Anamnesis [Lacuna #2] {Completed}

Chapter Twenty Five

"Litost (n.) regret and remorse and repentance; a state of agony and torment or sorrow said to be created by the sudden sight of one's own misery"

~Erin~

Tony Stark looked at her, his face a mixture of confusion and wonder.

Erin's mouth parted slightly at the sight of him. He was wearing a hat and sunglasses to try and not draw attention to himself, like she was. She hadn't seen him in years. Even her last summer interning with STARK Industries, he had never been around the London branch a lot. "I don't know if you remember me-"

            "Erin right? McCall?" Tony said lifting a pointed finger as he walked towards her.

            Erin was dumbfounded for a moment. She had no idea Tony even knew who she was without explaining herself. "You... recognize me?"

            Tony scoffed, "Your grandpop was a trail blazer in the biomechanics field and one of the father's closest friends." He paused. "I also remember your robotics high school project that I approved to become a prototype at STARK before you even graduated. Of course I remember you."

            "It's just... we've only met a handful of times..." She said still gaping

            "Trust me, when someone like you interns for my company, I keep tabs." He said looking at the display next to him.

            Erin raised her eyebrows. "So, can I ask what you're doing here?

            He shrugged, "Brushing up on some of my history." He looked at the tersseract display before his eyes found the Bucky's exhibit across the room. He looked down quickly.

            The realization struck her. Bucky had killed Tony's parents. Tony had no idea what Erin knew or where she had been. It was strange, she felt as though she was keeping something from him, like she was betraying him somehow.

            "Do you have time for a coffee?" He asked her suddenly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

            Erin was surprised at the question. She had no words so she found herself nodding. "Sure."

*****

"So... what's up?" Tony across the table from Erin. He had taken her to a small coffee shop on the corner a few blocks from the Smithsonian Space Museum. They found a small booth in the back and ordered their drinks.

            Erin shot up at eyebrow at him. "What's up?"

            "Yeah?" Tony looked down at his coffee mug, rubbing circles around the edge, "You know, what's the 411? What's happening? What's on fleek?" He added an extra emphasis on the K when he said fleek.

            "One, I don't know what fleek means and two, I'm not sure how to answer 'what's up'."

Tony let out a sigh. "Where have you been? What happened? Why did you...?"

            "Disappear?" Erin finished the question for him.

            "That's one word for it." He looked up from his mug and glanced at her.

            Erin hesitated. She couldn't reveal what she knew about Steve and what had happened in Wakanda without him asking too many questions. She didn't know exactly how to dance around the subject, so she decided to tell him what happened before. "After S.H.I.E.L.D. fell and my mom died... I just... I think I had an identity crisis or something." She joked taking a sip from her mug. "Thought maybe Europe would be a cure." She shrugged.