"He's not a wacko, he's harmless. He saved me from a mugger earlier. Besides, he likes my coffee." Kate grinned.

"Saving you from a mugger doesn't mean he's not a psycho," Selena pointed out. She rubbed her forehead a bit. "Do you even know who he is? Does he have a name?"

"He said I could call him Barnes," Kate said. "Honestly, you're acting like I've got no manners and no self preservation instincts."

"Think about that name, Kate," Selena said, glancing at Pepper to make sure it was okay to nudge Kate in that direction. "Think about it real hard for a second."

Kate shrugged. "I dunno, what are you getting at? I'm keeping the poor guy waiting, I don't have all night to play guessing games."

Pepper made a face but nodded. Yeah, this was really kind of bad, and she needed to get Tony and Steve on this before someone got hurt.

Selena sighed.

"Remember we saw that thing at the Smithsonian last summer?" she asked, still trying to nudge Kate in the right direction. "The thing about the Howling Commandos? There was a picture of Sergeant Barnes. I swear to you, Kate, that's the same guy."

"No it's--" Kate froze when she looked at Barnes again, really looked at him, with Sergeant Barnes in mind. "Oh. What the hell?"

"You see it now?" Selena asked. "God, Kate, what if something had happened?"

"Um." Kate shrugged. "I dunno. Does it count for anything that he's still the nicest hobo I've ever met?" She couldn't help but grin a bit.

"As far as I know, you've never met any other hobos, that statement means nothing," Selena said. "Just... be careful, alright?"

"Yeah. I will. I'll text you in the morning, okay?" Kate looked at Barnes, processing this new information.

"Promise me," Selena pressed. She was going to be worried about her friend until that text came in.

"I promise," Kate agreed. "In the morning, soon as I'm functional."

"Alright," Selena reluctantly said. "Be careful, then."

"I will. Later." Kate hung up and looked at Barnes again.

"So, guess I've been a bit oblivious today."

Barnes just watched her.

"What did your friend tell you?" he finally asked.

"That I've been blind and should have made the connection between Barnes and Sergeant James Barnes," Kate said quietly, looking at him.

Barnes studied her, mentally re-tallying his threat assessment.

"Sergeant James Barnes is gone," he finally said. Then he frowned. No, that statement didn't seem right, somehow. "For the moment," he amended.

"For the moment?" Kate blinked, going back over their day. Something about his behavior had been catching her attention all day...

"He's the one that has fun, isn't he? You're more cautious."

He was quiet for a second or two.

"There is only the mission," the Winter Soldier finally said. "Except... There is no mission."

"Okay," Kate agreed. "So where does that leave us?" She blinked at him.

Barnes thought about that.

"I am... unsure," he finally admitted. And he definitely hated being uncertain about the situation.

Kate looked at him before she nodded to herself.

"Stay the night," she offered. "I've got a couch you can crash on, lots of extra blankets, you'll be warm and dry. It's supposed to rain tonight."

While Barnes knew it was an offer, to the Winter Soldier, it sounded comfortably like an order, and he nodded. It was the first thing he'd been actually told to do, rather than asked, and it was just familiar enough to be good.

Kate smiled and went to go fetch blankets and things for him.

"You can take a shower if you want, probably help you relax," she said, putting down some of the blankets on the couch. It wasn't bedtime quite yet, but she wanted to be prepared.