A/N: Hey, everybody! So, I'm definitely going to try and get this posted before Christmas gets too far behind. Let's see, I think that's it. Remember, I own nobody except Sergei, Katya, the bullies, Derek and a new character, Elizabeth! Oh, I almost forgot to mention, there's going to be a lot of flashbacks that use past perfect tense. Everything in italics is a flashback and everything that's NOT in italics is in the present. So, don't get confused! Also, I need to have more couple action among the Avengers and company so, get ready for a WHOLE bunch of fluff!
Sometime in November
Third-person POV
Katya walks into the Choir room, immediately spotting Elizabeth already sitting at their usual spot and looking the songs for today over. She goes over.
"Hey, Elizabeth, how are you today?"
"I'm fine, thanks. You?"
"I'm good. What does Frau Schmidt want us to sing today?"
"We're still practicing Beethoven's Ode to Joy. And she's also planning ahead for a spring recital."
Katya sighs, shaking her head. She gets her Choir book out, thinking, as the two girls chat about the two songs that they have to sing, how ironic it is for her to be friends with Krissy's younger sister, Elizabeth.
Flashback
Two days after school started, Katya walked into the Choir room to find Frau Schmidt conversing with a girl. She looked to be a sophomore. Katya walked over.
"guten Morgan, Frau Schmidt," Katya greets the German teacher.
"guten Morgan, Fraulein Katya. This is Fraulein Elizabeth; I hope you two will learn much from each other."
"natürlich, Frau Schmidt," both girls answered at the same time. They looked at each other and Katya stuck out her hand.
"Wie machst du, Fraulein Elizabeth? Mein Name ist Jekaterina, aber jeder nennt mich Katya."
"Es ist ein Vergnügen, Sie zu treffen, Katya. Mein Name ist Elizabeth." Katya looked Elizabeth over; she was small, with straight brown hair that reached her waist. Her eyes were a stormy grey.
The two girls turned toward the choir chairs, talking in fluent German. Frau Schmidt looked on with glee. She knew that Katya didn't have a lot of friends and it was hard for the young Fraulein to make new ones. She and Monsieur DuPont knew, of course, of Katya's true heritage and who she lived with. But both of them took a vow of secrecy and promised Principal Barton-Coulson that they wouldn't say a word.
"So, where did you learn to speak such fluent German? Your accent sounds like it's from Salzburg," Elizabeth asked Katya.
"I had a tutor from Salzburg. What about you? Your accent sounds like it's from Berlin."
"You guessed right. My mother is from Berlin and she taught my sister and I German."
Katya nodded her understanding, giving Elizabeth a subtle look-over. She had on tasteful clothing, but it was her face that seemed familiar. She had a Roman nose, long, curly, light brown hair with blond streaks and jade green eyes. Katya's eyes widened slightly when she realized who Elizabeth exactly was.
"You're Kristina Laverne's sister, aren't you?" She asked.
"How did you know?" Elizabeth was surprised. She had wanted to make a friend without scaring her away because of her sister or only liking her for her sister's connection.
"I only had a suspicion but, you just confirmed it with your facial expression. Don't worry; your sister and I aren't on the best of terms."
"Yeah, I heard about that. Thanks for putting my sister in her place."
"No problem," Katya smirked. "It was my pleasure."
Elizabeth smirked as well. And that was the start of a great friendship. At lunch that day, Katya invited Elizabeth to eat lunch with Peter, Harry, Derek, MJ, Gwen and her. At first, they seemed a little surprise, but then MJ and Gwen stepped forward and welcomed Elizabeth with open arms. The boys still remained a little standoffish until Elizabeth started talking to them about sports. After that, the seven friends sit down and start enjoying lunch.
End flashback
"So, Elizabeth, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Ask away, Katya."
"What, exactly, does Christmas entail? I know there's gift giving and a tree with a bunch lights and ornaments strung around a tree, but what does it all mean?"
Elizabeth sighs, she forgot about her friend's incredibly inquisitive nature. 'But, at least she's asking directly.' The junior thought; normally the young Russian would beat around the bush. She also knows that her friend is somewhat lacking in terms of modern culture so, she's been teaching Katya all the ins and outs of American society.
"Religiously, Christmas is when Jesus Christ was born. The gift-giving originates from the fact that the Three Wise Men bore gifts to give to the 'Savior' as they called him," doing the air quotes. "There's a lot of other underlying values and such, but I won't bore you with the details," knowing how much her friend REALLY hates talking about religion. Katya just smirks. "Why ask?"
"It's nothing," the redhead says, "Just that I've been seeing all these commercials lately and there's been all these decorations going up around the city. So, what kinds of gifts are exchanged?"
The brunette turns to her, "It all depends on the person giving the gift and the person receiving it. For instance, one year my Mom got me a copy of The Phantom of the Opera while Krissy got a new Gucci bag."
Katya nods, smirking as she noted the distinct differences between the two sisters. "Thanks, Elizabeth. That cleared up a lot of things."
