Work Text:
“you’re the little Bishop girl” that was before,now it’s
“you’re Bishop security’s CEO!”
that’s basically how Kate Bishop’s life had changed from this to this. She was 23, the youngest CEO in the United States to own one of the biggest firm of the world. Tonight was December 20th, charity auction gala night, just like last year, except last year she wasn’t in charge of supervising the whole night, seeing everyone and making business. It has also been one year since her life had changed forever, and this time the archer made sure there was no illegal auction at the caves.
“thank you for coming tonight and thank you for your donations” she said while shaking a man’s hand, someone who was supposedly one of her clients.
Kate was wearing a full black suit, just like last time, except this one has a better tie, now looking much more professional.
“Ms Bishop, I hope I’m not disturbing your little trip on the moon” said a man in his fifties
“oh no, absolutely not” she said immediately, putting a wide fake smile on her face
“you know it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, I hope you remember me” he said chuckling
“are you… Armand the V?” said the young archer hesitantly
“Armand the IV”
“yes, yes of course I remember you Armand the IV, yes I’m so sorry, uh it’s nice to see you again” she said nervously extending her hand
“I remember you as a little child and now you’re the head of Bishop security! How amazing” he said shaking her hand
“ah yes, I don’t really remember sorry, but I hope you enjoy the party, and thank you for your donations”
“oh you must know Ms Bishop, I’m not only here for this charity gala, I think you know well my family and how important we were to your mother. I had a contract with her actually, which lasted a couple years, and I’d like to renew it.”
“I know exactly what you are talking about” she said knowing exactly where this conversation was leading to. “But I’m not my mother, so I’m afraid that this will not be possible” said Kate with a straight face, changing the tone of the conversation
“ah, how sad, you could’ve make it for your mother’s murder of my uncle Armand the III”
“do I have to remind you that your uncle threatened my mother last year for this contract, so I have no reason to renew it”
“a threat over a real life, huh how interesting Ms Bishop” he said looking straight into the archer’s eyes
“I would advise you not to go further, maybe I should remind you that you’re just one of my clients and that I can stop any contracts I have currently with you or your family and that not even 1% of the society’s number will move” answered Kate with an overconfidence she was thankful for.
“you’ll hear of me again Bishop” said the man leaving, too frustrated
“I hope not” she said smiling with a goodbye wave of her hand.
Kate let out a long breath, “goddamn, I feel this night is gonna be very long” she muttered to herself. The archer decided she needed a drink, and so she headed to the bar. She could have asked to a waiter but she wanted to get away from the crowd.
“a glass of white please”
“right away ma’am” answered the bartender
The young woman leaned against the bar, trying to fix her tie’s knot.
“your glass of wine” said the young man
“thank you”
“and for me I’ll take a vodka martini please”
That accent, Kate could recognize it everywhere.
The young archer lifted her gaze from her drink to meet Yelena’s eyes, and Kate got lost in it. She was wearing a black dress, simple but very elegant, simple makeup as well, her hair tied up in a beautiful braid.
“hey Yelena you look, just beautiful” said Kate her voice an octave higher than usual stumbling to find her words.
“hi Kate Bishop, you don’t look too bad yourself, I like the suit, makes you look like a CEO” she joked
“well I am a CEO” said Kate, trying to regain her dignity she had just lost before the Russian
“congratulations by the way, I wanted to send you a text but my phone got broken in a fight and I didn’t have the time to buy a new one so”
After Christmas eve’s fiasco, Yelena and Kate met each other again, to finally have that drink together and then they hanged out together more, watching movies at Kate’s apartment sometimes whenever Yelena would show up randomly at her window. Sometimes Yelena would leave for months and then come back just for one night, being busy with her missions. Kate found herself to miss her sometimes and also discovering she was developing feelings for the Russian assassin, and she was pretty sure that Yelena was aware of it.
“better late than never I guess, Yelena can I ask you a question?”
“you just did”
“yeah no shit, no offense but, you don’t seem to be the kind of person to come to this type of gala” said Kate more as an affirmation than a question.
“how cliche of you to think that a blood thirsty vigilante would not be interested in charity” she said pretending to be offended
“no but seriously” said Kate smiling and taking a sip of her drink
“you see that man right here, I have to hack his phone and ask him a couple of questions”
“can I ask for what or it’s top secret”
“he has some dirty business, as 90% of the people here, but he’s making dirty business with ancient red room people” said Yelena, her face now being more serious and gaze fill with anger and revenge.
Kate nodded while trying to fix her tie.
“you’re doing a mess there Kate Bishop, let me do it for you” said the black widow moving from her sit to come closer to Kate. The archer’s body froze when the other woman touched her tie, Kate was trying to avoid any eye contact.
