Winter Baron

Chapter Eight

Bucky pulled the car into the first open parking spot he saw. He got out, and walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for Zemo. Zemo stepped out carefully.
"They're going to meet us in the main entrance." Bucky said, leading Zemo into the museum. Once inside, Aj, and Cass saw them immediately.
"Bucky!" Both boys shouted, and ran towards Bucky.
"Hey!" Bucky smiled, and opened his arms, as both boys jumped in for a hug.
"Alright, alright. Don't knock him down. He might not be able to get back up." Sam laughed.
"Very funny." Bucky laughed, after hugging the boys. Aj, and cass let go, and turned their attention back to each other as the grown ups talked.
"Hey." Sam greeted Zemo softly, compared to how he always did Bucky.
"How are you feeling?" He asked. Sarah stood beside him with a sympathetic look on her face. Zemo was already unsure of the whole situation. The moment the boys shouted for Bucky he became unsure. He wasn't exactly used to being around children anymore. How was he supposed to interact with them after what happened to his own son? The museum was also a bit loud, and overwhelming.
"I'm fine. How are you." Zemo said awkwardly.
"I'm good." Sam smiled. Sarah gave him a look that said 'you're forgetting something.' Sam's smile faded when he saw the expression.
"Oh, this is my sister, Sarah."
"Hi." Sarah smiled.
"Hello."
"The two little gremlins we brought with us are my nephews. Aj, and cass. Cass is the little one." Sam laughed, as he watched the boys chase each other.
"It's nice to meet you." Sarah said, turning her attention away from the chaos for a moment.
"It's nice to meet you too." Zemo nodded, before he began to look around the room. It was large, with a dome shaped ceiling. The architecture was nice, with plenty of fancy columns. The sound of chit chat from other guests echoed around them.
"So what do we want to look at first?" Bucky asked the boys. Both of them shouted different answers.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Sam laughed, and moved his hands in a quieting motion.
"We'll just start at the beginning, how about that?"
"Okay." Cass answered.
"I'm okay with that." Aj followed up. The first exhibit being the tyrannosaurus skeleton in the middle of the room. It was impressive. The boys made plenty of sounds of excitement when they got as close as they could. Soon Aj, and Cass were talking to it as though it were a puppy.
"What are you two doing?" Sam laughed.
"Haven't you seen the night at the museum Uncle Sam? Everything in here comes to life at night!" Cass informed him. Aj knew it wasn't true, but played along for his little brother.
"Really, I didn't know that?" Bucky smiled playfully. Cass smiled, and began to describe the film to him, and tell him about the T-Rex, before they moved onto the next exhibit. It was a bit overwhelming how much there was to see. They looked around in the area with the large replica of a blue whale.
"That's a blue whale!" Aj said to Cass, who's eyes lit up, as they walked beneath the replica.
"It's the largest creature on earth." Zemo said, without even thinking. Cass, and Aj now seemed more surprised by Zemo speaking then they were by the whale. He'd been so quiet for most of the journey through the museum. Bucky smiled at him. He was happy to see Zemo getting more comfortable. The boys started to ask Zemo questions about different animals. Questions like.
"How fast is it? What does it eat? When does it sleep?" Zemo answered them all as best as he could, giving answers such as,
"It's very fast. It eats fish, and crustaceans. It sleeps during the day, so it is nocturnal."
"Alright guys he's not a tour guide." Sam laughed, coming to Zemo's rescue.
"It's alright." Zemo assured him. He didn't mind. They were distracting from reality. Soon Bucky was old news, and Zemo was Uncle Sam's coolest friend. With Aj, and Cass now on either side of him, they took his hands, and more or less dragged him about the museum. They stopped at the civil war exhibit.
"Bucky, can you tell us more about this?" Cass asked innocently. Sam busted up laughing.
"C'mon I'm not that old." Bucky sighs. Sarah was absolutely embarrassed. She was ready to hide, while Sam was almost on the floor laughing. Cass, and Aj were already onto the next thing in the room. Aj Was reading the information plates to Cass, as Sam, and Sarah followed them.
Zemo walked over to the nearest bench, and sat down. Bucky noticed. Zemo looked tired, and possibly distressed, so he stepped over to the bench, and sat beside him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. I'm just tired."
"How's your stomach?" Bucky asked.
"It hurts a little." Zemo sighs, and closes his eyes.
"Do you need anything? We can go back home if you want."
"No, I'll be alright, I just need to rest for a moment."
"Okay." Bucky said although he was very worried, this was too much walking for Zemo right now.
