Looking around Helmut's place in Riga, Amelia was doing her best not to be in awe at it. The architecture of it was stunning alongside the interior design. It seemed almost over the top, but definitely worthy of a Baron. She had gone to the kitchen and then seen the bookshelf along the wall. Moving over to it, she let her finger trail over all of the titles. The tops of the books were covered in dust, the spines of them creased showing that they had been well loved and read.
Sam dropped his bag onto the floor and folded his arms over his chest, admiring the place and wondering just how much it cost. How did Helmut even afford to keep it like this? He had no idea, but he supposed being a Baron came with some advantages, namely that of being rich beyond means. Helmut placed Amelia's bag on the ground and watched as she looked over the books, an amused grin forming on his face at the sight of her. She had always been a bookworm. Lukas would often complain that getting her attention when she was reading was nearly impossible.
"There is clean bedding and towels in the linen cupboard down the hall," Helmut informed Sam. Bucky had gone off, claiming that he needed space to clear his head. None of them had particularly believed that was what he had gone off to do, but they had let him go anyway. He would tell them what was going on when he came back if he wanted to.
"Right," Sam said, finding it all a bit strange. He was in a fugitive's home and was being made to feel welcome.
"There are several guest rooms on the ground floor," Helmut said. "Make yourself at home in any of them. I imagine it might be in everyone's interest if we freshen up before we continue with our plan."
"Maybe you're not wrong on that point," Sam said to him and he picked his bag up. "Don't pull anything while we're gone."
"Of course not," Helmut said and Sam was about to ask if he could believe him, but he seemed to have eyes for only one person in that room.
Sam rolled his own eyes as he watched Helmut shrug out of his coat and lay it over the couch. He began to leave as the Baron stalked towards Amelia, his gaze firmly set on the back of her head. Coming up behind her, his front was inches from her back as he reached his hand around her body and pulled a book from the shelf that sat just above her head. Amelia watched his hand move as he lowered it to her gaze and he could hear the gasp of astonishment from her.
"This is a first edition," Amelia said as he looked down over her shoulder onto it. She took it from his hands and opened it up, bending her nose into the book and inhaling the scent of it intently. Helmut continued to watch her with amusement as she shook her head slowly. "How do you have a first edition Austen?"
"My mother was an avid reader," Helmut said. "My father lavished her with as many books as he could. You can probably tell by the way they appear."
Amelia shook her head. "Books are meant to be read. It's a sign that they've been used…enjoyed…people with bookshelves full of pristine copies worry me even more. Your mother was a lucky woman. How come all of this is here and not back in Sokovia where your parents lived?"
Helmut moved his hand to brush her hair behind her shoulders, leaving her pale neck exposed to his gaze. She twisted it round so that she could face him as the back of his hand ran along her skin slowly.
"My father would bring us here often when I was a child," Helmut confessed to her. "I knew nothing about the politics at the time, of course, but I knew that I loved coming here during the holidays and mother loved it too. It was her favourite of our summer holiday homes and when she died father didn't have it in him to bring her books back to Sokovia…a painful memory of happier times. He left them here. Thankfully so or else they would have been destroyed in Sokovia."
"Hmm," Amelia hummed thoughtfully as she placed the book back, stretching on her toes to reach the shelf. Helmut moved his hand down from her neck and along her side, finally cupping her hip in his grip. She turned around to give him her full attention then. "Were you close?"
"To my parents?" he questioned.
"Yeah," Amelia replied.
He shrugged. "I suppose so when I was younger. I went through quite a rebellious phase during my teenage years where we drifted, but then when I married Heike after joining the military…had Carl…I settled down and I suppose we were close. They adored being grandparents."
Amelia nodded her head. She could almost imagine them all sat in the living room in the house as a big happy family. She smiled sadly and knew that they had lost so much. They had been robbed of so many memories that they could have made: Helmut with Heike and Amelia with Lukas. But perhaps it was time to try and move on and stop dwelling on what could have been and start trying to be happy with what they could have.
