Second Chance - Romanogers

9

Russia, 1998

Natalia Romanova had been assigned a very important mission for the red room. It was important in the sense that she was going solo for it to prove herself worthy of more.

Her task was to find a guy who went by the name of Vadim Yahantov, a 16 year old man who was apparently very valuable to the red room, although they didn't trust her with the reason why.

Her red hair was pulled tightly into a ponytail as she made her way into Russia in search of her target. Her advisers at the red room had given her his approximate location and where he might be headed, as well as a description of his appearance and his background.

After a while of travel, Natalia had come within a 3 mile radius of her target's location, which meant it was time to put her years of training and stealth to the front of her mind.

A big factory soon came into view, which meant that she'd arrived. Natalia froze at the sound of distant chatter. She ducked behind a wall and slowly peeked around as two light haired men walked past. So far, no sign of Mr. Yahantov.

As soon as the men passed she made her way to the back entrance. Of course, it was guarded. She reached to the zipper of her coat and unzipped it, shedding herself of the coat. The cold air surrounded her bare arms but Natalia ignored it, making her way to the man guarding her entrance.

"Hi," she smiled at him, giving a small wave.

"This is private property," was his blunt reply. "Leave now, or you will be forced out."

"I'm so sorry, but I'm in need of someone." She blinked twice at him, and pursed her lips, walking a few steps closer.

"Who?" He deadpanned, finally looking her dead in the eye. His eyes were a cloudy grey, and they moved across her face, as if trying to read her expression.

"Um, my friend..." she said, "Vadim Yahantov."

His eyebrows creased and he raised his eyebrow. "I'm Vadim Yahantov."

Natalia's eyes grew wide and a feeling of regret grew inside her. Nice Natalia, great job.
"Oh um, yes well..." she stumbled over her words before regaining her confidence. "I guess that means I need you."

Mr. Yahantov gave her a look of confusion and cocked his gun. "Who are you and how do you know me?"

Natalia stepped forward and put her hand on his chest, moving her face upwards. He was a full foot taller than her.
"It's your brother, Andrei." She replied smoothly, thankful of the information the red room provided about him.
"He was shot."

Vadim's eyes widened and his posture crumbled. "What? Where is he?"

Natalia's smile dropped as she noticed the pain in his eyes. Of course, his brother was fine, but he didn't need to know that.
"Come with me, I'll take you to him."

Vadim's hard exterior had completely vanished at the mention of something wrong with his younger brother. She felt almost bad that she was such a convincing liar.

"How did it happen?" He asked, quickly following after her as they made their way to the rented car that Natalia had traveled in.

"Mugged." She said, opening the door on the drivers side. She wasn't legally allowed to drive in Russia, but they'd trained her to anyways and her fake license would fool the cops in a second. Even though she was only 15, people were quick to believe she was 18 years old.
"When he revealed he didn't have anything to give them they shot him, assuming he was lying, then fled the scene when they came out empty handed." Natalia realized she shouldn't know that much information about the crime yet, and so she quickly added, "or at least that's what Andrei has told us."

She started the car and they were off. To where? Vadim had no idea. But Natalia was on her way back to the red room.

Silence was all that filled the car, and after 5 minutes she almost went mad.
"So, tell me about yourself."

Vadim looked at her before heeding her wish. "Well, Andrei is 13, turning 14 in November. We're very close, although I think I'm too overprotective of him." His face went soft as he opened up about the memories they'd shared.

Natalia kept stealing glanced at him as he talked. She liked how passionately he talked, and his small smile that caused his eyes to crinkle in the corners.

"What about you, any siblings yourself?" He suddenly said, catching her off guard.

"No, no. No blood siblings." She said, glad that he was including her in the conversation. "I have a lot of close friends I've known since birth that feel like my family, though."

"Wow." Vadim sighed. He noticed her fiery red hair, the likes of which he'd barely ever seen before. "Did you ever have a best friend?"

Many names came to mind, before she remembered a blonde woman. "Her name is Yelena, though I do consider her my sister. She's the closest I'll ever get to one."
Natalia smiled at the memory of her. Yelena Belova was one of the very few people that she'd trust with her life.

She glanced over at Vadim, only to realize he was looking at her too. Her green eyes were filled with secrecy, yet every moment he spoke with her he felt that she was a little less mysterious.

"Wait.. I don't even know your name." He blurted out, shaking his head. She looked like she'd be a Nadia, or even an Anastasia.

"I don't think that's necessary." She said, chuckling awkwardly. A mission is a mission, no need to get attached. Although she did reveal Yelena's name, but there was lots of Yelenas milling about.

"Oh come on," he pleaded, "you know my name, it's only fair."

She looked over into the passenger seat, into his cloudy eyes, and felt her heart open up, even if it was only half an inch.
"Fine, my name is Natalia."

Vadim grinned widely at the success of learning more about this mystery woman.

After a while of talking and laughs they stopped at a rest stop. Natalia thought she'd have to explain why they were driving so far, but apparently Vadim worked a long ways from home.

The pair stepped inside for a bathroom break, and then stood outside the restroom doors together, soaking in the lessening sunlight and brisk air.

"So, are you ready to get back on the road?" She asked, but as soon as she turned her head her lips brushed up against Vadim's.

Her eyes slowly fluttered shut, despite the shock she felt. He was probably just trying to get rid of the guilt and worry he was feeling for his brother, but she was fine with that as long as it involved kissing like this.

When they broke apart, Vadim's face searched hers, the regret building up.

"I'm sorry," he sputtered, "I-I take it back!"

Natalia smiled softly at him, and then stepped closer to him.
"Oh, don't say that." She said, and their lips connected again.

The red room could wait, she supposed...

Quick Author's Note
I decided to jump a little into Natasha's (or Natalia's) past in this chapter. The second part of the flashback will be up pretty quickly and then I'll be back to writing about present day Steve and Natasha.