Falling.

That's what Ekaterina felt.

Felt as if she was falling down endlessly, unable to hold on.

And as she fell the memories passed her by.

Bloody knuckles and tired feet.

Rows and rows of beds occupied by girls her age.

Strikes and blows, it was as if she could feel them.

A boy with dark hair and blue eyes offering her a hand with a remark that she couldn't quite hear.

She continued to stumble down this rabbit hole of her mind, no end in sight.

She's older now.

Her punches are stronger and her kicks more useful.

There are less girls in those beds.

The only thing that remains the same is the dark haired boy.

He's the one constant.

Sneaking into the kitchen after lights out.

Now they are hand in hand laying in the grass, watching the stars.

There's only five girls left now.

Ekaterina could feel her body jerking and falling but her mind was elsewhere- on a journey to the past.

Fear- it's coursing through her body.

Madam B is there and the two girls know it's the last fight.

It always ends in a fight.

Why does it always end in a fight?

But then... she's won.

She should feel happy but all she feels is an overwhelming sadness. Like she'd lost a part of herself.

Now she sees a redheaded woman and a man with dark hair.

And she doesn't know why but they feel familiar, safe.

Like a home she'd never known.

So she goes with them- without a fight- she goes.

It's like watching a film- like she's watching her life flash before her eyes.

The next moments are some of her happiest.

Painting her nails with a dark haired woman, laughing and joking.

Sitting on the kitchen counter while pancakes were being flipped and coffee was being brewed.

Her little slice of heaven- home- she'd never had one of those before. It was nice.

Too nice to last.

She supposed all the good and beautiful things in this world just weren't meant to last forever.

Every line has its end.

The memories that came next felt more like a nightmare

She went with the bad man freely. She didn't care what he did to her as long as those she left behind were safe.

She remembered the trainings and the tests and the poking and prodding she went through.

The Asset.

That's what she'd become.

The Little Ballerina.

Cold, ruthless, calculating.

The judge, jury and executioner.

The serum coursed through her veins like liquid fire. Making her stronger, faster- all of that combined with her upbringing made her lethal.

Those poor people never stood a chance.

Neither did she, she supposed.

In the quiet of her cell when no one was around she prayed- begged for anyone who would listen to end this.

This couldn't be all that she was made for. All of this suffering. That couldn't be all life had to offer her.

The missions blended together until she lost count.

Until that fateful day.

The boy with blue eyes found her.

He always found her.

And they fought.

Traded strikes and blows. He was good but he wasn't fast enough.

She took his gun and she shot him. Without blinking she killed her oldest friend. Her best friend. The only one who really knew her.

Gone.

Like the stars. Here one minute and gone the next.

They weren't meant to last but he'd impacted her and understood her in a way that no one else would ever be able to.

And she'd never forget him.. all of the stars would go out before she forgets him.

He saved her but she was unable to return the favor.

They were a tragedy.

It was like they were made of it.

He was gone but she was still alive.

But she was hidden and someone else was in her place-

The Little Ballerina, the ghost that wore her face.

LB pushed her to the back.

She was unable to be heard no matter how hard she screamed.

Then she felt a shift in LB, it wasn't defeat but acceptance.

And now Ekaterina was spinning through all the memories that were her own and the memories of her ghost.

Wake up

Wake up

A voice called to her.

She didn't recognize it but it almost sounded like her own.

Wake up

It called again

And she did.

She woke with a start, her small body jolting upright.

Looking around she was entirely and completely alone.

Alone with her thoughts, and her memories and her demons.

She had been so strong all of those years because being strong was the only thing keeping her alive.

But in this containment chamber she didn't need to be strong anymore.

So she fell apart.

Sobs raked through her body, her chest ached as she cried.

She grieved for all the lives that she'd taken and for the ones that she could not save.

~~~

Everyone had gathered to the control room after the word had been spoken.

At first they were just waiting for her to wake up but what happened next was almost worse than waiting.

Sam who was next to Steve broke first,

"I can't watch this, man" he said quietly.

Before Sam left Natasha could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes.

It was hard to watch this fourteen year old girl come to terms with what she'd done. Now that the memories had returned, all they could do was wait it out and see how she coped with it.

