A/N*

recondite17 : Thank you so much!

Guest: That is a splendid idea! I just might have to do that! Thanks for commenting!

The jagged bark of an Oak tree dug into Aubrey's bruised back as she watched Cap. He locked the case with the Infinity Stones before ambling over to where Bucky stood. The two exchanged words and Bucky gave a small smile. They hugged before Cap moved to the Quantum Tunnel they'd put together.

"How long is this going to take?" Sam called to Banner

"For us? Five seconds, for him? As long as he needs" Aubrey pushed off of the tree trunk as Banner spoke, headed towards Bucky. He had a somber look on his face and something gleamed in his eyes.

"Buck? He's coming right back."

He met her eyes for a moment "He's not coming right back, Brie."

"You ready Cap?" Sam asked

Captain America wouldn't meet their eyes as he spoke "You bet"

"Going Quantum in three, two, one-." Cap disappeared from sight. "- and returning in five, four, three, two, one." Banner pushed a button but no one appeared.

"Where'd he go?" Panic tugged on the edges of Sam's voice.

"I don't know, he blew right by his timestamp….he should be here."

"Get him back"

Bucky turned, pacing slowly towards the lake. Aubrey heard him exhale and glanced over, only to freeze.

"Sam." Bucky's voice interrupted Falcon.

Aubrey watched, frozen as the two men crept closer to the figure sitting by the lake. But then they stopped and only Sam moved further. Carefully, she weaved through the tall grass, positioning herself beside Bucky.

"I don't understand, Buck"

"He went back and did it all over -" His words were quiet, grief in them. "- he doesn't have the serum anymore."

"What?...so..so"

"He's going to pass it down to Sam, Brie. Things are changing." shoving his hands in his pockets, Bucky mumbled under his breath "-I'm not worthy of it. But Sam is. He'll do a good job."

"Aubrey Brianne Cristo. You have been charged with at least one hundred accounts of murder, aiding national criminals, escaping from the Raft with the help of a fugitive Captain America...However, you also risked your life to bring millions back. And succeeded. We've seen the evidence of mind control and have had many witnesses come forward, both for and against you. What do you think your punishment should be?" Aubrey's head felt light as she stood in front of the Supreme Court, trying to keep herself from drowning guilt. She'd had to hear every name of every person she'd murdered on the first day of the trial. It had brought her to her knees, and to tears.

The trial had been going for days and days. She'd been barred from the courtroom by the lawyer that Pepper had hired. Apparently Tony had kept a lot of the evidence from the Hydra bases. The machines had proved her innocence...at least she hoped so. They didn't want her interacting or seeing the machines so she'd been sent back to the guarded hotel room. The courtroom was empty except for the nine Justices, and herself. They had requested Aubrey come in herself that morning. Shuri had stepped forward yesterday and presented the evidence that she had healed Aubrey and Bucky's minds. His case was happening at the same time as hers.

She hadn't seen Bucky since the trial had started. The officers and Justices had made it clear that they were not to interact until the trial was over.

"I...I don't know-" She stammered. "- I think that...that I deserve whatever you decide to do."

The female Justice who'd addressed her first spoke again. "We've been talking about it for days and days. It's hard to decide what to do with you because you've done things on both sides of the scale. We can call you a murderer and a criminal. But we can also call you a hero, someone who has saved millions and millions of people and has made every effort to right wrongs. Do you understand our dilemma?"

She gave a weak nod as the woman continued

"But I believe we've finally come to a decision, for both you and Seargent Barnes. We are going to give you your sentence now. Then we will publicly announce it afterward. Aubrey, you are hereby sentenced to three years of weekly therapy. You are banned from government activities and you are going to leave the United States for several months. Your therapy will be online and if you fail to attend it you are going to be served an alternative, worse sentence. Do you have any questions?"

"Why do I have to leave?"

"Because we don't want you having contact with Seargent Barnes and we want you two separated for the time being. You can have an hour with him and then you are going to Venice, Italy."

The door to her simple hotel room clicked open and Bucky ambled in, hands shoved in his pockets. An armed guard hovered behind him, growling "One hour" before closing the door.

"Hey-" Looking up from her duffel bag, Aubrey pushed up off of the bed. "-Did you-"

"Yeah...They told me….It could be a while until we see each other again."

"I know-" Puffing a breath out of her lips, Aubrey trained her eyes on the leather jacket he wore "-I...I don't want to go but...It's the government and...I don't know what else to do...I..-" Her eyes stung and she tried blinking it away. Bucky heaved a sigh, inching a step closer.

"I'm not very good at comforting people" his words were gruff but something lingered behind them.

His words brought a small laugh from her lips. "That's okay. I don't think I'm very good at it either….." the words trailed off.

Bucky inched forward until he stood in front of her. His voice was soft as he spoke "Brie, it won't last forever. We can find a way to remain in contact without them knowing. And the minute it's over, I'll find you or you can find me. However, you want it to work…"

"I...I can't go through what I went through while you were gone" the words were whispered but Bucky heard them.

"You won't. Everyone is back now, the world is fixing itself. If you need me, at any point, say the word and I'll come. Screw the government."

Another broken laugh tore its way from her lips. "Those are some fighting words, old man."

Flashing her a rare smile, Bucky murmured something under his breath before backing up a step. The words were quiet and Aubrey wasn't sure she heard them right.

"Only for you."