And We Go On

It's too cold for you here

I don’t really know how much time passed but as soon as Zemo exited the bathroom himself, Bucky almost burst in.
“Well, The Wakandans are here. They want Zemo. Bought us some more time.” Bucky tells us as he makes his way towards Sam and now Zemo, who has entered the kitchen.
“Were you followed?” Sam asks.
“No.” Bucky assures. I hold back rolling my eyes. They know we are here already. You didn’t have to be followed, and you should know that Bucky.
“How can you be so sure?” Zemo questions as he turns away from looking out the window.
“‘Cause I know when I’m being followed.” Bucky insists.
“It was sweet of you to defend me at least.” Zemo compliments. I smile a little but then Sam butts in saying, “Hey, you shut it. No one’s defending you.”
Then it’s Bucky's turn to interrupt as he sees on his phone news that Karli has bombed a GRC building. 3 dead, 11 injured.
“She’s getting worse.” Zemo comments.
Then discuss back and forth how they feel. It sounds like Sam is having a hard time with her just being a kid. Zemo is certain that since she has the serum in her, there is no saving her. That once you have the serum, you are lost.
“Maybe you're wrong.” Bucky says. “The serum never corrupted Steve.” He holds his posture straight as he looks at Zemo.
“Touche.” Zemo adds. “But there has never been another Steve Rogers, has there?”
And to me, there probably never would be. Steve was one of a kind, serum or not.
Sam makes a comment on how Donya sounded like a community leader, so they were likely going to have a ceremony for her. As they talk, Bucky finally makes his way over to the couch and sits next to me. I hear him take a few extra sniffs, and I feel embarassed again about using the perfume.
He says nothing, and instead keeps speaking with Sam. But at least he’s close.
“Your TT would be proud.” Zemo comments as he pulls something out of the cabinet. He has a small piece of candy in his hand. “Turkish delight?” He asks. He tosses one all the way over to me, but Bucky catches it first, looking at it suspiciously. Then Zemo tosses one to Sam.
“Irresistible.” Zemo states, almost as if to assure that it’s safe to eat. While he’s not looking, I swipe the candy out of Bucky’s hand and give him a look. It’s more a bratty look telling him he can’t control me, but it’s not overly mean. I eat the candy and it is honestly delicious.

Zemo gets changed and we make our way to the GRC building Sam had information that Donya was at. Zemo comments on how sad of a state it has turned into, how it used to be so beautiful and grand. We stop in the courtyard and Sam tells us, “I’m gonna go check out around upstairs. You two stay down here. Keep an eye on him.” Sam says seriously as he looks from Zemo, to Bucky, to me.
“I’ll just stay out of your way.” Zemo replies and puts his hands up in defense.
Then Zemo starts moving through the courtyard, Bucky pauses, and then starts going another direction. I watch them circle, and then see Zemo heading towards the children. I decide to follow and see what he is up to. He starts singing a children’s lullaby while the children all cautiously stare at us. He pulls up two chairs, one front of him and one to sit on. He looks at me and motions to the bench beside him. I slowly sit and then look at what he is doing.
He dumps the candy from his home onto the chair and says, “Turkish Delight.” A young girl very slowly comes up, then grabs a piece. “They were always my son’s favorite.” Zemo pauses.
That’s right. Zemo was married and had a little boy. And they died after an incident involving the avengers and super soldiers. I honestly felt a little bad for him.
“My dear friend, Donya, passed away.  Did you know her?” Zemo gently asks the girl.
“Yes.” she nods her head.
“I would like to pay my last respects. Do you know where her funeral will be?” He asks. She nods her head and as he motions to her, she runs over and whispers the answer in his ear. I glance back and see Sam has now joined Bucky. I slowly stand up as the girl has finished speaking in Zemo’s ear, and he is now standing in front of her.
“Do you see these men there?” Zemo questions, motioning to Sam and Bucky. “They’re very bad. They are not to be trusted. Donya is our little secret.” Zemo continues, zipping his lips. I give Zemo a look but don’t say anything. The little girl follows suit, zipping her lip. He offers the rest of the candy to the children and Zemo turns to me. We stare at each other and then he winks. Then we both turn back to meet up with the others, “Cute kids.” is all Zemo comments.

We make our way back to the room. “Well I got nothin’.” Bucky informs us. “No one’s talking about Donya.” As Zemo heads to the kitchen, Bucky and Sam sit on the couch and continue discussing Karli. Sam appears to be somewhat on her side. What she’s doing is for the right reasons, trying to help people and bring them together. Bucky comments that her end might not justify her means. I walk into the kitchen and sit on the stool by the counter Sam was on earlier. I watch as Zemo pours tea into cups and brings it over to the table by the couch.
“That little girl. What did she tell you?” Bucky questions.
“The funeral is this afternoon.” Zemo finally responds.
“You know Dora's coming for you any minute. In fact, they’re probably lurking outside right now.” Bucky motions towards the door. "Keep talking.”
“Leaving you to turn on me once we get to Karli.”
Wow, he really has thought this fully through.
Zemo shakes his head, “Hm. I prefer to keep my leverage.”
Okay, I know he’s supposed to be a villain and all, but it honestly makes sense to me. But Bucky has lost his patience. He gets up and walks over to Zemo who is holding a glass cup of the tea. Bucky rips the cup out of his hand and throws it hard against the pillar behind them, smashing it to pieces. I jump at the sudden violence and stare a little shocked.
“You wanna see what someone can do with leverage?” Bucky threatens.
“Take it easy. Don’t engage him. He’s just gonna extort you and do that stupid head tilt thing.” Sam is on his feet  trying to separate them. Zemo realizes he’s doing that very thing Sam just mentioned as he stares at Bucky and corrects his head straight.
“Let me make a call.” Sam adds, and walks away as the two are left staring at each other. My eyes flick from Zemo to Bucky, and I’m unsure how to react to this. Sam hits Bucky on the arm and then keeps walking.
“You want some cherry blossom tea?” Zemo breaks the silence.
“No I’m alright you go ahead.” Bucky says snarkily and then turns away. He walks towards the kitchen and stops right in front of me. I can see the fury in his eyes as he breathes in and out, trying to calm himself. I sit and stare at him, trying to calm him by saying no words. As he just stares at me, I see his breath slowly calming down as his emotions settle as well. I reach out to touch his hand and I brush it slightly. But before I can do more, he turns to walk away. I keep my hand where it was and watch him go, feeling hurt. I let out a sigh at the same time I hear Zemo sigh, though his sigh is for a different reason.
Zemo turns to me and I finally put my hand down, but not taking my eyes off of where Bucky disappeared to. I can feel the sadness welling up in me and then I hear Zemo come over, placing a hand lightly on my shoulder.
“Please my dear, do not cry. People like you shouldn’t ever cry.” I don’t acknowledge but just allow him to stand there.