~~~

Ekaterina cried until all the tears had dried and her body stopped it's shaking.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath. Her posture was slouched and her head bent in exhaustion.

She looked straight head into the glass where the control room was and nodded as if signaling that she was ready.

Natasha looked at Bucky who already knew.

Only one of them should go in at a time. Overwhelming her wouldn't do them any good.

As soon as the door opened, the girl gasped and her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Papa" the word quiet and broken on her lips.

The word didn't carry the childlike innocence and wonder it once had.

On the other side of the glass, Natasha's heart lurched. Neither of them knew the significance of that word. That was her burden to carry.

"Hi Katie" he said softly,

"That is who I am speaking to, right? Or am I speaking to the Little Ballerina?" He asked tentatively.

Rina's eyes widened,

"No, no it's me!" She exclaimed

But then her eyebrows furrowed,

"At least I think it's me. I've changed, Papa. I'm not the same anymore" she said turning her seated body away from him slightly.

"And that's ok, people change- we aren't meant to remain the same. After what happened to you- no one would expect you to be the same as you were before" he said genuinely from beside her.

She shook her head,

"I guess you're right" she conceded

But she didn't know if she believed it.

Would there ever be a safe place for people like them? People who have had their bodies and minds used and taken from them.

Would the war ever be won? Both their bodies were a tapestry of near misses and close calls. They carry their battles with them in every breath, and in every touch that never seemed to be gentle enough.

It always ended in a fight.

But she fought, fought with everything she had but it felt like she didn't win. She fought the war but the war won.

But the fight raised her, the fight shaped her. She didn't know who she was without the fight.

But she would have to figure it out.

"I just don't know who I've changed into" she admitted.

Crouching down in front of the seated girl, Bucky held her small shoulders,

"Your name is Ekaterina Ivanovna and you are no longer the Little Ballerina, you just have to make amends with that" he said

The girl nodded,

"My name is Ekaterina Ivanovna and I am no longer the Little Ballerina" she said quietly, her voice shaking

The man nodded,

"Say it again until you believe it" he encouraged.

Rina took a breath,

"My name is Ekaterina Ivanovna and I am no longer the Little Ballerina" she said again but this time her voice didn't shake.

Bucky just nodded.

"My name is Ekaterina Ivanovna and I am no longer the Little Ballerina" she said forcefully.

The man smiled,

"That's good, Katie. It's a start, sometimes that's all you need" he said.

