For those wondering, the first part of this chapter will give a bit more information on who Alexei is. Also, if you wanted to know what he looks like, I imagine him as a brunette Paul Walker.

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Curiosity Killed The Cat

Veronika was woken up by a feather-light warmth trailing slowly along her neck, followed closely by the same warmth snaking its way over her midsection and pulling her close. She knew immediately what this was, and the realization forced her lips into one of their rare genuine grins. "Good morning, малышка," Alexei mumbled against her neck. ~Baby girl~

"Good morning," she replied, turning in his arms to face him with a tired yet clearly playful expression. The same teasing light shone in his eyes that matched her own, and she leaned her face close enough to feel his breath mingling with her own as her vision blurred, adjusting to the close proximity.

Veronika and Alexei were perfectly similar in the way they both relished teasing others- especially one another. Every morning was the same with the both of them pushing each other's limits, always seeing how much they could get away with. So far, neither of them had ever cracked.

Slowly, tauntingly, he pressed his lips against hers- just barely brushing at first, but with the same building intensity as always. Eventually, she pulled her favorite move of gripping his chin tightly and biting his bottom lip just hard enough to draw a droplet of blood. He groaned his disapproval, but this only encouraged her to chuckle and nibble further.

Their game quickly escalated with Alexei shoving Veronika's shoulders back onto the bed as he rolled to hover over her, moving his lips from hers down to under her chin, applying enough pressure to force her to bump her head against the wall behind their shared bed.

No matter how rough they were with each other, neither of them ever considered it to be too much. Their entire lives outside of each other were harsh- why shouldn't they be harsh with each other? Just like every other relationship they had with people, theirs was a game. The only difference was that with each other, neither of them ever had to worry about taking the game too far. If they believed in love, that is what they would have called what the feelings they shared for each other.

They didn't believe in love, however. So they happily settled for the next best thing. Lust. This even became a running joke for the two. Whereas normal couples would fawn over each other, whispering sweet nothings to praise each other as they confessed their love, Veronika and Alexei did quite the opposite. They mocked mercilessly, even going so far as to insult each other regularly- critiquing the others' skill in any daily task.

Alexei and Veronika didn't love each other, but that didn't stop it from hurting the woman when she learned seven months later that he had been sent by Ivan to keep an eye on her while she travelled the world after leaving the Red Room. On the outside she was angry and resentful, but on the inside, she hated herself more than anything for ever allowing herself to care for him at any capacity in the first place.

Veronika sat with her back to the wall for hours, clutching the phone that wasn't hers with enough force to turn her sore knuckles white as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her, running through possible outcomes from here. None of them seemed very good.

Maybe Natasha was right. Maybe Veronika had changed. Maybe she used people when there was no good reason to. Why shouldn't she? Using people kept them at a distance- kept her safe, kept her guarded. If people hated her, she could hate them back without remorse. Isn't that reason enough?

Regardless of what she decided to do, there was no point in staying in this apartment any longer.

She took a moment to collect herself with a controlled deep breath before storing her stray emotions away in a secure box in the back of her brain and pushing herself off the floor. Veronika had no earthly idea what she was going to do, but she had a few hours yet until the time came to make the decision. For now what appealed to her most was that delicious alcohol stowed away in the living room of Stark Tower.

This time when Veronika made the short trip from her apartment to the Tower, she kept both hands on her pockets- one of which contained the borrowed cell phone- and both eyes fully alert on every person that passed her, waiting to see one she recognized. Luckily, none of the New York strangers looked at all familiar and she was able to make it back into the elevator without another mishap.

On the top floor, the Avengers had gathered once again in the frequently used living room to talk about Veronika. Just that morning they thought she had gone missing, but it had turned out that she had been in the shower. This time, however, she had been confirmed gone by Jarvis over four hours ago now.

Jarvis told the group that she left of her own volition, but Natasha still worried that something had happened to her, especially since she left no way to contact her. Even though the two women had a disagreement earlier that day, Natasha wouldn't wish the fate of being caught by Ivan on her worst enemy- let alone Nika.

The group had discussed trying to find her, and only then did they realize that they knew absolutely nothing on how to get in touch with her. They didn't know her address, her hangouts, her phone number, or if she even had a phone. Once she walked out of the Tower, she was completely in the wind.

So when the elevator doors once again dinged open and Veronika walked in as if she had never left, it was easy to understand why the Avengers were more than a little frustrated with her. Strangely enough, it was Thor instead of Natasha this time to be the only person to notice that she was somehow different. It took him a moment of thinking to realize it, but once he did, it stuck out like a sore thumb. She wasn't smiling.

"Where have you been?" Natasha demanded to know, standing from her seat along with Tony. "You completely disappeared!"

"Out," she answered simply. She still hadn't decided whether or not to bring up Alexei, but keeping him a secret became more appealing as Tony stepped in front of her with his arms crossed, looking like a disappointed father.

"Why did you leave without telling any of us where you were going or how to find you?"

"I didn't realize I was your hostage," Veronika shot back as she brushed past Tony on her way to the bar. "You'll have to excuse my ignorance. I had more important matters to think of than your craving to be in constant control."

Everyone in the room shot out of their chairs as Tony grabbed Veronika's arm and she immediately responded by reaching back and flipping him onto the floor, kneeling over him with one arm pressed against his neck within a matter of seconds. Her face was mostly hidden to all but Tony, who- not for the first time- felt a flicker of fear at the anger brewing behind her threatening expression. "Next time you try something like that, you won't have a hand to grab me with anymore."

The Avengers watched Veronika with bated breath as she stood in one fluid motion, stepping over Tony and continuing her original path to the bar where she busied herself with pouring a drink of the same scotch she'd had a glass of earlier that day.

While she had her back to them, they all looked to each other with silent questions as Tony pushed himself off the floor to glare at the brunette woman. She could feel his eyes practically burning holes into the back of her neck, but she ignored him. Everything had become much more complicated, and now- for the first time in as long as she could remember- Veronika had exactly zero ideas on how to move forward.

However, even the act of violence wasn't enough to curb the Avengers curiosity. If anything, it only made them want to know more about Veronika's sudden disappearance and reappearance. "Nika," Natasha tried more softly, hoping beyond all hope that she would just make this easy for once and answer the question. "Where did you go?"

Veronika sighed quietly, tapping her fingers against the bar. Decision time.

Chapter 11 Preview

Everyone watched as Veronika walked out of the room, holding the cell phone to her ear and speaking too quietly for any of them to hear. If any of them had any shred of faith left in the woman, her continued secrecy despite the current circumstances ripped it to shreds.