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Ava leans back on her forearms, watching as everyone lobs a volleyball back and forth over a net, the teams taking it in turns to whoop and cheer as they gain points. Bob, Yelena, and John are on one side. Alexei, Mel and Bucky on the other.
Ava had refereed for a little bit, then been ousted from her position when Alexei, Bucky and Mel had come up with the preposterous idea that all her calls seemed to favour Yelena’s team. They were — of course — wrong, but Ava had gone on strike anyways, then watched as they continued their rallies. She’s grateful for the mutiny; it means she can rest. The heat and the activity been wearing Ava down, and her muscles seemed to sigh in relief when she’d settled into the warm sand.
She enjoys watching everyone play, but her eyes always find their way back to Yelena with her freshly bleached hair and the bright blue ties of her bathing suit coming out of the top of her shirt to loop around her neck in a secure double knot.
She’s barefoot, and wet sand clings to her legs and thighs from the times she’d taken a dive trying to save the ball. She’s dedicated, and her hair’s still half wet from swimming, but she’s the most relaxed Ava has seen her in weeks.
Thank you Valentina for the vacation, Ava thinks as she watches Yelena and John almost crash into each other in pursuit of the ball. She can’t help laughing along with Alexei, despite the glares and stage whispers of “traitor” from Yelena’s crew.
“I’m a neutral party, remember,” Ava half shouts. “I’m just here for the show.”
“I’m sure,” Bucky sighs with a roll of his eyes as he waits for Bob’s serve.
Ava will press him on what that means later, but for now she goes back to watching Yelena as the sun begins to dip low.
When everyone’s decided they’ve had their fill of playing, they head back into the water. Everyone except Yelena who offers Ava a hand and helps her up before beginning to walk along the beach.
“Follow me,” she says, slipping her fingers through Ava’s so she can lead her along the beach, further from the group. Even as the sun sets, the heat of the day still clings to Yelena’s skin and makes her glow a little brighter than the day before. Ava can see the pale lines left by the straps of the tank top Yelena had been wearing the day before, the top of the smiley face she’d drawn in sunscreen on Yelena’s back. If anyone’s noticed they haven’t told her, and Ava wonders if she’ll get away scot free.
Around them, sand lifts and glides as a slight breeze blows through and Ava watches Yelena watching the insects that fly out.
They walk until the sand thins out, and they reach the rocky edges of the bay.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I should be scared,” Ava says, attempting to break the silence around them.
“You haven’t been scared of me in forever,” Yelena says with a smile, scouting along the shoreline for a spot.
She guides Ava to a spot where the shoreline seems to curl in on itself, and the water collects in small pools between the rocks.
The pools are shallow, and Ava’s not sure what Yelena wants her to see, but she follows her lead as as she crouches near the water.
“We just have to wait a bit, but I saw this this on TikTok,” Yelena says, chin resting on her knees, fingers fiddling absentmindedly with the rings on her fingers. “It made me think of you.”
Yelena doesn’t meet her eyes, even as Ava bores holes into the side of her face. The sky above them darkens, stars shining brighter than Ava had seen since they moved to the Tower. She hears bugs chirping in the night and the sounds of far of traffic and the beating of her own heart in her chest.
“Sorry,” Yelena says. “It’s not really all that clear yet is it?”
“Don’t apologise. Whatever you brought me out here for, it’s probably more than worth it.”
Yelena just scoffs.
“You’re too trusting Ava. I could be waiting for high tide so I can push you in,” she laughs.
“I’ll just drag you in with me,” Ava smiles, sticking her tongue out. “At least we’ll have each other when the sharks attack.”
“Ava, I didn’t know you were such a romantic,” Yelena drawls, squinting her eyes into the water. The tide is rising, the sea flowing gently along the rocky shore.
Ava’s about to respond when Yelena leans forward, dipping her fingers into the water.
She lets out a soft gasp when Yelena trails her hand through the water and it sparks to life in a bright blue as the water ripples around her hand.
“Do you know, it’s blue because there’s bioluminescent plankton. Dinoflagellates,” she mutters, as she swishes the water around. The blue seems to grow brighter, and Ava watches as the blue forms on the parts of the rocks where the water gently washes up against them. It reminds Ava of all the times she’s watched Yelena draw those smooth electric blue lines along her lower lash lines, and the way they’d been one of the first things she noticed about her, even as she tried to kill her.
“You said these reminded you of me?” Ava asks, turning her head back to Yelena.
“Mmm. Your suit,” Yelena taps the back of her hand. “I’m always looking for your lights when you’re gone for too long.”
The back half of Yelena’s sentence threatens to knock Ava off her axis.
“What, it’s true. Or when you go ahead of me. I worry if I can’t see them for too long.”
She never stops trailing her hands through the water, tracking the the way the blue comes to life with the movement.
“It must be hell for you when I phase,” Ava chuckles as she pushes her lightly.
“You’re joking, but I don’t like when you go places I can’t follow, Ava Starr,” Yelena huffs, blowing at the hair that’s falling into her face.
“Goodness, I’m surprised you don’t have a tracking device in my suit already,” Ava laughs, pulling her hand out of the water so she can flick some of it at Yelena.
Yelena flinches away, then leans forward so she can send a much bigger splash Ava’s way.
“Completely disproportionate,” Ava sputters.
“No witnesses to support you,” Yelena says with an even bigger splash.
“The plankton,” Ava offers.
“They don’t have eyes, and they’re not really animals,” Yelena starts.
“Oh so now you’re a marine biologist?”
“No,” Yelena says with a sad smile. “Melina used to tell me about these things when I was little . I used to ask her so many questions.”
Ava pictures a young Yelena in her mind, eyes rapt as she asks Melina question after question. She doesn’t look much different to the Yelena who sits here now, entirely engrossed in the stretch of beautiful blue water in front of them.
Ava tears her eyes away when Yelena catches her staring, fakes a tickle in her throat and shoves her hands unceremoniously back into the water.
The two of them stare into the water, faces partially visible in the intense blue broken up only by the starlight above them.
The sun is long gone, but the heat of the day remains and Ava doesn’t want this moment to end.
“What else did Melina teach you,” Ava asks, “I’m not sure I know much about dinoflagellates.”
“You remembered the name, that’s a good start,” Yelena says, “but I won’t bore you. The others are probably waiting for us.”
She doesn’t even pretend to get up, still staring out into the electric blue.
“I’m not sure you could ever bore me, Yelena,” she responds, gliding her hand through the water so she can lace their fingers together. “Besides, I know you’re just dying to, I can feel it. You probably know everything about bioluminescent plankton there is to know. I should probably learn, in case it comes up at trivia night.”
She winks at Yelena, and the butterflies she always seemed to have around Yelena burst to life when Yelena grins at her, squeezing her hand beneath the water. Yelena talks, and Ava listens, and when their hands prune up from being in the water too long they start their slow amble back to the group, hands still linked as the blue tide continues to ebb and flow gently alongside them.