April 17th, 2012 - New York, S.H.I.E.L.D Headquarters

He wasn't listening.

The man was talking, explaining everything that had happened and how he managed to survive in the ice for all those decades very thoroughly – but Steve only heard a buzzing in his ear when the man spoke. He had survived. Steve had been a man frozen in time. He still was. Everything he knew had changed, everything he loved was gone.

"Did we win?" Steve asked, interrupting the man with an eyepatch. Steve's blue eyes were fixed on the man; dark skin, dark clothes, a leather trench coat that fell just above his ankles. He looked older than Steve, but he knew that wasn't possible. "Did we win the war?" Steve asked again.

The man nodded. "Yes, Captain Rogers, the war is over." He began to explain all the details but Steve looked down at his hands, brows furrowed as he tried to focus.

The world had changed so much, so many lights, so much noise, so many more people.

"You helped shape the world into what it is today, Captain Rogers." The man told him, causing Steve to look up again.

He didn't know what the world was like today. He didn't know if there was peace between all the countries, between all people – all he knew was that he was alone. And that left a dull ache in his chest.

There was no way they were alive today.

It was possible that some survived the war and lived happily ever after.

But seeing them aged, hearing about the life they had lived with him gone, hearing about the loss they all had suffered. He couldn't imagine the pain of hearing those stories. It would be almost as hard as losing them all.

Peggy.

"I'm going to need a rain check on that dance." Steve could remember telling her, feeling as if it had just happened only hours ago.

"Alright. A week, next Saturday, at the Stork Club." He could hear the pain in her voice, both knowing that he would not survive the impact of the crash.

"You got it."Steve had said.

"Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?"

"Y'know, I still don't know how to dance." Steve had tried to joke.

"I'll show you how. Just be there."

He could see the water now, only seconds away from impact. "We'll have the band play somethin' slow. I'd hate to step on your-"

He had crashed, windows shattering and water cascading into the plane, engulfing him in the pressure. His lungs burned, his eyes began to sting, and his chest began to ache.

They were gone.

Bucky was gone.

The last he had heard from Peggy, AJ had hijacked a plane and was M.I.A. For all he knew, she was dead as well. His two best friends, the loves of each other's lives, were dead. Steve couldn't help but be grateful that they were together again. And then he felt his will to fight against the water slowly fading away. It was cold and the current was too hard swim out, even with his enhanced strength.

They could all be together again. Him, AJ, and Buck. Just like before. He would watch as his best friends were sitting together, AJ snuggled into Bucky's side as he absentmindedly twirled a curl of her hair around his finger as he smiled at something Steve had said. AJ would say something smart that would cause them both to laugh and she'd look up to Bucky like he had put all the stars in the sky, with a love so intense and true that surely it would continue on in the afterlife, or wherever they were.

He longed to be with them.

But he heard Peggy's voice in his head again, 'Don't you dare be late.'

And he tried to fight, fight to get to the surface and come home to her.

But it was too late. His lungs were giving out and his mouth opened in a panic, swallowing water that left a burning sensation down his throat as more and more came. He screamed, just one word; Peggy. His body grew limp and everything went dark.

The next thing he knew, he was in this very room, awake, but awake decades into the future.

Steve ran his hands down his face and inhaled sharply.

"She's here?" Steve heard the man say, and when he looked up, the man had his finger pressed to his ear. "Bring her in."

The man dropped his hand and looked to Steve. "I know that things are confusing right now, Steve." He used his name, no longer referring to him as Captain Rogers. "But I have to warn you – they're about to be a hell of a lot more confusing and I apologize. I think she'll do a better job at explaining everything in a way you might understand."

"She?" Steve sat up in his bed.

Peggy? Was she alive? Was she here?

There was a soft knock on the door and the man walked over to it and opened it slowly, standing in Steve's way to shield Steve from whoever was at the door. "Good luck." The man said, looking back at Steve one last time before he stepped forward and walked out of the room.

He felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at the person standing in the doorway.

It wasn't possible.

And then she let out a little laugh, her green eyes shimmering with tears as she pressed her hands to her mouth, closing her eyes to try and compose herself. "Y'know, I had an entire plane ride to try and prepare myself for this and figure out what I was gonna say to you but," She sniffed and Steve watched as her lip began to tremble. "I'm speechless."

