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Kate Bishop is convinced she’s traveled the city more in the past week than she has in her entire life. And she grew up in NYC, for fucks sake.
But returning to a scorched apartment with nothing but a table and a fridge remaining intact is not quite the comforting sight that Kate would’ve wanted to come home to. It’s not like she was expecting anything different…but part of her wished some sort of magical apartment-rebuilding goddess would’ve come in and fixed the place while Kate was dying inside.
The archer sighs, shaking out her loose dark brown hair and slumping in her trench coat. She slowly strolls across the ash-covered floor, leaving piles of gray dust behind as she walks. Kate can feel the exhaustion and ache in her entire body, and she starts to question how much longer she’ll even be able to stand up straight.
She’s about to sit down at the table in front of her, sriracha bottle on the surface, when a sudden chill goes down her spine. Not a chill of discomfort, though–that was genuine cold air . And she’s pretty sure she didn’t hallucinate wind blowing through her hair. Kate panics for a second, her mind running through all the what ifs , when she catches it.
Her window is wide open.
Okay, she definitely didn’t leave that open. In fact, Kate is pretty convinced that she has never opened that window before. Her panic increases tenfold, and she’s about to start audibly freaking out when–
“ Kate Bishop. ”
On impulse, Kate snatches the sriracha bottle from the table and chucks it as hard as she can in the direction of the voice.
An agile hand catches the bottle midair. The hand moves, revealing a face with shimmering hazel eyes and smooth, blonde hair.
“Hiiiiiiii, красивая девушка.”
On the other side of the room stands…one of the most beautiful women Kate Bishop has ever laid eyes on. With a long, checkered coat and jewelry covering her ears, neck and hands. Her eyes, emphasized with the most simple yet most extravagant makeup that brought out each and every fleck of color in the iris. Her hair, wavy and slightly messy but still drop dead gorgeous. And her voice …smooth, silky, an accent that makes Kate feel like she’s going to melt.
The sriracha is no longer the hottest thing in the room.
The problem? This woman is a black widow assassin who just tried to murder Kate and Clint.
“I made macaroni if you want some,” the woman goes on. Kate glances down to her other hand, which is clasped around the handle of one of Kate’s cooking pots.
The archer forgets how to speak for a moment, utterly stunned in…shock. Yeah, that’s all that it is. Kate is definitely not gay panicking over a woman who kills for a living. The girl’s foot begins to impulsively tap against the charred ground, and she tries to push down the heat that is rising in her entire body. There’s a woman who looks like a goddess in her loft…and she doesn’t even know this woman’s goddamn name .
“It’s Yelena,” the other woman hums, leaning forward and placing the sriracha on the table. Kate jumps at the woman’s response, and Yelena only chuckles. “I did not read your mind, Kate Bishop. I just happen to be very good at reading body language. But the longer you stand there and gawk, the colder this macaroni gets.”
Stand here and gawk? Kate can’t even defend herself–for one, she’s truly going to melt into a mess of gayness soon if she can’t contain her thoughts. And two, Yelena is staring her down like she’s a little bug that can be stepped on. And Kate is taller than her !
“What do you want?” Kate barely manages to pull that out of her vocal cords. It sounds scratchy, shaky, and unauthentic. And why do I want a specific answer to that question , Kate asks herself.
Yelena hums again and tilts her head, almost as if she’s contemplating the question. “Well, originally, I just wanted to talk, but…” the Russian woman trails off, grinning just a tiny bit, “maybe…there could be more that I want.”
What the fuck does that mean?
Before Kate can respond, Yelena is strolling over to the kitchenette and digging through one of the various drawers. “Hmmm…forks, forks…” the blonde woman drawls on, before muttering a low, “nooooooo. You have one fork?” She lifts Kate’s singular metal fork and turns to face the archer, gazing at her with a genuine look of disbelief that Kate thinks is honestly kind of cute.
What? No! No, I don’t think anything is cute! Nothing! Kate huffs and tries to ignore her entire body and mind, muttering a soft, “I-I’m…one person.” She tightly shuts her eyes and scolds herself–she’s being so fucking ridiculous. This woman just broke into her house, she shouldn’t be falling for her!
“Kate!” The archer’s name on Yelena's lips does not help right now. The Russian holds up a plastic fork in a clear pouch. “This is not cutlery. This is not cutlery!” She strolls back to the table, forks and pot of mac and cheese in hand. Like she owns the place, Yelena plops into one of the chairs, tilting her head and glaring at Kate with an undertone that Kate can’t quite place.
