Ghosts Of The Past | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 4: (Re)Meeting The In-laws

Katya knew Natasha wasn't mad at her, but there was still a weird silence between them when they got off the train in Budapest. It had taken dozens of transfers and a lot of time, but they made it to the Hungarian capital. The city was beautiful, with elegant buildings and small streets, but they weren't there on vacation, unfortunately.

Katya walked behind Natasha off the train. Keeping one eye on her braided hair and the other on all the other passengers around. Their heads were low to avoid cameras, and silently, they moved through the crowd. It was a sunny day, pretty warm. A nice difference with the cold Norway. They didn't dare take off their jackets though, in Natasha's pocket were the vials.

In the streets, people walked past without noticing them. Apparently, even if your faces are all over the news every day, people are blind. Katya also questioned how willing the public was to turn them in. Sure, they were labeled as criminals, but nobody had forgotten New York, Sokovia. In a lot of cases, people still saw them as the heroes, despite everything that happened with the Accords.

Katya rarely envied normal citizens with boring jobs and a house and bills, but a young girl walked through the streets with a smile on her face, talking with her friend happily, laughing, and a sting shot through her stomach. Must be nice to be carefree, oblivious. 

But then Natasha's arm accidentally hit hers because of how close they were walking together, and all that jealousy disappeared. 

She had everything she needed right here. Her life might be dangerous and tiring, and she might be on the run and without a place to live, but it was never boring and she wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Without getting spotted, they arrived at the apartment. Neither of them had good memories here. Natasha because of the Budapest fiasco they never talked about, and Katya hated being here because of how tense her wife got. She walked towards the apartment because she had to, practically forcing herself to. Because they both knew who would be waiting in there.

The gate into the courtyard creaked when Natasha opened it, her busy eyes shooting everywhere, analyzing everything. The people, the balconies higher up. Anything that could remotely be a threat. But there was nothing but a couple pigeons and some civilians hanging their clothes out to dry.

The rattly elevator let them in and with a lot of noise, brought them up to the floor one below the apartment. Natasha was nervous, exhaling deeply to try and get rid of the gnawing feeling in her chest. She either wished the elevator would hurry up or go back down so she could run away. 

Katya wanted to tell her it'd be fine, but she had said those words too much over the past months already, and Natasha never truly believed them anyway. Besides, the last thing she wanted right now was comfort. She'd probably glare or snap, with how tense she was.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, she was out, keeping her footsteps silent on the small tials. They'd stored guns into the chimney in the hallway, behind some small metal doors, months ago. For situations exactly like this.

Natasha dropped to her knees, felt around inside, and came up with the white cloths they had wrapped them in. Without saying anything, she checked the magazines, loaded the guns and handed one to Katya. 

She stood and hesitated, her eyes finally flickering up to Katya. They held a mixture of sadness, stress, and guilt. ''Let me deal with her,'' she said. It sounded like a plea. 

Katya shook her head, gripping her gun a bit tighter. ''I'm not gonna let you walk in there alone.'' It could be another trap. There could be more than one person inside. And with their previous assailant still fresh on their minds, it was simply not smart.