Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It’s been a hellish circus the last hour, having to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D personnel, bagging and tagging every piece of evidence at the warehouse, and watching Eli and Teddy get shuttled into the quintjet, clutching various body parts with pained expressions. Not to mention having to inform Maria Hill exactly why two of her teammates were in need of medical attention and why they hardly had to do any work in clearing the warehouse. Kate feels an ulcer starting to form. A hard, lead ball of stress and anxiety in her stomach. She knows it must show on her face because the rest of the team gives her a wide berth after they’ve secured the scene. They let her sit alone at the far back of the jet, the air tense with all the surprises and failures of the night. Kate can feel Peter fighting the urge to speak. Both of them had that issue, that painful inability to shut up. But Kate couldn’t talk right now. A headache had quickly formed on top of the possible ulcer and she couldn’t bring herself to speak anymore than the few words she had traded with Hill over the phone.  Kate doesn’t waste any time when they get to the compound. As soon as the jet touches down on the gravel, she’s off towards the medbay. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Those are the first words Kate says when she sees Eli.

She knows she should probably feel more empathetic and take it easy on him. His arm is in a sling and all; bandages decorating his jaw. But a specific fury courses through her veins. She notices his heart rate spike up the second Kate enters the room. She sees him brace himself for the inevitable chewing out and the ulcer hums painfully in her stomach. It’s worsened by the stubborn look on Eli’s face, the look that means he’s going to try to defend himself even though he was clearly in the wrong. “I told you not to engage. Fury said specifically-”

“She was right there, Kate!” he says, his uninjured fist clenched tightly in his lap. “She was right in front of us.”

“I know, I saw,” she says. “I told you not to engage and you didn’t listen to me. Now, look at you!”

“I could’ve stopped her-”

“You obviously couldn’t!”

Eli’s mouth hardens into a thin line. Everything about him is tense but he doesn’t attempt to say anything again as Kate continues. “You injured yourself and got Teddy hurt along with you even though Fury told all of us not to engage.” 

Teddy sits on the bed opposite Eli, arm in a sling but looking much better off than Eli. “It's just a sprain,” he says with a sheepish shrug, having the decency to look somewhat contrite for following Eli’s lead despite Kate’s orders. 

“ ‘m sorry,” Teddy says. “I was just trying to help.”

“It’s okay,” Kate says even though it’s not. But Teddy, unlike Eli, had never gone off on his own before. He was only helping out Eli, and had gotten his elbow sprained and a few bruises for his trouble. Before Kate could say anything else, Billy is rushing into the room, towards Teddy. When he starts to fret over Teddy in a way that hurts to look at, Kate turns back to Eli. She takes a moment to breathe before speaking. “ Don’t do that again,” she says. 

“Kate-”

“I have to go to the debriefing and explain to Fury why you disobeyed his orders and mine.”

***

Kate doesn’t know when she became the de facto leader of the team. All she knows is that she’s the only one summoned to Fury’s office after they’ve been thoroughly debriefed. It makes sense. She took the lead on this operation much like she’s been taking lead on most of their other operations. She knew she’d be responsible for any and all mistakes committed on her watch. But still. It doesn’t calm her nerves any as she makes her into Fury’s office. She feels like she’s been summoned to the principal’s office. When she enters his office, his head is tilted downwards, glancing over a file in his hands. He doesn’t speak or look up as she takes a seat in one of the chairs placed in front of his desk. She counts to thirty before he closes the file, tossing it onto his desk as if it were light reading, and finally glances up at Kate. He doesn’t smile but his expression is calm, the lines of his face smooth and neutral as he meets her eyes. 

“You know, I worked with Natasha Romanoff for over twenty years,” he says. 

Kate keeps her face expressionless, hiding her confusion. She has no idea where this is gonna go but she doesn’t think it can be anywhere good. 

“Hell of an agent. One of the best fighters I’ve ever seen,” he says, his tone of voice is casual as if he were relaying a simple memory. “The red room; their training is incomparable.  Only one in ten survive. So the few that do make it through; their skills are unparalleled and easy to spot.” He folds his hands on top of the file, leaning towards Kate. “Yelena Belova might be a better fighter than her sister. At least, from all the footage I’ve seen of her in action. I’ve watched enough to know exactly what she's capable of.” 

A question is on the tip of Kate’s tongue. But she resists the urge to open her mouth. Fury meets her gaze, his eyes unreadable. “The footage from tonight is interesting,” he says, almost conversationally. Kate hadn’t known they were being recorded. But she’s not surprised. “Do you have any idea why Yelena Belova would pull her punches?” he asks, tone still light, even as Kate’s stomach drops and she feels like she’s staring down the precipice of a large descent, about to freefall through oblivion. “Teddy and Eli are good fighters,” Fury continues on, despite Kate’s internal turmoil. “But Miss Belova could’ve easily done more than a sprained elbow and a couple bruises, even with their increased mass and strength.” His eyes seem to harden almost imperceptibly during his next words. “She could’ve killed them,” he says. “Do you have any idea what would hold her back?”

Kate focuses on her breathing, keeping it even and steady as her heart rate threatens to sky rocket. “No, sir,” she says. She hopes her face is as impassive as she thinks it is. “No clue.”

Fury studies her face for a few moments, eyes flitting over every inch of her expression to search for the subtlest of movements. Kate feels like she’s about to throw up in the trash bin beside his desk. 

“Okay,” he says, breaking their gaze. “You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you, sir.”

She stands up and walks out of the office on steady legs. But her composure crumbles almost as soon as she gets back to the team apartment. Kate barely manages to make it all the way to her bedroom before she’s running to the toilet, acid already burning her throat.

***

Considering the shit show of their most recent mission, Fury sends them home for the next few days. It’s supposed to be a punishment of some sort but still, Kate can’t help but be grateful. She feels the secrets she had been collecting over the past few months buzzing beneath her skin, threatening to overtake her and spill out. She dials Yelena’s number as soon as she ascends the stairs to her apartment. 

She picks up immediately. “Kate,” Yelena says. As soon as she hears her voice, something cracks inside of Kate, and she’s sinking to her living room floor as soon as she gets inside of her apartment. She desperately wishes Yelena were there with her instead of on the other end of the phone. 

“Are you okay?” Yelena asks. 

Kate’s voice is rough when she speaks. “Yeah,” she says, swallowing down the sudden lump in her throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you teammates. Even the captain America knock off.”

“I know,” Kate says. “I don’t blame you. They weren’t- Eli wasn’t supposed to-”

“I tried my best not to hurt them.”

“I know, I saw. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me for hurting your friends.” The anguish in Yelena’s voice gives Kate pause. It stokes her own anguish. Makes her throat constrict even more with the feeling of everything falling apart around them. Kate focuses on breathing lest she spiral into a panic attack again. 

“You didn’t hurt them as badly as you could’ve,” she says. 

“I shouldn’t have hurt them at all.” The pain in Yelena’s voice is grating. It cuts at Kate, at the wounds she’s been trying to keep closed all day.

“They didn’t give you much of a choice.”

There’s a pause on the other end of the phone. Kate uses it to ask the question that’s been floating at the back of her mind all day. “Yelena. Why were you at the warehouse?”

“I had business to attend to there.”

“What business?”

“Kate Bishop, you always ask so many questions.”

“And you never answer any of them.”

“I will tell you, okay? Once I’m done, I will tell you.”

“Done with what?”

There’s rustling on the other end of the phone followed by muffled thuds and yells. “Yelena?”

“I have to go, Kate Bishop.” The line cuts before she can get another word in. 

***

Kate doesn’t know who else to call. But she’s a mess and Jack can only empathize so much and her moms’ in prison so she has limited options for people to call at one a.m. Surprisingly, Clint picks up only after two rings.

“Kate?” Clint asks. His voice is tired, still heavy with sleep. Kate feels bad for waking him but she’s flailing and he’s her mentor for a reason. She needs guidance, even if it is one in the morning and Clint only operates on old man hours. 

“I think I fucked up,” she says. Kate hears rustling on the other end of the phone. 

“What happened?” a new alertness has overridden whatever sleep was in his voice. There’s so much to say. Too much. So Kate starts at the beginning, going far back to the night before she first arrived at the avengers compound. He doesn’t say much during her whole spiel. The only confirmation that she gets that he’s listening is a small hmm every few sentences.

“Clint, I’m so screwed.”

“Yeah, sounds like it, kid.” He sighs, and Kate can tell he’s thinking of what to say. “Listen, a black widow is a tricky creature. They have their own sense of right and wrong.”

“I just have no idea what Yelena’s doing,” Kate says. “Or what she’s thinking and it’s driving me insane.”

“Yeah, widows tend to do that.” Clint takes a breath and Kate waits for him to continue. “Listen, Natasha was my best friend. If Yelena is anything like her, she’ll feel like it’s her job to take care of things.”

“But it’s not.”

Clint chuckles. “I know. You and I both know this. But black widows are always going to work their own game to protect us and everyone else they care about. That’s what they do.” He waits a beat before speaking again. “It’s our job as Hawkeyes to have their back. Even when we don’t exactly know the play, all that matters is that you trust each other. Do you trust her?”

“Yes,” Kate says. She doesn’t even hesitate. “But I feel like a sitting duck. I don’t know what to do, Clint.”

“Well, I can’t help you with the Yelena stuff. But don’t worry about Fury too much.”

“I can’t go to jail, dude. I’m not cut out for it, I couldn’t even handle high school detention.”

“You won’t go to jail. At most, you’ll get fired-”

“I can get fired!?”

“Okay, you’re spiraling. Let’s calm down. Breathe.” Clint instructs her when to inhale and exhale. His voice is patient and grounding as Kate does what he says, focusing on her steadying her heart rate. Eventually, her breathing evens out and her chest loses most of the tightness that had started to wrap itself around her. 

“What do I do?” Kate asks. 

“Kate, that’s your call. I can’t tell you what to do.”

She’s silent for a few moments before Clint speaks again. “Hey, listen,” he says. “I can come up if you need me to-”

“No, it’s fine,” Kate says, shaking her head as if he could see her. “I’m fine. Well, I will be. It’s okay, I’ll clean up my own mess. I really don’t need you to do it again.”

“Your mess is my mess, remember?”

Kate can’t help but smile. “Still, I can handle this. If I need help, I’ll call. Okay, Hawkeye?”

“Okay, Hawkeye.”

After Kate ends the call, she stews about her room for a few hours. She knows what she should do. It’s been gnawing at the back of her mind since she called Clint. The guilt she’s been carrying, all the sneaking around, the lying; it wasn’t feasible. How much longer could this go on for? After everything that had happened at the warehouse, Kate needed to come clean to her team. Well, maybe not all of them all at once. But definitely Peter and Cassie. The thought of confessing what Yelena was to her made Kate nauseous. But she had to do it. She knew in her bones it was time to come clean. Even when she actively didn’t think about it, she had always known they would have to find out eventually. She had just been putting it off until she figured out a way around it. But there was no escaping it. She had to face it head on. It was the superhero-ly thing to do. 

***

Kate doesn’t even have to ask Cassie and Peter to come over. Their dismissal happens to fall on the weekend Cassie was due to stay in town anyway. They arrive at Kate’s place right when the sun is going down. She hasn’t left the apartment all day and doesn’t even bother sitting down once they come inside. There’s too much nervous energy spasming inside of her for Kate to be still. 

