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Chapter Text

A blaring alarm ripped through the bedroom of a New York City apartment. “Fuck me,” an arm flew out of the mound of blankets, grabbing the phone to turn off the aggressive ringtone. “It is way too early for this,” the time staring back at the woman who had slightly emerged from the covers read 2:45am. “I do not recall signing up for this,” she groaned into a full body stretch trying to get her limbs moving. Okay so she didn’t need to get up that early. Her shift didn’t start until 6 but she wanted to get a run in beforehand. Yelena Belova was starting the first day of her second year of medical residency at the Metropolitan Hospital Emergency Department. She finished med school at the University of Ohio top in class as well as her first year of residency but recently decided to make the move to New York. Her sister had a two bedroom apartment in the city that she shared with her girlfriend and had been begging her for years to move away from the farm and into the city. “Come on Yelena. You are not a farm girl. The city needs you. I need my baby sister with me,” was the argument she had heard over and over again. When she started pulling out the big sister card, there was no way Yelena could resist. Luckily Natasha’s apartment on east 94th street was a short walk to the hospital. The apartment itself was beautiful. It boasted a very modern kitchen with a large living area, dining room, laundry room, 2 beds and 2 baths plus a terrace off of the living room. Natasha’s girlfriend was chief of surgery at the hospital because there was no way the sisters would be able to afford something like this alone. Yelena had only moved to the city a few weeks ago, reluctant to move at all until her mother told her they would be fine and that she needed to pursue her dreams. “The moment is right, my love,” was exactly what her mother had said to her when she decided she would transfer to the city to finish her residency.

Yelena pushed herself out of bed, ready to tackle the day. Quickly changing into shorts and a sports bra and made her way to the gym after filling her water bottle. She loved going to the gym early because it was always empty and she could take her time on her weight lifting days without the burden of people staring at her or offering tips on how to use the equipment. She had spent an hour on the treadmill and then another half an hour focusing on her back and arms and still had plenty of time to make it back upstairs to shower, change and eat breakfast. The gym being located in the building was a perk that she used almost daily since her arrival. Though she did miss the treadmill at the farm with the views of the animals. Yelena came out of her room wearing a pair of joggers and a hoodie since she would change at the hospital before her shift started. The sound of movement outside the door alerted her that someone was home. The door opened and a very tired red head came walking into the apartment. “Eggs?” She walked over and helped herself to a fork full of Yelena’s breakfast. “So good.”

“Rude. I made this for me. Yours is still on the stove. It’s like you have no manners,” she grumbled as the other woman kissed the top of her head before turning to her own breakfast. “We came from the same place, Natasha. I must have gotten all of the good qualities.”

“Funny,” she spoke with her mouth full, “I don’t remember them teaching us manners in that orphanage.”

“Yes I suppose,” she rolled her eyes, “but you are well into your 30s. Learn some.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” she reached behind her into the fridge, grabbing the ketchup and squirting it all over her eggs.

“Ты сошел с ума? How could you put that on my eggs? They are perfect? No?”

“I do it because it’s good but mostly because it pisses you off. My favorite thing about you little sis is how you still speak Russian when you are feeling.”

“It slips,” she couldn’t help being defensive even though Natasha was right. Russian slipped more around her because she knew that she would understand her.

“Sure it did, сестра,” she looked at her phone checking the time. “Half an hour before it’s showtime. Are you nervous?”

Yelena shrugged one of her shoulders, “not really. I was an intern last year. Now, that was terrifying.”

“But it’s a new hospital. New doctors. Not to mention crazy New York patients.”

“Do not try to scare me, Natasha. It will not work. Top of my class. Never missed a day. I have experience in emergency medicine. How can I fail?” She could think of at least a dozen things that could go wrong but her hope was that this new adventure was her path in life. “Besides, it’s not like I don’t know anyone there.”

“There is Wanda. Essentially your boss. Does it intimidate you that your sister’s girlfriend and your other roommate is your boss?”

“No,” Yelena hated the teasing tone of her sister’s voice. “I will pretend I’ve never met her before.”

“Won’t work. Everyone there knows me. They know I’m with Wanda.”

Damn the fire station for being across the street from the medical center. Maybe she should’ve picked a different hospital. “Well it’s not like they know I’m related to you.”

“I told Wanda to hang a sign on your locker. Happy First Day at Work Yelena. Love you big sister, Natasha.”

“Like Wanda would do that,” she crossed her arms.

“I said I wouldn’t sleep with her for a week if she didn’t.”

“That sounds like a week full of decent sleep to me.”

Natasha smirked, “we gave you those ear plugs when you moved in as a housewarming gift.”

“Believe me,” Yelena stood up, clearing her place setting. “They have been a gift from the gods. Now, I must go. Will I see you for dinner?”

Natasha shook her head, “nights all this week. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Yelena kissed her sister on the cheek before grabbing her backpack and heading out, “stay safe.”

“You too! And try to make some friends, dear,” she heard her sister calling to her after the door was already closed. “Such a pain in my ass,” the blonde grumbled with a smile on her face.

