Weeelllllll hhheeeyyyy...

Bet you thought I forgot about you right? I did not. Just got busy, and maybe sidetracked by playing Sims 4 again.

Thanks to WiseGirlDivergence46, tuckerjnp1, AliceCullen3 and steampunkcreates for your reviews.

And welcome to gjoyce95, Katia Lindon-Lockwood, layla-kyoyama, ChildishAssassin, katyplops, GaaraSanNiN, elizabethterence, SomebodyWhoCares, kakyo55, maxfckingtyler06, shpee101, ruthoramatthews, Zapper Frost, acekiller157 and SleepyHeather for joining our little family.

Only a couple of weeks left until Loki, let's see if I can't pump out a few chapters to tide you guys over until then...

Enjoy

xo

Chapter 46

Dad Dancing

Lex smirked as the blonde stepped out of the shadows, her handgun raised at Zemo.

"Well, this is too perfect," Sharon said, not taking her eyes off Zemo. "Drop it, Zemo." Lex looked back to see Zemo lay the gun he had managed to procure at some point, on the ground.

"Sharon?" Bucky asked in surprise, obviously taking longer to process what he was seeing.

"You cost me everything," she hissed, moving closer, moving her aim so it was very clearly pointed at Zemo. She kicked the handgun away from Zemo, still not moving her aim. Lex glanced sideways at Zemo, and he met her gaze. She shrugged at him. There was no way she could argue with Sharon. It really had cost the girl dearly.

"Sharon, wait," Sam quickly stepped in front of her before she could approach Zemo further. "Someone recreated the super-soldier serum and Zemo had a lead."

"That explains why you guys are here," Sharon replied, but she still didn't lower her aim. "And Selby's dead."

"So," Bucky looked at her expectantly. "What are you doing here?"

She looked at him incredulously. "I stole Steve's shield, remember?" Lex looked sympathetically at the girl in front of her. She was young, but not as young as Lex was when she started on her journey as an outlaw on the run. She had never had a chance to adapt to being a normal person, she didn't know what she had been missing. Sharon had known a normal life, with family who loved her and friends who supported her.

Sharon's expression changed again, looking more annoyed if it were possible. She moved her aim to Sam. "I also took the wings for your ass, so that you could save his ass from his ass," she said pointing her gun from Sam to Bucky and then at Zemo again. "I didn't have the Avengers to back me up. So, I'm off the grid in Madripoor."

"Hey, don't blow that smoke at me. I was on the run, too," Sam retorted pointedly.

Lex turned her head, glaring at Sam incredulously. It was really hard to understand how he could think what happened to him, and what was still happening to Sharon was remotely close to the same thing. Lex could sympathise with Sharon. She was still considered a highly sought after fugitive after all this time, and she hadn't even killed anyone remotely important in over ninety years.

Sharon glared back at Sam. "Was. Is. Big difference," she retorted indignantly. She looked from Sam to Bucky. "I don't speak to my family anymore. I can't. My own father doesn't know where I am."

Lex glanced sideways at Bucky. Out of all of them, only she and Bucky would actually be able to fully sympathise with her. Bucky met her gaze, unfolding his arms and sighing. "Listen… Sharon, we need your help."

Sharon giggled, and the moment wasn't lost on Lex. She probably wouldn't want to help them either, considering everything she had been through. Lex stepped forward, looking imploringly at Sharon. "Please."

Sharon sighed, rolling her eyes. "Damn it, Lex. Are you trying to woman to woman me?"

Lex smirked back at the blonde, raising her eyesbrows provocatively. "Depends. Is it working?"

Sharon glared at her, sighing again and putting her gun away. "This isn't over. I have a place in High Town. You'll be safe there for a while." She began to turn away, heading back down the alley. She hesitated, looking back to Lex's feet. "By the way, nice heels, Lex."

"Thanks, they're Zemo's."

"And I bet he's got the legs for them too."

