Work Text:
He paced, massaging his temples, back and forth like a metronome. Outside was wet and gray, the occasional growl of thunder breaking the steady rush of water hitting the windows. It had been raining for two days. She sat, trying to focus on the words on the page in front of her. “Because, consider, count – if I allowed myself to marry now without having definite means to maintain my wife, I should be acting badly….” Helmut sighed in irritation and her eyes flicked up at him, then back to the page. I should be acting badly…. He flopped down dramatically, making the couch bounce, and she hissed, cradling the beautiful book. “Helmut!” She rebuked him as he dropped his head back to rest on the back of the couch.
“Sorry, sorry,” he groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Everything hurts, it’s this infernal deluge.”
“Take some painkillers, they’re in-”
“I did already, more than recommended,” Zemo interrupted, not opening his eyes.
“…I should be acting badly….” The conversation ended by the count, who-
Helmut stood up again with a growl and resumed counting out the steps from one end of the gallery to the other. She sighed, gently closing the book, and walked out. She made her way to the kitchen, pulling out a clean dish towel and wrapping it around an ice pack. When she returned, he was standing at the window, posture strict, glaring out as if the force of his displeasure could make the rain stop. She sat back down, arranging herself with her back to the arm of the couch and her legs crossed like a pretzel.
“Come.” He turned, squinting at her in confusion. She pulled a pillow onto her lap, smoothing it out, and patted it. “If you’re not going to let me read, you could at least let me do something about your headache.”
With one last searing look out the window at the gray sky, Helmut came over and sat down. “You don’t have to-”
“Would you just lie down already?” She gave him a look, and with a sour and long-suffering expression on his face, he gingerly arranged himself on the couch, laying his head in her lap. “I don’t bite outside of the bedroom,” she said in response to his suspicious stare, and despite himself, he smiled.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?” Zemo asked, accepting the ice pack. “Your back will hurt.”
“I will survive. Now be quiet and put that on your eyes.” He did as he was told.
She started gently, making little circles over his temples with just her fingertips, then adding a bit more pressure, expanded the area a bit. She could see him relaxing, bit by bit, his breathing slowing down. Leaving the ice pack over his eyes, Helmut rested his hands on his stomach.
“Is it working?”
“Hmm,” he responded, making her chuckle. “It still hurts in the front,” Zemo said hopefully, and took the ice pack from her when she handed it to him. His eyes smiled up at her, and she pursed her lips to avoid smiling back.
“You big baby.”
“You have magic hands.” His eyes fluttered shut as she lightly smoothed her fingertips down between his eyebrows. She gently massaged the bridge of his nose, her left hand joining her right as she moved outwards over his forehead. Taking a breath, she began to hum quietly, returning to his temples to start the process again. His hair was soft, and she soon got distracted, running her fingers through the strands. “Do you know the words?” he asked quietly without opening his eyes. She took a breath.
“Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There's a land that I heard of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.”
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
She continued quietly, gaze drifting to the window, where the rain made it seem as though the world was melting. The thunder had stopped, and the rain slowed to a light tapping, making her feel sleepy. Her hands smoothed through Helmut’s hair absentmindedly as she got lost in thought, humming the tune.
She was pulled out of her reverie by a light snore. Looking down, she found that Helmut had fallen asleep in her lap, and she smiled in amusement. He looked so much softer in sleep. All the tension in his face smoothed over, making him seem younger, more at peace. Helmut was adorable, though he’d be very cross if she ever said so to his face. She remembered how he used to be, before, when they were both a decade younger, when his family was alive. A decade before that, when she was little, and he’d help her brother play pranks on her, and then help her prank her brother in return. She’d known him as long as she could remember, though the way she looked at him now was still new.
Her feet were losing circulation, and her knees probably wouldn’t be the same for days, but she couldn’t bring herself to wake him. With a sigh, she leaned her head sideways onto the back of the couch, knowing that her neck and back wouldn’t thank her later, and the movement of her hand slowed as her eyes, impossibly heavy, finally fell shut to the sound of raindrops hitting the windows.