Work Text:
Melina and Alexei had finally left the Barton-Romanov house, but Yelena had stubbornly stayed, wanting to make sure Clint's brother didn't come back. She wanted to protect them, all of them, and even just the thought of that made Kate blush.
Once Kate had decided to stay-stay with Clint and his odd family, she’d been living in what she’d been told was Natasha’s old room; it had a smaller bed than the “official” guest room, and while Yelena had begrudgingly given her blessing for Kate to use it -Kate felt her ears go red again- Natasha had been the one to assign the room to Kate once she’d been de-stone-ified.
Kate shook her head at the weirdness of that sentence. But as Lila had said, her parents did tend to attract the weird.
But with Alexei and Melina headed home -wherever that was- Yelena had moved into the guest room and Kate had gotten her room back. Her bed back.
Her bed that Yelena had been sleeping in for the last two weeks.
Kate groaned as she felt the heat rising up the back of her neck, flopping into the desk chair as Lucky whined up at her. She bent forward, framing the dog’s face in her hands and pressing her forehead to his.
“What am I gonna do, Pizza Dog?”
Lucky just wagged his tail as he pawed at her knee. Kate sighed, rubbing his ears as she stood.
That’s when she actually looked at her bed. Kate had to swallow hard, a thing made difficult by how dry her mouth had gone.
Any time Yelena had used the room since Kate had moved in, she’d always changed the sheets before she’d left.
Not this time.
This time, the sheets were rumpled and the quilt was askew; apparently Yelena had been sleeping the way Kate had the last few nights, like a freaking rotisserie chicken. Kate would have thought that maybe the older girl had just forgotten. She wasn’t leaving after all, just moving rooms. But the tiny sprig of mistletoe lying on the pillow seemed to prove that theory wrong.
Kate bit her lip as she thought about whether or not to change the sheets herself. That would be the right thing to do. But who would know if she didn’t? Everyone except Nate did their own laundry, at least where bedding was involved.
Gingerly, Kate sat down on the edge of the mattress. The hollow where Yelena’s body had lain had long since cooled, but Kate still got a rush of goosebumps. She ran her fingers over the soft cotton pillowcase until they brushed against the waxy green leaves. Kate picked the sprig up, twisting it gently before setting it aside on the nightstand. Then -knowing her face was absolutely bright red- Kate picked up the pillow and buried her face in it, breathing deeply.
There was a hint of the detergent Laura always bought in bulk -Kate had changed the sheets for Yelena- but most of the scents belonged to the woman who already haunted Kate’s sleeping hours.
She stood up so quickly that Lucky jumped, and Kate rapidly began stripping the sheets off the bed. These were getting washed, ASAP. It was bad enough that thoughts of Yelena and that damn kiss hounded her. Kate didn’t know what would happen if she slept in the same sheets the other woman had, with notes of-
She stopped when it came to the pillow. Both of her sets of sheets were purple, one light and one dark. It wasn’t unusual for her to swap out the pillowcases on the sheet sets, changing the bedding to two-tone rather than monochrome. Swallowing hard, Kate set the pillows aside as she dragged the rest of the bedding into her laundry basket and hurried down the steps. Hopefully Laura hadn’t started a load of guest room sheets yet.
Later after watching the ball drop, Lucky snoring lightly where he was curled up against her back, Kate hesitantly pulled over the pillow with the case she hadn’t changed. Tentatively, feeling heat across her cheeks, Kate sniffed the fabric.
There were the scents she’d desperately tried to avoid earlier. Again, there were floral notes from the detergent, but there was a deeper, stronger smell of citrus. Orange, mostly, a scent Kate had noticed several days ago when Yelena had surprised her under the mistletoe. But- she took a deeper breath. It smelled almost woodsy? Kate closed her eyes, and an image came to her, of a trunk Natasha had opened, pulling out winter clothes-
Cedar. Citrus and cedar and-
Kate felt a smile move quickly across her lips. She used a bow, but there were enough weapons in this house that she knew what gun oil smelled like.
And underneath it all was something that was just uniquely Yelena. Already half asleep, Kate burrowed deeper under the blankets, pulling the pillow just a tiny bit closer as she drifted off.
“Kate Bishop.”
Yelena’s voice was a million miles away, but it was also right in her ear.
“Kate Bishop.”
Her name again, this time with a light touch on her arm.
Kate shifted, smelling cedar and orange and gun oil.
“Kate Bishop.”
This time there was humor in the voice, humor that did things to Kate’s insides.
