A moment later, Barnes was lying on the mat with Baron hovering over him and his hands moving on the soldier's chest.
"I won't hurt you." Zemo reassured him, when he felt the man shake.
"I'm not a damsel in distress." he scoffed to mask his shallow breaths.
"I'd hardly call you like that," Baron replied and left a few kisses on his neck. "but I do believe that men like you probably received plenty of intimate propositions from many beautiful ladies. With such fine body... " Another wet kiss on his cheek. "...the power hidden beneath..." A fist in Bucky's hair to expose more of his throat. "... a permanent promise for greatness..."
James suddenly pushed him back and glared at Sokovian's confused face.
"Listen, I admit I was cocky, when I was young," he spoke furiously. "but I hope that you aren't insinuating that Steve was like that."
"It isn't about him." Zemo signed exasperated, half of his jacket was hanging loosely on his shoulder, but before he managed that he was really having difficulties in taking it off.
"When Steve was a kid, he was weak and fragile, you have no idea how often I had to stick him up or bring home with a twisted lip or blood on his clothes."
"I know, I read his biography."
"You read a book written by someone, who heard some person saying something about him. Maybe a half of it is true, but I was there from the beginning and after he got super serum. I knew him. With all the hardship, he had a good heart and even years later he had never lost it." Barnes finished with a much more softer tone. "You may think whatever you want, but NEVER speak of him like that in my presence."
Oh, the fire in James' eyes was... irresistible. Zemo couldn't say 'no' to such request and crashed their lips together, then pulled back to watch the reaction on Bucky's face. Surprising, the soldier didn't expect the kiss, but he seemed to understand that Sokovian would keep his promise.
Barnes rested his head on the pillow again, when Zemo at last removed his over-clothing, and made only a quiet whimper as Baron became interested in his month. James' heated outburst, instead of repelling the man, appeared to stimulate him even more, as his touch was becoming more intensive with every second. If the Winter Soldier regretted his decision, Baron-King just didn't care, because everything was so sweet. It was pity that his fingernails wouldn't leave any scars on Bucky's back.
"You're still trembling." Zemo stated, when he found a comfortable place between Barnes' legs.
"It will pass." he replied and slowly put his arms around Sokovian.
James closed his eyes, but he had to hear Zemo's belt landing on the ground, as his breath hitched unnaturally.
"Don't panic."
"I'm not."
"Then why don't you look at me?"
"If it's possible, I prefer not to."
"It doesn't have to be like that." Baron left a wet trail on his chest, but there was no response from his Winter Soldier. "Why do you agree to this?"
"To save my friends." Eyes still didn't open.
"Your sacrifice is very noble, but I hope that you know that all could be much better."
It would also be nice if Bucky could react more positively to his attention.
"It's hardly a sacrifice."
"Why so?" he had to ask.
"Because I've done worse things."
In the end, Zemo didn't know if it was the tone of his soldier's voice or that exact choice of words, but he frozed. He had also done many things, which were far from altruistic, all of them were necessary, but this... he rested his head over James' heart, was it supposed to beat so fast? He had to admit that Bucky awakened in him something, what he thought to vanish with the death of his family, however Baron-King didn't desire to get it like that.
"It's useless." Zemo said, while raising up. "You don't want me."
"...what?" he blinked confused. "We have a deal."
"A mistake on my part." Sokovian grabbed his jacket and was putting it on again. "I may be a tyrant, but I won't allow myself to fall that low."
"Listen, I can..."
"No!"
"You have never intended to change your decision about my friends, haven't you?" Barnes eyed him accusingly, while sitting up.
"I regret to inform that I haven't, they are too dangerous." Zemo replied. "You will be sent away and won't have to be involved in any..."
He stopped abruptly, when a loud thud was heard next to Bucky. It was too dark to see how a big hole in the floor was done by his metallic hand, but it was quite possible that whoever was living below would discover a small 'surprise' in the ceiling.
"Kill me." Zemo almost missed James' words.
"What?"
"Only the Winter Soldier programming holds me back. But one word from you and ... all would end."
"..."
"I am not indestructible, as many thinks. Steve also wasn't." A deep breath. "We can die."
"It's nonsense."
"You don't need me to guard your country and I'm sick of this life." The helplessness was palpable. "Especially, that you wish me to hurt my friends."
"If they cooperate..."
"You won't make them talk, that's the fact." James' hands were shaking, but this time it wasn't caused by fear. "We both know whom you would call if it came to that situation."