And with that thought in her mind, Amelia moved to kiss Helmut. Her lips met his slowly and softly, the motion tender and taking Helmut's breath away. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to be enveloped in Amelia's grip, her hands holding onto his shoulders as he moved a hand to cup her cheek tenderly, his fingers stretching into her hairline. Closing his eyes, his other arm came around her waist, hand pressing into the small of her back. He doubted that he would ever tire of being so close to her after years of being alone.
Pulling back after a minute or so, Amelia let him drop his forehead against hers. He stayed there, thumb stroking her cheek softly. Her eyes remained closed as Helmut kissed the top of her head, tenderly pressing his lips to her forehead before his chin sat there and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He held her back, content just to be in her grip.
"We should get some rest," Helmut declared and Amelia grunted her agreement against him. He felt so familiar against her. The large expanse of his chest was comforting, almost as though it provided security for her. He smelt of expensive cologne, the scent so familiar to Amelia despite years of being separated by glass from him.
"Come on," Helmut said, knowing that he could stay there for ages. But he had to be practical. "James could walk in at any moment and I doubt you have any desire of him seeing us. Plus, we haven't slept in hours."
"Yeah," Amelia finally agreed.
"I'll help you with the bedding-"
"-Am I not staying with you?"
Helmut heard her interrupt and his eyes widened. It took a moment for him to realise what she had just said, but then she spoke once more.
"You're right, it would be best if I had my own room than share yours. I don't want Bucky to get even more annoyed with me."
"You can stay in my room if you so wish, but I just thought that you might be comfortable with your own space," he responded and Amelia shrugged. She didn't entirely know what she wanted, but all she knew was that there was something about being so close to Helmut that she was once again finding intoxicating.
He was everywhere and she was so consumed by him. She couldn't stop herself from falling once again.
"I trust you," Amelia said to him. "And after what happened in Madripoor, I…I know that things can never be how they were, but it felt as though I belonged somewhere…being back with you just felt right and I'm not ready to give up that feeling again, not when it has been so fleeting."
Nodding his head, he suspected he understood what she was saying to him. And so Helmut did what he thought was the right thing in that situation. He bent down and kissed her once more, but this time he managed to pick her up as she wrapped her arms around his neck, legs firmly securing around his waist. He continued kissing her, trying to keep quiet, as they finally found his old room, fresh bedding and rest completely forgotten about.
…
Laying on her front, Amelia knew what Helmut was doing. He was propped up on his side, hand holding his head and his other hand on her back. His fingers were moving gently over the scars that marred her skin. Amelia turned her head to the side, arms folded underneath her cheek and squashing it tightly. She looked to him as his eyes remained fixed on the puckered skin. Amelia bit down on her tongue for a moment and waited for him to speak.
"Do they hurt?" he questioned from her.
"No," she admitted to him with a soft shake of her head, hair falling into her face that she promptly pushed back. "I mean, I sometimes forget about them. It's only when I see them in the mirror do I remember them."
Helmut nodded his head at hearing her. She continued to chew down on her tongue as his finger went down her spine and she shuddered under the motion.
"They're ugly."
"Nothing about you could be ugly," Helmut quickly responded to her and she scoffed, shaking her head back and forth.
"I don't think that's true."
"It is," he reiterated. "Trust me, nothing about you is ugly, Amelia."
"Hardly," Amelia snorted. "You don't need to look at them. I know they're not-"
"-You don't need to hide from me," he interrupted her.
Moving his hand to her cheek, he cupped it delicately in his fingertips. He didn't want her to turn away from him. He didn't want her to think that anything about her disgusted him because that was the furthest thing from the truth. In fact, everything about her made him almost feel like a lovelorn fool. He didn't know what it was about her, but when he was with her it was like nothing else truly mattered. They were lost in their own little world. But bubbles were designed to be burst.
"It doesn't bother me," he whispered and finally moved to kiss her slowly and sensually. She closed her eyes and Helmut moved so that she was on her back, him hovering over her, lips not once parting. Amelia did her best to lose herself in him, but the sudden noise of a door banging snapped them apart. She kept an arm over his shoulders as her legs remained either side of his body. He kept a hand brushed in her hair while his other stopped him from crushing her under his weight completely.