It was the middle summer in the city, her transfer happened just after completion of her first full year as an intern. New York in the summer was sticky and gross. She much preferred winter temperatures but thankfully her walk to work was only a couple of blocks. It was definitely strange to be surrounded by tall buildings with streets full of people and cars everywhere. It was very different from the rural area she was used to in Ohio. Her favorite thing about the city was all of the dogs. She always wanted a dog. Maybe after her residency when things settled down, she would be able to invest time into owning a dog. Yelena made sure she stopped to pet every dog she saw on her way to the hospital. She was just finishing her cigarette when she stopped outside of the main doors to the hospital and saw a girl staring at her, “funny no? I’m going in there for my first day as a doctor here and I’m out here smoking. Well second first day.”

The girl looked at her and walked away without saying anything, “yep. Fuck me, I guess.” Yelena put her cigarette out in the receptacle before taking a few deep breaths. She walked into the hospital and went straight to the receptionists’ triage desk, “hi.”

“How can I help you, dear?”

“Yelena Belova. I'm new here. Second year resident. I’m just not really sure where I’m meant to go.”

“Yes, Chief Maximoff told us you’d be joining the team. Emergency medicine right?” Yelena nodded appreciating her roommate more and more by the minute. “She told us to be on the lookout for you.”

“Perfect. Where is the locker room?”

“First you need to complete paperwork with the hospital lawyer. Then you and the other second and third years will meet in the locker room before the interns are assigned.”

“Perfect,” Yelena internally rolled her eyes. A group of infants was not what she needed today or ever if she was being honest. “Where do I find this lawyer?”

“You’ll want to take the elevator to the 3rd floor and follow the signs to the administration wing. She’s got the big corner office. Can’t miss it.”

Yelena thanked them for their help and proceeded to the elevators. There were other people already on so she squeezed into the side and asked for the 3rd floor. “This place is a maze,” she grumbled to herself as she made the long walk to the administration wing. She stopped outside the lawyer’s door and knocked after hearing a woman’s voice telling her to come in, “Ms. Walters?”

“Please,” the woman spun around in the corner of her room in front of a printer, “call me Jen.”

The short curly haired woman look rather young to be a lawyer but Yelena didn’t question her, “the receptionists sent me up. I did not know lawyers started at 6am.”

Jen laughed, “I don’t usually come in early except on new recruit day or if there’s a legal matter. I’m not a morning person. Or a night owl. I’m a solid 2pm kind of woman.”

“Noted,” very friendly and a little weird but Yelena appreciates her honesty. “So, I’m signing my life away?”

“Please sit,” Jen pointed to the seat opposite her desk. “Just your paperwork. Non disclosure agreements. Emergency contact and direct deposit information. You do want to get compensated right?”

Now that made Yelena laugh, “yes. Getting paid is a priority. Everything is so expensive here.” Jen handed Yelena a large pile of papers, explaining everything she was signing and what their purposes were. “There is a lot here.”

“Couldn’t be more than when you signed up for the army.”

“No,” Yelena shook her head. “I swear my hand cramped up. It was awful and they did have this nice fountain pen. Very lush,” she chuckled when the lawyer blushed.

“So what’s the story there?”

“What story?”

“From what I’ve heard, you were on your way to entering medical school through the military to become a field surgeon. Why the change to Ohio State?”

Yelena frowned, “I thought I already passed my interview for this residency.”

“Sorry. I was just trying to get to know you.”

“I had a bad run during my last tour. Lots of shit went down and instead of reenlisting I went home back to Ohio.”

Jen nodded, “I see. That’s all I get?”

“For now,” Yelena smirked, “I have not decided if I like you or not yet.”

“Fair enough but after you meet your interns, you’ll be begging for my company.”

Yelena groaned, “fuck me. I forget about the infants. How many do I get?”

“Three. And I would hope your future sister-in-law would give you the good ones. But as a surgical resident… your attending assigns them.”

“And who is my attending? Should I be scared?”
Jen gave her a look that told her she definitely should be scared and slid her over her list of interns which also had the name of the attending, “Dr. Hill. Why does that name sound so familiar?” She looked at the lawyer who seemed pained waiting for her to figure it out, “this isn’t Maria Hill is it? As in my sister's ex-girlfriend? As in the woman Natasha left for Wanda?” Yelena groaned and closed the file not wanting to see more, “well I am fucked.”

“Maybe Maria won’t know who you are. You have a different last name,” Jen was grasping. They both knew that Natasha’s mouth was big enough to hear from the fire station. “She’s usually reasonable as long as you keep your interns in check and don’t make her look bad. You’ve been around drill sergeants that I’m sure were worse than her.”

“We will see,” she looked at the time and gathered her file. “Am I free to go? Don’t want to piss her off on the first day more than I already will just by existing.”

Jen stood, “let me walk you to the locker room.”

“I suppose that’s the least you could do after giving me this awful news,” she pretended to be mad.

