It should come as no surprise that being an Avenger is fast-paced and stressful. We had our fair share of drama and only recently came back together after a battle among out peers. Steve and Tony had started talking to each other a couple of weeks ago and Natasha felt it wise to speak to Tony only when necessary to do so. He lost her trust in a big way when he decided to betray her to Secretary Ross. It was personal to her, leaving a brutal hole in her heart.
I managed to fill that hole as best as I could, bringing in her sister Yelena to cheer her up when I couldn't. While tension coiled around us, I found ways to relax. Some of those way bled onto the others to ease their minds. My time was spent between Thor, Loki, Natasha, Wanda, and Yelena. Even Steve when he requested that I come to Wakanda to check in on Bucky from time to time. Four years we dealt with problems apart, coming together for a situation we required everyone's skill set to solve it. It's how we pieced some – and I do mean some – fragments back together. What I didn't expect was for them to bring in the one person who ripped us apart. What I didn't see coming is he would someone I fell in love with.
The day they came to the decision to let him live in the compound…to allow Zemo to breathe out same air began on a day I attempted to relax. For the morning, I had been alone; no one bothered to be near each other, which meant I had the gym to myself. I ran on the treadmill to get the cardio in, and practiced movements Nat and Bucky taught me on the punching bag. I took my time, adding my own style into the mix.
Once sweat poured down my body, soaking my clothes, I stopped and got to a quick shower to relax my muscles. At least when I came down to the kitchen for brunch, there were a few of my teammates sitting at the counter. Yelena, Natasha, Sam, Thor, and to my surprise Tony.
"Morning," I greeted them. I prepared a bowl of cereal and went to claim a seat, Yelena tugging my arm to sit in between her and Natasha.
"Do you have any plans today?" she asked me, nudging my side.
"Nothing exciting, most likely. Jenna likes to cocoon herself under blankets with her nose in a book," Sam teased. I beamed a smile at him and nodded.
"Awww. You're almost a clone of Loki. Why don't you come out with Nat and me to go explore the city? We could use your company," Yelena said.
"I think I'll stay here today. I don't feel like going out at the current moment. I'd rather relax for a few hours," I told them.
"It might be short lived. Enjoy it while you can," Tony muttered under his breath. I guess he must have thought I couldn't hear him because he stiffened when I asked him to repeat what he said. He turned to me, eyes wide and then looked away, unable to meet my gaze again. Natasha shoved her hair back, the scraping sound echoing through the room, and left abruptly. Yelena was quick to follow; I watched them leave, my head tilting in confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?" Tony shook his head and left the room, adding to my confusion. Sam was next to leave, Thor and me left sitting at the counter.
"That's odd. I wonder what's gotten into them," I said. Thor shrugged and told me he would check on Loki to see what he was up to. I sighed and cleaned my dishes before sitting on the couch, rubbing my head. I moved my fingers to my scalp, massaging it to get blood flowing to relax fully. I moved farther into my hair, making sure to get each section, shivering when I hit a good spot.
"What are you doing?" Thor's deep voice filled the space behind me. I jumped at his sudden entrance, catching his huge grin.
"I was giving myself a head massage. It helps with relaxation," I admitted.
"Why did you shiver? Does it hurt?" he questioned.
"No. I hit a good spot and it gave me tingles down my spine. Do you want me to test it out on you?" He crossed his arms against his chest, hesitating.
"You're not trying to trick me, are you?" I shook my head, spreading out my arms in an invitation. He let out a deep breath and joined me on the couch. I got up on my knees and threaded my hands through his short, blond hair and applied a bit of pressure to his scalp, moving inch by inch to give him the full effect. He eventually sat up to allow me to stretch out, leaning back in my lap. I kept going, Thor's body going limp with relaxation, his breathing steady and slow. His eyes drooped, heavy with sleep; he kept fighting it, but the effect of the massage overpowered him. He succumbed to them, closing his eyes.
For five minutes before Tony stormed into the living room and demanded a meeting in the conference room. Thor groaned, reluctant to get up, but leaned up and slid off the couch. He helped me up, both of us walking down the hallway to the chosen conference room and were met with the serious faces of the rest of the Avengers.
