Thank you for reviews! No Bruce and Nat pairing. I have someone else in mind for her. You'll see why as the story progresses. This story will take place in the time line of the following movies: Age of Ultron, Civil War, and Black Widow. Let me know what you think. Enjoy.


1 year later

Natasha stood in the middle of her dance studio that she had built in basement of her home. She wanted a place she could go to in order to escape the life of The Black Widow and just be Natasha. When Fury asked her where home was, only one state came to her mind, Ohio. Ohio was the place she lived a pretend life with a pretend mother, father and younger sister. Ohio was the place where she learned the meaning of family and what is was to be cared for and to care for others. Ohio was where she felt safe.

She hit play on the remote to start the music. She closed her eyes and from memory, she began to dance to the melody of White Swan. Odette's solo was something she was taught while in the red room. A dance she was force to practice repeatedly until she mastered it flawlessly. As she moved across the floor listening to the sound of the music, the world around here was gone. It was if with every Air en I', every arabesque, or every ballonné, stress, her fears, and her sorrow where dispersed from her body.

As she completed brisé, she felt a presence behind her lingering in the door way. She didn't need to turn around to know who was slowly making their way to where she stood. She closed her eyes as she was hugged from behind. She took a deep breath, relaxing to the scent of the man she had become closer to over the year. But this man wasn't new to her nor was she new to him. The secret they both shared between each other, a secret no other avenger knew.

"I remember when I saw you for the first time in Russia. You were performing this very dance in the Red Room." He whispered in her ear as he still held her close. It was beautiful then and still is now."

Natasha slowly turned around to look Bucky in the eyes. She placed a hand to the side of his face and smiled. "I remember asking myself who the creep was that was always staring at me across the room." She said playfully before kissing him on the lips.

They had met each other during her time with the Red Room just before he had disappeared and became the Winter Solider. His memory of their time together gone, taken from him to make him the ruthless solider he was. When he saw her again with Steve in DC when Shield had fallen, short burst of moments he had with her had filled his head along with memories of Steve before hydra wipe his memory once again.

He traced his right hand over the scar on her shoulder. His face instantly went from happiness to sadness as the memory of how she had gotten that scar surfaced. He was not in control of his actions but the memory of what he had done was etched into his mind. He was aware of everything he had done while under the mind control as the Winter Solider.

Nat cupped his face between both of her hands. "Hey, look at me." She turned his head so she could look into his eyes. "It's okay. I'm okay."

"I could have killed you..." His hand brushed up against the scar on the left side of her stomach. "…twice."

"Not you, the Winter Solider." She pulled him into a hug and held him tight. He had a hard time getting over the things he had done while under the mind control. He would wake up in the middle of the night to nightmares. It was hard for him at times to differentiate between what he had done as Bucky versus what he had done as The Winter Solider. All she knew is they would get through this together.


Bruce sat at his desk looking over his latest notes of his latest experiment. He was trying to find a way to bring balance to both him and Hulk. He had spent the last year hiding out in Budapest where he wouldn't be recognized. He hadn't made contact with any member of the Avengers. He was pretty sure Stark was still seeking out a way to find him if he hadn't already. He felt the world and the team was safer this way. He brought nothing but destruction with him. He approached his chemistry bench and began to measure out some liquids into a glass beaker. He picked up his note book and began to write down some new calculations before he was interrupted by a knock on his front door.

At first he was cautious as he wasn't expecting any visitors. He had kept quiet did not venture outside much to avoid any public cameras and mostly people in general. But then it clicked, Hulk was in charge an hour ago and had taken it upon himself to order pizza. With a sigh, Bruce opened the front door and made eye contact with a blonde woman. "How much for the…"

"Желание. Ржавый. Семнадцать. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на Родину. Один. Товарный вагон". The woman took a step closer to Bruce who was now standing still. "It's time to go home."