“This one,” she pointed to the elongated room on her right, “is for the interns.” They walked a little further, “and this one is for the second years and up who make it past internship. We lose a lot of residents but this is a hard program so it’s not a surprise. Here you go.” She handed Yelena a badge which would get her through all of the doors in the hospital and her work issued cell phone.

“Thanks. I appreciate the kindness.”

“So I eat lunch everyday in the cafeteria. If you ever want to meet me there you know where to find me.”

“Are you asking me to lunch, Ms. Walters? Didn’t we just meet?” She smirked as a blush appeared again on the other woman’s cheeks. “I’m only fucking with you. I would appreciate the company.”

“Great,” she tried not to show her embarrassment. “Meet you here at 1?”

“Perfect.” Yelena said her goodbye for now and walked into the very luxurious room. There were benches, chairs, lockers, showers, toilets, and places to lay down. It was a step up from Ohio that was for sure. She saw her name on one of the lockers furthest away from the bathroom, facing the door. Yes, Wanda knew her well. At least there wasn’t a full embarrassing sign, just a name plate. She would have to thank the Chief when she saw her.

One of the other residents was putting his scrub top on, “I can’t believe we get our own interns this year.” Another guy sitting next to him had responded, “yeah bro. It’s wild.”

Yelena rolled her eyes, turning her back towards the room but kept her eye on everyone, she reached into her locker and pulled out a pair of olive green scrubs. Great, she couldn’t get rid of the military colors even after leaving. “Hey new girl,” a woman with short pixie cut brown hair came walking over toward her. The girl stopped at the locker next to hers. “I’m Sonya Kozlov.”

“Yelena.”

“Я знаю. Я прочитал твой тег с именем. Я рад, что здесь есть кто-то, кто говорит по-русски, чтобы мы могли поговорить обо всех этих идиотах.”

Yelena found herself laughing with the other woman, “Они действительно такие плохие?”

“Da,” the woman confirmed while putting on her scrubs. “So what brings you here from Ohio? Country life not for you?”

“Not sure yet. I guess we will see. What’s your specialty? Mine is emergency medicine/general surgery.”

“Must be why the Chief put you next to me. I’m the same,” Sonya quickly changed into her own scrubs. “I heard you were military?”

Yelena nodded, “five years. I expect I’m older than most people here.”

“But you have more experience than any of these idiots. Trust me. That one,” she pointed to one of the bro dudes from earlier, “he botched a surgery last year. I can’t believe he has lasted this long.”

“How is Dr. Hill?”

“She’s hot. Maybe I’ll have a chance now that I’m no longer an intern,” Sonya laughed.

“That’s not what I was talking about,” Yelena laughed. “Useless lesbian.”

“Can’t help but appreciate how good she looks. And when she’s being mean to everyone, even hotter. I don’t make the rules of the hotness scale. I do enforce them though.”

Yelena was still laughing, “Чертова бесполезная лесбиянка.” She knew she had at least one person she’d get along with. Natasha would be glad to hear that she had made one friend. Well two if she counted the lawyer and she did get good vibes from her. “Hill was dumped by my sister.”

“You are Nat’s sister?”

“So everyone knows everyone around here,” Yelena sighed. “Guess there’s no chance Hill won’t know who I am. I’ll just stand behind you so she can unleash her angry hotness at you and I’ll be saved.”

“That’s a risk I’m willing to take for you.” She closed her locker, putting her cell phone in the locker and her work phone in the front pocket of her scrub top.

Yelena tucked her shirt in and tied her scrub pants, putting her phone in her pants pocket. “Okay. I am nervous.”

“It’ll be fine. Hill won’t fuck with us if we keep our interns in line. That’s how she was last year with the second years over us. The sister thing is unfortunate but I think you will be fine. Come on,” she started walking towards the door. “Do you know your interns names? We have to go pick them up for babysitting. Thank the gods I’m not on call this week.”

“Neither is my team.”

“Your team. That’s cute,” Sonya chuckled. “So you are going to be nice to your interns.”

“Aren’t we all on the same team? We all have the same mission… to save lives. I’m not sure why I wouldn’t be nice.”

“Everyone here is out to one up the next person. These fuckers will throw you in front of a bus before taking the blame for anything. Tell you what,” Sonya stopped outside of the intern locker room, “you watch my back and I’ll watch yours.”

“Deal.” They entered the locker room and Yelena felt old. She was a good six or seven years older than everyone in this room. “Infants,” she whispered to Sonya.

One of the dude bros followed them in, letting the rest of the older residents in, “listen up. We are going to say our last names. You know who you are assigned to. If you get left behind, that’s on you.” One by one the residents started announcing their names, collecting their little interns like bees to honey.

“Belova,” Yelena called out and saw the youngest two looking interns walk over to her. “Where’s number three?”

“Umm,” the boy intern shrugged, “we were told he already dropped out. It’s just the two of us, Dr. Belova, ma’am.”

“Name?” She wasn’t too annoyed now that she would only have two kids to babysit.

“Peter. Peter Parker. Dr. Parker I guess.”

“And your name?”

“Dr. Cassie Lang.”

