#I wasn't totally sure about the design with the suit and still might mess around with it more

[bonkalore]

Mr. Polaris is actually a political ambassador for the sea to the land dwellers that deals with the Bureau of Magic. He's really good at public relations. It also helps that he is hot af.

He's a bit used to being on land and has his own human glamour as well~

[dragon-kazansky]

Made with love | Helmut Zemo

Chef Zemo AU! 👨‍🍳

Gender neutral reader

Collage by @realremyd

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Part 4

Helmut wiped down the last of the tables. It was just him and Bucky left at the moment. It was closing time. Bucky counted up the money in the till as Zemo made sure every aspect of his restaurant was clean and tidy for tomorrow.

Once everything was accounted for Bucky went home and Zemo locked up. He tugged his coat around him a little tighter and and began the small journey to his home. However, something caught his eye and he stopped to take it in.

Across the square there was a man standing there, looking in his direction. He couldn't quite tell who it was, but he could take a pretty good guess. There had been rumours of the infamous Tony Stark arriving in Sokovia.

Helmut watched him for a moment before turning and leaving. He had no reason to dwell on it right now.

Zemo went home.

When he opens shop again in the morning, he doesn't see the man again. However, he does see you and Wanda walking, arms interlinked, the pair of you laughing and chatting.

He can't stop himself from looking at you.

Yesterday when he brought up how well you would fit in with Sokovia, he was hoping to maybe spark a slight idea into your head. The fact you were only visiting his country made him feel rather sad. To see you every day, chat with you at the bar, to see you smile, he wanted more of that.

Never before had someone been on his mind this much before.

You and Wanda walk out of sight.

Sam and Bucky enter to start their work day. Zemo goes into the kitchen to prepare for the day.

Wanda takes you to her favourite place, surprised it was even still open. A bowling alley. You chuckle as she drags you through the door and over to the desk.

"Pietro and I would come here all the time," she told you.

"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun."

"Oh, we did. Pietro used to work at Escorpión Morado. I would meet him outside and we would come here."

"Pietro used to work at the restaurant?"

You both are given a pair of bowling shoes each and you go sit down to out them on.

"Yeah, he used to tend the bar. It was his first job. He loved it."

"That explains why he's so good with drinks," you chuckle. Pietro had his own bar back home, often he would make you, Wanda and Natasha drinks on your nights out.

"He learned from the best."

You both stand up and go to your designated alley, thanking the staff for guiding you. Wanda puts your names into the system.

Wing woman

Y/N Zemo

"Wanda!"

She laughs as she confirms the names and stands up. You glare up at the monitor and then glare at her.

"You can scold me all you like, but in going to have you fall in love with that man of it's the last thing I do."

"Wanda, please be realistic about this."

Wanda picks up her preferred ball and steps up to the lane.

"I am," she says, pulling her arm back and lining up her ball.

"No you're not. You want to set me up with a man who lives in a completely different country to me. This is mean."

Wanda throws her ball.

"It's not mean. It's helping. Ever since you came back, I know he has been on your mind. I can tell by the way you talk about him that you like him. I know because it's the same way I talk about Vision. I know love when I see it, Y/N."

She takes another turn.

You sit there, watching her second ball glide down the lane and take out a few more pins, three still standing. The lane resets the pins for you as you swap places with Wanda.

"It's just a silly crush. It will go away."

Wanda resists rolling her eyes at you.

"Do you really think the only reason I came here with you is because I wanted to see my home? Don't get me wrong, I am over the moon to see Sokovia again, but I cane here for you."

You throw the ball and watch it go.

"Why is this so important to you?" You look at her as you grab a second ball.

"Because you never show interest in anyone and suddenly you do. I've been telling you from the start, you'll marry this man one day and you'll be happy with him. You'll be running Escorpión Morado together, you'll see."

You throw your second ball and say nothing to her. You only take down four pins in total. You go sit back down.

"He likes you too, you know. I've seen the way he looks at you. He wants to spend time with you, talk to you, be around you. He likes having you in his restaurant."

Wands stands to take her next turn.

"I like being there," you say, softly.

"Good, we shall go there after we're done here."

You don't even argue with her. You want to go. You want to see him. Wands knows this. You can see the way she looks at you that she knows.

Wanda ends up winning in the end, which does not surprise you if she and her brother spent so much time here when they were younger.

You walk arm in arm to the restaurant. There's a few people about, but it's not crazy busy.

Sam sees you enter and smoothly glides into the kitchen. Zemo is finishing up a dish as he enters. He looks up when sees Sam come over.

"What is it?" He asks, assuming another order.

"Y/N is here with their friend. Thought you might like to take this one," Sam grins.

Normally Zemo would just tell Sam to go back to work and stop messing about, but he knows he wants to see you. He had been thinking of you all morning. He wipes his hands and presents the dish to Sam, who takes it and goes out to serve it.

For a brief moment Zemo pauses and quickly fixes his hair and straightens his shirt. He steps out of the kitchen. Wanda and yourself were sitting at a table near the window.

He smiles when his eyes land on you.

Helmut holds his head high and walks over to your table. Your eyes catch his and you smile softly at him. Wanda is looking at you with a grin on her lips, but he isn't really paying attention to her. He can only look at you.

"How are you today?" He asks, lips curled into a handsome smile, dark eyes glistening with happiness.

"We're good, how are you today?"

"Doing better now my favourite customer is here. What can I get for you both?"

"Coffee?" You ask, nibbling at your lower lip shyly.

His smile was making you feel things.

"Coming up."

He leaves the table and you bury your face in your hands. Wands laughs from across the table.

"You are so in love with him!"

"I am," you admit.