There was hot breath on the skin behind her ear, and Kate shifted, pressing her thighs tightly together, waiting to hear her name again in that lyrical voice.
“Boof.”
Kate’s eyes flew open and she sat up with a gasp, Lucky staring at her, tail moving ever so slightly. She groaned and buried her face in her hands.
“Dammit, Pizza Dog.”
She knew there’d be no getting back to sleep after that, even if she wanted to. Kate bit her lip as she squeezed her thighs together, as she pressed her palm firmly against where she’d gone all tight and hot.
Yeah, she wasn’t getting any more rest.
Groaning quietly, Kate got up and pulled on several more layers. It was going to be cold outside, but there was only one thing she could think of to do. Her eyes strayed to the Christmas gift the Bartons had given her, one of Clint’s fancy bows. But Kate shook her head and reached for her faithful recurve. If she was going to shoot in the dark, she’d rather do it with a weapon she knew well than one she still wasn’t quite used to.
Still moving as quietly as possible, Kate strapped a quiver onto her back and then carried her bow and boots downstairs. Clint might have to wear a hearing aid, but she’d learned the hard way that Laura and Natasha were both light sleepers. Kate tiptoed past their open door, avoiding the steps she knew creaked in the old staircase. She didn’t put her boots on until she was out on the porch, and even that Kate did as silently as she could.
She didn’t bother shushing Lucky. He did sometimes leave her in the night and do a patrol of the house; his noises wouldn’t raise an alarm with the adults as long as he didn’t bark.
Finally Kate stood with a sigh, watching her breath curl up into the air like smoke in the moonlight. There was plenty of it to see by, and with a quiet whistle through her teeth she called Lucky after her as she headed out to the field she and Lila had turned into a target range.
She didn’t see a shadow detach itself from the wall behind her.
This wasn’t trick shots or rapid draw; no, what Kate needed was simple target shooting. She needed to focus, and nothing did that better than when she took her time, breathing deeply as she drew and sighted.
It being less than thirty-five degrees outside helped. It cooled off… everything.
Kate had emptied her quiver twice and had just nocked the first arrow of her third round when-
“Kate Bishop.”
Kate couldn’t help the small squeak that escaped her as her arrow flew wide of the target. Distantly, through the ringing in her ears, she heard it thunk as it made contact with the trunk of a tree or the side of one of the old buildings out here.
Yelena’s voice had been quiet, but it carried clear as a bell over the cold, silent field.
Kate turned to her, panting, and saw Lucky and Fanny bounding off through the old grass -the snow had vanished days ago- thankfully not barking or kicking up a fuss. She watched their breath rise as they dodged and panted, desperately trying not to look in Yelena’s direction-
“Kate Bishop,” she said, even more quietly, approaching on near silent feet. “I think you have been avoiding me.”
Kate swallowed hard. She had, but she wasn’t going to admit that.
“I was wondering if you might teach me how to use a bow?”
Well, that definitely wasn’t the question Kate had been expecting.
“What, now?” she asked, eyes going to where the moon was beginning to slip out of the sky. She caught Yelena’s shrug from the corner of her eye.
“There is no time like the present. Though,” she added, and Kate swore she could hear a laugh stifled in there somewhere. “With your last shot so far off the mark, maybe I should ask Lila.”
Kate felt the blush on her cheeks grow hotter. She didn’t say anything, just held her bow out to Yelena; they were close enough to the same height and Kate figured she could handle the draw weight. She didn’t hand her an arrow yet, though. Kate shivered when Yelena’s fingers brushed against hers, even though they were both wearing gloves. They were just thin ones, after all. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
It’s just like when I teach Lila a new trick shot, she told herself. Nothing more.
“Go ahead and draw,” Kate told her. “We’ll start there.”
She had to bite the inside of her cheek at Yelena’s stance.
“Um, not quite,” she said, trying desperately hard not to laugh. “You’ve got your spine rounded out too much, and your shoulders in your ears.”
“But I have seen Barton shoot like this before.”
“Clint isn’t a good measure of how to shoot,” Kate said as Yelena eased the bowstring down. At least she hadn’t dry released. “It’s like… like if you started playing the cello but were trying to play it like Yo Yo Ma. He’s allowed to play over the fingerboard, but that’s because he’s Yo Yo Ma. Everyone else needs to keep their bow closer to the bridge.”
Kate’s college roommate had been a music major, and she found the comparison apt.
Yelena just looked at her like she was slightly off. Kate sighed.
“Try again; keep your back straight and your shoulders lower.”
Kate stifled a giggle as this time Yelena hunched a bit too far in.