"This can't be good," I whispered and sat in the seat closest to Nat. I threaded my fingers through hers to ease the tension she held in her body. She squeezed my hand, and we turned our attention on Tony, who took a deep breath before speaking.
"We have a visitor coming later this evening. Someone who has…agreed to offer help with some of our missions. He's also offered to let us use his connections to locate certain people on our radar," he stated.
"Now I'm aware bringing this individual here has put some of us on edge, but we could use his help. I'm sure he's not thrilled to be among us as well. Especially not after the events from a few years ago. If…you're not comfortable with the idea of being here with-,"
"Damn, Tony. Will you just tell us who the visitor is? You're dragging this out a little too long. Cut the anticipation," I interrupted. The room went silent; no one could look at each other, Nat's grip tightened and then she shook me off.
"Is it someone dangerous?" I asked.
"It's Zemo," Steve cut me off. Oh. Him. The same person who broke the team up from the inside. The person who framed Bucky for killing T'Chaka and blowing up the meeting about the Sokovia Accords.
"Can we trust him? Are you sure you want to bring Zemo here? You know how he feels about us," I said.
"We know. We've put precautions in place in case he tries to betray us or kill us. We've given certain incentives to him being here. Most of us are hesitant to have Zemo living at the compound. None of us had to stay here, but we do need someone to watch him. That doesn't need to be decided now. We can wait until he gets here," Steve said. This wasn't going to end well. This could create another rift in between the team, and we were on all semi-good terms now. No wonder Natasha was in a bad mood this morning.
"When does he arrive?" I asked.
"6 p.m." Tony told me. Silence. With a simple flick of his wrist, Tony dismissed us. I sighed, watching my team file out, grim expressions on their faces. I could only hope this decision wouldn't divide us once more. As I left the room, I figured out how I would prevent it from happening. I wouldn't expect how much of an impact that choice would have on my life.
Three Hours Later
I tried to distract myself after the meeting. Nothing appeared to work. I couldn't focus enough to read, the walk I took an hour after the meeting didn't clear my thoughts and though I tried to punch it out, it still didn't give me relaxation. Zemo would arrive in a few minutes, and it was making me nervous. I could only imagine how he would react seeing certain members of the Avengers. I imagined he would say something, anything, and they would be at each other's throats again.
"Would you sit down, darling? You're going to wear a pattern in the floor," a voice – Loki's – said. Right. Loki. His joining of the team wasn't welcome at first, but eventually everyone got used to him. Zemo wasn't Loki. The thought alone had me pacing faster.
"Okay. That's quite enough," he said. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and pull me to an armchair, my ass firmly planted on a lap. Loki held me still, one hand stroking my back in comfort.
"It'll be alright. Try not to think of every worse case scenario. It's only Zemo," he whispered. His velvet voice was soothing, his touch gentle; I leaned into him, letting him take control over my sense. My eyes opened at the front door opening. In walked Tony, followed by Zemo, Steve coming from behind him. I clutched Loki's arms as I scanned the room, watching as the rest of the team went on alert. Loki's grip tightened and I turned my attention to the three men who had walked in.
My eyes locked with Zemo's; his chocolate brown eyes boring into my cerulean blue ones. I gasped as held my gaze, his anger switching to a softness for a moment until Natasha spoke.
"Who will be his guard?" The wall of hardness went back up in his eyes and he looked over at the red head.
"A guard? Are you sure I'll be needing one? Don't trust I won't betray you?" Zemo asked. His Sokovian accent was taunting, teasing; he tilted his head, not in anger, but something else entirely. Maybe it was amusement.
"I won't do it. Steve's out as well. You know Bucky won't. What about Loki?" Nat said.
"I prefer my privacy. Why not ask Thor?" Loki hissed.
"I do not think I wish to endure Zemo's company, brother. Surely you two can get along. You both share a similar mindset…" Thor commented. I was shifted off Loki as the two began to argue. Then the others. Fuck. This is what I had been hoping to avoid. Good thing I had decided to do exactly what I had planned. I didn't want to team to rip each other apart over Zemo.
"I'll do it," No one stopped, which meant they hadn't heard me.
"I will watch him," I shouted. Slowly, each person stopped yelling, turning their full attention to me. I swallowed as Zemo was the last to face me, shock, which turned into intrigue, on his face.