"It's a start" Rina echoed.

~~~

Rina remained in the containment cell for three more days to see if she had any reaction or change occurred.

On the fourth day, Tony deemed her ready to leave isolation.

He gave Bucky the go-ahead to move Rina from the cell to her old room.

"Key kiddo, how would you feel about getting out of here?" He asked

Rina smiled,

"Yeah I could use some fresh air!" She said

Bucky laughed and shook his head,

"No, Katie I meant out of this containment cell. How would you like to go back to your old room?" He asked

Rina's mouth opened in surprise,

"Really? You think I'm ready for that?" She asked

The man nodded,

"I think you're ready for anything, as long as you are comfortable with it" he said

A grin broke on the girl's face,

"Then absolutely!" She exclaimed.

"Alright" he said before turning towards the door.

He didn't offer his arm to her like he did in past. He noticed that Ekaterina was avoiding physical contact again so he didn't want to push her.

They walked side by side through the hallways in a comfortable silence.

They rounded a corner and Rina caught sight of dark hair on the other end of the hallway, nearly out of sight but Rina knew.

"тетушка!" (Auntie!) the girl called without thinking.

Wanda stopped mid step.

Her heart swelled. She was always caught off guard when the girl called her that. It was a title she never thought she'd have. And after everything that the girl had been through, Wanda didn't think she would remember.

Immediately turning, Wanda's face was aglow with happiness, the woman basically radiated it,

"родная" (dear/daring, usually reserved for close family) Wanda said, nearly breathless.

Rina took off in a light jog but she'd crossed the long hallway in a matter of seconds.

"Woah" Rina breathed, she didn't know she could do that.

But Wanda didn't look phased. She was still grinning at the girl, the woman looked like she wanted to reach out but kept her hands at her sides.

"Where are you both heading?" The woman asked curiously

"Up to my room" Rina said with a grin, twisting slightly as she stood in excitement.

Wanda matched her smile, "oh I'm so glad, родная, you aren't meant for a cell like that" she said kindly

'Neither were you' Rina wanted to say but the girl held her tongue.

Instead she raised her hands to show Wanda the red paint on her nails.

"Oh look at you!" Wanda exclaimed. The woman had brought her the small bottle of polish but she didn't know if the girl had used it or not.

"Yes, gave me something to do. Made the hours less lonely" Rina admitted.

"Well you aren't lonely anymore" Wanda said, looking the girl in the eyes.

"And you won't be anymore" Bucky said from behind them.

"I will find you soon, тетушка, and we will catch up!" Rina said as they began to walk away.

"I look forward to it!" The woman called.

They had only walked a few steps when Ekaterina turned back to Wanda.

The girl lowered her voice,

"тетушка, have you seen Natalia? She hasn't been to visit me. Was it something I did? Is she angry with me? I don't know what I did but-" Ekaterina whispered, her trembling voice cutting itself off.

Wanda's smile dropped,

"Oh honey, of course she's not mad at you. I'm sure she's just been busy. I will talk to her if I see her, don't you worry" the woman assured her.

Rina nodded, "okay" she said softly.

Walking back to Bucky the girl was silent. She felt almost guilty for asking Wanda instead of him.

But she felt a shift between them, Rina didn't know what it was but she'd felt it.

She just didn't know what she'd done to make Natasha keep so much distance from her. Rina missed her.

Ekaterina stopped.

"Before we go to my room, there is someone I'd like to see, if that's alright" she said

~~~

Steve was seated at the kitchen table. He was alone. It was oddly quiet but he relished in those moments of blissful silence.

It gave him time to think.

This is not how he saw his life turning out.

He thought he'd live to see 70 maybe 80 years old if he was lucky.

He thought he'd settle down. Have the stereotypical white picket fence with a wife and kids of his own running in the front lawn.

But that wasn't what fate had in store for him.

And if he was being honest, all of those hopes and dreams had gone down the drain the day he'd taken the serum.

Nearly seventy years he was in the ice, the world kept moving and time passed him by.

But he still found himself dreaming about it every now and again.

But he'd put that to the side while there was still a fight to be had.

It was the only part of him that seemed to stay the same.

He was still that scrawny kid from Brooklyn who got into fights that he couldn't finish.

The good soldier.

The man out of time.

Whatever they wanted to call him- he would be.

They could dress him up as a hero as much as they wanted to but at the end of the day Erksine's words came back to him- not a perfect soldier but a good man.

Steve hoped he'd lived up to those words.

Hoped the old man would be proud of him.

The sound of footsteps broke him from his thoughts.

Looking up he saw his best friend and Rina enter the kitchen.

Exchanging hellos, Rina sat down in the chair next to Steve but she couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she said softly, unsure of her words would even help.

From what she understood, Steve had been there when the Little Ballerina made her appearance.

She didn't want him to carry around that guilt or think of her in that way.

Steve gave a half smile and shook his head,

"There's nothing to apologize for, kid" he said genuinely.

Ekaterina shook her head. But she felt like she would never be able to apologize enough. For a multitude of things.

She wanted to argue with him but she didn't.

Instead her dark eyes met his light ones,

"Maybe I can join you on a run tomorrow?" She asked, half expecting him to turn her down.

However he smiled,

"Of course you can, you just have to promise to go easy on Sam" he joked

"Never" Rina joked back

"Atta girl" Bucky chimed in from near by.

"You ready?" He asked her and the girl nodded.

"Bye, Steve" Rina said.

"Bye Rina" the man said and watched the two leave.

He noticed a change in the girl.