Steve took a step forward, his eyes scanning the woman standing a few paces away. "Jay?" He whispered.

AJ nodded her head quickly, closing the remaining space between them and flung herself into his arms. He was hesitant, but the moment he heard her whisper his name as she pressed a kiss to his shoulder, he finally wrapped his arms around her waist tight.

"How?" He asked, voice shaking, arm still tight around her, afraid to let go. "How are you...how is this-"

"Possible?" AJ laughed, moving herself a bit out of his arms, dropping her hands from his shoulder to fall down to her waist, grabbing his hands and holding them in her own. "It's a very, very long story." Her voice rasped the way it always did after she cried or got herself too worked up.

It was her. But she looked so different. The dark hair that Bucky had loved so much was dark no more, and the way she dressed – it was definitely not the way she dressed the last time he saw her. But those striking green eyes, the small mole on her right cheek, the way she held herself. There was no doubt in his mind that standing before him was Adelyn Juliet Frost. His best friend. A woman he had thought to be dead.

Steve watched as the door closed behind AJ and she let go of his hands and wiped away some tears that had fallen. AJ motioned for him to follow her, sitting down at the very end of the bed he had woken up in. "So, I'm sure Fury gave you the whole, welcome to the 21st century spiel?"

Steve took a seat next to AJ on the bed. "He's the one with the eyepatch?"

AJ nodded.

"Yes." He said, he hadn't listened to most of it. "He also explained how I survived but what I don't understand is how you are here – looking almost exactly the same as when I last saw you. Age wise, at least." He smiled a little, moving his hand to her hair, pinching a few strands between his fingers causing AJ to laugh. "Last I heard about you, Peggy had said you hijacked a plane...how-"

"I did. I knew there was one Hydra fortress in Austria still untouched by the SSR and I wanted to do something about it. Going in alone was reckless and stupid but it's what got me here."

"But how?" Steve asked.

He watched as AJ looked up at something on the wall. A red light that had been flashing was now turned off.

"At the Austrian Hydra fortress, I came into contact with an object called the Obelisk." Her eyes still looking up at the wall to make sure the red light was still off. Her eyes moved back to Steve's. "There are only a few people in the entire world that survive when they come into contact with the Obelisk. Something in their DNA is different than any other person – and the few that had survived the Obelisk begin to change."

"Change?" Steve said, but AJ continued on talking.

"There was a man who worked for Hydra, his name was Dr. Werner Reinhardt, he believed that somehow he'd find the answers to immortality by dissecting those who survived the Obelisk,"

"Immortal? Wait – are you – dissecting?!" He said, now angry, not able to form his words as AJ talked over him.

"Steve, I am so happy you are here with me and I love you but you need to shut up and let me explain how I'm here because I don't have much time." She pointed to where the red light had been. Steve nodded, not understanding but trusting AJ. "-I am not going to go into the details about what he did to me, but by the time Peggy and the other Howling Commandos found me, I was knocking on death's door." Steve began to open his mouth but quickly closed it when AJ narrowed her eyes at him. "-I wasn't going to survive. I shouldn't have survived as long as I had – but because of the Obelisk my DNA was different. I had abilities that I hadn't before and those abilities helped keep me alive, and I promise I will explain everything better when we are really alone but all I can say right now is that my last name is very ironic."

Steve blinked, still trying to process everything as AJ spoke a mile per minute.

"Peggy and the others found me and brought to a SSR base in Austria and that's where Howard, Peggy, and Colonel Phillips put me in a cryofreeze chamber with the hopes that they could would keep me alive long enough for them to find a way to fully heal my injuries someday. And that day happened sixty-five years into the future. I've been awake for two years now working as SHIELD agent, but only a few people know the truth about me and who I am and what I can do," She grabbed Steve's hand and dragged her finger across his hand and Steve felt a harsh sensation against his skin, eyes moving down to see that AJ was drawing a 'S' on his opened palm. His eyes grew wide; he held in his hand now; a piece of ice in the shape of the 'S' that AJ had drawn on his palm.

AJ looked back up the camera and quickly moved her hand on top of Steve's and suddenly he felt a cold liquid in his hand just as the light turned red again.

"And that's how I'm here right now, Steve." She said, completely composed now. He blinked again, trying to comprehend everything she had said.

