Chapter Text
Zemo had seen the change in James long before Alexander had. It was their fault for Bucky acting out and rebelling against them, and, if anything, Zemo was happy that James was finally finding his path and footing; that James was deciding that ‘enough was enough’…even if it meant that Zemo took on more punishments again. The thing was, Zemo was protective of James since they had witnessed the fallout of two best friends, when Steve Rogers’ health improved and joined the football team.
For some time, Zemo had been Pierce’s plaything, back when Zemo’s father held a party for government officials and introduced Zemo to the Pierce family. He'd been pulled aside, after the party, to make friends with the boy his age, and told to do whatever was necessary to keep that pathway of connections open for his father. Zemo complied like a perfect soldier, following his father’s orders and Pierce’s as well. Pierce clearly ran the show, and, when Zemo had had enough…Alexander had provided documents and photographic proof that would get Zemo’s father in trouble. It wasn’t that Zemo didn’t know what his family did for SHIELD—really Hydra in disguise from way back during World War II—but the last thing he wanted was it to be aired out for the world to see; for their reputation to be ruined back in their home country of Sokovia or his father to go to prison.
Zemo didn’t have a choice to say ‘no’ to anything that Pierce had wanted. Pierce wanted James? Then that is what he got. Of course, they had gotten extremely lucky from the golden opportunity that they’d accidentally stumbled upon. Once Steve’s health had improved, thanks to Stark technology and research, Pierce took control of one Brock Rumlow and his entire team of jocks. It was Pierce’s behind the scenes micromanaging that caused the separation of friends and allowed Zemo and Pierce to have James. Then, when Brock reported over the recent summer that Steve seemed a little less enthused about being a part of the team, Pierce had come up with another plan.
Being in control of James, Pierce and Zemo knew where he lived and who lived just down the hall from him; they’d known since the very beginning, wanting to be aware of every aspect of James’ life, even down to what school James’ little sister went to, and where his mother worked. They knew that if Steve was having some trouble focusing on football and his team that it had to be because of James. Pierce had seen red for two weeks before the break-in that Brock, Jack, and a few others had performed for them.
The break-in had been to scare James and the residents in the building, but it had also been a way for them to create a situation for the building to install security cameras in their hallways for Zemo to highjack. It provided a way for them to keep an eye on James and Steve. While Zemo and Pierce knew about the private security system that James’ mother had installed, they hadn’t informed Brock and his team. The last thing Pierce and Zemo wanted was for their chess pieces to rough up the apartment and actually steal something, let alone get caught because it was a apartment and not a house, which meant that it was easier to get caught.
To listen to James tell them about the break-in without showing any compassion, well…Zemo hadn’t anticipated that move. He’d been prepared to do what they’d always done for James, but Pierce was still mad with thoughts about Steve and James reconnecting, when Zemo believed that that hadn’t happened, and reacted flippantly. The reason that Zemo believed that there was nothing was going on was because, for one, James knew better, and two…Steve’s and James’ friendship had been non-existent for years. Zemo had seen how much James resented Steve for abandoning him and continuing to stand by while Brock bullied James; it was another form of Zemo and Pierce keeping James in line. Even if Steve were to apologize to James, Zemo doubted that James would let that happen…
Except, Zemo had been proven wrong.
Pierce’s change in tactics had only pushed James to make excuses about his mother needing him to be home for his sister or to help out. After the break-in, their time during the summer with James had reduced, but Pierce got worse. Pierce suggested an intimate evening with James before the school year started, jerking each other off in Zemo’s room that had been outfitted with some things better suited for a sex dungeon of sorts; for their scenes they liked to do. A mistake because after that James had avoided them more, even the first day…James had been fraternizing with Clint, Natasha, and Steve…
Then, Peter Parker was added to the mix, someone that Zemo had only known to be kind, sweet, and innocent; who had lost his parents when he’d been young, and had been living with his Aunt and Uncle…only for Peter’s Uncle to die as well. Despite having grown fond and attached to James, Zemo couldn’t help but feel warmth for James wanting to seek out better company his senior year, even if it meant that Zemo had to take the brunt of the punishment from Pierce for not handling James properly. Because, if James was straying and rebelling, then it had to be Zemo’s fault for not being a good friend and owner; there was no other reason.
