The heavy rain made the early-night sky pitch-black, the stars and moon hidden by heavy clouds, and the only source of light was the few street lamps and a flash of lightning that crossed the sky from time to time. Zemo was shivering with cold, his lips were almost blue as his hands were cold inside the leather gloves. He had been running in the rain for a long time, wanting to escape the storm and strong wind, and his legs began to weaken. He rubbed a hand over his face to get the water off his lashes, locking his jaw so his teeth would stop chattering, and he could feel the beginnings of a fever building next to a possibly stuffy nose. Thick drops of rain seeped through his fine clothes and coat and penetrated the icy skin, making the baron's teeth chatter as he hurried to the safe house, his hair plastered to his face and the gusty wind pushed the icy rain against his cheeks red with cold. Zemo hurried up the few steps that led to the door, but before he could even get his trembling hands to the wood, the door opened and a warm body crashed into the baron, causing him to lose his balance and fall back. He was held in strong arms and pulled against a broad, warm chest, and Zemo just wanted to bury himself there and wait for the cold to pass, but he was soon pushed away.
“Zemo! Where did you go? You're almost two hours late, we were worried!”- Sam's voice was loud as he shook the baron slightly, who was standing there just looking at the chocolate colored eyes. Just then Sam noticed Zemo's state, widening his eyes when he felt the other man's icy skin and pulling him into the house. - “Heavens, you 're soaked! Bucky, get down here! Zemo is back.”
Bucky ran down the stairs and stood there in the middle of the room seeing the other man's condition. He soon helped Sam pull him inside and remove Zemo's completely soaked coat, letting it fall to the ground. Sam put a hand to Zemo's forehead and was startled when the Baron sneezed thinly, looking like a kitten, drawing a smile from Bucky.
“He's freezing and hot at the same time, I think he's starting to have a fever. I'll make him something hot to eat."- Sam said as he pushed a bent-over Zemo into Bucky's arms and pulled his own wet shirt over his head and walked to the kitchen. -"Meanwhile you give him a hot bath to ward off the cold."
Bucky turned his head with a 'what?' face, but Sam had already put on his apron and started pulling ingredients from the fridge. Bucky sighed and started to lead Zemo to the stairs, but the Baron could only shiver and looked a little weak. Without thinking too much, Bucky pulled Zemo into his arms in bridal position and began to carry him by running up the stairs and into the large bathroom. He sat Zemo on a marble bench as he filled the tub with hot water, then walked back to the huddled baron. Kneeling in the non-cold, he untied the other man's boots, tossing them aside along with sodden socks; he soon pulled the shirt glued to Zemo's chest , trying to pull it away from the damp skin and then also throwing it on the floor after some effort. Zemo tried to unbutton his pants, but his fingers were frozen and a pained moan left his throat when he felt incapable of such a simple action .
“Hey, don't worry. I'll take care of you."- Bucky smiled shyly and began to unbutton and lower the baron's pants, pulling the fabric stuck to the skin. He wondered if he should left the purple boxers, but decided to pull them off and throw them on the floor along with the other items of clothing. Zemo let out an embarrassing groan and tried to cover himself, but Bucky pulled his hands away so he could take him back in his arms and walk to the hot tub.
He placed Zemo on the edge of the tub and turned off the water, measuring the temperature so it wouldn't burn the smaller man's freckled skin. When he was satisfied, he deposited Zemo in the water and felt his neck being gripped by weak but tense arms, but continued to lower the Baron into the water.
“Stay calm, doll. I won't let you sink, you can let go of me now."- Bucky stroked Zemo's hair, his torso bent over the edge of the tub, and waited for Zemo to let go of him slowly. He grabbed the baron and sank him deeper into the water, one hand holding and supporting the back of his head so his head wouldn't be submerged as he knelt on the cold ground. Helmut was in hot water up to his chest and contented sighs left his lips with each wave of water that hit his cold body.