Meanwhile in the Avengers' Tower
Bruce and Natasha ride the elevator up to the living room after a relatively hard practice. Bruce plops in front of the TV, turning it on and flipping through the channels. Natasha walks into the kitchen and prepares two cups of tea, both Earl Grey. She walks back toward the couch and hands Bruce his cup of tea. He nods his thanks. Natasha settles down and Bruce wraps his arm around her shoulders. They both watch the TV in comfortable silence.
"What's bothering you, Tasha?"
She sighs, "Is it so easy for you to know what's on my mind?"
Bruce chuckles, "No, I just know you well enough."
She smirks then sighs, "It's just that Christmas is coming up and I worry that Katya won't deal well with it. I know how hard it is to forget what happens in Red Room, but I've had almost 2 decades, you and the rest of the team to help. Katya just got out and while she jokes with us, she still doesn't have that trust."
Bruce nods, understanding, "Don't worry Natasha, I'm sure if Katya has questions, she'll know that we're always here to help." Tasha nods, her eyes getting that far-off look, and then lays her head on Bruce's shoulder, while the TV plays A Christmas Carol.
SHIELD Headquarters
Katya's POV
"Phil, are the DNA tests done yet?" I ask.
"Yes, they should be done," his face is scrunched in confusion. "I don't know what's taking them so long though. Look, Fury needs to see me about something. I'll see you later tonight, 'kay?" And with that, Phil speed walks away, meeting Maria halfway down the hall then, the two agents turn around the corner. I nod absent-mindedly, my mind already mapping out a way to get to the DNA labs. Spinning on my heel, I set off towards the nearest elevator. 10 minutes later, I arrive at the DNA labs. After swiping my SHIELD card, I stick my head in. I see Sergei bending over one of the counters.
"Sergei, I didn't know you'd be here!" I say pleasantly surprised. I haven't seen Sergei a lot in the past months and I am starting to miss my overprotective папа медведь. Sergei whirls around, hiding something behind his back.
"Oh, Katya! Эй, я не видела вас там. Хех!" Sergei looks really nervous. I have never seen him this nervous before. I'm also a little suspicious. Whenever Sergei starts talking in Russian with false humor, it's a dead giveaway that he's hiding something. My eyes narrow slightly. I walk up to him, and then I smirk mischievously. His face fills with dread. Moving quickly, I snatch the piece of paper from behind his back then, maneuver myself so he can't get the paper. Silence fills the room as my eyes scan the paper. As I read, I feel my jaw drop. The paper states that I am the biological sister of one Natasha Alianovna Romanov. At the bottom, there are also two strips of DNA, one is mine and the other is Natasha's. I am floored; but the thing that really shocks me is when I read the date that the DNA test was taken 2 months ago! I'm so shocked that I immediately turn on him. He looks really sorry and has that kicked-puppy dog look on him.
"Sergei, why wasn't this given to me two months ago?" I ask him.
"I didn't think you were ready! You'd just gotten rescued from Red Room, and stuck in a school full of bourgeois Americans and—"
"Не оправдываться, Сергей! Как вы можете ясно видеть, я вполне ассимилировались среди моих сверстников. И кто, черт возьми, вам решать Я чертовски готовы или не знать об этом? Черт, Сергей, я провел последние семьдесят-гребаный-четырех лет интересно, если у меня есть семья там, а ты не пришел и не сказал мне, что моя сестра Наташа? "
"What in FUCKING HELL is going on in here?!" Fury shouted. Sergei and I both jump and look towards the door. Where moments before the doorway had been empty, it was now filled to the brim with seven superheroes and three secret agents, all with varying degrees of confusion on their faces.
"It's nothing, Director. Katya and I just had a misunderstanding, that's all,"
"A misunderstanding, my ass," I growl next him, with only a faint Russian accent. If I am not so furious, I'd be proud of myself to be able to speak English so quickly after speaking in Russian. "Director, he's been-mmph!" At that exact moment, Sergei decides to shut me up by planting his mouth on top of mine. I struggle out of his arms, and then slap him soundly across the face. The slap resounds throughout the room, and I bet the agents all the way down the hall can hear it.
"Сергей Никитин, you overstep your boundaries!" I hear Natasha growl behind me.
"Nikitin, what do you think you're doing?" Steve says, "You of all people should know that Katya doesn't like anybody getting into her personal space, especially after the rape—" I whirl around, my jaw dropping open with shock. Steve looks caught out. He looks at me with an apology already on the tip of his tongue. I hold up my hand to stop him.
"How? How in the name of the Virgin Mary do you know about that?" I whisper. By this time, my mind's going a mile a minute, flipping through all the people that could possibly know about this. Suddenly, it hits me like a ton of bricks. I turn slowly back around to face Sergei, my папа медведь. I look at him pleadingly, willing him to convince me that my thinking is wrong, that I've definitely gone round the bend this time. He couldn't have told them, I made him swear an oath of secrecy when he found out the day after it had happened. And yet, I see the answer in his eyes that he had told them and since I don't ever remember giving him permission to tell anyone, I conclude that he had told them on his own time.