Lex heard Bucky and Sam chuckle behind them and Zemo cough as they followed Sharon towards High Town.

Sharon led them to a waiting car, with a driver who looked concerned at the appearance of extra passengers. Sam noted how he looked questioningly at Sharon, but she gave a subtle shake of the head.

The car drove them back across town, to High Town, where the city itself was cleaner and the skyscrapers lit up the night sky with iridescent lights and signs. In the back of the limo, Lex and Bucky sat on either side of Zemo while Sam and Sharon sat side by side facing them. The partition offering them privacy from the driver behind Sharon and Sam opened slowly, and he announced their pending arrival, to which Sharon thanked the driver and closed the partition again.

Sam watched as Lex and Bucky glanced sideways at each other across Zemo. He knew what they were doing, they were making sure Zemo didn't try any funny business since his play with Selby hadn't worked out. Essentially, he was dispensable to them right now, and he knew that so he might try and escape.

The car pulled up to a large compound, and the driver opened the door. Lex was closest, and slid out of the car first, her long, slender leg exposing as the skirt shifted with her movements. He was surprised the dress had managed to stay intact throughout their whole escapades at the bar.

Once she was out, she reached in and unceremoniously dragged him out of the car, with Bucky quick to follow. Sam and Sharon soon joined them, seeing Zemo adjusting his coat and brushing his clothes off while throwing an indignant glare at Lex, who smirked back at him.

Sharon motioned for them to follow her and she led them through the front door of a very luxury looking house. There were guards waiting and watching them as they followed her inside, and Sam couldn't help but question exactly how far she had taken this being on the run thing.

Inside, it appeared almost like an art gallery. There were statues all throughout the main hall, paintings lined the walls and lights that lit up each piece. "Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well," Sam mused, taking in all the pieces as she continued to lead them through the hall.

Sharon glanced back, a small smile on her face. "I thought if I had to hustle, might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler. You know how much I'll get for a real Monet?"

Sam looked skeptically at Sharon. "Yeah, deactivate your hustle mode. You sell fake Monets."

Zemo spoke up. "No. She means real. This gallery is specialized in stolen artwork. Monet. Van Gogh. Classics."

"If you've heard of it, it's probably been here at some point," Lex added, stopping to admire what appeared to be 'The Girl with the Pearl Earring.' She glanced over to Sharon who had stopped to listen to their conversation and offered her some raised eyebrows before making a thumbs up gesture which was obviously not meant to be as subtle as she played it out to be. Sam glared at her, making her shrug and bat her eyelashes in faux innocence. He couldn't help but smile at her.

"It's true," Bucky piped up, also stopping to take in some of the artwork. "You know, half the artwork in museums like the Louvre is fake. Real stuff sits in places like this."

Sam huffed in annoyance, pulling out his smartphone. "Okay, guys, I see what you're doing. You're more worldly than good old Sam." He took a picture of the painting in front of him, before uploading it to google.

Bucky began walking towards him, passing him by with a slight smirk on his face. "Yeah. What's Google say?"

Sam stared in disbelief when he saw the result of his search. "No shit." He looked back at Bucky and Lex who grinned at him as they began to follow Sharon again, before looking back down at the screen of his phone. That was a lot of zeros.

"You guys need to change. I'm hosting clients in an hour," Sharon shouted back as she walked into the next room.

Lex stepped out of the shower and took a deep breath. She was glad to be rid of the sweat and dirt of Low Town and the blood and crud from the Brass Monkey Tavern. She grabbed the fluffy towel Sharon had given her, drying her skin before wrapping the towel around her bust. She wiped the steam off the mirror in Sharon's bathroom, looking at her face. There was a small cut on her face where a bullet had grazed her as she and Bucky had been working to protect Sam and Zemo, but other than that, she was unscathed.

