╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

TO THE NEW
WORLD AND BEYOND

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯

IN CZARINA'S DREAMS SHE WAS BACK IN THE ARENA.

Her head under the weight crushing dark waters that seem to reach deep down the girl's soul, offering the sweet escape she had been wishing for. Despite the freezing cold temperature that consumed her body, the whole moment felt like a salvation. Like freedom.

To float endlessly in a void without being concerned with the life above and what's beyond it sounds like a wonderful dream to her. No more fighting. No more killing.

At first the girl tried fighting the urge, but when her limbs started to numb and the resisting flail wasn't enough to stop the rapid sinking. She finally let go, her eyesight begins to blur as the cold water fills up her struggling lungs.

Succumbing the girl to an imminent demise. An inescapable one.

So this is what it feels like. She thought. I'm sorry, brother. I'll see you again when I can.

His face was the last and only thing that flashed on her head the entire time. Which isn't a surprise as he was all she had. All the things she did was partly fueled with the desperate idea that she might see him again after all this. But at this point it was Czarina who ends the very possibility

All of the sudden the calm waves were disrupted by a violent force and the silence that sheltered her was no longer there. Something grabbed on her shoulders and halted her towards the faint light coming off the surface.

Disoriented, Czarina gasped for air. Water splattering out of her nose and mouth as she panted and figured out where she was.

Why? The first word that comes off her, sounding with such disbelief and bitterness. She was close to being saved, to finally escaping the madness the girl was forced to participate in.

You don't want to die after all. A gruff voice replied.

And just like that, Czarina Barnes was pulled back to the very hell she was born into.

She woke up with a start. Tears pricking the sides of her eyes and chest pounding so loud, it felt numbing. Unlike in the nightmare the air wasn't freezing cold nor harsh, the smell of blood wasn't crawling on her nose and certainly she wasn't dripping wet. She is under warm covers with the morning sunlight peeking against the swaying thick curtains of their bedroom.

"Are you okay?" A concerned voice asked.

Czarina slightly tilted her head to give a small nod as she wiped off the tears that trickled down her cheeks. "I should really lay off the dairy at night." She quickly jokes, hoping it would redirect the topic of the conversation to a less serious one.

"I told you! It's not good for you." Ally replied.

Czarina only shook her head at her roommate. Seeing the girl's reaction makes her only wish it's the first time she saw her in that state. Because most of the time it's so much worse.

"What time does your first class start?" She questioned as she got up from her bunk bed and stretched her arms out for a yawn.

"Nine. But I gotta go now because the council rescheduled the meeting that was supposed to be in the afternoon." The raven haired girl rolled her eyes and picked up the rest of her things to get going.

"Having the time of your life in that club huh," Czarina teased with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Ally lightly tossed a fallen pillow at Czarina as she walked past the girl. "You probably should get up too. It's literally the last day, Rina. You can't be late."

"It's the last day, that's why you can be late!" She yelled back at her roommate with the door closing behind her, she can hear Ally screaming a reply about tardiness record and how Czarina has been filling it lately but within a few seconds it was drowned by the hundreds of voices buzzing in the corridor of their room.

The intense noise outside didn't help in calming herself down. Lately things felt more suffocating and overloaded, leading to her having nightmares more often. It's the last day of this semester. I can get out of this. Czarina buried her head under her arms as she took a few deep breaths.

Maybe on that two week semester break she can request for extra sessions with Doctor Greene. Maybe this is all happening because her therapy meetings were reduced to only two times a week a month ago. Maybe if she gets back on to the old track everything will be better again.

Maybe just maybe.

━━━━━━━━━━

Doubts and uncertainty are a common thing for her, so a wild shot on a lot of things to assume it will be better isn't a strange way to live the life Czarina has. She had come back to life as many times as she can remember.

And the last time it happened was six months ago.

When Bruce Banner snapped with the power of the Stones in order to reverse the destruction the Mad Titan Thanos did back at Wakanda, where Czarina and thousands of others were casualties of the Avengers defeat.

Her recent death was bad, watching herself literally turn to dust and fade away to nothingness. It was horrifying. But coming back on that battlefield only to realise the two most important people in her life were no longer there. The pain was so immense that she hated herself for not being prepared for it.

The whole world might have taken a quick look to mourn the loss of the great Black Widow and Wolf Spider but who she lost was Natasha and Levi Romanoff, and that brief time wasn't enough for her to get over that loss. Yet the world continued on its ways. And it also required them to go on too.

Once the government agencies were assembled back the way it used to before the snap. It didn't take long for them to be found and face the court to answer for the crimes of HYDRA and the violation of Sokovia Accords.

And it's been a long way from the life of killing since then as the US government granted both she and her father a pardon after the long due trial. Almost five months later Czarina Barnes finds herself at a university in Boston, taking up her first year in college as a nineteen year old student. If her life didn't just turn a hundred and sixty degrees, she doesn't know what it is.

"So, you finally got any plans for the break?"

Last week it was announced that they'll be having a two week break after the first semester. And ever since then, her first and closest friend around the university, Hazel has been insistent on knowing where and how Czarina will be spending those two weeks. Obviously she cannot tell her plans of overstaying her visit to her head doctor because her nightmares as a HYDRA assassin are resurfacing again.

