My alarm had me jolting awake, Loki's dagger in my hand, ready to attack an intruder; there was no one to be found. I took a few calming breaths and eased out of bed to change into workout gear for the morning. I pulled out the selected clothing and walked to the bathroom. Opening the door and certainly not paying attention to my surroundings, I collided with someone. That someone being Zemo. Right. Zemo. The force pushed me backwards, but instead of falling, two arms snagged around my waist, holding my body upright.
"Apologies. I thought you knew I was in here," he greeted me. His chest was still bare, curls of hair brushing up against my skin. His touch was gentle as he held me close. All thoughts disappeared from my head as I let my eyes wander over the man.
"Jenna? Is everything all right?" he asked. My name shook me from my trance, and I shoved him away from me.
"Fine. I've got to change. You should too. I'm supposed to go train this morning. Then we will figure out what we need to do today," I answered. He nodded and let me pass. I shut the door, locking it behind me. My heart was thundering in my ears, and I had to close my eyes to stop the dirty thoughts running rampant in my mind. Why did he have such an effect on me? I should be running and fearing him instead of falling for his charm. Shut those feelings down. He's trying to manipulate you to get what he wants, I thought. I changed quickly, coming back to see Zemo had changed back into his clothing from last night.
"What? It's all I have in my possessions. I don't suppose you expect me to train with you?"
"No, of course not. I guess we should get you more things to wear. Especially, if you're going to be with us for a little while. I can clear out some things in my closet for you, if need be," I told him. He tilted his head again, his eyes assessing or calculating my words.
"That's very kind of you," was all he said. We left the room and descended the stairs to get to the training room. Tony, Yelena, Natasha, Bucky, Steve, Sam, and Wanda were already waiting to get going; most turned to glare at Zemo's entrance.
"No. Nope. Not today," Tony greeted us. He left the room, some more exiting after him.
"Hey, guys. Wait. Come on, stay. Natasha, don't leave," I said, trying to get them to stay with the rest of us. Bucky, Wanda, Yelena, and Sam were the only ones who stayed in the room, and I hoped they wouldn't follow their fellow Avengers. Yelena shrugged and paired off with Bucky.
"Jen, you can work with me today. I need the practice in case we're paired on the battlefield again," Wanda said.
"Okay. Hold back a little, please. I don't want to be sore like the last time we sparred. Zemo, you can sit on the couches over there," I said.
"I'll try. Don't worry about the others. They'll come around eventually. I don't mind him, and we could use his help," Wanda said. We sparred for an hour and a half, switching to Yelena and Sam, while Bucky worked on boxing.
"He's watching you. I don't think Zemo's been able to keep his eyes off you the entire we've been here. Be careful with him," Sam warned me. I made a subtle glance over at Zemo and our gaze locked before I turned back to Sam.
"No need to worry Sam. I've got him handled for the most part,"
"I still don't understand why you volunteered for this job. I would've figured you wouldn't want to be around him after all he's done to the team. Heads up, Jen. He's coming over here," I dropped my stance to face Zemo.
"Is there something I can help you with?" I questioned. His eyes narrowed slightly, but I had a feeling it wasn't in anger.
"Your form. It needs work. When you were working with Miss Maximoff, it was perfect. With Sam, the stance you take is all wrong. How he fights is different. I don't want you to get hurt," he answered me.
"Excuse me? I think…" I was cut off by Zemo turning me around, his hands skating down my arms to my hands. He closed them into fists, adjusting how I angled my body, shoving my feet a little further apart.
"Breathe into it. Relax. You're holding too much tension in your shoulders. Keep an eye on how he moves," he told me. I swallowed as Zemo moved his hand against my shoulders and down my back. His chest was pressed against my back when he spoke, heat radiating from him. I suppressed a shiver when he stepped back, allowing us to spar.
I found it easier to launch my punches at Sam, striking when he least expected it. In the end, I had him pinned to the floor and found the others staring at me when I got up.
"Much better. Very good, love," Zemo complimented me. I froze at the nickname, but brushed it off, wanting to move onto Yelena. She shook her head and the rest filed out, leaving me alone with Zemo.
"I guess we're done training for the day. Thank you for your…uh…help. Shall we go out and grab a few things for your stay here?" He nodded and I returned upstairs to shower, changing into a dark purple shirt and light blue jeans with black tennis shoes. I tied up my dark blonde hair into a ponytail and left with Zemo to go into the city.
"Where to?" I asked once we parked in a spot along the street. He offered me his arm and I hesitated, making him chuckle.
"I'm not going to bite you, Miss Whitman," I sighed and held onto the crook of his elbow. He led me to a store of his choosing – an expensive one – and I slammed on my brakes.
