Work Text:
2027
It's been almost three years. Three years of Kate Bishop not seeing or hearing from Yelena. Sometimes she wonders to herself, what she's doing right now. The last time she saw Yelena was during the fight after Clint fell from the giant christmas tree.
Kate is currently sitting in her apartment, still in her costume. Her bow and arrow were thrown carelessly by the couch. She took a frozen nugget pack and leftover pizza from the fridge, one hand holding the nugget pack on her head while the other was holding a slice of pizza. Lucky—the pizza dog—also was given a slice. She turned on the TV, though she didn't want to watch a thing, only to fill in the silence. The TV was playing the news channel.
Kate couldn't comprehend what just happened to her. The city was a mess. She saw a ghostly figure in the sky. It was black, with a cape and white dot eyes. The next thing she knows, she felt like she was teleported, and she saw some bad memories from the past. One of them being her father's funeral. And then it was all over. Kate hurried home afterwards.
As she took another bite of her pizza slice, something caught her attention, on the TV. It was her, Yelena. The one who kicked her ass on the rooftop. The one who cooked macaroni in her apartment. Her. She turned up the volume instantly. A woman with a streak of white on her hair was talking.
"For years, I have been working secretly to develop a new age of protection. Today, the citizens of the United States needed that protection and thanks to my hard work, they got it. Ladies and gentlemen, meet The New Avengers.”
Kate's eyes widened, and she gasped, “What?!” Even Lucky seemed startled.
The TV shot each of the members. Eventually, Yelena's face was on screen. She looks a little different since the last time Kate saw her. Shorter hair, green eyeliner, and she is… prettier? At least that's what Kate thought. She shook her head, “she's not that pretty, c'mon,” she thought to herself.
“...Or is she?”
A few months later
Ever since Kate saw Yelena on TV, she's been contemplating contacting her. She really wants to catch up on her. I mean… They were on good terms, right? It should be fine if Kate wants to see her, right? It feels so damn awkward for Kate.
Once again, she's holding her phone, scrolling her contacts. Until she found a particular one. She named the number “Yelena (Macaroni Fiend)”. She named it that because she seemed to be obsessed with macaroni when they talked. She pressed on it, and opened up the keyboard.
“Hey Yelena, it's Kate. I don't know if you're still using this number..”
She stopped mid typing, looking around for some distraction. For some reason it feels really embarrassing to Kate. She deleted a few letters… But proceeded to rewrite the same words. She looked at Lucky, as if asking for advice. Lucky looked back at her, and stuck his tongue out.
Seeing this, Kate instantly smiled widely. The dog has somehow given her a boost of confidence. “What could go wrong?” She thought to herself. She continued writing the text, and finally sent it.
“Hey Yelena, it's Kate. I don't know if you're still using this number, but I would really like to talk to you. Text or call me back if possible?”
Kate dropped the phone on the table and yelped to herself, the text just gave her a small adrenaline rush. She petted Lucky on his head, “Thanks, buddy. I wouldn't have done it without you.”
Lucky barked at her, as if saying “You’re welcome!”
Later that night, she lies on the couch in her apartment, giddily waiting for her reply like a school teenager waiting for her crush to ask her out. She knew the answer could not come instantly, but the thought of her replying just gave her a weird feeling in her stomach. Like a tingling feeling.
“This is stupid. Why am I like this? I don't like her that much!”
She opened her phone, looking for any notifications about her, but nothing. She put it down and walked around the apartment. When she reached the couch, she took the phone again and checked for a notification again. This kept going for a while until she was tired.
“I should be patient. Isn't that right, Lucky?” asked Kate.
Lucky sat up and looked at her. Kate smiled to herself.
“C'mon, let's get to sleep. I'm sure if it's still her number, she'll answer soon.”
Lucky barked and followed Kate to her bed. Once on the bed, Kate stared at the ceilings, still thinking about Yelena. Eventually, tiredness wins over and sleep comes.
The next day, Kate walked Lucky around the block. Occasionally, she'll take a look at her phone, just in case. Too focused on her phone, Kate almost crashed into a tree, pole, or even someone a couple times. If Lucky were a human, he would've palmed his forehead in response.
After they got home, she got a reply from Yelena. Kate could've sworn she jumped so high when she saw it. She opened the message, and read it out loud for herself and Lucky, and replied to her text.
“Heeyyy if it isn't Kate Bishop! I'm free to talk anytime. Just come visit me at my office.”
“Here's the address:
3250 Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY.”
“Great! I'll be going there.”
Kate immediately opened up her phone to order an uber. As she was about to leave, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her brows furrowed, she was practically wearing pajamas.
“My outfit looks terrible. She'd make fun of it for sure,” huffed Kate.
She returned back inside and looked into her wardrobe. She picked a purple long sleeved shirt with a black distressed jeans. She wore a white undershirt underneath, since it was still a little cold out. She brushed her hair and tied it in a high ponytail. After that, she put on a bit of powder and lip gloss. Finally, she looked into the mirror once again.
