Chapter Text
Yelena never thought she would be able to get close to anyone after Natasha died, but here she was, in her and Kate's shared house in Ohio that was just big enough for the two of them, watching the brunette play with their two dogs.
Kate was an interesting woman to Yelena. She radiated a beautiful energy that Yelena found mesmerizing. Sure, she had been the one to call Kate and ask about that drink a month after Christmas, but Kate pried her way into Yelena's life further.
It started with small things, like going out for drinks and coffee and other small errands. Then Kate would start to invite Yelena over to her apartment for dinner and to let their dogs play.
It turned into a regular thing after a month or two, and by then Kate had earned enough of Yelena’s trust to be invited to Yelena’s apartment that she had bought after Christmas, since she still had nowhere to go back to and there were lots of contract kills around and in New York. And…maybe she wanted to be closer to Kate.
Then, Kate started sleeping on Yelena’s couch upwards of three nights a week. The two women started calling their dogs siblings. And Yelena opened up a bit about her trauma in the red room and would call Kate after panic/anxiety attacks and nightmares. She didn’t go into detail about anything, but she told Kate about some of the punishments, the training, the graduation ceremony, and she told the stories of a couple missions.
In turn, Kate would call Yelena everytime her dads death felt like it hit her all over again, or when cruel words her mother told her growing up would come back to her and cause her anxiety to resurface.
Yelena was very new to friendship to say the least, especially such a close one. But she thought she was doing pretty good. And apparently, so did Kate if she was staying around her this much.
It had been five months of being in New York and at the very very least texting Kate everyday when Yelena had to tell Kate she wanted to head back to Ohio for an extended period of time. She used to bring Natasha flowers incredibly often and drink at her grave, talk to her, even fall asleep out there sometimes, but with all the busy of Kate Bishop, and contract kills from organizations in New York, she had been once in the past five months.
She felt homesick.
The two were eating pizza in the living room of Yelena’s apartment. Yelena watched from her seat on the couch as Kate cooed at Lucky, telling him he was such a good boy as she tossed him a piece of pizza crust.
“Hey, Kate?” Yelena asked, her accent wrapping softly around her words. Kate looked up at her from the floor where she was sitting against the couch and petting Lucky, Fannys head in her lap. She prompted the blonde with a hum.
“I just need to tell you that…” she quickly realized she wasn’t sure how to say this. It pained her to be away from Kate now that they had such a bond, and she knew it would pain Kate too.
Kate became quickly concerned when she heard Yelena’s tone and the way she trailed off and seemed to be stuck. She sat on the couch, leaving a foot or so between her and Yelena still. “Is something wrong, ‘Lena??” She asked, her tone worried.
Yelena didn’t mean to worry her. She quickly completed her thought to Kate. “No, I just…I want to go back to Ohio. And not like last time when I only stayed for two weeks.” Kate nodded slowly as she fidgeted with her hoodie strings, understanding what Yelena meant enough.
“Oh,” She said, her expression softening but still worried. “Like…you want to stay for.. a couple months? Or…?” She prompted. Yelena took a second to answer. “I…don’t know. I just miss—“ she couldn’t say Nats name. She choked for a second, her words caught in her throat. “I think I’m homesick.”
Kate nodded, waiting to see if Yelena would continue. When she didn’t, Kate spoke again. “Okay. I mean, these apartments aren’t really supposed to be permanent…we could—only if you want to of course—move in together in a house in Ohio?”
Kate bit her tongue. She had such a big platonic love for Yelena. She hoped Yelena wouldn’t think she was weird for wanting to live together full time, even though they were already pretty close to it in these NYC apartments.
Yelena thought about it for a moment. She had never lived with anyone that wasn’t her family. Well, that’s technically a lie since it apparently wasn’t real. But still. Nonetheless, she nods, looking at Kate. “I think I’d like that a lot, Kate Bishop.” She said, a small smile tugging on her lips.
Kate smiled too, looking at Yelena with a childlike joy in her eyes; the kind that made Yelena feel like Kate was something she needed to protect and shield forever. Like if she wasn't careful, the same thing that happened to her with Natasha twice would happen to Kate Bishop.
And so they started looking for a place in Ohio. Something that was close enough to the cemetery Natasha’s grave was placed at, was near other people and stores but not too close, and had a decent amount of property for their sweet pups to frolic around in. Luckily, after just a week of searching online they found a beautiful 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home that was a 15 minute walk from Nats gravesite, a half an hour drive from the nearest town, and the nearest neighbor was 5 miles away. It had 6 acres of land and a good size garage attached to the house.
It was perfect.
So they bought it and moved in within another week and a half.
