The Ballet Teacher

New Beginnings

The streets of New York bustled as the Saturday sun rays ricocheted off the glass window panes illuminating passersby. Natasha weaved in and out of people as she rushed towards the 4 train. She needed to be in the Bronx 30 minutes from now to meet with her real estate agent. With the swipe of her metro card, she pushed the turnstile and jumped through the closing doors of the train. Natasha huffed and quickly found a seat by a graffiti stained window. Her eyes followed the buildings as the train pulled off. Her mind drifting to a piece of her old life.

Natalia held her breath as she read the test. 2 pink bars lit faintly as the pee dried on the stick. Her heart raced as she felt her hands rest on her stomach. She had her own mini-me growing inside of her. A smile quickly replaced the O shape that had formed across her lips. She was going to be a mother and Alexei was going to be a father. Before she knew it her legs were racing off to find her husband, who was sleeping in their king sized bed.

"ALEXEI, WAKE UP! ALEXEI." Natalia yelled as she jumped on the bed. "ALEXEI, Baby."

"Natalia, what's going?" He said groggily as he grabbed her legs to stop her excessive jumping.

"LOOK!" She pushed the test to his face. Through squinted eyes, Alexei registered what was in front of him. His eyes grew wide and a smile engulfed his face as he grabbed his wife pulling her tightly into a hug.

"WE'RE HAVING A BABY, NATALIA. OH MY GOD! FINALLY, FINALLY." He showered her with kisses, spinning her around. Their laughter filled the air. They were carefree and on cloud nine. The joy they felt that day would be unmatched. The Romanova's were finally having a baby.

Natasha was pulled out of her thoughts as the operator announced her stop coming up. She quickly wiped the tears that threatened to escape her eyes and stood up getting ready for her exit.

It wasn't long before she had the keys in her hand and was walking the floor of her new dance studio. Her fingertips dragged along the freshly painted white walls. The sun shined through the windows lighting up the whole room, reflecting off the mirrors and onto the wooden floors. Natasha smiled at the sight. It had took her two years to finally save up for her own space. It wasn't the best but it was hers and she worked tirelessly to buy it outright. There was a lot to be done, the lighting was off, the walls had minor holes in various places and some plumbing that needed fixing. She estimated two months worth of work would have this place in almost tip top shape, at least enough for her to start signing dancers up. Natasha was a former prima ballerina in her home country of Russia. She had made a name for herself across seas as well, doing tours and press, but due to unfortunate circumstances she took a backseat to the fame and started fresh in America.

Natasha, formerly known as Natalia Romanova, knew that she should probably head home. It was going on four hours since she had been at her dance studio. She took the stairs down and was met with a shocking evening breeze. Her stomach rumbled as she walked out the doors of the old building. She had a craving for Golubtsy with a Kompot. It was a Russian dish that she adored with cabbage leaves stuffed with meat and a Kompot to wash it down. Natasha pulled out her phone dialing her favorite restaurant by her house, so they would have her food ready by the time she arrived. It was in Brighton Beach or Little Odessa as people liked to call it. It was the Russian mecca of New York. It gave her just the right amount of home without the pain that came with it.

In no time, she was entering the red lit room in the restaurant where her young, new friend, Wanda greeted her. Wanda's thick Russian accent was music to Natasha's ears.

"It's almost as if you want to work here, as much as you come." Wanda teased as she pushed Natasha's food onto the counter.

"Well, there's not many places that can still remind me of home, right down to the annoying kids." Nat quickly retorted. Their playful banter was a regular occurrence between the two. Wanda had been the first person to greet Natasha in the neighborhood. Ever since, they've been like sisters.

"Yea, I am sure. Did you finish the paperwork for the studio?"

"I did. It was quick. I spent my morning just cleaning up and getting rid of the dirt and garbage left behind from the previous tenants."

"I'll have to come by one of these days and check it out."

"I'd love that, but I'm going to go. My stomach isn't too happy I decided to skip eating for the day."

"Alright, Tash. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Wanda."

Natasha grabbed her food and headed home. It wasn't long before she was face to face with her brownstone. It was on the corner, only a block away from the subway and everything else that she seemed to depend on. She quickly ascended the stairs and entered her haven, letting out a sigh of relief. It felt good to be home. Kicking off her shoes and dropping her keys on the hook, Natasha walked to her kitchen counter and immediately unpacked the food that had been calling her name for the past 15 minutes. She felt the soft fur of her black kitten, Liho, grazing her foot. Liho purred softly as if asking "Can I have some?" Natasha looked down and smiled. "Hows my little Liho? You want some Golubtsy?" She said as she broke off a small piece and placed in front of Liho, who quickly ate it. Although, Liho was just a cat, Natasha felt she was Russian at heart. She seemed to always love the delicacies that Natasha consumed at home.

The sun was setting by the time Natasha finished her food. She cleaned up what little mess she made and showered. Tomorrow she had to run to Home Depot and pick up supplies, so she could really work on the main ballet room. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. It was already 10:00 pm. She turned on her TV and let the shows play in the background as she drifted off to the sound of Family Guy.

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-Flashback are Italicized and Russian.

Hope you guys enjoyed reading the first chapter. It's my first Romanogers fanfic, so hopefully its pretty good. I cant wait to hear your thoughts and comments. How is the first chapter? Until next time. The next chapter will be longer. I just wanted to give a brief background of her.