"Not much," She answered, half lying. "I'll just visit my dad in New York and probably spend the whole two weeks there."

"Oh...," Hazel nodded slowly. "So, when are you leaving?"

"Probably tomorrow morning or tonight." Czarina replied, her view still glued to the book on her hands. Despite not facing her friend she can clearly see Hazel seemingly struggle to speak. Gaping her mouth open but saying nothing

"What?" The blonde put down the book and drew nearer to the girl. Instead of answering straight Hazel only furrowed her brows together. "What what?"

Czarina had faced both the worst mind games from her superiors back at KGB and HYDRA, yet none of it prepared her on how to decipher why there has to be so many subtle messages in casual conversations. Like this one.

"You've been asking about my plans for the past week and all the time it's like you're going to drop some news," Czarina recounted. "But until now you haven't said a single word, so what is it?"

The brunette pursed her lips, it took a few seconds before the girl finally spit out the thing she's been meaning to say. "My family's having a vacation in Florida this break, I was thinking if maybe you wanna come with me." Hazel admitted in a small voice.

"Then why didn't you just tell me?" Czarina pondered genuinely.

"Because you have other plans?"

"Well, I didn't have days ago." She remembered, raising a brow.

Hazel lightly slammed her hands against the table. "Oh come on! You know me, I'm bad at confrontations," she groaned. "Okay, now I'm the only one in the family who doesn't have an invite."

"Sorry, my own plans got dibs on me." Czarina chuckled lightly in a teasing manner.

"Wait, you're serious?" Hazel's eyes widened in disbelief. "Oh god, I really screwed up for not telling you earlier."

Ever since Czarina first met Hazel the girl has been naturally shy even around friends she had known for a quiet time, she struggles speaking for herself. And it will take a lot of courage for the girl to confront someone, may it be for a simple study group or a boyfriend who cheated on her with their blockmate. Hazel has a hard time dealing with it. Maybe that's why the two girls clicked together so quickly. One is a shy, non confrontational friend while the other is a straightforward friend who has no zip.

"Okay, I may be kidding," Czarina shrugged. "When is this family trip? Like when are you leaving?"

A huge smile was quick to appear on Hazel's face. "Monday, second week of the break," She leaned towards the blonde, resting her chin on her bald fists. "So, you coming with me?"

Czarina exhaled sharply. She already has a plan of coming home to New York right after the semester break starts so she can spend those two weeks at best. On the other hand she's also considering fixing the schedule of her court mandated therapy. Those were the only things she had on her mind for the break.

"How long is it?" She really is ditching her therapy plan for Hazel, oh god.

"Three days, two nights!" The brunette giggled in excitement. "All the itinerary and ride is ours. You don't have to think about it."

Florida. A few days there, just being with Hazel's family and having an expensive vacation without her spending a dime. She'll finally have the out of town plan she always wanted to have with Hazel. The whole thing sounds like a fancy dream. If it wasn't for all the stuff that has been going on with her lately she'll be packing up in a heartbeat.

"I really want you to be there," Hazel admitted with a light sigh. "Mom wants us to bring someone on that vacation. My brother is gonna bring his fiancee, Leah is bringing her boyfriend. And I got you!"

"Why don't you bring Kevin?"

Hazel's mood was quick to change as soon as the name was brought up, flaring her nostrils as she shook her head. "Are you serious right now? That guy?"

"I'm kidding," She flashed a teasing smile at the annoyed looking girl. "Okay I'm going. But I'm leaving tomorrow night to see my dad in New York. So how are you gonna pick me up?"

"Yes!" Hazel exclaimed in pure joy and pumped her fist in the air, startling a few students in the library. The girl shyly apologised and retreated back to her seat.

"I'm just gonna call me and we're good." She assured me as she dialed on her phone. There was so much uncertainty going on Czarina's head the whole morning but staring right now at Hazel with her silly smile and over excited joy for some trip they are going to have feels freeing from that burden. And before she could even notice, the girl was smiling too. Far from the state she was in when she woke up. Maybe this is the thing she has been hoping for. A chance to go out from the usual, suffocating circle the girl has been navigating since the court ordered her to be drafted in college. The same thing Doctor Greene has been convincing her to do. There's a world out there for you, Miss Barnes. There are people who want to share that world with you.

In this case, it's Hazel Andrews. And the girl feels like it's worth a shot. Even if it means being on some cheesy family vacation in Florida.

━━━━━━━━━━

The classes ended at 4pm with Czarina feeling nauseated and having a strong urge to get out of the campus as quick as possible. It was easy to find Hazel waiting for her outside the lecture room so it didn't take long for the girl to pick up all her things and get going to leave.

"Mom was really happy to know you're going," Hazel revealed as the both of them emptied Czarina's locker. "Jeez this heavy, what do you have here?"

"Sorry, it's the binders." The blonde quickly snatched a black case from her friend's hands. "So, I'll just go back here in Boston after a week. Is that okay?"

"Or I'll just drive to New York, in your apartment to pick you up." Hazel suggested with a teasing grin.