She analysed her face for a moment, thinking back to the tavern, and when she had acted as if she was under Zemo's control. She had no qualms in taking the fight to those men. If anything, she had rather enjoyed it. Something Steve had never liked about her. Something he had tried to change about her for a time. It wasn't until their final days before taking on Thanos the last time that he had finally come to terms with that part of her personality.

"I don't think you need to change. Buck likes you the way you are, and if its good enough for him, its good enough for me."

She smirked a little at the memory of Steve. He was so straight laced when she had first met him, but overtime it was like she had corrupted him just a little bit. Well, maybe she and Tony had corrupted him a little bit, with some input from Natasha.

Lex felt a little sadness enter her heart at the thought of the three Avengers who were now gone. While there was no real friendship between Lex and Tony Stark, they had been through a lot together over an 8-year period, both good and bad. Mostly bad.

And Natasha, she was like the bossy little sister she had never had. A Black Widow, just like her, without the psychotic tendencies, albeit.

Lex took a deep breath, shaking her head and standing up straight, before setting to work on getting herself ready for Sharon's 'viewing' as she called it.

Once she was dressed in a form fitting, mid-length black dress with spaghetti straps and V-cut across her bust, with matching black Louboutin heels that Sharon had loaned her, she attacked her face with make-up, also provided by Sharon and sorted out her hair so it hung loose in sleek waves over her right shoulder.

Finally satisfied that she was appropriate for one of these famous 'viewings' she had heard so much about, she exited the bathroom, walking down to the living area where she knew everyone else was gathering.

Bucky was also showered and changed into a black suit, with a black leather lapel and matching pants. He looked up as Lex walked in, his eyes roving from her feet to her eyes, his gaze locking onto hers as she entered the room, and he was quick to stand. She couldn't help but smirk, you could take the boy out of the 40s, but you couldn't take the 40s out of the man.

"Hey," he greeted, still not taking his eyes from hers but offering her a small smile, although she got the feeling he really wanted to look her up and down some more. She offered him a smile in return, feeling somewhat bashful and self-conscious suddenly.

Sam turned to look at her as she entered too. He was currently shirtless, going through a wardrobe of men's jackets and other clothing. She raised her eyebrows as she took in his physique, which was very pleasing to the eye. Sam was fit, as expected of someone who flew around with wings attached to his back pulling off maneuvers at Mach 3, possibly even more.

Sam's eyebrows also raised, and he offered her a slight smirk. "Looking good, Lex. How's a lady like you not claimed yet?" He glanced around the wardrobe at Bucky, who glared back at him in response.

"I dunno," Lex replied with a shrug as she moved further into the room, taking a seat in a spare armchair, not far from Zemo who was also considering her from the bar in the corner of the room. "Could be the aggressive nature, or the often-psychotic tendencies. That and leaving the bra hanging in the shower is definitely a deal breaker."

Sam chuckled, and Lex didn't miss the pointed sideways glance he made towards Bucky. She also glanced back at Bucky, noting he was still standing up, but his fists were clenched. Apparently, neither did Zemo.

"A man would be lucky to have you, or crazy," Zemo commented raising his glass and smiling knowingly. Bucky glared at him too, and for a moment, Lex thought she might actually have to jump up to protect Zemo from Bucky's wrath.

Sharon strode into the room, completely oblivious to the current tension of the room, seeing Lex seated and watching Bucky. "Wow, Lex, I thought you scrubbed up alright before, but wow. You Widows are really something else."

Lex winked at Sharon, watching in the corner of her eye as Bucky finally sat down, still looking cranky but seemingly thinking better of lashing out. "Thanks for the loan, having good dressings certainly helps with the scrubbing."

"Oh, I highly doubt that. Stand up, show me what you got," Sharon asked, standing behind the lounge Bucky was seated on. Lex did as she was asked, standing and twirling before stopping with a hand on her hip and a grin on her face. "Stunning."

