Winter Baron

Chapter one

Early Saturday morning, the sun was shining bright over New York. James Bucky Barnes stood outside of a coffee shop with Sam Wilson. The two were bickering slightly, and laughing lightly together, when one Baron Helmut Zemo happened to walk past the two of them; and into a coffee shop. Bucky's smiles dropped, and his face contorted to one of confused, and bewilderment. He pointed at the shop's door, and looked at Sam.
"Did you just see that?"
"I sure did..." Sam sighs, and looks at his phone.
"I've gotta go, I think you can handle this one." He says, giving Bucky a nod before walking off in the other direction.
How did he escape? Bucky thought to himself, as he angrily stepped into the shop. He walked up to Zemo, who was in line to order.
"How did you escape, again?" He asked in a hushed tone, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hello, james." Zemo turns to face him.
"How about I get you a coffee, and we can talk." He smiles reassuringly. Reluctantly Bucky agreed. Zemo nods, and orders himself a frozen mocha latte.
"What would you like, James?" Zemo asks like the cheeky, little, bastard he was. Bucky sighed, and ordered a sweet tea. They waited a moment in silence, until The barista called out the false name Zemo had given. She handed him the drinks, and he gave Bucky his tea
"Let's sit." Zemo, headed over to a high seated table by the window, and took a seat on one of the bar stools. Bucky took a seat across from him, and took a sip of his tea.
"How is it?" Zemo asks.
"It's good."
"Very good." Zemo smiles, and sips his own drink. Bucky sat awkwardly, not really sure how to carry out a conversation with this man.
"How have you been, James?" Zemo broke the silence.
"I've been ok considering the constant nightmares of torture from hydra...you know stuff like that." He says sarcastically, and clearly agitated by Zemo's casual demeanor.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Zemo takes another sip.
"Don't worry about it." Bucky sighs, and catches a glimpse of Zemo's smirk.
"What?"
"This is a terrible date, James." He jokes.
"Hey, I was a ladies man back in the day!"
"So I've heard." Zemo had a bit of a playful look on his face. Bucky smiles at him softly, and Zemo looks down at his drink trying to hide the fact that his cheeks were turning a light shade of pink.
"You okay?" Bucky raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Alright...you seem kind of off."
"Do I?"
"Yeah. Your face is turning red."
"It's not..." the fact that Bucky could see him blushing only made his cheeks a darker shade.
"Yes it is. you're blushing." Bucky smirks.
"And what if I am?"
"You can talk to me, Baron." Bucky gives him a reassuring look.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." The Baron turned his head, and looked out the window.
"I accept anything, and everyone, Baron." Bucky reaches across the table, and places his right hand on Zemo's.
"I like men...You're the third person I've told now, Steve being the first."
"You just referred to yourself as a ladies man?" Zemo looks back at him. Bucky chuckles
"Yeah well, being anything other than straight wasn't exactly acceptable back then. I told Sam about it, and he said it's called bisexual; when you like both men, and women."
"I see." Zemo was looking at Bucky, but trying not to make eye contact.
"It's okay, Baron." Bucky smiles softly, once again calling Zemo by his title rather than his name.
"You can call me Zemo."
"Okay, Zemo."
"I know this is strange to see me again, so suddenly, and not in a place you would expect."
"Yeah." Bucky laughs, but not because he thought something was funny. He laughed because Zemo was absolutely right. It certainly was unexpected, and Bucky did find himself a little irritated that Zemo had escaped.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have run..." Zemo looks down at his drink again.
"I-" he stops, not sure if he should continue.
"I'm all ears, Zemo." Bucky wasn't sure what he was waiting to hear, but with the Baron's off behavior, and the blushing; he assumed he was going to be hearing a confession of some sort. Maybe something had been left unsaid at the memorial site.
"I need help..." Zemo looked up, his eyes met Bucky's; They glistened as though he could break down in tears at any moment.
"With what?" Bucky's brows furrowed to a look of concern
"You have to tell me what's wrong for me to help." Bucky gives his hand a gentle squeeze. Zemo nods, and pulls his coat open more exposing a large blood stain on his shirt. It was quite fresh, he'd been hiding what appeared to be a gunshot wound this whole time.
"I couldn't stay there...James' ' He had been hiding it extremely well, but now looking at it, his face seemed to lose color.
"Shit!" Bucky jumps up from his stool, causing a scrapping sound, and takes his jacket off. He comes around to Zemo's side, and pressed his jacket against the wound. Bucky them pulls Zemo's arm over his shoulder.
"I didn't want to cause a scene..." Zemo sighs, but it was a bit late for that now. Zemo caught the strange looks from others in the shop
"I'm sorry, James. I was actually looking for you when I came here. I was hoping caffeine would help me stay conscious, so I came in, and luckily you happened to see me. I'm sorry." He winced when Bucky applied pressure.
