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schrodingerspsycho · 4 days ago

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Violet Light - Part 2

Pairing - Yelena Belova x Kate Bishop

Warnings - None

Word Count - 9.3k

Summary - The next morning, Yelena gets yet another unexpected visitor. Kate is a lot more excited to have him there than she is (and a lot less embarrassed), but he prompts them to have a very important discussion about their budding relationship.

Part 1

Read it on Ao3

Yelena woke to the sound of someone pounding on her front door.

“Oh, what now?” she groaned, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She felt Kate stir beside her.

“Are you expecting someone?”

“No more than I expected you last night,” Yelena replied. “I have no idea who it could-”

“Yelena!” came the muffled shout, in a Russian accent much deeper and thicker than her own.

“Oh no.”

“What? Who is it?”

“It’s Alexei.” Yelena buried her head in her pillow with a pained expression.

“Wait, you mean your-”

“Yelena, it’s Dad! Open up, I bring you breakfast! Yelena!”

“I’ll get rid of him.” Yelena crawled out of bed, mourning the loss of Kate’s arm wrapped around her waist.

“Wait!” Kate grabbed her hand and pulled her back into bed with surprising strength. Yelena’s startled grunt was silenced as Kate kissed her tenderly. “Good morning,” she smiled. Yelena smiled back at her.

“Good morning, Kate Bishop.”

“Yelena!”

“Заткнись. I’ll take care of this. You stay.” She yawned as she left her bedroom, not caring that she was only wearing a tank top and boxers. “Alright, alright, I’m coming! You’re going to wake up the whole building.”

“Yelena!” Alexei cried, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug when she opened the door. Then he presented her with the box he was carrying. “I brought donuts! I didn’t know what kind you like, so I got assortment. But I thought that maybe once a week we can do Daddy Daughter Donuts, you know? We eat donuts, we talk, we get to know each other again, huh? How does that sound?”

“Oh, that’s… now’s really not a good time.”

“What do you mean? You said you want me to be there for you, so here I am! What do you have to do? You were sleeping a minute ago!”

“I just can’t have you here right now, so please leave. We can do this some other time, alright?”

“What, you’re just going to turn me away? Come on, I just want to enjoy some donuts with my favorite daughter!”

“That’s not funny.”

“You’re right, it’s not,” he said, finally lowering his voice to a normal volume. “I’m sorry.”

“You need to go-”

“Lena, please,” he said seriously. “I’m trying.”

Yelena stared up at him and saw in his eyes that he meant it. She sighed. “Look, you can come back later, okay? After I’ve had time to take care of-”

“You can’t turn him away when he has donuts!”

Yelena turned to see Kate stepping out of the bedroom, and she stared. Her hair was still messy from sleep, and it fell about her face like a lion’s mane, wild and beautiful. She was rocking back and forth on her feet nervously, her hands clasped in front of her as if to stop herself from fidgeting. A soft smile painted her lips, and she was wearing her sweatpants from the night before… and Yelena’s t-shirt. Yelena had traveled the whole world, but she’d never seen anything so breathtaking.

“Oh-ho, now I know why you want me to leave! You never told me you have a girlfriend!” Alexei boomed excitedly.

“We are not girlfriends. Kate, I told you to stay.”

“Yeah, and I don’t know why you thought I would listen.”

“Сука,” Yelena muttered, but there was no bite in her voice. She couldn’t be mad at Kate Bishop.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” she smiled mischievously.

“Alright, fine. This is my dad, Alexei Shostakov. AKA the Red Guardian.” Alexei puffed out his chest with a grin. “And Dad, this is Kate Bishop. She’s the world’s greatest archer,” Yelena said proudly. Kate beamed at her.

“The world’s greatest archer?” Alexei exclaimed. “Incredible! I must see your skills!”

“Oh, well, I-I don’t have my bow with me, so I can’t really show you… sorry,” Kate said awkwardly. “Ooh, wait! I might be able to show you something, actually. Do you have a quarter or something on you?”

“I have… lucky ruble, does that work?” Alexei replied, digging into his pocket.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, this should work,” Kate nodded as he handed her the coin. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get it back.”

Yelena gazed at Kate curiously as she took the ruble between her fingers and held it as if lining up her shot, staring at a point in the kitchen that Yelena didn’t recognize. Alexei took a step back.

“Okay… actually, can you hold up one of those donuts, please? Vertically.” Kate waited for Alexei to pick up a chocolate frosted donut with sprinkles, then she adjusted her grip on the ruble with a smile. “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Alexei whispered. Yelena nodded unconsciously.

Kate snapped her fingers and the ruble went soaring through the hole in the donut and hit the bottle of vodka on the counter at the perfect angle to unscrew the cap and send it flying off in the opposite direction. For a moment, the apartment was silent, save for the small clinking sounds of the ruble and the bottle cap hitting the floor. Kate grinned. Yelena’s jaw dropped. Alexei dropped the donut.

“OH MY GOD THAT WAS AMAZING!” Alexei roared, his eyes wild with excitement. He hugged Kate tightly and lifted her off the ground, his thundering laugh practically shaking the whole apartment. Kate chuckled awkwardly. “Yelena, did you know she could do this?”

“No, I did not,” Yelena breathed in awe, staring at Kate with wonder in her eyes. “That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.”

“Thank you,” Kate grinned, preening from the praise. “I can use that little trick to knock somebody unconscious from thirty feet away.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that! You must teach us how you do it!” Alexei clapped Kate on the shoulder, making her stumble. Then his eyes lit up. “You are superhero, yes? You should join the Thunderbolts! Right, Yelena?”

“Yeah, I am a superhero. And Yelena invited me to join last night, actually,” she smiled, finally looking back at her. For a second, they locked eyes, and Yelena felt that same warmth in her chest from the night before. But as soon as she felt it, Kate started and whipped her head back and forth between her and Alexei. “Wait, what are the Thunderbolts? I thought your team was called the New Avengers?”

“Valentina came up with that name.” Alexei waved his hand dismissively. “We wanted to be called the Thunderbolts!”

