"Natalia." Bucky called from down the hallway, his voice accidentally taking on a slight Russian accent when he spoke her given name.
She turned, her red hair was pulled up into a curly pony-tail, a very rare occurrence. Paling slightly, remembering that the last time she had spoken to the winter soldier directly was when he was choking her. She was going to kill Tony for not giving her a heads up that Bucky and Steve were visiting the new Avengers mansion today.
"Hi." Was all she could say as he came up to her and she tore the rubber band from her hair, the shoulder length red falling around her face and making her feel secure again.
"I was hoping I could speak with you for a little bit." He asked politely.
She frowned minutely. He wasn't anything like before. This was Bucky Barnes, and despite the recognition she saw glimmering in his eyes, she also saw a familiar darkness. This wasn't the same man she had known before, but a newer version. One who had been through a lot of back and forth. She scrutinized his storming eyes for a moment then stiffly nodded.
"It's...good to see you again, lyubimaya devushka." He hesitated for a second but his tone remained...fond. The familiar nickname he had given her all those years ago sent her ears ringing. 'любимая девушка' which meant 'darling girl'. The term made her head spin and her mind transported to when they had first met.
The red room wasn't a pretty place, despite the antique and flawless decor that disguised it as a ballet studio. You stepped out of line in training you got hurt. Badly. Late for ballet? The thin wooden switch would become very good friends with the inside of your hands, and you would have to dance after anyways, with the blood dripping and the other girls whispering. Afterwords the 'nurses' would almost dotingly attend to your hands so there wouldn't be any scarring.
Natalia was ten. Smaller than the other girls, but faster and lithe. What she didn't have in strength she made up for with grace.
Her teacher favored her and she paid dearly for it, but that only made her want to succeed even more. Every time the girls would hide her pointe shoes and make her late for class she would take the switch with a vacant expression like it didn't even bother her and dance harder that day, even if the blood from her hands trickled down on her head after raising them above in beautiful sweeping motions.
They had a visitor one day at such a practice. A man in a jacket with a hood, his strong jaw line and quiet gaze intimidating many of the girls. Natalia felt his stare and danced harder, the blood from her hands not stopping her from landing her leaps perfectly and following the nearly silent piano. Her trick wasn't to focus on her own body or anything else, but on the quiet notes that drifted through the air. They never got to listen to any music if it wasn't for ballet.
The man watched for half of the class and then stood. Her teacher walked over to him and spoke with her silently for a moment while the girls did sashes and turns.
Natalia's 'uchitel' or 'teacher' stopped the class, and the girls nervously swayed to a standstill.
"Natalia. Come." She said almost lovingly. The ten year old complied immediately, waltzing up to her Mistress. "The rest of you head to your next class early." She said dismissively.
The red-head felt glares bore into her back. That's what they got when they didn't just hide her shoes, but her leotard as well. She had one this battle. The man nervously glanced around the empty room.
"You have chosen well. Natalia is our best here. Highly trained." Her uchitel' boasted as her hands rested on the young girls shoulders. "She isn't always the most punctual, but she will strive to be perfect from now on." Long nails dug into her skin a little bit.
"All I need is someone obedient and good at acting." He said urgently, looking like he wanted to leave.
"Natalia is an excellent choice for that." Her hands smoothed up Nats neck and onto her round face.
"Yes. I need a picture of someone who looks like her mother and then we will leave immediately." He ordered quickly.
Her teacher was practically glowing. "Yes. Right away. Natalia, go with the man and wait at the front, I will have your things fetched."
Natalia nodded. "Thank you, uchitel'." She said with a rare smile, following after the man as he turned.
They waited in silence in the floyë as a nurse tended to her hands and wrapped them. One of the butlers came out with her bag and handed a folder to the man. "Her papers."
The man glanced inside and nodded, then took Natalia's bag from her as she tried to lift it with her thin arms. He pulled out a black jacket and leggings with a purple shirt and handed the clothes to her.
"Go change." He ordered, but not in the harsh way she was used to. She was in the outfit in thirty seconds after going into the bathroom and stepped out barefooted. He nodded, handing her some red sneakers that she slipped on just as quickly.
"This way." He said to her quietly. They walked outside to a sleek black motorcycle parked on the street. He placed her bag on the back of it and clipped it in, then shoved the papers in the zippered part, closing it with an efficient flick. He then bent down to her level and lifted her up onto the front of the bike. His gloved hand was hard against her ribs, almost like metal, but he was gentle. A lady dashed out of the building and handed him a small black motorcycle helmet, that he gave to her. She tried to put it on but he stopped her with his gentle bare hand. His grip went up to her hair which was up in a sleek bun and she braced herself for a sharp pull that didn't come. The rubber band was taken from her hair softly, and the stubborn curls fell around her face. Tears brimmed her eyes and she prayed he wouldn't notice as he placed the helmet on for her and got on the bike behind her, putting on his own helmet.
They sped off down the streets through alley ways and on the high way as she sat securely in front of him gripping the bike as he steered.
They stopped behind a hotel and she swallowed as she looked up at the building.
He lifted her off the bike and left the helmets on it, taking her bag only. The back door of the hotel opened and a person from the kitchen escorted them inside to a secret elevator that only had a few buttons. The man pressed them in a pattern and a little compartment opened to scan his eyes.
They went down to a dungeon like floor level, but as the doors opened a beautiful hotel room was splayed out in front of them. He moved through the room, grabbing the papers out of the leather bag they had given her and throwing it into the incinerator in the wall.
She stood in the middle of the room, unsure what to do as he rifled through drawers and threw different clothes in bags. His vacant expression scared her, but was also interesting. He displayed no fear or pain. She admired that, and wished she was the same way.
"You can sit." He said after finishing putting things together.
She nodded and sat on the plush couch, her feet not touching the floor.
He walked over and sat on the couch across from her, an odd sight as he didn't look like he belonged there.
"Your name is Natalia Koval. Nine years old. Your tenth birthday is November seventh, two weeks from today. I am Vadim Koval, your father. You will call me 'papa'. I am thirty five years old, your mother died while giving birth to you at twenty three years old. Her name was Nadia Koval." He finished.
She nodded. "I'm Natalia Koval, nine years old. My birthday is November seventh, and I am excited for it. My Papas name is Vadim Koval, and my mamas name was Nadia."
He smirked sadly. "You are smart for your age."
"Thank you, Papa." She replied genuinely.
He looked around the room, a sadness filling his eyes. "I am the soldier, though you may only call me Papa or Father from now on. I am a broker who travels with my daughter. I will not harm you in any way on this mission, but you will obey my every order. You may speak when not spoken to at any time without consequence, and you must act your age."
She nodded.
"If you blow our cover we will both die." He warned.
"I won't, Papa." She reassured him.
"Very good." He smiled. "You look just like you're mama, lyubimaya devushka."
Thanks for reading my first chapter! Review cause its my first fic!