Chanel wearily opened her eyes; the morning sunshine blinded her temporarily. The peace she felt in the mornings, right before fully realizing she was awake, lasted only seconds before the pit in her stomach filled with uneasiness and sorrow. She turned to her side and realized Sam was in her bed, softly snoring. Pieces of the nightmare that had woken her up the night before started to come back to her.
Cameron in the passenger seat of her car. The world spinning around her as the car crashed. Cameron morphing into Natasha, lifeless in the passenger seat. An overwhelming feeling of terror and guilt.
She closed her eyes tight and tried to control her breathing.
Think about something else.
The impromptu date with Bucky replayed in her head. She still didn't understand how she had been able to speak about Natasha without having a panic attack. It had given her a glimmer of hope that her nightmares would subside, but they were even worse than before. She desperately needed to find a distraction.
Sam had to team up with the one man who actually wants to know who I am before he fucks me.
Just my luck.
Despite her annoyance with Bucky, her heart steadily slowed as she continued replaying pieces of the evening she had spent with him. She smiled to herself as she remembered the stories he had told her. The plots of which were all variations of Steve getting in over his head and Bucky backing him up no matter how reckless it was. She was impressed that he hadn't shown any signs of resentment or jealousy after Steve no longer needed his protection. He reminded her of Cameron, self-less and loyal, almost to a fault.
Shit, don't go there.
Why did you go there?!
Forget it. Focus on the plan for today.
Zemo.
Steph said he was a baron.
I'll have to dress to impress. I need to throw him off his game.
Sam's phone alarm signaled that it was time to put her mask back on. She took a few deep breaths as Sam rolled over to turn the alarm off.
He groaned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Hey, sleepyhead," he mumbled.
"Good morning," Chanel replied cheerily as she got out of bed, "want to go on a run?"
Sam yawned in response, still not fully awake. By the time Chanel came out of the bathroom in her workout clothes, he still hadn't moved.
"How do you have so much energy in the morning? It's unnatural." Sam slowly crawled out of bed. "Give me 5 minutes, and I'll meet you downstairs."
Chanel already had one foot out of the door, "You'll catch up to me. There's a path near the pond."
Before Sam could reply, she was gone. She seriously needed to feel the physical pain that came from running as hard and as far as she could.
Sam, still groggy with sleep, left Chanel's room just as Bucky came down the hall.
"Hey man, want to go on a run?"
"I don't run. I don't think the serum would let me get out of shape if I tried."
Sam stifled a yawn, "Must be nice."
Bucky studied Sam in his pajamas, leaving Chanel's room. He glanced inside and noted that both sides of the bed appeared to be slept in.
"Nightmare?"
"Huh?"
"Chanel. Did she wake you up last night?"
"Oh, yeah...nightmares...she told you about that?" Sam was taken aback.
"Not really," Bucky was scanning the inside of Chanel's room, waiting for her to appear.
Sam noted Bucky's odd demeanor as he watched his eyes. "She's already out...running helps her clear her head when the dreams get really bad."
Bucky nodded his head and walked towards the stairs.
"So you're not a morning person, noted," Sam called after him.
Chanel felt better after her long run. With her mind on work, the nightmare had faded to the back of her mind. She stood in front of her wardrobe, her hair wrapped up in rollers.
What does one wear to impress a baron?
After trying on nearly everything on the rack, she decided on a classic Miu Miu A-line wool skirt paired with a black blouse and a delicate pearl necklace. Her black Louboutin's displayed her toned legs nicely, and the oversized Bvlgari sunglasses that adorned her face gave her a sense of mystery and authority.
After styling her hair, she spritzed on her perfume and hurried down the stairs and outside, where Manfred had the car waiting. She slid into the backseat of Stephan's Rolls Royce.
"I thought you fell back asleep up there," Sam joked.
"Some of us care about our appearance."
"I thought this jacket looked good." Sam did a once-over of his outfit and decided the jacket did look good. "Not all of us have rich boyfriends that supply us with closets full of designer clothes."