“Are you okay?” Peter asks as soon as she closes the door behind them. “You look kinda sick.”

“No, I’m fine. Totally cool.” Kate’s hand goes to rub at the back of her neck, angling her eyes away from Peter and Cassie’s confused stares. “Why don’t you guys sit down?”

“Kate, you’re pacing. It’s kinda freaking me out,” Cassie says, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Sorry, I just-” Kate is close to nibbling at her nails, a terrible habit from childhood she had kicked years ago. 

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to tell you guys something. And I understand if you hate me and have to tell Fury, I get it.” Kate can’t take it anymore. She just barrels on ahead, feeling very similar to how she felt running down the side of that building after Yelena almost a year ago. 

“Kate, what are you talking about?” Cassie’s expression has gone from one of confusion to concern. 

“You know that girl I told you about? The one from the club that first night we went out?”

“Yeah.”

And here it was. The point of no return. Kate swallowed down the fear that was burning like a live wire in her throat. “It was Yelena.”

“Yelena who?” Peter asks. 

“Yelena Belova.” Kate has run over the name many times in her head but saying it, especially in this context, feels awkward and wrong. It feels a little like betrayal. 

Both of their faces go blank. Peter looks like he’s trying to compute the information while Cassie’s face is an unreadable wall. Which is terrifying since she was usually the most expressive of their group. 

“Yelena Belova?” Peter asks. “Natasha Romanoff’s sister?”

“The girl we’ve been hunting for months,” Cassie says, steel starting to form in hard lines across her face.

“Didn’t she try to kill you? And Hawkeye?” Peter asks.

“That was a misunderstanding.”

“Was sleeping with her a misunderstanding?” Cassie asks. “Did you know what she’d done when you slept with her?”

The question catches Kate off guard but she’s quick to answer. “No, no,” she says, shaking her head. “I had no idea she stole something from S.H.I.E.L.D. She didn’t tell me anything and we started hooking up before I even got to the compound.”

Cassie’s face seems to harden even more. Her voice is pure ice when she speaks. “Are you still sleeping with her?”

“Cassie-”

“Are you?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that.”

Cassie steps toward the door, fists clenched at her side. “No, it really isn’t, Kate.” She stalks out of the room and Kate chases after her. “Cassie, wait!” she calls out as she follows her out onto the sidewalk. “I’m sorry!”

She stops abruptly, Kate almost running into her chest as she turns around. “How could you?”

She’s more furious than Kate has ever seen her, her eyes red rimmed and giving Kate pause. She’s never seen her cry before. “I can’t believe you told me that.”

“What?”

“You understand what kinda position this puts me in? If Fury finds out I knew and didn’t tell him? Or Hill? Do you know what’ll happen?”

“Cassie, I didn't mean- I understand if you tell them, I-”

“You know how badly I wanted this, how hard I had to push to be here. You know my parents. They’ve had me under their thumb since they figured out what I could do. This is the first time I’ve actually belonged somewhere. And you’ve jeopardized that.”

“Cassie, I get-”

“No, you don’t get it, Kate. You’ve been training for this your whole life. Your mom gave you your first bow and arrow. My mom didn’t talk to me for a week when I told her I was coming here. You’ve screwed me and Peter by telling us.”

“I didn’t want to lie to you guys anymore.”

“Well, you didn’t have a problem lying to us these past few months, the whole time we’ve known each other.”

Kate didn’t notice Peter had followed him. She’s only aware of his presence when he attempts to step in between them. “Hey, guys, maybe we should take a step back-”

“We’re teammates, Kate. Friends . We’re not supposed to lie to each other.”

“Cassie, I’m sorry. I-.”

Cassie stalks off, not looking back. Tears burn Kate’s eyes as she watches her leave. “Fuck,” she shouts after Cassie’s turned a corner. Peter lingers beside her, staring after her. “She probably just needs some time to cool off,” he says, hands in his hoodie pockets. “I’m eighty five percent sure she won’t tell Fury.”

She rubs at her face, peering at him between her fingers. “You’re not mad?”

Peter shrugs. “Not really? I mean, I’m bummed that you lied to us. That wasn’t really cool. But I understand why you did it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. You like her, right?”

“Probably closer to love.”

“Woah.”

“I know.”

“Well, yeah, love makes you do crazy things. And you didn’t want her to go to prison or whatever they do to people who steal from S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“I’m really sorry I lied to you, Peter. Really. I didn’t mean to betray you guys or hurt you.”

“I forgive you,” Peter says. “And I’m sure Cassie will too. Just give her time.”

“Maybe. Are you going back to the compound?”

“Yeah,” Peter shrugs. “I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”

“I mean, you can still crash on the couch if you want.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Kate wasn’t really in the mood to be alone. Plus, having Peter around always lifted her spirits. “Do you wanna watch the Golden Girls with me?”

“Sure.”

***

It’s almost one a.m.. They’re knee deep in a Golden Girl’s marathon and neither Kate nor Peter have left her couch in the last couple of hours. The quiet hum of the tv and their muted laughs is only interrupted by something crashing through Kate’s window. They both jump up, muscles a bit slow from sitting in the same slumped position for so long, but they're still fast enough for Peter’s web shooters to be out as well as Kate’s retractable bow. But, running her eyes over the dim shape crouching in front of her window, Kate quickly lowers the weapon. 

“Yelena?”

“Yelena?” Peter asks, dropping his hands back to his sides and watching as Kate goes to meet Yelena where she’s still resting by the window.

“Spider boy?” Yelena asks. “From the baby avengers.”

“Spider-man,” Peter says, blushing. 

“You’re just a kid.”

“I’m nineteen.”

“A baby.”

“Yelena, what are you doing here?” Kate asks. But with a closer look at Yelena, Kate can see the bruises along her face. And the red spreading from her jacket. “Yelena!” She says, rushing to her side. Her arm quickly winds itself around Kate’s neck while Kate leads them toward the couch, the blonde leaning into her side, grimacing with each step. She places Yelena onto her back as gently as she can. “What happened?” she asks, eyes scanning over her body for any other possible injuries. 

“Just a little stabbing,” she says, far too casual for Kate’s liking. “It’s alright.”

“You’re bleeding!”

“I just need some stitches. I’ll be alright. But you need to do it. My hands, they’re a bit unsteady right now.”

Kate yells for Peter to get the first aid kit from her bathroom. Within seconds, he’s sliding it into Kate’s hands and standing watch beside her, his anxious energy palpable. 

“Thank you, Spider-Man,” Yelena says, sweat dotting her face. Her eyes are scrunched closed in pain and Kate doesn’t waste any time. She opens the kit and hurries to gather all the proper supplies, thankful for all the extra first aid Clint had insisted Kate learn before joining the team. 

“It’s Peter, actually,” he says. “Peter Parker.”

“Yelena Belova.”

“I know, you’re Kate’s-” he quiets when Kate sends him a look over her shoulder.

“I’m Kate’s what?” Yelena asks, eyes still closed.

“Friend?” Peter supplies.

“Friend? Is that what we are, Kate Bishop. Friends?”

Kate fights a blush as she unzips Yelena’s vest and rolls up her shirt. The wound isn’t as bad as she thought but her heart still clenches at the sight of the blood staining Yelena’s skin. Her hands are gentle as they clean the gash. “I mean, it’s not not true.”

“You have good hands,” Yelena says. “I’ve missed them.”

Kate rolls her eyes but blushes all the same. “What happened?” she asks, focusing on the wound and the blood instead.

“I told you. Stabbing. I was just unlucky.” Yelena winces as she takes an alcohol swab to her skin. Her eyes open to meet Kate’s. “Don’t frown, маленький ястреб. I’m fine.” She looks to Peter. “Peter Parker.”

“Yes?” he asks, stepping forward. 

“There's vodka underneath the sink. Bring it to me, please.”

Kate assumes it’s to sanitize the wound and she’s about to tell Yelena she has actual disinfectant when Yelena simply snatches the bottle from Peter and brings it to her mouth.

“Is this what you had to do when you hung up on me the last time we talked?” Kate asks. Her hands are steady as they thread a needle through Yelena’s skin. She talks to distract both of them.

“I would’ve kept talking to you but a man came at me with a knife and I’m only so good at multitasking.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”

“I’m fine, маленький ястреб,” Yelena says, her face only betraying the slightest discomfort. “Now that I’m with you.”

“Stop sweet talking me when you’re bleeding on my couch.”

“I can’t help it. You make me cheesy.” 

Kate rolls her eyes but can’t help the smile that spreads across her lips. She feels Yelena’s eyes on her, searching her face.

“I hope I didn’t just spoil our secret,” Yelena says when Peter goes to fetch another towel. Kate shakes her head, focusing on the last stitch. “No,” she says. “I actually just told him and Cassie tonight.”

“About me?”

“Yeah,” Kate’s hands remain steady on Yelena’s side where scattered blotches of red still stain her skin. She can feel the inhale and exhale of her breath with the rise and fall of her stomach. It calms Kate, lessens the panic she had only felt minutes ago. “Cassie didn’t take it well.”

“I’m sorry, маленький ястреб.”

“It’s okay. I knew I was gonna have to deal with it eventually. On the brightside, Peter took it surprisingly well.”

Yelena glances toward the kitchen, where Peter’s pretending not to listen in the conversation, trying to look busy as he opens draws aimlessly. “He seems like a nice boy,” she says. “Still a child though.”

“I’m nineteen!”

***

Peter, after Yelena has been cleaned up and the vodka has calmed both her and Kate’s nerves, offers to give them space by leaving back to the compound. But it’s almost three in the morning and Peter’s been suppressing his yawns for the past half hour. Yelena must’ve noticed as well. 

“You don’t have to leave, Peter Parker,” she says, standing up from the couch. Kate’s hand quickly wraps around her middle, holding her steady against her even though she was perfectly capable of standing on her own. “You can keep the couch. I’ll be upstairs.”

“Are you sure?” Peter and Kate both ask. 

Yelena laughs. “I’m sure, I am not putting your friend out, Kate Bishop.” She turns, heading towards the stairs. “I’ll be upstairs. It was nice to meet you, Peter Parker.”

“You too,” he says. Peter turns to Kate after they both watch Yelena disappear into her bedroom. “She seems nice,” he says. “Kinda scary but I can see why you like her.”

“Yeah, she’s something,” Kate says. 

“Do you think she likes me?”

Kate’s brow furrows in confusion. "Why?”

“ ‘Cause she’s like your girlfriend, right? I want her to like me. I’m one of your best friends.”

“Pretty sure it’s usually the other way around. But I’m sure she likes you.”

“Cool,” Peter says, a small, satisfied smile on his lips. 

Kate leaves him to the blankets and pillows spread out on the couch. She finds Yelena already under her covers, in a pair of Kate’s shorts and an archery camp t-shirt. Yelena has the decency to at least look contrite as Kate slides underneath the comforter beside her. 

“Sorry, маленький ястреб,” Yelena says, shifting closer to Kate. “I did not mean to bleed on your couch.”

“It’s alright. I never liked that couch anyway.”

