*Is kicked out of hidey-hole by a rather irate Vanilla*
*Hisses at the sunlight*
Have I mentioned that I'm a crappy updater? I feel like I have, but I'll say it again. I suck at updating in a timely manner.
*Slinks back into hidey-hole and tries to become invisible*
Steve was reading through the newspaper he'd been provided - well, the five-eighths of the newspaper; several articles had been cut from the paper - when Natalia came to visit the next day. They chatted idly for a bit before he remembered something he'd meant to ask earlier. "Hey, is there any way I can watch the sports channel?" He asked curiously. "Or a sports channel, I guess? I'm not sure what the TV listings are like these days."
Natalia muttered something about the male gender before grabbing the remote and switching on a badminton game. "Channels 409 to 463 are usually sports."
He wanted to be polite and gratefully accept what she had offered him, but he ended up furrowing his brows. "Are any of them baseball? I don't think the baseball coverage is in the-" he cut himself off before he could rattle off why the channel numbers were wrong, how his favorite sport was broadcasted on channel ten, and bit back a groan. You're not in your own time period anymore, Rogers. Adapt already.
"I'm not a sports follower," Natalia informed him, flicking through about seven channels before baseball appeared. "There you go."
A jolt of excitement went through him as the familiar white diamond was displayed on the screen, the commentators listing a player's skill set playing over the footage. This was something he knew and loved that was, for once, still alive and well today. He leant forward, elbows on his knees, and watched intently, even though the game was between two teams he didn't know. "Thanks," he said to Natalia, very much meaning it.
"No big deal - I'll leave you with your sports," she said, standing up. "I'll come back later."
He felt a pang of loneliness after she left, but the crack was quickly filled by the presence of his favorite sport, soothing like an old friend.
Natalia wasn't one to come visit him while he was sleeping, so when Steve woke up from a nap to find her standing by his bed, he was somewhat startled. "How long have you been there?" He asked somewhat suspiciously, feeling the adrenaline quickly leaving him. He had been exhausted the past few days for reasons he didn't know, and crashing from an adrenaline rush was the last thing he needed.
"We're moving to a different location," Natalia informed him, dropping some thicker clothes onto his bed. "Change."
Steve stared at her for a few seconds, speechless. "We're… what? Where? Why?" Suddenly all the questions were pouring out of him before he could really process them.
"Steve, I'll answer your questions when we're in the van," Natalia informed him before turning around and putting things into a large box.
He decided it was best not to argue and began changing his clothes, too tired to really care that she was in the room- she was facing the other direction, anyway. "So what brought this on?"
Natalia placed the lid onto the box, his bare room now even barer than it had been. "Timing works," she answered unhelpfully.
He had no idea what that meant. "What?"
"It's time to leave," she stated before picking up the box and turning to the door, which opened straight away. "Let's go."
Steve scrambled to catch up with her, wondering why she was being so vague. He followed her down the maze of hallways, noting that they were under the careful scrutiny of multiple officers as they went, and again he found himself wondering what exactly was going on. He didn't speak again until they had both climbed into a large van. "Seriously, what's happening?" He demanded.
"Stop your whining," Natalia scolded, starting the engine and speeding off out of the garage.
"I'm not whining- I'm confused. You said you'd answer my questions once we were here." Steve challenged, rubbing his hands together to warm them up. It was amazingly freezing.
Natalia glared at him for a considerable amount of time. "We weren't even moving yet - have some courtesy. You're being moved locations." She then turned her attention back to the road.
He scowled. "Yes, but to where?"
"Do you even know Russia? Would it make any difference?" Natalia questioned. "A bigger location - it's a nice thing."
Steve wanted to groan in frustration - what was it with this woman and not being able to give total answers? "Okay, so to another place in Russia. Any particular reason why?"
"We didn't want you to feel like a prisoner, trapped in."
He thought that over for a few minutes. What exactly were the motives of the people 'taking care of' him? He didn't know what organization they were, what they wanted from him, or how long they intended to keep him. How much of it was Natalia in on?
They didn't speak again for almost an hour before he sighed and turned back to her. "So what's the plan, then? Are you going to be commuting or am I going to have a new babysitter?"
Natalia sped up. "We will be sharing the premises."
"Really? Wow, you're really dedicated to this, huh?"
"It was my idea, but I didn't expect they'd make me have to reroute my life for you," Natalia answered pretty damn honestly.
He almost laughed. "So you're just following orders, then? You're not doing this because you can't stand to be apart from me?" He teased, batting his eyelashes.
"I am not really a social person. What do the Americans say… Bad bedside manner," Natalia said. "I don't usually work with people like you, or people in general."