It was when they were in the Principal’s office—which Pierce also blamed Zemo for them getting detention as well—that Zemo came to the decision that he needed to let James know, in some way, that Zemo wanted to help. So, Zemo changed how he worded things to James when they pulled the boy aside between classes…and again, when they were in Zemo’s room for punishment on Wednesday.
When James had left after the punishment, wearing his new things he’d been bought, Pierce had tied Zemo down and given him a go at the fucking machine with the tentacle dildo. Zemo had been reduced to whimpers and gasps as Pierce reminded him of what all he had on Zemo’s father, and Zemo himself, if Zemo was cooking something up; reminded him of his true place if Zemo seemed intent to act and talk how he had been to Pierce when around James. It meant that Pierce had caught on to Zemo’s attempts to lessen punishment and overall treatment of James, as well as picked up on that there might have been something more that Zemo had been trying to do.
The thing was, Zemo had a contingency plan in place that would not only help James when Zemo couldn’t, but to also work behind the scenes for Zemo’s own purposes with the blackmail that Pierce had on him. He’d enlisted Wade Wilson near the end of Junior year to stir things up with Clint and Natasha—two friends that Zemo had known to have shared James in their bed for a time, without Pierce being aware—to work on formulating a plan to enact when Senior year started. All was going well, based on the food fight in the cafeteria, and the footage on the security camera that Zemo was currently watching. He watched as Steve knocked on James’ door, then stormed in with determination…only…Steve never emerged as the hours went on. Alexander had seen the footage after he’d showered and noticed Zemo at the computer, and, because Steve never left the longer they watched it, the angrier the man got.
When morning came, Pierce and Zemo were driven to wait directly outside the building James lived in, so that they could give him a ride to school and implement Zemo’s plan of showing a united front as boyfriends. However, another glance at the security footage told them that Steve didn’t leave James’ apartment until that morning, wearing the same clothes, and looking sleep ruffled as he went back to his home before returning to James’. Steve and James never came out the front door, when they left for school, and Zemo received a painful punch to his ribs on the right side for that. Internally, Zemo was impressed at the lengths that James was going to escape them, and he hoped that it meant that his secondary plan through Wade was in full swing.
Oeznik drove them to school, and, when they got there, it didn’t take long for them to know when James and Steve arrived. The entire student body was gossiping about how they were together, holding hands, and hanging out with Clint and Natasha…then there was more news about James and Steve being seen with Peter and Peter’s own friends. The great thing about school was that it gave Zemo a small reprieve as Pierce hunted down Brock to take out his anger on them during lunch, which, Zemo admitted, was a little pleasing to see as Brock whimpered and promised that he’d fix it; that Brock would make Steve listen.
There was only one time that Zemo and Pierce had crossed paths with James, and it had been when he’d been with his new protective group of friends. Zemo tried not to show that he was glad to witness it or show his want to wince when someone had bumped against Zemo’s right side, making the punch he’d received to his ribs earlier ache. The pièce de résistance came when the school day ended, and Zemo and Pierce watched the group gather for future plans for the rest of the evening, while Pierce received a screaming text from Brock about how the jock had just found out that Steve had quit the team during lunch.
What Zemo hadn’t expected was to be spotted by Natasha Romanoff from across the way, and he certainly wasn’t prepared for the calculating and considering look she was giving him. Swallowing, Zemo blinked and turned his gaze from her to prevent her from peering into his soul for answers that he didn’t want to reveal yet…or ever, if he could get away with it. He hoped that Wade hadn’t said anything to her, but Zemo had paid extra for the overly talkative guy to keep his mouth shut and have some discretion. He made a mental note to check in on Wade for updates on their progress when Zemo got home from school.
“Are you listening to me?” Pierce asked.
Zemo raised a brow. “You are infuriated.”
“About?”
“Rumlow not securing Rogers and about what we have witnessed this day.”
Pierce stared at Zemo, desperately wanting to catch him on not being attentive, but it was exactly what Pierce had been talking about. His eyes moved back to the gang, and Zemo followed the line of sight to find group splitting off into smaller portions: Ned and Clint, Natasha and Michelle, and, finally…Steve, James, and Peter.
“We need to follow them,” Pierce stated.