It was a change he had noticed in Bucky all those years ago as well.

They weren't the same as they once had been.

He supposed he was different too.

He supposed that is the price they paid.

They had all gained strength and power but at what cost?

He didn't know.

~~~

Rina gasped,

"What is all of this?" She asked looking at all of the books and items in front of the door to her room.

Bucky chuckled,

"That would be Peter. He didn't really cope well with you being gone. Each week he would bring a book or an item that reminded him of you to leave by your door" the man said.

Bending down Rina picked up one of the books, she saw that nearly all of them had something to do with the stars or outer space.

She chuckled as she flipped it open,

"I love them" she said genuinely.

The man just smiled and helped her gather all of the books and items so that they could actually enter the room.

"Alright I think we got it all" Bucky said, looking around

Ekaterina just nodded.

She talked a lot less than she once had, stuck in her own head Bucky assumed.

"Ok well I'll leave you alone now, I'm just down the hall if you need me or you can ask Friday as well but..." he trailed off, she remembered his distrust of AI and technology.

Her eyes widened,

"The robot?" She asked using her old nickname for the AI.

The man chuckled,

"Yes the robot"

The girl nodded again and the man took that as his sign to leave.

Alone again with her thoughts Ekaterina sighed and looked around the large, clean room. She didn't know what to do.

She'd spent the past year in a nightmare and now she was back like nothing had changed. But everything has. Nothing would ever be the same again.

A warm shower would clear her head she decided.

Grabbing clean clothes she entered the small room.

Setting her belongings down she look at herself in the mirror for the first time in a year and she hardly recognized herself.

She looked older, like she'd finally grown into her features. Her cheeks were no longer soft with youth but gaunt and the skin seemed to be pulled tight. Her cheekbones stuck out sharply and she had dark circles beneath her eyes.

She'd never payed much attention to her appearance, but now she was dissecting every aspect.

Her hair had taken the most damage, it was slightly matted and filthy. Pulling it out of the tight bun, it fell down around her shoulders in a mess.

She was about to turn the water on when something caught her eye.

Turning back to the mirror she leaned in, fingers at the root of her hair.

It was darker.

Probably dirt she reasoned.

~~~

Natasha had rearranged her room seven times in the past week.

Anything to keep her hands and mind busy but it wasn't working.

As heard a sharp knock on the door. Before she could say anything the door was being pushed open.

"Do you mind telling me why I just had to reassure Ekaterina that you were busy when we both know that there hasn't been a mission in months? What are you doing, Natasha?" Wanda fired off her questions.

Natasha was slightly taken aback. Wanda never so much as raised her voice so hearing the anger in the woman's tone surprised her.

Natasha opened her mouth to speak but closed it, taking a moment to think,

"She asked for me?" Natasha asked after a moment.

"Of course she asked for you. Poor thing is convinced that you are mad at her. You are the closest thing that girl has to a mother, she needs you more than you think" Wanda said passionately.

Wanda's words were like a punch to the gut, they hit so close to the truth.

She supposed this was a good a time as any.

"I am" Natasha said quietly.

Wanda tilted her head to the side,

"You are mad at her? Natasha how could you possibly be mad at that poor child, I-" Wanda ranted, hands waving as she spoke.

Natasha gently grabbed the other woman's wrist, pulling her further into the room and shutting the door.

"Wanda" Nat said looking at her friend, wishing for her to understand.

The realization spread over Wanda's face.

"Oh" she gasped,

"You're her mother" she whispered in awe.

Natasha was in the middle of nodding when Wanda nearly knocked her over with the force of her hug.

Taking a step back, Natasha returned the hug.

"Oh that's wonderful, Nat" she said holding tight to her friend.

Natasha had been holding tight to that secret for weeks. Now that it was out in the world she felt a slight weight being lifted from her shoulders.

Wanda pulled away,

"Wait, how?" She asked, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Wanda knew about the graduation ceremony and what had been stolen from Natasha.

"Was it before.." Wanda trailed off unable to bring herself to speak about it.