“Holy shit!” Yelena heard Kate exclaim from the passenger seat as she pulled into the driveway of their new shared home.
“Exactly my thoughts, Bishop.” Yelena said with a smile. Kate swatted at her shoulder playfully. “Are we not past last name status? We are literally best friends and moving in with each other!” She said with a giggle.
That earned a laugh from the Russian, “What?? What if I just think you have a pretty last name?” She offered with a sarcastic-sort-of-sweet smile and a tilt of her head as she parked.
Kate tilted her head, mimicking the blonde. “Then thank you, but you called me that when you were trying to kill m—“ “Kill you!?” Yelena interrupted dramatically. “I would never attempt such a thing!” She said with a playful smirk as she got out and slammed the door shut as Kate began to protest.
Kate got out too, laughing as she said, “That was rude Yelena Belova!” She said, walking to the front of the car as Yelena did too. Yelena smiled at her, laughing slightly as she raised a brow. “Yeah! You have a last name too and I can also use it!” The brunette said, pointing a finger at Yelena.
Yelena laughed. “C’mon сука, let's look inside before we need to get our stuff,” She said, to which Kate agreed.
The pair loved their house. And the dogs were ecstatic about the new yard they got to run around and play in. Once they got their furniture moved in with the help of a moving company, the sun was starting to dip beneath the horizon. The girls and their dogs sat together on the couch, resting from the hard work of moving and the excitement of the ordeal.
Yelena sat up, looking over at Kate who was slumped on the couch with her eyes shut and Lucky’s head in her lap. “Kate Bishop, I’m gonna go on a walk with Fanny.” The Russian said softly, her voice quiet and tone insinuating more than just a walk. Kate opened her eyes and sat up. “Okay,” she said, understanding what Yelena meant. “Want some company?” She offered, knowing the older woman would for sure need comfort.
Yelena just shook her head and stood up, the dog that was previously on the ground in front of her standing as well and following her to the door where the woman clipped her leash on and slipped her shoes on, then quickly slipped out the door.
Kate looked at the door for a second, Lucky yelping at the absence of his sister. She pet him and he quieted into muffled whines and the two fell asleep right there on the couch, waiting for Yelena to come back—even though Kate's bed was made and her room was ready.
Yelena walked with Fanny outside for the 15 minutes it took to get to her sister. She sniffled the whole walk, the dog licking at her hands and looking up at her as she tried to keep her tears from spilling over. As she approached the pink blossom tree she could see that the grave site had reflected the way Yelena had unintentionally neglected it.
She unclipped Fannys leash. The dog knew better than to roam off too far and Yelena needed a second. She furiously wiped at her cheeks as her tears rolled down and the cold night air of Ohio hit her face.
She couldn’t hold it in anymore as she fell to her knees and sobbed, her head resting against the grave and her fingers tracing her sister's name. She couldn’t stand how barren the grave looked. She felt like a stranger coming back. She thought it would feel like coming home. But she just feels like she's abandoned her sister.
She sobs continuously, muttering apologies to her sister as she fought for her own breath. She calmed down after many minutes. She sat back, staring at the grave. Her eyes wandered over it, looking behind it at the scene in front of her. The pink blossom tree was in season, the sun was painting the sky a beautiful purple-pink, and her dog was playing with a stick.
She knew her sister had made that sunset for her, that beautiful sunset. What a beautiful place to be buried. She thought to herself as she sat on her knees and let her gaze fall back to the grave.
“Natasha…I’m so sorry I haven't visited. I’ve been so busy. You’d be proud of me though. I’ve made a really good friend. Close like you and Clint were. We’ve bought a house down here together to be closer to you. She’s got a dog too, Fanny’s brother. His name is Lucky…”
She continued on about Kate, telling her how they met, how they got closer, how Kate made her a better person, and much more.
She must’ve talked about Kate for an hour. Sometimes when she talked like this to Nat, it felt like she was still here, listening to her rant and she could get lost imagining the comments her sister would make, how she would react, and how she would hug her. God, thinking about it made her so much more sad.
“I will visit many times a week sestra. I love you. I wish you were here to meet Kate, and watch Lucky and Fanny play together, and look at these beautiful sunsets with me. Although I think they are only pretty because you're in them. But that also means this Earth would be a hell of a lot prettier with you still in it.”
With enough words said and enough tears cried, Yelena let out a quiet whistle to her sister as she always did, begging to hear the other half respond, but never getting it. She pressed her lips to the cold stone and planted a kiss to it, then stood up and wiped her eyes.
She called her dog over, looking around at the darkness that had engulfed her surroundings while she was speaking to her sister. Once Fanny was barking in front of her, she clipped her leash back on and began walking back home.