And Kate…well, she just stands there. In a slow voice, she utters, “I…I’m not just gonna sit down and have dinner with you .” No matter how gorgeous you are. No! Stop it, Kate! “You tried to kill me and you just broke into my house.”
Yelena looks up at Kate like she’s just called her a bitch.
“I did not try to kill you!” Her voice cracks (it’s cute– no, no it’s not!) . “A, I put you on a wire to remove an obstacle. And B, I did not break anything! I am way too talented than that!” Yelena is defending herself genuinely –she’s clearly offended by Kate’s comment. Which is outrageous, to say the least, for a trained assassin. Yelena raises an eyebrow, adding, “And C…stop being so defensive. You’re so hostile.”
The archer eyes Yelena, concern and confusion in her gaze, but she swears she picks up something else from the tone of Yelena’s voice. Something more than just playful taunting of an adversary. But Yelena pauses, and a smirk grows on her face.
“Relax. I’d never hurt such a pretty girl,” the woman purrs . Kate thinks she’s going to melt . “Come on, Kate Bishop, take a fork. Eat, eat. My daddy says it’s good for you.”
But Kate barely heard that last part because Yelena just called her a pretty girl . Her face gets warm and her foot starts tapping again, and the rest of her entire body becomes stone. Yelena clearly catches it—she’s grinning even more now. Like a hawk who just consumed her prey.
Yelena chuckles. “You’re probably thinking, ‘whaaaat, this is crazy! I’m going to have dinner with the enemy? And she’s…really sexy…and I wish she’d just shut up and kiss me…”
“ What ?” Kate yelps, freaking out. “I’m n-not thinking that! Where did you get that?” This, of course, is a total lie. Kate would literally do anything in her power to be kissed by Yelena. No! Stop thinking that!! This woman almost killed Kate!
Is she…flirting?
The Russian sighs, laughing again. She puts down the forks and places her elbows on the table, leaning against her wrists. “Listen, Kate Bishop. If I wanted you dead, you and I would not be having this conversation.”
“Because I wouldn’t be alive to have it,” Kate finishes, trying to contain her internal panic with an external tone of curiosity. And sure, she’s curious, but in a much more frantic way. Yelena chuckles and nods, smiling like Kate just correctly answered a math problem. The shorter woman gestures to the pot on the table, and Kate feels an invisible force (also known as not being able to say no to a gorgeous woman) push her into the seat across from Yelena.
“So, Kate Bishop. You grew up here, yes? Are you up for hire to do private tours of the city?” Yelena says this like it’s the most casual question ever. Like the two women didn’t just throw each other around on a rooftop. She hands Kate the plastic fork, Kate internally wishes their hands would’ve touched. “Surely you know all of the hidden spots. Especially for a girl in a time crunch.”
“I…um…” the archer tries, but she seems to have temporarily forgotten the entire English language. Everything is moving way too quickly for her to process, and she’s currently got a pair of hazel eyes death staring her down.
“You, um, what?” Yelena mocks, leaning back in the chair. “Cat got your tongue, красивая девушка?” She’s teasing Kate now, and she knows it. Yelena has a shit-eating grin on her face. Kate wonders if Yelena just called her something offensive.
Mustering up her courage and trying to push down her panic, Kate takes a deep breath and looks Yelena in the eye. “Are you in New York to talk to Clint? Is that why you’re really here?” Her voice manages to disguise her thoughts, but the red color on her face fails to disappear. And Yelena is certainly taking advantage.
Yelena shakes her head. “No, no no no. I’m here to kill him.”
A pit forms in Kate’s stomach. Oh god. If she does this wrong, she could put Clint in even more danger than he already is.
She’s here to kill Clint . Which means she’s in Kate’s apartment to try to find out where he is. Which means she’ll go after him and murder him in cold blood. Which means it will be Kate’s fault for fucking falling for the murderer of her mentor –
“Stop it.” There’s a cold, smooth hand on top of Kate’s own hand. Her body and mind freeze up. “You are spiraling. It’s making this more difficult than it needs to be. And you are…” Yelena pauses, faltering on her own words. “You are already making this much more difficult.”
Kate would respond, but Yelena is currently touching her. But…from Kate’s perspective, Yelena has pretty much cornered her. What could possibly be so difficult about this from Yelena’s perspective?
