Steve was hyper aware of his surroundings as he quietly ate, not missing the reach before the words pulled him out of his headspace and recentered him. Swallowing down a dry throat, he thoughtlessly lifted his left hand and swiped at his eyes, doing nothing to stem the flow before the hand shot out and latched onto Bucky's, still wet. He cringed, but then shook his head slowly.
"I'm okay, pal, it's just..." he croaked before several more vibrant images flared, bubbling to the surface of the storm.
He couldn't remember crying in front of Bucky, or anybody else for that matter, in several worlds.
"I've only cried twice in my life..." followed very quickly by a feminine voice that shook him to his core.
"It's been so long..."
"I'm okay," he reiterated, voice barely making it out. He stared at the stew as his unimpressive grip strengthened around Bucky's hand. "It's just... it's been too long. Too long since I had this stew." His hand jerked, then released and moved up to grasp Bucky's forearm, with the strength that had he been with serum might have risked bruising.
His eyes hadn't stopped leaking, and he lifted his other arm to swipe again at his face, shaking slightly and hiccupping as he did his best to calm down.
"Don't. I just... I'm sorry. I just need a minute," he whispered, a ghost of his 'everything is fine' smile pulling painfully at his face. "It's not just a memory thing. It's a fact."