Bucky was leaning forward on the couch, still looking at her. She locked eyes with him and looked at him expectantly. "What she said." He offered her a cheeky grin and she couldn't help but feel like her heart skipped a whole beat for a second. She gave a small smile back and sat back down as Sharon turned her attention back to Sam who was appraising a jacket and shirt from the closet.

"Much better," she said pointedly as she walked past him.

Sam looked to Lex with raised eyebrows as he pulled them down from the rack. She offered a slight nod but didn't say anything else, still watching Bucky in the corner of her eye. He was still broody on the couch.

Sam moved away to finish dressing, looking to Sharon. "What's going on, Sharon? You don't ever wanna come back home?"

She sighed, leaning against a desk as she watched him dress. "They'll lock me up if I step foot back in the States. Madripoor doesn't allow extradition." The explanation was enough for Lex and she offered a sympathetic smile to Sharon as she glanced over to her. She noted the subtle clench of Sharon's jaw as she accepted the smile before she looked away. Lex narrowed her eyes slightly. Sharon wasn't being entirely truthful, the clenching of the jaw a common tell for many people when they lied. It was something the Widows were rigorously trained out of while in the Red Room. Lex had endured many a beating in the process.

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't call, but after The Blip and the chaos, I just…" Sam began trying to explain, but Sharon was quick to cut him off.

"Look, you know the whole hero thing is a joke, right? The way you gave up that shield, deep down, you must know it's all hypocrisy," she ground out, looking at Sam with an annoyed expression.

"He knows. And not so deep down," Zemo responded swirling the whiskey in his glass as he stood beside the bar, before Sam could even get a word in edgeways. Lex looked at him warningly, although she didn't intercede, curious as to where Sharon was going with her opinion.

"By the way, how is the new Cap?" Sharon asked, looking at Bucky where he sat on the lounge.

"Don't get me started," Bucky grumbled, making Lex chuckle to herself. She had never really seen Bucky despise someone as much as he seemed to despise Walker.

"Please," Sharon retorted with a smirk on her face as she walked around the lounge and plonked herself down beside him. "You buy into all that stars and stripes bullshit." Everyone stared at her in bewilderment as she grinned at Bucky with a hint of mischief in her eyes. She pointed at Zemo. "Before you were his pet psychopath, you were Mr. America! Cap's best friend."

Sam, Bucky and Lex all looked at each other, before looking back at Sharon. "Wow. She's kind of awful now," Bucky commented, making Sharon smirk and chuckle to herself.

"I like her," Lex commented, grinning as she leaned back in the armchair, crossing her legs. She didn't miss Bucky's eyes drifting down her legs but ignored him all the same as she watched Sharon. Something wasn't quite right with her, aside from the obvious being spurned by her nation, possibly even being ditched by Steve Rogers for her aunt, but it seemed to Lex like she was hiding something.

Sam finished dressing, moving to sit on an armchair across from the couch Sharon and Bucky were seated. "Karli Morgenthau and at least seven others have taken the serum."

Sharon sighed, turning herself so she was facing Sam fully. "You guys really should steer clear of all of this for your own safety."

Sam shook his head, glancing at Lex and Bucky. "We know it's a risk, but we won't leave until we find the one who cracked the code."

"We got a name. Wilfred Nagel," Bucky explained.

Sharon's eyebrows raised and she looked at Bucky, as if she was trying to read his expression. She finally spoke again, getting back to her feet. "Nagel works for the Power Broker." She moved to the bar, Zemo moving aside as she fixed herself a drink. She raised an eyebrow to Lex, motioning to the bar and to Sam's surprise, Lex shook her head. He frowned slightly, finding it strange that Lex didn't accept the drink from Sharon, especially since alcohol had no effect on her whatsoever. He would have to ask her about that later.

He hadn't missed the way Lex's eyes followed Sharon around the room, as if she was trying to read the blonde. They were curious. He had learnt long ago to trust Lex's judgement, but he wasn't sure why she was so curious of their former colleague.

He turned back to look at Sharon. "We need your help, Sharon. I can get your name cleared."