Chanel snickered as she pulled out Zemo's files for one last glance. She was nervous to be doing a proper interrogation. Her usual way of doing things wouldn't fly in such a public setting.
Bucky studied Chanel closely on the ride to the prison. She didn't look like herself, her clothes looked expensive, more so than usual, and her hair was styled differently. The brushed-out curls reminded him of an old Hollywood movie. The style gave her an innocent aura.
He leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear, "Your hair looks nice like that."
When he leaned in, he could smell a difference in her perfume; it was more floral and sweet; he had preferred the other one.
Chanel looked up at him and smiled, "Thanks. I thought this would be how Zemo would like it best. In some of the pictures of his wife, she wore her hair similarly."
"Interesting."
He still didn't feel comfortable telling her the plan, and now he was starting to worry that she wouldn't go along with it. He had an excuse prepared for Sam, but Chanel wasn't an Avenger that wouldn't fly with her.
Before he could come up with a solution, they had arrived at the prison. After passing through security, Bucky held Chanel back a few feet from Sam.
"You said you trust me, right?" He whispered.
Chanel hesitated. She trusted him to an extent because Natasha would have, but she didn't typically give out trust for no reason. Her affirmative reply sounded false even to her own ears.
"Why, what's going on?" She further questioned.
"I can't tell you, but just follow my lead. Okay?"
Chanel lifted her sunglasses, searching his face for a clue.
"Please?"
His eyes were boring into her again, and she relented with a sigh, "Okay, fine."
She lowered her sunglasses, and they caught up with Sam. The guard pointed to a door down the hall where Zemo resided.
Sam turned to them, forming a small circle. Addressing Chanel, he asked, "So how are we going to do this?"
Chanel opened her mouth to speak, but Bucky cut in, "I'm going in to talk to him alone."
"You're what?!" Sam and Chanel exclaimed in unison.
"We have a history together. Sam, you're an Avenger; he's not going to respond well to you coming in asking for information. Right, Chanel?"
Chanel hesitated; the realization of what he wanted her to go along with slowly sunk in. Anger flared inside her, and she started to argue.
Bucky looked at her pointedly and mouthed, "Please?"
Chanel swallowed her anger and, through gritted teeth, agreed, "he's right. He probably has the best shot out of all of us to get what we need."
She took her sunglasses off so that Bucky could see the vexation in her eyes.
"Okay fine, I'll stay here, but Chanel isn't an Avenger, and she's the best interrogator, so she should go with you."
Neither Chanel nor Bucky had a response prepared for that.
"Sam, give us a minute, okay?" Chanel nodded towards a bench further down the hall.
Sam reluctantly went and sat on the bench and turned away from them in annoyance.
In a hushed voice, Chanel turned on Bucky, "What the hell?! Sam's right. Interrogation is kind of my whole thing. It's the main reason he asked me to be here. What am I supposed to say to him? Why can't I go with you?"
Bucky reached out to touch her arm, but she pulled away, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Okay, look, I'm really sorry, but I just need you to trust me on this. I couldn't tell you before; I couldn't risk it."
"So you just let me study these damn files for 3 days now?!" She whisper-shouted at him.
"I feel like shit about that, and I'm sorry, from now on, I promise to keep you in the loop. Can you just do this one thing for me, doll?" He reached out for her again, and she softened a bit, allowing him to rub her arm endearingly.
Chanel lifted her head and turned it to the side, avoiding his stare."You can't just call me doll and stare at me like that and expect me to be okay with this."
"I know, I'm asking a lot. I have to do this. If I don't, more people will get hurt, and we may not be able to make a difference."
"Dammit, Bucky, you're really pushing it. I told you I would trust you, so I will, but I'm not happy about it."
"Thanks, doll; I promise I'll make it up to you." He waited until her resolve weakened, and she met his eyes before he gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek.
Despite herself, Chanel felt the butterflies in her stomach, threatening to replace her anger. She squeezed his hand, sweetly at first but then a little harder than necessary, "don't make me regret it."