“wearing a retractable sword Kate Bishop, are you in danger?” the black widow noticed
“well, I kind of beat some of Fisk’s guys yesterday” said Kate sincerely, having no reason to lie to the other women, she would’ve guessed it anyway. The archer lifted her shirt to reveal yellow turning purple bruises on her stomach and a cut stitched with butterfly stitches.
Yelena immediately moved her hand to touch where Kate was wounded. The archer let out a hiss of pain, and looking right into the eyes of the assassin. The tension could be cut with a knife, but after was felt an eternity for Kate, which was just five seconds, the black widow removed her hand and continued to make Kate’s knot tie.
“why not a retractable bow then Kate Bishop?”
“I kinda of lost it yesterday, oh my god Cassie is gonna be so mad at me” she thought
“Clint was right about one thing though, you always lose your stuff”
“what you talk with Clint?” said Kate surprised
“sometimes” said Yelena not developing further, keeping on going with the archer’s tie
There was a moment of silence between the two women while Yelena finished the knot.
“done”
“thanks” said Kate softly looking at her perfect tie
“do you want me to get access to his file, the guy you’re looking for? Maybe I could find more information.” said the archer
“right now?” asked Yelena dumbfounded
“yes, I just need to go to my office to access it by my computer, which is 50 floors upstairs”
“okay, let’s go then”
“alright, just let me finish my glass”
Kate finished her wine and they both headed toward the elevator.
“do you remember what happened last time we took an elevator together?” said Kate smiling while they were waiting for it.
“yes, please this time do not push every button or we’ll be there by midnight” said Yelena while they entered in the elevator.
The ride until Kate’s office was calm, none of them talking. Less than one minute later, they were in the archer’s bureau, Kate at her computer, Yelena watching by the window.
“nice view there Kate Bishop” complimented the Russian
“this is very distracting, if I could I would look at it all day, but unfortunately I have work ugh” sighed Kate
“don’t you work too much Kate Bishop?” asked sincerely the black widow
“maybe, but this and my vigilante activity keeps my mind occupied and it’s better this way” answered the archer still focused on her researches.
“there I have access, name Mark Durand, oh that’s a french name, he’s 51, this is not interesting, not this either, not this, ah there, he is currently the owner of Sloan Limited, wait I know this name”
“this is Fisk’s company, is he the only owner?”
“no there’s other names, he’s working with Fisk but why Fisk would have to do something with widows?”
“is Fisk still looking for you?”
“well after what happened yesterday, I’m pretty sure”
“so you accept to your party people who are working with Fisk and people who might look for you, don’t you ever check your client’s backgrounds?” said Yelena a little angry at Kate for putting herself in danger.
“if they are going to kidnap me at my own party, that’ll be dumb of them”
“you’ll never know”
“but since you’re here, I feel way safer” said Kate looking at Yelena with a smirk
“I know, that’s because I’m talented” she answered playing into Kate’s game
“you want me to put it on a driver?”
“yes please, I’ll check all of this at my apartment” she said “thank you, truly Kate Bishop for helping me doing this shitload of work”
“you’re welcome, if I can avoid any more trouble at this party, it’d be for the best” the archer smiled.
A notification hit Kate’s phone, it was a message from Jess, her assistant. She picked up her phone and let out a “fuck”.
“what’s wrong Kate Bishop?” asked Yelena surprised by the archer’s face expression
“nothing, well it’s not nothing actually, it’s just, I have to make that speech you know to welcome everyone and say thank you and present the benefices of the society and all this shit”
“you’re calling your business shit? I thought you were a CEO Kate Bishop” she smirked
“I am, and I’m no calling it shit, I’m a billionaire, it’s just I’m very tired cause you know what happened last night and I don’t want to do it” she whined “come on, I’ll just tell Jess I’m sick, or that I’m drunk and we go get those drinks” said Kate proud of her plan but Yelena didn’t seemed convinced.
“sometimes I forget you’re a spoiled brat Kate Bishop” sighed the Russian
“what? come on” begged the archer
“this is not Jess’ job, it’s yours, you are a CEO, you own Bishop security company, and you have to make sure your society is making good business” said Yelena while moving closer to Kate “you’re here to convince them, and with this beautiful tie I think you can make it” she said now holding Kate’s tie, their face only a couple of inches apart. “if you don’t do it, I won’t grab this drink with you after” said the Russian with her piercing gaze.
“seriously?” asked the archer
“yes”
“ugh you’re such a mom! Okay fine you won, I’ll do it” smiled Kate, both of them still close
“we should go then” said Yelena, heading toward the elevator and leaving Kate, who was literally a gay mess.
they both entered the elevator. The ride was silent, a comfortable silent.