"Zemo, you're really hurt."
"I know...I can't just go to a hospital, I'm wanted." He laughs lightly, trying to use humor to calm Bucky down, however he wasn't lying. If he went to a hospital they would have no choice but to turn him in.
"I haven't been here long, but a man shot me in an alley this morning. I believe he recognized me."
"I have a personal doctor I can take you to."
"I'm sorry for the trouble. Thank you, James."
"Zemo, listen to me. Even though it doesn't seem like it, you're one of the most important people that came into life."Bucky admits, pulling Zemo out of the barstool.
"I don't want to see you like this."
"James..." Zemo didn't expect to hear that, not after everything he'd done to Bucky. He tried to stand, but his knees buckled, and he stumbled into James. Bucky stabilized him, and walked him out of the shop.
"I'm taking you to my doctor." He helps Zemo walk as best as he can without drawing too much attention. Bucky's car was parked nearby, down the street. Bucky opened the passenger door, and helped Zemo get in. Once Zemo was seated, Bucky placed Zemo's hands on his jacket.
"Keep pressure on that." Bucky closed the door. He walked around the front of the car, and got in the driver seat. He started the car, and pulled onto the road, and began to speed.
"Just hang on." He flies down the road before having to stop, as he'd hit traffic.
"Fuck you've got to be kidding me!" Bucky smacks the wheel with his right hand.
"My friend is dying! Let's go!" He shouts. Zemo groaned softly from pain, and had been holding onto the door as Bucky was speeding.
"I'm-I'm your...friend..?" Zemo's breathing grew heavier, and he smiled softly.
"Yes of course!" Bucky said, honking his horn. Zemo kept that smile on his face, blinking his eyes a few times trying to see Bucky passed blurry vision, and eventually passing out. Bucky pulled into the doctor's office, and parks in the front. He pulls Zemo from the car, and dragged him inside shouting for help. The doctor, a dark skinned man, with round glasses; flanked by two nurses ran down the hall, at the sound of Bucky's frantic shouting.
         ~
Zemo woke up in a hospital bed. He blinked slowly, and his eyes scanned the room.
"Mmm..." he groans, feeling groggy, and in a bit of pain, as he pulls himself up onto his elbows.
"No, don't move." Bucky had been sitting in a chair beside the bed. He jumped up, and gently forced Zemo back down, before taking a seat once again.
"James?"
"It's me." Bucky smiles softly.
"Where?"
"My doctor...he worked for shield years ago, and was friends with Steve, so we've grown close; he's been my doctor for a while now, he sees Sam sometimes too. It took a lot of convincing, but he's agreed not to turn you in. If anything happens it's on me." Bucky smiles reassuringly.
"I see. Thank you, James. I-" Bucky stops Zemo from speaking, by holding out his right hand.
"You don't have to say anything. I wasn't going to just let you bleed out, and die. Honestly that fact that you made it as far as you did like that is astounding." Bucky laughs lightly, but it trails off.
"Guess you don't want to die as badly as you thought, huh?" He looks Zemo in the eyes.
"I guess not...not anymore...I-"
"You don't have to talk about it now, we can discuss our emotions later." Bucky smirks, and gets one in return from Zemo.
"Alright, then." Zemo closes his eyes for a moment, before struggling to sit up again. Bucky sighs, but doesn't stop him this time. Zemo pulls the hospital gown up, and looks At the bandages on the center of his abdomen. He tried to peel the medical tape back.
"No, stop. Don't touch it." Bucky gets up again, and takes Zemo's hands.
"I was only looking." Zemo sighs.
"It's going to scar..."
"You'll still look cute." Bucky smiles, getting another blush from Zemo. He blushes back lightly, and lets go of Zemo's hands.
"When you're better, maybe I can take you in a real date?" Bucky takes a seat, and looks down at his hands awkwardly.
"I'd like that." Zemo replies with no hesitation. Bucky looks up, surprised.
"Really?"
"Yes, I'm bisexual, James. Always have been. I've never really told anyone that, besides my wife...I'm very picky though, I have to have a strong connection with my partner...like I did with her..." Zemo stops himself. He already felt connected to Bucky.
"I'd love to go on a date with you, James." Zemo smiles softly.
"Then get some rest." Bucky smirks. Zemo nods, and lays back down. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. He woke up again later in the night sweating, and in a lot of pain. Bucky had surprisingly fallen asleep in the chair. He hadn't been asleep long before he heard the Baron groaning. Bucky lifts his head up from his right shoulder.
"Zemo?" He scoots the chair closer to the bedside. Zemo's breathing was a little heavy, and he was gripping the sheets.
