Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 1 of Black Sheep. I want to thank those who have read this story and have left reviews. It truly does mean a lot to me that you guys are enjoying it. I am hoping that you guys will continue to enjoy this story. I am going to make sure that everything hopefully turns out well during this time since I'm a bit out of my depth with writing Moon Knight. But I am indeed going to try my best. Without further ado Chapter 1. ENJOY!
Chapter 1
Valeriya sat on the bus on her way to the museum knowing that she needed to do this the right way. Her phone had been going off left and right with messages from her Avengers family. She could only hope that she was right that she was going to be able to handle the job. Her eyes went shyly down to her phone to read the messages of encouragement from her friends.
You got this mladshaya sestra. Don't hold yourself back. I'm here when you need me. -Nat.
Valeriya's lips quirked a little bit in thought. Of course, Nat would have her back just like in the old days. It was something that she was missing at that very moment. She knew sooner or later that she would have to talk to Natasha in hopes to quell her nerves.
Kick it in the ass little Hawkeye. I know you got this. I am sorry I wasn't there during the meeting of who should go. I'm here when you need me. -Clint
She knew that Clint would have her back no matter what. Especially when he brought her in with Natasha all those years ago to join Shield. She knew that he would be in her corner when things got rough like a father figure that she never had, which she was rather thankful for.
You have this red. I put my utmost faith in you that you wouldn't mess this up. You're one of the better ones of us. Good luck and talk to you soon. -Tony
She took a breath and shook her head lightly. Tony would have her back as well with everything that she helped do for the Avengers before they disbanded for good for the time being. She knew that he had given up the Ironman suit and no one had taken his place just yet, but she knew that at some point someone would be taking the Ironman suit out once again. She let out another soft breath before her eyes slid to the last message that she had gotten for the day.
I know you didn't want to hear from me malen'kaya krasnaya vdova. I know that you have restless regards to what you have to do there in London fixing the exhibit for the Avengers. I know that your mind cannot be settled with going there. I am here for you if you need to talk. -Bucky
She let out a soft breath wiping a tear that slid down her cheek. Of course, Bucky would hit on the heart of things and even using some Russian made her heart ache knowing that Bucky most of the time hated using Russian because it reminded him of his days in Hydra, well what he could remember of them. He was a big brother that she never had and was kind of glad to help her where he could.
She blinked a few times as a man with dark hair boarded the bus in a rush. Her brows pinched together as she watched him trying to find a free spot to sit which wasn't much room. He was almost close to where she was sitting and she carefully moved her bag. "Sir." She said softly, her voice thick with her Russian accent.
The man was surprised to see a beautiful blonde haired woman talking to him. His eyes widened in surprise to see that a woman would ever talk to him. "Y-yes?" He questioned softly pointing to himself wondering if it was really her talking to him.
"Yes, sir… You can take this free seat." She said softly, her cheeks flushing a little bit.
"A-are you sure?" He questioned, sounding more surprised that this woman was offering him the seat next to her.
"Yes, of course I'm sure…" She mused softly offering him a small smile. "It would be a shame if you had to stand when there was a free seat to sit in."
The man shyly moved and sat down next to her. "Thank you miss."
Valeriya smiled a small smile. "You're welcome."
"My name is Steven Grant. Steven with a v." He said softly offering the young woman a smile.
Valeriya smiled. "Valeriya Kozlov." She said introducing herself to Steven.
He blinked a few times.
Valeriya sucked a breath between her teeth in hopes that he wouldn't say The Avenger The Red Widow that Valeriya Kozlov? She could only hope that he wouldn't put two and two together and figure out that she was an avenger.
"You're Russian."
Valeriya sucked the breath through her nose in shock. She hadn't expected him to comment on her accent. "Oh… yes, but I've been in America for the last ten years or so."
"Is America different from Russia?" He questioned rather curiously.
Valeriya's lips quirked a bit, his expression on his face reminded her a little bit of a black lab curious of things around it. "Yes, I suppose it is. The job I have is better over there than what I had in Russia." She didn't want to tell the truth of what she did in Russia, let alone what she did when she lived in the United States.
"What brings you to London, you sound like you were happy in America." Steven said his brows furrowing together in concern.
"I'm here for a job." She said clasping her left hand behind her head wincing a little at the pain that shot through it.
"A job?"
She nodded her head smiling a small smile. "I'm here to come to the London Museum."
Steven looked at her with wide eyes, his mouth making an 'o'. "The Museum… the London Museum?" He kinda squeaked out surprised that this woman was going to the same place that he was.
"Yes, I believe that is the only Museum that is having a new exhibit made up."
His cheeks flushed red. "Oh yes, the Avengers exhibit that hasn't started just yet."
"That's right." She said softly knowing that the next few months were going to be torture for her to make this place right for the adoring fans of the Avengers.
"But why would you be working on it unless…" He gasped looking at her with wide eyes. "You work for them or alongside them."