“I know how to get bloodstains out of the cushions.”

“Well, that’ll be helpful tomorrow morning.”

Yelena shifts so she’s on her elbows, glancing over Kate’s shoulder. “I see you’ve been listening to the tapes,” she says. Kate follows her line of sight to the cassettes piled on top of her bedside table. 

“Yeah, I listen to them all the time,” she says. She turns onto her side to face Yelena, running her thumb along her cheek and tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. “You’re such a romantic.”

“Did you expect me to be an unromantic brute, Kate Bishop?”

“No, it was just…unexpected. But they’re sweet. You’re sweet.”

Yelena smiles, cuddling closer into Kate. “I’m glad you enjoyed the fruits of my labor, маленький ястреб. It took a while to make those.”

“I wouldn’t have thought you would…”

“That I would what?”

“It’s just-” Kate doesn’t want to be insensitive. They’ve talked about the red room but only in brief snippets. There was still a lot about the place that Kate didn’t understand or know much about but it seemed like a hard place to find music, especially the kind Yelena had put on her mixes. “The red room. The music on your mixes, I just thought-”

A look of understanding passes over Yelena’s face. “It’s true, the red room did not give us much time to make tapes or listen to the music of our choice. There wasn’t much music at all. But there was a lot of music before that.”

A fondness twinkles in her eyes like she’s replaying a memory. Kate waits for her to continue, sensing a story on the tip of her tongue. 

“My daddy is a fan of American soul music. He and my mother would dance and me and Natasha would watch,” she says. She smiles at the memory and Kate smiles at the warmth in her expression. “He is a crude idiot. But an exceptional romantic, surprisingly. My mother is not. She is cold, analytical a lot of the time. But still loving in her own way. She used to tell me that I took after Alexei. Soft, big heart.”

“You are a big softie.”

“Only with you, Kate Bishop.” Her fingers slide across Kate’s stomach, searching. She grasps Kate’s hand when she finds it, intertwining it with her own.

“What are we gonna do?” Kate asks, her body tired but her mind still racing from the events of the last few days. She still had questions, many still left unanswered by Yelena. 

“We are going to go to sleep.”

“I meant-”

“I know what you meant.” Yelena places a kiss at the edge of her jaw, her forehead resting against her cheek. “Time, маленький ястреб. All I need is a little more time.”

“I don’t know how much more I can offer.” 

Yelena shifts, nuzzling her face into Kate’s neck. Kate shivers under Yelena’s lips as they brush over her skin. “I’m sorry,” she says. “I know this is more trouble you thought it’d be-”

“No, I didn’t say that,” Kate says. “I just- I’m just worried.”

“I know. But I can’t give you any assurances, not tonight.”

“That’s okay.”

“I want you to know you can change your mind at any time, Kate. If this becomes too much for you.”

“No,” Kate says, shifting onto her elbows so she could look Yelena in the eye. “No, I’m standing by you. I’m in too deep to go back.” Yelena searches her face and Kate tries to show her she means every word. “Plus, I really, really like you.”

Yelena’s lips curl into a lecherous grin. Her hand brushes along Kate’s hip, playing with the waistband of her underwear. “Oh, you do, do you?”

Kate exhales a sound of amusement against her cheek. She can’t get enough of her. “Yelena, we can’t have sex with the giant gash in your side.”

“Says who?”

“Says me. You need to rest.”

“What I need is some affection from my little hawk, no?”

“You said something about sleep before.”

Yelena pouts and it’s the cutest thing Kate has ever seen. “I’m injured and you refuse me affection?”

“You’re injured which is why you need to rest.” Kate leans up, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She lays back down, tugging Yelena along with her. 

“You’re no fun, Kate Bishop,” Yelena says, tucking her head under Kate’s chin. 

“Yeah, I know.” Kate wraps an arm around her, mindful of her stitches, and lets sleep come to her easily. 

***

In the morning Yelena is gone but another mix tapes lays on her bedside table, above the folded shorts and shirt Yelena had worn the night before. Beneath the tape is a recipe for how to remove blood from couch cushions scribbled on a torn piece of notebook paper. 

Peter is already awake when Kate ventures down stairs, eating a bowl of cereal in front of her TV. He glances up at her, mouth full of Frosted Flakes. “She left a little while ago,” he says. “She didn’t notice me, I think. I just saw her jump out your window.”

“Yeah, she does that,” Kate says, going to her kitchen to scrounge up a bowl of cereal for herself. Hopefully, Peter didn’t drink the last of the milk. She really needed to go grocery shopping. 

“So what are you gonna do?” Peter asks. 

“About what?”

“Cassie, Yelena, Fury? All of it?”

“Well, first, I’m gonna eat my cereal. Second, I'm gonna take a long shower. And third…” Kate trails off. 

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“Not a single one, no, not all.” Kate takes a seat on the loveseat diagonal from the couch, bowl balanced precariously in her hands. “But it’s fine, right? Everything’ll probably turn out okay.”

“I hope so,” Peter says. “I really don't want you to go to prison.”

“You and me both, dude.”

***

It’s stifled between Cassie and Kate when she returns to the compound. Mercifully, Cassie doesn’t tell Fury or Hill from what Kate can tell. Neither of them give her a second glance when they convene in the meeting room. Kate lets loose a quiet sigh of relief, feeling a massive weight fall off her shoulders. But Cassie still doesn’t look at her the whole time they’re in the meeting. She doesn’t look at her at all any time they’re in the same room together that first day back. They manage to go a whole three days without talking before Kate finds Cassie in her room. She’s just coming back from the gym, sweat staining her tank top and earbuds in, when she opens her bedroom door to find Cassie sitting on the edge of her bed.

“Wha-”

Cassie stands, finger pointed at Kate. “This doesn’t mean I forgive you. But I also don’t wanna see you get thrown off the team. You’re the only one who Eli will listen to, most of the time, and you study the files like no one else.” The words rush out of her almost in one breath and it takes Kate a second to comprehend each of them individually. “This team would fall apart without you and I don’t wanna see that happen.”

“Cassie, I’m-”

She holds up a hand, silencing her. “I don’t forgive you.” Cassie’s eyes aren’t as angry as the last time she talked to her but her voice is still cold, highlighting the distance between them. “Not yet. And probably not for a long time. But we have shit to do and I don’t wanna keep giving you the silent treatment when we have bad guys to catch.”

“Cassie, I’m sorry. I really am. Lying to you was- Was unforgivable and unbearable and I’m sorry.”

“So why did you do it then?” There’s anger and disbelief in her expression but also genuine curiosity. 

Kate thinks about what she wants to say and how to say it. They were walking a tightrope and one wrong word might have them toppling over the edge, screwing up whatever peace Cassie was offering her. But she also wanted to be honest with her. “I thought it was over. I thought we were over, honest. When Fury told us about her, that next weekend I went home and told her we had to end it. And we did. We were done for a month but she showed up again and I…I just couldn’t do it, Cass. I couldn’t turn her in. Not after everything.”

“So you just kept her hidden from me instead of telling me what was going on?” Cassie asks, folding her arms over her chest. “Were you afraid I was gonna rat you out?”

Kate lowers her eyes, rubbing the back of her neck. “Yeah. Yeah, a part of me was afraid you would. I know how important this team is to you. I thought if you had to choose between me and S.H.I.E.L.D-”

“Well, you’re an idiot.”

“I know.”

“I thought about it. I did. But like I said, I don’t want you kicked off the team. Or worse. But, fuck, Kate,” Cassie sighs, bringing her hands up to rub at her temples. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”

Kate huffs out a humorless laugh. “No, absolutely no idea.”

“Is she really worth all this trouble?”

Kate laughs again, genuine mirth sneaking into this one. “Yeah, I think so, unfortunately.”

Cassie collapses onto her bed. “Well, fuck.”

***

Teddy and Eli are on bed rest for a week. They’re both summoned to Fury’s office the day they’re cleared to be out in the field again. Judging by the look on their faces after they come out, Fury rips them a new one for blatantly disobeying his orders. 

Afterwards, the whole team gathers in the meeting room. 

“We’ve received confirmation of Kingpin’s location,” Fury says, bringing up a series of photos, locations and rap sheets on the screen. “Reports had him rumored to be deceased but our intelligence shows us he is still very much alive and very active in the illegal weapons trade in New York. We’ve received word that he plans on expanding his business outside of the city and along the rest of the East Coast. We believe that, because of Kate’s role in dismantling his organization last year, Kingpin has put out the hit on her and her mother as retribution.”

At the mention of her mom, currently in federal custody as an extra precaution against possible attempts on her life, Kate’s anger is stoked as well as her determination to put Wilson Fisk back behind bars. Far away from her mom and the rest of the general public.

“We need to draw him out,” Kate says. “Or send me in.”

“What are you talking about?” Eli asks. 

Kate looks around the table at her team, questioning gazes all aimed at her. “I’m betting Kingpin would want to take care of me himself if he had the chance.”

“Kate-” Eli starts but he’s interrupted by Fury.

“Are you sure about that, Bishop?” He asks. He stares at her with an unreadable expression. Normally, Kate would be wavering slightly underneath the intensity of his gaze but she’s sure of herself and the plan already forming in her head. She wants Kingpin put away and she wants to be the one to do it.

Fury holds her gaze for a few more moments before seemingly deciding Kate was serious. “Well, it’s your idea so you take point again,” he says. 

“Kate,” Eli starts, turning towards her. 

She shakes her head. “Don’t say it’s too dangerous, that’s incredibly insulting.”

“It is dangerous,” Cassie says.

“It’s dangerous every time we leave the compound and hop onto the quintjet, that’s kinda the point of being avengers.”

“Well, what’s the plan then?” Cassie asks.

“Simple. We play catch and release.”

“What?”

“It’s something Clint taught me. We let Kingpin think he’s caught me. And when he tries to kill me, you guys come in and we take care of him and all of the tracksuits.”

“That sounds incredibly risky,” Cassie says. “What makes you think he won’t just have someone shoot you on sight?”

“Because he’ll want to rub my failure in my face before he kills me,” Kate says. “I think. Hopefully.”

She sees both Eli and Cassie roll their eyes. Peter and Billy look a little uncertain but, other than that, there’s no retorts or pushback. With all eyes on her, Kate begins to articulate the specifics of her plan. She thinks about her mom as she talks. They had only been able to speak once. Her voice had been firm when she said she didn’t want to talk about her safety, only Kate’s, which had broken her heart only a little bit. She plans to drag Kingpin into custody by his legs if she had to. She can only think of her mom and the destroyed skeleton of a bodega as they get into the nitty gritty of Kingpin’s whereabouts and his most recent business venture. 

***

They take a week to prep for the mission. They’re running on a tight time schedule, not trusting the tracksuits or Kingpin to remain tethered to the same location for long. They go through every possible outcome, discussing contingency upon contingency until everyone has their roles and the intricacies of the plan burned into their brain. They stake out Kingpin’s location; another anonymous, unassuming warehouse in the city. Owned by another dummy corporation. 

