Oneshots

Zemo? (S)

Zemo had the perfect plan. It was perfect. Take James and use him as bait to lure the rest of the team out to him. He knew Tony didn't like James, but he thought that at least maybe Steve would convince him to come.

But here he was, with James in the spare room crying without sound, waiting for someone, anyone to show up. It had been months. Months! Zemo had left a trail of clues that were supposed to lead the heroes right to him.

But no one was showing up.

Let's go back to the beginning..

Zemo stood on top of the tower, how he got there was irrelevant, but he was waiting for James to walk out of those doors leading to the roof. He had been watching silently for weeks, learning the soldier's routine, waiting for the perfect time.

And the time was now. After a while, James finally walked out of the door completely oblivious to his demise waiting for him. Zemo walked up silently and slowly as the soldier sat down. He gently pulled out the cloth, afraid of needles, he opted to use a chloroform rag as opposed to a needle with sedatives in.

He waited for the soldier to get comfortable before gently but firmly pressing the rag over his mouth. The soldier struggled right away but he was already falling. Zemo caught the dead weight and waited for his ride.

How Zemo got out of there was none of your business. All that matters now is that he's got the Winter Soldier in his guest room tied up ready to be used as bait. He sat quietly waiting for signs of James waking up.

Finally, after a few hours, the soldier seemed to start struggling against the restraints. Zemo chuckled and walked into the room. James immediately stopped struggling. It was like something switched in his mind.

Zemo, surprised at the change, watched quietly trying to decipher what was going on in the soldier's head. Finally, James said something.
"Whatever reason you have me here doesn't matter, they're not gonna come for me."

Zemo, surprised yet again, cocked his head to the side.
"What do you mean they won't come for you? If no one else Steve has to. You're his best friend." James' eyes watered. This was the first time Zemo has ever seen the soldier cry. Even while they tortured him.
"Yeah well, I'm pretty sure that that's not really true anymore."

Zemo looked at the soldier trying not to let any pity seep through his façade. He sighed quietly, although he was sure the super-soldier heard it and left the room. He grunted angrily. He didn't believe the soldier, although he knew the soldier believed himself.

Time Skip

Zemo had the perfect plan. It was perfect. Take James and use him as bait to lure the rest of the team out to him. He knew Tony didn't like James, but he thought that at least maybe Steve would convince him to come.

But here he was, with James in the spare room crying without sound, waiting for someone, anyone to show up. It had been months. Months! Zemo had left a trail of clues that were supposed to lead the heroes right to him.

But no one was showing up. And it baffled him. How could no one want to show up for this big lovable oaf sitting in his guestroom? It's not like he had grown a soft spot for the man, but he kind of had. But he didn't mean to.

He was supposed to keep the soldier in his guest room and wait till the others came to get him. But no one was coming. He didn't know what to do. What was he supposed to do? Let the soldier go back to the team and tell them where he was? No.

Zemo was at a loss. No one was coming and he had no idea what to do about it.

Time Skip

Zemo sat and stared at James. He didn't understand what was going on. James was looking around like a lost puppy like someone had just dropped him in the middle of the desert after drugging him. Sounds like something Zemo would do.

He watched the soldier silently hoping to figure out what was going on.
"James?" James didn't react at all. Not even a twitch. Zemo remembered a name he used to use for the soldier when he was in Russia still.
"Winter?" The soldier's head jerked right up.

Zemo stared at James wide-eyed. He never thought that name would catch with the soldier. He softened just a bit. He loved how James acted when he responded to Winter. Zemo gently stood up and carefully walked towards Winter.

He held his hands out in front of him, as to not startle the calm, quiet, soldier. He stopped in front of the man and held a hand out. Winter reached forward and grabbed the hand to inspect it. Zemo smiled a very small, unnoticeable smile; he loved this side to James.

The only sad part was that James never remembered what happened when he got like this. Zemo sat down next to the soldier and started to calmly card his hand through the man's newly cut hair. He loves the way the soldier cut his hair.

They sat in silence with Zemo gently petting the soldier till they both fell asleep. It was comforting to have someone there for both of them. No matter how much they denied it, they were more alike than they admit.

Time Skip

The next morning when James woke up he was beyond confused. He didn't remember falling asleep, but here he was waking up. He shrugged, must have been something Zemo gave him. But that thought was thrown out the window the next second when he looked over and came face to face with said male.

James froze. This is not what he expected to wake up to. Not that he expected to wake up at all, because he didn't even know he fell asleep. He stared at the sleeping Sokovian man for a while trying to figure out if he should stay or get up and sit in the corner.

He decided on staying and seeing how this plays out, because, let's be real, it's been a while since he's had human contact. He slowly laid back down and shifted right back to where he was when he woke up. He decided to go back to sleep.

When Zemo woke up he watched the gears in James' head turn. The soldier just couldn't figure out what he wanted and Zemo had to admit, it was kind of cute. He watched the soldier quietly before the American shifted back into a sleeping position and cuddled closer to Zemo.

Zemo totally didn't smile. Nope. He glared. That was totally what he was doing right now. Totally. He watched with fond eyes as the soldier fell back asleep and fully relaxed. He gently maneuvered his way out of the soldier's hold and almost decided not to get up when the man whined quietly and gripped the bedsheets like a lifeline.

Long Time Skip

The two started to sleep together like that more and more. Neither acknowledged the fact, just moving on and conversing about other things. James got more comfortable, and Zemo stopped trying to intimidate the man. They bonded, in simple terms.

Tonight they were sitting on the roof enjoying the stars, something James loves to do and Zemo has gotten used to doing with the soldier. They sat in silence, like every other night. They often sat in silence. But tonight, something was different.

Tonight, it was a tense silence. And neither could figure out why; although James had an inkling. He was tense tonight. Thinking about Steve, and Tony, and all the other people he had betrayed, though they had betrayed him as well.

He sighed and leaned more on Zemo. Zemo wrapped his arm around James and whispered,
"What's got you all tense tonight?" James sighed again.
"I miss Steve but I know he doesn't miss me." Zemo sighed. They had never had this conversation before but Zemo knew it was a sore one; though he didn't understand why.

He sighed.
"I'm sure he does James. Why would he not?" James huffed angrily.
"Why do you think I was on that roof every night?! No one paid any attention to me. It was as if I was invisible." Zemo sighed as he pulled the man closer to him.

They stayed there for a while before James started to shiver so they went inside, to their bed, yes their. They sleep together now. They were comfortable together, without the looming thought of any higher power or the Avengers.

They both fell asleep that night comfortable and content.

Sorry again for the wait, this one took me forever to write. I kept losing my train of thought, and school has been really confusing lately. It's here now though! Enjoy :) - Pidge