"Jenna…" Natasha said.
"I can guard him. I will watch Zemo. Don't look at me like that. None of you want to. It's the only logical choice," I stated. Zemo stared at me, studying me maybe or perhaps he was surprised I was willing to step up where others would not. Everyone else had a concerned look, not expecting for me to volunteer.
"No. One of us should…okay. If you want to, you can watch over him. We've set up a room for him. A small-," Tony began.
"Absolutely not. He will stay with me. I've got the pull-out futon. There's no reason both of us should suffer while he's under our supervision," I told him. I turned to Zemo, who was still surveying me, his eyes scanning me up and down.
"If you'll follow me, I'll get you set up and then we can get food. I assume you haven't eaten yet," He shook his head and I let him walk beside me upstairs to my bedroom. I paused at a linen closet to grab some sheets and unlocked my door, leading him inside. We pulled out the bed from the couch and put on the sheets for later. We left for take-out – Burgers and something simple – coming back to glares from Steve and Bruce.
"Do your best to ignore them," I said to Zemo, noticing how uncomfortable he got. We returned to my room to eat.
"You don't have to do this. I could find someone else to supervise me," Zemo told me.
"I made this decision during the meeting we had a few hours ago. I can't…I won't have them arguing over you. Not after we got back together, and everyone is beginning to speak to each other. Listen, what you did and how you did it…it did a ton of damage. There were multiple betrayals and honestly some of it wasn't even your fault. I'm trying to be the mediator. Take on the job no one wants. Let me handle this. It's the only way I know how to keep them together," I said. He went silent for a few moments.
"I know this won't mean much, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I had my reasons. It wasn't originally meant to go as far as it did," he said. I looked up at him, startled from his words. He held my gaze until I was forced to look away for fear of wanting to…no. I couldn't wish to touch his cheek, to comb my hand through his dark hair. I shouldn't. Perhaps he was using me to his advantage, to manipulate me. I needed to resist him. I got up to sit in my bed and pick up my current read. Zemo sighed and I looked up to see him twiddling his thumbs. Literally.
"There's a bookshelf near the bathroom door. I don't know what you like to read, but if something strikes your fancy, you're welcome to borrow whatever you want," I said, focusing on my own book.
"Thank you," A beat of silence. "Are you not worried that I'll betray you. I could attempt to harm you. I am a dangerous man,"
"If you wished to harm, I think you would have done so already. Though, I should tell you that if you do attempt to try anything, and I do mean anything, you'll end up with a dagger in your throat. Or perhaps a bullet in your head. I know how to defend myself. The others insisted I learn. I train with three assassins, two super-soldiers, and a demi-god, specifically the god of mischief. I may have no powers or enhanced abilities, but I assure you I can and will protect myself if need be. The way I see it, if you truly wanted to betray us, then you wouldn't have agreed to offer your help. There must have been something you wanted, if you chose to live among heroes you despise," I said.
"Ah. You're clever. What if I chose to use other means to get you to let down your guard? What would you do? How would you react?" he quipped.
"Hm. I doubt those methods would entirely work. I have no interest in those matters regarding you and I'm sure if I were to scream, someone would come running. All you would get tonight is disappointment or thrown back in prison or, depending on my rescuer, dead," I snapped.
"I see. Allow me to apologize then. By the way, if I am to continue to live here in this room with you, then I will wish to know your name,"
"Jenna Whitman,"
"Miss Whitman. Pleasure to make your acquaintance," he told me. I nodded at him and went back to reading. I heard shifting from the bookshelf and the groan of the mattress of his bed, the room falling into a comfortable silence. I excused myself after a few hours to change for bed and came out to see he had changed as well; the shift from a dark grey sweater, black trousers, and boots, equipped with a coat with a fur collar into dark maroon, fleece pajama pants, and…no shirt. I didn't realize I was staring until he caught me.
"You're staring, love. See something you like?" Zemo asked, his lips quirking up into a grin.
"No…uh, good night," I deadpanned. I moved past him to my bed, slipping under the covers. I shut off the lights, sliding a hand underneath my pillow touching the dagger Loki had gifted me as a birthday present.
"Good night, Miss Whitman," was all he said before I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. What had I gotten myself into?