She scoffed. "You haggling with my life?"

Sam looked at her pointedly, before shaking his head. "Not like that."

"I don't buy that." Sharon finished prepping her drink, before pulling out a chair from a nearby table. "You pretending like you can clear my name."

Sam leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and locking eyes with Sharon. "Okay, maybe it is hypocrisy. Maybe you're right." He stood up and walked across the room, moving to stand in front of her. "What happened to you. But I'm willing to try if you are." He pointed back to Bucky and then gestured to Lex. "They cleared the bionic staring machine, and he killed almost everybody he's met. They were willing to grant Super Black Widow clemency too, and she's proven to have killer looks and killer accuracy too."

"I heard that."

"Hey!"

Bucky and Lex both looked at him in annoyance, grumbling.

Sharon looked away to the floor before speaking again. "I don't trust charity," Sharon sighed.

Sam considered her for a moment, folding his arms across his chest. "All right, a deal then. You help us out, and I get your name cleared." He held out a hand for her to shake. The ball was in her court now.

She looked at his hand for a moment, before glancing across to Lex. He noticed her gaze didn't linger there and she looked back at his hand. She exhaled, before taking his hand.

She stood up, finishing the rest of her drink and moving to leave the room. "Well, I sell to some pretty connected people. Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party." She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, looking back to the group with a warning expression. "Try to stay outta trouble. I'll see what I can find."

Zemo grinned as she walked up the stairs, looking across at Lex. "Trouble."

Lex chuckled quietly, uncrossing her legs and standing up as well, her long legs taking the weight of her body as she strode to the bar to pour her own drink. Sam quickly moved to join her.

"Care to explain that?" Sam murmured, grabbing a glass for himself.

"Explain what?" she asked, seeming confused and looking at him with a raised eyebrow as she grabbed one of the decanters on the bar and opened it.

"You didn't take your eyes off Sharon," Sam answered.

Lex gave a little shrug, but didn't answer, pouring the brown liquid into both of their glasses. "Just nice to see another friendly face, I guess." She was remaining tight lipped. He frowned as she lifted her glass to her lips, winking at him as she turned and walked away.

Bucky, Sam, Lex and Zemo walked back through Sharon's house to the entrance hall where there was the sound of extremely loud and upbeat music playing. Zemo stopped at a nearby cloak room, Lex stopping too, in order to keep him in her sights. He removed his long fur-lined overcoat and hung it on a spare clothes hanger, then turned and motioned for her to walk ahead.

She looked at him pointedly, shaking her head and motioning for him to follow Bucky and Sam. He grimaced slightly but did as he was told.

Sam and Bucky pushed open the door to the entrance hall, the music blaring loudly around them as they entered the room. Lex had heard about the parties or 'viewings' as Sharon had called them. The entrance hall was filled with people, everyone dancing, drinking and having a good time amongst the million dollar works of art.

"She said it was a viewing…" Sam shouted, looking back at Lex.

"Well, they're looking at art, aren't they?" Lex responded with a grin. Bucky looked across to her, looking slightly bewildered as they walked further into the entrance hall, carefully picking their way through the crowded room.

She offered him a sympathetic smile, before hooking her arm through his and moving closer towards him. "Come on." She nodded to Sam and Zemo, Sam looking concerned, before leading Bucky to a side door. They entered what appeared to be a small courtyard, the warm and moist air knocking the breath from them for a hot minute.

She moved to release his arm, but Bucky held onto her. "Thanks," he said, putting his other hand on top of her arm to stop her from removing it. Lex offered him another small smile, letting him lead her further into the courtyard.

They looked up, seeing a clear skylight above them that showed the stars above.

"Not as nice as the sky in Wakanda," Lex commented, thinking back to the clear skies above the African nation.

"The company is nice though," he replied, not taking his eyes from the sky.

