AJ sat in the back seat, eyes trained on the back of Steve's head as the he drove through the back roads to get to their destination. Clint had managed to get Wanda out of the compound, Vision only a slight problem for them. Clint had also made it to San Francisco and picked up Sam's friend who was willing to help them — Scott Lang. AKA; Antman — AJ had never heard of any talks of a vigilante who went by the name Antman, but apparently he could get into secure locations that no one else was able to. He even got the run on Sam a few months ago at the compound, stealing from one of Howard's old units at the compound, something the man neglected to inform any of the other Avengers. The man was a thief and AJ couldn't help but worry that they might not be able to trust him.

This Scott was willing to help them, but why?

There were so many 'why's' running through AJ's head — nagging at her, making it hard to focus. She wrung her fingers, feeling a pair of eyes on her. A pair of ice blue eyes that she never thought she'd feel watching her again. It was a strange sensation, yet comforting. AJ knew that Bucky was worried about her; it was radiating off of him. But she couldn't make herself look over at him sitting in the seat next to her.

They had almost kissed.

After everything that had happened — after years of thinking he was dead, after finding out what Hydra had done to him, what they made him, after learning that he had taken out Howard, already knowing that he was the one to kill Theo and countess others...she nearly kissed him after all of that because she had never stopped loving him, never let him go. It mattered to her that the Soldier had killed her friends, she grieved the loss of Howard deeply — but his death...Theo's death...it wasn't enough to make her stop loving him.

He left you, she thought.

She and Steve had spent years searching for Bucky with the help of their friends, but he had still stayed hidden. He had never come for her — and if it weren't for the bombing at the Accords Treaty...she would have never found him. He'd still be hidden away in Romania. Without her. Knowing that hurt.

AJ wasn't dense, she knew that Bucky had stayed away to keep her safe. However, she could not help but wonder...why? Her emotions were clouding her own better judgement.

Sam mumbled something to Steve from the front seat that AJ could not hear over the roar of the car's engine causing Bucky's eyes to shift away from her. Clearly he had heard what Sam had said over the noisy piece of junk Steve chose as a getaway car.

Steve had picked the world's most uncomfortable car possible for a group of large men — a clown car, Sam had called it as they all tried to get in. AJ was able to get in without any problem, sliding into the backseat easily but when Bucky climbed into the back, she could see just how uncomfortable this car ride was going to be for him. She felt Bucky shift, his knee momentarily bumping against her own as he tried to stretch out his legs a little. Even with only slight contact, AJ felt a rush of confusing emotions, her pulse rising in anticipation, but her stomach twisting in aprehension. It bothered her, but she pushed the thought away. She had more important things to focus on right now. When Sam had first gotten into the passenger side, the man moved his seat all the way back, only moving it up slightly after Steve had given him a stern look when Bucky groaned as his knees were slammed into by said seat.

Steve pulled off the long stretch of road, parking under an underpass where a car was already parked waiting for them. Sharon Carter. Somehow Steve had convinced her to help them, bringing Steve's shield, suit and Sam's Falcon gear. AJ hadn't brought the suit that Tony had made for a few birthdays ago out of fear that there was some sort of hidden tracking device on it — but if there was a tracking device on it, it was gone now thanks to Clint. The car came to a stop and Steve looked over at shoulder at Bucky. "We can trust her." He said, seeing the way Bucky had tensed when he saw the blonde woman waiting expectantly for them.

AJ looked over to Bucky, watching as he swallowed hard, nodding his head. Steve gave him a reassuring smile and then glanced over to AJ, giving her a look — look after him. She nodded and Steve got out of the car, shutting the door behind him. She looked to Sam, who seemingly had the same thought process as her, rolling down his window a crack so he could listen in on the conversation as well.

"Not sure you understand the concept of a getaway car." They could hear Sharon telling Steve, causing AJ to chuckle. She felt Bucky's eyes fall on her, causing her to look over at him briefly.

"You two friends?" He asked, voice quiet, timid. Almost as if he were afraid to ask the question.

"No," She spoke honestly. It wasn't that AJ disliked the woman, she just didn't really know Sharon enough to consider her a friend. "But I trust her." AJ added. "She was an incredible SHIELD agent. A legend." AJ had heard stories about Agent 13, she had just never had the chance to meet her. When Steve told her that his neighbor "Kate" back in D.C was actually Agent 13, AJ hadn't been surprised. They needed the best supervising Steve and with AJ being held by SHIELD — Hydra — to study her power, Fury would need someone he trusted to monitor Steve. "Her name is Sharon." AJ looked away from Bucky and over to said woman. "She's Peggy's Great-niece."

"Carter?" Bucky smiled. AJ nodded, glad to see he remembered. "She's still alive?"

AJ stared down at her hands, feeling an ache swell in her chest. They had just lost Peggy. Days ago. Though given what had happened in the last twenty-four hours, it felt much longer than that. "Um," AJ scratched at her throat, "Sadly, Peggy died a few days ago."

Bucky frowned, looking away from AJ to Steve. "How is he?"

"Pushing through." AJ spoke honestly. He had been heartbroken when he first got the news, but AJ believed getting Bucky back was helping Steve more than anything else. It was helping the both of them.

"Didn't really give him enough time to grieve." Sam said under his breath, but both AJ and Bucky had heard him. AJ narrowed her eyes at the back of Sam's head, ready to swat him.

Bucky looked at AJ curiously, wanting to know what Sam had meant. She sighed. "We were at her funeral when the bomb went off in Vienna." Bucky's face fell, feeling guilt for something that was not his fault. AJ instinctively reached out to take his hand, but stopped herself, not knowing if it was okay to touch him the way she used to when he was upset. "We know you didn't do it, Buck." She said softly.

Bucky didn't say anything. There was nothing she could tell him that would make him stop blaming himself. He was a lot like Steve in that way.

AJ watched as Bucky shifted, his knee jabbing into the back of Sams seat again. He let out a little sigh before asking, "Can you move your seat up?"

"No." Sam said stubbornly, causing AJ to roll her eyes.

AJ shook her head in irritation, moving forward in her seat. "Switch with me." She told Bucky, moving herself a bit so they could swap seats in the cramped space.

"Jay, you don't have to," Bucky started to argue only to have AJ ignore his words and stand a bit so that he had room to slide over into her seat. Sam huffed in the front seat when AJ moved her hand to rest on his shoulder for support, purposely pushing down all her weight on him. As Bucky began to scoot into her seat, Sam shrugged AJ's hand off of him, sending her falling forward. Bucky caught her, his hands on either side of her waist as she landed in his lap.

She stood completely still, staring into Bucky's eyes, both hands pressed against his shoulders as he blinked up at her. "Hey," He said softly, causing her heart to melt. Bucky hesitantly moved his hand up, pushing AJ's hair away from her face. She blinked a few times, unsure of what to do in that moment as she straddled his lap. Only one thing came to mind — a question on the tip of her tongue that she could no longer stop herself from asking.

AJ looked Bucky dead in the eyes, "Why didn't you come for me?" She asked, her voice breaking as her lower lip trembled. "After you remembered...I spent years searching for you — we all did," She motioned vaguely to Sam who sat awkwardly in the front seat. "But...you stayed away...you never came home to me."

Bucky's face crumpled, flesh hand moving to her face, thumb stroking her cheek. "Frosty," He said her name in a whisper.

AJ shook her head, getting off Bucky's lap. She didn't need to hear his reasons — she already knew it was because he wanted to keep her safe but...he had promised. Bucky had promised her a long time ago that even if he died, he'd crawl out of his grave and come home to her.

And he hadn't.

"I need some air." AJ said, crawling over the front seat and getting out through the drivers side, leaving Bucky and Sam alone.

It probably wasn't the smartest idea to leave.

But she felt like she was suffocating in that moment. She needed time to think away from Bucky.

_X_

"You're a damn fool." Sam muttered under his breath, shaking his head in disappointment as they both watched AJ walk away from the car.

Bucky sighed. He already knew that. "I stayed away because I'm no good for her." He said quietly. How was he supposed to tell her that? He chose not to come for her — he made that decision. And it broke her heart. Bucky had already hurt her enough...now he was again. He closed his eyes, wishing for the quiet life in Romania he had made for himself where no one knew his name or even looked his way. But there was always something missing...her. His life wasn't complete without AJ — he was lost. He knew deep down that he would never be able to completely let her go. He was a damned selfish man, but losing AJ wouldn't even be like cutting off an arm. He glanced down at his metal arm. He could live without that. He closed eyes, feeling his heart pound in his ribcage. If he ever lost AJ, it would be like stabbing himself in the heart. He'd be a dead man.

"It's blatantly obvious that you're no good for her," Sam agreed. Bucky glared in his direction. "But she loves you, man." Sam said after a moment, causing Bucky's breath to catch in his throat. "She never stopped. And that's her choice. Lord knows I don't understand it." He said with a huff. "Do you know how hard it was to tell AJ time after time that there were no leads on you? To look into her eyes and see the heartache and disappointment. To hear her crying at night? God, if she didn't have Steve," He trailed off, not finishing his thought.

Bucky frowned, looking over to Steve, who was still talking with Peggy Carter's niece as they gathered up everyone's gear. "It's good she has Steve." Bucky told Sam. "Deep down I always knew he was the better choice for her,"

"Better choice?" Sam let out a harsh laugh. "I'm gonna repeat myself again in saying that you are a DAMN fool." The man pointed in Steve's direction and Bucky's eyes followed, watching as Steve now kissed the woman he held in his arms.

Bucky couldn't help but smile, glad for his friend but also relieved that AJ hadn't fallen in love with Steve while he was gone. He should want it, but again, he was selfish. "I just figured...I saw the articles about them."

"Jay and Steve were never together." Sam said sternly. "Never will be either. She loves you, moron."

Bucky ducked his head a bit, not able to stop himself from grinning. He looked up, smiling in Steve's direction as his oldest friend glanced over to the car, spotting them watching him with Sharon. He rolled his eyes as his face flushed.

"Took Steve long enough to make a move." Sam said in amusement.

Steve frowned as he looked into the car, noticing there were only two people in it. He walked to the car, opening the door and looking at both men. "Where's Jay?"

Sam made an irritated noise causing Bucky to roll his eyes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was a damn fool. "Push the seat up for me?" He asked Steve, who did as he was asked. Bucky got out of the car, stretching his legs a bit before walking in the direction of where AJ had gone. She wasn't too far away, still out of sight from anyone on the street.

He found her with her back turned to him, arms crossed over her chest. He couldn't help but smile — this wasn't the first time AJ had given him the cold shoulder after he did something stupid. He closed his eyes for a moment, picturing dark brown curls bouncing away from him as she stormed off angrily. He opened his eyes, her back still turned, her hair a much lighter brown now, pulled up and out of her face.

Bucky walked forward, his shoe kicking a rock. The noise made AJ look over her shoulder and let out a soft sigh when she saw it was him. He fought a frown at her reaction. She wasn't expecting it to be HIM to come after her. Bucky watched as AJ slowly turned to face him, arms still crossed over her chest.

He drew in a deep breath before speaking. "I don't blame ya, for being mad at me, Frosty."

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "I'm not mad at you."

"You are." He disagreed.

Back in the day, her brows would've pinched together in frustration and her beautiful green eyes would have narrowed at him in a glare — not now. AJ just looked...tired. Defeated.

"Yeah," AJ finally admitted "I'm mad at you." She sighed. "I'm frustrated and confused and I have so many questions running in my head that it's hard for me to even THINK clearly."

Bucky stepped forward. "Say them," He told AJ. "Ask your questions...I'll try my best to answer them." When AJ's brows pinched together at his suggestion, Bucky couldn't help but give into a lazy grin. "Come on, Frosty. We're losing daylight here."

AJ swallowed hard, clearly trying not to be tempted by his teasing. "Back in D.C...before you knew who you were – you went to my apartment to set up cameras so Hydra would know when to set off the bomb...you took a picture."

Bucky licked at his lips, able to visualize the moment in his head. How when he saw her face in the picture his stomach clenched, his heart rate accelerating as he studied her face. "I did." He admitted.

"Why?" She asked him, walking over to where he was standing. He shrugged, not sure how to answer. "Why?" She asked him again. "Did you know who I was?" AJ asked, "Did you know when you-"

"-No," He stopped her, not wanting to hear her say it – not wanting a reminder of how he had tried to kill her. "I didn't."

"So why did you take it, Bucky?" She asked once more.

"Because...it made me...feel." He was honest.

"Feel what?" AJ asked, moving to stand directly in front of him now.

Bucky swallowed hard, looking down at her. "I don't know...but I hadn't felt anything in so long...so I took it. I wanted to hold on to any sort of emotion other than...hatred."

She looked away from him, and Bucky could see that she was trying to figure out what to ask him next. "Why Romania?" She looked back at him. "Why Bucharest?"

Bucky looked down at the ground. "A memory." He admitted. "Mission Report: November 11th, 2011. Target: Agent Cogswell. "

"The first run-in I had with the winter soldier." AJ shook her head.

"You and Cogswell got away. I got punished for that but when I saw you...there was a sense of familiarity and I froze." Bucky sighed, trying not to think of the pain that was inflicted on him for letting an asset go. "I killed your partner in Bucharest...figured it was an unpleasant memory for you, and I thought that you wouldn't want to go back."

"So it was an intentional choice." She shook her head, clearly frustrated. "You chose a place you thought would be hard for me to return to — because you didn't want me to find you."

"Frosty,"

She glared at him. "Don't Frosty me, James."

He felt like he had been punched in the gut by hearing her call him by a name she only ever used when she was truly mad at him.

"Do you remember what you said to me?" AJ asked him. "After I begged you not to go to Poland with Steve and the Howling Commandos...you said; 'Even if I do die — I'll crawl out of my grave to come back on home to you, Frosty.'" She quoted his promise.

He felt guilt fill him, seeping through every single one of his pores as he looked down at AJ, her green eyes large and full of tears.

"I'm not good for you, Adelyn Frost." Bucky said honestly. "You deserved better than me."

"That wasn't your decision to make, Bucky." Her voice broke. "I," She started to say but stopped herself. "When this is all over and done and Steve clears your name...are you going to leave me again?"

No. How could he? Not after holding her again.

"If that's what you want." Bucky said, his eyes stinging from unshed tears that were burning in his eyes. He hadn't realized how hard he had been trying to hold it all together — to contain his emotions.

AJ let her tears fall, whispering. "I never wanted you to leave in the first place."

He didn't speak. Bucky simply moved forward and wrapped his metal arm around her waist, pulling her to his body as he lowered his head to press a kiss to her lips. AJ's hands moved to his face, kissing him back. He could taste tears, he didn't know if they were hers or his own. All Bucky knew was that he was holding the love of his life in his arms again, and that this time he wasn't letting go.

"I love you, Bucky." AJ breathed out between kisses. Bucky felt as though his entire body had ignited in flames, his head spinning, the ground moving beneath him — the only thing keeping him standing was AJ. She still loved him — Adelyn Juliet Frost loved him.

"After everything I've done?" He whispered back, letting out a soft sigh at the feeling of AJ's hands running through his hair as she pressed feather light kisses to his cheek, jawline, and then to his lips again.

"Always." She whispered.

Bucky felt like he was dreaming — or, re-dreaming. Because he had had this dream many times before. Where he was holding AJ in his arms and she was forgiving him for all his wrongs. But this was reality. She was an angel and he was the devil and she deserved so much better than him. But he was too selfish to ever let her go again.

"I love you so much." Bucky said with a smile, kissing her gently one more time before resting his forehead against hers to catch his breath.

"Hey love birds!" Sam hollered from behind them, but they didn't break apart, AJ kept her arms looped around his neck and her forehead pressed against his, her eyes barely shifting in the direction of where the noise was coming from. "You all can do whatever you were about to do later, far, far away from me. But right now we got to go." He huffed before walking away, muttering under his breath about how everyone was getting kissed but him.

"Is he always like that?" Bucky asked AJ, pulling away just an inch. He smiled down at her when she began to chuckle. "I'm starting to get the feeling that he doesn't like me very much."

AJ smiled lovingly up at Bucky, "You'll grow on him." She told him. "Took me a while to warm up to you, too, remember?" Bucky laughed for what felt like the first time in decades, the sound strange and foreign to him. AJ stood on her tip toes, giving him a small kiss before pulling away, her hand dropping to his metal one, not shying away from grabbing it now. She accepted all of him without hesitation, even the unnatural parts of him. "Let's go."

He let her lead the way, thinking in that moment that he'd follow her anywhere.

When the time was right and they were alone. Bucky was finally going to ask her the question he should have asked her decades ago — the question he should have asked her the moment he remembered who she was. He was going to ask Adelyn Juliet Frost to marry him.

_X_

"You trust these guys?" Bucky asked AJ in a whisper as they pulled up next to a white van. He sounded worried, unsure of what would happen next. They were all unsure.

"They're my team." AJ said, squeezing Bucky's leg to show comfort. "I trust them."

He made a face. "I thought Stark and Romanoff were part of your team too."