She seemed more confident than the boy intern but still unsure which Yelena wouldn’t have expected anything less. “Boy, girl. Follow me. We will start with rounds then we will go from there. We will be rounding with Dr. Kozlov and her interns. Try not to make me look like an idiot on the first day.”

“Isn’t it your first day too?” Yelena turned to look at her boy intern as if he had the nerve to be speaking with her. “Ma’am? I just meant we heard you were a transfer resident.”

“They said you came from OSU. Not a bad school.” The girl intern spoke next to try to clear some of the air for her friend. “We are both here to make you look good, Dr. Belova.”

Yelena nodded and turned to the boy, “you should let her do all the talking for the both of you.” She smiled when she heard him whisper, “her accent makes her really scary,” and the girl responded, “I think it’s hot.”

The morning went off as smooth as it could have with the three of them tagging alongside Sonya because none of them knew their way around the hospital. After rounds, Yelena felt a little more comfortable with the layout of the hospital. It was massive compared to where she did her internship but she was excited because they were finally going to the pit. “Boy,” she called for Peter, “do you want to do charts or work down here? You get the choice today and girl will get it tomorrow.”

“I’ll work with you,” he looked over at Cassie, “sorry.”

“I’d have made the same choice,” she gave him a smile before getting her assignment from Yelena.

“Dr. Belova,” Peter tried to get her attention.

“What is it?”

“Dr. Hill is coming our way.”

Yelena grabbed the chart closed and sent an appreciative look towards Peter, “thanks,” she whispered.

“Dr. Belova?” Yelena turned to face the woman who was not so subtly giving her a once over. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Professionally and otherwise.”

“I appear to be dual state renowned,” she smirked when she saw Peter’s mouth drop open.

“She’s a smart ass,” Dr. Hill addressed Peter. “Go find some sutures to attend to.”

“Yes, doctor l.” Peter left quickly and Yelena felt a little sense of dread without her infant to stand behind.

“Dr. Hill,” Yelena cleared her throat, “I really hope we can get past any animosity you may feel towards me because of my sister. I’m here based on my medical merit and not because of family connections. I don’t know what happened between you two, I was deployed at the time so I hope we can maintain a sense of professionalism when working together. I am here to make you look good.”

The answer seemed to appease Dr. Hill at least for the moment, “well then I suppose you’ll have to show me what you can do. You are scrubbing in with me. Car accident. Driver has ruptured internal organs. No time to waste.”

Yelena nodded and sent a quick message to Jen who had conveniently been programmed as a contact to let her know she might be late getting out of surgery, “I’m ready.”

The blonde was flying high after the four hour surgery with Dr. Hill. Aside from getting to provide hands of help during the surgery, Yelena loved the fact that her attending let her pick the music they listened to while they were operating. To her, that job was almost as important as the surgery itself, “not bad in there Belova. I’m not easy to impress but you handled your first big surgery here well.”

“Thank you, Dr. Hill,” Yelena finished scrubbing out, throwing her gown and hat into the wash bin. The pair went to deliver news of the outcome with the family before they separated. Yelena went to check on her interns. Cassie was still working on their patients’ charts.

“You are still alive! Peter texted saying you got called into surgery with Dr. Hill. We were about to make bets on if you’d come out alive.”

At least Yelena was finding her infants amusing, “unfortunately for you I’m not dead yet.”

“Trust me. It’s fortunate. I could’ve been stuck with one of them bro dudes. I’d rather have the hot scary Russian doctor as my lead,” Cassie’s eyes grew big. “I don’t really have a filter. I need to work on that. I apologize for stating the obvious. I’m sure you’ve seen yourself in a mirror at some point.”

Yelena couldn’t fault the girl. The no filter thing was endearing until it got them in trouble. They would have to work on her bedside manners at some point. “Take a break, girl. After lunch, you can come down to the pit.”

“Thank all of the gods. This shit is so boring,” Cassie rolled her eyes.

Yelena had to laugh at her honesty, “it really is.”

“If you ever get assigned a third intern, I say they should be stuck with chart duty for showing up to the program late.”

Yelena laughed, “I suppose we will see about that.”
She had told Cassie to meet her in the ER around 2 and be ready to do whatever was needed. Hopefully Peter wasn’t getting into trouble down there on her behalf. Yelena had a quick bite to eat with Jen and it was actually quite enjoyable. She talked about the surgery she was in and added Jen as a friend on Apple Music because it seemed the lawyer needed some assistance with her taste in music. On the way out of the cafeteria back to the ER, Yelena bumped into Wanda.

“I was wondering if I was going to run into you today, dear,” Wanda nodded at the younger woman. “How is your first day going? Everyone being nice to you?”

“Did Natasha put you up to this?” Yelena was always suspicious of intentions no matter if she felt Wanda was truly there on her own accord.

“I haven’t spoken to your sister today. I heard you were in surgery with Maria earlier and I just want to make sure you are okay.”

“She is not as scary as everyone says she is,” Yelena smirked. “It's been a good transition for me. If my sister asks, I made two friends.”

