I wrote this because of Falcon & The Winter Soldier finale upcoming.
Partly inspired by Stand with Ward and Queen's 'The right partner.'
Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sharon Carter in cuffs was being dragged by the military police into the courtroom in front of the United States' Intelligence Committee and as she was about to stand in front of the judge, she spotted Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, Nick Fury and Maria Hill in the crowd at the benches, while she was forced to stand in front of Attorney General Stanley, who was an elderly man with a bushy moustache, grey-to-white hair and at his side was Secretary of State Thunderbolt Ross, who smirked at them, while they glared at him silently. If Ross could not take down the Avengers, he would settle for getting the ones they cared about and he was going to start with the niece of Captain America's old flame.
Attorney General Stanley cleared his throat. "Sharon Carter. While we do acknowledge your contributions to the country and the world and your service and that you have aided Captain Steve Rogers and the Avengers in the past, we cannot overlook the fact that you have broken the law by stealing governmental property, that being the vibranium shield and EXO-7 Falcon military winged harness which are the property of the U.S. army and the Air National Guard."
The crowd instantly erupted in shouts of protest before Attorney General Stanley banged the gavel. "Order! Order in the courtroom!" He yelled, causing for them to go silent, with murmurs being heard.
"Regardless of the circumstances, these are serious violations with severe consequences…" Ross said with a grin on his face, making Steve, Sharon and their friends burn holes into his forehead with their fierce glares. "…and we're willing to deliver a less severe sentence, however, so… the Raft won't be necessary, I think a detention black site for Miss Carter should suffice—"
"Hold up, hold up! There is something else we should discuss, Mr. Ross."
They turned to see Pepper Potts, wearing a black dress and on her wrist a metal bracelet with some holographic console glowing on it. Ross seethed as the phrase 'if looks could kill' came to mind, while the crowd stared in confusion and murmurs were being heard and Steve, Bucky, Sam, Sharon, Fury and Hill just smirked, suspecting that Pepper was going to help Sharon and take Ross down somehow.
"Miss Potts, would you like to explain—"
Pepper pressed a button on the console and suddenly, Attorney General Stanley and the jury saw on their computers and the crowd on their cellphones, tablets and computers incriminating documents and footages showing Ross's operations in relation to the Accords and Gamma project with Bruce Banner and the 'grounds' to Ross's manhunt on Bruce and the Hulk, with Ross's declaration that Bruce's body itself was a property of the U.S. Army, which the jury found inhuman, whispers and gasps of surprise, shock and horror sounding off as everyone glared at Ross, who paled and could feel himself shrink as he met their glares.
"This could be doctored, this proves nothing—" Ross started, trying to save his face.
"Save it for the public inquiry, Mr. Secretary." Attorney General Stanley said as he turned to the guards and jerked his head towards Ross and the guards cuffed Ross, whose face instantly turned red with relentless rage and if no one knew any better, they would have thought he was going to turn into the Red Hulk before Attorney General Stanley cleared his throat and spoke up. "Secretary of State Thaddeus E. Ross, you are under arrest for illegal experimentation, coverup, reckless endangerment of civilian lives, illegal trespassing and violation of international laws, misinformation and inhuman treatment and other charges and the upcoming trial pending."
"How dare you?! Do you know what I've sacrificed for this country?!" Ross roared angrily as he was being cuffed and dragged away and trying to struggle out from the guards' grip before he glared at Steve, Bucky, Sam, Fury, Hill, Sharon and Pepper, who just grinned at him and Pepper in addition stuck her tongue out. "THIS ISN'T OVER! YOU HEAR ME?! THIS IS FAR FROM OVER! YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OR SEEN THE LAST OF ME, I SWEAR THAT YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS! ALL OF YOU!"
They turned to Pepper gratefully as she smiled at them and winked.
Attorney General Stanley readjusted his glasses as he turned his attention to Sharon again. "As I have said, considering the circumstances, those being a misunderstanding regarding the Winter Soldiers and the man named Helmut Zemo, who was responsible for the bombing of UN in Vienna seven years ago, I think clemency in case of Sharon Carter is warranted. Therefore, all charges regarding stealing governmental property and aiding and abetting are being dropped, unless there is anyone who disagrees?" He looked at the jury, who had no reaction, asides from nods of approval. "Very well."
He banged the gavel and Sharon nodded gratefully and relaxed, exhaling in relief before Steve, Bucky, Sam, Fury, Hill and Pepper approached her, all of them giving her congratulations, while Steve hugged her tightly.
"I didn't think we'd make through this." Sharon said.
"Honestly… after Thanos… I see that we should never give up hope." Steve said as they smiled at each other and kissed.
The following day, in Sharon's apartment in Washington, D.C., where she used to live next to Steve, she stirred as she felt the sunlight shine onto her face through the window and sniffed the smell of bacon and heard sizzling as she slowly came to and turned her head to see Steve making breakfast and preparing the plates on the table. She got up from the bed as the blanket fell off her naked body, while Steve heard footsteps and then the shower running from the bathroom and smiled, while Sharon relaxed as the warm water washed away the dirt, sweat and worry she had been carrying for years after the mess with the Accords and the Decimation as she took deep breaths to enjoy the shower, while rubbing the soap against her skin.
A few minutes later, Steve watched as Sharon came out from the bathroom, tying a robe around her waist and dropping the wet towel from her hair into a basket as they sat down across each other.
"So, to what should we toast?" Sharon asked as she poured herself and Steve some orange juice into glasses.
"To new beginning." Steve said as he raised his glass.
"To new beginning, then." Sharon said as they clinked their glasses and drank before kissing and then they picked the cutlery, about to eat their breakfast.
They had finished one chapter of their journey and were now onto the next one, which they would write together and wherever the path was going to take them, they would see it through together, side by side.
Attorney General Stanley was a reference to Stan Lee, obviously. Hope you liked Ross getting his. *smirks evilly* Wouldn't surprise me if Pepper had kicked him out after Tony's funeral. I'm not familiar with the U.S. law and I got inspired mainly by 'Shooter', both the film and TV series.
While I do hope that Sam will make Steve proud as his successor and part of me holds onto perhaps a fool's hope that Walker will at least contemplate his actions and then comes slowly on a path to redemption like Faith Lehane in Buffyverse did, frankly, while it was confirmed that Sharon had become a victim of the Snap, it's stupid that after five years she was still on the run due to helping Steve and Sam in 'Civil War', which was just infuriating.
Plus, the end to Steve's arc in MCU, where he leaves the Avengers to live a happy life with Peggy in the past and screwing the timeline still makes no sense at all even after two years, so Steve never stayed in the past with Peggy. Also, trying to start something at the funeral of someone's aunt and then kissing her is inappropriate as hell, so that moment never happened here.
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter