Chapter Text
Bucky hung his head, knowing this would be it. No country would take him. No prison would suffice to hold him.
It would be a death sentence. He’d done decades of awful things, no one would even believe rotting in a cell would do. Steve can’t save him from this.
The court erupts when he is ushered in. No matter how many times the judgement requests order, they shout. Numerous people have to be escorted out. The remaining folks look angry beyond recognition.
A child starts to cry and Bucky isn’t sure if he can handle it. He didn’t mean to end up here. He was supposed to save the world from fascism. He was supposed to help Steve and beat the bad guys.
Then he fell.
“How do you plead?” The judge asks.
Guilty.
So guilty.
He did it all. Everything, and probably a hundred more. Everything except what Zemo had framed him for. And he won’t ever forget it.
“Not guilty,” he ekes. They’re trying to save his life, and to do so, he can’t admit his fault yet.
“Federally, we pursue the death penalty for racketeering and terrorism. Many other countries seek the same.”
Bucky quietly accepts his fate. He doesn’t know a country he could run to. Even if he could, he’s tired of running. Eventually, he will be too old and too beaten.
“But there are dozens of people in this courtroom who have prepared victim statements. Dozens of good people who have been harmed by your actions in some way. If any of them should see fit to advocate for your rehabilitation with the Avengers, and to provide feedback as we monitor, we will move the execution out thirty days.”
Steve catches Bucky’s eye, alarmed yet hopeful at the unusual suggestion. Would a single one of the people in the crowd want to be involved? Would anyone be prepared to aid in this experiment?
“I will allow the victims and their kin a minute to think. If no one has spoken in that time, we will proceed.”
Couldn’t they just tie a noose? Hang him right here, and pass sticks to hit him with? Did he have to attend court and face people, even a small handful?
The seconds tick and Bucky feels a melancholy twist in his heart. Steve truly gave up everything to save him, and he had managed his escape. It won’t truly matter, in a few days or weeks. The next few minutes will seal his fate.
Bucky can hear most of the conversations. People whose grandfathers he killed, whose army mates he injured. Political icons he eliminated. Some do make an effort to see that it wasn’t by choice, but he doesn’t feel an ounce of hope as they quickly discuss how they’ve been hurt.
When the judge asks that people make their final decision, Bucky can’t quite squash the flicker of hope. It stays aglow in the pit of despair he has succumbed to.
Haunting silence clutches the space, and the alarm starts to beep on the judge’s timer. Just as it blares to life, a young woman lurches to her feet.
“I’ll do it.”
Bucky gasps a breath, looking at Sam and Steve. Could he have a chance? Would it work?
“You will stay with the Winter Soldier until the check in, in order to speak to his character and his progress? If he misses appointments, or harms others, or harms you, this court will not be liable. You could also be charged, if something goes wrong.” The judge does sound intrigued. Maybe that’s enough.
“I… yes. I will.” She flits her eyes to Steve, and suddenly Bucky is sure they know each other.
She just saved his life. And her own is on the line. He can’t let her get caught up in these serious charges.
“James Buchanan Barnes, you are hereby granted a thirty day review before sentencing. Do not waste it.”
—
He’s surprised by how angry he is. The sensation of burning embers in his chest overwhelms him. It is cruel to give him any hope, if he is back to the same tomorrow.
“Buck, they’ve offered you be sequestered at the Compound. Your room will be next to mine.” Steve tries to speak with him, but Bucky shoulders him out of the way. He pushes through to storm away.
The door bursts open only to startle the woman from court. She has a look of fear and fire, when she finally sees him up close.
“Why would you do this? You’ll end up in prison!” He snaps and watches her features morph back to disdain.
“I asked her for help. There was a possibility for something like this, but we cannot be your only advocates. We tried to have some influence with the judge and the jury had agreed, but she had a victim statement. I needed someone to give you a shot, Buck.” Steve urges him to see reason, but he sees red.
“I deserved what they decided. I don’t want special treatment!” Bucky’s ire grates through his voice.
“Well, too bad!” The woman snipes and it catches him off guard. “I chose to know whether anything was inside of you, if any parts are human. And I had to tell them we are in a relationship, so I can speak on your behalf from the tower. Otherwise, they were going to keep you in the raft.”
The raft had been awful while he waited for his hearing. Not as bad as Hydra, but he was himself there, so it felt worse. He had to reckon with it all, and how much he remembered.
“So, what? You’re gonna play house with me so I can live thirty extra days? So you can feel like you are a good person and you know I deserve a death sentence? I can already tell you right now, you didn’t need to do this. I don’t want to do this.”
Bucky does depart, as far as he is allowed. It seems Tony has a suit to escort him to his room, so he won’t go anywhere unsupervised.
That woman is wrong to do this. It ignites a new sense of anger every time he thinks about it.
The door to the room opens, when night has fallen. He half expects a rogue agent, come to kill him off. Instead the hall has a faint glow around the woman from before.
“Sorry. I… I didn’t want you in the Raft. Or… Steve didn’t. So we share this room. I’m quiet, and I’m tidy. There’s a second bed.” She closes the door and watches him as he scans her with eagle eyes.
She’s still sounding just as pissed as he feels. Anything he does will be under her watch. Can she really believe Steve that Bucky isn’t a threat?
She opens the adjoining door, which attaches to Steve’s room.
Oh. This is probably how she feels safe.
Bucky watches suspiciously as she puts on different creams and items, even in the faint light. He tries so hard to ignore her presence and let his muscles melt into the soft bed. If he is getting thirty more nights, he wants each one to be on a bed like this. It’s been decades.