"When? When did you tell them? When did you чертовски решили разбить вашу клятву секретности, и пусть все знают об этом?" I march up to him and hiss out the last part between clinched teeth.
"Look, Katya, you don't understand," I raise my eyebrows at this but, let him continue, "It was the day they rescued you and the doctor just came in and said that your body shows signs of rape. What was I supposed to do, outright lie to their faces?!"
"Of course not, Сергей Никитин. But, you could have said that it wasn't your place to tell and left it at that," Natasha sweetly says, but I can tell from her tone, that she's beyond pissed. If there's any good that Red Room taught us, then it would be loyalty. I can tell from her tone that she's furious that Sergei broke my confidence. I snap my head up to glare at him; if looks were poison, Sergei would be rolling on the floor in agony. I whirl around and march out of the room. As I leave, I hear Sergei following me, but Loki stops him with magic. I don't look behind me, quickly leaving HQ and heading towards the Avengers Tower.
Avengers Tower; the music room
After I leave HQ, I quickly find a taxi to take me to the Avengers Tower. I pay him, and then go straight up to the music room that Tony had built to keep all of my instruments and let me practice. I let the others use it too, but I was the most frequent visitor. I stalk over to the Grand Yamaha piano and sit down in front of it. I start out by warming up with scales and arpeggios. Then, I play The Music of the Night for the first time through perfectly. I have perfect pitch, but I don't want anyone to know; it's one of those 'I want to succeed on my own merit' things. Finally, I play the introduction to one of my original pieces, called "A Hundred Years of Winter". It describes what I went through in Red Room. As I play, I pour all of my anger at Sergei and my shame at having my secret so exposed into the piece. I finish the piece with a complicated trill.
"I haven't heard of that song before. What is it called?" Natasha asks from the doorway. She walks into the room, standing next to the piano. Katya looks at her rather incredulously but, answers,
"You wouldn't have. I composed it myself; it's called "A Hundred Years of Winter". I composed it in my head while Red Room had me." Natasha nods in understanding. Looking at the piano, she notices a lack of music sheets. "I don't need music sheets for music that I know really well," I say. She looks at me then, and somehow I know that she knows that I have perfect pitch. Yet, I also somehow know that, unlike Sergei, she will let me tell the others when I'm comfortable. Turning her gaze to the keys, she says,
"Just for the record, none of us think less of you in any way, at all. All of us are, in some way, shape or form, broken. We know how you feel. So, you can tell us what you want but, only when you feel comfortable."
"Спасибо, Наташа," I don't know if she knows how absolutely grateful I am in that moment. She nods and leaves me in peace.
Language translations (Dark blue for German and Dark red for Russian. I'll post new color codes as languages pop up):
"guten Morgen, Frau Schmidt," Katya greets the German teacher.
"guten Morgen, Fraulein Katya. This is Fraulein Elizabeth; I hope you two will learn much from each other."
"natürlich, Frau Schmidt," both girls answered at the same time. They looked at each other and Katya stuck out her hand.
"Wie machst du, Fraulein Elizabeth? Mein Name ist Jekaterina, aber jeder nennt mich Katya."
"Es ist ein Vergnügen, Sie zu treffen, Katya. Mein Name ist Elizabeth."
"Good Morning, Mrs. Schmidt," Katya greets the German teacher.
"Good Morning, Miss Katya. This is Miss Elizabeth, I hope you two will learn much from each other ".
"Of course, Mrs. Schmidt," both girls answered at the same time. They looked at each other and Katya stuck out her hand.
"How do you do, Miss Elizabeth? My name is Yekaterina, but everyone calls me Katya. "
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Katya. My name is Elizabeth. "
"Oh, Katya! Hey, I didn't see you there. Heh!"
"Не оправдываться, Сергей! Как вы можете ясно видеть, я вполне ассимилировались среди моих сверстников. И кто, черт возьми, вам решать Я чертовски готовы или не знать об этом? Черт, Сергей, я провел последние семьдесят-гребаный-четырех лет интересно, если у меня есть семья там, а ты не пришел и не сказал мне, что моя сестра Наташа? "
"Do not make excuses, Sergei! As you can clearly see, I am quite assimilated among my peers. And who the hell are you to decide whether I'm fucking ready or not to know this? Shit, Sergei, I've spent the last seventy-fucking-four years wondering if I have family out there, and you do not come and tell me that my sister is Natasha?"
"When? When did you tell them? When did you чертовски решили разбить вашу клятву секретности, и пусть все знают об этом?"
"When? When did you tell them? When did you hell decided to break your oath of secrecy, and let everyone know about it?"
папа медведь- papa bear
Сергей Никитин- Sergei Nikitin. Yes, I know that there are two ways of spelling it, but I'm sticking with the i-version.
Спасибо, Наташа- thank you
A/N: So, I was hoping to get the music boxes in this chapter but, it was too long. They'll be in the next one, promise! R&R, please! And, I apologize again for updating this over a month late. Blame it on school!