Yelena didn't drop her stance. Valentina kept a calm smile across her face as the seconds ticked by in silence. Finally, the raven-haired woman shook her head and glanced down, eyeing the scuffed front of her high-heeled boots.

"You know, I really do like the place," she commented. "I mean, it might be a bit dingy, but overall it's not bad. I assumed you found this place on your own, but those few arrow holes I saw in the kitchen I think said otherwise."

Yelena held back the urge to glance towards the kitchen again. During the renovation to fix up the safehouse, she had insisted they leave the old markings in the kitchen walls. They hadn't pressed further, only gave her quizzical and odd looks, and for that she was grateful. It was hard trying to work out a lie through the story of how a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had come to kill her sister only to blow up a five-story building with her and run from the Hungarian Special Forces for ten days.

"You know you can lower the gun now, right?" Valentina said, snapping her back to the present time that a stranger had made herself comfortable in her apartment. "I'm not armed. I mean, you can check if you'd like, but if I wanted to come here to hurt you, Yelena, I would have brought someone else to do it. Just look at these boots, these things aren't cheap! I'd rather not bust them up in a fight there's, well, really no need for."

"Then I'll ask you again," Yelena snapped, her eyes narrowing. "What are you doing here, and what do you want?"

"I just came here to talk is all, I swear," she replied, motioning for her to ease up.

Seems to be a habit nowadays, Yelena thought to herself. She wasn't about to tell the very woman Bucky had warned her about earlier that day they had been there that very afternoon.

"But before I do that, I'd rather know I'm not about to get a bullet in my mouth," Valentina added. "So, if you wouldn't mind having a little chat, we can all lower the gun-show here and we can talk everything out. Sounds good?"

Yelena kept her grip firm around the butt of her gun, her finger itching to pull around and tug back at the trigger. Her internal debate threw her back and forth as she carefully lowered it down to the floor, her eyes never leaving the woman's across from her.

"See, now that wasn't so hard was it?" she chuckled. "But again, it's better to do this at a stand-down. You're not a soldier, Yelena. That's something I know for certain."

"And what would you know about me?" Yelena asked, her sharp tone not affecting Valentina in the slightest. If anything, it almost set Yelena's nerves even further on edge. She was so at ease in a room with an ex-Black Widow assassin with a gun ready to fire at the first sign of attack. Yet here she was, talking her up like they were old friends.

Valentina pursed her lips for a moment and cocked her head to the side. "Well, probably more than you think. A lot, actually."

Yelena was about to interrupt, but Valentina lifted her hand and began listing things off on her fingers. "Let's see, let's see…Yelena Belova. Raised in Ohio to Melina Vostokoff and Alexei Shostokov, and later was recruited into the Red Room and trained to be a Black Widow assassin, and might I say, did a pretty fine job at it; kicked a few bastards' asses. Since then, you helped take down that very same organization with the help of your sister. Afterwards, you spent a fair amount of time jumping around the place helping out a few other Widows, but you've mainly been keeping it on the down low. Oh don't act so surprised, Yelena, of course I know all about that."

She couldn't help it. Yelena's eyes had widened and her gun had fallen slack against her side. She had thankfully kept her jaw locked enough to keep it from hitting the floor, but she couldn't keep all of her shock and surprise in check.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I should have realized," Valentina said, her calm exterior fading into an all-too-familiar look of sympathy. "I'm sorry about what happened to her. I mean, what Nastasha did, I can't even begin to imagine. She sure had one hell of a heart in her, you could say."

Yelena's shock slid away. She set her jaw and adjusted her grip on her gun again beside her leg.

"If you're here to bother me about my sister, I'd suggest you start gathering your things," Yelena bit out through gritted teeth. Her finger slid around to the trigger of her pistol, and the action didn't go unnoticed by Valentina. "Trust me, I'd be happy to show you the door."

"Oh, no, no, no, I'm not here to bother you," Valentina cut in, waving off her comment as if it were a fly. "And there's no need for anything to get violent here."

