Altruism // Helmut Zemo x Reader x Bucky Barnes

7

"What were you thinking?" Bucky growled as he approached Zemo, his stride slow and steady like a lion approaching its prey.

Zemo seemed unphased, holding Bucky's gaze steadily as he stood up and held out a cup to him. "Cherry blossom tea?" He offered.

With a swift move Bucky grabbed the cup from Zemo's hand and threw it onto the floor with a loud crash, the shards of glass flying everywhere. Zemo tilted his head, although he couldn't help looking taken aback by Bucky whose chest was heaving as he tried to calm himself down. Sam watched the scene before him without breathing, wondering what was going on between the two men.

"Y/n could be anywhere right now, you know that right? She could be with the flag smashers, she could be with Walker, you made her leave! What were you thinking?" Bucky demanded to know the motivation Zemo had for telling Y/n his past.

Zemo looked at the seething super soldier before him calmly. "You were the one who made her leave. It was your words, your secrets that made her go. She deserved the truth and I gave it to her, and I will give her more than just the truth once she comes back. Do you really think you deserve a woman like her, James?"

Bucky clenched his vibranium fist tightly. "And what makes you think you deserve her? You're a terrorist, you broke apart her family! What makes you think she'll like you?" He grabbed the collar of Zemo's jacket tightly, pulling him close as he clenched his jaw.

Sam quickly separated the two angry men, confusion coating his face. "Alright, what the hell is going on. It's like you two are battling for Y/n's love or something..." Sam's eyes widened with realization. "Oh shit. You both love Y/n!"

"I can't fathom how you didn't notice it earlier Sam. James hasn't been subtle about his feelings for Y/n." Zemo said, looking into Bucky's eyes with a taunting glare as if he was trying to see how far he could push the man.

Bucky let go of Zemo, realizing he was trying to push him into being the bad guy. "We need to get her back. I'll go out and look for her." He said, walking to the door, halting when he heard Sam's voice.

"Woah woah woah. You're not going anywhere. Might I remind you that you're the reason she left. What makes you think she'll react well to seeing you?"

Bucky sighed, running his metal hand through his hair. "Then what do you say we do?"

"You stay here with Zemo. I'll go out and look for her. She couldn't have gone far." Sam explained, heading to the door. "Both of you, play nice."

The second the door shut after Sam, the two glared at each other, the tension in the room thick with the men's hatred for each other, and worry for Y/n's safety.

---

Spending time with John and Lemar wasn't as bad as Y/n had anticipated it to be, she actually found herself quite enjoying the company of the pair. John was a bit of an American history nerd, which added a more human trait to his personality, and Lemar was thoughtful, kind, and the person to reign John in when he was going to be reckless. Y/n was a bit confused as to where she'd fit into her dynamic, but she realized she wouldn't have a bad time working with them while she tried to figure it out.

The hotel the three stayed in was roomy, although there were only two actual beds John offered her the one he was using prior to her joining and took the fold out bed in the couch instead. The room was near quiet, the only sounds coming from the street below and John's voice as he talked on the phone to his superiors. Y/n let out a small sigh as she laid back on the bed, watching as John paced while on the phone and Lemar checked for any signs of the flag smashers on the laptop. She had to admit, she missed Bucky, Zemo, and Sam, but her pride and embarrassment for her actions prevented her from reaching out despite how much she wanted to.

Y/n was unsure why she felt such a strong need to talk to Bucky and Zemo, she couldn't fathom why her stomach twisted when she thought of not seeing them again for a while. Some emotion Y/n couldn't describe was drawing her to them, making her long for their touch. She missed them, she wanted to be around them, maybe even to be held by them.

Y/n shook her head, trying to clear out the thoughts. She was being ridiculous. Surely her feelings just stemmed from missing their company, after all she had always been by Bucky's side. She let out a sigh, leaning back and flopping down into a lying position on the bed.

"Something wrong?" Lemar stopped what he was doing and angled his body to look at Y/n.

"Nothing important, it's just kind of weird not being around Bucky. I'm mad at him of course, but we had always been together since Steve left." Y/n explained, moving her arm over her eyes to block out the yellow tinted ceiling light. "I just need to get used to not being around him."

Lemar's eyes softened. "I wish I could help. I can only say that I hope it'll get better in time."

"Me too..." Y/n mumbled.

Silence fell over the pair as Lemar turned back to his work and Y/n contemplated what would happen next. The future was a mystery to her, all she knew was that for now on she was on a new team with Lemar and John. She had to push her feelings for her former comrades aside. They were her competition now. Part of her felt as if this was just proving Bucky's point, that she could easily switch sides at the drop of a hat, but the other felt as if she was rational in her decision to leave and was focused on revenge. She wanted to show Bucky what he was missing and make him regret his words, and she was determined to make that happen.

—

"Are you proud of yourself, James?" Zemo sneered from across the couch. Bucky only replied by clenching his fist. "You chased away Y/n with your words, and now she hates you. How does it feel knowing you ruined any chance of her reciprocating your feelings?"

"Shut up Zemo." Bucky growled, looking away from the man. He knew he was just falling into Zemo's trap by showing how much his words affected him, but he couldn't help it. Not when he knew everything Zemo was saying was true.

"You never deserved her. What could she see in you? With me she would want for nothing, she would be cherished, safe, and trusted." Zemo emphasized the last word cruelly. "I'm a Baron, royalty. You? You're the winter soldier. A monster. You remember how she looked at you in fear in Madripoor."

"She said she wasn't scared of me, she was scared for me." Bucky mumbled, mostly to himself to try and calm down. His fist was tighter and itching to make contact with Zemo's face.

"And you believe that James? You believe Y/n isn't afraid of you? That she isn't on edge around you, just waiting for the moment you finally snap and harm her?"

Tears stung Bucky's eyes as he darted across the room at Zemo, his vibranium fist making contact with Zemo's cheek, sending him to the floor. He didn't stop there, his fists hammering into him, filling the room with grunts of pain. After a few minutes Bucky pulled away, shaking and breathing heavily as he realized what had just happened. He looked at his blood soaked hands in fear, then back at Zemo who was clearly quite injured, but well enough to give Bucky a taunting, catlike grin.

"You just proved my point James." He called out as Bucky stormed out of the house.