“I had hoped Maria wouldn’t make things hard for you. You are a gifted surgeon and anyone with eyes can see that. It’s been a few years since they broke up, though I understand never being able to get over Natasha.”

“Ew gross. That is my sister,” Yelena pretended to gag. “I do not need to see you making heart eyes over her at work. I see enough of that garbage at home. Speaking of home, will you be there for dinner or will I be on my own again?”

“I should be there. Barring any emergencies here at the hospital. Natasha is working nights this week. Hopefully soon we can coordinate our schedules so we can spend more time as a family.”

“If being on call means not having to hear the two of you coupling, I volunteer myself as tribute,” Yelena laughed when Wanda shoved her.

“It’s not wise to make fun of the Chief of Surgery on your first day.”

Yelena shrugged, “I’ve seen you in a deer onesie. I do not think I need to abide by those rules.”

“Yelena Belova banned from the OR on her first day,” Wanda smirked.

Yelena’s mouth fell open, “you wouldn’t dare.”

“What is it those American kids say?”

“I need more context than that…” Yelena saw Cassie walking by on the way to the ER. “Girl, the Chief needs your help.” She pulled on Cassie’s sleeve until she stopped next to Yelena. “Here’s an American kid.”

“Chief Maximoff, Dr. Belova, how can I assist you?” Yelena raised an eyebrow at the level of professionalism Cassie was exhibiting.

“Your name, dear?”

“Dr. Lang, Chief. Or Cassie.”

“Cassie. What is that saying you American kids use if someone is trying their elders.”

“I said to the Chief that she wouldn’t dare,” Yelena smirked.

Cassie thought about what courage Yelena must have to approach the Chief so boldly on her first day, “I think the phrase you are looking for is fuck around and find out.”

“Exactly, thank you Dr. Lang, you may be excused.” Cassie walked away from the pair and heard the Chief repeat the phrase to Yelena who immediately started laughing.

Yelena parted ways with Wanda and made her way back to the ER. It was a slow day in the emergency room. She found Sonya leaning against the desk talking to some of the nurses, “is she bothering you?” Yelena interrupted the conversation.

“There you are. I thought Dr. Hill may have killed you,” Sonya laughed. “I’ve been babysitting your infant. He’s very nervous but he has an excellent bedside manner. The older ladies love him. So do the children. I’m think geriatrics or peds for him.”

“You did not have to babysit. I was coming back.”

“He’s more entertaining than the idiots I got stuck with.”

“Posers?”

“Definitely. They won’t make it through the first month.”

Yelena laughed, “should we bet?” Just as they were about to suggest terms of the bet, Peter came walking over to the two of them handing Yelena a chart. “What is it?” She grabbed the chart and handed it to Sonya.

“Looks like a broken wrist and a lot of cuts and scratches. She said it wasn’t a fight but I’m not so sure,” Peter pointed them in the direction of the room.

“Oh,” Sonya rolled her eyes. “A frequent flyer. Comes in all the time with mysterious injuries and never offers any reasons. I thought she was a junkie but after a while she started refusing all pain medication. I still haven’t ruled out her being a junkie but I’m not sure what her deal is. Do you want to take her?”

Yelena shrugged, “why me?”

“Your intern found her. Losers keepers,” Sonya laughed and turned back to the nurses.

“She’s refusing X-rays. She asked me to just set her wrist and cast it so she can leave. She doesn’t want any medication or for me to stitch her up.”

“Thanks, I’ll take care of it,” Yelena patted his shoulder. “Go stick with Cassie. You can acquaint her with any of your patients if they are still around.”

Yelena ran through the chart quickly. Female, age 23, presenting with swollen wrist, possible fracture, multiple lacerations on her arms and face. Bruising on the left side of her jaw, “damn.” She walked over to the computers behind the nurses station to see a brief history of the patient since Sonya said she comes to the ER frequently enough for her to recognize her by name. “Okay,” she had seen enough. The girl had been in the ER 18 times since the beginning of the year. “She must have killer insurance,” she laughed at her own joke and made her way to the patient’s room. She knocked on the door and heard a “come in” from behind the door and the pulled curtain. “Hi,” she pulled the curtain back and smiled at the battered brunette. “My name is Dr. Belova. What brings you in today, Kate Bishop?”

Chapter Text

Kate sat in the small emergency room door behind the closed curtain when it was peeled back and the most gorgeous woman Kate had ever seen in real life came walking into her life. It was like a record scratched in her brain and her life restarted at that very moment. For the life of her she couldn’t remember anything besides her own name and the fact that she liked women so when the thick Russian accent graced her ears asking, “what brings you in today, Kate Bishop?” She knew she was done for.

“Umm…” Kate was trying hard to remember how she got to this point in time. Nope, no thoughts were currently residing in her brain besides the annoying gay ones that wouldn't leave. She looked up and swore she saw the doctor smirking as she washed her hands at the sink. “I fell.”

The doctor nodded, shaking the excess water off in the sink before grabbing a paper towel to dry them completely. “Hmm,” was the only reply she got as the doctor came closer. It was a condescending sound but coming from her, Kate still found it undeniably attractive. “May I?” She asked, pointing to her wrist. Kate could do little more than nod her head. This was embarrassing. Rendered speechless was not a problem Kate commonly had.