"You seem a little desperate for it, then," Yelena snapped in reply. She didn't join in as Valentina released a low and hearty laugh, cut short by the slight shake of her head and a wide grin.

"Trust me, I'm not here to come and kill you or anything like that," she continued. "On the contrary, I'm here to discuss an offer for you."

"And what would that be?"

Valentina's lips twisted to the side as she released a sigh, seemingly looking for the right words. "Yelena, you're an incredibly skilled woman. You're quick, agile, and from what I've heard you've got a mean swing to you, too. You've certainly got experience in a few specific fields, and I've got to tell you, that has made you incredibly valuable to certain people."

Bucky's words flooded back to Yelena as she stood and waited for Valentina to finish. She was determined to keep her expression in check and remained impassive.

"Not saying anything bad about it, but look at you, Yelena. You're all cooped up here in this apartment in Budapest when you could be getting back out there. Putting those skills to use again, but not just for the fun of it, oh no, no, no. You could be doing something great with it, and starting something great for yourself. And all you have to do is just one simple thing."

Yelena barely had time to register all of her words before Valentina was rising from her seat. Out of the corner of her eye, Yelena flicked her eyes down to see a single small card left behind, the top side blank with the information needed underneath.

"Make sure to pick up the phone when I call you," she finished, fishing around in her pocket and pulling out a pair of sunglasses. Setting them over her head, she adjusted the gloves over her hand and smiled at Yelena again, the uneasy sweetness and calm that came with it sending tingles over her skin. "I'll be in touch, Yelena. Keep a lookout for it."

As she took a step forward, Yelena took one to the side and whipped her gun back up again. Valentina didn't even flinch as she made her way around and back out into the hall. Her heels clicking against the creaking floor boards as she went, Yelena kept her distance as she rounded the corner and followed the point of her gun to Valentina as she pulled the front door open again.

The raven-haired woman glanced back over her shoulder in Yelena's direction one final time. "I really don't mind the place. Has a nice touch to it."

With that, she spun back around and slipped out the door, the click echoing with the receding footsteps towards the elevator. Yelena didn't dare release a breath as she closed the rest of the distance to the doorway. Both hands still on the gun, she pushed her shoulder against the door and listened as the chime of the elevator wove itself under the doorway. Only when she heard the doors slide shut again did she let herself release a breath and the pressure around her gun.

Yelena was left with only her pounding heart and the silence of her apartment. The still night in Budapest made its way into her apartment. There were no creaks or scratches against the floorboard. No light chuckles coming from the living room. No sign of anyone else but her and -

She gasped. Tucking her gun into her jumper pocket again, Yelena ran forward and back into the living room. She whipped her head around to check the hallway again, making sure she hadn't missed something. Her heart sped into overdrive as she sprinted for the kitchen. Nothing but a few dirty drink glasses in the sink and the empty arrow holes in the wall met her there.

Yelena was almost terrified to check the last remaining spot after having run into the bathroom and guest room and finding nothing. Her breathing shallowed as she wrenched open the door to her bedroom and looked to the crowd of blankets seated at the foot of her bed. A strangled gasp escaped her again as she all but slid to the floor and lifted the pup's head into her lap.

"Fanny," she whispered desperately. "Oh Fanny, oh no. No, Fanny, no!"

As quickly as she could, though running her fingers through her fur as if she were a china matryoshka doll, Yelena found the pulse range on Fanny's neck. Another strangled cry escaped her throat as she leaned down to touch their foreheads together.

The pulse was there, and Yelena tried to match her breathing with the quiet up and down of Fanny's chest and stomach that she had failed to see before in her frantic search. Silent tears streamed down Yelena's face as she rubbed comforting circles into Fanny's back, whispering silent words of relief more to herself than to the dog.