They walked back to Sam, and Chanel took a seat next to him.
"Are you kidding?" Sam looked between Chanel and Bucky for an answer.
"I'm going in alone."
Sam started to protest again, but Chanel placed a hand on his leg, "Sam, trust him. You're supposed to be a team, remember?"
"Fine, but I want to go on the record as not down for this plan."
Bucky was already walking away. He turned over his shoulder and replied, "See, prettier, funnier, and more trusting than you, Sam. You're only making things worse for yourself."
"Did he just - was that shots fired?" Sam said to Chanel, surprised and amused.
Chanel laughed and rolled her eyes, her anger forgotten, for now.
"Hey, just try not to turn into a psycho in there!" Sam yelled back.
Chanel didn't notice that she had watched him until he was entirely out of sight until she turned her head in Sam's direction. He was staring at her with his lips pursed and suspicion in his eyes.
"Seriously? What's with you two? Did I miss something? Please tell me there was nothing to miss."
"It's nothing," Chanel said nonchalantly.
"Bullshit. This interrogation was yours, and yet here you sit. I don't think I've ever seen you relinquish control like that."
"Yeah, well, I'm trying to be more trusting."
Sam raised his eyebrow, "Again, I ask, what did I miss?"
"It was just a kiss or two. Which has nothing to do with this."
"No, nope. I already told you I don't want you dating any of my friends." Sam shook his head no repeatedly as if trying to shake the image of Chanel and Bucky together out of his mind.
"First of all, since when are you and Bucky friends? And second, I've never dated any of your friends! You wouldn't even introduce me to T'Challa."
"Yeah, because one, it's not like he's just in my phone contacts, and two, play it out, I introduce you to him, and then what? He whisks you off to Wakanda, and I never see you again? Hard pass."
Chanel rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be so dramatic. I just wanted a fling. I wasn't trying to marry the man. I would think you know me better than that."
"Well, I don't want you having a fling with Bucky."
"I hate to break it to you, Sam, but that's not up to you."
"It's just not a good idea."
"Why? Because I'm not good enough for any of your friends?" Chanel's tone lost all playfulness.
Sam turned to face her, offended and confused by the accusation. "I never said that. You know I don't think that. If anything, he's not good enough for you."
Chanel laughed shortly, "So, I'm not good enough for him, and he's not good enough for me. So, you just want us both all to yourself? Is that it?"
"That's not what I meant." Sam tapped his foot anxiously and looked back down the hall towards Zemo's cell.
Chanel could feel the anxiety coming off of him in waves. She rubbed his back soothingly. "Why do you have such a hard time trusting him?"
"I'm sitting here, aren't I? Isn't that trusting him?"
"You're sitting here because you trust me. If I hadn't gone along with this, you would have fought him on it."
Sam turned his attention back to Chanel and sighed, "I don't know. I saw what he's capable of. I saw what he did to Steve back in 2014. When you see Captain America laid up in a hospital bed, it kind of makes you hesitant to be best friends with the dude that put him there."
"That's not fair."
"I know, but that's how it is. We haven't exactly had time to process anything since Steve left."
"I think you'll both be happier the sooner you do."
"Yeah, well, we already tried couples therapy. Didn't go so well."
"What? Are you serious?" Chanel snorted.
"Not my idea. You're deflecting. Bucky's been through a lot. I don't want him to get hurt."
Sam's words stung Chanel, "Wow, why don't you tell me what you really think of me?"
"Come on, you can't deny your dating record. You know what I mean."
Chanel crossed her arms and clicked her tongue against her teeth. She knew Sam had a point.
Sam continued, "It's just that Bucky is a relationship person, and you're not. I haven't seen you in an actual relationship since-"
Chanel cut him off before he could finish the sentence, "how about this, you stay out of my sex life, and I won't pester you about your lack of one."
Sam scoffed, but before he could respond, Bucky appeared, walking hastily in their direction.