Yelena took her time feeling around her arm starting at her elbow checking for swelling or displaced joints. A sharp hiss that came from the brunette indicated where the pain originated, “the other doctor already examined me. Didn’t he mention that?”

“He did,” Yelena moved closer, looking at the various lacerations across Kate’s arms, noticing both old and new wounds. She also had a deep cut above her right eyebrow. “So you fell?”

“Like I told the other guy,” Kate had been in this hospital so many times. She was no stranger to the normal questions they would ask her. Nosey. That’s what she attributed doctors to. Always trying to get into her business. “I just need my wrist set so I can get out of here.”

“You also need your forehead wound cleaned and stitched up. Possibly a round of antibiotics. I can’t rule out infection,” Yelena walked over to the wall and grabbed a portable thermometer. “Open,” Kate opened her mouth with hesitation and cursed herself internally. “100.1, slight fever. Interesting.”

“Look I’m going to be fine,” Kate tried to get her upper hand back. She’s not doing a great job at it so far but she also wasn’t prepared to spill her guts for a pretty faced doctor. “I changed my mind. I’m just going to head out.”

“Wait,” Yelena stopped her from trying to get off of the bed. “Kate Bishop, please sit. We don’t have to talk about how this happened,” she knew the girl was a flight risk after reading her past charts for only five minutes. Her basic scare into submission technique looked like it would work but she quickly realized she needed the girl to trust her so she could get her the help she needed. “I really do think you should get a few xrays to rule out any serious fractures. Plus,” she took another long look at that cut, “I really need to close up that wound for you. As your doctor, I can not in good conscience let you walk out of here without some level of help.”

Kate was conflicted. She really just wanted to get out of there and run as fast as she could but her wrist was hurting and this doctor was very attractive. “Only if you are the one taking care of me,” she heard herself saying before she could think to stop herself.

Yelena smiled at her patient, “excellent. I’ll have Dr. Parker put in the order for your X-rays and while we are waiting for clearance, we can get started on your lacerations.”

“Wait,” Kate stopped the doctor from leaving, “I thought you were going to be taking care of me. No offense to that guy but I don’t want Dr. Parker to work on me.”

Yelena shook her head, “no as fragile as his feelings may be, I will not tell him his very stubborn patient requests his boss to do the job that he is perfectly capable of doing.” She tried not to laugh when Kate’s expression turned worried. “Kate Bishop, you are so funny. It’s his first day. He’s one of my interns. There is plenty for him to do around here. I will do you and he can find someone else.”

Kate blushed at the word choice trying her hardest not to turn into a hormone driven teenage boy, “yep. Sounds good.”

“Perfect. I will be back shortly,” she left the room and heard a big exhale of breath coming from behind her. Yelena walked over towards the supply closet. She grabbed a small bin to gather her supplies in. “Face mask, antiseptic, gauze, maybe a local anesthetic?” She knew it would hurt so she thought she might be able to talk the girl into some numbing medication. “Saline, suture kit, obviously,” she rolled her eyes and tossed it in her bin.

“She agreed to be fixed up?” Sonya asked almost surprised.

“I am very convincing.”

“So you used your hot girl status to your advantage?”

Yelena smirked, “you think I’m hot? I am very flattered. No, I did not flirt my way into helping her. I just used reason and logic and she agreed.”

Sonya nodded and threw some cotton tipped swabs into the bin, “you smiled at her and she caved.”

The blonde threw a small plastic basin into her bin, rolling her eyes, “whatever. I got her to agree and that is really all that matters. I hope I can get her to tell me what’s going on so I might be able to help.”

“You are a doctor, Yelena. Not a god. Not police. If she wants help, she’ll ask for it,” Sonya walked away when her phone went off signaling she was needed elsewhere.

“No shit,” she grumbled as Sonya walked away. If only she was then her last deployment would’ve ended much differently and she wouldn’t even be here. This was not the time for “but ifs” she had a patient to take care of. If a few smiles helped get the girl the medical treatment she needed then Yelena wasn’t going to second guess it. She walked over to the medicine cabinet behind the nurses station, “can I just help myself or how does this work?”

One of the male nurses walked over to her and she had to stop her eyes from rolling, “you just need to take one of the scanners, scan your badge then then front of the cabinet and it’ll pop open. Scan all of the bottles you take. Scan them onto the patient’s file. That way everything is accounted for. If the patient refuses or you don’t use everything you take, bring it back. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask,” he gave her a big smile.

“Thanks, you may go away now,” she started the process he described. She got some pain medication, antibiotics, and a tetanus shot. “This should be fine for now,” she said to herself and closed up the cabinet. She walked past the nurse with the hurt feelings and back towards the room where Kate was.

“She agreed to help?” The boy snuck up on her.

“Do I need to get you a bell? Do not sneak up on me while I’m carrying syringes unless you want a needle in your neck.”

