I

Balance

Natalia hated dancing sometimes.

Her Red Room instructors constantly emphasized the importance of learning ballet. Most men would pay for a pretty and flexible dancer for the night, but more importantly, so would your target. But at eighteen, she didn't feel like obeying anyone. She felt too caged, and for once, she wanted to be free.

She stood on top of the rooftops, balancing as she walked along on tiptoe. Stretched before her, Moscow slept as a steady snowfall descended from above, increasing the risk of slipping and falling to her death. If she closed her eyes, she could feel the winds rushing through the loose material of her coat. The silence was liberating, she didn't have to listen to orders or follow a strict schedule-

"Easy does it," a soft male voice said behind her, catching her hands before she could stumble in surprise. Keeping her hands extended, he nudged her feet to prompt her to walk again. "Don't want you to slip."

It took her a few seconds to realize that it was enigmatic Red Room instructor, the one the others called 'the Winter Soldier'. She'd seen him before, remaining on the edge of the training room with the head instructor, Vladimir Menshikov. He was also perhaps one of four people in the Red Room who was fluent in English, which he always reverted to once he fully lost his temper with a trainee. She always thought it odd, but a little cute, that while the other three English speakers had Russian accents, the Winter Soldier had an American one. It was a refreshing change. Starting to pull away, she said, "I didn't mean to-"

Whatever she hadn't meant to do was lost as her footing slipped on the accumulating ice. The Winter Soldier reflexively caught her coat and pulled her closer, holding her tight for a moment. A smile quirked for a moment before he gently turned her around and extended her hands out again. "Your balance, as we've just seen, is exemplary until you are startled. We may need to fix that, primarily your awareness of your surroundings. I watched you for a good five minutes before I stepped in, and you panicked," he said as he gently turned her away from the edge of the roof and begin walking back. This time he kept by her side, gently holding her hand as though he was leading her out to the ballroom floor instead across a snowy rooftop in Moscow.

What is he doing? Natalia had been fully expecting a sharp reprimand, or at least anything but this. She snuck a glance at the Winter Soldier; whoever he had been in his life before the Red Room, he'd either been a soldier or a member of the upper classes or even both; the hand that was not holding hers was folded behind his back. Had he been wearing a formal military uniform and not his usual body armor, she knew he would have turned many heads. He seemed rather calm and serene as compared to his usual tense stance in the training room.

Still, she felt she had to explain herself.

"I –"

"Would you explain your motives to a captor?" he suddenly asked.

She stared at him. "No?"

"No, you wouldn't because he would figure it out for himself," he said. He glanced at her and said, "Do not tell me anything, I need this practice as much as you do."

"Practice?"

"Balance, Natalia. This just might save your life one day, and you can't really learn this in a classroom," he said, releasing her hand so she could turn around. He didn't take it back, but he gestured that she keep walking as he talked and followed. "I have spoken to Menshikov more than once, but he doesn't seem to think that this would be important. So you and I will have to do it on our own. It has saved my life more than once. We'll have to take it one step at a time."

"But why me?" she asked, pausing to look back at him.

Something flickered in his eyes before disappearing again. "You tell me once you find out," he said before making a motion for her to turn around and face forward. "We're both rule-breakers, and don't listen to the handlers too much."

"So kindred spirits?" she suggested, lowering her hands so she could turn to face him.

He titled his head as he thought about it, and then nodded. "That and something else. Now get back to work."

Natalia frowned, but went back to the exercise as dictated. That was an unfinished thought she'd have to gently pursue later.

The real question though was if she could trust him or not.

A/N: Yes, this is another one of the 30 Day OTP Challenges. This one however has three extra drabbles that I wrote a few weeks ago, but wanted to publish together as a part of a bigger collection. This seemed like an easier way to do it. Black Widow/Winter Soldier and all related media belong to Marvel.

This drabble happens to be one of the 'extras'.