She had almost died. Peggy had saved her. She had gained some sort of ability that had to do with ice. The reason she hadn't aged was because of cryostasis chamber she had been kept in for sixty-four years. She was here. She was alive.

"You're not alone, Steve." AJ said, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He nodded and watched as relief washed over AJ's face before she moved herself in his arms again. Steve held her for a long while until the man with the eyepatch, who AJ had referred to as Fury, came back inside.

"Agent Frost, you're needed upstairs."

AJ nodded and let go of Steve. "I'll be back." She assured him as she got up, placing her hand on his cheek as he stayed sitting on the bed.

"Okay."

She left. And he was alone in the room with Fury.

"You and Agent Frost will be going away for a few days to a place we call The Retreat. While you're there, AJ will fill you in and what you missed."

Steve looked to the wall and the red light that was back on. "We'll be alone?" He looked back to Fury, hoping he knew what he meant.

"You will. The Retreat is a safe haven for Agents, most go their while on medical or personal leave. AJ has been there and will drive the two of you there."

Steve couldn't help but let out a small laugh. This whole situation was comical – he was awake in the twenty-first century after being frozen in ice, AJ was alive and had abilities he still didn't quite understand – but the most comical thing to Steve was that AJ was taking them to this place called the Retreat. "I wake up in the future and the first thing you want to do is put me in a car with Jay?" He shook his head, "You do know that she's a terrible driver, yes?"

"A lot has changed, cars included but...I can't say the same for Agent Frost's driving." Fury smirked.

Steve shook his head. He woke up just in time to have AJ kill him with her terrible driving.

_

April 18th, 2012 - The Retreat

"Director Fury did warn me that your driving has not improved," Steve said with a chuckle after AJ had to slam on the breaks to avoid hitting a deer.

AJ had to scoff at that, watching as the deer moved out of the way, she stepped on the gas, purposely sending it lurching forward causing Steve to move his hands to the dashboard to avoid colliding into it. Dammit, Jay, he muttered under his breath causing her to chuckle as they drove down a very long road that would lead them to the forest where the Retreat was located.

"I think my driving has improved." AJ said, rolling down the roofs window to enjoy the scent of fresh air. New York had a certain stench to it now that it did not have in the 40's and each time AJ had gone to the cabin, she felt serene to smell the fresh air.

"Where is this place?" Steve asked, purposely not commenting on AJ's driving skills. It made her smirk.

"It's about 12 miles away. We hike the last three miles since you can't get to the cabin by car – usually they send us in one of the jets SHIELD has now, but I know how much you loved when I drove back in the 40's." She teased.

Steve let out a harsh laugh at her words. "I will never forget the look on Bucky's face when he first got in the car with you – I've never seen someone grip the dashboard so tightly." He chuckled, looking over at AJ who kept one hand on the steering wheel now, her other hand pressed just above her heart where Bucky's dog tags hung. There was no avoiding talking about Bucky. But she just wanted some time with Steve where she wasn't in physical pain remembering the man she loved and lost. Steve seemed to sense that and quickly went back to teasing her, "How you ever managed to get your license is still a mystery to me."

AJ smiled, looking over at Steve with a little eye roll. "It must have been my charm."

She drove the nine miles it took until they would be on foot for the rest of their journey, Steve's eyes going wide when AJ pressed a button on the keys that camouflaged that car. "Is it gone?" He asked. She had walked forward and knocked on the car, the thud causing Steve to lift his brows at her. "As I said, technology has advanced." AJ said as they began their trek through the woods. "Do all cars do that?" Steve asked. AJ answered, "If they're issued by SHIELD, they do. You should see the jets."

AJ explained to Steve how the SSR came to be SHIELD, how Peggy and Howard had formed something revolutionary that helped the world from ever falling into the hands of a radical group like Hydra ever again.

He didn't ask about Peggy and AJ completely understood. AJ had been the same way. She knew that Peggy was alive, living in a home for people suffering with Alzheimer's disease – AJ had worried that if she had gone to see Peggy, it would only confuse her older fragile state. He did, however, bring up Howard on their hike to the cabin.

"Howard was one of the founders?" He had smiled, shaking his head a bit as he looked forward. AJ looked over at and chuckled. Steve hadn't known Howard the way AJ had, he didn't get to witness his brilliance every day or his determination when he worked. It didn't surprise AJ in the slightest that Howard had helped create SHIELD. "I'm sure he had a hand in all the new technology."