Yelena sucks in her own breath, like she’s trying to get back on track. “You think Clint Barton saved the world, don’t you? You think he is the knight in shining armor, that he is the perfect model of a hero.” The blonde woman shakes her head, more seriously this time. “He did not save the world. My sister saved the world.”
Kate lets out a gasp. She couldn’t be…
“Natasha Romanoff saved the world.”
…Natasha’s sister .
Kate can officially say this is the worst person for her to be falling for right now.
“Do not act like you’re not surprised. It is not cool.” Yelena lets out another sigh, but her eyes narrow and she seems to reenter the tone of intimidating flirtation. “Besides, Kate Bishop, you’re a smart girl. You know you’ve already lost your chance to convince me you are anything but a panicky mess.”
Her heart rate jumps up again. Yelena does have her cornered. The cold hand on top of Kate’s slides off, back beneath Yelena’s chin, and the taller girl silently grieves the feeling.
“I don’t know where Clint is,” Kate blurts out, before anything else can leave her mouth and ruin her life forever. “I don’t, I swear. He pushed me away after that fight.”
Yelena smirks and chuckles. “Awww, to protect you from the big bad assassin, did he?” Another head tilt.. god , it’s really fucking sexy. “Look how that turned out.”
“You said you weren’t going to hurt me,” the archer mutters, her voice shaky.
“And I won’t hurt you, Kate Bishop. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do other things.” The Russian’s voice gets lower, and she leans forward until her lips are barely brushing Kate’s ear. “Imagine how delicious it would be if Barton found out his prized pupil was kidnapped by the very widow he is running from. It would make killing him that much more satisfying.”
Kate feels her entire body get ten degrees hotter. An audible gulp goes down her throat.
Yelena suddenly stands up, circling around Kate and placing her hands on the back of Kate’s chair. “Oh, does that intrigue you, красивая девушка?” Kate suddenly feels a hot breath on the side of her neck and lips brush against her earlobe. “You know, with the way you have been adorably reacting to every word I say, I might just have to take you away and keep you all for myself.”
Kate lets out a tiny whimper, which Yelena giggles at. She’s done for. Completely and utterly done for.
“But…” Yelena hums, leaning back. “I unfortunately would have nowhere to keep you. Very sad. I’ll have to revisit that idea if I ever get an apartment in the city.” She strolls around to stand in front of Kate.
“I…” Kate tries, but she’s halted when Yelena softly shushes her.
“Shhh…no need to try to talk, pretty girl. I know your brain stopped working.” Yelena kneels on one knee, leaning forward so her face is millimeters away from Kate’s.
“Thank you for the girls’ night. Truly.”
There’s a long moment where no words are exchanged between the two women. Yelena looks at Kate like she’s a precious stone, examining each and every little spot on her face. The Russian woman tilts her head, then brings a hand up to brush some hair out of Kate’s face.
And then Yelena kisses her.
Soft lips are on hers faster than Kate can even blink. A hand finds the back of Kate’s head, grabbing it and pulling it into Yelena’s lips. Kate’s impulses take the driver’s seat and she kisses back, her eyes shutting and her hands roaming. Two pairs of lips move feverishly against each other, and Kate’s throat releases a noise of pure, unbridled satisfaction.
Kissing Yelena is like flying–something Kate never thought she would do, but it feels like a fucking dream . The other woman managed to make Kate fall apart for her with nothing but her eyes and her voice, and now kissing her…
But the dream ends just as fast as it started. Yelena stands back up, smirking down at Kate’s messy and bright red face.
She strolls around towards the window, as if nothing just happened and she just concluded a casual conversation. Kate just stares at her with a gaping mouth and wide eyes.
“And Kate Bishop?” Yelena hums, stepping up to the window. “If you get in my way again, I will not hold back from taking what I want.”
And then the goddess of a woman is gone.
_____________
Kate Bishop honestly isn’t really sure how she even made it back to the bedroom in her mom’s penthouse.
Combined with the fact that Jack was just arrested downstairs and Clint is nowhere to be found, Kate is still freaking out like a schoolgirl.
It doesn’t help when she sees something small tied up in a red bow on her bed.
There, on top of the pillow, is one of those tiny bottles of tabasco sauce, wrapped up in red ribbon. Attached is a piece of paper with tiny scribbled characters:
кейт бишоп
когда-нибудь мой
And when Kate scans it and translates it?
Yeah. She’s definitely done for.