Helmut Zemo One-Shots: Zemo x Reader Because I Know Y'all Are Thirsty AF

Not Again

A/N: Protective Zemo for y'all. <3 Also some angst and mild jealousy because it's Zemo. Sorry if it's not as good as the others. I came down from my hyperfixation last night and my writing mostly runs on that. 

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS: References to sex, canon-typical violence, mentions of necromancy, mentions of bombs, past death, past mourning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You wait by Oeznik, practically bouncing as the car pulls up. Your boyfriend just got out of prison and you were so excited to see him again. You had been allowed very few visits to see him, and every one included two armed guards in the room. You hadn't even gotten to see him without glass in the way. 

You smile brightly as you see him and his companions get out of the car. He walks fast, the two men behind him seeming annoyed at the pace. You didn't hear what the others said, but as they approached you heard your love say "I'm a baron, Sam." Ah. The Americans were unaware of his title. 

You hold back a giggle as he picks you up, kissing you like you'd slip from his fingertips. "I missed you so much, my shining star." You lean in to kiss him again as he sets you down. 

"I missed you too, Helmut. Welcome back." 

The clearing of throats stops Helmut from nuzzling you, turning around with a slight pink to his cheeks. "Right. Sam, James. This is my love, (Y/N). (Y/N), this is Sam and James. I'm sure you've seen them on the news before." 

You smile and give a small wave. "Hello. And yes. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, correct?" The flinch James gave made you feel guilty. "I'm glad to see you're doing well, Mr. Barnes. When the Hydra files were released, I read about the program. No one deserves to go through that. Especially not a good man like yourself." 

The soldier seemed to relax, offering you an almost shy smile. "It's James. Thank you. And it's a pleasure to meet you. You're a lot more likeable than your boyfriend there." His smile widens as you give a chuckle. Sam seems a lot more relaxed, reaching out to shake your hand. 

"Nice to meet you, (Y/N). You're a lot friendlier than I expected. Not gonna lie, a lot better looking too. How Zemo ever pulled you I'm not sure." Then he leans in and pretends to whisper, obviously trying to annoy the man beside you. "If it's just for the money, blink twice. I think I can sneak one of his credit cards." You snort while trying to hold back your laugh. These men were very friendly and welcoming for not being so fond of Helmut. 

Speaking of whom, was grabbing your hand and leading you into the jet with an unamused look. He made sure to place himself between you and the other men as you all boarded, and then sat you next to him in the inside seat. Interesting. He's never been jealous before. 

Sam and James seem to catch on as they take their seats, raising an eyebrow each at the baron. He simply huffs and takes your hand again, leaning to his right to kiss face a few times. It's sweet. But also a perfect opportunity for the others to tease him. He acted like it didn't bother him, but his hand slipped from yours to grip your waist. 

Again, it was sweet, but you hated that he felt insecure. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You had just witnessed what the Winter Soldier could do, even without the programming. The thought of being near him was terrifying. You had to remember he was just a man. A broken man that simply acted how he was supposed to while undercover. 

That didn't change the fact that you were scared. Or that Helmut had a firm hand on your back, the rest of his body sort of shielding you from James as the four of you walked to meet Selby. 

She was surprised but not disappointed to see you with the baron. "(Y/N)! It's been such a long time. Last time you were here was just after the two of you had met." She smiles wickedly. "You were here about information on necromancy technology, right? How did that go?" 

Helmut gives you a look, but doesn't say anything about it. You stand up straighter and smile tightly. "Dead end. The only scientist researching it was the target of an unknown assassin. Everything was burned." You quickly look over to James standing on the side, then back. "But that's not why we're here. Helmut has a favor to ask." 

The following conversation flew by, but made your stomach churn nonetheless. You couldn't quite remember anything in between gunshots and running. Somehow the group got split up, and your panic rose as you realized it was just you and James. You'd lost Helmut and Sam somewhere. 

The two of you stop along a wall in one of the alley's for a minute, breathing heavy. He doesn't even bother to look at you as he starts talking. "Why the hell would you look into necromancy? For some man you'd just met, who months later bombed a UN building?" 

"I didn't want it to hurt anymore. For him or me." 

The soldier finally looks at you, face scrunched up. "What?" 

You shake your head, continuing to look out for anyone on the street. "It hurt. He was hurting because he lost his loved ones, and I was hurting because I knew I could never live up to his memories of her. I thought if I brought her and their son back, he'd stop hurting and it'd be easier for me to get over him." 

After a moment you two start running again, but he keeps up the conversation. "Okay. I guess that makes sense in a fucked kind of way. But when did you two start dating?" A breathless chuckle comes from you, no humor in it. 

"We actually weren't official until after he was in prison. We had chemistry, and it was going somewhere. At least physically. But then he said he had to stay away because he wasn't done avenging his family yet. And he wasn't sure if he could ever love again." You slow your pace down again. "It was two years of sending letters and attempting to visit before he started to open up to me. To give us a chance. And even now I'm not sure he loves me anywhere as much as he loved her." 

James looks like he's about to say something, but shuts up when Sam and Helmut come around the corner. Helmut rushes over to you, grabbing your face and kissing you before checking to make sure you're okay. "Are you alright, (Y/N)? Did you get hurt?" 

He notices bruises on your arms and holds you closer, side eyeing James before speaking lower and leaning his head on yours. "What happened? You can tell me if anyone hurt you." Both you and James were fully aware of what he meant by that. 

"I'm fine. I must've hit my arm on some of the corners we rounded." You're given an unsure look and you sigh. "It wasn't him. I would tell you if that was the case. I promise." He nods slowly, still holding you closer. 

Footsteps and gunshots ring out, startling you. Helmut turns around and shields you, no concern for his own safety. Even as Sharon Carter approached, he stayed in a protective stance. It wasn't until the others started following that he moved to take your hand, this time wrapping it around his waist so he can wrap an arm around you. 

"Helmut. You've been acting differently. You know I can protect myself. And surely you know I wouldn't leave you for someone else." 

He squeezed you tighter, then gave your head the softest kiss. 

"I can't lose the person I love. Not again."