There was no doubt it was some sort of drug that had induced her into a deep sleep. Fanny was always up and alert, and if anyone but Yelena had walked through the door, she knew she would have been ready to attack. That Valentina woman had done something to knock her out, but no leftover signs around the bedroom floor or over Fanny's body indicated signs of an injury. Another sigh of sudden relief washed over Yelena as she willed her hands to pry themselves from Fanny's fur.

Carefully setting her head back down against the blankets strewn into a heap by her bedside of her makeshift bed, Yelena placed a gentle kiss to the top of Fanny's head before rising to her feet. She furiously wiped at her face at the tears she hadn't known she had produced, taking deep gulps of air to try and regain a steady heartbeat. Her panicked overdrive hadn't helped the shock at seeing Valentina to begin with, and it made it all the worse to not know how long the effects of Fanny's drugged state would last.

Yelena made her way back into the living room and stopped in front of the chair Valentina had occupied. She leaned down and picked up the business card, her brow furrowing in confusion as she flipped it over in her hands.

Blank.

Yelena couldn't help her scowl. Taking either side, Yelena tore it directly down the middle and was satisfied to see the split remains thrown into the kitchen trash bin.

Slamming the lid shut, Yelena debated with herself for a moment before pulling open the fridge and pulling out another bottle of vodka. Already half empty, she shrugged to herself that it would have to do for tonight as she started back down the hall and towards the bedroom again.

She extracted the gun from her jumper and settled it and the bottle onto her night stand. Pulling off the sweater and her jeans, she quickly changed into a fresh t-shirt and sweats and gathered the rest of her things to throw aside until the morning. Her hand paused over the back of one of the chairs as she surveyed the jacket.

Her eyes trailed down to its pocket as her mind wandered back to earlier that day again. Gently setting down the pile of clothes, she fished her hand into the jacket and pulled out a scrap of paper, one side scrawled with phone numbers.

In the course of one day, she had met with an old rival and the new man in stars and stripes, coming to her with an offer to put the past aside and join forces. The said associate she was supposed to hunt down came looking for her the same night, asking to join whatever it was she needed her for, and in doing so, had brought up too many painful memories and put her loved one in harm's way.

Her eyes trailed down to Fanny, and a new bubbling sensation ran through her veins. Confusion, frustration, anger, fear, she wasn't sure which. Throwing the paper on top of her pile of clothes, Yelena scoffed to herself and made her way back under the covers of her bed. Fanny rustled on her pile of blankets, caught up in another dream about chasing squirrels or saving Yelena from another perpetrator. Her heart squeezed with disdain for the raven-haired woman, and Yelena uncorked the cap from her bottle and took a long swig.

An hour or so later, Yelena found herself drifting in and out of sleep, her vision trying to focus on the pistol by her bedside and her ears open for any signs of creaking floor boards. She was attent and aware even with her eyes closed, but the eventual loll of sleep pulled her too far in, and Yelena dreamt not so soundly as the pup on her floor.

The following week was quiet. A bit too quiet for Yelena's liking.

Each morning she woke, she grabbed the pistol by her bedside and checked every room. She could have called it paranoia if it weren't for the incident with Valentina, but once Fanny had began her slow recovery the following morning, Yelena was determined to not let it happen again.

The days flitted away in a normal routine. There were no signs of shifty figures watching from afar when Yelena went out for her errands. No one was waiting in her living room or kitchen when she returned from them. Fanny became her old self again in no time, even if she did seem a little weak or fatigued every now and then. It didn't do much to ease her worries, and if anything, Yelena couldn't help but turn to watch over her shoulder more often.

On one particular night, Yelena sat curled on her sofa once again stuffing her face with mac and cheese. Fanny waited patiently for her share at her feet, but Yelena settled it with another pat on her head. Fanny gave a light huff but sprawled herself across the floor as the two sat in silence.

Silence was usually something Yelena wouldn't have minded. Now, she double-checked for signs of creaking floor boards or the chime of the elevator. It had turned into a near habit if she could call it that. Tonight, soft music shuffled through her playlist from the old radio she had dug out from the back of her closet to distract her enough from her own thoughts. It wasn't doing much to help.

