled her closer.

            Erin instantly felt warmer as Bucky's body heat radiated from him. "What temperature do you run?" She asked keeping herself as close to him as she could. She had always thought he was warm, but it was even more noticeable in the pre winter New York weather. "You're like a furnace. Perks of being a super soldier?" She teased.

            Bucky just shrugged, but couldn't hide the grin he had on his face. Erin could have sworn she saw a light blush flush over his cheeks.

            Erin had been so excited about Bucky's childhood stories, she hesitated about saying anything regarding what Joe had told her. But she couldn't keep it in any longer. "Buck..." She looked up trying to see his clear blue eyes through the dark sunglasses on his face. "I have something to tell you." She said quietly.

            She hated that the simple phrase was enough to leak some of the joy from Bucky's expression. She could see his guard go up a little and it hurt.

As they continued to walk, Erin retold everything Joseph had said to her about the house and his family. Bucky's family.

She kept her eyes forward while telling the story, trying to distract herself from Bucky's gaze. He was studying her through his dark sunglasses, soaking in every word.

            When she finished, Bucky didn't say a word for a full two blocks. Erin couldn't tell if he was trying to process what she had told him, or if he was simply ignoring her. Sometime during their walk, Bucky had dropped his arm from her waist and the coldness had crept back into her body.