Zemo held up a hand to signal Pierce to pause for a moment. “Not yet. We have the tracker in his phone we can follow, and they are heading in the direction of James’ apartment building. If we follow, they will know our vehicle.”
“Then we follow on foot, from a distance. I’m not letting them out of my sight.”
Zemo stepped in front of Pierce then. “What do you plan to do when we find they have gone to his home? Or to Steve’s? Hm?” Zemo offered. “Even if we went, there are three of them, and two of us. We have already lost our pet, do you think he would turn on them so willingly just because we arrived at the safety of his place of living? No.” Zemo shook his head. “We will watch from afar, with our methods we have in place, and, if you still wish for another set of eyes in our blind spots, send Rumlow and his team to stake out the place as a redeeming gesture.”
Zemo remained as expressionless as possible when Pierce narrowed his eyes at Zemo, trying to figure Zemo out. Unlike with Natasha, Zemo held the contact, knowing that he could hide his schemes and thoughts from the man like he’d been doing for years. Zemo was grateful when Pierce nodded and tapped his phone to light it up and begin a text to Brock, giving the jock his orders.
Once done, Pierce pocketed his phone and brushed past Zemo to head to Oeznik waiting for them on the curb. “What did you tell them?” Zemo asked.
“I said that if they wanted to keep their dirty laundry from coming out and getting kicked off the team, or worse, they will head to Barnes’ apartment after football practice and stay there until Peter Parker comes out,” Pierce replied.
A hint of fear grabbed hold of Zemo’s heart. “Why then?”
Opening the door and pausing before he was going to slide onto the seat of the stretched town car, Pierce smiled dangerously at Zemo. “They should really help the poor boy home. James lives in a rough part of town.”
Zemo watched Pierce get into the car, and, though he didn’t know Peter well, he did have an AP class with him, so he gathered that the boy was brilliant; promising and sweet. He could see why James had a sudden infatuation with Peter, and, while Zemo had hurt people before, he wasn’t sure he was willing to justify hurting someone like Mr. Parker; like in the way that Pierce was insinuating Brock and the team were going to do. Before he got into the car with Pierce, Zemo already began to adjust his plan to contact Wade for more than just an update…it appeared that Peter needed a true chaperone after all, and not the kind that Pierce was suggesting.
*
When they arrived at his home, Zemo had excused himself to go to the restroom, leaving Pierce to do what he usually did: get food, hang out in Zemo’s room, and sit on Zemo’s bed to wait…maybe even peruse any new artwork that Zemo’s family had bought and placed around the home that they didn’t know about. While he did have to use the restroom, Zemo knew that he needed to make his phone call first. Thankfully, his father made sure that practically every room was soundproofed, because the man didn’t trust anyone to overhear any sensitive conversations by anyone; especially, Zemo and Zemo’s mother…for their own protection, of course.
Locking the door, he dialed Wade and placed the cell to his ear; Zemo idly tapped his fingers against his thigh as he stared at himself in the mirror.
“What’s up mousy poo?” Wade answered.
“Do not call me that,” Zemo replied.
“Would you prefer backdoor lover? How about my little eggplant emoji, because you love purple and—”
“Wade,” Zemo interrupted.
“Yep?”
Zemo turned away from the mirror and rested his hips against the edge of the counter of the sink. “Status report.”
He could hear Wade listening to Celine Dion in the background before some shuffling happened, and whispered words of “Soon”, which made Zemo wonder if the guy was even alone…then a squeak like what was in a plushie toy sounded after. Maybe Wade had a pet?
“Alrighty roo, well, we’ve come up with a system to watch over moody Buckster, until we can find out how to stop you guys. Oh! It was mentioned that you are in need of a little saving from the big bad wolf. Is that so Rapunzel?” Wade remarked.
Zemo sighed. “Those are two very different fairytales.”
This was what he’d wanted, right? Was help James to get away from them, as well as get help for himself to get out from under Pierce? He’d just assumed that Wade would find a way on his own, but he hadn’t expected for the rag tag group of friends to see his own struggle. Sure, Zemo had been silently trying to communicate to James that he was trying to assist in saving James from Pierce’s wrath…Had Zemo alluded to more than what he’d meant to?