“No, we did not. You are the only one who wanted that.”

“Wait, why the Thunderbolts?”

“Aha, it is wonderful story! You will love it!”

“Oh no. No, god, please no,” Yelena whined, squeezing her eyes shut.

“The year was 1994, and Yelena was five years old- and she was the most adorable five-year-old ever, let me tell you. Just the cutest little girl you've ever seen! And she had so much energy, she was so adventurous and excited about life, she wanted to do everything!”

“That is not relevant to the story, Alexei,” Yelena insisted, glaring at him.

“Doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear it! Besides, you already know a lot about me, right? It’s only fair that I get to learn a little more about you,” Kate smirked triumphantly. “Please, keep going, Mr. Red Guardian, sir. This is amazing.”

Yelena turned her glare on Kate, betrayal in her eyes. Kate was grinning as if Christmas had come early, and Alexei looked almost as excited as she was. She didn’t know how yet, but Yelena silently vowed to get them back for this.

“So we think, what can we do with her? Hmmm, hmmm, what can we do? What can we do? Aha! We put her in sports! We sign her up for the peewee soccer team, the West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts!”

Kate gasped. “Wait, you got the name from your peewee soccer team?” she echoed, turning to Yelena. The look in her eyes sent a wave of cold crashing over her, and she stared at the floor as it settled in her stomach. “Oh my god, that’s so cute!”

“Я не милый,” Yelena mumbled. Neither Kate nor her dad seemed to hear her.

“Yes, they were an amazing team! The West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts, sponsored by Dimitri’s-”

“It was not Dimitri’s!” Yelena snapped, glaring up at her father again. “How many times do we have to go over this? It was Shane’s Tire Shop!”

“Okay, okay,” Alexei said, holding up his hands placatingly. “Don’t worry, I won’t disagree with you in front of your girlfriend.” He winked at Kate, and she snorted.

“She’s not my-! Oh my god.” Yelena covered her face with her hand. Kate shuffled closer, and Yelena could sense that she was questioning whether or not to put a hand on her shoulder. “Just finish the story, Alexei.” Her voice was deadpan as she crossed her arms over her chest. Kate at least had the decency to give her an apologetic glance before eagerly turning her attention back to Alexei.

“Okay, so, the West Chesapeake Valley Thunderbolts- sponsored by Shane’s Tire Shop,” he said pointedly. Yelena rolled her eyes. “They were a great team! Little Yelena wanted to be goalie, said she wanted her teammates to rely on her if they make mistakes.”

“Awwww,” Kate whispered. Yelena could feel her eyes on her.

“They never won a single game, but Lena had so much fun! I’ve never seen her happier,” Alexei finished proudly. “Her little face would light up like the sunrise whenever she was on the field. Oh, and I have team photo! You want to see?”

“You have it?” Yelena exclaimed, her indignation audibly clashing with Kate’s gasp of delight.

“Of course I do! It’s one of my favorite pictures,” Alexei replied as he pulled out his phone. “Besides, I need it to show the team! The new Thunderbolts need to see the originals.”

“What? No, you don’t need to show it to the team! And you don’t need to show it to Kate Bishop either!”

“Yes, he does!” Kate took the phone from him, holding it delicately as if it really were a small child.

“That one��s her,” Alexei pointed, beaming down at Yelena. She wasn’t as mad as she wanted to be.

“Awwwwww!” Kate squealed this time. “You were right, she was the most adorable little kid I’ve ever seen!”

Yelena’s cheeks burned as Kate grinned at her.

“What I tell you, huh? So cute, so perfect. My little Lena.”

“I guess some things never change, ‘cause you’re still cute,” Kate said, voice low so only Yelena could hear. She nudged her gently, a flirtatious smirk on her face.

“Do I get to see your undercut now, Kate Bishop?”

“I would seriously show you if I could,” she answered earnestly. “But the only photos that still exist are in my high school yearbook, and that’s… at my mom’s place. Oh, but I do have something! One second.” She shoved Alexei’s phone back into his hand and dashed back into Yelena’s bedroom.

“Not girlfriends, eh?” Alexei smiled. “Don’t worry, I like her.”

Yelena tilted her head and stared at him incredulously.

“Okay, this is the oldest picture I have on my phone,” Kate said as she walked back into the kitchen. “And it’s kinda related, because it’s from a sport I did as a kid. Before I started doing archery.”

“Awwwwww!” Yelena cooed when she held up her phone. It was a picture of a young Kate standing on a dirt field and holding a purple aluminum baseball bat. She had a purposefully determined look on her face, and she was wearing a t-shirt that said ‘New York Li’l Sluggers’ and a batting helmet twice the size of her head. And she was absolutely covered in dirt. “Clearly you were the most adorable little girl ever.”

“Agree to disagree,” Kate smirked.

“Why are you covered in dirt?” Yelena asked, meeting Kate’s eyes.

“Oh, did you slide into home plate? That is thing in baseball, yes?”

“Nope, not exactly,” Kate chuckled at Alexei’s guess. “I really wanted to, but my coaches and my parents told me I wasn’t allowed to. So I covered myself with dirt to make it look like I’d slid into home.”

Yelena and Alexei laughed.

“You were always so funny, Kate Bishop.”

“Thanks, it just comes naturally,” she joked. “I was… eight years old when this was taken. My dad took it. My mom was working late and didn’t get there ‘til the seventh inning, and my dad convinced her that I really had slid into home.” She gazed down at the photograph with a sad smile. “She was so mad, but my dad and I thought it was the funniest thing ever. We… we used to play tricks on her like that all the time.”

Yelena rubbed her back comfortingly, and Kate closed her eyes.

“Why used to?” Alexei asked. Yelena glared at him.

“He, uh… he passed away. A couple years after. He was killed in the Battle of New York.”

“Oh. I am sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks,” Kate sniffed. Yelena pulled her closer, and she leaned into the embrace. “Sorry, I totally brought the mood down.”

“It’s okay,” Yelena assured her softly.

