It's Been A Long, Long Time // Steve Rogers

Chapter 33

That next two months seemed to go by too fast. I made sure to spend as much time as I could with my friends knowing soon, I'd have to leave them. Steve and I came up with a lie to tell them. We'd be moving out west to California because Steve, or 'Grant' as they knew him, was offered a job at a huge publisher as one of their illustrators. The lie worked and they didn't ask questions.

The only one who knew where we were really going was Howard. We opted to leave out the part about Zola and only told him about how going to the future was a chance for me to be with Bucky again. Which wasn't totally a lie, I would be able to be with Bucky again but also I'd be safe and away from Zola and whatever plan he has for me.

Flashback

"Howie, I have to tell you something." I said, looking over at my boss who had quickly become a really good friend of mine since becoming his assistant. "What's up, Becky?" I rolled my eyes at the nickname but let it slide. "So um, Steve and I made a decision the other night..."

"You're getting married!!" Howard exclaimed. I shook my head, "not yet." "You're pregnant!! Or getting pregnant!!" Howard exclaimed next. "Also no, Howie, listen." I laughed, shaking my head. He huffed and his attention was totally on me. "I've um, I've really been missing Bucky lately...and well...I can't get into details but Bucky is alive in the future..."

"Sergeant Barnes??" I nodded slowly and looked down at my hands. "He came back to see Steve...and well...he asked me to go back with him and I couldn't say no." I explained. Howard sat back in his chair and rubbed his jaw. "Wow." He let out a breath of air, "That's an incredible opportunity, Becca."

"I know. Bucky and I lost so much time together that...I just need him in my life again." I smiled at Howard and he nodded. "I mean, I'm gonna miss you here, Bex but I understand. He's your brother...however he's alive..." Howard didn't ask any questions. He knew I wouldn't give him any no matter how much he pestered me. "When do you leave?" Howard asked. "Steve said we'd leave in a month...enough time to say goodbye to everyone." I sighed.

Howard nodded and chewed on the end of his pen, "I take it I can't tell anyone."

I nodded and he mimicked my action with his own nod. "Well, I'm happy for you Becca, truly. I'll cover for you when I can."

"Thank you, Howard." I said, pulling him into a hug. "Gonna miss you around here Becca." "I'll miss you too, Howie."

-

"Becca, can you hand me the bowl of chips?" Steve asked. "Sure." I passed him the bowl of chips and he set them out on the table. I took a moment to look around the once full apartment. All of our stuff was packed up with Howard's promise that it would go into a Stark storage unit...since we weren't actually moving. Everyone else was under the impression that Howard would be shipping our furniture. "That's everything." Steve said, looking at the array of snacks that we set out. Tonight was our 'going away party' since we would officially be leaving tomorrow.

I smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss before our guests slowly arrived. Once Lois, John, Riley, Maddy, Howard, and a few other girls from the bar as well as Stark industries showed up, we all mingled and talked for as long as we could. It was great to spend this last night with some of my closest friends. It was bittersweet. I would miss them all but this was the best thing for me. For everyone.

"So Bex, what's the first thing you're doing when you get to California??" Lois asked me. She'd always wanted to visit California. "I think I want to see the pacific ocean...dip my toes in the water." I lied. "Ugh! I'm so jealous!!" Maddy said, leaning against Riley. "So what I'm hearing is a group trip to visit Bex and Grant in Cali??" Lois and Maddy squealed and I gave them the fakest smile I could muster. I just hoped it was believable enough.