"This discussion isn't over," Sam said sternly to Chanel.
Chanel didn't respond; instead, she stood up and took a few steps towards Bucky, signaling to Sam that the conversation was indeed over.
Bucky didn't stop when he reached their position. He muttered, "come on, we have to go. Now."
He grabbed Chanel by the elbow and led her to the exit.
"What happened?! Where are we going?!" Sam yelled, still standing by the bench.
Chanel studied Bucky's face; he didn't appear to be agitated. He met her eyes, and she understood that he still needed her to trust him.
"Sam, trust. Come on!" Chanel yelled over her shoulder.
Sam grudgingly caught up, and they followed Bucky out of the prison. Sam climbed back into the Rolls, leaving Chanel and Bucky alone outside of the car for a moment.
"Wait," he said as he stopped her from opening the car door. "Thank you, I couldn't have done this without you."
"Done what exactly?"
"Soon. You'll know soon."
Chanel rolled her eyes and leaned away from his attempt to brush his fingers over her cheek. She climbed into the car, and they all rode in silence, the tension settling heavily around them.
The realization that Bucky must have told Manfred the plan, at least enough for him to know where to take them, prickled Chanel's anger at being kept in the dark.
I really hope this is going somewhere. I hate not having all of the cards, Chanel thought as she chewed on her cheek.
I hope she's not too mad. Shit, if she's not, she will be after she finds out what I did. They'll understand, though. Bucky looked over at Sam, a clear look of annoyance on his face, and sardonically laughed at himself, Okay, well, maybe they'll adjust with time.
Trust. A team. Ha! Chanel needs to be giving this advice to the cyborg who hasn't told us what the hell we are doing. Leading us to an undisclosed location after meeting with a psychopath on his own...and she's surprised I have trust issues? Sam's frown grew more pronounced.
The dark warehouse Bucky led them through did nothing to ease the tension. Neither did his statement that he wanted to break Zemo out of prison.
"What do you mean you want to break Zemo out of prison?! And where are we, man?!" Sam finally asked, exasperated at literally and figuratively being kept in the dark.
Bucky flipped on a switch and revealed that they were standing in a garage filled with antique cars. Sam and Chanel stood together and tried to make sense of the scene and Bucky's words.
The interesting turn of events had pushed the anger out of Chanel's mind.
Prison break? I would not have guessed that.
Bucky moved to stand in front of them, "Let me just walk you through a hypothetical. Can I walk you through a hypothetical?"
"What did you do?" Sam narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"I didn't do anything."
As Bucky explained his hypothetical plan, he anxiously watched their faces for a sign of what they were thinking. He could see annoyance and disbelief growing in Sam's eyes and excitement and amusement growing in Chanel's. He concentrated his gaze on Chanel, his one captivated audience member, stepping closer to her as he talked.
Chanel unconsciously ran her tongue over her bottom lip as Bucky moved closer to her.
Who knew Bucky could be such a rule breaker...and why is this so attractive?
They stared into each other's eyes, communicating silently.
Every time I think she's going to run away screaming, she does the exact opposite, Bucky thought.
Sam paced around agitated. He looked back and saw Chanel was not on the same page.
Typical. She's probably conducted her own prison breaks in the past.
"Um, hello, voice of reason over here. Zemo is crazy. He's going to mess with our heads, particularly yours, Buck, no offense."
"Offense," Bucky replied.
"And what about the Wakandans? Do you think they just forgot that he murdered their king?! That's rhetorical; they didn't!"
"Sam—" Chanel started to interject to calm Sam down but was interrupted by the sound of the garage door opening, revealing Helmut Zemo.
"No!" Sam yelled at Zemo and at Bucky simultaneously.
Bucky turned around and stood slightly in front of Chanel, unconsciously trying to block her from view.
"Sam, I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't let this happen."
Sam glared at him.
"We're dealing with at least 8 super-soldiers. We don't know how much serum is out there. We need him."