"We should get ready," Amelia said to Helmut. "We need to find out where Karli is."
"Agreed, reluctantly, may I add," Helmut said and Amelia smirked at that and kissed him once more.
"I won't disagree with you on that," she promised him and patted his chest.
He moved from her and climbed out of the bed completely naked. Amelia sat up, clutching the duvet to her chest. Helmut's room was large and grand with columns dotted around the room and running up to the ceiling that was painted a soft white. The walls were covered in intricate red and gold patterned wallpaper. The floor was a cream tile, but rugs were dotted around to offer it some warmth. The bed was a four-poster bed with net curtains around the side and mahogany furniture either side of it.
"There is a bathroom off the bedroom here," Helmut told her. "You can have that one and I will use the main bathroom downstairs."
"Don't want to share?"
Amelia questioned him at the same time she slipped from the bed and stretched her aching limbs. Helmut shrugged into a dark blue robe and looked at her, doing his best not to let his gaze linger on her too long. His eyes darkened as he shook his head.
"I think in the interests of getting ready quickly, we should shower separately," he said and Amelia couldn't stop herself from smirking, amazed at the power she seemed to hold over a man who she had once thought to be unbreakable. Shrugging, she acted nonchalantly as she moved towards the bathroom, her hands grabbing her hair and pulling it from her face and into a ponytail at the top of her head.
"Fine with me," Amelia said and she disappeared into the bathroom and Helmut considered following her, but the noise of doors slamming down the hallway told him that might not be his best idea.
Amelia had to admit that she quite enjoyed taunting Helmut. She showered slowly, enjoying the feeling of the warm water falling down over her and drenching her. She wiped droplets from her face after she had tilted her head back and let the water drop around her. She took her time in using all of the fancy bath products in Helmut's cupboard, amazed that it was still well stocked. She wondered if he had called ahead and asked for the place to be made ready?
After she had drawn her shower out, Amelia wrapped a towel around herself. She dried off and moved to the bedroom, wondering where her bag was. She didn't have to wonder for too long as she found it on the bottom of the bed. Helmut must have brought it in while she was showering. She reached for clean underwear, shrugging into them and then grabbing hold of a dark green shirt. She fought to pull her dark jeans up her legs. Pulling her hair from her face, she towel dried it before leaving the room and coming to the kitchen. Sam was already there, sat up with the laptop open in front of him.
"Is Bucky not back yet?" Amelia questioned when she saw him.
She made herself at home, moving around the kitchen and opening cupboard doors to try and find something to eat. She could hear Sam's fingers clicking on the keyboard of his laptop as he spoke back to her.
"Not yet," he replied.
Amelia hummed softly. "Weird," she commented. "I wonder where he's gotten to."
"It's Bucky," Sam said to her and he stopped his typing. "He's probably just brooding somewhere. Besides, I imagine it isn't easy for him having to spend time near him."
Amelia had no response to that. She supposed that Sam had a point there. It couldn't be easy for Bucky being around Helmut so much. How could it be? She should have thought about that a lot more than she had done, but like always, she had gotten herself too wrapped up in her own mind and thoughts. It took a moment or two for her to nod her head slowly, doing her best not to worry about Bucky having been gone for so long. He was more than able to look after himself and Amelia was acutely aware of that.
"Do you want anything to drink?" Amelia wondered from Sam, finding some protein bars and teabags.
"I'm good, thanks," Sam said to her.
Amelia went about making herself a mug of tea, wondering just where Helmut was in the house. She could hear the noise of running water from behind a door, but surely he wasn't still in the bathtub? Amelia sipped on her tea and sat at the breakfast bar to the other end of Sam. She unlocked her phone, slipping it from her jean pocket and scrolling through the news.
"Shit," Amelia suddenly whispered as the bathroom door opened and Helmut walked out dressed in a dark blue robe with light blue bottoms. He had no shirt on underneath the robe, the sash tied around the middle not doing enough to cover up a slither of his chest. Amelia looked to him as he dabbed at his neck, a bottle of cologne in his fingers.
"What is it?" Sam asked her at the same time the other door opened and Amelia turned around to see Bucky walking in.
