Untangling a Memory

Just call or text

Bucky lingered in the common room, waiting for the others to arrive so he could say his good byes before they left on their mission. He had already wished T'Challa and Okoye well when he had seen them the day before at the meeting, so all that was left was the ones he usually spent all his time with: Steve, Sam, and Natasha. The longer the day had gone on, the more anxious he felt about their leaving and the warm feelings he'd started the day with from the great dream had dissipated.

"Hey man." Bucky had been in the kitchen, rummaging for a snack, so hadn't noticed Sam heading down the hall towards the common room. Sam threw his duffle down behind the couch and sat down at one of the stools.

Bucky smiled at Sam warmly. Bucky had been pleasantly surprised with how close they had gotten after Sam had approached him in his room that one day. He had been both a good resource and confidant and Bucky had grown to understand why Sam was Steve's wingman.

"Hey Sam, looks like you are all packed up." Bucky handed Sam a granola bar as he had grabbed one for himself.

"Yeah, all ready to go. A little anxious, ya know. Same as always before a mission, but still looking forward to getting back out there. How are you feeling about us leaving?"

Bucky leaned back against the counter facing Sam and opened the packaging on the snack. "Excited for you guys. I know that as much as the time off has been nice, that all of you are also getting a little antsy to get back in the field. I guess, I'm also feeling a bit bummed that I won't be with you and that you guys won't be here."

"Changess we all get used to over time, right?" Sam said sympathetically. He knew this wasn't easy for Bucky, but it was a good step. "Maybe next time you will be in the field with us, maybe not. I think this may be a good opportunity to check in with yourself about how you are feeling with everything you have been remembering and going through without us as a distraction. See how you feel about us being out there- do you wish you were out there or that you still feel more comfortable staying out of the fight? All good things to work on."

"Thanks, Sam. I hadn't thought about it that way. That helps." Bucky took a second to write these things down in his notebook. Sam was one of the few people he'd let see it. He trusted that Sam wouldn't ask him what was in it or try to find out for himself.

Sam took big bites as Bucky wrote, finishing the granola bar in only a few mouthfuls. "Of course. And you have my phone number. You reach out if you need something. Just because I'm countries away doesn't change the fact that I'm available to you."

"Ha ha, Steve said the same thing. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, but you don't want to talk to Steve. He's a punk and doesn't give nearly as good advice as I do." Sam joked as he saw Steve entering the common room.

"Yeah, whatever. Stop trying to steal my best friend, Sam."

Sam feigned shock and upset. "I thought I was your best friend! Dammit Rogers!"

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed, sitting down at the counter next to Sam.

"So, what is the plan for you guys then?" Bucky knew most of it from having sat in on the meetings yesterday, but knew he'd missed where they discussed some of the timeline stuff.

"Well, heading out on the quinjet to a small town about 200 miles from Minsk tonight. The plan is to have that be home base for the next few days and then we'll hop around a little bit to keep from creating too much consistency. Nat has some safe houses lined up at various distances from the target. She said that we will start using them in a random order that we determine on an ongoing basis once we get there, so if they find us out, we can stay a couple steps ahead."