Chapter Text
Sarah has baked a a lemon cake, and told Sam to bring a slice to Bucky.
"That boy, such lovely, he needs a family to love him, he needs people. I don't think he's hanging out with anybody besides us, so we need to watch out for him. What he went through, was just horrible. "
"You're right Sarah, I'll bring him the cake. You are just as kind as our ma was. "
"And maybe go get him some groceries on the way, some vegetables, I have a feeling he's eating too much junk food and take out. "
...
Sam has not been to Bucky's place before, although he has dropped him off plenty of times, so he know he lives.
It's a good thing to check up on him often, He's worried for Bucky.
He drove up Harrison way, and found the house he dropped Bucky off before.
It's a much bigger house than he expected, but he supposes Steve left some money for him.
Now Steve's gone, it's his job to take care of him. What happened to him, was just diabolical.
Sam I bought some basic groceries, ( broccoli, cauliflower, green pepper, and some apples, and some lettuce) and rang the doorbell.
No response, but something was wrong.
Call it a military guys intuition, but he can feel somebody is inside the house.
He dropped the bags, and the box of lemon cake, called out in a disguised voice: "groceries delivery!"
And quickly sneaked up to a window, and looked inside.
There was a man in there, a man that's absolutely not supposed to be there, somebody he has not seen for almost a month. Somebody he thought was dead.
Zemo.
A million questions was running through his head, what is zemo doing here, what has he done to Bucky, and why is he just calmly sitting here, on his phone.
Oh he's not on his phone anymore, he's walking to get the door, so he's not hiding, and he sees no gun.
Zemo it's not even in other disguise or wearing his stupid mask. He's dressed in a simple sweater, and Sam's eyes grew wide with shock as soon as zemo stood up, he was not wearing pants.
The hell is happening, he thought to himself.
Zemo came up and opened the door, and Sam flew at him, choking him against the wall, effectively immobilizing him.
"What are you doing here, what have you done to Bucky, where is he?"
He let his grip loosen to let the sokovian speak.
He felt panicked as he didn't bring his gun today, who knows what this villain has up his sleeve.
"Bucky is at government therapy. And he's grabbing some milk, we're out of milk." Zemo managed to say.
Perhaps sam is choking him too tight, because what he said did not make sense.
Zemo elaborated: "we live together, that's why I'm here, I live here now, we bought the house together."
Sam dropped him.
"What the fuck are you playing at."
"Did you not know? Bucky told me not to go to your house because you still hates me, but he didn't even tell you we are dating?"
"No he hasn't, because you're not, this just does not make sense. " Sam was flabbergasted. " You must be here to steal something or to spy on him or something, and you're making up this big fat lie. "
" Seriously, come inside, You can check his closet, you know what my clothes looks like, my big jacket and stuff. Half of the wardrobe is my and the other half is what I bought for him so he won't be wearing the same t-shirts and ripped sleeved jackets the whole time."
Sam was unsure, but he decided to go inside to see. It was really strange how zemo was just hanging out in this house like that.
"That's our kitchen, inside are all the food we eat. If you look inside there is a big bowl of curry chicken, what I recently convinced Bucky to try."
"This is crazy. You are just making it up, I bet."
Zemo signed: "here, look at our wardrobe. If I'm here to steal something why would I bring alongside this many clothing." Zemo quickly put some pants on.
Zemo was panicking, and sam felt he wasn't just trying to prove to Sam he was dating Bucky, but he was also trying to prove it to himself.
"Oh, this should prove it, look at our bedside cabinet, condoms. If Bucky had a girlfriend or boyfriend, he would have told you about it. The only reason he's dating someone and not tell you about it because he knows you don't like me, that must be why."
Zemo was obviously talking to himself at this point. It's obvious now. And Sam knows he is not lying, this house is lived by two people.
"Look, this is our bed, I have my own velvet sheet, I finally convinced Bucky to sleep on the bed, but he won't accept my sheets."
" All right, all right, I believe you now, you two moved in already. I don't want to see your condoms. " Sam finally admitted, " that picture of you two together already proves everything."
On the wall, there are a collage of picture frames, most are mountains and waterfalls, but there is pictures of bucky and zemo together, one of them had them kissing, looking like in the middle of a bridge. They both look happy, bucky actually smiling.
