#buckra

It was almost the end of her shift and of course, someone just had to sit at her table. Luckily, he knew what he wanted, keeping his voice quiet and low and not complaining about what she brought out to him. She wasn’t complaining; he was the easiest customer she had ever had. Until, when she came back to give him his bill and he asked her a peculiar question. 

“Do you know me?” he seriously asked her, expression slightly confused as he looked up at her. 

Petra felt her brow furrow at the question, not expecting it at all. It was an odd question to be asked and frankly, it worried her. Still, she paused, trying to place the man from under his baseball cap. He wasn’t one of her regulars, nor was he one of her once-in-a-while customers. She didn’t recognize him from outside of work; he wasn’t in her law school classes or from her apartment building or really anywhere she frequented.

“No, I’m sorry.” she shook her head, “But maybe if you told me your name...” she offered, trying to help the man out. Even if he did look around her age, he also looked a little homeless and she was worried that he was having a mental breakdown -- something she really didn’t want to deal with right before her shift ended. 

“...Bucky.” he answered her after a long pause. She wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t remember or just didn’t want to tell her. 

Glancing around herself, she noticed that no one was paying attention to her. Her other tables were taken care of and her co-workers were gossiping in the back corner, so she slid down in the seat across from him. At her action, Bucky immediately pulled away from her and she noticed how defensive he became. 

“Do you know me?” she asked, keeping her voice soft. That was the question she was used to -- the one she usually got from men their age, using it as an opening line to try and score with her. But Bucky was quiet, eyes on her the whole time. Then he broke eye contact, shaking his head a bit.  

“I think I do, but every time I try to remember...” he trailed off, eyes focusing on the table as he tried to do what he was saying, “It’s like there’s something stopping me.” he quietly admitted. He fell silent, eyes still focused on the same spot on the table.  

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.” Petra filled in the silence after a moment, trying to give him a reassuring smile, but she could feel how tight it was against her skin.