"Karli bombed a GRC depot," Amelia said. "There's been causalities…deaths…"
"She's getting worse," Helmut spoke, standing at the end of the breakfast bar next to Amelia. He picked up her mug of tea, taking a sip of it for himself and Amelia didn't bother to stop him. She just remained sat there, looking at the news.
"And we've got another problem," Bucky added on and they wondered just what more could go wrong as all eyes turned to him. "The Wakandans are here and they want him."
"What did you say?" Sam asked as Amelia's posture altered, straightening up and almost as though she was prepared to run. Bucky noticed it but made no comment, his own lips pursing at the sight of her.
"I bought us some time," Bucky said.
"And you weren't followed?" Sam asked.
"No."
"How can you be so sure?" Helmut questioned, knowing that if he had to then he could escape quickly. But he didn't know if it would come to that just yet.
"Because I know when I'm being followed," Bucky spat back and sat in between Sam and Amelia, Helmut still remaining stood up, loitering just behind her shoulder.
"It was sweet of you to defend me, at least," Helmut said and Amelia wondered if he was trying to get a rise out of them with that comment, but it seemed to work as Sam scoffed and gave him his full attention away from the laptop.
"Shut it, no one's defending what you two did," Sam pointed back. Amelia rolled her eyes. Helmut shrugged.
"Do we really need to litigate what may or may not have been?" he asked and Sam almost looked perplexed at his wording.
"There's nothing to litigate, you straight shot the man," he replied as Helmut pushed his hands through his wet hair, pushing it back and letting it fall behind his ears, except for the curl by his forehead. Amelia watched him as he moved around the kitchen, talking in a deep voice as he went.
"Because he was a supremacist," Helmut said. "And that is exactly what Karli is. You cannot be clouded by the fact she is just a kid. The very concept of the super soldier is what will always trouble people. It's that warped aspirations that will lead to Nazis…Ultron…the Avengers."
Amelia bit down on her bottom lip.
"Those are our friends you're talking about," Sam warned Helmut as Bucky moved to take up Helmut's previous spot just next to Amelia.
"The Avengers, not the Nazis," Bucky said and Amelia didn't know if he was being dry or not as she scoffed and he looked down to her for a moment, seeing her pick up her mug of tea and sipping on it once more.
"It doesn't matter," Amelia said. "Desire to become super human often isn't separated from supremacist ideals. She is on that path and she won't stop. She will just escalate until she kills us…or we kill her."
"You're wrong," Bucky said to her as she looked to him. "Steve was never corrupted."
"But was there ever another Steve Rogers?" Amelia responded.
"And me?" Bucky questioned from her as Helmut picked a cookie out of a tin tube, chewing delicately on it and watching the two of them talk with beady eyes, wondering just how this was going to go.
"What about you?"
"I'm a super soldier."
"You never asked to be a super soldier, did you? You were created against your will," Amelia said to him. "That's completely different to choosing to take the serum. Most of the people we met who would have made it…who would have taken it…they were supremacists who had their own idea of what the world should look like and it involved them being on top, no matter the cost."
"You can't stop having faith in people to make the right choices." Bucky said and Amelia tilted her head to the side.
"Like Karli? I'm not denying that what she wants is fair, in fact, it is more than fair…but the way she is going about it…killing anyone in her path…do you truly think that she would stop? And what if she just continues escalating?"
"The answer isn't killing, Amelia. You should know that."
"Isn't it? Because some of the people who I've killed would have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of people with their ideologies."
"You're not him," Bucky said to her and Helmut almost wanted to smirk. Bucky still had this warped idea of who Amelia was and what she could do. He was still convinced that she was some innocent puppet in Helmut's schemes.
"I know I'm not, but it doesn't mean that I disagree with everything he says."
There was silence once again as they all seemed to think on what they had said. Amelia finished the dregs of her herbal tea and she placed the mug in the sink, slipping away from Bucky. She remained mute then, listening as Sam suggested that there might be a funeral for the woman who had looked after Karli. She was the reason they had come to Riga. The plan was to go and try and find out information on Donya. If there was a funeral or memorial then it would be likely that Karli would be there.
