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Helmut knows better than anyone else that little things are important.
If you do not know how to notice details and catch almost imperceptible signs, then you will never succeed in anything. Any, even the simplest thing, like making coffee, consists of many little things, without which you will only get a disgusting caffeinated brew.
Should I say that the process of building a relationship with the super soldier you once framed is a piece of jewelry where you can't move without the little things?
Watching James is not difficult at all when they are side by side almost every minute of the day. Can't think of a better option to be able to know Barnes now, instead of the Winter Soldier. Manuals do not reveal personalities, which is much more interesting than simply having instructions for using live weapons. Zemo can speak about this very authoritatively because he had the same notebook in his hands.
Of course, the knowledge learned from that notebook along and across is helpful, but not as much as one would like, so Helmut can only be patient and watch. It's good that he's not in a hurry to get anywhere, and at least he has some free time.
The first thing that Zemo's keen eye notices are Barnes' aversion to saturated and artificial smells. It turns out to be very easy to see, even in Madripoor, when James tries to breathe infrequently and shallowly, but Helmut puts it down to the fact that in the lower city it is difficult for anyone to breathe due to the disgusting mixture of alcohol, slop, sweat and synthetic drugs, and whatnot talk about a super soldier with a hypersensitive sense of smell. But then it becomes clear that Barnes does not like rich aromas at all, because even when visiting Sharon, he wrinkles his nose every time Carter's niece is too close. Zemo initially takes this as a personal disgust about Sharon, but she finds herself next to Helmut himself, as he catches the rich and overly nauseating scent of the perfume that the younger Carter seems to be wearing from head to toe.
The reaction to smells turns out to be an interesting little thing, and Zemo tests his theory a few times before making an imaginary list of what he now knows about James.
After arriving in Riga, Helmut instructs Oeznik to deliver to the apartment shower gels and shampoos without any smell at all, or with the most inconspicuous and natural fragrance that he can find. When they get to the apartment, there are no air fresheners in the room, except for a couple of small jars of coffee beans to remove any unpleasant aromas.
Zemo even allows himself to pull up the corner of his lips in a smile when he sees that James allows himself to breathe on his full chest in the apartment.
Perfectly.
The second thing that Helmut notices is the small, almost imperceptible fact that Barnes is forever glancing to the left, only after that does he move the bionic hand, and all kinds of fragile objects are always to the right of James. It doesn't take Helmut long to guess what the matter is because even if the Princess of Wakanda tried to make a new bionic hand for Barnes, the sensitivity cannot be returned, and there are enough expensive and valuable things in Zemo's house.
Helmut justifies moving all the fragile things that can be damaged to the right side by taking care of his belongings and wanting to save a couple of antique vases that cost him too obscene a sum at auctions.
Only now, when making tea or coffee, Zemo never puts the cup on Barnes's left side, but takes an extra couple of steps and leaves it on his right side, only nodding when he catches James' appreciative glance.
It also turns out that James can't stand silence.
Obviously, Barnes would never tell it to anyone, especially Helmut. Only Zemo does not need to talk about such things, because it is worth throwing Sam out of the apartment, as James tries to fill the oppressive silence with something, including some videos on YouTube or banally whistling some song under his breath.
This time, Helmut tries conversations, which do not have a good effect, the ice may have moved, but it is not enough for James to be ready to talk to him about any topics. But Zemo is not ready to give up and only considers other options a little more because the catchy tunes and some stupid videos are already driving him crazy.
Helmut's obsession with books saves this time as well, so he starts reading aloud. Always under the pretext of "perhaps it will be useful and interesting for you to learn ...", expectedly at the very beginning receiving a disgruntled growl in his direction. After only a few days, Zemo already observes that Barnes is already sitting in a chair next to him, and there are two cups of tea on the table, one of which is for him. It's suddenly nice to know that you, too, are cared for a little.
The closer James gets him, the more details Zemo learns. Barnes' love for fresh fruit, which now appears in the fridge every day. And his satisfied face is definitely worth forcing Oeznyk to get various exotic fruits.
Getting closer to Barnes is getting easier every day. Helmut just tries always to make his presence known in advance if he's behind James, and Barnes' breakfast portion adds more spice.
All these little things allow us to learn about another James. Not at all like the one who was only two weeks ago, because this Barnes knows how to smile and laugh, sometimes even starts a conversation first and without aggression supports the chatter started by Helmut himself. Now they stay up late into the night discussing the book Zemo has read, James sitting next to him on the couch, no longer in the chair on the other side of the coffee table. Barnes turns out to have a knack for jokes, and it's a nice touch that James reaches out for the touch first, thus giving Helmuth tacit permission for tactile contact.
Every day, Zemo looks for new little things in Barnes himself, which make them much closer, and Helmut no longer thinks about the fact that he has no one left in this world. It turns out to be comfortable with James, and every day is like a new one, because Barnes has a lot of little things, and Zemo continues to study them. Although it is still impossible to get rid of the feeling that he did not notice some extremely important detail, without which the puzzle simply does not want to form a single picture. Helmut cannot find a place for himself because he missed something. He looks even deeper, and tries to understand, only getting new little things, but never finds the same one that Zemo missed, until James kisses him, before letting out a barely audible "I can't wait for you." Zemo then laughs at himself for a long time, because while analyzing all the little things, he did not notice that he fell in love with James.
Well, it looks like Helmut isn't the only one who knows about the importance of details. After all, waking up the next morning in James's bed, feeling how pleasantly the whole body pulls, and his neck burns from the bright traces left behind, he stumbles upon a list lying on the bedside table, which is full of little things about himself.