She felt her cheeks heat at his words but didn't look at him. There was a wall between them, a topic that Bucky no doubt wanted to discuss. She just didn't know whether she should broach the subject or wait for him to do it when he was ready.

Lex pressed her lips into a thin line, tightening her grip on Bucky to bring him to a stop. He finally looked back at her. "You want to talk about it?"

He licked his bottom lip in the same way that always made her want to put her lips to his, but she controlled the urge. "Yeah…" She didn't speak, waiting for him to ask his first question. "Why?"

"Which part?"

"Why didn't you take it?"

She sighed. That was the lesser of two evils. "Honestly, seeing a shrink, being tracked, on call by the US. Can't say it really appealed to me."

"But the alternative…"

"I'm used to the alternative," she cut him off, stopping and removing her hand from his arm. "That was my life. I still didn't have to answer to anybody, even if I did have to keep my head low. And I was doing the same before you two came in with your crazy ass rock show." She was starting to feel like she was losing control of some pent-up frustration, which was never a good thing.

She took a deep breath, stepping away from Bucky to try and calm down. She looked up at him to see him looking at her with a tinge of hurt in his eyes. "Please don't puppy dog eye me," she groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry." She frowned as he looked down at his feet, his expression sad. She waited for him to speak again. "Why didn't you tell me? I went to meet you like we had planned but you never showed."

He looked back up at her and she bit her bottom lip, thinking carefully of how to answer him. She motioned for them to sit on a nearby bench.

"When they tabled the offer, I asked them whether they had offered you the same thing. When they said they had, I knew you would take it. You had to. You had a normal childhood, you'd grown up with Steve, you got to enjoy school, and everything civilized. You knew what you had been missing out on, and what you wanted to go back to, and for so long, your mind wasn't your own to control." She took a deep breath, remembering the moments in the interview room with the government officials. "You would want your freedom again, even if it came with conditions. I didn't like those conditions, I can't follow orders, and god forbid, there is no way I would want a psych in my head, and I've never been under someone else's control lest for the Red Room."

Bucky sucked in a sharp breath at the mention of the Red Room, and Lex couldn't help but raise her eyebrows at him. He was quick to look back to the ground, Lex noticing as he swallowed thickly. "But why didn't you tell me, why didn't you meet me like we had planned?"

She offered him a sad smile. "I really wanted to. I wanted to see you, but I was also worried that if I told you, you'd back out of your deal and follow me. I couldn't have you do that. You've been through so much against your will, you deserved some freedom." She looked down and placed a hand on his which was resting on his leg. "I'm sorry."

His warm fingers wrapped around her hand and squeezed. She felt her heart rate increase and she raised her head to lock eyes with Bucky. "I get it, but you could have texted me at least," he said quietly.

This made her laugh a little and she shook her head, making Bucky frown at her. "Bucky, Bucky, Bucky…I know exactly how skilled you are. If I had so much as thought to reply to any of your text messages you would have found a way to track me and probably come chasing after me."

She looked at him pointedly and he quickly looked away, pulling her hand closer to his lap, running his thumb over her knuckles softly, a small smirk appearing on his lips. "Maybe." Lex scooted a little closer to make her arm more comfortable. "I just feel like there's a wall between us now."

Lex pursed her lips. She knew what he meant. It was like she was on eggshells whenever she was around him. Every unintentional touch made her jump, every intentional touch had her heart racing, like it was now. She was surprised the extra component in her blood hadn't activated with how much her adrenaline was pumping. Yet, she hadn't been able to talk to him about them up until now, they had just avoided the subject, and possibly even each other where possible.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, Bucky. I don't blame you if you're angry, I just want you to know I did it for your own good." She moved to stand up, trying to pull her hand away, but Bucky didn't release her and Lex looked at him expectantly.

"I'm not angry." He kept hold of her hand and also stood, facing her and pulling her close. "I get it. You thought you were doing the right thing. Thank you."

She stared at Bucky in surprise. "I guess I should have given you more credit."

