Betty tucked the last of her underwear into her suitcase, pulled her hand luggage across the bed towards herself and began to pack her knives, guns, and holsters. Coat, she reminded herself, grabbing one out of the closet. Bucky was stood in the bedroom doorway as she turned, taking in her suitcase with a confused expression.
"You're leavin' again?! What did I say this time?" He asked, a little panicked and she hurried across to him, placing her hand on his arm.
"Baby, no, I gotta go to London, remember? Maria Hill asked me to help them with a trainin' programme," she reassured and he relaxed slightly.
"That's now? It's sooner that I thought." He tried to hide his despondent expression but she saw straight through him.
"You sure you're OK with me goin'? I could stay..." She tilted her head to the side, analysing him.
"No, Doll, it's fine, honestly. I'll just...hang with Yori." He grinned at her but she wasn't convinced.
"You can tell me if you want me to stay Buck."
"I always want you to stay but you got a job to do." He insisted.
"Well...alright, if you need me just call. I'll be back before you know it." He nodded and left her to finish her packing.
They said their goodbyes with soft kisses and whispered words of love, even though they were the only two people in the apartment. It wasn't lost on Betty that this time it was her that was heading out on a mission, leaving Bucky behind. It pulled on her heart strings and she almost called off the whole thing but finally managed to convince herself that perhaps a couple of weeks apart might be a good thing. Who was she trying to kid?
The journey on the quinjet to London was shorter than she expected, especially with training plans and personnel files to review. Her pilot was a young agent from New Jersey who had a ready smile and asked her questions about the Battle of Wakanda, and the Battle for Earth. She was respectful in her inquiry and Betty answered her happily, making her laugh when she described how Bucky picked up Rocket and spun around with him, taking out aliens like sitting ducks. She could never convey with words the horror of battle, masking with humour was easier for both of them.
The facility they landed at was small and almost as well-equipped as the one in New York. It was situated in the countryside past the outskirts of London and Betty was in awe of all the green space, even as it was dressed in the colours of late summer and early fall. Thanking her pilot and leaving the jet, Betty was met at the entrance to the facility by an attractive woman of around the same age, well, physically at least. Her sepia skin shone in the late afternoon light as her warm chestnut eyes crinkled with the smile of her greeting. Betty took her offered hand and shook it heartily.
"Hi Agent Barnes, I'm Agent Kahn but please, call me Samira. Welcome to England!"
"Betty, and it's my pleasure. I've only ever been to the city before so this is a nice change." Betty gestured at their surroundings.
"I guess you're right. When you're here all the time I suppose you take it for granted. Do you have plans to visit any tourist hotspots whilst you're here?" Samira asked, adjusting the soft blue scarf she wore around her hair.
"Not this time, unfortunately. But seein' just this little part makes me want to come back and explore some more," she grinned.
Betty's phone buzzed with a message and she pulled it from her pocket to read it.
Going to talk to Sam. Will call you later. Miss you already.
She smiled affectionately and tapped out her reply.
Be NICE Buck. Love you.
She didn't need to think too hard to be able to imagine the scoff and scowl that he'd make at her words. With a quiet chuckle she pocketed her phone again and turned back to Samira.
"Sorry, husband checkin' in."
"How long have you been married?"
"80 years," Betty sighed.
Samira laughed and gave her a strange look. "I guess it can feel like that sometimes."
"Yeeeeahhhh," Betty winced.
The awkward moment passed quickly and Samira led Betty to her quarters, giving her some time to settle in.
"I know it's your first night and you're probably tired but there's a little pub just down the road that we go to sometimes, just to get off the base really. Would you like to come with us later? We could get some food there."
"That actually sounds really good," Betty replied.
"Great! I'll meet you back downstairs in...an hour?"
"Perfect."
Samira left with a wave and Betty set about unpacking her bag. There was plenty of room in the small closet and dresser for her clothes. The bed was just a little smaller that a double but was more comfortable than she was used to from government facilities. She ran a hand down her face, exhausted, but still thought that going out for dinner with some of the team was probably the best idea. She hopped into the shower in an effort to revive herself and, after scrubbing away the travel grime and washing her hair she did feel a little more alive.
She changed into a pair of jeans and a red v-neck sweater, leaving her hair to fall unbound down her back. It hit the middle of her shoulder blades now and the gentle waves showed off the dark caramel blonde to good effect. Staring at her reflection in the mirror she took in the slight crinkling around her eyes and the tiny line that sat in between her eyebrows.
"Still not bad for 106," she whispered, and then laughed, shaking her head.
Thinking that she may as well go all out, she added makeup along with a slick of red lipstick to match her sweater. She picked up the chain with her little wooden birds attached and ran a thumb over the carved surface in an old gesture of comfort. She slipped the chain over her neck and then added a second so that the three dog tags it held fell just between her breasts, two of the tags were hers and the third belonged to Bucky.
