The Hurt And The Healing: Bucky X OC

Chapter Thirty: Amalgamation

Baron Helmut Zemo's living arrangements far surpassed the quality of his ethics. His "modest" home was a mansion, surrounded by a wrought iron gate and massive oak trees that shielded the property from view. They landed on the private airfield, walked to the private hanger, where the private collection of luxury cars waited. Zemo paused in front of a particularly beautiful one and reached to open the driver's door.

"There are only four seats," Bucky noted. Zemo turned to him and smiled.

"Then I guess you will have to walk," he replied. Bucky glared and reached past him, crumpling the door handle in his metal fist. "A joke, James. I assume you have heard of them," Zemo huffed. He turned and led them to a long, black Mercedes-Benz. "Better?" He asked, glancing at Bucky. When no reply was made he shrugged and got in. Sam got into the front passenger seat, and the others climbed into the back. There were two sets of seats, one with their back to the driver and the other facing forward. Bucky helped Nonna into the car and then sat where he could see Zemo in the rearview mirror. Mara sat next to him, also watching the aristocrat turn on the car and drive.

Several minutes later they reached the house itself, where an old man in a suit and bowtie waited. Zemo exited and immediately embraced the man with a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

"Oeznik, I told you I would be back," he said warmly. The old man beamed and nodded.

"You did sir, but I did not expect it to be so soon!"

Zemo laughed and patted his shoulder. "I have brought guests," he said as he gestured to the others getting out of the car.

"Mister Barnes, Mister Wilson," Oeznik greeted them with a slight incline of his head. "Lovely to see you again."

Bucky merely grunted in response, lifting Mara and Nonna's bags for them. Sam gave an awkward nod in return.

"And these lovely ladies are Doctor Anderson and-" he paused and turned to Nonna, hand outstretched. "Pardon me, madame, but some oversight led to us never being properly introduced."

"No, that was intentional," Nonna quipped, earning herself a gruff laugh from Bucky. "You may call me Mrs. Romano."

"Ah, well," Zemo closed his hand and withdrew it. "Budite spremne," he said, turning to face the old man again. "Ove žene su vrlo Amerikanke."

The old man laughed with him before turning to open the doors. As the weary travelers filed in Mara muttered, "that better have been a compliment."

"How could I say anything else about you?" Zemo replied in a sticky sweet voice.

The Americans waited in the foyer as Zemo and Oeznik discussed something in Serbian. Bucky hadn't learned that language in his many years, but the Slavic dialects shared enough root words that he could understand roughly half of what was being said. They were discussing sleeping arrangements, debating which rooms the foreign guests were least likely to ruin with their uobičajenost.

"Zatknis' i primi resheniye!" Bucky snapped after three minutes of listening to their snobbery. Oeznik looked surprised at the outburst in Russian, but Zemo merely smiled.

"Apologies," he said with an almost imperceptible incline of his head. "Oeznik and I were simply trying to ensure that your stay is pleasant."

"Just give me a bed and some food and I'll be fine," Bucky replied. Zemo shrugged and gestured for them to follow him up the stairs. It really was a beautiful house, although there was something about it that felt eerily familiar to Bucky. A memory began to nag him, but he quickly muffled it. He could remember later.