Ouch. That stung a little. Bucky frowned, clearly realizing what he said was harsh. AJ moved her hand off of Bucky's leg and nodded. "They are." She confessed. "They will always be a part of my team. Right now we're just...not in agreement about a lot of things."

"And these guys...they took your side?" He asked, grabbing AJ's hand to hold. She smiled, nodding her head.

"Clint," She motioned to the man as he got out of the car, walking over to where Steve now stood. "He was there when I was woken up from the cryochamber that Howard, Peggy, and Phillips placed me in. He's been by my side every single day since. He didn't have to come — he has a family to look after, but the second I called him he was willing to fight on our side." She told Bucky. "To go up against his best friend because he knows what is happening is wrong."

Bucky gave into a soft smile, squeezing AJ's hand lightly. "I'm glad he was there when you were woken up."

"Me too." AJ admitted. She then pointed over to Wanda, who smiled in her direction. "That is Wanda Maximo,"

"I've heard of her." AJ frowned, figuring he must have heard the news about Lagos. Wanda had just been trying to save Steve and AJ, keep them from dying with Rumlow. "The Maximoff twins." His words caused AJ to raise her brow. He didn't know her from the news — he knew her from Hydra.

"She never mentioned meeting you."

"We never met." Bucky said, looking away from Wanda and back to AJ. "There were rumors going around that Hydra was experimenting on ordinary people — trying to mimic the Inhuman gene by using some sort of...stone?" He shook his head, "She's one of the powered-people."

"She is." AJ told him. "And she's good." She stressed, not wanting Bucky to worry that she was a hydra informant.

He took in a deep breath, nodding his head. "If you trust her...I trust her." Bucky said, squeezing her hand yet again.

"And that," AJ made a face as Clint opened the van door to show a man jumping awake, laying in the back of the van. "Is a new member of our team." She let go of Bucky's hand and moved to get out of the small car. She hadn't met Scott Lang yet — she wanted to get a good read on him.

She watched as Scott's eyes widened upon seeing Steve. "Captain America." He breathed out.

"Mr. Lang." Steve shook his hand.

"It's an honor." He beamed at Steve, still shaking his hand. "I'm shaking your hand too long." Scott said but didn't let go until Steve slowly pulled his hand away. "Wow! This is awesome! Captain America!" He said again, looking back at Clint while pointing to Steve. He looked at Wanda. "I know you too, you're great!" He said in excitement. He then looked forward and spotted AJ. He let out a shaky breath. "Frost." He whispered. "My daughter has your action figure."

AJ couldn't help but smile at that. This man wasn't a threat — he was, what Sam would call, a 'fanboy' — AJ watched as Scott looked back at Steve, his hands moving to grip the man's biceps. "Jeez," He breathed out, quickly letting go of Steve's arms.

"Look," Scott began. "I wanna say — I know you know a lot of super people, thinks for thanking of me." He jumbled his words together, causing Bucky to chuckle low under his breath, AJ looking over her shoulder and shooting him a look.

"Hey man," Scott addressed Sam.

Sam gave him a friendly smile. "What's up, Tic Tac?"

"It's good to see you — uh, look," Scott shifted on his feet. "What happened last time when I,"

Sam cut him off. "It was a great audition, but it'll never happen again."

Scott frowned.

"Did they tell you what we're up against?" Steve said, causing Scott to look away from Sam.

"Something about some psycho-assassins." Scott answered back.

"We're outside the law on this one." Steve explained. "So if you come with us — you're a wanted man."

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Scott said quietly.

"We should get moving." Bucky said, causing AJ to look over her shoulder at him.

"We got a chopper lined up." Clint told them, looking briefly at Bucky and then to AJ, giving her a soft smile.

The sound of alarms going off and German being spoke over the sound speakers caused them all to pause, listening to the message carefully. Bucky sighed, looking around in all directions. "They're evacuating the airport."

"Stark." Sam sighed.

"Stark?" Scott said in confusion.

"Suit up," Steve told them.

AJ walked over to where Clint stood, embracing him briefly. "You got him back." Clint whispered, rubbing her back.

She chuckled, letting go of the man. "You got my gear?" She asked.

He nodded, motioning for her to follow him. In the back of the van were their uniforms; his, Wandas, AJ's and given that she didn't recognize the red one, she figured it belonged to Scott.

"Is he still worth it?" Clint asked AJ, looking over at Bucky who watched the two carefully.

AJ looked over at Bucky and smiled. "Always."