"Oh no no," Czarina shook her head in disagreement. "That's too much, you're literally taking me on a free vacation! I could at least take care of that ride myself."

"Come on, I wanna meet your dad too!"

"Why?" Czarina only rolled her eyes. "He's a busy man. You might not even see him in our place even if you stay the whole day."

"You can't blame a girl for trying," The brunette frowned at her. "You're meeting my family, I'm meeting yours. How cool is that!"

"Not much!"

Hazel groaned in annoyance and picked up the box sitting next to her feet. It's not a secret to her that Czarina was a victim of the Snap and the past five years had taken a huge toll on her. That's why Hazel was eager to help her get back to the new world. Like being with people again. What her friend doesn't know is the fact she's an ex KGB slashed HYDRA assassin who has an assassin too as a father. Normal won't work out that quick for them. She hasn't seen her father for almost six months, she isn't sure if he's as good as her at meeting new people.

"Hazel! There you are." A voice addressed her friend, followed by a group of boys crowding around them. It's them again.

"What do you want, Ash?"

"We're having a party tonight, at Kevin's!" Ash delightedly informed them. "I'm sure you are coming so we're here to pick up our boy Kev!"

An obvious hint of discomfort was evident in Hazel's reaction to the situation. Her gaze drifted downwards to avoid the teasing stares and smiles of the boys around them. "I-I don't know..." She stammered nervously.

"Come on, you know us! Kevin always makes us pick up."

Hazel sighed heavily in distress before speaking again in a very low voice, almost like a whisper. "O-Okay, maybe I'm fine with it..."

A huge grin grew on Ash's face as soon as he heard an agreement from the girl, the other boys also grew visibly excited by it. As Ash was about to pat Hazel's shoulder and say something, Czarina intervened between her friend and the incredibly irritating guy who knew from one of her classes.

"No, she doesn't want to go to that party. We already have plans tonight. So stop bothering her." She spoke with quite a spite and shoved away Ash's hand that was inching towards Hazel.

But it wasn't enough to stop him, the boy scoffed lightly and gazed back at the cowering girl behind. "Hazel, are you letting her speak for you? You already told us you're going. Stop being such a hardball."

Czarina was ready to jump on the guys and give them the trouble they're looking for in the past few weeks of their non stop pestering. Until Hazel suddenly spoke behind her.

"No. I don't want to go. I'm done with Kevin, I never want to see him anymore." The girl answered back without a falter, grabbing Czarina by her wrist to walk past the jocks that blocked their way. Seeing her friend finally spoke for herself against those guys, the blonde can't help but smile. An intense feeling burning in her chest given the fact Hazel's hands were intertwined to hers.

"Barnes, right?" Ash called out to her. They were already a few feet away from the spot where the group was standing, but Czarina's pace slowed down upon hearing him.

"Yes." She tilted her back a bit to see the boy. "I thought you'd forget."

"Aren't you a little too old to be a freshman?" Ash mocked loudly and a couple of his friends started laughing by the locker.

"Aren't you a little too old to be using your mom's car for partying?"

A collective awe sounded not only from a couple of students around them but almost everyone in the hallway. It was a small thing compared to what Czarina has been holding back from days, at least he won't be going home with a broken bone or shattered nose. Considering what they have been doing to them all because Kevin wants Hazel back.

"You're straight up mean." Hazel pressed her lips together to hold back a smile.

"You can laugh, we're almost outside."

"How'd you know he drives his mom's car?" Hazel giggled uncontrollably, the sides of her eyes curling upwards. When she smiles, so does her soft brown eyes.

"Everyone knows it! No one just says anything about it since they want to be in those jerks' circle so badly. Or sleep with him."

"Rina!" Hazel's eyes widened.

"What? It's true. And I don't understand because Ash looks like a potato."

The laughter she's been holding back there burst out from her friend's lips. In a matter of seconds and a few more quips, both the girls were laughing in unison with tears in their eyes at the campus' parking field.

"You're a horrible horrible person," Hazel mused out, waving a finger at her. "You really had a lot to say about Kevin and his friends, huh."

"And you do too. So, see you in a week?" Czarina leaned against the door of the car where Hazel had climbed in.

"Yeah." The girl nodded back. "And yes, I'll stop bothering you about going to New York to pick you up."

"Wow, thank you so much," Czarina remarked sarcastically. "Take care Hazelnut."

"You too, Queen!" The windows then rolled up and the car started driving away from the parking space, leaving Czarina standing there with a smile still plastered on her lips.

Reminder: Dr. Greene's, 9pm tomorrow. Her phone screen vibrated and glowed brighter than usual. Oh Doctor Greene, we have so much work ahead of us.

┏━════════════━┓

ASHA'S NOTES !

┗━════════════━┛

Finally I was able to publish this! First official chapter and it's a bit short, my apologies. It's just a quick glimpse of Rina's current life after being pardoned. I promise you we will be catching up in the TFATWS ep one in the next chapter. Anyways, this is quite a fun writing because Rina and Hazel are such adorable beans. They'll be more of them in the fic and I hope you don't get bored of that <3