They stayed there for a moment longer, and Yelena could feel Kate’s heartbeat slowing down. She ignored Alexei as he very obviously looked anywhere but at them. Then Kate’s stomach growled.

“We should eat these donuts,” Yelena declared, going to the cabinet to get plates.

“Finally,” Kate chuckled with an appreciative look in her eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever let donuts go uneaten for this long.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Yelena teased. Then she saw movement in the corner of her eye and turned to find her father picking the chocolate donut off the ground. “No, Alexei, don’t eat that!”

“Why not? Your floor looks clean to me.”

“No, it’s not, it’s the floor. I walk there.”

Alexei looked down at the floor then back at the donut with a shrug. “Cleaner than plates in the gulag.”

“That is a terrible standard. Here, there is another one just like it.” She plucked another chocolate-frosted donut with sprinkles from the box and put it on a plate for him. “Here, eat this.”

“Fine,” Alexei sighed in defeat as he threw the floor donut away and took the plate from her. “So much like your mother.”

“You mean I have common sense?” Yelena fired back. He just shook his head and grinned. “Sorry about that. Which donut would you like?” she asked, turning back to Kate with a strained smile. Her expression softened at the bemused look on Kate’s face; it was quite endearing.

“Oh, no, I mean, he brought them for you. You should pick first.”

“You are my guest, Kate Bishop. Please, take your pick.”

“I really don’t care which donut I have.”

“Neither do I.”

They stared each other down for a few moments, neither of them making a move for the donuts. Then Kate’s stomach growled again.

“Dammit,” she muttered.

“Go ahead, Kate Bishop, pick your donut. I know you want to,” she smirked triumphantly.

“Fine,” Kate pouted. She selected a bear claw, and Yelena picked a blueberry fritter.

“So, Kate,” Alexei said as they all sat down to eat. “What is your superhero name?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m glad you asked! I’m Hawkeye,” she answered proudly. Alexei stared at her in confusion.

“But I thought Hawkeye was old man… Clint Barton? He was original Avenger, yes? Friends with my Natasha?”

“She is the new and improved Hawkeye,” Yelena corrected.

“Clint was my mentor, and he passed the mantle down to me last Christmas,” she explained, smiling at Yelena. “Right after Yelena and I met, actually.”

“Aha, wonderful! That is good. If Lena vouches for you, then I know you are good superhero.”

“Thank you. I certainly do my best.”

“That’s all any of us can do,” he smiled at her. “So, how did you two meet?”

“We met because Yelena was trying to kill Clint.”

Alexei turned to stare at Yelena. “Why would you do that?”

“I thought that he killed Natasha!” Yelena said defensively. “And somebody hired me to do it. I am an assassin, remember?”

“Oh, yes, avenging your sister. Good, very noble,” he smiled. “And Kate stopped you from killing him, then?”

“No,” Yelena laughed. “Kate Bishop was an annoying obstacle.”

“Rude,” Kate scoffed, sounding slighted. “I put up a pretty good fight.”

“Yes, you did, that’s why you were an obstacle.”

“And what about the annoying part?”

“That’s just how you are,” Yelena teased. Kate tried to glare at her, but she couldn’t help but break out into a grin.

“I like this, this little bickering that you do,” Alexei butted in. “Reminds me of me and your mother when we first started our mission. We would tease each other back and forth, back and forth. Then, when you girls went to bed-”

“Nope! Absolutely not,” Yelena snapped, screwing her eyes shut. “We can talk about literally anything else!”

“Sorry, sorry. She’s just on my mind. She called me last night, you know.”

Yelena froze. “Wait, you talked to Mom?”

“I did. She asked about you. Wanted to know how you’re doing. She said she’s very proud of you, Мышка.”

“Why didn’t she just call me?” Yelena asked quietly.

“Even she couldn’t find how to contact you. Said she’s proud of you for using burner phones, too,” Alexei smiled. “When we go back to the tower tomorrow, I will have Valentina send her a plane so she can visit. She will be happy to see you, Lena.”

“Really?” Yelena breathed, her voice hopeful.

“Absolutely. And she will be happy to meet your girlfriend, too!” Alexei exclaimed. Yelena’s eyes went wide, and Kate coughed. “Melina might be a little harder to impress than me,” he said, leaning toward Kate as if they were sharing an inside joke. “But I know she will like you! How can she not when you make our little Lena so happy? I haven’t seen her light so bright since she was on the soccer field all those years ago!”

“Alexei, please stop,” Yelena begged. Her eyes drifted to the bottle of vodka still sitting open on the counter, and she had half a mind to drain it as quickly as she could. But then her eyes found Kate’s, and there was something so comfortable in the way she looked at her that quelled the desire entirely. It didn’t stop her from feeling mortified, though, and her father’s next words didn’t help either.

“And I can show her my limo! I already send her pictures of me in my suit and tie. She is… very excited to see me, too,” he chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Okay! You know what, I’m done eating. Kate, can you show me how you did that cool snapping thing with the coin?” Yelena said loudly, shoving her chair aside as she stood up. Kate nodded and followed her lead, grateful for the abrupt topic change.

“Yeah, sure. Totally!” she agreed. “Where did that… ruble end up?”

“Um… oh! Here, here.” Yelena replaced the lid on the bottle of vodka before handing the ruble back to Kate. “So, how do you do it?”

“Okay, so you’re gonna wanna grip it between your thumb and your ring finger like this, see?” Kate instructed, holding up the ruble. Yelena copied the motion with her fingers. “Great! Then, you just snap.” She snapped her fingers and the ruble went sailing across the apartment and hit the wall.

“Okay, that seems easy enough,” Yelena nodded. Kate retrieved the coin and handed it to her, then went to stand behind her to guide her through the motions. She was a lot closer than she needed to be, but Yelena didn’t mention it. “Should I try to aim for something, or what?”

“Well, let’s work on actually firing it first, then you can work on the accuracy. That part’s a lot harder.”

“Makes sense,” Yelena shrugged. “So I just hold it like this, and then I snap?”