"This place was different, when I was their age. It feels way bigger now, and there is so much more history. We know more about different animals, and stuff, I mean."
"I'm sure." Zemo smiles at him softly.
"Those two, remind me of my son a little."
"Oh yeah?" Bucky looked at Zemo.
"Yes." He looked back at Bucky.
"Carl loved animals. He always wanted to know more about them, and he would ask me about them. After all, I was his father, so I should have known everything right." Zemo laughed softly.
"But I could have never known that I'd lose them."
"No, you couldn't." Bucky sighs.
"That's not your fault, and they don't blame you." Bucky said, getting a sad nod from Zemo. The two sat quietly together for a moment, watching Sam, and his family. Soon enough Zemo began to doze off, and lean against Bucky's shoulder.
Sam approached them, and snapped a picture with his phone.
"Very cute." He smiled brightly. Bucky blushed softly, and covered his face with his hands.
"Oh, come on! You guys are cute!" Sam said, patting Bucky's shoulder.
"Is he doing alright though?" Sam asked.
"He said he's just tired." Bucky replied.
"I'm sure he is." Sam looked at Zemo.
"He's only been back at your place for a day."
"Yeah." Bucky sighs, wrapping his arm around Zemo, and gently rubbing his shoulder. Zemo flinched, and lifted his head.
"It's alright, it's just me." Bucky smiled at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."
"Don't worry about it." Sam laughed.
"Let's go guys!" Aj yelled suddenly from across the room. They were ready to move on.
"Patience is a virtue." Sarah said, giving her son a look. He knew what it meant.
"Take your time!" He shouted.
"Much better. You know I don't like being rushed, so I don't need my boys rushing people." Sarah sighed. Bucky stood up with Zemo, making sure he was alright. Sam started to walk towards the rest of their group. Zemo took a step to follow. He winced, and doubled over, wrapping his arms around himself.
"Hey, you okay?" Sam said, stopping in his tracks. Bucky leaned over with Zemo.
"You're in pain."
"Yes. It hurts." Zemo groaned.
"I think we're going to go." Bucky said to Sam.
"No, no. I'm alright."
"No you're not." Bucky sighs with irritation.
"Don't push yourself." Sam said.
"Okay. I just need to lie down for a while."
"Okay, I'm taking you home." Bucky turned to Sam.
"I'll let you know how things are later, and if we wanna meet at the restaurant, or not."
"Don't worry if you can't." Sam said mostly to Zemo.
"Have fun guys." Bucky said, as Sam took off towards his family.
"Can you walk?" Bucky asked Zemo.
"I don't know. I think I can, it just hurts a lot..."
"Alright, I'll carry you then."
"What?" Zemo sounded shocked. To add to his surprise Bucky scooped him up like a child. Zemo's face turned a light shade of pink. Bucky started walking back towards the main entrance.
"Oh dear..." Zemo sighs, and covers his eyes with his left hand.
"Don't be embarrassed." Bucky sighs.
"No ones even looking."
"I'm sure everyone is looking." Zemo shakes his head. He wasn't wrong. Quite a few people were watching, as Bucky carried Zemo all the way back to the car.
"I'm going to set you down for a moment."
"Alright." Zemo said, removing his hand from his eyes. Bucky gently let Zemo down, and he leaned against the car, as Bucky opened the door for him.
"Hop in." Bucky smiled, as Zemo climbed in, and buckled up. Once he was in and secured, Bucky walked around, and got in the driver seat, and took them home.
                             ~
Once they were home, and indoors, Bucky walked Zemo back to his room. Zemo sat down on the bed.
"Let me change the bandages before you get comfortable." Bucky said, going to the bathroom to grab the fresh ones. While he was doing that Zemo took his shirt off, and laid down. He was exhausted. The room was spinning slowly. Alpine jumped up to lay beside him, and purred softly which quickly put Zemo to sleep.
Bucky came back with his first aid kit. He smiled softly, seeing Zemo sleeping so soundly with Alpine next to him. So much for changing these before he got to comfortable. Bucky thought, taking a seat on the bed. Alpine lifted her head, and meowed at him. Bucky patted the cat's head, then twisted around so he could get a better look at Zemo. Alpine meowed again.
"Shh, Ally." Bucky called her by a Nickname, and put his finger to his lips. She tilted her head, and watched as Bucky once again gently peeled medical tape, and gauze off of Zemo's abdominal region. Here we go again. Bucky thought, examining the semi inflamed flesh around the stitches. It looked just as angry as it had after the first injury. 