She frowned, eyes shifting away from Steve. "He did." AJ said, keeping her eyes ahead as they continued walking forward. She could feel Steve's eyes on her, just waiting for her to give him the bad news, but she couldn't find herself to say the words. So, instead, she spoke about Tony. "His son, Tony, he has taken over Stark Industries...he uh," AJ had to laugh a bit. "He's a lot like his father. A bit more arrogant but very much like Howard in many ways."

"Have you met him?" Steve asked, sounding amused.

"No." AJ spoke honestly. "But the people I work with have spent some time with Tony."

Steve cleared his throat. "And Howard?"

AJ closed her eyes, licking at her lower lip before she opened her eyes, her gaze falling on Steve as they continued to walk. She knew it was coming, no matter how much she tried to dance around it. "He died in a car crash."

It took a while before Steve asked, "When?"

"December of 1991."

She could see him frowning.

He didn't say much else but it was easy to fall into a comfortable silence with Steve. It always had been, even when they first started hanging out. AJ knew that she had missed Steve, she just hadn't known how much she truly needed him until her eyes finally locked with his again. For the first time since she woke up, AJ felt at home. It wasn't any destination – it was the feeling she got.

The only thing missing was Bucky to make her home complete.

They hiked the rest of the way in silence and when they arrived to the cabin, Steve had stopped, looking back at the scenery as AJ watched. He took in everything around him, a soft smile on his face. AJ knew he'd like the cabin. It was simple. It was the place she stayed at while on medical leave and after Theo had been killed. It was peaceful and serene and remote. Fury had a few things added to the cabin so AJ could help Steve's adjustment into the twenty-first century – but it would be just the two of them for a week with no one to listen in and play 'big brother', that's what Clint had called it.

It was a week where they would get to know each other again. Though, Steve hadn't changed, AJ had. And not just her hairstyle (as Steve continued to point out, still teasing her about the color choice). She wasn't the girl he knew back in the forties. Since waking two years ago, AJ had changed, she was different. Harder. She had to become hard to adapt to the new world. And a part of her was terrified that when Steve got to know the person she was today...he wouldn't like it. He wouldn't like her. And that feeling of home would disappear.

That was what AJ was most afraid of.

"You ready to go inside?" AJ asked Steve, he turned around and looked to the cabin. He took in a nice deep breath of fresh air and nodded his head, looking at her before he took a step forward and towards the cabin.

AJ waited before following after him, trying to build up her courage and not be so afraid that Steve might hate the person she had become.

_

They had both gone to bed early, (though, Steve could hear AJ stirring all night long.) Around 5 AM, he heard the door to the cabin open and close. He got up, throwing on a light jacket to go outside to see what AJ was doing.

He hadn't been able to sleep well either. Steve just laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling in the room. There were two bedrooms in the cabin and Steve had told AJ to take the largest bedroom with the private bathroom. But they were right next to each other. And Steve could hear it whenever AJ would get up and walk around the bedroom.

When he got outside, AJ was sitting by the lake in front of the cabin as the sun rose in the sky leaving a pink tint to all the clouds. He stayed on the porch for a long moment, just looking at AJ as her fingers dipped into the lakes water.

He smiled, wishing Bucky were here to see her in that moment.

He stepped forward to make his way over to AJ, only to stop watched when his friend steadied her hand over the water. And with wide eyes, Steve watched as the entire lake transformed into ice.

He knew she had powers now. But he had only seen a slight glimpse of what she could do. This. This, he had not seen. And to be honest, it scared him.

He wasn't scared of her, he could never be scared of AJ.

But Steve had never dealt with something like this.

He took in a deep breath, trying so hard to think of what Bucky might do in this situation – what he might have said to try and make her feel at ease and not different to him. He'd hold her and tell her that he loved her unconditionally – but Steve wasn't Bucky. And no-one would ever take Bucky's place in AJ's heart, so trying to think of what Bucky might do to make her feel better wouldn't help Steve in this situation.

So, he did what he would have done back in the forties and walked over to her and crouched down beside her. "What is that called?" Steve asked.

She didn't look over at him and it took her a while to answer, but she eventually did. "Dr. Cho calls it Ice Transmutation." AJ moved her hand over the water again and Steve watched as the lake slowly but surely turned back into a liquid substance. "Or, Cryokinetic Transmutation – it's just a fancy name for being able to transform matter and objects into ice."