“or maybe I could say that we were stuck in the elevator” thought out loud the archer
“no Kate Bishop”
“okay, okay I was just thinking, we never know” said Kate raising her hands surrendering herself.
They both arrived to the ground floor. It was still the same, people chatting, drinking and talking business. The two women headed to the backstage where everyone was moving, seeming to be very pressed and stressed.
“oh, great Kate you’re here on time” said her assistant Jess “okay, does your makeup needs to be fixed? We need to fix it a little bit, because of the exposure with the lights okay, go there, I have your speech there, you can read it or do it like you usually do it and-”
“5 MINUTES” yelled someone
“okay she’s almost ready” yelled back Jess
“oh my god, I’m so stressed, okay take a deep breath Kate, you can do it, you can do it, I can’t do it Yelena, I’m gonna fuck up everything, and then the society will fail and-”
“Kate stop” said Yelena. Kate not Kate Bishop.
The Russian took her hand, and looked at her straight into her eyes.
“you’re not gonna fuck up this, you’re Bishop Security’s CEO, and if you’re there tonight it’s because you deserve it, no one could’ve done it better than you, so go out there with your Kate Bishop’s overconfidence and show them who you are, even if they think you’re a rookie, you’re gonna prove them wrong Kate Bishop, and stop being so hostile”
“you’re the only one that can make me being hostile” she said teasing Yelena
“well, prove me that” smirked the black widow before coming closer to Kate and giving her a chaste kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later” she smiled before leaving a Kate who had totally stopped functioning, and had to make her inauguration speech in one minute.
“Kate, Kate, whoho are you there, Katherine Elizabeth Bishop you have to be out there in 30 seconds”
“yes, yes, sorry Jess, I’m here, I’m ready, I’m ready” she said more confidently
“I guess healing kisses are real” shrugged Jess “okay Kate it’s time”
The archer stepped on the stage, the whole room was silent, everyone was watching her, there was cameras, she couldn’t fuck this up.
“uhm, good evening everyone, thanks for coming here tonight and thanks for all the donations that will go to an association. Tonight is an important night for all of us but also for Bishop Securities, as many of you know, I am now the CEO of the company”
there was some cheering and clapping in the public, she smiled, but she was still very nervous
“to some of you, I am just a child, a spoiled brat not knowing what she’s doing, but I grew up in this world and I’ve watched and learned. I know what I’m doing, and if you think I’m not capable, I’ll let you watch Bishop Securities’ profit and benefices of this year.”
some people clapped, she looked into the audience to find Yelena, leaning against a wall. She was watching her and she was smirking, a smirk that tell her to go on, with her usual overconfidence of her.
“I may be new and to young to this world and we all know how cruel it can be, I’ve witnessed it, and yet I’m still here.” she said the last sentence smiling in a confident way. People were cheering and clapping, not all of them but most of them.
“thank you everyone and enjoy the party”
……….
“see Kate Bishop you did the job! And you did it pretty well” said Yelena who had just find Kate
“thank you, that was so stressful, I don’t know why, but at least it’s done” said Kate, while her hands and legs were still shaking due to the remaining stress
“Kate, the internet has gone wild, you’re trending on twitter, you should put your phone on night mode” advised her Jess
“i’ll do that, thanks Jess but for now you promised me some drinks Yelena” said the archer
“I did” replied Yelena who was smiling
“do you need me for anything else Jess?” asked Kate trying to be a responsible CEO
“nope, I’m not holding you back here, you’re my boss”
“okay then, shall we go?” asked Kate
“lead the way Kate Bishop”
they both headed to the exit, through the crowd. They were almost at the exit when a man in his fifties interrupted them.
“Ms Bishop, nice to meet you in person!” the man said extending his hand
“I’d say the same Mr…”
“Dubois”
“ah, yes I remember now, yeah nice to meet you Mr Dubois” said Kate hesitantly shaking his hand
“and who might you be nice lady?” said the man looking straight at Yelena
“Fanny Bolave” said Yelena with a perfect American accent
what the fuck was going on, thought Kate, what was that accent and why this man was about to ruin her soon to be date with Yelena. She saw him one or two times before but never came across him so close, and wish she didn’t.
“I never saw you there before, I believe you’re new here, if you want some advice I could help you” said the man deliberately flirting with Yelena
“I don’t think that would be necessary, I have Kate here, with me”
The archer definitely didn’t expect that, but dang, it felt like she had just punched this man right in the face.
