A Little Butterfly- The Other Soldier (Bucky Barnes x reader) (they/them reader)

Little Butterfly

Tw: verbal abuse, anxiety

I'm standing outside of the room that holds Zemo. James is standing right next to me, holding my hand. "I'm scared." I whisper.

"You don't have to do this." James has been trying to convince me to walk away since the moment we got here.

"Yes I do." I look up at him and give him a weak smile. I let go of his hand and step into the room.

"Ahh. My little butterfly has come to visit! How exciting!" I freeze at the sound of his voice. I stare down at the floor, not wanting to see him. "Butterfly, you have to look at me. I want to see your face."

I keep staring at the floor. "They're here Zemo, now will you tell us about the Flag Smashers?" James' voice is already filled with anger.

"No. I want to talk to my butterfly alone. You are only causing a distraction James." I clench my hands up. I see James take a step forward.

"There is no way I'm going to leave them alone with you." James' voice is strong and clear. He's not here to play games.

"Fine. But they at least have to look at me." I want to keep looking at the floor, but instead I pull my eyes up and look at Zemo. He waves at me. "Hello there sweetheart. How have you been?"

I clench my fists even tighter and fight the urge to look back at the floor.

"There. They looked at you. Now what do you know about the Flag Smashers?" James says.

Zemo smiles. "Slow down James. I want time to catch up. It feels like ages since I've seen y/n." The way my name rolls off of his tongue so easily sends chills down my spine. "Little butterfly, is James taking good care of you?"

I give a quick nod, knowing that Zemo is able to read me like a book anyways. "That's good. I wouldn't want anybody to be hurting you." He stops and smiles really big before adding, "Nobody but me that is."

I take a step back as memories fill my head. "Oh little butterfly, I can't see you when you're all the way back there. Come closer." I shake my head and stay right where I am, looking down at the floor again. "Now!"

I look up at Zemo. As tears sting my eyes, I take a few steps forward, closer to him. "Are you crying? Butterfly, we've been over this. Crying makes you weak and if you're weak, you're useless." The emphasis he puts on the word useless is enough to stop the tears from falling. My eyes find their way back to the ground, but I can feel Zemo's eyes on me. He's looking me up and down, trying to read me.

"Zemo! That's enough! You got to talk to her, now tell us about the Flag Smashers." James says, tactfully taking a step between me and Zemo.

"The Flag Smashers? I've never heard of them." My head starts ringing. It was all a trick. Zemo just wanted to talk to me, he never had any information. All of this, was for nothing...

I hear James yelling at Zemo, his voice full of anguish. I turn and head towards the door. Not able to stay here any longer. As I grab the door handle, I hear Zemo yell to me. "Little butterfly, I'll see you again soon." Somehow he makes even a common goodbye sound like a threat.