On the day of their planned infiltration, the ride to the warehouse is tense. Kate doesn’t speak to anyone until right before they touch down a block away from the building, in a private lot S.H.I.E.L.D had secured access to. Kate knows they all know the plan, backwards and forwards. After the last week she spent drilling it into their heads, she trusts them to know what they're doing. With all the operations they’ve gone on together, she has faith in them to have her back and to do what they need to to complete the mission. A fter they establish the connection of their comms, she glances around the interior of the jet, getting the attention of her teammates. “Ready?” she asks. 

“Ready,” their voices call out in unison. Kate can’t help the tingle that runs up her back. They deboard and use the surrounding rooftops to make their way to the warehouse.

“Eli, you have eyes on the ground?”

“Yup, there’s five in the back and about ten more in the front.”

“Cassie?”

“Same on the second floor, it looks like.”

Kate glances beside her where Peter is waiting. She nods and wraps her arms around him. She holds on tightly as they swing to the roof of the warehouse, the wind rushing through her hair and roaring in her ears. It’s quite underwhelming compared to the other times she’s fallen from various buildings.

The roof is clear of any bodies. The various blueprints for the building were a maze of half finished hallways and levels. After Peter and Kate clear the top level, they break off down separate corridors to the second highest floor. Peter stays up on the second highest floor while Kate makes her way to the floor below them where she knows a handful of tracksuits would be standing around, not expecting her. She makes sure her knives and back up bow are in place, hidden in the pockets of her suit, before she rounds the corner. She follows the voices that gradually grow louder. Kate doesn’t try to be sneaky. She just steps out into their line of vision. Their reaction is instantaneous. They shout and rush at Kate as soon as they recognize who she is. She tries to put up the pretense of resistance, landing a few punches and struggling just enough to give the idea that she doesn’t want to be caught. The struggle goes on for a few minutes until Kate lets the four men get the best of her, landing a few good hits before they take hold of her arms and drag her down to the ground floor. Everything is going according to plan so far. They pull her along numerous corridors until they reach a large room. The floor is solid concrete and it's mostly empty except for a few crates, a table and a single chair. With little resistance, Kate lets them tie her to the metal chair in the center of the room. Lucky for her, her legs seem to slip their minds. They only bind her hands, the rope digging painfully into her skin behind her back

“Kate Bishop,” a booming voice says from behind her. A familiar voice Kate wouldn’t be able to forget any time soon. “Foolish like your mother, I see.”

Kate doesn’t take the bait. She watches his large body mass appear from the corner of her eye. He walks with the aid of a cane; long, sleek and white, until he’s standing in front of her, in a white suit similar to the one she had last seen him in.

“Hey, Wilson,” Kate says, smiling a toothy grin that she knows is stained with blood given the coppery taste filling her mouth. She had let the tracksuits get off a couple of easy shots along her face, almost leaning into their punches. The struggle needed to look somewhat genuine.

An unamused grimace crosses his mouth. “Cute but I wouldn’t be in a joking mood if I were you.”

“I’m always in a joking mood. It’s one of my best qualities.”

The grip on the handle of his cane tightens almost imperceptibly. His grimace deepens into something resembling a smile. “I forgot that you had a mouth on you. Maybe we should remedy that.”

“Aw, come on. Can’t we talk?” Kate listens for her team through her comms. Listens as they get into position. “You put a hit out on me and won’t even let me speak?”

“You’ve attempted to ruin my business, Miss Bishop. Again. Of course, you and your mother must be dealt with.”

“Oh, come on, Willy. Afraid of a little girl with just a stick and a string?”

Some people might think Kate has a death wish. Her team, from what she could hear through her comms, definitely thought so. But Kate had a goal and a plan. And, judging by the vein protruding from Kingpin’s forehead, she was close to achieving it. 

“You aim to bait me, Miss Bishop. I can see that. For what reason, I can’t possibly comprehend since your death is imminent.”

“Are you gonna try to beat me to death again? That didn’t really go over well last time, if I remember correctly.”

Kate watches him slide off his suit jacket and roll up his sleeves in the way that bad men sometimes do. With calm focus and malicious intent. 

“You must think that you’re funny or that I don’t plan to follow through on my threat.”

“Oh, no, I don’t doubt tha you want to murder me. But will you actually do it is the question.”

The vein is still throbbing visibly along Kingpin’s forehead. He takes a few breaths, trying to reign in his emotions, Kate can tell. Not wanting to be goaded into something as trivial as an emotional outburst. “Well, unlike last time, you won’t escape me, Miss Bishop,” he says. “And I can finish what I started.”

“Oh, I’m shaking in my boots,” Kate says. But the closer Kingpin comes, the more her heart hammers in her chest. So many things could go wrong if her team didn’t reach her in time. If Kingpin landed a lucky punch just hard enough in the wrong place, Kate would be finished. This might’ve been Clint’s idea that Kate appropriated for her own purposes but she was glad she hadn’t told him about it. He’d have definitely told her it was a bad idea. And it was starting to feel like he’d be right with each step Kingpin took towards her. But still, she keeps her face composed and expressionless as she watches his fist tighten. He starts to wind his fist back and Kate braces for impact. But something loud grabs both of their attention. Gunshots and screams echo up from the ground floor to fill the room they were in. Her team must’ve moved in early even though she hadn’t given the signal. She’s wondering why until there’s voices buzzing in her ear.

“Uh, Kate?” Peter says. “That isn’t us. We’re still outside, in position.”

“Fuck, it looks bad in there,” Cassie chimes in.

“Okay, we’re going in,” Eli says. “Plans changed, looks like someone else is here.”

Kate doesn’t react as Kingpin turns toward the three tracksuits behind him, talking in hushed tones. Another tracksuit burst through the door she had been led through, panting and sweating. Kate already has a knife poised in her palm that had slid down her arm from a secret inner pocket along her shoulder. “Some guy downstairs, bro,” the tracksuit says, out of breath. “Same bro from last time, with the mask and the knives.”

“Deal with it!” Kingpin shouts. Kate already has the ropes undone before he’s even turned back around. She’s really grateful that they forgot to bind her feet. The extra seconds wouldn’t have allowed her to be on the opposite end of the room, retractable bow in hand as soon as Kingpin faces her again. The displeasure is clear in his face and Kate takes some satisfaction in it. 

“Enough of your little games, Hawkeye .” He spits the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. But Kate was glad all the same that he understood who she was. The branding must’ve been working. “But I’m just getting started, Willy,” Kate says. Kingpin lunges at her and she lets loose three arrows in his direction. He easily slaps away two but the third is a purple goo arrow, the sticky substance already working its way up his arm and down his shoulder, stunting his movement. While he tries to wipe it off, Kate takes off through another door in the corner of the room. Having studied the blueprints, she knows it’s supposed to lead her down to the second floor. She rounds a corner towards the staircase leading her to the main floor where the gunshots and screams emanate from. The staircase is metal and so are the walkways, with little square slits, so Kate can clearly see her team squaring off against an onslaught of tracksuits. She’s a few feet from the staircase, in clear view of the ground floor, when a door opens beside her and an arm yanks her into the room. She struggles against the strong arms, knife ready in her hand, before she’s released. Kate turns around and her grip quickly loosens around her knife. 

“Yelena?”

She’s wearing her black tactical suit and her widow bites, what she wore the last time Kate saw her in a similar warehouse weeks ago. Her eyes flit over Kate, brow furrowed in concern and what looks like anger. 

“What are you doing here?” Kate asks.

Yelena’s hands slide up to her face, cupping her jaw as she looks her over. “You’re bleeding,” she says, thumb swiping along Kate’s lip where she could still taste copper. She feels a sense of deja vu. 

“I’m fine,” Kate says. “Minus the rope burns. What are you doing here?”

Yelena opens her mouth to speak. But then, maybe for the first time, Kate sees her look uncertain, pausing before any words leave her mouth. Kate glances at her suit, at the widow bites, and thinks back to the last time she saw her. She thinks back to the phone calls, to everything Yelena had refused to tell her, every piece of information that had been staring her in the face the past few weeks that Kate had been too dense to put together until this very second.

“Oh my god, Yelena.”

“Kate, I-”

“Why are you doing this?,” Kate asks although she can already guess the answer with a hopeful and irritated heart.  “Is this for me?”

“No,” Yelena says. “Well, not at first.”

“Explain please.”

“When I took the counteragent from S.H.I.E.L.D, I thought I had collected all of it. I was wrong. Kingpin somehow got his hands on the rest. I had to get it back and that’s what I was doing until I heard about the bounty he put on you. And your mom. I couldn’t let that stand either.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You wouldn’t have approved of my methods. Or you would’ve tried to help instead of staying safe in the compound with the super powered team.”

“Yelena, you can’t make that choice-”

“You would’ve gotten yourself killed or kicked off the team. Look at your face!” Yelena eyes run over every bruise and splotch of blood decorating Kate’s face. “I understand I deceived you and I should’ve talked to you but you wouldn’t have let me keep you safe and I need you to be safe. I’m not losing someone else.”

Kate rests her hand on top of Yelena’s, still cupping her cheek. “After this, if we’re gonna keep seeing each other, you can’t keep doing this- This hiding things and not telling me, for my own good or whatever. It’s bullshit and I want to date someone who trusts and respects me enough to be honest with me.”

“I do, маленький ястреб. I do. Next time someone puts a hit out on you, I’ll tell you.”

“Thank you.”

Yelena shakes her head, close enough to Kate that their noses are almost touching. “I was just being selfish again, I’m sorry. I promise I’ll work at being better for you. You deserve it, маленький ястреб. You deserve-”

Kate doesn’t mean to cut Yelena off but she can’t help herself. She pulls Yelena to her, connecting their lips. She tastes blood, debris and something sweet. Yelena’s tongue flicks into her mouth and Kate groans into the kiss, hand’s fisting into the front of her jacket.

Yelena is stubborn, annoyingly self-reliant, and secretive but no one has ever tried to single handedly take down a crime syndicate for her. No one had ever made Kate feel as cared for and wanted as Yelena had. Kate wanted to return the favor. She bites down on Yelena’s lip and swallows her moan, drinking up all the love and affection she knows the assassin feels for her. She pulls her closer, wanting to feel her everywhere when-

The door bursts open. The ugly cacophony of gunfire floods into the room only to be dimmed moments later when the door is slammed shut. Familiar voices then drown out the violent rhythm of the bullets. 

“What the fuck?!” Eli says. 

“Holy shit!” Tommy chimes in. Kate pulls away from Yelena, turning to see her entire team now in the room with them. 

Cassie frowns at them, furrowing her brow. “Are you guys really making out during a gunfight?”

“The making out is the thing you have a problem with?” Eli asks. “Not the who ?”

“We don’t have time for this,” Cassie says, going towards the far wall of the room where tiny slits in the metal sheeting looked down on the floor below . “We have to get out of here.”

“Fisk has the counteragent,” Yelena says. “I have to retrieve it.”

“The what?”

“It’s what I stole, what S.H.I.E.L.D. wants,” Yelena says. “Kingpin has it and I need to get it back.”

“Are we just supposed to believe her?” Eli asks. “We were hunting her a second ago.”

“So wait, sorry,” Billy cuts in. He looks to Yelena, bringing his hand up in a small wave. “Hi, I’m Billy.”

“Yelena,” she says.

“Great. What’s going on here?”