“Miss Bishop, I don’t mean to be rude”
yes you mean it when you say that, thought Kate
“but I don’t think you’re quite experienced, you know women in this business, I just feel you’re a lucky girl but we shall see how long this luck will last” he chuckled slightly
Okay, first, what the heck? She thought he was again gonna talk about her age but not? Because she’s a women, dude what are you doing? You’re not gonna win women like that, the archer thought.
“Ms Bolave, I’m going to be franc with you, I find you really beautiful and ravishing, my hotel suite room is not very far from here, if you wished to join me, and I’m sure you are” he finished smiling and looking Yelena from top to bottom.
It was too much from Kate, she thought she was gonna explode, and she did but but more softly than she was about to beat the shit out of this man.
“okay, I think we’re done here” said Kate faking a smile than let her anger appear
“I don’t think Ms Bishop, your friend didn’t gave me an answer” the man said, still pushing
“I don’t think she is interested” snapped back the archer not even letting the time for Yelena to answer
if looks could kill, Mr dubois would be in six feet under ground.
“who could not be interested by me? Come on Ms Bishop, don’t be jealous of not being attractive and famous like me”
this man was getting bolder and bolder every second, his ego even bigger than hers, thought Kate.
Mr Dubois was sipping his drink waiting for an answer, Kate was about to explode, the tension could be cut with a knife, Yelena was standing next to Kate, thinking on how to proceed.
“come on we should go” said the man putting is hand on the widow’s waist
that was too much, for Kate and for Yelena.
Yelena quickly freed from his grip and kicked him in the stomach. At the same time Kate threw his drink violently away and grabbed him by the collar as she was taller than him.
The archer pushed him again the closest wall violently. The discussions in the room stopped and everyone was looking at them.
Kate’s face was contorted with rage, her eyes sharp, breathing heavily she was staring at Dubois, not saying anything. She was about to hit him when Yelena said something.
“Kate don’t do it, he doesn’t worth it” said Yelena putting a soft hand on the archer’s shoulder
the younger woman immediately dropped the man, who was trying to regain his breath. Yelena stepped closer to him.
“you really thought some people would be interested in you,” said Yelena chuckling
“well, you should start by educating yourself and respect women you дерьмо”
Yelena turned around and said to Kate “come on let’s go”. As Yelena was heading toward the exit, Kate wasn’t following her.
Dubois was back on his two feet, looking scared before the archer.
“get the fuck out of here before I hit you so hard that you wouldn’t even remember what happened tonight” threatened him Kate
the older man walked fast as he could and headed out. Kate finally rejoin Yelena as they both headed toward the exit and finally they were out. The whole crowd was looking at them but Kate didn’t care, she did what she had to do, okay maybe a little bit too violently, but it was worth it.
The two women were walking in the streets, not saying a word to each other.
“you wanna walk through central park?” asked the widow
“yeah sure” said Kate with a steady voice
they were both walking in the park, some squirrels running around, birds chirping in the fresh air of the night. Suddenly Yelena stopped walking, and so did Kate a step later.
“what’s going on in your head of your Kate Bishop” smirked Yelena “usually you can’t stop talking” she continued
“nothing” the other women said
“don’t tell me nothing, that’s a very bad lie, is this about this dumbass guy Kate Bishop?”
Kate didn’t say anything
“of course it is” said Yelena laughing quietly
“no it isn’t” said Kate, slightly offended
“are you sure” said Yelena lifting an eyebrow
“okay, fine, it’s about him, have you seen the way he looked at you, the way he talked to you, the way he was making choices for you, I wanted to hit him so bad, to punch him or stab him or god knows what” said Kate making a lot of movements with her arms and hands
“you’re jealous” stated Yelena
“what? No I’m not, I’m not jealous what are you talking about” said the archer
“Kate, even a normal person without black widow training would have noticed it” said Yelena looking at Kate with a straight face
the archer didn’t say anything, because if she admitted it, she had also to admit that she liked Yelena, even though she never did and she was pretty sure the assassin knew it.
The black widow moved closer to the younger women, and she grabbed her hand.
“Kate, I know you were jealous, this man was just an idiot” said Yelena. She took a breath before saying “I know you like me right?”
“yes, I like you Yelena” sighed Kate in defeat, “I like you since I don’t know when and I know you don’t like me back, and it’s totally okay, you can do whatever you want, and I’m sorry I got angry and jealous tonight but I couldn’t help it, seeing a man like that disrespect you while you deserve the world, even the universe, I’m sorry, I just got selfish and didn’t think of you in this situation, heck maybe you even liked him-”
“Kate” said Yelena to stop her rambling speech
“I’m sorry” said the archer again
“don’t be, I like you too”
“WHAT ?” said out loud the archer taken aback by the answer
“shut up and kiss me Kate Bishop”.