“I look nice. She probably won't compliment me, but at least I don't look bad. I'll see you later, Lucky!” She said as she grabbed a slingbag and walked out of the apartment.
She'd ordered an uber to Yelena’s office. Fast forward, she's now standing in front of the building. It's a six-story building, she noticed. She wondered what her office would look like.
She stepped in, and asked the man on the reception, “Excuse me, is Yelena Belov—”
She was cut off by a man speaking Russian, and she was led into a room. “Is this the place? She's here?” Asked Kate while she walked into the door pointed by the man.
The first thing she noticed was that it's a sauna-spa. Then, she found her. Yelena, sitting in the pool.
“Oh, hey. Sorry, am I interrupting?” asked Kate meekly.
Yelena's face lightened up, and she raised both arms up in the air. “Hello! We finally meet again, Kate Bishop.”
“Uh, well. Hello. Can we get to your office now?”
“This is my office, darling.”
Kate blinked. “She's gotta be joking, right?”
“Quit kidding around, I want to talk in your office.”
Yelena smirked, “Kate Bishop. This is my office. My banya. My bathhouse. Which doubles as my office.”
“You’re… Serious.”
“Of course I'm serious, Kate Bishop.”
Kate looked around, taking in the office. “Why a bathhouse?”
“Why not?”
“I mean… It's..”
“Unusual? I can do whatever I want. That's what free will is for. Who says an office must be a boring room with a desk and cabinet and a dying plant?”
Kate bit her lip. “Dang, she's got a point.”
“Take off your clothes,” Yelena demanded suddenly.
Kate’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Kate Bishop. My office, my rules. Clothes off. Or you'd rather have a bath fully clothed?”
“Oh. oh. I'm… I'll just sit here..”
Yelena groaned. She splashed the water around her. “It'd be really nice to have a relaxing bath with me. Plus, I get to know you don't have any weapons on you if you get in.”
“I wouldn't bring a weapon. That's more of your thing!”
“Just… Get in, and we can talk. I'm not even gonna do anything to you. Unless, of course, if you ask me to.”
Kate just stood in silence for a few minutes. She looked down at her body, then back at Yelena. Somehow, Yelena could read her thoughts.
“Ahhh, I see. You picked out your good outfit to see me, right? Only to find out you'll need those off.”
Kate’s cheek flushed slightly, “No! No, that'd be ridiculous. This is just my casual.. My everyday outfit. It's nothing special!”
Yelena chuckled, and then it turned into laughter. Kate could die of embarrassment. She quickly turned around and entered the changing room, just to hide her red face from Yelena.
After a while, she came out in just a towel. Yelena made an appreciating sound as Kate awkwardly took off the towel slowly while entering the pool.
“Don't be shy, Kate Bishop. I've seen many nude bodies.”
“I'm not shy.”
“The great Kate Bishop, who's defeated Kingpin once, is shy?!”
“Alright, shut up.”
There was silence once they both were deep inside the pool. To Kate, it was an awkward silence. But probably not to Yelena.
“So… Why'd you want to talk to me, Kate Bishop?”
“I just… wanted to catch up with what you've been doing. Especially now that you're an Avenger.”
“You mean New Avenger. There's a difference.”
“Yeah, I just thought it's very ironic. Remember when you broke in—”
“Ah, ah! I didn't break anything. The window was open. I just entered your apartment.”
“Right, when you entered my apartment and you made macaroni, you asked me what “Avengers” mean. That it holds so much power. At the time you seemed to hate the concept of Avengers. Someone called a hero, despite the blood on their hands? Look at you now. An Avenger yourself.”
“New Avenger.”
“Right, whatever. Dare to explain yourself?”
Yelena looked into the water, thinking for a minute.
“Kate, when I met you… I just lost five years of my life. I lost my sister. And my boss lied to me about Clint. It's only natural that I'm upset about that.”
Kate now feels bad about asking that question. She hadn't meant to open up the harsh reality of Yelena’s life. She then tried to change the topic, making it lighter.
“Sorry. How have you been doing recently? Since you became the New Avenger.”
Yelena noticed the attempt to lighten up the mood, and she's glad for it.
“Well, I've been helping a detective, the Spider-boy… And some other people with small potato stuff. You're one of my first visitors. Even Spider-boy hasn't visited me.”
“It's Spider-Man. And… potato?”
“Me, myself, handles small potatoes. But the New Avengers… We handle big potatoes.”
“Ah. Got it,” Kate nodded.
Yelena approached Kate, and reached out a hand. “Give me your phone. I have two numbers now, the one you saved for small potatoes and another for big..”
“Potatoes. I get it. Hold on, just don't drop it in the water.”
“Ahhh, you're a fast learner. Good girl.”
That compliment… That made Kate feel things she didn't dare to name. Kate reached over the floor to grab her phone, which is in her slingbag. She unlocked it, and gave it to Yelena.
“Kate Bishop. I've been an assassin for my whole life. I can hold a bomb for hours without dropping it. I can handle holding a phone on top of water without dropping it.”
Yelena took her phone, and opened contacts. Just as Yelena was about to write her number, she noticed something.