"No, no. According to a file that Tony found, after I had left the Red Room, they took my DNA and Rina was born from my genetics" Natasha said leaving some pieces of information out.

"It's that it? You wouldn't be acting this way unless.." she trailed off, thinking.

"No" Wanda said, putting the pieces together.

"Ekaterina's father is Bucky, isn't he?" Wanda asked gently.

Natasha didn't know how but Wanda always knew. The woman was very intuitive. Maybe it was her power but Natasha chose to believe that Wanda has always been like that.

"Surprise" Natasha said semi-sarcastically.

Before she knew it Wanda was pulling her into another hug.

Natasha scoffed playfully but accepted it nonetheless.

"What is with you and the hugging?" Natasha joked.

"I can't help it, I'm so happy for you" the woman said genuinely.

Another realization struck Wanda,

"They don't know do they?" She asked.

The redhead shook her head,

"You are the only one who knows. I couldn't bring myself to tell Rina, she's been through so much and has artificial memories of parents implanted by Hydra" She explained.

"And every time I tried to tell James.." the words died on her lips like they had so many times before.

"I just don't know how" Natasha said painfully honest.

Wanda had never seen the woman like this before- so vulnerable and open.

"You've been holding onto this all by yourself, that isn't healthy, Nat. This is one secret that you shouldn't have to carry" Wanda said gently.

Natasha knew that her friend was right but that didn't mean she was going to listen.

"The time isn't right. I will tell them when things settle down" she said but both women knew it wasn't exactly the truth, the time would never be right.

"If that's what you want. I won't tell anyone until you are ready" Wanda said honestly.

"It is" Natasha said firmly.

Wanda turned, hand on the door handle,

"But I do ask one thing" she said

"What is it?" Natasha asked quickly, she wasn't really in the mood for favors.

"Visit Rina, she doesn't deserve to be punished" Wanda said and left before Natasha could reply.

~~~

Rina was laying on her stomach on the floor, reading one of the books that Peter had left her.

She was clean and safe but something still felt off, something she couldn't quite name.

A gentle knock came from the door,

The girl let the book fall to the floor as she scrambled to stand- feet together, hands at her sides.

The door opened and Natasha raised an eyebrow at the girl who was standing at attention,

Whatever Natasha had been about to say left her mind as she saw what Rina was doing.

The girl probably didn't even realize what she'd done. Natasha had done it before. Back in the Red Room, when someone knocked at the door it meant a superior was going to enter and the girls were to stand at attention until dismissed.

"So what are you reading?" Natasha asked wanting to turn the girls attention to something else.

Breaking the stance, Rina looked down,

"Oh just a book that Peter left for me" she smiled.

Natasha laughed,

"So you got the mountain of things he left for you?" She joked.

Rina nodded.

"Yeah, I think he's got a little crush" Natasha joked

Ekaterina's eyebrows furrowed,

"He was crushed? When that sounds awful" she said seriously, worry laced through her tone.

"Rina, no. That's not what I meant, he's fine, it's an expression- you know what. Never mind" Natasha said.

Rina looked at her, still confused but could sense that Natasha was tired, or at least that is what the girl thought.

Sitting down on the floor again, Rina looked up,

"It has been a while since I have seen you. Have there been a lot of missions?" Rina asked curiously.

Getting down to sit on the floor with her, Natasha was quiet, she didn't have a good answer.

So she did what she good at,

She lied.

"Yeah, you know how it is. Always something going on " Natasha said,

"Always cleaning up after those boys" Nat said attempting a joke.

But the joke went over Rina's head,

"Yes you are. You work so hard, they need to pick up some of the slack" the girl said firmly.

Her sweet words made Natasha's lie sting even more.

Natasha raised an eyebrow,

"You think too highly of me" she said.

Rina shook her head adamantly,

"It is the truth! And I will tell anyone who listens to me" she said proudly.

That drew a laugh out of Natasha,

"Then I thank you for that" she said with a smile.

Rina just nodded proudly.

The two stayed in a comfortable silence like that for a few minutes, just letting time pass by in each other's company.

"Natasha" Rina's voice broke the silence.

The woman looked over at the girl and nodded for her to continue.

Deep down the woman was glad the girl had called her by her name and not by 'mama'. Natasha didn't think she was strong enough to hear it.

"Nothing" Rina said finally, as if she'd changed her mind.

"I'm just glad you're here" the girl said with a sad smile.

"Me too, Ekaterina" she said sweetly.

