Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 6: Distractions

Fury wasn't joking when he said he wanted her close to Natasha. Her new apartment was only three doors down the hall in this corridor that seemed to go on forever. Katya was happy she didn't have to walk all the way to the other side or even go to another floor to see her, but she felt spied on now.

But that is a good thing, Katya thought. If she hid too much, they would grow suspicious of her. The first few weeks were important.

Since Natasha was still on mission, Clint trained with her. She missed the redhead already and couldn't stop thinking about her, those green eyes always staring right back at her when she closed her eyes. 

After a few days, Clint allowed her to shoot a gun and he was impressed by her speed and precision. She wouldn't need much training in that, but he knew she had worked alone on most of her missions. Now, she had to listen to her leader, work with a team, and she needed to get used to that. 

After another week, her leg had healed enough that she could lightly start fighting again, just no kicks with her leg jet. So she sparred with Clint in a slow tempo. Just working with arms. He saw that Katya was better than he was. Faster. She fought a lot like Natasha, but that shouldn't have come as a surprise. 

Another week later, Katya could fully use her leg, so fighting became a more serious. Clint had to admit that he loved fighting her. Because Natasha and Katya were so alike in style, he almost knew what the brunette's movements would be. So despite being better than him, she lost a couple of times from being too predictable.

The man got to know her a lot better too and was surprised at how open and free she acted. It may be a mask, but he didn't think so. It was like her past didn't hold any power over her. But he saw the deep lines on her arms, the one that could only be self-inflicted. And knew that she may be fine now, but had once been going through a rough time.

Katya's nightmares continued every night. Waking her up sweating and heart pounding. But something about this place calmed her down immediately. She had never felt so safe in her life.

One morning, about four weeks after her conversation with Fury, a knock came at her door early in the morning. She had just made some coffee in her tiny kitchen before going to train with Barton, so she was already in her work-out gear when opening the door. 

A big smile grew on her face when she saw the person at the other side of the door, her heart jumping a little. She had missed her.

''Morning.''

Katya couldn't help but smile and make a sarcastic comment. They hadn't seen each other for weeks and that was the first thing she said? Natasha's face told her she was in a good mood today. ''Thought you died.''

A scoff came from her. ''You can't get rid of me that easily, Petrova.'' She looked good, despite the long mission. No visible injuries, eyes wide awake. 

Katya chuckled softly. ''You wanna come in? I made coffee.'' She held up her mug as clarification. 

Natasha walked in, pushing past her through the door. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked around, taking in the stuff in the apartment like it wasn't an exact copy of her own. ''It better still be hot.''

Katya nodded as she poured the steaming brown liquid into a clean mug. ''Only the best for you.''

Natasha's soft hands gratefully took the mug from her, using it to warm her hands. Katya went to sit on the small couch in the non-existent living room and the other woman took that as a sign to sit down too, their knees almost touching. ''So, where have you been?'' Katya asked while blowing in her mug to cool the coffee down.