Bucky began to notice that Zemo's once blue lips began to return to their normal pink color, but the rest of his face was still pale.
"I always thought you were so beautiful, James ..."- Zemo whispered with his eyes closed and Bucky choked on his saliva, coughing briefly as he switched from flesh to vibranium on the back of Zemo's neck to keep his grip. He looked at Zemo with wide eyes, but the man was almost asleep in the water. - "Come in with me, James..."
Zemo's long- suffering moan almost convinced the soldier to comply, but the fevered look in Helmut's eyes only had Bucky taking one of the terry towels from a pile and placing it on the edge of the tub, resting Zemo's head on the soft fabric. He sat back with a sigh, and Bucky concentrated on cupping water with his hands cupped and splashing it lightly on the man's head in the tub, wetting his already soaked hair and eliciting satisfied sighs from Zemo as the hot water warmed his scalp.
Soon a hand came out of the water and fingertips touched James' metal arm, drawing his attention; curious, he saw Helmut take his hand in his, slowly examining the black metal plates, before grabbing his wrist and pulling it into the water towards his cock. Bucky pulled his hand away, his face completely red, choking nonsense as Zemo laughed.
"Are you fucking crazy?"- he yelled at Zemo, but stopped when he heard the other's cute laughter. It wasn't like he didn't want to touch the other man like that, and at any other time he would have accepted the silent invitation with enthusiasm, but right now Zemo had a fever and couldn't possibly really consent. Sighing wearily, his face still red, he began to drain the now warm water from the tub, pulling a terry-cloth robe and clean towel over to him.
He started to dry Zemo while still in the bathtub as he was pretty sure the man wouldn't have the strength in his legs to stand upright. After drying him as much as possible, Bucky helped him to his feet and out of the tub, dressing him in the long, fluffy robe.
“I don't need that much assistance, James. I can take care of myself ...” - Zemo's voice was weak and Bucky noticed that his nose was starting to clog, but ignored him and finished tying the garment before taking Zemo in his arms again in bridal style and start walking towards the huge room that Zemo slept in while the baron grunted and tried to free himself, but he didn't have the strength to escape James' grip.
Slowly, lovingly, Bucky lowered Zemo to the bed and pulled back the pillows so the man was half-sitting on the bed and covering him with heavy blankets.
“Ok, stay here. I'll get you some medicine while Sam finishes dinner."- Bucky tried to pull away but had his arm grabbed by Zemo's weak grip, who was looking at him with teary and unfocused eyes. - "Hey, hey! What's it, doll? Are you feeling something, are you in pain?"
Zemo stared at him with rosy cheeks, and James was worried that the possible fever was rising, but Helmut only pulled him weakly closer, his lashes heavy with unshed tears.
"I don't want you to leave me here, I don't want to be alone..."- Bucky's heart broke a little at the declaration, Zemo's voice getting heavy with a Sokovian accent as he swallowed back the tears. James walked over again and stroked Zemo's still wet hair, brushing the wet strands back and moving his fleshy hand to wipe his teary eyes, letting the tears run down his fingers.
“Don't worry, baby doll, I'm not going anywhere. How about I dry your hair for a while?” -Bucky asked gently and Zemo nodded.
The soldier walked to the dressing table and grabbed the dryer and a washcloth, heading back to bed and beginning his work until the Baron's hair was a soft, fuzzy nest, then running his fingers through it to smooth the now dry strands. As he did so, Zemo mumbled in Sokovian and Bucky did his best to understand the muttered words. It sounded Scandinavian, but with a few changes, and the soldier struggled to understand. Zemo mostly grumbled about feeling hot and cold at the same time, that his nose didn't work well and that he wanted James and Sam to kiss him and how he didn't want to be alone. A few minutes later Sam appeared in the room now wearing a dry jumper and holding a covered tray.