~~~

The next two months passed in a blur.

Ekaterina slowly began to adjust to life without Hydra.

Wanda introduced her to sitcoms, Rina didn't understand them at first but after a few episodes she began to catch on to the humor. And she loved them and the escape they offered.

She went on runs with Steve, she could nearly run circles around him. Her enhanced body moved quicker than it had before.

Sam was attempting to teach her how to cook, that had led to one small grease fire and a sad excuse for brownies but everyone ate a piece to make her feel better.

She even spent some days with Peter and Tony in the lab. Even though she didn't understand what they were talking about most of the time, she still enjoyed it.

She spent quite a bit of time with Peter when he wasn't at school. She found him quite funny, even if he didn't say some strange things occasionally. While he was very careful with what he said to her, he never lied and was always honest. That was something she admired about him. She loved hearing about this 'school' that he went to. Midtown. It sounded lovely even though Peter would sometimes complain about it. He would complain about a kid named Flash, Rina didn't like him. But he would also talk about his friends, Ned and MJ, Rina liked them. She even learned what a 'crush' was, as he told her about his on a girl in his grade. Rina couldn't help but feel a little disappointed although she didn't know why.

And Bucky was teaching her how to garden and about the different flowers and plants that are grown in the greenhouse. His mother had been very into gardening, some of his fondest memories were spent with her, both their hands covered in dirt from picking out the weeds laughing telling jokes and stories. It was a hobby he wanted to share with Rina and in turn she taught him about the stars.

Natasha put aside her own thoughts and kept her secrets to herself. But she did make it a point to send more time with Rina. They both found a lot of comfort in physical exercise that they often found themselves in the gym. They did everything from stretches, to kickboxing, to ballet, to whatever came to mind. They both were very competitive and would turn everything into a competition which often drew a crowd and was bet upon.

Slowly, Rina began to feel like her old self again if that were even possible. But she still felt like something was missing.

And Natasha noticed this so she decided to bring it up with Steve one day,

"I'm a little worried about Rina" she admitted

"Why? She seems to be doing great, she's adjusted really well-" he began but was cut off.

"That's not it" she said, "she only has us to talk to, she has no experience with kids her age besides Peter. I just feel like she's missing out on this part of her life" she said honestly.

Steve nodded, it was an understandable concern but he wasn't sure what to say, they all knew the security risk of letting Ekaterina leave the compound- Hydra would still be looking for her and as much as he hated to say it, Rina herself was still a risk.

His thoughts were clear on his face, the man wore his heart on his sleeve and Natasha could always tell what he was thinking before he even said a word.

Natasha opened her mouth to tell him that she knew what he was thinking but a voice interrupted them.

"I could bring Darlene around and introduce her to Rina" Sam said from the doorway.

Judging by the looks on both their faces, Sam spoke again,

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, the door was wide open and I was hungry" he defended himself.

Natasha shook her head,

"I would never ask that of you, Sam. You've worked so hard to keep your daughter from this life, I can't ask you to bring her into for this" she said genuinely.

Sam shook his head, "you kidding me, ever since I started working here she's been begging me to let her visit. I know I probably shouldn't have but I actually told her about Rina" he said,

"I didn't fully go into details, just told her the basics. She's been wanting to meet her for a while" he said honestly.

Natasha looked at Steve before looking back at Sam,

"If you think it's a good idea, I think it would be great for Rina" She said.