Cassie groans, glancing through the slits in the wall to the action below. “Kate has been sleeping with the enemy but she’s a good guy, I guess. I don’t know. But Kate trusts her so I’m obligated to follow her lead.”

Peter raises his hand. “Me too. Hi, Yelena.”

“Hi, Peter Parker. Good to see you again.”

“Peter?!” Eli looks like his eyes were about to pop out of his head.

“She’s really not that bad, guys. She didn’t even try to kill me.”

“That’s true,” Yelena nods. “I didn’t. And I could easily.”

Kate puts her hand on Yelena’s shoulder. “Babe, maybe stop talking.”

“Babe?” Eli and Yelena ask at the same time. Kate’s cheeks flush red. “Sorry, it just slipped out,” she says to Yelena. 

Yelena shrugs. “No, it’s fine. I like it.”

“Really?”

“I’m sorry,” Teddy cuts in. “But what the fuck is happening?”

“Kate’s girlfriend is the assassin we’re supposed to bring in, Cassie and Peter apparently know about it, and we’re both after the same thing right now it looks like,” Tommy says, holding his ankle as he stretches out his leg behind his back. 

“What thing?” Billy asks. 

“The counteragent and Kate’s safety. Looks like we’re working together.”

“You’re okay with this?” Eli asks.

Tommy shrugs. stretching out his other leg. “The heart wants what the heart wants. Plus, I trust Kate. She’s our leader for a reason.”

“You think I’m your leader?” Kate asks, very touched by the sentiment. 

“Are you kidding me?” Eli asks. “She attacked us.”

“Technically, she just attacked you and Teddy,” Peter says. “And, technically, you guys attacked her first.”

“You did,” Yelena says, glancing towards Teddy around Eli. “But I’m sorry about that, truly. It was not personal. I didn’t mean to hurt you too bad, just slow you down.”

“No harm done,” Teddy says. “Just a sprained elbow.”

“Kate, what the fuck?” Eli says. 

“Guys, we’re kinda sitting ducks right now,” Cassie reminds them. But Eli’s stare continues to bear into Kate, hurt flashing in his eyes, similar to how Cassie looked when she had told her about Yelena. Guilt is heavy in her throat but she meets his gaze head on. 

“Listen, I fucked up, I lied to you, I know, and you can yell at me all you want later, but right now we’re minutes away from those guys coming up here and shooting us. Tommy’s right. We have a common goal and we need to work together to get out of this alive.”

Tommy nods his head. “That’s what I said.”

“Eli, I know the last thing you want to do right now is trust me but I need you to be with me on this for the next few minutes, okay? Please.”

Eli takes a breath, rubbing at his temples. “Fuck,” he says. “Fuck, okay. Okay.” He exhales and raises his head back up. “We need a plan.”

What they come up with is sloppy and barely a plan at all: a basic act of blunt force against the onslaught of tracksuits and hoping Yelena could get to the counteragent before any of them got killed. It wasn’t much but it was all they had at the moment with their limited resources. S.H.I.E.L.D back up wouldn’t get there for another twenty minutes at least and there was a high chance Kingpin would take off with the counteragent before anyone could apprehend him. Their time frame was tight and they needed to do something quick.

“Are we all set, guys?” Kate asks. They all nod and mutter in affirmation. Not the most hopeful expressions on their face but they had literal minutes before the tracksuits figured out where they were. 

“Great,” Kate says, clasping her hands together. “Also, before we go out there, I just wanna say I’m sorry for lying to you guys. You’re like another family to me and I never meant to hurt any of you. And if anything happens to any of us, it was a pleasure avenging with you all.”

“God, you make it sound like we’re gonna die,” Cassie says. She steps past Kate, turning towards the group. “None of us are gonna die, okay? We’re all getting out of here in one piece and taking out that big son of a bitch.”

“Jesus, Cass,” Kate says. 

“Your pep talk was lacking pizzazz. Now we gotta go.”

Eli and Teddy lead them out of the room, the two with the least chance of being harmed by a stray bullet. In the way of strategy, they don’t really have any other plan besides rushing the tracksuits head on. But it seems to be working moderately well as Eli, Teddy, and Yelena quickly dispatch nearly a dozen tracksuits within seconds of touching down on the ground floor. 

“That was so badass,” Tommy says, looking at Yelena in awe. It stirs a little something sour in Kate’s stomach but she tables that for later. 

“Thank you,” Yelena says. Without missing a beat, she takes down another two men with ease. Yelena makes it look like an art form and not for the first time, it’s obvious to Kate how many leagues above the team Yelena is in terms of technique and experience. She easily takes down six men while Eli and Kate are still fighting four. Kate tries to not be too distracted by the utter grace and brutality that Yelena exudes while slamming a man onto the concrete floor. Her amazement, like her little brush with jealousy, is shelved for later. 

Yelena had told them the counteragent was stored away in one of the rooms on the ground floor. She heads there now as the rest of them keep the tracksuits busy. The ground floor is too cramped for Peter to really fling himself along the interior so he’s back to back with Kate, webbing and hitting as many tracksuits as he can while Kate knocks arrow after arrow. She gets flashbacks to last Christmas at Rockefeller Center with Clint. 

When half of the tracksuits are laid out along the floor, unconscious and, or badly bruised, Kate decides the team can handle the rest of them while she goes in search of Yelena. The longer she was apart from her, the more her anxiety worsened. Especially with Kingpin out of her sight. 

She finds Yelena in another cavern of a room. Her back is to Kate and she’s rummaging around inside of a safe, the continuing gunshots and screams echoing throughout the building and dimming the sounds of her footsteps. But Kate quickly sees they’re not the only ones in the room. 

Kingpin doesn’t see her right away. He only sees Yelena rifling through the safe. She can’t tell what's inside of it from where she’s standing, but, from the look on his face, Kate can assume it’s the counteragent. 

Kate can’t tell if Yelena can hear him coming with the chaos still echoing loudly around them. With Yelena’s back to him, Kate sees Kingpin make as if to lurch towards her. She acts without thinking. Within seconds, an arrow is flying out of her bow and lodging itself in Kingpin’s shoulder. 

He groans as it pierces his shirt. But he only falters for a second. His head swivels in Kate’s direction as he rips it out of his skin with nothing more than a grunt. She can’t tell if it's the right move or the wrong move but at least it gets his attention away from her girlfriend. She can’t dwell long on the fact that she just mentally referred to Yelena as her girlfriend with Kingpin coming towards her. She shoves the thought away for later inspection if she survives the impending fight. Last time she fought Kingpin, she survived mostly out of dumb luck and had come out of it with a few broken ribs and an incarcerated mom. Her chances weren’t looking much better this time considering he was quickly getting too close for Kate to use her bow. But Kate still tries anyway. He swats away all the arrows she has left until he’s too close for Kate to do anything but unsheathe the knife in her sleeve. He’s a nearly indestructible ,hulking mass of muscle but Kate still manages to stick the knife into the meat of his thigh. He screams and Kate takes the opportunity to swing at his face. He catches her hand, gripping her wrist tightly in his fist. The pressure intensifies and she screams out in pain before he tosses her across the room. 

She’s barely on the ground, her vision blurred and her mouth hot with the taste of copper, before she feels herself being lifted up. “I told you, Miss Bishop,” Kingpin says, his voice low and far too close to Kate’s face. “That I would finish what I started.”

Kate can’t even come up with a quippy reply before the pressure around her neck starts to cut off her air supply. Black dots dance across her vision. She’s thinking she should’ve tried aiming for his heart when the hands around her neck suddenly loosen. She’s on the ground, choking air back into her lungs as the room spins around her. The noises are slow and thick around her. She hears screaming and the painful slap of a body against pavement. She twists onto her side, trying to find Kingpin and Yelena. Her body cries out with each movement but still, she turns until she can see a familiar blonde braid. Her vision starts to blur back into focus. She can see Kingpin on his back, laying in the remains of a smashed wood table. Pulsing barbs of electricity crackle along his body as Yelena stands over him, the knife Kate had driven into Kingpin’s thigh now gripped in her hand, blood dripping off the tip. On the other side of Yelena, the rest of Kate’s team stands, watching Yelena much like Kate was. 

Yelena’s body is tensed, coiled up like a predator ready for the kill. Across the room, Kate’s team looks on in horror and uncertainty. They stand still, not sure what to do. Kate sees their eyes flicker between her and Yelena.

“Yelena,” Kate calls out, voice strained. Her throat still felt like there was a hot iron poker stuck in it. Pain radiates throughout her whole body but she still sits up as much as she can, getting as far as to hold herself up by her elbows. “Yelena,” Kate tries again, voice firmer this time. 

The assassin’s gaze swings to Kate, full of a fury that almost shocks her in its intensity. She’s never seen Yelena that angry before. But still, Kate steadies her jaw and her voice. “Don’t,” she says. Yelena holds her gaze while Kingpin twitches and grunts along the floor, bound up in an electrical straight jacket. 

After a few moments of Kate pleading with her eyes, Yelena steps away from him. Kate lets out a relieved breath, wincing as she tries to exhale. Yelena is at her side in seconds, tutting in Russian. Kate can’t understand what she’s saying until she lets loose a few choice English words. “Stupid, stupid girl,” she says, cradling Kate’s face.

Kate attempts a smile, not sure if she’s successful with the bruises and the blood decorating her face. “We make a good team, right?”

“Idiot,” she says against Kate’s forehead, pressing a kiss to her hairline. She mutters what Kate assumes is more admonishing Russian. “Don’t you dare do anything like that again.”

“It worked, right?” 

“идиот. You’re in so much trouble after I get you to a doctor.” More kisses along her forehead as Yelena’s arms gather Kate close to her chest. “глупый ястреб.”

A burst of affection overrides the pain humming along her body and she really can’t help the next words that fall out of her mouth. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?” She asks. 

“What?” And that’s when everything fades to black. 

***

Kate’s body feels as if it's been tossed through a long spin cycle. With great effort, she cracks her eyes open. Blinking away the blurriness, a blonde figure beside her bed starts to come into focus. Other details quickly follow to let Kate know she’s in some kind of hospital bed. 

“Yelena?” Kate’s voice is small and cracked, her throat scratchy and sore. She swallows down the dryness, clearing her throat as Yelena’s head whips up to look at her. 

“Finally, you’re awake,” she says, sliding closer to grasp Kate’s hand in hers. She brings her hand up to her lips, looking at Kate with tired and relieved eyes. “You had me scared for a minute, маленький ястреб.” The obvious concern in her face makes Kate want to smooth out the furrowed skin between her eyebrows but her body is still slowly coming back to her. 

“What happened?” she asks.

“We saved the day,” Yelena says, her smile striking lightning straight into Kate’s concaved chest. “Kingpin will no longer be an issue. And neither will his friends.”

“Where are we?”

“The avengers compound. Some kind of medical wing,” Yelena says, shrugging. Kate’s eyes nearly bulge out of her head.

“How are you here right now? Why aren’t you in handcuffs or-”

Yelena shrugs again. “Fury and I worked something out.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means there is no man hunt for me anymore.” 

“How?”

“I racked up a lot of good will by saving his team.”

Kate raises a brow, disbelieving. Yelena tilts her head to the side, continuing on. “And my suspicions that this was an elaborate ploy to simply get me to join his team were true.”