Carefully Bucky places his right hand above the wound, and caresses Zemo soft skin gently with his thumb. Bucky held a sad expression, as he studied Zemo's body.
"Don't touch me, please." Zemo mumbled softly.
"Sorry." Bucky pulled his hand away.
"Did I hurt you?"
"No I...I just don't want to be touched."
"I'm sorry." Bucky worried he'd crossed a line.
"It's okay..." Zemo said, before falling asleep again. Bucky sighed, and replaced the bandages.
"That's better." He said quietly to himself. He picked up the first aid kit before going to his room, closing the door behind him. He put everything away then decided to take a little nap himself. He woke again around five in the evening. First he sat up, and stretched before going to the bathroom. Once he'd freshened up, he walked into the kitchen for a glass of water, and noted the sun beginning to set from the warm light shining in from the sliding door to the balcony. Better go see how Zemo's feeling.
  He quietly entered the spare room, now Zemo's room. Alpine had gotten up at some point, and was waiting patiently for someone to open the door. She ran out as soon as Bucky walked in. Oops. He thought, realizing he should have left it open a crack for her. Zemo was now turned onto his right side facing the wall. 
Bucky immediately worried, and wondered if it was alright for him to be laying that way. Once again Bucky sat down on the end of the bed. He gently placed his left hand on Zemo's shoulder. Zemo flinched in response, and woke immediately.
"Sorry." Bucky spoke softly.
"If you don't get up for a little bit you won't be able to sleep through the night." Zemo nodded, and sat up. He rubbed sleep from his eyes, and looked a bit groggy.
"How do you feel?"
"Better."
"That's good. We probably should have picked a less strenuous activity." Bucky said, sheepishly.
"I had fun though."
"You did?"
"Yes. Sam has a nice family. The museum was very nice as well. I'd like to go again, maybe when I can function better." Zemo still looked tired, but not quite as bad as before. Bucky took note of this.
"Are we meeting them for dinner? As you said?" Zemo asked.
"If you're feeling well enough we can. I don't want you to feel like you have to though."
"If I didn't, would you still go?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not going to leave you by yourself. What if you fall, or something?"
"I'm fine." Zemo smiles sweetly.
"Are you sure? I know you would have kept up an act at the museum if you could just to make everyone happy."
"I'm sure."
"One hundred percent? Not just because I said I wouldn't leave you home alone?"
"I'm absolutely positive, James." Zemo stood up.
"See."
"Alright, put your shirt back on, and get ready. We're meeting them in an hour." Bucky said, as he left Zemo to change, or whatever he needed to do to get ready. Zemo sleepily, put his shirt on, and wandered out to the living room. Bucky chuckled when he saw Zemo.
"What?"
"Your hair." Bucky smiles softly, and reaches out to fix Zemo's hair, which was partly out of place.
"Oh, thanks."
"Anytime." Bucky laughed once more through his nose, as the two put their shoes on.
"We'll be back, Alpine!" Bucky called out to the cat. He closed, and locked the door behind him. Surprisingly Mrs. Jones wasn't out to greet them this time. She must be watchinf jeopardy, or something. Bucky thought, as he'd gone over to watch it with her a few times before.
                            ~
Bucky, and Sam had already agreed to meet at an Italian restaurant. A popular chain in the states. Bucky found Sam's car, and parked beside him. Per the usual he jumped out, and went to open Zemo's door, which in all honesty Zemo enjoyed. They entered the restaurant.
There was a short wait. Sam, Sarah, and the boys were seated on a couch in the lobby.
"We're here." Bucky waved, as they took a seat across from the Wilson family.
"Glad you could make it." Sam said.
"How are you feeling?" Sarah asked Zemo. She had been a bit worried after the museum.
"Better." Once again Zemo was giving single word answers, rather than speaking full sentences.
"We took a nap." Bucky followed up.
"Together?" Sam couldn't resist, Sarah smacked him gently over the back of his head, but just hard enough to know she was disappointed.
"No!" Bucky's face flushed softly. Zemo's entire face seemed to turn red, although he played it off as if he hadn't reacted at all, or even heard.
"I'm sorry." Sarah sighed. She couldn't just let that go without an apology.
"It's alright." Zemo looked at her appreciatively.
"I know it is easy to think something like that may be going on." Zemo spoke softly. Bucky was surprised by how much he was talking suddenly, but also a little saddened by his words.
"Party for Wilson! Your table is ready!" The hostess called from her podium. The group got up, and approached her.
"If you'll follow me please." She smiles, and leads them to their table. It was in a more private area of the restaurant. Aj, and cass began to argue over who was going to sit next to Bucky. They already figured he would sit beside Zemo leaving his other side open for one of them.