“The only thing that’s going to happen if you shoot that way is the bowstring snapping against your breast.” Kate felt her blush return at even the mention of that part of Yelena’s anatomy.
She could see frustration in every line of Yelena’s body when she turned back to her this time.
“Well then, Kate Bishop, show me what I am doing wrong.” Rather than hand the bow over, Yelena took another poor stance and simply waited.
Kate swallowed, any form of laughter dying. Yelena meant- oh god.
Breath going in shakily through her nose, Kate stepped up behind Yelena. “Okay,” she said quietly. “Feet here-” she nudged one of Yelena’s boots with hers, getting the woman’s feet shoulder width apart and under her. “I’ve seen you and Natasha do this before when you use the paintball guns. Narrow profile, okay?” That was guns, was what Yelena’s raised eyebrow clearly said, but Kate refused to answer. “Bow arm out, but don’t hyper-extend.”
Yelena lifted the bow, but even from behind her Kate could see her grip on the string was all wrong. She bit back a whimper when she realized what she needed to do.
“Take off your gloves,” Kate said as she stepped back from Yelena.
“I beg your pardon?”
“I need to feel what your hands are doing,” Kate snipped back in the same tone as she removed her own. “Gloves off.”
With a series of muttered Russian curses Yelena did, swapping the bow from hand to hand and pulling off the thin leather with her teeth.
Kate refused to let her body react to that. She figured she mostly succeeded. Taking a deep breath, she stepped in close behind Yelena again.
“Okay, so,” she said, making sure Yelena’s feet were in the correct place. “Both eyes open, right?”
“Of course,” came the derisive reply. “You do not shoot with one eye closed.”
“Okay.” Kate leaned in closer and cursed at herself in her mind for not putting a bra on. There were still at least four layers of fabric between her chest and Yelena’s back, but it felt like skin on skin. Kate cleared her throat as she reached out and gently placed her hand over Yelena’s where it rested on the grip. “Don’t white knuckle it,” she said quietly in her ear. “Only as much pressure as it takes to keep the string drawn.” Kate reached over her shoulder, head next to Yelena’s and looking down the range. Mentally she adjusted her aim to compensate for being behind the bow as she slipped an arrow free from the quiver.
Kate congratulated herself for keeping her breathing even as Yelena took the arrow. Kate made sure that Yelena’s fingers were in the right spot as she hooked the nock onto the string.
“I don’t use an arrow rest, so the shaft sits on your finger,” Kate said as she moved Yelena’s draw hand so that the fingers rested one above and two below the fletching. “Always make sure that the vee of the fletching is towards the bow, not the fletching itself.”
When Yelena turned her head to see what she meant, Kate got a full whiff of that orange and cedar scent. It made her dizzy.
“Okay,” she went on, proud her voice didn’t waver. “Now you’re going to lift and draw the arrow, but don’t release until I tell you to.”
Kate moved her hand from Yelena’s as she drew the bow back, pressing down gently on her shoulder. “Stay relaxed,” she added. “Your muscles need to tighten and lock in place, but if you’re too rigid something is gonna snap.” She got Yelena’s shoulders where they needed to be, then sighted down the side of the arrow again.
“Alright, now find your anchor point.” Kate wrapped her hand gently around Yelena’s again, helping her thumb find her cheek. Her heart may or may not have skipped a beat when her own thumb brushed the corner of Yelena’s mouth. “Slow your breathing, like you’re sighting a gun.” Kate desperately took her own advice, trying to keep from hyperventilating because Yelena was literally in her arms. “As you exhale,” she said, her voice even quieter than before. “Relax your hand and release the string.”
Kate slid her hand back off of Yelena’s. She needed to be the one to make the decision on when to release. Kate kept her fingers on her arm, resting her thumb on one of the taught tendons on the inside of her wrist. She’d know the moment Yelena let the arrow fly.
They stood there, Kate wrapped around Yelena, for three heartbeats, four. Then-
“I did it!” Yelena said, looking at where the arrow had sunk into the foam of the target, just left of center. Kate tried not to feel bereft when Yelena stepped away from her.
“You did,” Kate said, grinning just as widely as Yelena was.
Their eyes met, and Kate swore she stopped breathing. The smile slowly faded from Yelena’s face. She bent down, eye never leaving Kate’s, and gently placed the bow on the ground. This time Yelena stepped into Kate’s space, chill fingers resting on Kate’s burning cheek.