“What? The mission was fake?”

“No, it was very real,” Yelena says. “He did want the vials back. But, of course, I told him they were long gone.”

“How did Kingpin get his hands on the vials from S.H.I.E.L.D?”

“Apparently, they were never in S.H.I.E.L.D’s possession. They were left over from the red room, a black market dealer Fisk had connections to and paid top dollar for.”

Kate tries to sit up in bed but Yelena presses a firm hand to her side, keeping her still against the pillows stacked behind her back. “Stop moving so much, маленький ястреб,” Yelena says. “You need rest.”

Kate is reminded of a night several weeks ago where she said something similar to the assassin. Kate’s hand slides over Yelena’s, resting along her arm. “What do you mean this was an elaborate ploy?” she asks. 

Yelena shifts closer until her head is resting against Kate’s knee, looking up at her. The proximity and contact calms her. “He did not want me imprisoned,” she says. “He wanted me on your team.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he said as much after we rushed you back here and you were stable.” 

“Did he say anything else?”

“He asked me to join the baby Avengers.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him I would never join his team.”

“Really?”

“Well, I said I’d consider it if he didn’t go too hard on you for your connection to me.”

“Yelena-”

“Nick Fury may act tough but I can read him as easily as anyone else. Plus, him and Maria  Hill were friends to Natasha. They have a soft spot for her.” As her words trail off, she lifts her head off of Kate’s knee. She slides their clasped hands to Kate’s thigh before resting her chin on top of them, staring up at Kate. Her eyes are wide and honest, reminding Kate of a child, as she opens herself up before her. “I don’t want you to be blamed for my mistakes.”

“They were my choices, Yelena. I can take responsibility for my actions.”

“Oh, Fury will make sure of it. But he’ll be lenient with you. He wants me on the team and he likes you.”

“He likes me?”

“Yeah, of course he does,” Yelena says, smiling up at Kate. “Who doesn’t like you, Kate Bishop?”

A blush heats up her cheeks. Kate watches as a tiny smirk begins to spread across Yelena’s lips. “Do you remember what you asked me before you fainted?”

Kate thinks back to her final moments of consciousness, clasped in Yelena’s arms on the concrete floor of the warehouse. It takes a few seconds but- 

“Oh.” Kate’s blush intensifies. 

“Did you mean it?” Yelena asks. 

“What?”

“What you asked of me, did you mean it?” Her expression is still wide open to Kate, not hiding anything as uncertainty and hope dance across her features. “Wanting me to be your girlfriend?”

“Of course.” Kate, in all her excitement, attempts to sit up again but Yelena holds her back down with a disapproving tut. Undeterred, Kate continues on. “Yelena, I’m pretty sure all my bones are fractured and I’m gonna have to have a long, uncomfortable talk with my tea, but I don’t regret any of it at all.”

“Such a sap, Kate Bishop,” Yelena says. “Ask me again.”

“What?”

“Your head wasn’t that hard. Ask me again.”

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Yelena’s entire face lights up when she answers. As does Kate’s. “Yes.”

“Cool.” The word is barely out of her mouth before Yelena is leaning up to meet her lips. She sighs into the kiss, into the familiar sensation of being that close to Yelena. The kiss only lasts a few moments before Yelena pulls back. 

“Another thing, Kate Bishop.” Her hand cups Kate’s bandaged jaw, their foreheads resting against one another as they breathe each other in.

“Hmmm.”

“If you ever do anything that dangerous and stupid again, I’ll kill you myself, маленький ястреб.” 

***

It doesn’t take long for Kate to drift back into sleep. When she wakes up, the spot where Yelena had been is empty but Eli sits in a chair near the foot of her bed, reading a comic book. He looks up as the sheets rustle around Kate. It doesn’t hurt as much to move this time as she sits up.

“Hey,” he says, closing the book in his lap. 

“Hey.” Kate’s voice is less scratchy than it was the last time she woke up. The blurriness has also subsided. She glances around the room, looking for any sign that Yelena had been there and that it hadn’t been a drug-induced hallucination. Eli must notice.

“Your girlfriend is talking to Fury,” he says. “I don’t know what about.”

Silence settles between them for a moment, the beep and rumble of the machines Kate was still hooked up to the only sounds in the room.

“You lied to me,” he says.

Kate swallows the lingering dryness in her throat. “I know.”

“I told you you were one of the only people I trust and you lied to me.” He isn’t as visibly angry as Kate had anticipated, his voice steady if a little strained. Kate had expected yelling, their usual mode of communication when they did something to upset one another, but Eli remains composed. There’s only disappointment and a tinge of sadness in his expression.

“Eli, I- There’s nothing I can say to make it better but I’m sorry. I really am. I-”

He puts a hands up, interrupting her apology. “Save it,” he says. “Just don’t do it again.”

“What?”

“I know you’re sorry. You don’t need to do the whole spiel. Just don’t do it again.”

“Really?” Kate’s brows rise into her hairline. “That’s it? We’re good?”

Eli shakes his head. “We’re far from good but you’re still the leader of this team and one of my closest friends, unfortunately. You can work on earning back my trust after you’ve recovered.”

“Really?”

He shrugs. “I wish you would’ve told me but I understand why you didn’t.”

“You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would.”

“Well, you almost died. It gave me some time to cool off and think about how much I didn’t want you dead.”

“That’s sweet, I think.”

“Shut up,” Eli says, a hint of smile working its way onto his face. The sight of it eases some of the tension from Kate’s body. “You’re still gonna have to fill me in on everything that went down with your new girlfriend.”

***

Nick Fury, as expected, chews Kate out for her deception. He screams for longer than she thought possible and every word is a rock thrown at her carefully constructed ego. But still, the thought of Yelena sustains her through the verbal flaying. 

“You’re suspended for three weeks,” Fury says after he’s caught his breath. “And you’re gonna spend that whole time going through a mountain of paperwork.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you’re not to leave the compound so much as to rescue a kitten, Bishop. It means you’re grounded.”

“What-” she’s silenced by a withering look. “Yes, sir.”

“Don’t even think about lying to me again. You may be the leader of this team but you’re not impervious to an ass whooping.”

“Yes, sir- Wait, I’m the leader? Like officially?”

“You’re dismissed, Bishop. You’re a worse pain in my ass than Barton.”

She scurries out of the office with her head down as soon as Fury gives her permission to. Cassie and Peter are waiting for her around the corner. “You’re not fired, right?” Cassie asks. “Please tell me you’re not fired. I can’t be the only girl on the team. I won’t do it.”

“I’m grounded.”

“What do you mean grounded?” 

“Fury suspended me for three weeks.”

“What?” Peter asks. “What does that mean?”

“It means I’m supposed to stay home while you guys have all the fun.”

“Well, at least you’re not fired,” Cassie says.

“Or in prison,” Peter adds. “I don’t think you’d do well in prison.”

“You definitely wouldn’t,” Cassie says. 

***

Kate might not be able to leave the compound due to some house arrest type thing (which Kate is still dubious about the legality of). But Yelena, apparently, can come and go as she pleases. 

“I don’t understand,” Kate says, laying on her bed as Yelena cleans her knives at her desk.

“It’s simple, Kate Bishop. I’m the highly sought after, elusive assassin and you’re the Avenger who lied to her boss to keep me from him. Fury wants me around, and, on the condition that I consult with the team every now and then, I get certain privileges.”

“Something about that seems unfair. But I’m happy neither of us are in prison.”

“Me too, маленький ястреб,” Yelena says, turning to face her as she runs a rag over the smooth side of her knife. “You are surprisingly capable but far too cute for prison. They’d eat you alive.”

“Hey!” Kate pouts. “You’re like the third person to tell me that.”

“It’s true,” Yelena shrugs. “ But don’t worry, I’d never let you go to prison.”

“Thanks,” Kate says. “That’s sweet.”

“I’d slaughter a hundred people before I let anything happen to you.”

“Very scary and dramatic,” Kate says, tilting her head. “But still sweet.”

***

Yelena somehow manages to convince Fury to let them use Kate’s suspension as a vacation of sorts. She doesn’t know how Yelena does it but maybe there’s something to what she said about Fury having had a soft spot for her sister. So far, in all the times she’s seen them interact, she’s never once seen Yelena be anything close to intimidated by him and he’s never raised his voice at her like he has with the rest of them. It might be a little unfair but Kate has no problem reaping the indirect benefits of Fury’s favoritism. Yelena gets them permission for two weeks off outside of the compound. One week they’ll spend at the Barton farm, visiting Lucky and the Bartons. The following week they’ll be in Ohio, visiting Yelena’s parents and her dog, Fanny. They’re dropping off the counteragent for Yelena’s mom to look over and Kate assumes her mom will be doing the same with Kate once they arrive. 

“Don’t be nervous, Kate Bishop,” Yelena says, placing their bags into the back of her truck. A truck Kate had only recently found out that Yelena owned. A truck which they were going to be driving to Clint’s house then to Yelena's parents house. “My parents will love you.”

“I’m not nervous,” Kate says. “I just haven’t met anyone’s parents in..Well, ever, actually.”

Yelena leans up onto her toes to plant a kiss on her lips. Kate still delights in their height difference and how it accentuates Yelena’s smallness. Without thought, Kate’s arms wrap around her waist.  “They’ll love you,” Yelena says, forehead pressed against her own. “Because I love you.”

Kate sucks in a sharp and surprised breath. “You love me?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Kate can’t say she’s completely surprised. After everything they’ve gone through, she knows how much Yelena cares for her. She knows how much she herself loves Yelena. She said as much to Peter the night she told them about Yelena. But it’s still a pleasant surprise Kate hadn’t anticipated hearing this early in the morning, pressed up against the side of Yelena’s pick up with the smell of exhaust burrowing into her nose. 

“I love you too,” Kate says. The words feel like a long exhale at the end of a hike, standing at the top of a summit and being stared down by a gorgeous view. She says it a few more times before Yelena leans up to connect their lips again, smiling into the kiss.

***

It’s been too long since Kate had last been to the Barton farm. Lucky and Nate both run outside to greet them when Yelena’s truck pulls up to the house. Yelena bends down to pepper Lucky with kisses while Kate swings Nate into her arms, gasping as she comments how big he’s gotten. “I lost a tooth,” he says, sticking a finger into his mouth and pointing at a vacant space where a tooth should’ve been. “See?” he says, talking around his finger. 

Cooper and Lila are right behind him, followed by Clint and Laura. Yelena stands off to the side as the Barton family takes turns hugging Kate one by one. Lucky stays cuddled around her legs, basking in the attention Yelena gives him, wagging his tail at the head scratches Kate was sure he never got a shortage of. 

“Yelena,” Clint says. 

“Barton.” 

The air isn’t as tense as Kate was afraid it would be. It’s helped by the fact that Laura immediately swoops in to introduce herself with a hug. Yelena looks perplexed for a moment but gradually returns the gesture, her hand hovering over Laura’s back with uncertainty. “It’s so good to finally meet you,” Laura says, stepping back with her hands still gripping Yelena’s arms. Yelena still looks unsure, the most out of her element Kate has ever seen her. But she recovers quickly, a warm smile curving along her lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” she says. “Thank you for having me.”

“Of course,” Laura says. 