"You've lost your mind. This is so far over the line—"
"When Steve refused to sign the Sokovia accords, you backed him. You broke the law, and you stuck your neck out for me."
The way his voice broke on the last word caught Chanel's attention. She instinctively reached out to comfort him but caught herself pulling her hand back before she made contact.
"I'm asking you to do it again." Bucky could see the reluctant acceptance of the situation in Sam's eyes.
"Fine," Sam mumbled, barely audible.
Zemo casually approached and stopped a few paces away from the group, keeping a respectful distance.
Chanel eyed him curiously.
So he did the prison break without me. That's two strikes now.
How am I going to play this? I only prepared for a legit interrogation. This is totally off the books now.
Some prep time would have been nice.
Is this what he really left the house for yesterday? Not just for flowers?
She glared at the back of Bucky's head.
"James, you didn't tell me you had company." Zemo scanned the room, eyeing Sam and Bucky suspiciously. When he caught sight of Chanel, half-hidden behind Bucky, his expression quickly changed from suspicion to surprise to delight.
"Yeah, well, I didn't think it was pertinent at the time. Plus, I think you already know Sam."
Zemo was only half listening to Bucky; his gaze was still focused on Chanel. He didn't look away when she met his eyes.
He spoke only to her, "And you must be?"
Interesting, maybe Nat was right; all men are that easy.
Chanel began to form an idea about how to handle Zemo.
He genuinely seems thrown off by my presence. Is this something I can use to our advantage?
She didn't have much time to decide and quickly went with her gut. She slipped into her familiar sultry role and stepped forward before Bucky or Sam could respond to Zemo.
She closed the distance between them and extended her hand. "I'm Chanel. I'm a friend of Sam's. Guaranteed good time. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Baron."
Sam and Bucky exchanged a confused look.
"Baron?" Sam mouthed to Bucky.
Bucky shrugged his shoulders, just as confused as Sam.
Zemo smiled as he gently took Chanel's hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. "How lovely to make your acquaintance, my dear. I was afraid I would have to spend my time without pleasant company. What a welcome surprise you are."
Zemo was still holding her hand when Chanel noticed his eyes quickly scan the room for Sam's and Bucky's reactions to his overt flirting.
Zemo noted that Sam was rolling his eyes but, considering the circumstances, appeared relaxed. He moved his watchful eye to Bucky.
Tense as usual, but what is that, a hint of jealousy set in his jaw and burning in his eyes?
He smiled to himself, pleased with the knowledge he had gained. While maintaining his hold on Chanel's hand, he walked closer to Sam and Bucky, pulling her with him.
Well, that worked better than I had anticipated, Chanel thought.
Chanel scanned Sam's and Bucky's faces as they talked to Zemo, looking for a hint at what he had seen in them. She saw the evident displeasure burning in Bucky's eyes.
Great, is he jealous? Zemo definitely clocked that.
In concert with her annoyance, Chanel's heart was fluttering in response to the thought of Bucky being jealous.
This is so wrong, but maybe jealousy is what it's going to take to finally get him out of the 1940s and underneath me.
Once the idea was in her head, she couldn't help herself. Manipulating men's emotions had become second nature. It was a game to her, and it provided the perfect distraction to keep her nightmares at bay. She was desperate.
After it was decided that Zemo would, in fact, be invaluable, the question of next steps came up. Bucky hadn't planned that far ahead.
"It seems the best option would be for the Baron to stay with us tonight. We can strategize and leave first thing tomorrow morning."
"Oh hell no. No!" Sam yelled at Zemo as if it had been his idea.
"What other option do we have? We can't very well send him to a hotel."
"I don't think it's a good idea either," Bucky interjected.
"You don't get a vote; we're in this situation because of you." Chanel chided him.
Bucky and Sam glared at her quietly; no arguments left.
"Great, so it's settled then. Baron, you'll love the villa. We have a ride waiting outside."
"Perhaps we should also take one of my cars to have for our trip tomorrow?" Zemo motioned to the plethora of cars behind him.
