A New Beginning

The next nine weeks proved pivotal in the start of Evan and Natalya's relationship. When Evan was strong enough he was allowed to move back into his apartment, with Natalya moving in with him. They both were recovering, Evan physically and Natalya mentally and they helped and supported one another. Dimitri revealed to Evan his findings about the Super Soldier Serum in Natalya's blood and it could only be assumed that it was injected into the embryo because a baby would not have survived the injection. There wasn't as much as Captain America in her body, but enough to make her extremely strong and deadly. Dimitri and other SHIELD scientists were anxious to study her, but she wasn't ready yet. She needed time to try and process everything that had been done to her and had happened to her. While there was hope that she would recover, many doubted she would ever fully recover.

There was a lot for Natalya to learn about living with someone...or even just being in a relationship. This was all completely new to her, but thankfully Evan was patient with her. She had nothing with her so they had to get her clothes, shoes, and everything else that she needed. Pretty soon Evan's closet and dresser were half filled with her things. She was pretty basic when it came to clothes. She only sought out what she needed and nothing extra, although every so often she would find something extra in the closet put there by Evan. The two of them stayed away from almost everyone else during those weeks. They remained in his loft recovering and spending time together.

Natalya still wasn't sleeping well. She suffered from horrible nightmares and several times Evan had awoken to find her huddled in a corner with her legs pulled up against her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Finally Evan convinced her to try the prescription sleeping pills Alyssa had brought over for her. She hadn't wanted to use them at first, falling back on her training of not taking anything that messed with her body. It was ironic to her that it was that very training that was also causing her horrific nightmares. When she started taking them she slept better, although the nightmares had not completely stopped. However, it was a relief for them both when she finally was able to sleep through the night.

Natalya was still exploring her newly discovered love for Evan. The two of them just seemed to immediately have a sync and they both helped each other. Each of them being different from the average human brought them even closer together. Natalya found she enjoyed looking over to see Evan just looking at her. She enjoyed feeling his fingers through her long, dark hair. She enjoyed breathing in his scent at night and feeling his arms around her, holding her close to him. Evan had seen her at her at her weakest and most vulnerable. She believed because of that that it made them stronger.

That morning Natalya had woken up with amorous thoughts in her mind. She and Evan had only very recently started having sex again, but they had to be careful. She hadn't been sure if he was up to it, but after her had reassured her she had moved atop him. She tried to be as careful as possible, but as she neared her orgasm it became more and more difficult to do so. She finally gasped and her body shuddered and trembled and her movements slowed. She collapsed atop him for a moment, but when she offered to keep going so he could finish he gently refused. Natalya rolled off him and watched as he got up and headed to the bathroom. They had seen each other in their worst states and so they had become very comfortable with each other very quickly in his loft. She had had another nightmare that night, but hadn't told Evan. Her hatred for the SSB and Tatiana in particular had increased to the point where pure, bloody vengeance was on her mind. She hadn't told Evan, but she planned to take each of them out herself.

"I'd actually like to try bacon," she finally said. She had never had it before, but had heard people talk about how incredible it was.

Evan grinned and caught her eyes looking him over. He liked it when she looked at him. Especially when her eyes were softer like they were then. “Crispy bacon, cumin right up,” he said as he moved to put on his shorts. The first order of business was to put some coffee on once that was going he turned on the burner, set a pan upon it then moved to the fridge and brought out the paper-wrapped bacon. Carefully he laced it down upon the pan which began to sizzle almost immediately. He couldn’t watch her get up but it was no surprise when she donned his soft, black robe he knew she liked and took a seat at the breakfast bar. He poured her the first cup of coffee. She liked it strong and set the speckled, gray mug before her.

“More nightmares?” he asked. He had felt her move in the night and she uttered a few words but he couldn't make out what she was saying. “I have them too. That ‘place’ I went to...when I was unconscious...quite unsettling. Those people there...they felt so real,” He said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. The bacon was going good now and he moved and took out 4 eggs to go with the bacon. “I was going to speak to Alyssa about it, they said they were the Kree and that long ago their worlds were under attack by a race called the Shi’ar. This race used a weapon, something called the Nega bomb? And their war was ended. They want me to find the Reality stone and use it to change what happened,” Evan said as he turned the bacon. “Have you heard of the Kree or the Shi’ar? I couldn’t see them...where I was, if it wasn’t just some hallucination,” Evan said.

Natalya slowly rose out of bed and picked up Evan's black robe, which was draped over the back of a nearby chair. She put it on and tied it closed. Her hair was unbrushed, but somehow made her look sexier than she already was. She stepped into the bathroom for a moment and washed her face before walking out to the kitchen. She could already smell the coffee. Before coming to live with Evan, Natalya had never had a cup of coffee before. Caffeine had not been allowed as apart of her diet, but she found she quite liked it. She preferred her coffee strong and with just a little sugar. She wrapped her hands around the mug, feeling the warmth seep into her hands. She took a small sip, but then heard Evan's question. She didn't answer him, but her eyes would have told him that she had indeed suffered more nightmares. Thankfully, he didn't question her any further about them. She would sometimes speak about them, but at other times she didn't want to. He now allowed her to tell him about them if she wanted to.

Natalya listened quietly as Evan spoke about the dreams he was having. He had told her about his experience when he was unconscious and the beings that called themselves the Kree. She shook her head when he asked her if she had ever heard of them. "No, I had never heard of them until you told me about them. I have heard of the Reality Stone though." By then the smell of the cooking bacon filled the loft and for the first time in her life Natalya felt her mouth begin to water at the smell of food. It smelled unlike anything she had ever smelled before and she began to anticipate being able to actually taste it.

"I don't think what you experienced was an hallucination. You continue to remember the details vividly. I honestly believe what you went through was real. Now, whether or not we can do anything is another question altogether considering we still have Corvus to deal with."

Natalya looked at Evan as his expression changed and he leaned on the counter towards her. She knew what he was going to say even before he said it. She forced herself to look at him, though she wanted to look away. Her feelings about her former associates ran blood red and she felt her anger about what had been done to her rise. When he took hold of her hand he would be able to feel how tense she was suddenly. She tried to relax, but found it extremely difficult.

"You won't be doing this alone Evan," she finally said, but she decided she needed to be truthful with him. "I think you need to know that I am planning to take them out...every one of them that contributed to my 'creation'. I will deal with them."

Natalya hadn’t been sure what Evan’s reaction to her statement might be, but she had felt she needed to be honest with him. She was a little surprised that he was so calm after her confession of wanting vengeance for what was done to her. However, she also was relieved to know that Evan was going to not only support her in this, but also help her to carry it out. She knew in that moment that she had truly found the man she was supposed to be with. She knew that this wasn’t going to be easy, not by a long shot, but it was what she needed to do. This wasn’t just pure revenge, but also a need to be sure what was done to her would not happen to anyone else. She could not allow it.

She glanced at the plate Evan started to slide towards her. She smell of the bacon was making her mouth water.

“I will welcome your help,” Natalya replied honestly as she looked at him. “But when it comes to the actual act of killing them, I want to be the one to do it.”

Natalya then slid her plate closer to her and picked up a piece of bacon. She could see Evan trying not to watch her, but his eyes glanced her way. The savory, salty smell filled her nose. She finally took a bite. It was just in between chewy and crisp. It was unlike anything she had ever tasted before. The taste could not be described, but it filled her brain with such pleasure and happiness. She smiled like Evan had never seen before, but then tears filled her eyes as she once again realized how much she had missed.

“This is...delicious.”