"Objects?" He asked slowly, hesitant to ask, "Does that include the living?"

AJ looked over at him, the corners of her lips turned upward in amusement as she moved her body to face his. "Well, I've never been given the opportunity to freeze a living, breathing human – but if you miss being in the ice that badly I can always try." She smirked, quirking her brow up causing Steve to playfully roll his eyes at her.

Steve sat down now on the ground next to AJ. "Is this all you can do?" He asked her, "I know you were able to create ice in my hand."

She chuckled, "Yes, your clammy hands were the perfect canvas." She teased. He chuckled at that comment, ducking his head. Could she blame him? He had just woken up in a different century only to have her walk through the doors looking almost exactly the same. It was going to take some time until he was used to her new hair. Hair that was carefully pulled up and out of her face at the moment. When Steve looked back to AJ, she was frowning.

He didn't know what to say, so he stood up and held out his hand for her to grab. "Show me around?" He asked her.

AJ's smile was hesitant and nowhere near the way she used to smile – in fact, the last time he saw AJ truly smile was before Bucky had died. A smile that caused her green eyes to shimmer, the corners of her eyes crinkling as her grin stretched across her face. It was the smile she always had on when Bucky was around. Bucky's smile, Howard had called it.

It was the smile she wore when she was at her happiest.

She didn't wear it now, but she still took his hand.

Steve pulled her up and they began to walk around the grounds for about an hour, the sun had risen and the sky was bright. AJ showed Steve where the laser fence was located around the perimeter that would keep them safe.

He had frowned, "Safe from who?" Steve raised his brows as AJ threw a rock at the invisible barrier that was keeping them from some sort of danger.

Steve watched as AJ licked at her lower lip and then turned to face him, almost as if she were bracing herself for impact. "Hydra is gone - but there are still other threats in this world that SHIELD agents have to deal with."

He nodded slowly, "And you are one of those agents?" Steve already knew the answer. But he needed her hear her say it.

Silence, but she finally answered, looking him in the eyes. "Yes."

Steve looked at her for a long moment, trying to get a read on her. But he couldn't. She used to be so easy to read, a complete open book – but now? She had hardened. "And how do you deal with these threats?" He asked.

She squared her jaw, clearly not liking his tone. "Depending on the severity of the threat, we either bring them in or eliminate them."

"You mean kill?" She didn't answer and Steve had to shake his head in disbelief, "Come on, Jay!" This wasn't the girl he knew, "You can't tell me that you're happy doing this – you know it's not right!"

Her stare turned cold. The whites in her eyes becoming lighter, if possible. "I never said I'm happy, Steve."

He shook his head in disappointment, "This isn't you."

"What the hell else was I supposed to do, Steve!?" AJ said in anger. "Everyone I ever loved was dead and if I didn't have SHIELD and the friends I have made there..." She closed her eyes as her words drifted off. "I woke up; scared, and alone, and with powers that I could not control. And SHIELD helped me. I owe them everything, Steve. SHIELD is Howard, it's Peggy, it's," She gestured to him, "It's you! So, yeah, I held onto it! So, do I regret my decision to become an agent? No. Never." AJ looked him in the eyes, "Because it gave me a purpose."

Steve scoffed. "And your purpose is what? To eliminate threats now? AJ, you were never a solider – you were a damn biochemist!"

AJ huffed, "I do not need you reminding me of who I used to be, Steve – so drop the judgmental tone!" She was breathing hard and Steve could see the way her hands were now balled up into fists at her sides as she spoke.

The average eye wouldn't be able to detect the small bursts of cold air coming out of her fists, but Steve could seem them. But almost as soon as the clouds of cold air appeared, they disappeared and when Steve looked back at AJ, her eyes were closed and her lips were moving.

AJ opened her eyes and looked at him, "I don't expect you to understand my choices, Steve." She took in a deep breath. "But I had hoped you wouldn't look at me like I'm a monster." AJ shook her head and walked away, muttering to herself, "But you are."

Steve sighed, rubbing his brow as he watched AJ walk away, leaving him alone in the wooded area. He hadn't meant to judge her, he had wanted to be someone she could lean on in this time but as Peggy had once said, you still don't know a bloody thing about women. He could hear her words echoing in his head and knew that he was wrong. AJ needed him just as badly as he needed her right now and he was making it so hard for her. He was judging when he should have been trying to understand.