“Macaroni Fiend? Really? That's what you named my number?”
Kate stammered, “Uh, well… You were obsessed with macaroni when you broke—sorry, entered my apartment.”
“Oh my God, Kate. Are you kidding me..? This is genius!”
Kate expected everything but that reaction.
“You… like that?”
“Oh, Kate Bishop. Only you… in this world… Can make up a name that genius. I love it. Can I take that?”
Kate was still shocked from the reaction. “Uh, sure? It's not like it's copyrighted or anything. It's fine.”
“I'm so using that,” Yelena squealed happily as she punched in her number for the more big potatoes stuff. Then she returned the phone back to Kate.
“There you go. Give me another genius name, alright?”
Kate could only chuckle, seeing her reaction. It was so cute, it made something flutter in her stomach. Wait what?
“Am I seriously getting butterflies from this?” Kate thought to herself. She could feel her cheek getting warmer. She immediately turned around to put the phone back in her slingbag so that Yelena would not notice the flush in her face.
Yelena moved backwards, admiring Kate.
“You know, that's a really nice back you got.”
And it was all over for Kate. Her whole face flushed red over that comment.
“Hey!”
Yelena held up both hands in surrender, “Hey, can't a woman admire another woman's body? I can't help it, you're very fit. You exercise often?”
Kate faced her, and answered almost breathlessly, “Yeah, my exercise is fighting crimes.”
“That makes sense. Real good body of yours.”
Kate could only say silence. She couldn't trust herself to not say anything stupid. While Yelena squinted to take a look at Kate's face. A realization came to her.
“Is that… lip gloss?”
Kate didn't know she could fall apart again. She was practically dead inside.
“Were you planning to kiss me?”
Kate could only stutter, “Uh. Uh. W… well I was just… try… trying to look presentable, you… you know?”
“I can give you a free kiss, if you want.”
Kate's heart did a backflip. She tried to change the topic desperately, “I was thinking… Maybe we could… Go in action as Hawkeye and Black Widow? Like Clint and Nat?”
The change of topic worked, with Nat mentioned. Probably a foul play, but Kate had to save herself from exploding.
“Well, about that…” Yelena seemed to consider the option, “...I can see us fighting together. But you're not part of the New Avengers. But it's still possible.”
Kate smiled, her dignity has returned bit by bit. “Yeah, that'd be awesome.”
Yelena smirk returned, “Do you want a kiss from me? One kiss?”
Kate's smile dropped, “Cyka.”
“Cyka, eh? I see you've learned something from me.”
Kate looked away, still embarrassed but less embarrassed. “You know what, a kiss wouldn't hurt.”
“That's the spirit, Kate! Let me try that lip gloss of yours.”
Both of them leaned into each other. Kate already closed her eyes nervously, while Yelena observed Kate's face first. Finally their lips met. At first, it was slow and gentle, almost hesitant. As they grew comfortable, their kiss deepened. Passionate.
Finally, they pulled away. Kate was out of breath, and she couldn't believe what just happened.
“I know what you're thinking. “Oh my god, did I just kiss the beautiful woman who entered my apartment years ago?”
Kate couldn't get any words out. The kiss seemed to drain all of her energy. She could only stay silent with a reddened face.
This silence was starting to worry Yelena, “Hey, you good?”
It took all of Kate's will to look up at her face. “It's the first time for me.”
“To kiss someone?”
“To kiss a girl.”
“Ah.”
Yelena smiled widely, “then it's my pleasure to be your first.”
Kate breathed out, “That was nice. I think I like you.”
Yelena just stared at her in disbelief as she smirked, “You think? We just kissed, genius. Would you kiss me if you hate me?”
“She's got a point,” a small laughter escaped Kate's mouth, “God, I'm so stupid.”
“You're very cute, Kate Bishop.”
For once, Kate didn't melt and is able to laugh as a response. “It's really nice talking to you and all. But I have to go.”
Yelena nodded in understanding, “I get it. Just… Feel free to come anytime you want. If you need a small help, a big help, or if you just want to talk.”
Kate started to stand up and walk out of the pool.
“Or if you just want to have a relaxing bath with me,” Yelena continued.
Kate bit her lip, “Yeah, I really appreciate that. I'll be sure to come again.”
She dried her body with the towel, not realizing Yelena was pretty much appreciating her body. Until she heard a whistle.
Kate's head snapped back to Yelena, and there she was, smiling widely. “I've seen your boobs, Kate Bishop. Not to forget that cake.”
If this were a cartoon, wind would've blown out of Kate's ears. Kate ran into the changing room, hiding herself.
Kate walked back out of the changing room fully clothed. She took her slingbag around her shoulder. “So… Until we meet again, Yelena?”
“Of course. I'll be waiting for your return, Kate Bishop,” Yelena waved at Kate. “That's a great outfit, by the way. You chose the right one.”
Kate waved at Yelena as she left the room. Her day feels so much brighter. Her heart hammered in her chest. And she couldn't help herself but smile to herself.
"I definitely love her."