"Never," he says with a sudden grin, his teeth a flash of white in the darkness. There is precious little about Natalia that he doesn't love, and that she can take as much as she gives is among his favorite of her qualities. She's a formidable woman in spirit as well as body, and as beautiful as she is, he wouldn't be half so interested were it not for her ability to hold her own when trouble comes knocking. He's too far gone to make it as a civilian with any success, something that his presence here tonight can surely attest to. What would he possibly do with someone whose greatest tragedy in life was spilled milk? What could he ever have in common?

Natasha understands him in ways no one could ever imagine; it's not something he takes for granted, and even if he remains reluctant to share what brought him to her window so late.

"You're perfectly difficult."