The look she gave him told him that the threat could very much happen, “sorry ma’am. I’m just glad she agreed to your help. She looked a little rough in there. Did she tell you what happened?”

“Not yet. I do not think she will but I will fix her up and hope to not see her back here. Can you put the order in for X-rays for her forearm, wrist and elbow? I appreciate it.” Peter agreed then took a moment to fill her in on the other patients he had seen so far and asked him to get Cassie up to speed in the pit since she spent most of the day looking over charts. She waited for him to head off before going back towards Kate’s room. She knocked and waited a second before entering with her bin of supplies, “Kate Bishop, you are still here. I half expected to see an empty bed.”

“I won’t lie. The temptation to sneak out was there but I guess my wrist hurting so bad knock some sense into me this once,” Yelena laughed and put the items onto the sliding medical tray. “That’s a lot of stuff for a little wound.”

“Little wound,” Yelena scoffed, “have you not seen yourself?” She pulled the curtain so Kate could see the mirror on the wall. “Beautiful, yes but you are looking a little rough.”

Kate grimaced looking at the bruising on her jaw and under her eye. Her arms were cut up and the wound on her head did look a little bit infected, “not my most glamorous moment. So what are you going to do to me?” She eyed the doctor casually.

Yelena chuckled, shaking her head while she sat down on the little stool, rolling in front of her patient, “clean, disinfect, stitch and dress your wounds. It looks like some of these,” she ran her finger around some of the wounds on her arms, “might need stitches too. I’ll take a closer look after the one on your head. Please lay back.” She waited until Kate laid back then lowered her bed, flat so she could get to work. She lifted her seat as high as it would go and saw Kate laughing. “It’s not recommended to laugh at the person holding the needles, Kate Bishop.”

“The chair thing,” she tried to stifle her laughs. “It was cute,” she finally saw the blonde falter, “doctor.”

“Right,” she rolled her eyes, grabbing the local anesthetic. “This one is going to hurt. This is something to numb the pain. Would you like it?” She saw a look of concern cross the brunette's face, “it won’t knock you out or make your brain fuzzy. It’s just going numb the area of the wound and around it while I irrigate and stitch it closed. The numb feeling will only last an hour tops. Da?”

“Da?”

“Sorry I mean yes? Is this something you would like?” Yelena put her gloves on and placed her mask over her mouth.

Kate consented, “yes. Also, you can speak more Russian to me. I liked it.” She closed her eyes when she felt the needle next to her wound. She hissed and felt it on the other side.

“There. All done with that.” She blew cold air onto the wound to try to counteract any of the stinging. “You won’t even feel the rest of it,” she looked down at her patient, “I promise.”

Kate couldn’t help but look at Yelena’s lips, “don’t make promises you can’t keep, doc.”

What the hell was happening? It was Yelena’s first day. This should definitely not be happening. There were plenty of cute patients in Ohio but it must be something in the New York City water, she couldn’t help but flirt back, “Kate Bishop if I didn’t know any better…” and her sentence was cut short by her intern coming in to announce that the X-ray technicians were ready for her whenever. “Thank you, Dr. Parker.” He didn’t back out of the room, “was there something else you needed?”

“I just wanted to tell Ms. Bishop that I’m glad she’s getting stitched up,” and he made his way out of the room.

“He’s new huh? Most people around here don’t give a fuck if I get anything fixed up,”

“I’ve seen you’ve been here quite a few times,” Yelena started to get her stuff ready. “Is everything okay at home? Feeling safe there?” She saw Kate roll her eyes, “I have to ask these questions. I can not send you home if you are being abused.”

“I live alone with my dog. I don’t think he’s trying to kill me.”

Yelena started to irrigate her wound, “you have a puppy? Please tell me you have a picture.” The conversation turned to their shared love of animals for the duration of the procedure. She stitched and dressed her head and a few of the deeper cuts on her arms. “Some of these wounds look like they were stitched. So you must have had someone here do work on you.”

Kate shook her head, “I stitched those myself. I probably would’ve just super glued this together but I needed to get my wrist set.”

“Okay that is kind of badass,” Yelena pulled out the tetanus shot. “There’s no record of when your last tetanus shot was so I am assuming you do not know. And if you won’t tell me how you got cut I’m going to administer this.” Kate rolled up the sleeve of her hospital gown signaling she wasn’t talking, “okay.” Yelena pushed the plunger, “all done.” She cleaned up her supplies. “Here is an antibiotic. Take it. It is strong. I will write you a prescription but something tells me you won’t fill it. I also have some pain medication here. Please take it, if I have to set your bone, it will not be pleasant.”

Kate reached out and took the medicine, “only because you said please.” She swallowed the four pills without anything to drink.

“Also impressive,” she discarded her gloves and mask, washed her hands and returned with a wheelchair. “It’s protocol. Are you ready to go get xrayed?”

Kate stood up from the hospital bed. The nurses let her keep her basketball shorts on but made her change into a hospital gown. When she stood up she felt a draft, “uh could you maybe close this up for me?” She turned around hoping the doctor would tie the gown closed.