AJ had been in this new world for two years now – two years spent knowing that every single person she loved from her past was dead. And now he was here, he was here with her and he was judging who she became in those two years.

It wasn't right.

He needed to apologize to AJ and let her know that it didn't matter to him who she was now – that she would always be his Jay. That he would always be her friend until the end of the line.

"What's that thing you and Bucky are always saying to each other?" She had asked him once.

"I'm with you till the end of the line." He had told her.

"I like that saying."

"So do I."

_

AJ looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, her hand wiping away the steam on the glass. She sighed, AJ knew that Steve would never be okay with what she had done and what she'd continue to do. But she had hoped that he would understand that things were more complicated than when he knew her back in the forties. Times were different, yes – but there were still threats in the world. Steve used to be the one to deal with those, as well as Bucky and the other Howling Commandos.

Bucky.

AJ gripped the bathroom counter and closed her eyes.

He'd probably think that she was a monster too. That she wasn't the girl he had fallen in love with. That thought hurt more than the way Steve had looked at her earlier.

"If you fall asleep now, you are going to sleep until morning and won't be able to sneak out." AJ could see it in her head now, her fingers gliding across the line of Bucky's jaw as she peered up at him. His arms were wrapped around her body and his eyes were closed, but she could see the corners of his lips twitching upward. "I'm serious, Buck, I can't have Howard and Steve knowing that you're sneaking in here every night." She had pouted.

Bucky had smiled fully at that, opening his eyes and looking over at her, his blue eyes tired but filled with something AJ could only describe as pure magic. The way he looked at her sometimes – Hell, the fact that they weren't naked in that bed truly showed the restraint the two of them had. Bucky had never pressured her, he was always so gentle with his words, never wanting to take things too far and it was usually AJ that would initiate something that'd bring out a more animalistic side to him once she got him alone. And she had really enjoyed that side of him.

"Howards no prude, sweetheart." Bucky had teased. "I've heard plenty of stories about that man sneaking women in these quarters - and most of those stories have come from you." He had smirked causing AJ to playfully pinch his skin causing him to laugh. "And Steve," He rubbed his thumb against her covered shoulder. "He may be a judgmental little shit at times, but he knows how I feel about you." His eyes had locked with hers and it had made her heart race and stomach clench.

AJ had smiled softly at Bucky, moving her body so she was fully facing him. "And how do you feel about me, Sarge?" She teased.

Bucky had laughed, shaking his head as she looked at AJ in amusement, "Ehhh, you're alright." He smirked causing AJ to move forward and press her lips to his in a long kiss. When she pulled away, she had raised her brows at him and he grinned. "A little more than alright."

She had chuckled, "I guess you're alright too. But you still need to leave before sunrise because I don't want anyone judging me or calling me a floozy."

Bucky had pressed his hand to her cheek, his thumb rubbing gently against her skin. "If anyone ever judges you – you tell me. I'll have some words with them." Bucky smirked.

AJ had smiled, raising her brows in amusement at his macho behavior. "And what if it's you who's judging me?" She asked him.

He had shaken his head and looked at her softly. "I'll never judge you." He promised her.

"Why?" She had asked softly.

He pressed a kiss to her lips and AJ knew. It didn't have to be said out loud and she knew Bucky was aware of her fears of moving too fast - but she knew just from that kiss that Bucky loved her.

They hadn't been together long at that point, but AJ wished she could go back in time and shake herself, tell him you love him! She would say to herself. Tell him everyday until his last. Stop wasting time! But that wasn't possible.

Bucky was gone.

AJ opened her eyes and got dressed in a pair of black leggings and a white V-neck t-shirt.

She had been in the shower for about a half hour (maybe closer to forty-five minutes). She just wanted to have some time to think and also to avoid seeing Steve.

AJ wasn't mad.

She was upset.

Her best friend was back and he was looking at her like she was no better than the people who worked for Hydra themselves.

Steve didn't know what they had done to her – what Dr. Reinhardt had done to her. He didn't know that every single night it was hard for her to sleep because she still felt the phantom stinging pain of a blade slicing through her skin. He didn't know about how each morning she'd wake up in a panic thinking they had drained her of her blood once again, only leaving the slightest bit to keep her alive. He had never seen the white lines on her skin that hadn't been able to heal fully or disappear. Steve didn't know.