“Yeah, that looks good, just like that,” Kate grinned. Yelena couldn’t help the small smile that spread across her face as well. Then she turned her focus back to the coin and snapped her fingers- sending the ruble flying backwards and directly into her eye.

“Ow! Гавно,” she cried, her hand flying up to cover her eye.

“Shit! Yelena, are you okay?” Kate spun around to stand in front of her and put one hand on her shoulder, her other hovering over Yelena’s. The pain had dissipated quickly, of course, but a fresh wave of embarrassment swiftly replaced it, and the genuine concern in Kate’s eyes only made it worse.

“You made it look so easy,” she murmured, staring at the floor. She wished that she could turn to dust again.

“Sorry,” Kate said sheepishly. “Here, let me see.” She took Yelena’s hand slowly and pulled it away from her face, and Yelena let her. Kate’s fingers brushed her temple delicately as she examined her eye, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Does it hurt?” she asked softly, worry written on her face. Yelena pouted up at her.

“No.”

Kate breathed a sigh of relief and smirked slightly. Then she leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss just above the corner of her eye, her hand cupping Yelena’s cheek.

If Yelena’s breath had been stuck in her throat before, it had now been completely stolen from her lungs. She was sure her brain had short-circuited. Kate smiled at her, so affectionate and caring, and she’d never felt so small. But what shocked her the most was that it wasn’t… bad. How could anything be bad when Kate Bishop was looking at her like that?

“I can’t believe there’s a way to injure people that you can do and I can’t,” Yelena blurted, wincing at her own tactlessness. At least the tension was broken.

Kate giggled. “I told you you don’t know everything about me,” she replied with a wink.

Yelena opened and closed her mouth a few times, struggling desperately for something to say. Each time she did it, Kate’s grin grew impossibly brighter, making her look impossibly cuter. Whatever this was, it was going to be the death of her.

Yelena couldn’t think of a better way to die.

But just as she realized that Kate was leaning toward her again, the moment was shattered by Alexei’s cough. To his credit, it did sound real and involuntary, but that didn’t stop the rush of heat that flooded Yelena’s entire face. And Kate’s too, by the look of it.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your moment,” he apologized, his eyes going wide when Kate looked up at him.

“Nope! No, we weren’t… I mean, we… we’re not… it’s okay,” she stammered, her voice squeaking. She had practically jumped away from Yelena, and the sudden distance between them somehow made the humiliation worse.

“Yelena, are you okay, sweetie?”

“Yes, Dad, I’m fine!” she said, louder than she needed to. She hid her face in her hands again.

“Um, do you wanna try again?” Kate asked awkwardly, bending down to pick up the ruble. “That happened to me a few times when I first tried it, too. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it in no time.”

“No, maybe later,” Yelena answered. Kate was still looking at her with that concerned, caring expression, and she smiled softly at her. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Kate breathed. Yelena looked away. “Do you want to give it a try, Mr. Red Guardian?”

“Oh, yes, I would love to!” he exclaimed, shooting up from his chair and striding over. “And you can just call me Alexei, Kate, you don’t have to be so formal. Although I do like Mr. Red Guardian. But you will be family soon enough, right, Yelena?” he boomed, throwing his arm around Kate’s shoulders.

“Oh my god.” Yelena rolled her eyes. Kate glanced at her helplessly, but she excused herself to clear the table. Dealing with her dad was fitting payback, she decided.

“So I just hold it like this and then I snap, Да?”

“Yeah, that looks pretty good. But you should hold it on the side of your thumb, not the pad, like this,” Kate instructed, shifting the coin in his hand.

“That would’ve been nice to know,” Yelena muttered, glaring at her from across the room.

“I’m sorry!” Kate said apologetically. “I never said I was a good teacher.”

“Clearly not,” Yelena replied, but she couldn’t help but smile at her. She really couldn’t be mad at Kate Bishop.

“Okay, so I try it now?” Alexei asked.

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead,” Kate nodded, turning back to him. He snapped his fingers, but the ruble didn’t fire forward or backward.

“I bent it,” he said softly, holding up the mangled coin. It was now at an almost perfect ninety-degree angle.

“Oh… wow. So you did. That… hasn’t happened to me before.”

“Wait, let me see.” Yelena walked back over to them to look at the coin. Alexei was still staring at it sadly. “It looks like Walker’s shield,” she laughed, nudging him.

“Hey, you’re right, it does!” he chuckled. “He has taco shield and I have taco ruble!”

“You should show him tomorrow,” she said seriously.

“You think so?”

“Oh, yeah, he’ll love it! It’ll be a good way to bond with your fellow super soldier.”

“Yes, great idea, Lena! And we will have to make Bucky a taco something too!”

“Oh, absolutely! I’m sure he’d feel so left out without one.”

Alexei grinned proudly at his folded ruble, and Yelena smiled mischievously at a bemused Kate. “I’ll explain later,” she mouthed with a wink.

“Thank you for showing me, Kate,” Alexei exclaimed, smiling at her warmly. “Maybe not a skill for super soldiers, but when you do it, it is glorious! And I’m sure you will have lots of fun teaching Yelena later.” He winked at both of them. “She is a very fast learner. She was top of her class in the Red Room, the greatest child assassin the world has ever known!”

“Dad, that is not something to brag about!” Yelena groaned.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m just so proud of you!”

“If you’re going to be proud of me for something, it shouldn’t be that.”

“I’m proud of you for everything you do, Мышка,” he beamed.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “We should talk about something else.”

“Yes, you’re right- oh! You never finished telling me the story of how you met!” Alexei bellowed, his eyes widening with excitement. “We’ve been having so much fun, we got distracted!”

“Ha! Yes, that’s what happened,” Yelena said sarcastically. Kate laughed. Yelena would do anything to make Kate Bishop laugh again. The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning. It was nearly a physical sensation, and she was so shaken by it that she almost didn’t realize Kate had started talking again.

“-I remember it so vividly. I had my arrow pointed right at her, and she locked eyes with me and just shook her head.” Kate was staring right at her, and Yelena just nodded dumbly. “So I lowered my bow, and then she ran and jumped off the roof, and she spun around and did this cool pose in midair.”

