From Autumn to Winter: A Winterwidow College AU

The Redhead Russian

James

When the taxi arrived at the address Steve had given me, I thought there'd been a mistake. What was I doing at Steve's dorm, but I figured what the hell. I could at least try to find Steve. I didn't really put two and two together until I arrived at Steve's room and heard the loud music. I opened the door and... "SURPRISE!" I had to take a step back but I was smiling. Of course Steve wouldn't bring me to a bar. He knows me too well to do that. He just wanted to surprise me.

As I look around, I see that it isn't just Steve. It's a whole room of my friends. Sam and Margaret and Tony and many others. This was really...nice. Hey, I'm not a touchy feely person, so it's a big deal that I said that.

I don't really know what to say, so I just put my arms in the air and say "Ladies and gentlemen, all the way from Iraq: James Barnes!" That gets a laugh and then I'm engulfed by questions and hugs and high fives and everything in between.

By the time I get to Steve, it's almost ten o'clock. He's sitting in a chair at the back of the room and motions for me to come sit with him. When I've sat down, he just says "It's nice to see you, Buck." You can tell he means it. "You too, Steve." I pat him on the back.  We just stare at each other for a moment. Okay. So I could see how you could perceive that there is something more than friendship between us. I know that's what your thinking right now. If you are you'd be wrong, but just to give you some satisfaction, I did have a crush on him for like, a week in high school. Okay? That's the end of it. I'm pretty sure I'm bisexual, but almost no one knows that.  I think I've only told Steve. 

Steve appears to notice something and looks up. "Hey, Nat? Have you met the guest of honor yet?"

"I don't believe I have."

Woah. A girl gracefully weaved her way through the crowd towards us. The first thing I noticed was her hair. A beautiful shade of fiery red I'd never seen before. The way it cascaded over her shoulders was breathtaking. It was in loose waves and stopped just above her collar bone. It also had the smallest bit of blonde at the end of it. She must have bleached it a while back. She held her head high and walked with her shoulders back. It gave her a very regal look. Her eyelashes were long and her lips were just the right shade of pink. I wanted to get as close as possible to...better assess their color.

The girl wore a short black dress with buttons that started about halfway down the dress. It had satin-like lapels. It was nicer than most of the stuff people were wearing, but not inappropriate for the event. She had some sleek black ankle boots.

She sat on the other side of Steve and I saw that her eyes were a sparkling shade of jade green."Buck, this is Natasha."

"Nice to meet you, James. Steve has told me so much about you." All I could do was say "Hi, Natasha." There were several moments of awkward silence before Steve chimed in. "Nat is a dance major here at NYU." So that's why she's so freaking graceful. To avoid looking like I a complete idiot, I say "Really? Tell me about that."

Natasha talked to me for the next few minutes about her past. I took in every detail and tried my best to remember every single word she said. She told me that her parents were from Russia, and that they had barely let her come to college. Her parents were obsessed with her future, and didn't really see a ballet career as the best option. They wanted to see her grow up with a useful degree (which to them was business or finance) and get married to another Russian man. They had a very close relationship with "traditional" values.

She had to practically get on her knees and beg (which from what I know about her, she probably hated doing that) for them to let her go to dance school. They made her promise that she would find a guy to marry before she came home. If she didn't, she had to stay with her parents on the Lower East Side until her parents found her one, and she wouldn't be aloud to continue dancing.

I guess that's not great news for me if I ever wanted a chance to be with this beautiful person. I don't really know where my head is. I just met her. I've never had this feeling before. I wasn't really ever the type to believe in love at first sight either. I've always been the cynic. I would say it's just that she's really pretty, but it feels like...more than that.

"Well, James, It was really nice to meet you. I hope we get to talk again sometime. I have to get to my job and I've got class tomorrow. Bye, Steve."

I did an awkward wave, and just like that she was gone. I can't let her go that easily. I have to find her again.