Her eyes trailed down to her phone sitting beside her thigh, a scrapped piece of paper sticking out beneath it. She stared down at it as she brought another spoonful to her lips and chewed slowly, her mind internally debating with itself for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

She had debated for a while now whether to dial up the number. The last thing she wanted to do was come off as desperate towards him. She didn't need to get back into the swing of things, if anything she was content to stay in Budapest and live out the rest of her days with Fanny, maybe meet some new people or meet a few of the nearby neighbors. On the other hand, her mind would wander to her latter decision: dialing the phone, filling Bucky in on Valentina, and maybe, just maybe, working things out like a…"team", as he called them.

Shaking her head with a sigh, Yelena muttered, "What's the worst that could really happen?"

Picking up the phone and paper, Yelena slowly dialed the number into her phone. Her thumb paused on its way to the call button as she gave herself one final time to back out. She didn't let herself think on it before pressing the button and lifting the phone to her ear.

She counted a total of three-and-a-half buzzing rings before the line cut off and he picked up.

"Hello?"

"Well, well, well, what do you know, the super soldier really does have a cell phone," Yelena exclaimed with a drawling sarcasm. "I was honestly expecting you to say something about the magic black box that can talk."

"How nice to know you finally called," he cut back, and she could practically hear his eye roll. She was glad he couldn't see her as the corner of her lip twitched up in a faint grin. "So, what do I owe the pleasure to?"

"Sorry, but I wasn't the one willingly handing out my number to strangers I haven't seen in over ten years," Yelena replied. "You should really be more careful about that."

"I'll do my best to remember." He took a long pause, and she could hear him moving whether himself or something else in the background. "Are you calling about the offer?"

Yelena bit the inside of her cheek, wondering how the best way to word it would be without sounding like she was willingly throwing herself over to them. "Yes and no," she finally said. "I think I may have gotten some information you and the new Captain would like to know."

"Do share with the group."

"I ran into your target," she explained, forcing her voice to stay even. "Valentina seems like the fun type."

Another long pause came after her confession. She could hear rustling in the back again, followed by a repeating pattern of footsteps. Was he pacing?

"How long ago was this?" he finally asked, and she took note of the lower, almost more dangerous, tone to his voice.

Yelena shrugged to herself. "A week or so. You're not the only one who enjoys breaking into people's apartments, it seems."

His pacing stopped. "Are you okay?"

"What?" she asked, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Did she hurt you?" he asked again, releasing an exasperated sigh from the other end of the phone. Yelena couldn't help the short and bitter chuckle that escaped her.

"No, I'm lying dead in a gutter and this is a play-back message," she drawled. When no reply came, she continued. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. But if it interests you that much, yes, I'm fine. Fanny was a little…out of sorts after her brief visit."

"Wha - "

"Drugged out, not sure by what," she answered, not overly keen on going into the details of discovering her. She didn't need to share with him that she nearly collapsed with relief at just the sight of seeing her again, after running frantically through her apartment like a chicken with its head cut off. "She's doing better now."

"That's good," she heard him reply as she pulled the phone away from her ear a little to bend down and give Fanny a rub on her head. It was greatly welcomed, and her tail wagged with enthusiasm. "Did she want or say anything?"

Yelena refrained from biting back again that no, a strange woman had just appeared in her living room to sit there and stare at her. "She offered me a job."

"A job?"

"She wants me on her super-squad team, or whatever it is she thinks she's making," she continued, swinging one of her legs forward and letting it fall back against the couch. "As she puts it, she wants me to get back into things. Back into the world, back to my, again her words not mine, 'skill set'. Do what you want with that information."

"Seems she's getting around pretty quick," he muttered, sounding more to himself than directed towards her. "Did she give you anything to contact her? Anything that might help?"