The end justified the means. Sam, Aya, whoever was caught, would break immediately, if it was the Winter Soldier, who would interrogate them.
"I must discover what they are planning." Zemo explained stoically.
"Bastard."
"Enough, Soldat."
Bucky recognized that Baron-King's voice had that tone, which meant no negotiations, and wept.
Zemo should have left right away. Nothing else could be done. He was responsible for his Neo-Sokovia and difficult decisions had to be made, however something moved his heart not to leave James like this. True, he saw him crying a few times, but never like that.
Bucky was heavy, but somehow Zemo succeeded in covering him with the abandoned blanket and putting him into the bed. The really one, which had been standing untouched since the beginning.
"Please, end this." Barnes begged, while he was tucked under another set of blankets.
"Hush, James." Baron patted him in the way that always managed to calm his son, when he had a bad dream, but unfortunately it had a poor effect on the soldier.
"Why me?"
Zemo was avoiding the answer long enough and with the price, which James was paying, he deserved at least it.
"I hate super soldiers," the explanation started. "They are thought to be gods, but in the end they are just normal people with all flaws, which so represent the human kind. Can you believe that after hundreds of years, we still make the same mistakes over and over again? We don't deserve and shouldn't have the access to such power. Not Steve Rogers, not me, not you, not anyone." He rather spatted than said the last sentence. "After Ultron, I used you to achieve my purpose. I had to, there wasn't any other solution. I hated you as well. But in the same time, I knew that I was wrong."
Zemo brushed his hair.
"You are a victim, James. You were given an enormous power, but your free will was taken away... I can only image what you had to endure..."
Tears continued falling from Bucky's eyes, but he looked calmer now.
"You may insist yourself being a murderer, but that isn't true. You have never been. When your name was cleared, you could have done everting, but you chose to make amends, help others in need. None evil person would even thought about it. I hope that you can see, as I discovered it, that after all decades, your heart is still pure... for me, it changed everything..."
There was a hesitant glance from Barnes.
"Do I have to continue?" Zemo moved to the corner of the bed and stared into the darkness.
"...no...it's OK..."
"We're both broken." he sighed tiredly. "In better world, I would be with my family and you would have your own and probably already died from the old age... we would have never met..."
For a long time, the silence was being shattered only by James' quiet sobs, but then he spoke:
"Please don't hurt them."
"I'm sorry, but I can't fulfil that wish." Zemo replied not looking at him.
More tears appeared, making Baron-King even more helpless than Bucky. However, then he had another idea, it wouldn't solve anything, but it could bring a peace for one of them at least. Sokovian wasn't certain if it would work in a long go, HYDRA used a much different process, but the order was the order, Winter Soldier would have to compel and he would try it.
"I can make you forget about this day." he said and as expected, James was already raising up with a repulsion on his face. It didn't matter, Zemo had an experience in difficult decisions. "Soldat, there were never any prisoners. We have never had this conversation. Understood?"
"Yes." he said, when the resistance vanished.
"Sleep, Soldat." he kissed his temple and realised too late that the last person, whom he kissed like that was his dead wife.
ooo
"It shouldn't be like this," Zemo thought an hour later in his lavish bedroom and a drink of expensive whisky in his hand. "but the world goes by its own rules and we can't do anything about it."
Baron switched on his laptop and quickly found the name of a warden, who was responsible for James' friends - Rodia Razumikhin.
He contacted the prison camp, ordered to put chosen prisoners into a truck and went a few miles outside the city, then abandon it with prisoners still inside. 'No, don't kill them'. 'Yes, they should still be alive.'
Rodia was a loyal soldier and good friend, one of few, who survived the catastrophe caused by Ultron. He could count on him to remain silent and if Razumikhin suspected that any of his people would start questioning their king or decided to spread uncomfortable rumours, he would dispose of that person immediately.
"What am I doing?" Zemo asked himself, when at last he was feeling that he would be able to sleep that night.
Officially, Sam Wilson and his companions were executed, including three children. James couldn't ever find out, whatever if they were captured, 'killed' or freed. If he did or if he remembered about them, Baron had a few scenarios already in place, like 'no, I didn't do it for you, Barnes' or 'oh, they live, they had to trick me, as I saw their dead bodies'.
As for Zemo's complicated emotions for Winter Soldier - his heart already knew that he would never let him go.
I hope that you like the fic and thank you for reading :)
I don't believe that Steve/Bucky are indestructible, I am sure that they can be killed by e.g. a nuclear bomb, so I am sure that Bucky had a few ideas for his own death.