‘Who knows? Perhaps it will work out better this way,’ Zemo thought as he added, “You already know what needs to be done for myself.”
“Yep. Gotta wipe out all the fucking blackmail Sir Shithead has on you, just didn’t know that it went deeper than that,” Wade said.
“Does it matter?”
Wade hummed, then said, “Not really.”
“So, in summary…” Zemo prompted.
“Right, in summary, everything is going according to plan and things should be taken care of by the end of next week.”
Zemo nodded, inhaling deeply before he exhaled. “There has been a turn of events that might prolong the end result, I’m afraid. Alexander has become more volatile with the discovery of James’ new circle of friends. Speaking of, two thousand dollars will be wired to your account to pay for what I need you to do now. I believe you know of a Mr. Peter Parker.”
“Ah, yes, sweet Petey Pie…” Wade voiced wistfully.
“Well, he will need some protection from some attack dogs on his way home from James’ apartment, whenever that may be,” Zemo spoke.
There was a long silence before Zemo heard a snap. “Gotcha. You mean small dick Brock and his band of Merry Men. You want me to sit outside and play Batman in the shadows?” Wade’s voice deepened then. “Put the fear of the night into their jock strapped souls.”
“I do not care what you do or how you do it. That is the job I have for you.”
A buzz of a text hit Zemo’s phone, making him pull it away from his face to see that it was from Pierce, who was getting antsy. With a sigh, Zemo responded he was on his way, then put his phone back to his ear.
“Do you understand?” Zemo asked.
“Sir, yes, sir, with all the cum and unicorn sprinkles on top.”
They both said goodbye and hung up, then Zemo quickly took care of business in the bathroom and headed back to his bedroom. He found Pierce glaring with frustration that he couldn’t get past the password to log into Zemo’s computer, which was a relief and provided a slight satisfaction for Zemo.
“Did you fall in?” Pierce questioned.
“My lunch did not agree with me. Apologies,” Zemo responded.
He took up the seat at his desk, and, when Pierce turned around to pace, Zemo logged in and brought up the security footage of the hallway on the floor of James’ apartment building. Not really seeing much, Zemo rewound the footage, where he saw Peter, Steve, and James go into Steve Rogers’ apartment at the end of the hall. There was about 15-20 minutes of time where nothing happened, then James exited and ran to his apartment, looking flushed with his lips kiss swollen. The sight was breathtaking, and Zemo wished he was there to see it up close or be the cause of it, but he squashed that thought the instant that Pierce leaned in over his shoulder. Zemo swore that he could almost hear the squeak and grind of Pierce’s teeth from how hard the guy was clenching them.
When James exited his apartment and locked it, they noticed he had something in his hands that made Pierce yell. “What the fuck is that?! Go back, go back.” Zemo complied. “Freeze, right there!”
Zemo felt immense pity for James then. There was no coming back from what he was about to do—or, based on the timestamp, what the three men in Steve’s apartment were already doing right now—and Pierce was going to make sure that James was severely punished; probably make James scared of his own shadow and everything that moved.
In James’ hands was a bottle of lube and an entire box of condoms.
“That bitch,” Pierce growled. “Fast forward to real time.”
Once the camera was to the time they were at, which had only been 5 minutes after James had returned to Steve’s apartment, Zemo knew that, because it was so recent, it would make Pierce even angrier; all because Pierce had wanted to follow them, and Zemo had talked him out of doing that. Suddenly, hands took hold of Zemo’s desk chair to spin him around and face Pierce. It was like staring at the full force of the sun or standing at the edge of a bubbling volcano seconds from erupting.
“You,” Pierce glared. “Undressed and on your knees.”
Zemo pursed his lips and slowly tracked his eyes down into his own lip at the knowledge that he was going to be punished for his idea, and, also, because James wasn’t there for Pierce to get his hands on. Pierce stepped back from the chair, allowing Zemo to stand up from it. When he went to step forward, removing his shirt as he did so, Zemo stumbled and fell hard onto his hands and knees from Pierce tripping him; Zemo didn’t make a sound, nor cry or let any tears form.
Zemo would take James’ place again and again, many times over, all while he hoped that James experienced loving touches from people who would, hopefully, no longer hurt James like Pierce and Zemo had…like Pierce was about to harm Zemo…