“I did not do a pose!” Yelena gaped at her.

“What? Yes, you did.”

“I never pose.”

“You turned around in midair and threw your arms out like this,” Kate said, spreading her own arms out wide. “You made eye contact with me as you fell, that’s not something I would forget.”

Yelena crossed her arms and stared at the floor. “I’m not a poser.”

“Okay, well whatever it was, it was cool as fuck,” Kate smirked. That unfamiliar warmth blossomed in Yelena’s chest again. “Then later, when I went home, she was already in my apartment. She made mac and cheese for us and asked me for touristy recommendations like we were old friends; it was really weird.”

“She made you mac and cheese?” Alexei repeated incredulously.

“I was hungry,” Yelena said. “What was I supposed to do, not share with her? It was her food!”

“Ah, good girl. So polite,” Alexei nodded approvingly.

“It wasn’t that polite, she broke into my house!” Kate exclaimed. Yelena opened her mouth to protest, but she held up a hand to stop her. “I know, you didn’t break anything. But you still totally invaded my space!”

“Fair enough, I did do that.” Yelena shrugged.

“Anyway, it was a very strange night. I wasn’t as scared as I knew I should’ve been, and in a way, that was even scarier.” Kate gazed at Yelena almost shyly, and Yelena smirked back at her.

“I tend to have that effect on people. I’m very scary.”

Kate scoffed. “Oh yeah, you’re downright terrifying,” she smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Especially when you warned me not to get in your way.”

“And then you didn’t listen to me.”

“Of course not. Why would I?”

Yelena shook her head and grinned at her affectionately.

“Besides, if I had, we wouldn’t have had that awesome fight on Christmas Eve.”

“You’re right, that was fun.”

“That sounds so romantic,” Alexei sighed, smiling at them both. Yelena’s eyes widened, and she shifted her glance around the room.

“Yeah, that’s one word for it,” Kate said quietly, dipping her head and gazing up at Yelena. Her cheeks were flushed, and Yelena could feel her own face burning as she stared at her. Kate just smiled.

“So you had first date after fight on Christmas Eve, Да?”

“Nope, I didn’t see her again after that. Our first date was last night, after I broke in here to confront her about joining the New Avengers without me!” Kate explained, putting her hands on her hips and glaring teasingly at Yelena.

“Well, it’s a good thing you did, now you can join the team!” Alexei cheered. “The Thunderbolts will welcome you with open arms!”

“Thank you, I’m excited to join,” Kate grinned. Alexei clapped both of them on the shoulder, and they stumbled under his strong grip and smirked at each other.

“The team will be so happy when they meet you tomorrow,” Alexei grinned.

“Wait, tomorrow?”

“We’re all meeting back at the tower tomorrow, just to hang out,” Yelena explained. “No reporters, no missions, just the Thunderbo- the New Avengers getting to know each other outside of life or death situations. It’s the perfect time to introduce you.”

“Oh, cool! That’s a great idea, I can’t wait!”

“Yes, and I know how to make it even better!” Alexei declared. Yelena braced herself. “We should have a karaoke party! It will be so much fun, great for team bonding!”

“That is a terrible idea,” Yelena retorted, crossing her arms. “You can’t seriously think we’ll want to do that.”

“Why not? I think it’s a great idea,” Kate said. “Karaoke is so fun!”

“Don’t encourage him!”

“Why not, Lena? You love to sing! You can do your song, American Pie, remember?”

“You love to sing?” Kate grinned at her in disbelief. Yelena ignored her.

“Yes, of course I remember. But I’m not singing in front of them! And it’s like eight minutes long anyway, it would be a terrible karaoke song.”

“Then you can do something else!” Alexei said. “Just trust me, Lena, it will be so much fun! Karaoke is a great way to learn about each other! We sing, we dance, we laugh, and we trust each other by end of the night! You’ll see!”

“Yeah, sure we will.” Yelena rolled her eyes.

“Well, even if Yelena won’t sing, I totally will, Alexei. I love karaoke!”

“Traitor,” Yelena gasped, glaring at Kate. The thought of watching Kate sing karaoke, no doubt dancing along to whatever love song she would hopefully probably pick made her heart skip a beat. She tried not to let it show on her face, but Kate was looking at her like she already knew.

“Aha, wonderful!" Alexei thundered. "What is your go-to karaoke song?”

“Hmmm, I don’t know that I have one,” Kate answered thoughtfully. “I usually mix it up and just go for whatever my favorite new song is at the time. I haven’t really had a go-to song since I was a kid.”

“And what was it?” he asked eagerly. Yelena tilted her head in interest.

“No More “I Love You’s” by Annie Lennox. It was my dad’s favorite song. He got me a karaoke machine for my fifth birthday, and we always used to sing it together. I would always put my own twist on it, though, and make up my own lyrics,” Kate chuckled.

“That sounds wonderful,” Alexei smiled at her. “I’m sure you will make him proud tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” she breathed.

“And maybe you can convince my daughter to sing, too,” he said with a wink. “She has a beautiful voice, I’m sure you will want to hear her.”

“Okay, that’s enough. Don’t you have somewhere to be, Alexei? Somewhere that’s not here?” Yelena hissed.

“Yes, you’re right, I should get going. I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your date,” he smirked. “It was great to meet you, Kate. I can’t wait to fight alongside you! We will be glorious!”

“Neither can I,” Kate laughed. “It was nice to meet you, too.”

“I will see you tomorrow!” he chortled, wrapping her in a warm bear hug.

“Yeah, I uh… I can’t wait.”

“It was good to see you, Yelena,” he smiled lovingly. “We will have to do Daddy Daughter Donuts again soon, huh? Just the two of us.”

“Yeah, we will,” she smiled back. He enveloped her in a hug, and she squeezed him tightly, relaxing into his embrace.

“I love you, Мышка,” he said softly, kissing the top of her head.

“I love you, too, Daddy.”

“Alright, you girls be safe now, okay?” he said pointedly as he stepped back.