He sat on the other side of the bed and Bucky placed another pillow behind Zemo's back to make him more comfortable; Once he was well settled, Sam placed the tray on the sniffling baron's outstretched legs and pulled the lid off, revealing a shallow bowl of chicken broth and a glass of water. Picking up the spoon, he dipped it into the thick broth and blew on it to cool it down a bit and brought the spoon up to Zemo's face, who turned his head to the side, the sudden movement making him let out a pained groan.
"Com'on honey. Open your mouth, I made this soup especially for you…”- Sam tried again, but Zemo turned his face away, throwing a tantrum. He started to speak again, fever inducing his mother tongue as he tried to pull away from his plate.
"I don't want to eat, I'm fine!"- Zemo spoke in Sokovian , which Bucky soon translated for Sam. Sam tried to convince him a little more before taking a deep breath so he wouldn't lose his temper; not even his nephews were so much trouble when they were sick.
“Why don't you want to eat? You spent hours outside, in the cold and rain, just to get some information on our mission. You got it! We already have the data, and you got sick trying to get it. So, please stay still in this bed and let us take care of you, dammit !” - Sam's voice rose a little at the end, as if he were scolding a child and grounding him, and Zemo cringed a little at the firm tone.
"I just don't want to be dead weight and disturb you... you're in my house, I should be taking care of you two, I have to protect you."- Zemo's voice was thick with accent as he spoke in English, making a great effort to do so. The Baron wasn't even sure what he was talking about anymore; he enjoyed the bath and was happy with the attention he got, but he didn't want to appear useless to his partners. - “If I get sick, I'll be useless and I'll have to go back to jail. I don't want to go back there, I want to stay here with you two…please don't leave me.”
Sam's heart sank at that. Zemo was usually so restrained, being able to hide his emotions behind a mask of stoicism and smirk, that it was strange to see him speaking so openly about what he wanted and what fears he had. Sam ran his free hand down the baron's face, caressing the fever-hot cheeks, looking into the unfocused eyes, and cupped the other man's chin.
“You're not dead weight, Zee. You are our partner and we are going to take care of you, we are not going to send you away or anything like that. Now, why don't you try to eat some food, hm?” -Sam's voice became calmer and more contained, and Zemo opened his mouth slowly. Smiling, the man let go of the baron's chin to take the spoon and feed the feverish man. Slowly he put the food into Zemo's mouth, who greedily ate half the soup, then weakly raised a hand to show he was already satisfied.
Sam handed him the glass of water along with a fever pill and a cold pill, then placed the dirty dishes on the floor by the bed while Bucky pulled some pillows off Zemo's back and tucked him in better, still with the head slightly raised to prevent shortness of breath due to a stuffy nose. After covering him, the two men rose to leave the room and let him rest, but a moan stopped them.
“Please don't go. Stay here with me…”- Sokovian flowed from Zemo's heavy tongue as he looked at the two men, who faced each other in silent agreement and walked to the bed. They both kicked off their shoes and Bucky took off his damp jeans from the bath before climbing onto the bed to snuggle up next to Zemo.
The Baron let out a contented sigh before turning and trying to kiss Sam, who moved a little closer to receive the kiss, but was gently pulled back by a metal hand around his chest. Zemo moaned in disgust and tried to reach for Sam's mouth, but James was holding him tightly.
"If you kiss him, you'll make him sick, doll."- Bucky whispered and Zemo began to wriggle in the grip wanting to go towards Sam, who just smiled when he saw his partner's tantrum. Seeing Helmut want to let go, Bucky leaned over and captured the red lips on his own, stroking his warm chest and feeling Zemo's goose bumps as he patted Helmut's open, panting mouth with tender kisses. -”I don't get sick, so you can kiss me freely until you heal; just after that you'll kiss Sam.”
Zemo mumbled some more in Sokovian before the strong medicine started to take effect and he yawned, intertwining his hands with his partners, and smiling as he drifted off to sleep with his mouth open. The other two smiled before settling themselves before falling asleep with the sick baron.