"If the Wakandans are here then you know we're on borrowed time, don't you?"
Helmut whispered to Amelia once they were alone in the bedroom once more. Helmut had gone to change and Amelia said that she needed to finish getting ready before they went off to see what they could find. She was sat at the dressing table, looking in the mirror and pulling her hair into a ponytail as Helmut slipped his robe off. Looking to him, Amelia saw that his bottoms clung tight to his hips, hanging relatively low too. She did her best not to bite her lip at seeing him, trying to remain focused.
"I know," Amelia said to him. "So what do we do?"
"If I tell you something then I need you to keep it to yourself and not tell James or Sam."
"This sounds ominous," Amelia mused.
"There is an escape tunnel in the bathroom downstairs," Helmut confessed to her and he reached for a fresh purple turtleneck from his drawer. He pulled it onto his arms and over his head, Amelia having turned around to face him fully when he emerged on the other side.
"An escape tunnel?" she deadpanned with him. "Why on earth is there an escape tunnel?"
Helmut's lips arched. "The apartment was a hiding place during the Second World War. My father never had the tunnel filled in…just in case he needed it ever again," he said to her. "And now I am thankful that he didn't. If we are here when the Wakandans come then we use that tunnel."
"Do you not think we should use it now?" Amelia asked, folding one leg over the other.
"I don't think it is time," Helmut said to her with a shake of his head and she saw him adjust the sweater down his stomach before reaching for a pair of jeans. "We will know when it is time, but I have no intention of being taken by the Wakandans."
"You can probably understand why they're annoyed you're free though," Amelia deadpanned with him and he frowned. He wasn't going to pretend that he didn't know that. He looked to her as she stood up and adjusted her shirt in the waistband of her own jeans.
"I am sorry for what had to happen," Helmut said to her. "And I know that I will never be forgiven for it."
"Not by them," Amelia said to him with a shake of her head. "Anyway, I imagine you told me about the tunnel for a reason, didn't you?"
Helmut took his turn to go silent then. He wasn't entirely certain. He didn't know what he was going to do yet. He knew what he should do. He should leave Amelia behind for her to have a normal life. There was no chance of that happening with him in the picture, but being in prison had made him selfish. It had made him long for what he couldn't have.
"They're not like us," Helmut decided to say to her, slipping his belt around his jeans once he had them on his hips. Moving over to where Amelia had sat down on the stool, he crouched in front of her, hands holding her thighs to steady himself. "James and Sam still think that Karli can be saved. We know better than that. We have seen what can happen when supremacists are left to rule the roost."
"What are you saying?"
"We're in this together," Helmut said. "You and me. We do what we do best."
Amelia nodded. "In it together," she echoed back to him.
…
Moving through the streets of Riga towards the displacement camp, Amelia was examining the architecture of the buildings. She ambled along the cobblestones, Helmut leading the way and knowing the streets better than anyone else. It was almost as though time hadn't erased his memories of the city. As a child he would wander the roads, enjoying his carefree life. But then he had grown up. He had learned the politics of the city and he said as much once they entered the resettlement camp.
"I'll go inside and see what I can find out," Sam said. "Keep an eye on these two," he urged from Bucky and the super soldier gave him a firm nod.
Helmut held his hands up defensively. "I'll stay out of your way," he promised Bucky, wandering off.
Bucky shook his head once and looked to Amelia as she watched the back of Helmut move away. "Let's split up and see if we can find out if anyone knows about Donya Madani," Bucky said and Amelia nodded, agreeing with him.
She tried to talk to people, but her language skills only stretched to English and French and no one seemed willing to talk to them. Sighing as she went around the groups of people, she finally met back up with Bucky as Helmut continued looking around, hands in his pockets and footsteps light.
"Any luck?" Bucky asked from Amelia once they had circled back to the entrance.
"No one is saying anything," she said to him.
"We'll wait and see if Sam comes back with anything concrete," he said and Amelia nodded once. She guessed she could wait. She took a moment to glance around the building. It looked rather unkempt, some windows hanging loose off their hinges and the paint chipping.