“Yep, time for you to go!” Yelena commanded loudly as she began shoving him toward the door. “Out! Out! Убирайся!”

“Okay, okay, I’m going!” he insisted. “Bye, Kate! Bye, Lena!”

“Bye!” Kate called, and he waved to her as Yelena slammed the door. She sighed and turned back to Kate nervously.

“So, that was your dad.”

“I am so sorry about that, I had no idea he was coming over. I didn’t even know he knew where I lived! I think I need to move.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Yelena,” Kate said, draping her arms around her shoulders. Yelena allowed her arms to hang loosely around Kate’s waist as she gazed up at her. “He’s great! You were right, I think we’re gonna get along just fine.”

“Did you really like him?” Yelena asked, her voice soft and hopeful. Kate smiled.

“I did. He’s a little loud. But he’s very funny and sweet. Just like you.”

“I am not sweet.”

“You’re sweet to me,” Kate shrugged, her grin growing wider when she realized that Yelena didn’t have a retort. “And ‘daddy daughter donuts’ is hands down the cutest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Nooooooo,” Yelena groaned weakly, hiding her face in Kate’s chest. Kate laughed. “I’m going to kill him.”

“Then who would bring you donuts?” she teased. Yelena glared up at her and opened her mouth to reply, but Kate leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, rendering her speechless. “That was definitely unexpected, but I’m glad I got to meet him.”

“Me too.”

“So, is he the only person who calls you Lena, or…?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I think that nickname is adorable, and I want to know if I can call you that without you threatening to punch, stab, or shoot me.”

“I would not punch, stab, or shoot you!”

“I know, that’s why I said threaten,” Kate smirked. Yelena rolled her eyes and grinned.

“Yes, Kate Bishop, you can call me Lena.”

“Great. Thanks, Lena.” Kate leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I also have a question about another thing your dad said.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, it’s pretty obvious he thinks we’re girlfriends,” Kate said, her voice growing slightly higher and faster. “And I mean I don’t want to pressure you into anything, and I can totally do casual if that’s what you want. But we should talk about… whatever this is. I can’t do a situationship.”

Yelena stared at her. “What is a situationship?”

“It’s when people are definitely more than friends, but they never talk about it. Usually, one person ends up catching feelings and then gets their heart broken. And that person is usually me.”

“Who did this to you?” Yelena demanded, narrowing her eyes.

“What, you wanna hear about all my evil exes?” Kate chuckled.

“If they’re evil, then absolutely!”

“No, it’s a movie reference. One I’ll have to show you sometime. None of them were evil, just jerks.”

“Oh. Well, I still want to hear about them,” Yelena said quietly. “I want to know who could be stupid enough to let you go.”

Kate scoffed. “I think they were pretty glad to be rid of me, actually. Well, all except my first boyfriend, but that was when we were thirteen, so it doesn’t really count.”

“Go on,” Yelena prompted. Kate sighed.

“His name was Miles, and we met in elementary school. We were each other’s first crush, and he asked me to be his girlfriend at the school dance. But then his family moved away, and we couldn’t do long distance because he didn’t have a phone.”

“That sounds like a good first relationship,” Yelena said wistfully.

“Yeah, it was. But believe me, they get a lot worse. Next, there was Sue, my girlfriend for nearly three of the four years of high school. We were a total power couple, and I was convinced I was in love with her, and that we were gonna get married and live happily ever after. Then she dumped me halfway through senior year, completely out of the blue. She said I was “too much” and that she never loved me. Then she started going out with this asshole named Austin. I’m pretty sure they’re married now. It completely ruined high school for me. Then there were my college situationships. First, there was this girl named Caitlyn-”

“Caitlyn?” Yelena raised an eyebrow. “That’s very similar to your name.”

“Yeah, I know, it was kinda weird,” Kate said. “But it’s not technically the same name. She did call me my full name sometimes, though, and I hated that.”

“What, Katherine?”

“Yeah, no thanks,” Kate shuddered. “If Kate is too short, you can just stick with Kate Bishop.”

“I will,” Yelena smiled.

“Anyway, that one went exactly like I said before. We never talked about it, and once I realized I had feelings for her, she pushed me away. Then I caught her making out with some girl named Maddie at a party, and she called me a stalker and told me to leave her alone. Then there was Elias, and I actually thought that situationship ended well. We’d been hooking up for a few months, and after hyping myself up like all night, I finally asked him to be my boyfriend, and he said yes. But then, like a week later, I woke up one morning and he was gone. He ran away in the middle of the night and blocked me on everything.”

“That’s terrible!” Yelena said, appalled. “I’m so sorry, Kate. You are not too much, you could never be too much! They were too little.”

“Thanks,” Kate smiled.

“What were their names again?”

“You cannot go and murder my exes, Yelena,” Kate said sternly.

“Fine,” she sighed, rolling her eyes. “But seriously, you did not deserve that. Those people, they are just сволочи. Worthless. I would never do that to you. I will not be a… situationship.”

“Okay, good,” Kate grinned hopefully. “Wait, does that mean you want to be-”

“But I can’t be your girlfriend, Kate.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve never been anyone’s girlfriend before.”

“That’s okay. I mean it’s not that hard, and I can help you figure out-“

“No, that’s not what I’m saying! I shouldn’t be anyone’s girlfriend, especially not yours.”

Kate furrowed her brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Yelena sighed. “You are good, Kate Bishop. So good. You deserve someone who is good like you. Someone so much better than me.”

“But you are good, Yelena.”

“No, I’m not! You heard Alexei, I’ve been an assassin since I was a child! I had literally killed dozens of people before you were even born!”

“Yeah, I know that,” Kate said softly. She shifted her arms around Yelena’s shoulders, making sure her grip was strong enough to tell her she didn’t want her to pull away, but still loose enough to say she wouldn’t stop her if she tried. After a moment of deliberation, she decided to stay where she was; if this was to be the last time Kate Bishop held her, then she was going to savor it for as long as she could. “But that wasn’t you, not really. You didn’t have a choice. And you were under mind control, weren’t you?”

