Wings, Metal, and Frost

Lying Is Not Most Fun

Ellie raised her head from her hands to look at Sam. "You have a lot of wisdom for a guy in a bird costume." 

"Hey now, don't start that," Sam laughed. 

Ellie laughed as well and glanced back down at her coffee cup. The ice had now fully melted and she wondered if it was even safe for her to drink. It probably wasn't. She thought about what Sam said about disagreements, that they were normal and it wasn't bad. That notion challenged the fact that every time Ellie got into a disagreement with Henry it ended badly. Ellie scowled at the thought. 

"So what happened back in Madripoor?" Sam asked. Ellie looked up from her watered-down coffee at the abrupt question. "I assume you told Bucky, I mean, why wouldn't you... you did tell him, yeah?"

Ellie gave a half-smile and a quick nod of her head. "Yeah, I told him the basics of what happened. Um..."

Her eyes flicked over to Zemo, who lounged on the couch in the living room. His eyes were closed, signifying that he was resting but Ellie knew that he was listening. Obviously, he was, Zemo was an observer. He observed and he learned and he took in information. Ellie hesitated to share with Sam what went down in the alley when she knew Zemo was listening. She could imagine what he might do with that information, he could use it against her easily, anyone could, but he would make it hurt a lot. Ellie frowned. It already did hurt, what more could he do? Perhaps Zemo already knew that Henry was in Madripoor as the Black Mamba, and he was keeping that a secret from them. Zemo already knew enough about HYDRA, maybe there were files on Henry and his role. Was it a significant role? What was his role? Zemo might have those answers.

She didn't know it at the time, but as she stared at Zemo there was a cold look in her eyes. A deep hatred. The stare was almost comparable to Bucky. Sam wore a face of concern, and he wondered if Zemo had something to do with what happened in Madripoor, but he knew that couldn't be true because Zemo was with him and Bucky the whole time. Zemo could feel the stare on him even as his eyes were closed, they remained shut.

"Ellie, you've got a bad case of Barnes Stare," Sam spoke up.

Ellie blinked and turned back to Sam. Her eyes softened with humor. "You gave it a name?"

"I just came up with it now, pretty good right?" Sam grinned.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear it," Ellie said.

Sam nodded and glanced back at Zemo. "Whatever happened doesn't have to do with him, does it?"

"I don't think so, but maybe he knows a thing or two that can help me," Ellie replied. She looked at Sam and took in a breath. She didn't care if Zemo was listening, there were other things to worry about and he had no power over her. Ellie searched for a way to tell Sam what happened in a way that didn't sound silly. She decided she would have to tell him straight. "In the alley, I was shot by my ex-boyfriend."

Sam's eyes got wide and his eyebrows raised. He leaned back in his seat to process the information that was thrown at him. He whistled a note and glanced down. "Hm." He got out. "That's not what I was expecting."

"Yeah, me neither," Ellie replied. 

"I didn't even know you had an ex-boyfriend, I thought Bucky was the only person you've ever..." Sam began and Ellie shook her head. He struggled to wrap his head around this. "How'd he end up in Madripoor? And how long ago were you two together? I never met the guy, did I?" 

"We dated for two years, I think, when I was a SHIELD agent. We broke up about a year before Steve was found," Ellie explained. "It was a rough end to a rough relationship... It was bad, Sam."

"So bad that he reappeared years later for revenge?" Sam questioned. 

"I have no idea," Ellie shook her head. "He was a SHIELD agent too, he worked with the STRIKE unit, and Brock Rumlow was his Supervising Officer."