Chanel's mouth watered a bit at the realization that all of the classic cars belonged to him. She agreed with him quickly before Sam or Bucky could say no.
"Sam, Bucky, you can ride with Manfred. I'll give Zemo directions to the villa."
Bucky started to protest, but Sam held his hand up to stop him. He knew what Chanel was doing, and he knew she could handle herself.
Zemo's hand moved to the small of Chanel's back as he led her to one of his many cars. Chanel could practically hear Bucky clench his jaw. She turned over her shoulder and gave him a quick wink to let him know she was okay.
Bucky did not relax.
What is he playing at?
Zemo opened the passenger door and delicately held Chanel's hand as he helped her into the car.
In the close proximity, Zemo got a whiff of her perfume; it made him stop short, maintaining his hold on her hand for longer than necessary.
"Is that lily of the valley I smell in your perfume?"
Chanel smiled shyly and nodded yes.
"It is the flower of my home country. Sweet and innocent. It suits you." Zemo returned her smile before shutting the car door.
Sam stifled a laugh at the comment.
Sweet and innocent, my ass.
Sam couldn't miss the annoyance on Bucky's face.
He has to know what Chanel is doing...which must mean he is just jealous. HA!
Sam was amused that Bucky, the brooding bionic staring machine, now seemed unable to control his emotions. Rather than assure him that Chanel would be fine, he took the opportunity to tease him.
"So, you're just going to let Zemo steal your girl then, huh?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Oh please, I'm not blind. You don't think I saw the immediate change in your demeanor when you met her? And you're practically glaring daggers into Zemo's back right now."
Bucky didn't respond. He tried to keep his face emotionless as he stared ahead.
Shit, is it that obvious? Chill out, Barnes.
"Okay, fine, stare, don't talk to me, but Zemo's gonna steal your girl," Sam shrugged.
Bucky tried to squash his feelings but panicked when Zemo got into the driver's seat, and their impending separation became a reality.
"I'm going with them. You ride with Manfred." He didn't wait for Sam to respond before he quickly walked to Zemo's car and climbed in the backseat.
Chanel whipped around, annoyed.
Of course, he doesn't listen to me!
"I told you to ride with Sam."
"He's fine; I'm not leaving you alone."
Chanel noticed the glare Bucky gave Zemo as he spoke. She didn't argue further.
My own fault. Men really are that easy to manipulate. It's not even a challenge anymore.
Bucky's phone buzzed with a text from Sam.
She knows what she's doing. Trust her.
Followed by a moving picture of a tiny blonde child saying, 'chill out, dude.'
Sam often sent these moving pictures, and Bucky still had no idea what the meaning behind them was.
He closed the message without replying, as usual.
As Zemo drove them to the villa, Bucky tried to relax and trust Chanel, but he found it difficult to do while listening to her chat with Zemo as if they were old friends.
Despite everything she had read about him, Chanel found Zemo to be quite charming. He reminded her of Stephan, dangerous but affable, a lethal combination. It made Chanel relax more into her role. This is what she had been craving.
"What are you thinking about, my dear?" Zemo cut into her thoughts.
Chanel turned to him with a relaxed smile, "just daydreaming."
Zemo was suddenly overtaken by the sight of her. Something about the way she looked at him, her hair elegantly cascading over her shoulders, and her eyes sparkling in the sun, made him lose his words for a moment.
Chanel stared at him expectantly.
"Apologies." Zemo snapped out of it, annoyed with himself for losing focus. "I was thinking about my late wife."
I knew the hair was a good idea.
Chanel smiled sadly at him. "I'm sorry for your loss. What was she like?"
Zemo detailed his sad story to her, watching her face and body language out of the corner of his eye.
Chanel listened to his story of loss and genuinely felt sorrow for him. She understood better than most what it was like to have no one.
Despite her empathy, she remained focused. As he neared the end of his story, she leaned towards him and placed a comforting hand on his arm. She saw a glint of pleasure in his eyes in response to her action.