Her phone rang with a video call just as she was fastening the buckles of her black biker boots and she answered it eagerly.
"Hi Doll, you look beautiful! Are you goin' out someplace?"
"Hey Baby! Yeah I'm goin' out with...wait...are you on a plane?!"
"Umm...yeah," Bucky's sheepish expression set off warning bells in her brain.
"What are you doin'?" She asked, suspicion laced through her tone.
"I'm goin' with Sam and Torres to Germany. There's this group that..."
"Are you OK with this Buck?" Concern was etched across her face.
"I'm OK with it, I'm not sure Sam is. He doesn't have a plan Bets, he's such a fuckin' rookie."
"I'm pretty sure he's not Buck."
"Yeah well, Steve always had a plan. Someone's gotta be here to make sure this bird brain don't get hurt."
"You got me worried now Buck, I gotta be honest," she frowned.
"Hey Firecracker, don't worry about me, I'm a super-soldier remember?" He gave her a stupid grin that quickly changed into his familiar scowl as he looked off camera for a second.
"Well...you just take care Baby."
"Sure Doll, absolutely." He grinned again and then froze as the signal dropped.
"Buck?" Betty said, tapping the screen, but it remained frozen on her husband's goofy face.
With a roll of her eyes and a weary sigh Betty grabbed her coat and purse and headed downstairs to meet Samira.
The pub they went to was only a fifteen minute walk away through the crisp evening air. Betty couldn't help but compare it to the one she'd visited with Peggy and she was surprised to find a similar timeless atmosphere. Samira ordered a Diet Coke and Betty eyed the range of beers on offer, trying to remember what it was she'd had the last time she'd been in a pub. Wracking her brains and coming up empty, she asked the bar tender what he'd recommend and he served her a pint glass of what he called mild beer, which was rich and full of flavour, and yet light on the palate.
They made their way over to an alcove off the main bar area where a number of people who were already sat called out greetings to Samira. She introduced Betty and they waved and greeted her as if she were an old friend, which made her smile warmly. She was happy to sit and listen to the banter around the table, and when it came to ordering food she was excited to see meat pie, mashed potatoes and mushy peas on the menu.
"Oh my God, I haven't had this in like, 80 years!" She gushed, savouring every bite.
A couple of people sat close gave her a strange look and Betty realised that they probably didn't know her backstory at all. To them she was just another "expert" coming to help them train. She gave a mental shrug and relaxed into relative obscurity.
The next morning saw Betty up bright and early, despite the number of pints she'd managed to sink the night before. She showered and changed into her training gear, sweeping her hair up into a slick bun on the top of her head and then laced up her sneakers. She clipped her pass to the waistband of her Lycra pants and headed out of her room towards the canteen, the scent of coffee luring her onwards.
There was no-one she recognised in the canteen when she arrived so she grabbed some oatmeal, fruit, and a coffee and then sat at a corner table on her own. She took a deep, satisfying swig of her drink and pulled her phone from the pocket off her hoodie, scrolling through her social media. She snapped a picture of herself pulling a stupid grumpy face and sent it to Bren with the caption early British mornings, urgh x and chuckled at the thought of her friend waking up to see it.
The buzz from an incoming message made her flip apps and she saw a text from Sam and the icon that indicated a file was downloading.
Your man is an idiot and he got his ass kicked by a little girl 🙄
Betty raised her eyebrow as the video that Sam sent finished its download and she clicked the triangular play icon. Her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she watched her husband stand in the doorway of a plane, rip the sleeve off his jacket, and leap out in to mid-air, without a fucking parachute! The footage was a little shaky but it panned around to show Bucky's free fall, his chaotic tumble through the pine trees as he tried to slow his descent, and his inevitable crash landing onto the forest floor, his breath huffing out of his body as he lay winded. Redwing's camera zoomed in on Bucky's pained scarlet face as he tried to force his shocked diaphragm to draw in enough air. The sound was muffled but she could still hear his strained words.
"Get out of my face Sam, or I'll break it."
The last sound she heard before the video ended was Sam's amused chuckle.
"Oh for fuck's sake, that man is a fuckin' menace..." she muttered to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Who is?" Samira asked, sliding into the seat opposite Betty.
"Oh, just my husband and his stupid fuckin' ideas. I can't leave him alone for five damn minutes," Betty lamented, rolling her eyes.
"What's he done, repainted the living room? Built a man cave in the back garden?"
"I wish he had," Betty rolled her eyes as she showed Samira the video, knowing it didn't give anything away about where Sam and Bucky actually were.
"Ouch," the agent winced in sympathy, "mine only broke the microwave last time I was away."