"One of you could sit across from me?" Bucky suggested.
"That's where Uncle Sam wants to sit." Cass sighed.
"How about you sit where I tell you to sit?" Sarah said. The boys both sighed.
"I've got it." Sam said, and pulled the chair out from one end of the table.
"Sarah will sit here." He then gestures to one side of the table.
"Boys you sit here. I'll sit on the other end, and Bucky. You, and Zemo sit on that side." Sam sat in the chair he'd assigned himself.
"Well done, Cap." Sarah laughed, and sat down. Aj, and cass were satisfied enough with the outcome, and everyone was seated. Menus were brought to them, and they ordered drinks. Bucky taking a soda along with Sam, and the boys. Sarah ordered water. Zemo honestly could have gone for wine, or champagne, but Bucky was already spending so much on him, so he went with water.
Being a Baron he had money, but he currently didn't have any u.s dollars. I've been pardoned. I can exchange money now, and pay James back. It had just occurred to him. They began to look over their menus.
"Have you decided what you want to eat yet boys?" Sarah asked.
"Spaghetti, and meatballs!" Cass announced.
"Sounds good. What about you Aj?"
"Chicken Alfredo."
"Alright." Sarah already knew what they would choose, but asked anyway in case one of her boys would surprise her. The waitress appeared between Sarah, and Bucky with their drinks.
"Two waters, and four coke's?" She asked even though she knew she had the right table.
"That's us." Sam joked back. Once everyone had their drinks the waitress got out a pen, and pad.
"Are we ready to order, or do we still need a minute?" She asked. Sam looked around the table.
"I'm ready if you all are." He got a collection of nods, and yeses in response.
"Alright, I'm going to go with the losanga."
"Salad or soup with that?"
"Salad."
"And you ma'am?" She asked Sarah.
"I'll take your shrimp scampi, and I'll also take salad. The little ones are with me. He'll have spaghetti with meatballs." She said, referring to Cass.
" Aj?" Sarah gave him a smile that said 'the floor is yours.' She trusted him to order for himself.
"I'll have the chicken Alfredo." He said as adult as possible.
"Very fancy." Sam smirked playfully, getting a laugh from Aj.
"You sir?" The waitress turned to Bucky who was at her right.
"I think I'm going to take your tour of Italy." It was more, or less a sampler with spaghetti, Alfredo, and losanga. 
"Someone's hungry." Sam laughed.
"You're always hungry." Bucky retorted, getting a laugh from Sarah followed by a,
"So true."
"Lastly?" The waitress looked over at Zemo.
"The chicken, and shrimp carbonara, please." Zemo smiled softly. Bucky noted the smile was the same as all the others. It didn't reach his eyes. It was never a truly genuine smile, and always appeared sad. The waitress finished writing down the orders.
"Alright, I'll be back with the salad, and breadsticks." She said, before taking her leave.
"How was that press conference by the way?" Sarah asked.
"It was alright." Sam replied, none too convincing.
"Stupid." Was Bucky's reply.
"Really?" Zemo asked.
"You seemed so excited about it."
"I was, but the journalist had a lot of questions I didn't like." Bucky shrugged.
"I see." Zemo figured it out immediately.
"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Sarah asked her brother.
"James didn't say anything about it either." Zemo shrugged.
"You didn't ask." Bucky said, a bit annoyed.
"I didn't think I needed to."
"I didn't think you'd want to know."
"Is this your first fight?" Sam chimed in.
"Oh my god." Bucky placed his elbows on the table, and put his head in his hands. Sam snickered, and Sarah flicked him in the head, which got giggles from the boys.
"I'm not trying to fight. I was just pointing out that James didn't talk about it, so why should Sam?"
"Thank you Zemo." Sam said, smirking at Sarah. He never expected to be thanking Zemo for anything either.
"Bucky not telling you makes more sense though, you two are still getting used to each other, and getting to know each other. Sam is my brother, and I expected to hear about his life. I'll tell him about mine."
"Valid point." Zemo nodded.
"Well boys why was is stupid?" Sarah asked, putting them further on the spot. Bucky let's his hands down.
"For starters it was almost a month ago." He pointed out, getting a laugh from Sam. A month? I've been with James for almost that long already? Zemo thought. He hadn't been really keeping track of time. In prison time seemed to drag.
"Most of the questions were for me." Sam said.
"I'm sure you can guess what they were about."