Clint grabs one of the bags from Kate’s arms and leads her into the house while Laura trails behind them, still talking with Yelena. 

***

After they settle their stuff in the guest room, Kate and Yelena join the Bartons in the living room where the kids are playing Mario Kart and Clint and Laura are snuggled up in the corner of the couch, watching. They hangout for a while, Kate joining Nate and Cooper on the floor to play Mario Kart, while Yelena talks in low voices with Laura behind her. She gets so wrapped in the beating Nate that she doesn’t even notice Yelena and Laura are gone until she loses for the fourth time and finally hands over the remote to Lila. She stands up to go in search of her girlfriend. From the kitchen window, she sees Laura and Yelena out on the porch. She can’t see their faces but from the way Yelena carries herself Kate can tell that whatever they’re talking about isn’t light chitchat. Kate takes a seat at the kitchen island, ready to give Yelena whatever she needs when she comes back inside.

They talk for a while until Kate hears the creak of the wood floor and the front door. She looks up to see Laura enter the kitchen and watches Clint take her place outside after a moment. She knows they’re talking about Natasha. It was a topic they still danced around sometimes and something she knew was bound to come up when Yelena had suggested they make the trip to the Bartons. Maybe that’s why she suggested it. A reason to ask questions and talk about her sister with the people who actually knew her, probably better than anyone else on the planet apart from Yelena herself. 

Laura smiles at her as she pours herself some tea. “I like her,” she says. “She reminds me of Nat. She’s a fighter just like her.”

The praise is more than Kate could’ve hoped for. “I know,” she says. “I like her too.”

“You guys will be good for each other,” Laura says, stirring honey into her tea. “A black widow always needs her hawkeye.”

Kate laughs, peering down into her own coffee mug. A blush is working its way up her neck. “I don’t know if she needs me but I’m happy to stick around as long as she wants me to.”

“Probably be a long while, Kate Bishop.”

An arm wraps itself around her middle as Yelena’s front presses against her back. “As long as you don’t do anything too stupid, маленький ястреб .” Her breath brushes over Kate’s ear and the blush intensifies as she feels Laura watching the whole exchange. 

“Dinner will be ready in an hour,” Laura says, a smirk on her face as she grabs ingredients from the fridge and lays them out along the counter. 

“Would you like some help?” Yelena asks. Pride and adoration bloom in Kate’s chest at the show of manners, exacerbated by the pleased and grateful smile that Laura throws her. 

“No, Clint can help,” she says, shaking her head. “But thank you though. None of these kids ever offer to help.”

“How rude, Kate Bishop,” Yelena tuts, pinching her side. Kate squeals. “Hey, I-”

“Very rude, Kate Bishop.”

Laura laughs before waving them off. “Alright, you kids get out of my kitchen. Don’t come back until the food is ready.”

Yelena tugs her out of the kitchen with her arm still wrapped around Kate’s waist. She lets Yelena lead her up to the guest room, shutting the door quietly behind them before pulling her into a kiss. Her arms wound their way around Yelena’s neck as she deepens the kiss. Yelena’s hands go to Kate’s hips, guiding her towards the bed until Kate’s knees meet the edge and suddenly, they’re horizontal. She moans as Yelena’s hands skirt along the hem of her shirt where it had ridden up along her stomach. But she quickly pulls back when she remembers where they are.

“We can’t have sex in Clint’s house!” Kate says, hands still resting along Yelena’s neck. 

“Why not?”

“Because…Because it’s Clint’s house.”

“So?”

“It’s gross and weird.”

“Gross and weird?” Yelena asks, quirking a brow. “Our sex is gross and weird?”

“No! You know that’s not what I mean.”

“Do I?” The mirth in Yelena’s eyes let Kate know she’s joking.  Kate rolls her eyes. 

“We can’t have sex here.”

“Why not?”

“I will die if anyone in this house hears me climax.”

“Well, that’s a simple problem to solve, Kate Bishop.” Yelena reaches behind her where their bags were still resting near the edge of the bed. She pulls a pair of clean underwear out from Kate’s bag, grinning down at her. “Just be quiet.”

“What?” 

Since Kate had recovered from her injuries, they’ve spent almost every minute that Kate was suspended and Yelena was no longer a fugitive ( at least in the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D) getting reacquainted with each other’s bodies. Kate reveled in it after weeks of separation, basking in the way Yelena loved to show her just how much she missed her. She discovered she’d let Yelena do about anything to her. It was less about what was being done and more to do with the fact it was Yelena who was touching her. And Yelena loved to take advantage of this fact. 

“Put this in your mouth and bite down. Do you think you can do that?” Yelena asks, a hint of condescension slipping into her tone. Yelena was teasing her, baiting her competitive streak. And it was working. Heat quickly pooled between her legs. Her arousal must’ve showed on her face as Yelena stared down at her. A smirk curled along her mouth. “You want to be a good girl and keep quiet for me, Kate Bishop?”

Kate only nods, watching as Yelena sat up and slid her shirt over her head. She leans down to slot their mouths together and Kate basks in the obnoxious smugness of her grin. Her hands start to work at the zipper of Kate’s jeans while Kate unhooks Yelena’s bra, pausing momentarily to gaze at the masterpiece that was Yelena’s bare chest. Yelena snickers before nipping at Kate’s chin. They’re fully undressed in seconds, their hands hungry and impatient for each other. Yelena lays in between Kate’s legs, taking her time marking up Kate’s chest as if she were painting a picture of various reds across her skin. The beginnings of a moan start to slip past her lips when a hand slides over her mouth, smothering the noise. Yelena chuckles into her chest, kissing along her breast. Kate’s legs tighten around her waist. “Quiet, маленький ястреб,” she says. She sits up and reaches for the underwear that had been discarded during their undressing. 

With a reassuring nod from Kate, Yelena slides the balled up fabric into her mouth which tastes faintly of her laundry detergent. But still, the feel of it in her mouth partnered with Yelena’s tongue trailing down her stomach has her clenching in anticipation. The feeling of Yelena’s lips pressed against her center draws a desperate moan that’s mostly muffled by the panties in Kate’s mouth. All her worries about being quiet disappear when Yelena’s tongue slips past her folds. Her arms wrap around Kate’s thighs to anchor her to the bed, keeping her still as she writhes against Yelena’s mouth. It isn’t long until Kate is close. It’s actually embarrassing how quickly she reaches her peak. But it’s hard to be that embarrassed as she feels Yelena moan between her legs, the vibrations intensifying her orgasm. Even after she’s come down, Yelena’s tongue continues to lap at her, unsatiated, and she’s pushed quickly into another, shorter orgasm. 

When Yelena finally comes up for air, she rests her cheek against Kate’s thigh as Kate catches her breath, a ball of cotton still in her mouth. She catches Kate’s eye, grinning up at her. Kate’s stomach clenches at the sight of her wetness smeared across Yelena’s mouth. “Good job, маленький ястреб,” she says. With a mischievous glint in her eye, she crawls up Kate’s body until they’re nose to nose. “Now let’s see if you can be quiet without the underwear.”

***

Laura calls them down for dinner right after Yelena falls down beside Kate, having just finished riding her face. She makes a joke about spoiling dinner and Kate shoves her off the bed with a scoff. But she can’t help the giggles that leave her as they rush to slide into their clothes. She feels like a teenager as they check each other for any visible marks, pausing every few seconds to steal another kiss before joining the Bartons downstairs. 

Dinner goes better than Kate had expected. For how friendly the Bartons were, she had anticipated several uncomfortable silences and awkward questions to wince through. But luckily there wasn’t a hint of awkwardness to be found as the kids dominated the conversation. They asked Yelena questions mainly about her dog and how to say various things in Russian. Yelena answers each question earnestly in a way that squeezes at Kate’s heart. She can’t help the smile that overtakes her face when she promises to teach them Russian curse words after dinner despite Clint’s protests. 

After they’ve helped clear the table, Kate and Lila go out to the yard for target practice. They spend an hour or so working on her form but mostly just goofing around. Clint takes her spot in front of the target when she’s called inside to finish her chores. He’s red in the face and Kate is about to ask him what’s wrong when-

“You guys might want to keep it down,” Clint says, staring straight ahead at the target rather than Kate. It takes her a few seconds to understand his meaning and expression. Her face soon turns the same shade of red. 

“Look, you’re adults so I understand you’re-”

“Please stop talking.”

Mercifully, Clint does. At least, for a moment. “Just-” he starts again, still looking away from Kate which she’s now thankful for. “Just keep it down, yeah?”

Kate nods, following his lead and keeping her eyes pointed towards the target. “Will do.”

“Good,” he says, nodding. The squeak of the front door grabs their attention. They both glance towards the porch to see Yelena walking towards them. Clint clears his throat before turning back towards the house. Yelena and Clint nod at each other in passing although Clint’s eye remains pointed towards the ground. Yelena quirks her brow but doesn’t say anything until she reaches Kate. “Is everything okay?” she asks, watching the front door swing closed behind him. “Barton looks constipated.”

Kate lets loose a weak laugh. “No, he just wanted to let me know to keep it down next time.”

“Keep it down?”

“Uh hmm.”

“Keep what- Ooh.”

“Yeah,” Kate says, a blush burning her cheeks as she shakes her head. “I told you.”

“Well, I told you to be quiet, Kate Bishop. It’s not my problem you can’t follow orders.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And you love it.”

***

Kate wakes up to an empty bed the next morning. After shrugging on some sweats, she makes her way down the stairs to find the house vacant except for Laura in the kitchen. She smiles when she sees Kate pad into the room. 

“Morning,” she says, too perky for Kate having just woken up. 

“Where is everybody?” she asks, sliding onto a stool at the counter. 

“Clint went to the store to get a few things. Yelena and the kids are playing out back.”

“Playing what?”

“Soccer, I think? Hard to say, it might actually be a game she made up.”

They both glance out the window to watch the kids running around the yard. Lila kicks a soccer ball to Cooper but Nate simply picks it up, running away from them. Yelena runs after him, picking him up and holding him in her arms as she takes off towards the tiny plastic goal, Lila and Cooper on her heels. 

Laura chuckles beside her. “I know I’ve already said it,” she says, watching Yelena and Nate jump around after they’ve supposedly scored a goal. “But I really like her.”

In that instant, Kate’s heart is squeezed unbearably tight in her chest. The only living family she has left was her mother who’d be in prison until long after Kate had kids of her own. The only people who filled that familial void were the Bartons, the closest thing she had to family outside of her mom. Getting their approval was as close as she was gonna get to a family seal of approval on her new girlfriend. And all of the Bartons seemed to be as taken with Yelena as Kate with. Even Clint who had offered Yelena his number anytime she might need anything. 

“Yeah,” Kate says, watching as Lila and Cooper attempt to tackle Yelena, Nate piling on just for fun. “She’s great.”

***

The rest of the week at the Barton’s goes by quick until, before Kate knows it, they’re loading their bags back into Yelena’s truck. They say their goodbyes, Kate promising to come back again soon; Yelena promising a rematch to the kids. With a bag of new trick arrows and a plate of leftovers Laura wrapped for them, they take off towards Ohio. 