“Not for all of it.”

“Oh. Okay,” Kate nodded. “So that’s who you were, but it’s not who you are. Even when we met, I could tell that you were trying to be better, and you are! You’re an Avenger-”

“That word still doesn’t mean anything, Kate!”

“Yes, it does! It means you’re a hero. And you are, Yelena. You’re my hero.”

“Barton is your hero,” Yelena deadpanned. “And that doesn’t even make sense. I’ve never saved you from anything.”

“You saved everyone who got trapped in the Void four days ago, remember? Which means you saved me.”

Yelena felt her blood run cold as her stomach dropped. “You… you were trapped in the Void?”

“Yeah, I live like a mile from Avengers Tower,” Kate said, her upbeat tone wavering. “But I’m fine, really. I’ve been through way worse.”

Yelena shoved herself away from Kate. Her breathing became rushed and unsteady, and she could hear blood roaring in her ears. She refused to look at Kate. She couldn’t.

“That is exactly what I’m talking about,” she whispered.

“What? No, Yelena, it wasn’t your fault! You’re the one who went in after Bob, you saved me! You saved everyone! You and your team.”

“No. No, no, no. No, no.” Yelena squeezed her eyes shut and backed away, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Kate took a step toward her but thought better of it, concern shining in her eyes.

“Yelena, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“What did you see?” Yelena asked pleadingly.

“I was sitting on my couch when I realized that… something was going on outside. So I jumped up and grabbed my bow to go out and try to help. Then suddenly it was Christmas Eve again, and I was watching myself arrest my mom.”

Yelena’s heart sank, and she fought to swallow the lump in her throat. Another addition to her long, long list of regrets. She should have known that was all Kate Bishop was ever going to be.

“The moment replayed a few times on a loop, and when I tried to apologize to her, she put the handcuffs on me and threw me in the back of the police car with her. Then I woke up back in my apartment on the floor, with Lucky barking at me and licking my face,” Kate said with a small smile. “It wasn’t any worse than the nightmares I have, trust me.”

“Kate,” Yelena uttered. The heartbreak in her voice was reflected in Kate’s eyes.

“You aren’t the only one who gets to have a tragic backstory, y’know.”

“If you’re with me… it’ll just be more of that. All I’ve ever known is pain, all I am is pain! I don’t know how to be anything else. You don’t want to be with me, Kate Bishop. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“And that is exactly how I know you won’t,” Kate smiled softly, holding out her hands. “Just because that’s all you’ve known doesn’t mean that’s all you can be. You can always grow and become something new. And I’ll help you! But you have to give yourself permission to heal.”

“I don’t think I can,” Yelena whimpered, sounding broken. “I’ve done so many terrible things. I… I’m damaged.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t be fixed,” Kate comforted, beckoning her with her still outstretched hands. Yelena finally gave in and took them. “You just need someone to take care of you.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Yelena mumbled, avoiding her gaze.

“I want to.” Kate squeezed her hands gently, and Yelena could hear the hopeful grin on her face. “If there’s some other reason you don’t want to be with me, then we can forget last night ever happened and go back to being friends. But if your fear that you’re not good enough is the only thing holding you back, then I’m not going to let that keep us from exploring whatever this is. And you don’t wanna try to stop me. I’m very persistent,” she joked. Yelena almost smiled. “I don’t want to sound cheesy, but… I think there’s something special between us, Yelena. Something worth chasing. I felt it the moment we locked eyes on that rooftop. I don’t know what it is, but I want to find out. Things definitely feel different with you. I mean, I’m not the kind of girl who goes home with someone after a first date- or stays over, I guess. And the only times I’ve wanted to stay the night with someone without sleeping with them was when I was in a relationship. But I couldn’t imagine leaving you last night. And now, I… well, I won’t leave unless you ask me to.”

Tears shone in Yelena’s eyes as she finally looked up at her. “Do you really want to be with me, Kate Bishop? Knowing what I’ve done? What I am?”

“We met because you were trying to kill Clint. I may not know all the details, but I’ve seen your assassin side, Yelena. But I’ve also seen the side of you that told me that my mother was the one who hired you when you didn’t have to, just because you thought I deserved to know. I’ve seen the side of you that did everything you could to not hurt me when we were fighting, even though you had plenty of opportunities to kill me, and it probably would’ve made your job way easier. I’ve seen the side of you that cares about how you dress and laughs at all my stupid jokes. I’ve seen the side of you that loves your family, and Christmas, and mac and cheese, and being my little spoon.” Yelena blushed at that, and Kate smiled down at her so softly it made her feel weak. “You are so much more than a former Black Widow assassin. And I can’t wait to get to know every part of you. I want you, Yelena. All of you. As long as you want me, too.”

“Really?” Yelena gasped.

“Yes, really. All of this is real, Yelena. I’m real, I promise. I want you. All of y-”

Yelena had thrown herself off the second-tallest building in the world, fought armies of armed men without so much as a leather jacket to protect herself, had set off countless explosives while knowing she was still in range of the blast, and stepped willingly into the Void. She thought she’d thrown caution to the wind a million times over throughout her meaningless life, but it had never felt like this. She felt weightless, but Kate’s strong arms around her kept her grounded. She kissed Kate like her life depended on it- and in a way, it did. What kind of life could she have if Kate Bishop wasn’t in it?

“Should I take that as a yes?” Kate beamed when they pulled apart for air a few moments later. Yelena nodded.

“Yes. I want you, too, Kate Bishop. I really, really do.”

The grin that graced Kate’s face was the most beautiful thing Yelena had ever seen. Then Kate was kissing her again, and she was the best thing she’d ever tasted. Yelena could barely breathe; all of her senses were flooded with Kate, Kate, Kate. It was intoxicating. She nipped at her bottom lip and grasped desperately at Kate’s shirt- her shirt, she remembered vaguely as her stomach flipped- and pulled her impossibly closer. Their chests pressed together comfortably, and she could hear Kate’s heart pounding in time with her own. If she did nothing but kiss Kate Bishop for the rest of her life, Yelena would be content.