"I'll wait outside. I'm pretty sure I'm under dressed for that store,"
"You look perfect, love. Besides, you said you would guard me. What if I were to escape on your watch? I don't think that would go over too well with your precious Avengers," When I still didn't move, he shifted his arm to rub soothing circles against my back. "Come on. You'll be fine," he reassured me. I gave in and followed Zemo into the store, and we were immediately met by a salesperson, who he told what he would like to try on. We sat down in the leather armchairs, waiting on the items to brought out, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Are you sure you can afford everything here?" I asked, earning me another chuckle.
"I can assure you I can. I'm a Baron after all. My family was royalty up until your friends destroyed Sokovia,"
"I'm sorry. You're a Baron. I wasn't aware you had a title,"
"How could you have known? You didn't know who I was when everything happened. I doubt Stark told you of my past after the team fell apart. Though I'm positive the only thing that would have popped up with his research is my military history,"
"Those of us who went on the run didn't feel it necessary to stay at the compound for very long. Some of us were still in prison, but Steve and Nat managed to break them out. It didn't occur for any of us to ask. When we got back together, I was more occupied trying to get them to talk to each other rather than deal with the details," I told him. He started to say something, but the items he requested arrived, and he disappeared into a fitting room to make sure they fit to his liking. He tossed out a shirt, walking out to grab another. I took a double take when the bright lighting of the store made scars stand out on his chest. I got up and traced one, Zemo freezing in his tracks.
"I didn't see these before. Where did you get this one?" I told him.
"An early mission with my kill squad. I didn't see an enemy coming at me with a knife," he answered, his voice raspy.
"And this one?" I asked, a finger grazing over another one. I met his eyes, which had darkened a little.
"A metal spike sticking out while I had been running for shelter on a mission," he breathed. I shifted behind him, his head following my movement. I ran a finger down a longer one on his back, his body stiffening as I did so.
"What about this one?"
"Sokovia while I was helping civilians in the aftermath. While I…it doesn't matter," he said. He moved past me, a pained expression on his face. No need to push him on it. He would talk about it when he was ready. We didn't speak anymore after that, and I wondered if I offended him somehow.
"Stop here. I would like to get some lunch," he commanded our driver. It was at a diner, and we ordered hot dogs, fries, and milkshakes, his chocolate, and mine mint chocolate chip.
"Tell me how you ended up with the Avengers," he said.
"Pure luck. It started with Loki. I convinced them he wasn't all bad and got them to let me talk to him. I found out his story, let Steve and Tony hear it. They agreed to keep him around. Then Bucky showed up and Steve had a rough time learning about Bucky being the Winter Soldier. He felt guilty that Bucky had gone through all the torture, and he couldn't put a stop to it,"
"We went looking for him of course, no luck finding him. Not until you framed him in Vienna. It was around that time, Loki decided I needed to learn how to defend myself. He recruited Natasha, Steve, Clint, and eventually Bucky to help with the training. As time went on, they figured out I was a good mediator when dealing with fights between the team. It's how I got them to trust Wanda. Then you came along and ruined everything. They haven't been the same since we broke up," I explained.
"A mediator? You truly think you can keep them together? This morning it appeared a rift had already begun to rip through them again. Do you think it's worth it?"
"I can try. You don't know them like I do. Don't underestimate me, Zemo. I know what I'm doing. Despite your feelings, I know it's worth it. It must be. They're my family and I'll do anything to keep them together. If I need to, I'll lock them a room and they can hash it out," I snapped. He narrowed his eyes, his head tilting slightly.
"Are you angry with me?" I asked.
"What?"
"Wanda does that when she's angry with someone. You would be better off running when she does it. I've noticed you doing it a couple times. Have I upset you in some way? I apologize for the questions about your scars. I was only curious about how you got them,"
"No. I'm not upset. You haven't done anything wrong. The last scar you touched; it holds a painful memory. I haven't found the courage to talk about it. I find you…intriguing. I don't think I've had the pleasure of knowing someone like you. You have so much compassion for your friends. It's a little overwhelming," He went back to his food, later going into a few more shops to buy more things. We returned to the compound to find it empty. A note was left behind by Yelena saying they went out to eat and grab drinks.
"Let me guess. We're not invited," Zemo said, reading it over my shoulder. I shook my head, and we went back to my room to put away his clothing and other necessities. I put an order out for pizza and set up a movie to watch. The title caught Zemo's interest when he came out of the bathroom from a shower. He was wearing a robe, still showing off a bit of his chest.
"This is a good one. Mind if I join you?" he asked. I slid over to give him room, ignoring how his thigh rested beside mine, or how good his cologne smelled. I shifted over a little to put more space between us and focused on the film. Once over, he retired to bed and I did as well, hoping for a better day tomorrow. Sadly, it wouldn't come tomorrow or even a few days after.