Not long after they get onto the highway, Kate’s leg starts to bounce and doesn’t stop the whole drive from the Barton’s farm to Yelena’s parents house. Yelena senses her anxiety. She tries to distract Kate with stories from her early childhood, back when she still lived in Ohio and when her family still lived as a family; the handful of good memories she had from the time before the red room took her. Kate’s hand curls around Yelena on the seat between them without thinking about it. Yelena doesn’t give her pain and grief much air but Kate knows it’s there buried beneath her casual levity. Kate knows she keeps it close to her chest but when it does slip through in moments like this; in the tightening of her hands and her jaw or the slight strain in her voice, in words left unsaid, Kate can’t help but ache for her. She wants to curl around her like a blanket, and promise that nothing like that will ever happen to her again even though she knows she can’t possibly promise that. Still, she’d like to even if it was a foolish and naïve promise. 

Yelena’s thumb runs along the back of Kate’s hand as they pull off the highway, grounding her back in the present. 

Yelena’s parents are standing on the front porch as they pull up to the farm house. A large, muscular man with shaggy hair and a pretty, brunette woman, both of them wearing smiles. Kate had never seen pictures of them before, but still, somehow, they are exactly what Kate had imagined. 

Yelena’s dad is walking up to meet them before Kate is even out of the truck.

“No-” Yelena starts but before Kate knows it, she’s gathered up in a very tight hug by very strong arms. 

“Kate Bishop!” he says. 

“Hi!” she says, still pressed against a very hard chest. 

“We’ve been waiting so long to meet you.”

“Alexei, release the girl.” Suddenly, his arms fall away from Kate and she can breathe properly again. She notices Yelena’s mom has joined them in the driveway, standing beside Alexei. 

“She is strong girl,” he says, looking Kate over with a grin. “She can take it.”

Yelena shouts something in Russian and Alexei replies in the same fashion. Melina nudges Alexei and gives them both a disapproving look. “It’s rude to speak in front of a guest in a language they can’t understand,” she says.

Yelena scoffs. But with another admonishing look from Melina, she rolls her eyes and loops her arm through Kate’s. The contact anchors her, soothes some of the nerves that had made themselves apparent on the drive over. 

“Kate Bishop, this is-”

A cute akita comes running from around the house towards them. She stops at Yelena’s legs who bends down to plant kisses all over her head. “This is Fanny,” Yelena says. “Fanny, this is Kate Bishop.” Kate bends down beside Yelena, letting Fanny lick at her face in greeting. 

The rest of the introductions are made quickly as Melina informs them dinner was almost ready. Alexei throws an arm around Kate’s shoulders, skipping the usual small talk and going right into asking her about being an Avenger. He leads her into the house with Yelena and Melina trailing behind them. Kate can hear her scoff at almost every question he asks her, muttering something in Russian before Melina scolds her in English.

***

At dinner, Alexei tells story after story of his ‘glory days’ as the Red Guardian while Yelena sits bored beside, looking as if she’s heard the stories hundreds of times before. But still, Kate catches her looking at him fondly out of the corner of her eye even if her expression is one of annoyance. Alexei treats Kate as if she were already part of the family which is both slightly overwhelming but also warms her heart. Melina, although a little more reserved than Alexei, is still perfectly nice and polite. It’s amusing to see her pick at Yelena’s posture or her elbows on the table, similar to how Kate’s mother used to. She sets a mental reminder to call her mom. Kate hadn’t talked to her since they had taken down Kingpin. She felt guilty but it was hard to dwell on it long when Yelena kept bringing her back to the present. 

***

Alexei and Kate spend hours trading adventure stories after dinner until Melina stands up from the couch with a yawn, announcing her intention to go to bed. Kate sees Yelena shoot her a thankful look as Alexei stands up too, bidding them a goodnight and promising to show Kate a few moves from his Red Guardian days in the morning. Yelena stands up as well, saying how they should get some sleep since her parents were going to put them to work the following day. Kate is already mentally preparing for sleep, following Yelena into the guest room, until she pushes Kate up against the bedroom door. 

“Wha-” Kate’s words are swallowed by Yelena’s lips, her hands already slipping under Kate’s sweater. Kate moans into the kiss but breaks away after a moment. 

“No, I am not having a repeat of Clint’s house,” Kate says, shaking her head even though her hands twist into Yelena’s hair, tugging her closer. “Nope.”

“Kate Bishop, they will not hear us,” she murmurs against Kate’s neck. Kate leans into her touch, eyes closing at the sensation of her lips against her collarbone. “Mamma wears ear plugs because my daddy snores so loud. Sometimes she makes him sleep outside in the barn with the pigs.”

“Really?”

“She says the key to a happy marriage is separate bedrooms. But this is a small house so they make do with what they have.”

Yelena nips at Kate’s ear and she squeaks, her hands tightening in her hair. Yelena chuckles into her neck, her hands sliding down to grip Kate’s ass. 

“You’re insatiable.”

“Well, can you blame me? I spent too long not being able to touch you how I wanted to. And I didn’t even have your underwear as a parting gift to remember you by.”

“Please stop bringing that up. It’s so embarrassing.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

“Of course you would.”

***

For the first time in months, Kate feels herself starting to relax. She was comfortable at Clint’s house but still a little tense introducing the girl who had tried to kill him as her girlfriend to his family. Throughout the week, the nerves had melted away. Now, after a few days at Yelena’s parent’s house, the nerves of meeting them mostly faded, Kate feels something like peace gradually settle over her. There’s no hiding or running from either Kate or Yelena. No secret phone calls or quick, stolen kisses. Just them hanging out on her parents couch, watching old sitcom reruns while Alexei and Melina bicker in the kitchen in Russian and Yelena’s thumb traces the back of Kate’s hand, held softly on top of her thigh. 

Everything in Kate, at least for the moment, is settled and quiet. She turns her head so the side of her face rests against the back of the couch. She watches Yelena’s eyes and mouth crinkle up as she laughs at the tv; the laugh that comes out of her boisterous and sliding over Kate like a warm blanket. The carefree joy she finds in her face makes Kate want to take a picture to capture the moment, to keep it forever, to look at it whenever she wanted to. But she knows Yelena would only wrestle the phone away from her easily. She didn’t like pictures to be taken of her if she could help it although she let Kate take specific kinds of polaroids for her eyes only. 

***

The good, settled feeling inside Kate only grows during their last night with Yelena’s parents. After dinner, Kate helps Melina wash the dishes while Yelena and Alexei argue over what to watch in the living room. They’ve been washing the dishes mostly in silence until-

“You are good for her,” Melina says. She dips a plate under the running water of the faucet before handing it off to Kate to dry. Kate simply looks at her, the plate dripping in her hands. 

“What?”

“I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time,” she says, still washing the dishes with a mechanical precision. “Not since Natasha brought us all back together. She has a soft heart, that one. Takes after Alexei.”

Kate is quiet for a moment. She doesn’t really know what to say. But Melina continues before Kate could even attempt a response. 

“Be good to her,” she says, eyes still focused on scrubbing down the utensils in her hand. “I do not think I have to tell you what will happen if you aren’t.”

“No, of course,” Kate says. “I wouldn’t- I mean, I only want to be the best for her. She deserves it.”

Melina nods. “She does.” 

She says nothing else and they don’t speak again until after all the dishes have been dried and put away. 

***

The day they leave, Alexei gives them both bone-crushing hugs and makes them promise to return soon while the weather was still nice. Melina also sees them off with a hug, although it feels a little more stiff compared to Alexei’s. Kate doesn’t complain though, she’s just happy to have gotten a hug at all. 

They don’t get back to Kate’s apartment until late. Technically, they weren’t due at the compound back until the next night so they spend their last remaining free night tangled up in Kate’s bed sheets, leaving only to eat greasy takeout or use the bathroom. They don’t fall asleep until daylight starts to leak into the night sky. 

All too soon, Kate is waking up to a phone call from Fury, calling them into the compound the next morning. “How can he be bothering us already?” Yelena asks, wrapped around Kate. 

‘I don’t know but I’m sure it’s important,” she says, suppressing a yawn. 

“Not important enough for us to leave bed,” Yelena says, kissing beneath Kate’s ear. She shivers under her lips, still so easily affected by Yelena’s touch. She basks in the warmth of Yelena’s body, wrapped around her firmly. Now that they were together and Yelena was practically living with Kate (she slept in Kate’s room at the compound most nights), Kate had noticed that Yelena was exceedingly cuddly and soft in the morning. Like a koala, she curled around Kate and hated to let go even if Kate had to go to the bathroom or eat. Kate didn’t mind it. She found it cute, especially when Yelena was still asleep and her hand would curl into the front of Kate’s sleep shirt. She looked the most at peace in those early moments of the morning. She hated to ruin it but still, she knew Fury was just gonna call back in a half an hour if they weren’t on their way to the compound in the next few minutes. 

***

Back at the compound, Kate is officially no longer suspended and reapproved for duty. She jumps back into the action as quickly as she can, grateful for the last few weeks she got to spend with Yelena, but antsy to get back into the field with her team. Yelena, for the most part, is along for the ride which Kate couldn’t be more excited about. Although, it’s weird to see Yelena interacting with her teammates. 

After months of keeping her a secret, she quickly becomes a regular fixture in the compound in the weeks after Kate’s suspension is up. It’s not an uncommon occurrence to see her trail out of Kate’s bedroom early in the morning to rummage through the fridge while Kate’s asleep or hit the gym while it’s still dark out. It takes some time to get used to, especially for the rest of the team. Peter is the one who seems to be the most unbothered. Out of all of Kate’s teammates, Yelena also seems to take a liking to him the most. 

“He is like a puppy. Very excitable and eager for someone to play with,” Yelena says one night in Kate’s bedroom. “He reminds me of you.”

Yelena manages to endear herself to the rest of the team for the most part soon enough. Cassie and her get along surprisingly well, often training together and taking turns making fun of Kate. Her and Eli maybe aren’t best friends but they're at least both trying. It’s better than what Kate had expected.

Yelena hasn’t been formally added to the roster, at least publicly, but she still joins them on many of their missions, as many as Yelena can afford without taking too much time away from freeing widows. But still, the public starts to notice the addition to their team. Yelena can only stop so many people from taking pictures in the middle of a fight with aliens on a random street in Brooklyn. Her addition to the team makes the news soon enough. As does their relationship. Yelena kisses her right after a particularly brutal and disgusting battle with an intergalactic asshole and dozens of pictures flood the internet in the following weeks. Kate suspects she might’ve done it on purpose to clear up the rumors of her supposed inter-team romance with Eli and Tommy. But she only denies it with a ‘I can’t control the paparazzi, Kate Bishop,’ whenever Kate brings it up.

All in all, things are looking pretty good for them. Even on the days when the mission they're tasked with involves a large sea creature tearing up Manhattan and Kate has to postpone their move date. Yelena stands at the bedroom door (quickly, becoming their bedroom), her body half turned towards her. The rest of the team are already waiting for them in the quinjet. Yelena stays behind because she never gets onto the jet without Kate. 

She glances back, watching Kate load up all the necessary trick arrows into her quiver. “Ready, Kate Bishop?”

“Yeah,” Kate says, zipping up her suit and planting a kiss on her lips as she slides past her to join their teammates. “Always.”