The Red Room was a place where hope was suffocated, but between pain and cruel training, you and Natasha found a refuge in each other. In the stolen moments, while the world around seemed to collapse, you dreamed of a future far from that hell. A future in which they would be free.

"If we separate..." Natasha began one day, looking at you while the pale light of dawn crossed the small window. "Promise that we will meet at Caffe Florian, in Venice. On September 15, in 15 years. At three in the afternoon."

You smiled, your heart filling with a rare heat, and answered in your Italian accent that Natasha loved so much: "I promise. No matter what happens."

But the plans have changed. You were taken through the Red Room for a special mission before they could escape together, and Natasha had to escape alone. She looked for you, desperate, using all the connections she had, but it was as if you had disappeared from the world. Even so, she never forgot the promise.

⊱⋅ ────── ❴ ⋈ ❵ ────── ⋅⊰

Fifteen years later, Natasha was in Venice. The sun was reflected in the canals as she walked to Caffe Florian. It was one of the most beautiful places she had ever seen, but also one of the loneliest.

^She sat at a table near the entrance, her heart heavy and hopeful at the same time. The clock marked exactly three in the afternoon.*

Natasha looked around, each unknown face feeding her anxiety. Did you remember? Was she alive? Time seemed to stop, and the minutes dragged on like hours.

When the doorbell rang, Natasha looked up. For a second, the world stopped. It was you.

You were there, more mature, but the same glow in the look that she loved so much was still present. She went to you, staying by your side, her arms wrapping around you as if she never wanted to let you go again.

"I've been waiting for you all these years." She whispered, holding the face she so often imagined in her dreams.