Kate closed her eyes as Yelena’s lips met hers. This kiss was slower, deeper than the one from a week ago, under that damn mistletoe. She couldn’t stop the tiny noise in the back of her throat as Yelena’s tongue pressed inside Kate’s mouth.
Yelena’s other hand came up, also cupping Kate’s face, and Kate’s arms wrapped gently around her waist, drawing Yelena flush against her. Yelena moaned into Kate’s mouth, tongues sliding against each other until Yelena pulled back with a gentle bite to Kate’s lip, resting her hands on Kate’s shoulders.
“Pozdravlyayu s Novym Godom, Kate Bishop,” she said, eyes dancing with laughter. Then she slid an arrow from Kate’s quiver, bent over backwards -out of Kate’s arms- picked up the bow and, as she stood up out of the backbend, drew back and loosed the arrow from the string.
Kate stood there, gasping like a fish as she watched the shaft quivering slightly from the dead center of the target. Yelena pressed Kate’s bow into her limp hands with a smirk, calling the dogs after her in a low tone.
Lucky danced at Kate’s feet, whining quietly.
“Yeah,” she managed after finally drawing a deep breath. “Yeah, okay. That was a good one. That was on me.” Kate touched numb fingers to swollen lips. “Shoulda known a Black Widow could use any weapon she wanted.”
Later that morning, Natasha noticed how bleary-eyed Kate was at the breakfast table, more tired than she should have been if it was just about seeing the ball drop. She also noted the smug look on her sister’s features, though no one else would have been able to see it.
Well, maybe Melina would have.
She didn’t use another language in front of everyone; Russian all the kids except Kate knew, and Laura would know any of the others she tried. Instead-
“Yelena, can you come help me with this please?” Natasha picked up a basket of laundry and jerked her head at the basement where the washer and dryer were. Her sister rolled her eyes but pushed back from the table and joined her.
Natasha made sure they were all the way down the steps before she spoke.
“Don’t string her along, 'Lena,” she said under her breath as she moved sheets from the washer to the dryer.
“I don’t know-”
Natasha straightened and gave her a look, one she’d picked up from Laura. Yelena might be her little sister, but sometimes she needed a mother more.
Yelena sighed. “Yes, yes, alright, don’t string the kiska along, got it.”
“If you do,” Natasha said turning back to the laundry. “I’m not going to be the one who takes you aside next time. Laura will have that honor.”
A corner of Natasha’s mouth rose in a little smile as the tone of Yelena’s silence changed. She’d known that one would work.
Laura, meanwhile, had a distressed Kate on her hands. Poor girl didn’t even have to say anything; one look at those red-rimmed eyes had her leading Kate upstairs to her bedroom.
“Spill, sweetie,” Laura said as gently as she could.
It all came tumbling out, rapid fire, but Laura managed to keep track. When Kate finally rambled down-
“So, you have a crush on Yelena, you don’t know if it’s a crush or simply competency envy, you didn’t know you were queer, and you’re not sure if she returns your feelings or if she’s just messing with you?”
Kate sniffed and nodded. Laura pulled her in for a hug, one that started out with Kate stiff and awkward but slowly had her melting into Laura’s arms. She smiled softly into Kate’s hair as she rubbed one hand up and down her back. It was getting easier for Kate to accept affection from all of them. That was good.
“Alright then. We’ll ignore the sneaking out of the house for now. I understand how that goes.” Laura felt Kate hunch her shoulders slightly in what had to be embarrassment.
“Of course you’d pick up on that,” Kate muttered as she stepped back.
“I’m a mom; that wasn’t something I was likely to miss.” Laura kept one hand on Kate’s shoulder as she cupped her cheek, making eye contact. “Sweetie, if that’s how you feel, I think you just need to come clean to Yelena. Whatever she does or doesn’t do after that is up to her. Either way, we’re still going to love and support you.”
Kate was the one who initiated the hug this time, and Laura let herself enjoy it.
Laura had made her take a nap, and when Kate woke a couple of hours later she was better for it. Her fingers still itched for an arrow though, so when Kate got dressed she added thin layers for the weather outside. On her way down the steps she looked for Lucky -and Yelena- but didn’t see either of them. Laura and Clint were in the kitchen though.
“I’m headed out to shoot,” she told them, and got a wave from Laura in response, with a watch your line of sight from Clint. Kate rolled her eyes but saluted his back before heading out the door.
The shouts and barks off to Kate’s left told her where Lila and the boys were, Lucky too. The older kids had promised to teach Nate how to ride his new bike, and she figured Natasha was supervising the chaos. With a small laugh and a shake of her head, Kate headed back out to the archery target. When she reached the back field, Kate retrieved the two arrows Yelena had fired last night and then went on the hunt for her wild shot. She knew it had hit something solid, which was her only saving grace; if it had missed the arrow would have been gone, likely forever.