The fact you admitted it makes Wanda smile. She was proud of you for confessing how you felt.

"Maybe there is a life for you out here," she says, deep in thought.

"You really think I should just up and move to another country, leaving you all behind and starting over here?" You look at her.

"Yes. Back home, sure, you have all your friends and your job. Out here, there's him. This man you can't stop thinking about."

You glance over to the bar. Zemo has poured you each a cup of coffee and is coming over. He smiles when he sees you looking at him. You thank him softly when he places the coffee down in front of you.

Before he can say anything, a customer entering the restaurant cat has his attention. Both Wanda and yourself turn to see who had come in.

This man felt like he demanded attention. His suit looked expensive and tailored. There was a presence about him that made him stand out among the other people in the restaurant.

"Who is that?" You hear Wanda ask.

Helmut gives an apologetic smile and excuses himself from you, approaching the man.

You watch him curiously.

"He seems important," Wanda whispers.

"Yeah."

You watch as they shake hands and talk. The stranger gestures to a table and Zemo leads him over to it. They sit down and they chat.

There is something about Helmut's expression that concerns you.

The stranger looks around the room, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses, but you can see the way his lips a pulled into a thing grimace.

You feel offended by his distaste in the establishment. Poor Helmut.

They sit there and chat for several minutes before he gets up and leaves. Helmut looks a little defeated as he stands up and looks over at your table. Upon seeing you looking at him, he smiles and makes his way back over.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. Who was that?" You ask, too curious not to know.

"His name is Tony Stark. Remember that new restaurant I was telling you about?" You nod at his question. "Well, he owns it. He was checking out his competition in the area."

"I don't like him," you say, not really intending to say that out loud.

Helmut chuckles softly.

"Neither do I."

"What did he say?" Wanda asks.

"That he wasn't worried if this place is considered the best in Novi Grad. My restaurant isn't a threat to his business."

You unconsciously clench your fists.

"Your restaurant is the nicest place here. He has no idea what he's talking about. He didn't even try your food."

Helmut grins at your comments.

"No he didn't. Though he intends to come back. I need to cook up something magnificent for his return."

"You can do it. Everything you cook is amazing, Helmut. A lot of care goes into your cooking."

His smile makes you giddy.

"Food tastes best when it's made for enjoyment and not just to satisfy hunger," you tell him, meaning every word of that.

Zemo swears his heart would beat out of his chest if it could. If he wasn't already swooned by you, he would have been now. You had no idea what kind of power you had over him.

"I am always glad to hear it."

Wanda looks between the pair of you and smiles. She quietly excuses herself to go use the bathroom. Neither one of you glance at her as she slips away.

Helmut sits at the table.

"How long do we have?" He asks.

"Wanda and I have a few days left yet. We're not leaving too soon."

"Good," he nods his head. "I'd like to see more of you."

"Really?" You ask, shocked by his words.

"Yes, really."

You smile. Your smile makes him smile. Oh, what he would do to see it every single day of his life. This man was utterly in love with you, but he would be fool to just blurt that out.

Plus, you weren't staying. He would have to say goodbye to you again.

"Maybe Wanda and I could pop back every day. When the coffee is this good, we would be silly not to come back," you drink the last drop from your cup.

"Ah, so it's my coffee you like?"

"The owner isn't so bad either," you say, unable to hold eye contact much longer.

The chuckle that escapes past his lips makes you tingle all over. It's so deep, yet so joyful and pure. A sense of pride washes over you for making him laugh.

"Sokovia will feel so empty when you're gone," he says, softly.

"I will miss it. I have missed it."

"I missed you, you know," he admits.

Your heart stutters. You don't get a chance to say anything as Wanda returns. Zemo is quick to change the topic of conversation, smoothly too.

"Can you cook?"

"Uh, I can cook to feed myself. Wanda is more of a chef than I am, but even she can't compare to your culinary skills."

Wanda was caught off-guard by your statement and Zemo was full of pride again. The more you complimented his cooking, the bigger his ego was inflating.

"Would you like to assist me for Stark's visit tomorrow?"

You stare at him, lips parted, mind whirling in confusion.

"You want my help?"

"Yes. I could teach you."

You glance at Wanda. She nods enthusiastically at you, winking.

"Alright, but please don't let me get in the way. I'd hate to be the reason things go wrong."

He leans forward, lips tugged into a grin.

"I trust you."

You smile softly, finding the table suddenly more interesting than before.

Wanda chuckles softly.

"While you do that I'll go see if my old family home is still there," she says, smiling.

"Are you sure?" You ask her.

"Of course I am."

You smile and turn back to Helmut.

"Then it's settled. We'll show Stark what he's up against."

Zemo smiled brightly.

Just you and him in the kitchen tomorrow. He was going to make every moment count. This might be the most amount of time he will get to spend with you while you're here.

Zemo gets up from his seat and grabs the two empty cups from the table.

"Another?"

Both of you nod.

Zemo goes to get more coffee. While he's gone, Wanda leans across the table and takes your hands into hers.

"Woo that man!"

You laugh.

"I mean it! One day you'll marry him and be the happiest person alive. Maybe you should seriously consider moving out here. I could help you. Maybe I'll find some places for you tomorrow."

"You don't have to do that."

"You're not saying no, though," she grins.

"You're right, I'm not." You glance over to the bar. "I really like him Wanda."

"I know, so let's do something about it."

You nod softly.

Zemo returns, this time with an extra cup. He sits down with you both and asks you to be at the restaurant first thing in the morning. You agree.

From tomorrow onward, you knew things would take a turn. Your life would literally be flipped upside down.

And you were happy to let it happen.

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