Sam grinned,

"We may just regret this" he said jokingly.

~~~

"You win again, how do you keep doing that?" Peter asked, throwing his playing cards down.

They were both sitting on the floor of Rina's bedroom, playing cards, poker chips and snacks scattered around them.

They had just finished yet another game of poker. They had been taught by Tony during one of their game nights but Rina and Peter loved playing so they often played against each other.

Rina laughed as she looked down at the cards she had laid down, a royal flush- a 10, a Jack, a Queen, a King, and an Ace.

"It's quite simple, you are very easy to read, spider" she said using her nickname for him.

Peter looked away.

"It's not a bad thing, it's actually a very good thing. It takes great courage and strength to see how cruel this world is and want to change it- make it better. You see the good in people, Peter, you should never change that" she said passionately.

She truly believed every word she said. No matter how heavy this world gets, he finds the light.

She would love to say that she has the same light but hers flickers more than it should.

Peter was listening intently to every word she had said.

He couldn't help but feel a double meaning to her words. He was used to her blunt words but this felt different. Like she didn't believe in those things. And it made him profoundly sad. Before he could stop himself, the words slipped from his mouth,

"Don't you? See the good?" He asked, genuinely curious

Rina shrugged,

"Sometimes I do. And sometimes I don't. Sometimes it seems so unattainable- a good world with good people I mean- some of the things that I've seen makes me think this world has turned its back on us" she said painfully honest,

"Yet, occasionally I see this world in all its tainted glory and I love it. I love all of the people, just trying their best to get by and it hurts because I just want to wrap my arms around the world and protect it" she said wistfully.

"But I can't" she finished softly.

That was the most open and vulnerable Rina had ever been with Peter and he was trying to take it all in.

"Is that you or LB talking?" He asked

Rina paused.

A few weeks ago, she had confided in Peter that sometimes it felt like she could hear the Little Ballerina talking to her, whispering in her ear.

"I don't think that I know the difference anymore" she said quietly.

This was all too heavy for Rina to process.

She gathered all of the playing cards and began to shuffle again so that they could play another round.

"Aren't you going to ask me?" She questioned him

Peter was silently taken aback by the change in conversation.

"About what?"

"Your tells- how I keep winning as you put it" she said playfully

"Oh- sure" he said, "what are they?"

"When you get a bad hand, you bite the inside of your cheek. You often do it when you want to say something but stop yourself" she observed.

Peter, who was currently biting the inside of his cheek stopped. She caught his attention.

"And when we play, you are very quick to fold. You hardly ever raise the stakes, which tells me that you want to protect what you have and not want to take the risk- it is a safe choice but hardly ever yields rewards" she noted.

Rina was casually shuffling the cards, when she looked up, Peter was staring at her.

"What?" She asked genuinely.

Peter just chuckled,

"Nothing" he said, "it's just getting late I'd better get home"

Rina looked at the clock, they'd been playing for hours- she hadn't noticed.

He began to gather his things, slinging his back back over his shoulder.

She nodded,

"Yes, you'd better go- tell your May that I say hello!" She said.

"I will- I had fun. I'm gonna work on this tells and I'll beat you the next time we play, Ace" Peter said as he walked out the door.

Ekaterina could do nothing but laugh. Ace? He'd never given her a nickname before.

She was organizing all of the cards to put back into the package when a knock came.

"Come in" she called.

Natasha leaned against the doorway,

"How bad did you win?" She asked knowingly

"I let him win one" Rina said honestly.

Natasha shook her head and clicked her tongue.

The woman was absolutely merciless when it came to board games and card games.

"I felt bad!" Rina defended herself.

"Yeah, yeah" Natasha joked.

The woman sat down on the floor next to the girl,

"I need to ask you a question"

Hiii! How are y'all doing? This was the longest chapter I've ever written! Over 6K words 😱. This was a fluffier chapter. I was having sad girl hours about Steve so you can see a little of that in this chapter. I've been thinking about writing a character study book- like going through each movie and writing about each characters thoughts and emotions- mainly Steve bc he was done so dirty. Let me know if that's something you would all be interested in. Also this is now and forever will be a Sam Wilson Stan account (peep the profile) just saying haha. You all will meet Darlene next chapter! And don't worry I have some more twists and heartaches coming your way soon 😉! As always stay safe and I love you all!
Xoxo,
Renee