She had just finished checking the fence line and was examining an old shed when a throat cleared behind her.
“Kate Bishop,” Yelena said, and Kate was proud she didn’t squeak this time. “I was hoping that I could talk with you.”
Kate swallowed hard. No time like the present to take Laura's advice. “Only if I go first,” she said quietly. One of Yelena’s eyebrows ticked up.
Oh, god, this was going to suck.
“So here’s the thing,” Kate said, looking down at the bow in her hands rather than at Yelena. She’d never be able to get the words out if she was looking at her. “I don’t know if this is just a me thing, or if whatever this is is even a thing, but I kind of really like kissing you.” She didn’t look up to see if Yelena reacted; she just had to push through. “It’d be great if this wasn’t just a me thing, that you keep kissing me because you want to, not just because it’s funny, but I kind of hope you’ll keep doing it? But only if it’s because you want to, not because it is funny or anything. Because I think I kind of, well, I think I like you? Like a lot? Like like-like you? And I hope that-”
“Tikho, Kate Bishop,” Yelena said, and Kate nearly swallowed her tongue. She knew that word because Natasha would yell it periodically if the kids got too loud. “I think that we came out here with the same purpose in mind.”
Kate did look up at that, and was surprised to see a tiny hit of a blush on Yelena’s face.
“The only time I have ever done any sort of dating it was a requirement of my previous employment.”
Kate winced. Red Room was not a thing that either Yelena or Natasha liked to talk about. She’d picked up enough eavesdropping to understand it was bad, really bad.
“To be honest I haven’t had much dating experience either.” Kate shrugged. “I was so focused on archery it didn’t seem important.”
One side of Yelena’s mouth tipped up in what Kate thought was a smile.
“So, um,” Kate fiddled with her bow again, dropping her gaze. “Do you, I mean, would you like to go on a date with me?” she knew her face was bright red enough to be seen from outer space. “Nothing fancy, just like, a movie or something? Like we did after Christmas? But definitely just us this time.”
“Yes,” came Yelena’s immediate reply. “Yes I would.” Relief made Kate’s knees go weak. “But I would also very much like to keep kissing you, if that is okay.”
“Um, s-sure,” Kate stammered, and then Yelena was in her space again, backing her towards the wall of the building she’d been searching until her quiver hit the wall. One of Yelena’s hands braced against the wood over Kate’s shoulder, and the other rested a knuckle under Kate’s chin.
When her lips touched down on Kate’s, it was soft, sweet, not unlike that first kiss under the mistletoe. Kate’s hands didn’t know what to do with themselves, so she wound up just resting them on Yelena’s waist. At the touch, Yelena inhaled sharply through her nose, and Kate felt herself go pliant with that noise, as Yelena again slipped her tongue between Kate’s lips. Kate returned the favor, tasting Yelena and feeling herself grow bolder. As the kiss went on, Kate felt her breasts getting tight where they pressed against hers, and when she tried to squeeze her legs together, to ease the ache between them, Yelena didn’t let her. Instead she pushed her own thigh between Kate’s legs, pressing back. The sound that came out of Kate was somewhere between a whimper and a moan.
She was two seconds away from dragging Yelena inside the ramshackle shed -to what end, Kate didn’t have a clue- when Clint’s voice carried out over the field.
“Katie? You out here?”
She and Yelena pulled away from each other with a gasp, panting.
“You go,” Yelena said breathlessly, eyes flicking towards the corner of the shed that was the only thing hiding them from Clint’s view. “I will slip around the back; he will not see me.”
“You embarrassed of me or something?” Kate said, a tiny twinge of hurt in her heart.
“More worried that you’d be embarrassed of me,” Yelena said.
“Katie?” Clint’s voice was closer.
She closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to Yelena’s again. This kiss was brief, but Kate was positive she got her point across.
“He’s got two wives who also sleep together,” she said, feeling a smile cross her face. “I don’t think there’s anything to worry about, do you?”
Instead of waiting for an answer, Kate laced her fingers with Yelena’s and led her around the corner of the shed. “We’re back here!” she called, and Yelena was either too surprised or didn’t want to resist, otherwise Kate wouldn't have been able to budge her.
“We?” came Clint's confused query.
“Yeah,” Kate said, glancing back at Yelena with a smile, one that she also saw spread across her face. “We.”