But then, a few of Kate’s words finally registered, and a wave of dread overtook her and settled like a pit in her stomach. She pushed Kate away gently and stared at the floor, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall once again. “Wait,” she faltered, her voice trembling.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked, her eyes swimming with worry.

“I know we didn’t last night, but what if… what if I never want to have sex?” Yelena asked weakly.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I love kissing you. And I want to keep doing it a lot more, but I… I don’t know how much farther I want to go. I-it’s never been something I wanted, and I’ve never really had to think about it before. But I… I don’t think I want to have sex. I’m sorry, Kate.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Kate smiled softly. “It’s okay, it sounds like you might be asexual.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, there’s a whole spectrum of different identities, but asexual basically means someone who has little or no interest in sex. Most asexual people still want to be in relationships, though. I actually did some research on it when I was like fourteen because I liked the flag,” Kate chuckled.

“Whoa. Yeah, that sounds like me,” Yelena breathed.

“That’s great!” Kate grinned. “I can send you some good websites for you to do some research of your own if you want. I don’t know how important specific labels are to you, but some people find them really helpful-”

“Wait, you don’t care?” Yelena gazed up at her in disbelief. “It doesn’t bother you?”

“No, of course not. I don’t care about sex, I care about you.” Kate pulled her close again, her hands slowly caressing her sides. “I’ll do my best to ask, but if I ever go too far or cross a line, just tell me and I’ll stop, okay? I would never want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Okay,” Yelena whispered tearfully.

“I love that I’m already learning new things about you,” Kate beamed. “And besides, I’m great at masturbating. I don’t need anybody else.”

Yelena laughed. “You are so funny, Kate Bishop,” she sniffed, clutching the sleeves of her t-shirt and tugging her even closer. “I don’t deserve you.”

“You didn’t deserve all the horrible things that happened to you, either,” Kate said tenderly, brushing Yelena’s hair out of her eyes. “The universe doesn’t care much about what we deserve. But if you’re what I get, then I’d say that’s pretty great.”

And that’s when the dam behind Yelena’s eyes finally broke. She buried her head in Kate’s chest as she cried, holding her as tightly as she could. Kate held her just as tight, with one hand rubbing her back and the other cradling her head. “Yeah, there you go. Let it out,” she soothed. “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”

Yelena’s knees felt weak, but Kate didn’t let her fall. She stood steady as Yelena shuddered in her arms, murmuring words of comfort as she gently rocked them back and forth. She kept calling her baby, and before this very moment, Yelena would’ve sworn she would hate such a juvenile pet name. But it sounded wonderful when it fell from Kate Bishop’s lips, like everything did, and it was even better because she meant her. Kate Bishop wanted her. Yelena wasn’t sure if anyone had ever truly wanted her before. And that’s when it hit her. She finally had a name for the warmth she’d been feeling since she and Kate shared that long-awaited drink the night before.

Safe. Kate Bishop was safety.

Yelena’s sobs faded into sniffles, and the sniffles slowly faded into silence. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been crying. “I’m sorry,” she whimpered, pulling back to gaze up at Kate. There was a wet spot on her t-shirt from her tears, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“It’s okay, Yelena,” Kate said softly. “You don’t have to apologize. That’s what girlfriends are for.”

Yelena smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

Kate raised a delicate hand to Yelena's cheek and began wiping away her tears. “So do I.”

“I don’t know much about things like this, but I will do my best to be a good girlfriend. Way better than those сволочи you’ve dated before. I want to be the kind of girlfriend you deserve, Kate Bishop. And when we are on missions, I will protect you, so nothing like the Void ever happens to you again. I will do what I can to make sure your story doesn’t get any more tragic.”

Kate smiled at her. “And I’ll do the same for you, Lena.”

Yelena grinned. Then, before Kate could say anything else, she cupped her cheek and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. She tangled her fingers in her hair and breathed her in, allowing herself to feel everything that Kate had to offer. It was pure ecstasy, nothing but light. And for once, Yelena believed that it wouldn’t be ripped away from her. It may be the most dangerous thing she’d ever done, but she trusted Kate Bishop with all her heart.

“That was amazing,” Kate gasped when they broke apart a minute later. “And just think, it’s only the first of many, girlfriend.”

“I can’t wait for all of them,” Yelena beamed.

“I hate to ruin the mood, but I really need to get back home to walk Lucky. He’s been cooped up since last night. Do you want to come with me and meet him?”

“I would love to,” Yelena nodded. “Then after that, you can come with me to pick my pets up from the kennel.”

Kate’s eyes went wide. “Wait, hold up. You have pets? Plural?”

“Yes, I do. Two of them, a dog and a guinea pig.”

“Oh my god, you just got, like, impossibly hotter,” Kate gushed. “Why didn’t you say something before? What are their names? What kind of dog are they? Do you have pictures? Please tell me you have pictures!”

Yelena chuckled. “I do, most of the pictures on my phone are of them. Fanny is an Akita. I named her after a terrible alias that Natasha had once. And the guinea pig’s name is Fork.”

“Fork?”

“Yes, he reminded me of you. I rescued him from a lab I destroyed about a week ago, and he ran right up to me, wasn’t scared of me at all. And he squeaks so much. And when I thought of you, I thought of how weird it is that you only have one fork, so, Fork.”

“I feel like I should be offended by that, but I’m way too happy about the fact that you were thinking about me.”

“Of course, I was thinking about you! I’ve thought about you a lot since Christmas, Kate Bishop.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. This relationship wouldn’t work if you were the only one enamored with me. You’re the coolest person I know, too.”

“That’s a really good point,” Kate grinned. Then her eyes lit up. “After we pick up Fanny and Fork, can we take Fanny and Lucky on a walk together through Central Park?”

“Of course, мой свет,” Yelena smiled, kissing her again. “That sounds like the perfect second date.”

-------

Author's Note - Yes, part 3 will be about the Thunderbolts karaoke party! I haven't decided which songs the characters will sing yet, so if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the replies or reblogs! Thank you so much for your help!

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