"Yeah I'm sure." Sarah sighed. Bucky gave sympathetic looks. As sharp as he was, Zemo once again understood immediately. He was very much aware of the rampant racism problem in the United States. Aj, and cass didn't say anything, but they were also aware. Aj more so than Cass.
"Bucky, got some too." Sam shook his head.
"Yeah...they wanted to know stuff about the winter soldier." Bucky sighed. Zemo's expression changed to one of sadness. He gently placed his hand on Bucky's knee momentarily to show sympathy, and support. In turn Bucky smiled at him. He felt his face flush, and hoped no one else noticed, however everyone did.
"You know what's weird though." Bucky said, more like himself.
"What?" Sam looked at him with a bit of confusion
"The man who asked that question, I saw him at Walmart."
"The man who stared at us?" Zemo said, as he'd noticed as well.
"Yeah."
"That is weird. Do you know him?"
"No. At least I don't think so. I could easily be wrong though." Bucky felt that he didn't know the guy, but maybe he'd forgotten.
"He just stared at you?"
"Yeah."
"Maybe he felt bad about the question?" Sam suggested.
"Maybe."
"That's creepy." Aj said, matter of factly.
"It was." Zemo smiled, and agreed. Getting another laugh out of the boys, they really enjoyed his accent.
"Maybe he is a fan, and was just star struck." Sarah said, trying to lighten the mood. The boys laughed a little harder, which in turn made Bucky laugh.
"Yeah maybe. I didn't think you saw him." Bucky said to Zemo.
"It was so obvious, he didn't even try to hide it." He said, as the waitress reappeared.
"Alright, here's the breadsticks." She said placing a basket on the table.
"And here's that salad. Do we want Parmesan?" She asked, placing the salad bowl down.
"Yes." Aj said excitedly. The waitress looked at Sarah for confirmation.
"Yes, please." She giggled. The waitress nodded, and graded some Parmesan onto the salad. Then she passed around their bowls.
"Your food will be out shortly." She left again, and Sarah used the salad tongs to fill her bowl. She then passed the salad bowl, and tongs to Aj. Once he'd finished he put salad into Cass's bowl, then passed everything to Bucky. Bucky filled his bowl, then without thinking, Zemo's.
"I could have done that."
"I know. I'm not sure why I did that."
"It's alright." Zemo laughs softly. Bucky placed the now empty salad bowl on the table with the tongs in the bowl. Together the group ate their salads, and a breadstick each. The waitress returned once again with the food. Everyone ate silently for the most part.
Zemo, and Bucky were both pretty hungry as they hadn't eaten much at lunch. Aj, and Cass played with their food a little before actually eating it. Bucky was the first to finish his food, followed by Sam. Zemo, and Sarah both dipped their breadsticks in the sauce of their pastas. Zemo managed to finish his food, although he was sure he was overeating a little. Sarah let out a content sigh.
"I'm going to need a to-go box."
"You always do." Sam pointed out. Aj, and cass would need one as they were far to full now, and couldn't finish. Once their waitress came to check on them they asked for the boxes, and for their bills. She brought the boxes to them, and Sarah scraped her leftovers into it. Aj did just as his mother had, and helped Cass with his.
After the bills were paid, and tips were left everyone stood up, and headed out into the parking lot.
"That was great." Bucky said, stretching.
"Yes, thank you for inviting us." Zemo said, politely.
"Anytime guys. We'll do it again."
"Did you guys have fun?" Sarah asked her sons.
"Yes!" Aj said, practically jumping in the air.
"Yeah, we had so much fun today!" Cass followed him up.
"Maybe next time you guys can come visit us with Sam." Sarah hints to her brother.
"Yeah you should." He agreed.
"You know I will." Bucky smiles.
"I don't think Zemo's been to Louisianan."
"You know I haven't, James, but I'd love to."
"Alright well, we'll have to plan something." The group finished saying good night to one another. Bucky and Zemo got in the car, and headed back home.
"There is something I'd like to do tomorrow." Zemo says suddenly.
"What's that?"
"I want to exchange money, so I can pay you back, and so you don't have to pay for me, or buy me things constantly."
"Zemo I really don't mind, but you probably should exchange it just in case you need to pay for something, and I'm not around."
"Why wouldn't you be around?" Zemo asked, his voice held a hint of worry in it.
"I'm not saying that's going to happen ever, I'm just saying it's better to be safe than sorry."
"Right. Of course, but I am still a Baron, you don't always have to pay my way."
"Okay here's the thing. If I want to buy you something, or pay your way; or whatever then I will, so stop arguing."
"I'm not arguing, James. I was only making a statement." With that they were silent the rest of the ride, and soon arrived back at home.