He thinks he's manipulating me.
She watched his eyes move from her hand to the rearview mirror. Whatever he found there he liked, a satisfied smirk appeared on his face.
Chanel inconspicuously looked behind her. Bucky looked ready to rip Zemo's whole arm off. A shock of pleasure pulsed through her body in response.
I'm truly sick, but how can I be expected to resist that face?
Chanel squeezed Zemo's arm before removing her hand. She slyly grinned at the audible exhale from Bucky as soon as her hand was off of Zemo.
As they pulled up to the gate at the Villa, Zemo rolled the window down and looked to Chanel for the entrance passcode.
"It's a retinal scan. Pardon me."
She took her seat belt off and leaned over the console and Zemo's lap to stick her head out the window.
Bucky shook his head and looked out his window to avoid watching Zemo's eyes track down her body.
Now all of a sudden, she has to use the retinal scan? We used a passcode yesterday. She's taking this way too far.
The gate opened, and Chanel sat back in her seat.
"You can never be too careful with security these days."
Zemo nodded his agreement, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Chanel watched Zemo's eyes widen in surprise as they approached the villa.
"Is this your home, my dear?"
Chanel smiled, pleased with his awe, "An ex's. We are just borrowing it."
Zemo raised his eyebrows in curiosity.
He stopped the vehicle behind the Rolls Royce. Before anyone else even had their seatbelts off, Bucky was out of the car and had Chanel's door open. He extended his hand, waiting for her to get out.
Chanel was thrown off by how quickly he had appeared; she sat frozen for a moment, trying to catch up with what was happening.
"Jesus, Bucky, you scared me!"
Zemo chuckled, "ah, he beat me to it."
Finally, Chanel registered that Bucky was waiting for her to get out of the car, and she still had her seat belt on. Zemo was already reaching over to undo her seatbelt, but Bucky was faster. He leaned over her and swatted Zemo's hand away, then quickly released her seatbelt.
The fleeting moment that he leaned over her played in slow motion to Chanel. His face was so close, if I just leaned forward a bit, I could kiss his neck and plant little kisses along that strong jaw all the way up to his ear.
Too quickly, he was back in position outside of her door and pulling her from the car. He held on to her hand this time as he led her away from Zemo towards the front steps.
Chanel enjoyed his display, but there was a time and a place. She yanked her hand out of his and left him standing at the bottom of the entryway steps.
Bucky's mood was quickly darkening. He was frustrated with himself for not controlling his emotions. He was annoyed that Chanel's aloofness made it even harder for him to pull himself together.
Chanel introduced Manfred and Zemo and led everyone inside. Zemo wandered around the sitting room, appraising everything and plotting.
Sam and Bucky stood in the doorway, their arms crossed, watching him in silence.
"Manfred, would you please show the Baron to his guest room?"
"Of course, Ms. Thomas." Manfred nodded and took Zemo upstairs.
"You two have got to relax." Chanel addressed Sam and Bucky, who still hadn't moved. She made her way over to the bar, her usual habit.
"How am I supposed to relax? You broke the most dangerous man in the world out of prison-" Sam pointed at Bucky and then turned his accusing finger on Chanel "-and you invited him to stay with us for the night!"
"You could start with a shot," Chanel said as she brought him and Bucky each a shot of tequila. "Come on, take the edge off."
To her surprise, they both complied and downed the shots.
"Wow, so you guys can listen to me. Good to know."
The shot did nothing for Bucky other than burn his throat, which further irritated him. He couldn't hold his tongue any longer.
"You need to be careful. I don't like this. I don't trust him, and I don't like how he's looking at you and touching you and calling you dear."
"I can handle myself." Chanel brushed off his concern and walked back to the bar to set down the shot glasses.
"In a fight? Sure. Psychologically? I see how deep you got in here, with Steph," he said the name with just a touch of venom, "and Zemo is a master manipulator, I don't think-"
Sam hung his head in disbelief. "Good luck," he said under his breath as he took a few steps away to remove himself from the line of fire.