And she didn't want him to know. Because Steve was and always had been so empathetic that he'd feel such guilt and grief for not being there to save her. And she would not have that. Because he was her best friend. And even if he never looked at her the same – he'd always be her best friend.

AJ walked out of the bathroom, drying her wet hair with a towel but stopped when she saw Steve sitting on her bed, holding something in his hand.

She knew what it was.

"You still have these?" He asked, not looking up at her.

AJ licked at her lower lip and moved forward, taking a seat next to Steve on her bed. "Reinhardt took them from me when he had me prisoner but Peggy and the SSR tore apart that fortress and she found them in his office." AJ told him, "Howard and Peggy gathered a lot of my things after I was put into cryostasis and saved them for me. Howard even started putting things in that I think he thought I might enjoy for when I finally woke up. But those," She looked down at Bucky's dog tags in Steve's open palm and smile softly. "That's the only thing I'll ever need from my past." She admitted. AJ looked at Steve for a long moment, watching as his eyes stayed glued on the tags. He missed Bucky just as much as she did. "Those dog tags and...you."

Steve looked up from his palm and over at AJ.

"A lot has happened since I woke up, Steve. A lot has changed...but you're here now and I can't...I can't ever imagine losing you again. It'd kill me."

Steve grabbed AJ's hand, turning it over and placed Bucky's dog tags in her open palm before he covered her hand with his own. "I'm not going anywhere, Jay." He promised her. "You have me. That'll never change."

AJ smiled, leaning her head against his shoulder.

After a beat, Steve spoke up again. "I have to be honest with you though, Jay." He said softly and AJ feared what he might say. He took in a deep breath and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, feeling her tense. "I just got back to the cabin – I've been trying to find it for like an hour."

AJ laughed, moving her face to hide against his chest. "Yeah, sorry, it's kinda tricky to get back here. At least you didn't get electrocuted." AJ felt the vibration of Steve's chest rumbling and felt instant comfort.

Things might not be perfect between them, but AJ had hope that soon enough they'd be back to how they were before.

Maybe even better.

_

April 25th, 2012 - Brooklyn, New York

Brookyln sure had changed. Everything had changed. Steve and AJ spent their week at the retreat where he got to meet the woman AJ had become since she woke up two years ago. A lot had changed but she was still AJ. Smart, funny, caring, snarky. Her hair might have changed and her heart may have hardened a little – but Steve knew she was still in there. The girl he once knew.

AJ took him to a building where she told him he'd be staying, a small apartment in Brooklyn that she thought he might like. Steve watched as AJ pushed open the door with her shoulder, making a comment about how the apartment had been vacant for years – no one in SHIELD wanting to stay somewhere with so little to entertain them while undercover. "Everything is pretty low maintenance here since you're still a virgin to 21st technology," She teased causing Steve to let out a little huff of laughter. "But you've shown that you adapt to new things very well," She looked back, motioning to his body, referring to how well he adapted to the serum. His cheeks reddened and he looked away from her as he smiled. "Minus you tripping over your own legs after getting the serum."

"Ha-ha." Steve rolled his eyes but followed AJ into the apartment. She showed him around, pointing out all he had and then took him to his bedroom.

"Whaddya think?" She took a seat on the bed, smiling at Steve. He smiled, liking that he could see happiness in her eyes again.

"Spacious." He said, eyes scanning the room.

"Your bathroom is down the hall." AJ sat up from the bed and walked past Steve. He followed her as she showed him the bathroom. It was small, just a toilet, sink, and a shower. But it'd do. He wasn't too high maintenance. "I figured that since you didn't mind letting me take the master room at the cabin you wouldn't mind letting me have the master here, too. I mean, I'm a lady, I'll need my privacy."

He looked over at her with one raised brow, watching as her lips formed into a smirk. "You're staying here too?" He smiled.

"Yup." She popped the p.

He grinned, feeling relief that he wouldn't be alone. AJ must have seen it in his eyes because she moved forward and moved herself into his arms.

"You're stuck with me, Steven Grant Rogers." She said softly.

He chuckled, holding onto her tight. "I'm okay with that, Adelyn Juliet Frost."