"I can't believe it, all this time I have been worried about lucky being alone, he was with someone."
Sam turned to zemo. " And that someone is you, what the hell, you are a sokovian intelligence that manipulated him, how in the world are you two together!"
" I don't know, " zemo admitted. " I have No clue how we are together, if you told me a year ago I won't have believed you. But this is true, we tell each other things, we make sure each other is okay, and we live together."
"But I don't know why Bucky didn't tell me about it, I Don't like you, but if he liked you this much I would at least try to tolerate you, and invite you to game night. "
" Thank you Sam, I appreciate that very much. I don't know why bucky didn't tell you. Did you know at all he liked men? Or is it just about dating me?
"I knew he liked men for quite a bit now, although he did not talk about it at all. He still liked women, and he would still pretend he only likes women usually. I didn't know he was dating you."
Zemo pursed.
"I didn't even know he liked you, I thought he hated your guts. You guys already moved in together. Wait you've been dating for one month and you already moved in? Wow how am I going to tell Sarah."
Sam gasped, as if this is the most shocking piece of information of all.
Zemo smiled, and rolled his eyes. " So what brings you the pleasure of visiting here? Should I get you a drink?"
Zemo remembered something: " did you earlier mention something about groceries? I saw the bags."
" Yeah, I was checking up on Bucky, Sarah was worried He's not eating his vegetables, and she also made some lemon cake, which is just delicious." Sam went to fetch it.
"Sarah sounds like an amazing person. Do you want beer? wine? Pop? Or some lemon water?" Zemo got two cups.
" Some Coca-cola sounds good." Sam brought to the groceries to the kitchen, and zemo gently gestured him towards the fridge. "I'm glad you are taking care of bucky, making sure he's healthy."
He stuffed all the vegetables into what look like the green vegetable drawer, and something caught his eye.
"Holy shit, is this Coca-Cola from the '40s?"
" Yeah, these cost as much as the wine I have. I don't like them, they don't even have cocaine inside anymore, but Bucky swears they taste like his childhood. If you don't mind, get some more current ones?"
" Reasonable. " Sam put back the 1940s Coca-Cola, and took out one that's much more modern.
"So when did you guys get together?"
They say down at the big comfy couch, and the Baron offered Sam a warm cashmere blanket.
"Hard to say. We didn't have a defining moment, I started liking him when I was studying up the hydra piles, plotting to blow up the UN. I spent a week making the mask for the impersonation. He started liking me in our trips to capture the flag smashers. Our first kiss was at the Sokovia memorial."
Sam felt like this relationship was really fucked up, And he wasn't exactly comfortable, but it seemed like both the sokovian and Bucky, whom is his dear friend, was comfortable with it, so he didn't point out his opinions.
" So when is Bucky going to get here, I don't want to stay here too long."
" Um, it's 2:14, and he left about an hour ago. He should be back pretty soon." Zemo took out his phone to check the time, and Sam and noticed his screensaver is a picture of two of them, Bucky's arm over zemo's shoulder, zemo smiling a bit awkwardly.
"Oh, I guess I could have just showed you that picture. Didn't have to go through the trouble of showing you our bedroom."
Sam chuckled: "Guess not."
" Look zemo. I don't like you, but I have to tell you. Bucky likes you, he likes you a lot. I haven't even seen you two together but I can tell you this already. Don't take it personally that he haven't told me, I can tell you have been upset by this earlier.
He won't have to get close to you if he really didn't fucking trust you. He have been tortured for nearly a century, it takes him a damn lot to try somebody, to even get close.
The first time I tried to gently pat him on arm, he almost broke mine. So if you two are really together, in a healthy relationship, I would tolerate you, Just because you are giving him the love he really fucking needs."
Zemo smiled at him, not a smirk." Thank you Sam, that was deeply appreciated. Thank you."
Sam touched his coke bottle to zemo's wine glass.
"I told you all the warm and fuzzy things, but if you mess with him one bit, try any of your head tilting manipulation, and hurt Bucky, I am going to shove this Coca-Cola down your throat, and personally send you to wakanda. You got it?"
" Got it."