"You didn't answer my question," he replied with a smirk. "You're totally in love with my amazing charm."
"Yes. I can't live without you," Natalia said with such sarcasm and monotone that Steve did laugh aloud this time.
"Good to know how much I'm needed."
A few hours later, they pulled up to a small brick building surrounded by more of what Steve had grown used to- snowy nothingness. "Is this it?" He asked needlessly as he pulled his gloves on without needing to be told.
"No need to sound ungrateful," Natalia muttered, turning off the engine.
He frowned at her. "I wasn't. Just asking a question." He decided he'd wait to get out until she did, because any extra time he could stay out of the raging blizzard that had picked up an hour ago would be immensely appreciated.
"You ask a lot of questions," Natalia stated before leaning into the back and grabbing her bag. She then opened her door and slid out of the car without saying anything else.
Working up his willpower, Steve followed suit, trying to work around the shock to his system that was the giant wall of freezing air rushing around him. "Such a lovely country!" He called out sarcastically, huddling into himself to conserve body heat and scurrying to follow her into the house. "What's it like in the summer?"
Natalia actually sent him a playful smirk. "It's August- this is summer."
He actually stopped short for a moment in surprise before another gust of wind motivated him to hurry up onto the tiny front porch, waiting impatiently for Natalia to unlock the front door. "Darn- I was hoping I could buy a summer home here."
"We both know that the second you're allowed, you'll leave and never look back, ignoring everything we've done for you," Natalia stated before looking at him square in the eyes. "Did you want to grab your things from the truck?"
The sensation of being kicked in the gut from her words was quickly replaced by embarrassment. "Oh, yeah." And then that was replaced with begrudgement. Sighing, he gathered his coat tighter around himself and sprinted back to the truck, grabbing his bag from it before sprinting back, thanking God that she had the door open and he could get right inside. "Does it ever get even a little bit warmer than this?" He asked as he slid out of his coat and soaking shoes. They were in a small room with two doors.
"Yes; it's November," Natasha informed him with a smirk as she closed the door and locked it. "Summers are nicer."
He stared at her. "I thought you just said it was August!"
She pretended to think for a moment. "Oh, did I?" She turned on the heating in the house, which was warmer than outside, but not by much. "Summers are usually hot and dry, so I don't see how it could be August."
Steve was tempted to roll his eyes, but he felt like she would punch him or something. She could get PO'd quicker than he could realize he'd said or done something wrong. "Lovely. Glad to know you're honest with me." He said, unamused.
She muttered something in Russian and slipped off her coat, hat, scarves and gloves, hanging them all in the cupboard behind the first door. "Ready for the tour?"
"Alright, sure." Although the house was rather tiny, so he was sure there wouldn't be much to the tour.
Natalia pushed open the second the door which revealed a large room with a set of couches around an unlit fireplace, with the kitchen behind it. "Living room, kitchen," she pointed, even though it was obvious. "Your room on the right, mine on the left - we each have our own bathrooms in our rooms."
Well, that was nice, at least. "And what exactly are we supposed to do to pass the time? We're kind of in the middle of nowhere. And how are we going to keep our supplies stocked?" He was pretty sure there weren't any grocery stores nearby.
"We are stocked up, and pass the time like you have been the last few weeks," Natalia answered, slipping off her shoes and walking over to the fireplace to turn it on. "Unless there's anything else on your mind?"
He didn't quite know what she meant by that, so he shrugged. "Is there a library hidden somewhere here? Or… a television?"
The fire lit up and Natalia stared at it for a few minutes, seeming to be mesmerized by it. She suddenly looked away from it and at him. "Oh, yes. Whatever you want," she replied.
That had seemed odd, but he didn't question it. "Well, I'll go put my things away…" He informed her awkwardly.
"Okay," Natalia replied, then called after him, "What did you want to eat?"
He paused in the hall. "What exactly do we have?" He was almost afraid the answer would be a variety of disgusting, strange foods that never spoiled.
"Chocolate, and nobody to stop me," Natalia breathed out, her voice travelling across the room. Her fingers were clenched around a bar of unopened milk chocolate.
Steve laughed and decided this was going to be much more fun than he'd thought. "I like the sound of that," he commented with a chuckle before heading into his designated room. It was small, but there was ample living space. The bed was a double, which was a significant upgrade from his cot back at the first place, and upon further inspection he found it to be very comfy. There was a small desk against one wall and a small closet on the other, and opposite the door was the bathroom Natalia had mentioned.
He spent five minutes putting his scarce belongings in their places before laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, enjoying the peace that permeated the house.
*Peeks out of hidey-hole*
Did you enjoy the chapter? We sure hope so! Please feel free to drop us a review!
*Tries once more to become one with the shadows*