"If you mean an empty business card, then yes," Yelena sighed, wondering if there would be an end to his questions. "Although I'm not super keen on taking her calls at the moment."

Bucky sighed on the other end of the line. "You sure you're okay though?"

She couldn't hold back from rolling her eyes, but she held out on the scoff. "Yes, Mr. Cyborg, I'm in fine condition."

A short and almost bitter-sweet chuckle hung through the air on the other-end of the phone. The two sat in silence, waiting for the other to say something first. His previous question about her taking up his offer came back to the fore-front of her mind, and she figured he was thinking the same thing, too. He took a breath and sounded like he wanted to say something, but she cut him off before he had a chance.

"Why do you need my help besides the fact I've already run in with your new target?" she asked, her tone solid and cold. Still, an itching curiosity slipped through, and she hoped he didn't catch it.

"Well I'd tell you again, but you told me to lay off the flattery," he reminded her, a hint of teasing playing in his voice. "So there isn't much else I can say."

Yelena didn't reply, mulling over his offer. Tracking down Valentina, putting her skills to a use that wouldn't hurt people, maybe seeing a few places in the world, and trying out the whole partners and team thing. That wasn't usually her thing. It had always been Natasha's to go off and save the world with her big Avenger buddies. Now, she was supposed to run off and join another with an ex-super-soldier-assassin and hope she wouldn't be dead by the end of it, whether that be from a bullet to her stomach or having to put up with the two.

It was an opportunity, and the question only remained if she was smart enough to take it.

"Flattery has never really worked on me," Yelena finally said. "But if I come and help you track her down again for you and your American buddies, you'll keep it on the low?"

He seemed to be incredibly fond of long pauses. "Is that a yes on the offer?"

"Is that a yes to keeping your 40's sweet-talk to yourself?"

"I was raised to be a gentleman."

Yelena tried to bite back on her rising chuckle, but she couldn't keep all of it at bay. "Of course, we wouldn't want to let the old man think he's classy."

"So is that a yes, Yelena?"

Her chuckling was put to a stop at the use of her first name. Coming from him, it sounded odd. Not necessarily in a bad way, she thought, just…different. Kind of.

"Yes, Barnes, we have a deal," she finally replied. What could have been a small sigh of relief came back to her through the fun, and she tucked her legs beneath her again.

"In that case, Sam and I are meeting up at a cafe in the morning. The same one as, uh…before," he muttered, indicating their first meet-up spot in over ten years. "We're heading back to America here soon, so I'd pack what you can. Other than that, you should be fine."

"And Fanny?" Yelena inquired, glancing down at the pup who had perked up at the sound of her name.

"Not much else to do other than bring her with," he said, trying to brush it off as casual. Still, she could hear the faint crease of a smile in his voice. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

As Yelena kept her gaze on Fanny, her head rose from the floor and she slightly tilted her head to the side. Her tail began a slow wag as a small grin pulled at the corner of Yelena's mouth.

"In that case, we'll see you in the morning," she finally answered. "Thank you for your cooperation, Barnes."

"Don't know if I'd call it a pleasure."

Yelena pulled the phone away before he could hear the short laugh escape her and her thumb found the button again. Checking the call was over, she released a long sigh and flopped back on the couch. She moved her bowl back onto her lap as Fanny's tail hitting the floor and the smooth music filled the living room. She would have been content to stay with her mac and cheese, old rock, and Fanny. But even as she sat with another mouthful of mac and cheese, she couldn't help but wonder what she was about to get herself into.

"I honestly blame you," she mumbled, looking down at Fanny again. "You trusted him way too quickly."

Fanny's tail only flew faster, and Yelena chuckled with a shake of her head.

Hey y'all!

Sorry for the shorter chapter, but school has been consuming my life, but I hope to get the next chapter out ASAP! Stay tuned, and I hope you guys enjoyed. :)

And, as always, have a great morning, afternoon, evening, or night!

-Summerwinds