The earlier anger Chanel had felt at being locked out of the interrogation resurfaced, now fanned by his insinuation that she didn't know what she was doing.
She whipped around, her hands balled into fists, "no one asked what you thought! I trusted you to interrogate him on your own, which is exactly what got us into this situation!"
Bucky was incredulous that she was trying to pass the blame on to him, "well, I didn't think this is what you would do when I-when Zemo, broke himself out of prison."
Chanel scoffed and quickly crossed the room to stand in front of him. The sound of her heels on the tile punctuating her words like angry little daggers in Bucky's ears.
"I was ready to play this one by the rules, but you fucked that up, so now I'm doing what I do best. It was obvious as soon as Zemo saw me that he was attracted to me. The hair, the perfume, the clothes...it was all meant to throw him off during the interrogation, but it worked just as well in the field."
Bucky showed no sign of giving in. Chanel reminded herself that this, his jealousy, was partially what she had wanted, and she softened her tone a bit.
"Yes, he's trying to manipulate me, but I'm better. I play the role, I make him feel like he's the one in control, and maybe he slips up and gives me something he wouldn't have given to you or to Sam, or maybe it just keeps him from running, but trust me, this is the way to play this."
Bucky didn't respond, and she huffed in exasperated anger. She walked away from him and paced in front of the windows, trying to calm down.
Bucky sighed; he felt like he was right, but she had a point. He had forced her hand to an extent, and he didn't want her to be mad at him.
Shit, why am I always saying the wrong thing to her?
He followed her to the window, "I'm sorry. I know that's about the hundredth time I've said that today. Look, I know what he's capable of, how dangerous he is. I just didn't like seeing you so close to him, that's all. I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry, doll." Bucky reached out for her hand.
She rolled her eyes but let him take her hand.
I can't deny it feels good that he cares - I can't keep letting that happen.
He squeezed her hand gently, and she pulled away quickly, crossing her arms again. His brow furrowed in confusion at her retreat.
"Don't apologize; just trust me."
Bucky nodded his head in agreement.
"Besides, I'm mostly offended that you planned a whole prison break without me."
"If there are any other prison breaks, I promise to include you," Bucky said with a laugh.
"Good. By the way, Zemo is trying to make you jealous. He clocked your reaction as soon as he kissed my hand in the garage. And as much as a jealous lover turns me on, maybe try to control it just a little better before he gets too much into your head."
Bucky chuckled and tilted his head back, "Of course he is, bastard."
Sam cleared his throat from across the room. "So...are we going to address this, or are we just going to continue pretending that I'm not standing right here?"
He knew Chanel was good at getting what she wanted, but he was surprised at how quickly this had escalated.
"Keep pretending," Bucky replied shortly.
Chanel shrugged, "There's nothing to address."
Sam rolled his eyes, "Black Jesus, help me," he muttered to himself.
Bucky shot Chanel a concerned glance.
Nothing to address? What does that mean?
Bucky's insecurities were coming back in full force. A comment Zemo had made, that a part of the Winter Soldier was still within him, had been nagging at Bucky since the prison visit. It confirmed what he had been feeling for the past 6 months. If Zemo could see it, surely Sam and Chanel could too.
"Now, I'm going to go check on Zemo, like the lovely hostess that I am. You two get ready for our strategy meeting." Chanel turned on her heel and left them before they could argue with her.
"Not a word." Bucky held his hand up to stop Sam from cracking the joke he knew was coming.
Sam feigned innocence but couldn't keep the grin off of his face, "I wasn't going to say anything." He held his hands up in false surrender.
Bucky stalked past him and headed towards the stairs.
"But if you want some dating advice, try not to mention psychological issues next time, yours or hers," Sam taunted.
Bucky flipped him off as he disappeared up the stairs.
"I guess I'll just prepare for the meeting by myself then!" Sam waited until Bucky was out of sight before he laid on the couch and turned the tv on.