Coming to Moscow wasn't ideal. Natasha couldn't count on both hands the amount of people in the city who wanted her dead. But she was in need of rebuilding herself, so this had to be her first stop.

It had been two weeks since she left Steve in the graveyard. In that time, she was put onto many of the worlds intelligence agencies wanted list. The heat was real.

Wrapping a scarf around her neck, she ventured out into the chilly city, to meet a contact for a new passport. She clocked two men following her the moment she left her safehouse. She planned to take them down once she rounded the corner to another street, but would find herself blocked by another pair. She was soon boxed in, and spotted the leader of the group and smirked.

"Vlad. What a nice surprise."

"What of your accent, Natalia? Don't tell me you're ashamed of your heritage." Vlad responded. One of his men took hold of Natasha's arm and guided her into a nearby alley.

"Don't suppose we may discuss a different approach here?" Natasha asked, as another man began searching her.

"I'm afraid not. Your fate was sealed once you landed back here. You're dead, my dear."

Natasha's arms were yanked behind her, with her hands swiftly tied together. The man who searched her produced a syringe, and injected it into her neck.

"Muscle relaxant?"

"Yes. Just for the duration of our trip."

A car drove down the alley. Natasha was navigated to it and put into the back seat, flanked on both sides by Vlad's men. Vlad climbed into the frontseat and the car drove off.

"What's the plan? Dump me in the ocean?"

"Nyet. I have a special arrangement for you."

"I'm telling you that we can talk this out. Betrayal can be forgiven."

"Not this betrayal. You stunt jeopardized my business. It killed my wife. So I hall kill you."

The car drove into the driveway of an abandoned house. After they parked, Natasha was pulled out of the car and guided into the backyard. She was injected with another relaxant as she spotted the hole in the ground. The men stood her in front of the grave as Vlad applied a silencer to a gun he had produced.

"You may apologize if you wish." Vlad said. Natasha said nothing.

"Very well, Natalia. Farewell."

Vlad fired two shots that pierced her chest, knocking her into the grave. He approached the hole and looked in, seeing Natasha lightly squirming. She looked up at him as Vlad fired an execution style shot to the head.

Motioning to his men, Vlad walked away as the men began filling the grave with dirt, burying Natasha in-

Steve shot up in his bed, panting. He was in a motel room, somewhere in France.

It was a nightmare he thought to himself. Natasha was alive. Somewhere in the world she was alive.

He got out of his bed and went to the bathroom, throwing some water into his face at the sink. Natasha had been on his mind for the two weeks since they parted ways. She wasn't being hunted by intelligence agencies as far as he knew but he wasn't certain about her enemies. He really wanted to go track her down and have her come back with him, but Sam cautioned that perhaps she needed to be alone. So they kept plugging on their mission. But Natasha just wasn't able to shake loose from his mind. And now this nightmare happened.

A knock on his door broke his train of thought. He knew it was Sam so he reached over and opened it for him.

"Hey." Sam greeted.

"What's up?"

"Well, our lead kinda went cold. The apartment Barnes was said to be using was empty."

"Shit." Steve muttered.

"So basically back to square one."

Steve stood, thinking. "You mentioned the other day your mothers birthday went by?"

"...yeah." Sam said, confused as to where Steve was going with this.

"I'm starting to think maybe we should put this on hold for a little while. You should go see your mom."

"Ah Steve, that's nice and all-"

"Honestly. I think Buck needs time to figure himself out first before we go hunting him down. Besides, I think there's something I need to take care of."

Sam smirked. "Going after her, huh?"

Steve didn't answer, but eventually nodded yes.

"I know you said she might want to be alone, but I just primarily want to make sure she's okay."

"I get it man. Think I'd do the same if I felt that way about a girl."

"Oh, it's not- I-"

"Come on dude, you're just confirming it with that stammering." Sam said with a laugh. "You certainly picked out quite the catch though. Sexy, deadly. Perfect package."

"It's not really that. Me and her share this bond, one that...we feel out of place, uncertain of ourselves. She thinks of herself as someone not capable of good and not being deserving of happiness. I need her to know she is."

"Well then. Tell her I said hi."

"I will, Sam. Tell your mother happy birthday for me."

"Make sure to stop in when you're stateside. My grandma lives with her, and she's a big fan."

Steve laughed. "I'm there."

Sam laughed with him, before clapping him on the shoulder.

"See you soon, man."

"See you, Sam."

The door closed behind Sam, leaving Steve to figure out where in the world Natasha Romanoff may be.

Three Days Later

"Kon'nichiwa, Miss Ishiguro."

"Kon'nichiwa" the Japanese woman greeted. Natasha always greeted her neighbour when she returned to her apartment in the special ward of Nakano in Tokyo. She chose Japan to lay low in, she hadn't made many waves in the country to be constantly alert about enemies. Unlocking her door, she walked into the apartment, and locked the door behind her.

"You look really strange with black hair."

Inside she leapt out of surprise. But years of practice allowed her to maintain composure. She turned and found Steve leaning against her the frame of her hallway.

"It's not my favourite colour." she replied, rubbing a few strand of the long black hair between her fingers.

"Definitely prefer you as a redhead."

She smirked, tugging on the hair to reveal it was a wig. This allowed her natural red hair to flow to her shoulders.

"There's the Romanoff I know."

"Steve how did you find me? There's a very small list of people who can successfully track me."

"And I talked to one of them." he replied. "Sorry if I'm invading your privacy."

"I'm not mad." she said. I'm actually really happy to see you.

"I wanted to see how you were."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Kinda missed you, you know?"

Natasha found herself looking down at the ground. "That's..new for me."

"You have a distinct presence. Can't help but notice it's absence."

Natasha leaned against a table, folding her arms. "I'm thinking you're wanting me to come back with you."

Steve shrugged lightly. "Is it out of the question?"

She sighed a little. "Like I said in the graveyard, I gotta figure myself out a new cover."

"Personally I don't think you do. Because you shouldn't try and bury who you are under falsehoods."

"I..."

"Natasha Romanoff. Former KGB. Former SHIELD agent. Avenger. Hero."

"Steve, please." Natasha pleaded, not allowing herself to be given this kind of praise.

"You're flawed. So am I. So is everyone. You hold your past against you so much that you don't let yourself see the good you are doing, the lives you are helping and saving. It makes me not understand why you'd want to bury Natasha Romanoff, because I think she's amazing and someone I admire immensely."

Natasha didn't speak. She was so caught off guard. Steve was always one to see the best in anyone but just him saying those things...it meant the world to her.

She stood from her leaning position and slowly walked towards Steve. She leaned her head against his chest, slowly wrapping her arms around him. He did the same.

"What about that nurse?" she said quietly.

"She's not a nurse. And I don't know her."

"You don't know me."

"I'm wanting to."

The pair stood together silently for a few minutes. Natasha eventually looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

"Okay."

Steve smiled back. "Okay."