Bucky chuckled, pulling her hand up to his chest. The sound of his low and rumbly laugh elicited goosebumps all over her skin and she prayed that he didn't notice that he had that effect on her. "Just so you know, everything I said to you before, still stands."

Lex was having a hard time focusing on what Bucky was saying, her attention drawn to his hand as it held her hand against his chest. She tried to recall what he had said to her previously.

"Don't worry, WE are going to be fine."

He had said that to her after a much older Steve had appeared at the lake after they had said their goodbyes to him when he went to return the Infinity Stones to their own timelines. After she had voiced her concerns about what she was going to do without a purpose in her life as she had experienced in the 8 or so years before.

She stared into his eyes and licked her lips, daunted by the emotion he was looking at her with. It was overwhelming after all the guilt she had felt for the last few months. He pulled her closer to him and used his left arm to hold her close to his body, the cold of the vibranium arm seeping through the material of her dress, but it did nothing to cool her suddenly warm body.

Bucky seemed to smirk slightly, and she wondered if he could read her mind, as he moved forward, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "We can talk about this more another time. We should head inside."

She nodded sheepishly, unable to really say anything. It wasn't often she was rendered speechless, but Bucky seemed really good at shutting her up.

Sam walked through the hall, where there had to be hundreds of people moving and dancing to the music. He was stunned that Sharon would have so many people in there, with drinks so close to multimillion dollar art works.

He had watched as Lex had led Bucky away, it was about time those two got whatever had come between them out into the open. He kind of wished he could be privy to the conversation, but he knew they would both tell him when they were ready.

Zemo had veered off to his left and Sam was careful to keep a close eye on him. He was currently dancing away in a corner with a group of women around him. He had to have a chuckle, his moves were the epitome of 'Dad Dancing' if ever there was one.

It had been twenty minutes since they had arrived at the hall, when he saw Lex and Bucky re-enter the hall, Bucky pulling her along by the hand, making Sam smirk slightly. This was progress.

They stopped in front of him, Bucky pushing Lex in front of him and earning him a frown of annoyance. Sam understood Bucky's intentions. They were in a crowded hall, with loud music and lots of alcohol, he just wanted to make sure that Lex was somewhere he could see and keep an eye on her.

"Hey, you two sort it out?" Sam asked, looking expectantly between the pair.

"Mind your business, Sam," Bucky shouted over the music, glaring at Sam.

Lex only rolled her eyes in response. That was the closest to a yes he was going to get out of them today.

"Check him out." Sam gestured to Zemo dancing over by the painting he had googled on the first arrival to Sharon's home. Lex and Bucky looked past him both raising their eyebrows as they watched Zemo dance.

"They should add more time to his sentence for those dance moves alone, wow," Lex replied with a chuckle before she began to walk towards Zemo.

Sam couldn't help but cringe, but didn't move to stop Zemo, while Lex slowly picked her way through the crowd towards him as a woman seemed to encroach very close to the Baron. He watched as she slid her way easily between the two, looking pointedly at the woman with an icy glare that made even his blood run cold and seemed more than enough to scare the woman away. She then turned to Zemo, motioning for him to join them by the bar.

Zemo strode over, looking unperturbed by Lex's intervention. "Did you two have a nice dalliance?" he asked as he stopped beside Sam, who was quick to elbow him.

"Shut up," Bucky and Lex sneered in unison, although Sam could easily spot the pink on Lex's cheeks. He was mildly surprised that the crimson tinge was nowhere to be seen on Bucky's face. Apparently, he had easily come to terms with whatever had happened between the two a lot faster than she had. For all the confidence Lex exuded, it seemed some things she wasn't as comfortable with.

Zemo held his hands up in surrender, although Sam could see the slight smirk on his face, even in the intermittent flashing lights of the hall.

They heard Sharon call them from behind. "Hey, guys. I found him."

Sam looked at Bucky with raised eyebrows. "Here we go."

xo

Krayzee