Valeriya took a shaky breath. "Yes, I suppose I did at one point." She lied softly not wanting the truth to get out there that she was one of them. It was one thing that she didn't want to admit. It seemed like Steven was fairly well rounded from just talking to him for a few moments. She had to admit that he was fairly sweet and nice. "I take it that you work at the museum?"
"In the gift shop." He said, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.
Valeriya blinked a few times in confusion. "Just in the gift shop? You sound like you're not happy with the job." She pointed out softly. "Oh sorry if it is overstepping." She waved her right hand nervously, not liking the idea that she so easily picked up on that.
"Oh it's alright. I mean I love my job, but I would love it more if I could do something that I love more…"
"Which is?" She questioned curiously as she looked over at him. She had to admit that she was fairly curious of what Steven would have wanted to do in his time on the clock working to make money to live.
"A tour guide for Egyptian history."
"Can't say I don't know much about Egypt and its history compared to what I know of the Avengers."
Steven offered the young woman a smile. "I can teach you about it if you'd like?"
Valeriya gave him a soft smile. "You want to do that?" She asked softly, looking at him curiously.
"Of course. I would love to pass on my knowledge."
Valeriya nodded her head slowly.
"Would you like me to show you where to check in when we arrive at the museum?"
"I would love that." She said softly, running her hand through her blonde hair.
Steven's face lit up as he had just gotten word that a holiday was just right around the bend.
Valeriya let out a soft chuckle as she looked at the bright-eyed happy man. "Not many people would have offered that like you did." She admitted softly, one of the things that she hated to admit publicly. Some people refused to talk to her because of how thick her Russian accent was and with things that went on in the world at that moment, she honestly didn't blame them.
The bus slowly came to a stop that was the stop that they needed to be at.
"This is our stop," Steven said as he got up to his feet.
Valeriya slowly got up to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. She knew that hopefully, this trip was going to be a good thing and not something bad. Right now at that specific moment, she needed some good to follow all of the bad that she had to deal with in the last five years. She took a breath through her teeth as she followed Steven off of the bus and towards the museum. She hoped that this meeting with the director of the museum would be alright with her being there.
"Are you excited for this job?" Steve asked curiously as he walked with her towards the stairs.
"Honestly I'm more nervous for this job." She admitted softly.
"You seem like a brave woman… someone that could get the job done," Steven said with a smile trying his best to cheer her up.
Valeriya's cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, I don't think that I'm not that brave." She admitted softly as she finished walking up the last few steps.
Steven opened the door for her. "After you."
Valeriya offered him a small smile walking into the building. "Thank you." She said softly, biting the inside of her cheek.
Steven quickly followed her before getting in front of her again to lead her to the security desk.
J.B looked up from his desk. "Hey there Scotty."
Steven tried to not let out a groan. "I'm Steven with a V." He looked over at Valeriya. "This is J.B. He'll get you signed in and a visitor pass."
"Have a good day Steven." She said with a soft smile.
"You too." Steven said, offering her a smile before he walked to get to the gift shop.
J.B looked at Valeriya with wide eyes. "You… you're the red widow."
Valeriya let out a soft breath as she looked up at J.B. "Shhh… I'm just Valeriya here to help curate the Avengers exhibit." She said softly as she leaned forward.
"We'll need your prints in the system first…"
Valeriya swallowed the lump in her throat. "Of course." She said as she removed her red lace gloves revealing her damaged hand from taking the gauntlet that Tony had in his Iron Man suit and helped him save the world instead of having him die. She took a sharp breath and put her hands down into the print machine wincing a little as her left hand had a hard time moving. She took a sharp breath through her teeth as she waited for the scan to go through to the computer.
"Can I have your autograph?" J.B. questioned curiously.
"Oh, can I give it to you later?" She asked softly.
J.B's brow raised slightly as he looked at her.
"I just don't want to be late at the beginning of this job for the museum." She pointed out softly as she removed hands from the machine. "So how long till I actually have a badge?"
"You should have one in about a few days."
Valeriya nodded her head. "Thank you."
J.B. handed her a visitor badge with her name on it. "Enjoy your first day Ms. Kozlov."
"Thank you." She said softly as she put her visitor badge on and slowly walked past him.
"The Avengers exhibit is on the second floor." J.B. said, giving her a helpful hint.
"Thank you." She said once again as she headed towards the stairs to go up to the second floor. "Davay, ty ponyal eto. Zastav'te ikh gordit'sya."
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This is the end of Chapter 1. I hope that you enjoyed it. I can't wait to show you guys what happens next in this story. I'm excited to show you where this story will go next. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. I'm going to try my best to have weekly updates of this story. I have quite a few stories that deal with Marvel and they're all going on at the same time. But honestly it keeps me busy. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing. I hopefully will update next week with a brand new chapter. Until next time.
-mladshaya sestra: Little sister.
-malen'kaya krasnaya vdova: little red widow.
-Davay, ty ponyal eto. Zastav'te ikh gordit'sya.: Come on, you got this. Make them proud.