Watching

                                    

                                          

2008

When you get to Budapest, it's around three AM but you push through and get to your hotel. It's a small, cramped place that looks quite dodgy but you weren't staying in there a lot anyway so you didn't mind much.  
All you do is throw your bags onto the floor and head straight to bed. And after a nice, long four hours of sleep you go out and start your day with a lovely time crawling in a vent. Maria had sent you the location of the place Natalia was staying at so you decided to go early so that she would hopefully be asleep and won't hear you.  
Unfortunately, Natalia was wide awake but thankfully doesn't hear you as you move slowly through the vent and watch her cook breakfast. Or attempt to.  
After several burnt pieces of toast later, you watch in amusement as she decides to just eat the bread normally. You observe in curiosity as Natalia takes two shots of vodka and then leaves the house.  
Naturally, you follow her and lurk around where she is. Never once does she look your way or talk to you so you're at least doing something right.  
First she bought food from a local shop. Two loaves of bread, some apples and a couple of chocolates. You find her choices unusual until she walks out of the store and walks the opposite direction to her home. 
You follow along a little more hesitantly now but swiftly catch up to her nonetheless. 
You find out that she walks quickly, no matter if she has a purpose to or not. She walks all the way to the more busy side of where she lived. You stayed as close as you could without her noticing you but it was difficult when she walked at her fast pace. 
Natalia stops in a particularly dirty, crowded place and walks into a dark alley. 
You narrow your eyes and keep your gun close as you watch from afar. 
Natalia crouches down at a few children, who looked small and malnourished, and smiled. She holds out the two loaves of bread and about eight apples for the five or six children to share. She hands each of them an individually wrapped chocolate and even gave an especially sickly boy three chocolates. 
Your eyebrows furrow in confusion. 
Is this the right woman? Did I climb into a random woman's vent?! 
As she walks away, she unwraps a few chocolates for herself and smiles at the taste. 
The supposed 'Natalia Alianovna Romanova' was a Level 9 SHEILD threat. This woman couldn't be less innocent. She's just a woman with really bad cooking skills who happens to live in the place Natalia is supposed to live. That's the only possible explanation- 
And you spoke too soon. After feeding homeless children, Natalia decides to go back to her home and do some target practice and knife throwing. Her changes in activities were giving you whiplash at this point but you power on. 
Once she stops throwing knives everywhere, Natalia puts on a James Bond film? 
You grin and hold in a laugh when she begins to say the lines of the movie perfectly in sync with the characters.
"You're not a sportsman, Mr. Bond. Why did you break up the encounter with my pet python? Because I discovered he had a crush on me." 
She spoke deeply, you don't think it's her real voice but what surprises you is her accent. It was a perfect American accent without a trace of accent from another country. 
Natalia Romanova is a mystery. 
Her aim is impeccably precise yet she trips up in the kitchen from a small ascending step she didn't realise was there. This can't be her house if she doesn't know her way around without almost falling over. 
She's an assassin yet cares deeply for children and watches James Bond frequently enough that she knows every word. 
She's like art. Or poetry. Not many people can figure her out but people are so hooked and intrigued by her that they would spend decades hoping to even have a fraction of understanding for her. 
You haven't met anyone quite like her and you've never- 
"Y'know if you're going to follow me any longer, can at least see your face?" At her words, you stay quiet but keep a firm grip on your gun. 
"No? Your name?"Natalia asks. 
"I would tell you my name but I have a strong feeling you already know who I am." She smirked, teasingly. 
You think long and hard but you decide you have to face her. If you don't, she might kill you. 
You crawl out of the vent, jumping to the floor. You land on one knee; in a superhero pose. Natalia looks at your pose curiously. 
Not a second later, you're off the ground and have a gun pointed at her. She doesn't threaten you or look scared, she just stares blankly. 
"Kill me." She states in a deep tone. "Do it." She shrugs nonchalantly. She looked almost happy, ready to die. 
"I... I can't." You lower the gun and stare at Natalia. 
"Natalia?" You ask with your head tilted. She shakes her head. 
"Natasha. Natasha Romanoff." 
"I was sent to kill you." You say, not sure where you're going with this but the words seem to spew out of your mouth uncontrollably. 
"Then kill me. What's stopping you?" 
What's stopping me?