"Hey." Bucky takes Zemo's right hand in his.
"It's okay, I'm here." He forces a smile. Zemo's eyes blink open, and looks at Bucky.
"J-James...it hurts..."
"I know." Bucky sighs softly.
"I'll go get someone." He went to stand up, twisting his body slightly to the right, to walk away. Zemo grabs his wrist. Bucky turns back to face Zemo, knees still slightly bent, as he had hardly made it out of the chair before Zemo grabbed him. He sits back down.
"Don't go...please..." Zemo breaths, his eyes only partly open like a cat. Bucky nods, and instead pressed a button on the wall for emergencies. Still Zemo gripped Bucky's arm, and Bucky noticed something. He inspected Zemo's arm further, noting a deep scar across the inside of his wrist. A nurse rushed in suddenly, and Bucky let go, gently placing Zemo's arm down at his side. The woman had a clipboard with her.
"Can he have something for pain?" Bucky asked. The blonde didn't answer him at first, but rather checked Zemo's IV instead. She noted it was empty at this point. She looked at Zemo's stats on the clipboard.
"It's been long enough." She says as she starts to switch out the empty bag for a new bag of morphine. She jotted down the time onto the clipboard.
"Don't hesitate to press the call button again if you need anything." She smiles sweetly before leaving the room.
"That should help, here soon." Bucky says in a low tone. Getting a soft groan in response from Zemo. Bucky stayed at the bedside, holding Zemo's hand. The medicine began to work shortly after, and Zemo fell back asleep. Bucky lays his head down onto the bed beside Zemo's body, still holding his hand as he falls asleep. Zemo remained there for a couple more days. Bucky stayed with him, only leaving if he really had to.
~
"You, ready? Bucky asked as Zemo gathered up his belongings, which wasn't much. He had put on mostly what he'd been wearing, aside from a new shirt Bucky got him; as the one he'd arrived in was now stained with blood, and contained a hole. He looked at Bucky who stood in the door frame.
"Yes...Where are we going?" Zemo tilted his head curiously.
"I'm taking you back to my place." Bucky smiles reassuringly. Zemo nods in response. He had no idea how he was going to thank Bucky for everything he's been doing. The two go out into the lobby. Zemo stayed quiet, and looked around at paintings on the walls.
"I can't thank you enough." Bucky says to his doctor, as they went over some things. Zemo's blood froze when he saw the doctor. He recognized the man instantly. He was Wakandan. Zemo remembered seeing him on the news after bombing the U.N meeting in Vienna. Bucky noticed the change in Zemo's expression. I should have said something. Bucky thought. This man was the one to patch Zemo up, but let the nurses take care of him otherwise. Zemo didn't once see him until now, and Upon seeing Zemo; The doctor's expression changed as well, only his changed to one of anger.
"Before I allow you to leave I have some words to say."
"Of course." Bucky nods, and looks at Zemo apologetically. Zemo returned his gaze, but with a more fearful demeanor. The doctors stepped out from behind the counter, and Bucky moved aside. The only reason Zemo was Sure he wouldn't be killed now, was the fact that the doctor took the time to help him; yet he found himself terrified of what this man would say.
"I only helped you, because James asked me. I don't know what he sees in you, but I only see bad things. Hate, and destruction. My king saw the same." The doctor said, referring to T'Challa.
"I spoke with him after he brought you back to Germany. He said to me 'that man has been consumed by vengeance, but I will not be.' You are lucky my king is kind enough to have spared you. I am not like my king." He sighs. "I was there in Vienna, I tried to save the previous king then, but I failed. My new king tells me 'it is not your fault.' He is right. It is yours, not that it matters to you." He says pointing his finger at Zemo before turning his attention back to Bucky, and nodding. Bucky nods in response, and turns to Zemo; Whose eyes are locked onto the floor, brows furrowed. Bucky approached him.
"C'mon." Bucky takes Zemo's hand and leads him out of the building.
"I had to park the car in the garage while they had you in surgery." Bucky says, leading Zemo into the parking garage.
"When we first got here I'd more, or less parked in the middle of the street." He laughs softly. Zemo smiles softly, but he was still contemplating what the doctor had said to him.
"There it is." Bucky spotted his car. He glances at Zemo.
"We can talk about it when we get to my place if you want." He opens the passenger door for Zemo. There were still a few small stains from his blood on the seat.
"Sorry I tried to clean it out."
"It's your car, why are you apologizing?" Zemo smiles softly. Bucky smiles a little brighter now that he was able to get at least a small one from Zemo.
"Thank you." Zemo says as he takes his seat on the passenger side. Bucky closed the door, and walked around the car, getting into the driver seat.