"I think we need to talk."
Amelia looked to Bucky then who was staring at her. She arched a brow. "What about?"
"Everything," Bucky said. "I don't like fighting with you, Amelia. I thought that we were closer than this…living with you in Norfolk was the most normal time I've ever had since I came back. It was the closest thing to being happy I've felt in a very long time and you…you were a big part of that. That's why I don't want to fall out with you."
Amelia wanted to sigh and look away, but she owed Bucky this much. "And I was happy too," Amelia promised him. "And I hate fighting with you, Bucky. We used to have a laugh together and I know that this can't be easy for you…being back here with Helmut around after what he did. I do understand that and I hate that you're in this predicament."
"Him, I can handle," Bucky said to her, nodding to the back of his head as he continued walking around the courtyard. "But what I can't handle is you being with him."
Amelia's breath hitched in her throat at hearing him say that. He continued watching her, hands by his side and fingers drumming on his thigh.
"Bucky," she whispered his name, unsure of what to say to him.
"Why him?" Bucky asked from her. "What is it about him? He's a criminal…he's not a good guy…how does he have this hold over you?"
"He doesn't have a hold over me, Bucky," Amelia said to him. "We have a history and I know he's not a good guy, but that doesn't make him a monster. We've both done things that most people would find abhorrent."
"And I'm not saying you haven't, but you actually seem to want to do good and not hurt anyone innocent…but he doesn't care who he steps on to get what he wants. That makes him dangerous. It doesn't make you right, but it makes you a hell of a lot better than him."
"You need to stop this," Amelia pleaded, moving a hand to his arm. "Just stop it for my sake, please."
"Then stop choosing him," Bucky urged from her. "Stop choosing him."
"You can't ask me to do that."
"I can because it's for your own good. I don't want to see you hurt when he's sent straight back to jail…just…stop choosing him."
Amelia said nothing then, looking away from Bucky as Helmut moved slowly towards a group of children who were playing. He was carrying a stool in his hands and he sat down on it. He spoke to a little girl and Amelia's heart ached in her chest watching him, knowing that he was good with kids. He had always been so attentive to his own son. She said nothing as he continued talking and Bucky folded his arms over his chest.
"No one's saying anything," Sam declared when he reappeared.
But Bucky was glaring at Helmut. "What the hell is he doing?"
Helmut handed the children sweets before standing up straight and walking back to them. The young kids all grabbed at the Turkish delight, Helmut smirking as he walked past Bucky and Sam once more. "Cute kids," was all he said before his gaze caught Amelia's and she wondered just what he had gotten up to.
The walk back to the apartment was quiet, no one particularly in the mood for talking. It was clear that Helmut had found something out, but he was holding his cards close to his chest. It was only when they were back in the apartment and Helmut went to make a pot of tea did Amelia move over to him, Sam and Bucky debating Karli's actions and her motivations.
"What did the kids tell you?" Amelia wondered, watching him fill up the kettle and place it on to boil.
"Donya's funeral is later this afternoon," he said.
"Are you going to tell the others?" she wondered, leaning back against the worktop of the island. Helmut smirked, tugging his gloves from his fingertips and placing them into the pocket of his coat.
"I will eventually," he said and Amelia rolled her eyes at his dramatics.
"And the Wakandans?" she wondered from him. "They're going to come here soon enough. When do we leave?"
"After the funeral," Helmut said to her softly. "I think we will need to be gone before nightfall. Do you have everything ready to go?"
"Yeah."
"Oeznik will be waiting for us."
"And where will we go?"
"I have not thought that far ahead yet," Helmut said.
"Alright," Amelia said and folded her arms over her chest. "I'm going to go and use the bathroom. Try and stay out of trouble while I'm gone."
"I make no promises."
Amelia rolled her eyes and he met her eye, the mischievous glint apparent in his own gaze. Moving into the large bathroom, Amelia did what she needed to do before splashing cold water on her face. Looking in the mirror, she noticed the wrinkles on her forehead seemed more prominent. There were a few spots around her nose and her lips looked dry. She roamed around in Helmut's cupboard and found a chapstick alongside some cream. She had no idea if it was for her face, but it smelled nice and was moisturising.
Rubbing it into her cheeks, she startled at the sudden noise of something smashing. She worried that the Wakandans had already come, but when she came back to the living area, she saw that Helmut was face to face with Bucky, the two men inches from each other. The wall behind Helmut was wet and there was a smashed cup on the floor by it. Bucky had to have been the one to have thrown it.
"What the hell is going on here?" Amelia questioned as Sam placed a hand to Bucky's shoulder.
"Nothing," Sam answered, but the two men continued to glare at each other, neither one backing down.
"Do you know?" Bucky demanded, turning his glare onto Amelia as she stood to the side of them.
"Know what?"
"Where the funeral is taking place?" Bucky asked, voice terse.
"No," she snapped back. "I only know that it's this afternoon."
"It's my leverage and I intend on keeping the location to myself. Do not bring her into this because you are upset with her choosing me."
"I'm not upset with her."
"No? Because the argument on the plane said otherwise."
"Helmut," Amelia warned him in a low growl, shaking her head firmly and he turned to look to her. He shrugged his shoulders, playing innocent. But Amelia knew him better than that. He may have struggled to manipulate her, but he was a master manipulator, there was no denying that. "Don't."
"I am only speaking the truth. We will have to discuss it sooner or later."
"No, we won't," Amelia retorted. "And you're only doing this to wind him up, but it's not nice."
"What do you want to discuss?" Bucky asked from him and Helmut turned back to him. "Because I have nothing to hide, not anymore. You're going to be locked back in a cell soon enough so you won't get another chance to taunt me about anything."
"You think I am trying to taunt you?" Helmut asked.
"Why else would you be bringing up the argument I had with Amelia? You know what it's about. You know what I think about the two of you. I think it's reckless and stupid. I know that there is only one person who is going to get hurt and it's not you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because you don't love her. You're just using her. It's all you've ever done…and then in Madripoor you rubbed my nose in it."
Amelia felt her cheeks turn red at the memory of her and Helmut in the garden of the club, both of them too wrapped up in each other to notice anyone else, especially Bucky.
"Rubbed your nose in it? You almost sound jealous, James. Is that it? You're jealous that she loves me and not you? That she continues to choose me even after everything?"
"Watch it," Sam warned Helmut, but Amelia was the one to snap first.
"Enough!" she demanded from him and Helmut looked to her, seeing the anger in her gaze. It was a look he had grown accustomed to when they had been living together. He knew better than to push Amelia beyond her limits. Or, at least, he thought he did.
"I'm trying to get the truth out so then perhaps we can stop stewing."
"No, you're being cruel," Amelia said to Helmut and Bucky watched as she dropped her shaking hands to her side. "What do you think will come from this conversation? Nothing is going to get resolved and you're just going to hurt Bucky…because this is a conversation for the two of us, not the three of us. We're not a couple, Helmut. You made it abundantly clear that was never going to happen in Siberia…so acting like this…like you have some claim over me…just stop it."
"I never stated I had a claim over you."
"Then what are you doing talking to Bucky like that?" Amelia asked. But before he could answer, Amelia shook her head. "I don't want to hear it," she said.
She turned on her heel and began to walk away from the room, moving down the corridor. Helmut heard the slamming of a door as Bucky glowered at him.
"Are you done now?"
"Do you love her?" Helmut demanded to know, ignoring his previous question. Bucky was silent. He opened his mouth, almost as though he was about to say something. But he didn't. He closed his mouth firmly and stalked away after Amelia. Sam sighed loudly and looked to Helmut.
"You happy now?" he demanded.
"Ecstatic," Helmut said in a low drawl.
Sam left him then. He was all alone in the sitting room. Flopping onto the couch, he clasped his hands together and wondered if perhaps Amelia was right. Perhaps he had gone too far. But he needed to know. He needed to know because he wondered if Amelia did have feelings beyond friendship for Bucky. It was clear that Bucky had deeper feelings for her. In all honesty, Helmut didn't know what he wanted to know.
…
A/N: Not sure if anyone is still reading but if so then I would love to know what you think!