“Sure,” Yelena’s voice sounded cool and collect while she was internally panicking. Kate’s back was toned and had the perfect amount of muscle definition. She was tanned but not too tan. There were scars there too and she couldn’t help but wonder what this girl’s story was. Her fingers brushed her back when she brought the two sides of the gown together. She swore she felt the other girl shiver at the light touch. “There you go,” she finished tying both of the ties closed before stepping back.

Kate spun around smiling, “thank you.” She plopped into the wheelchair making sure to keep her wrist close to her chest, “let’s roll.”

“That was the corniest thing I’ve ever heard, Kate Bishop.” She laughed, wheeling her out of the emergency room and down the hall hoping she was going in the right direction.

“Do you want one of the orderlies to take her down,” she heard Sonya call after her.

“Nope I’m good. Which way?” She turned back and saw Sonya pointing to the left.

“Когда свадьба, Belova?” She called after here.

“Иди к черту,” she yelled back, thankful that nobody knew Russian that she knew of in the hospital. Well Wanda understood a lot so she was glad she wasn’t around.

“You don’t know where we are going?”

Yelena stopped to look at the signs on the wall, “it’s my first day too.”

“You are an intern?”

“Nyet,” Yelena corrected her. “I was last year. Second year residency, first year here. I’m a transfer. And now I’ve officially told you more about myself than I know about you.”

“Where did you transfer from?”

Yelena laughed, pushing her down the hall to the radiology department, “something for something, Kate Bishop.”

“Whatever happened to don’t ask, don’t tell?”

“Trust me. They ask. They ask everything and if you don’t tell them the truth, you are worthless to them,” Yelena grumbled.

She saw Kate looking up at her over her shoulder with a shocked face, “you were military?”

“Maybe,” Yelena shrugged. “But right now, I am here with you at the radiology department and you are getting x rayed.” She wheeled Kate into the room. The technician took over for Yelena who waited inside the room where the prints came up. She could see Kate through the windows and saw her talking. She popped her head out, “what?”

“Your promise? It’s shit. This hurts like fuck.”

“Do your stitches hurt?” Kate shook her head no, groaning in pain as the tech got her arm into place. “Then I did not break my promise. Now be a good girl for the tech,” she went back into the other room and smacked her forehead, “be a good girl?” What the hell was she thinking? Clearly she wasn’t thinking. “Pull yourself together Belova.” The technician was popping into and out of the room taking the pictures while moving Kate’s arm into different positions. Yelena couldn’t lie the girl was very cute and intriguing but she was not going to entertain this. She’d fix her up and send her on her way. “Well fuck,” she did a quick look at the imagines as they popped up. “Definitely looks like a radial fracture. But, what do you think?” She asked the technician who seemed taken aback.

“Me? Doctor?”

“Well yes,” she pointed at the film. “You went to school for this, didn’t you? Looks like a fracture to me.”

“Yes. Definitely a fracture right here. Luckily for her it doesn’t look bad enough for surgery. If it’s splinted with a cast, and pressure is added here and here,” he squeezed Yelena’s wrist in the spots, “it should heal up nicely.” Then he second guessed himself, “but you might want to check it over with an orthopedic surgeon.”

Yelena shook her head, “no you reaffirmed what I was seeing. I’m a surgeon, not plastics or ortho but I set a lot of bones in the field without fancy equipment like this. Thanks,” she looked at his badge, “Mikey.”

Yelena put the films into an envelope and went back into the room, grabbing the wheelchair handles and wheeling Kate back to the room, “so are you going to tell me what you saw? Or do I have to guess?”

“I’ll tell you in the room after I discuss the films with my boss. There is an order to the hospital, Kate Bishop. I’m not looking to get fired my first day.” Kate was quiet for the rest of the ride back to the room which automatically made her feel like she was too harsh with the brunette. She wheeled her in and locked the wheels, “I will be back in a little bit. I need to discuss the film with Dr. Hill and then we can discuss what will happen next.”

“Okay,” was the short reply Kate gave her before she retreated from the room. “Fair warning, Maria hates me,” she mumbled as the doctor left.

Yelena took the films with her spotting both of her intern sitting at the nurses station, “have either of you seen Hill?”

“Are those Kate’s films?”

“Yes.”

Cassie looked excited, “can we come?”

“Fine,” she rolled her eyes, “only if you can tell me where Hill is.”

“What do you need, Dr. Belova?” She heard Maria behind her.

“Films. I want a second look,” she lead Dr. Hill, Peter and Cassie into an open exam room. She placed the films in the backlight holder and turned it on. “I know the problem and my course of treatment. It was ingrained in the field to get a second opinion when there was time.”

“It never hurts to have someone else look. Good call Belova,” she took a closer look. “I heard you got stuck with Bishop today,” Maria folded her arms across her chest, examining the films. “Who did you piss off?”

“She was fine,” Yelena felt slightly annoyed at the comment. Already defensive of the girl she barely knew, “these are her films.”

“I figured,” Maria snapped her fingers at Cassie, “what do you see?”

Cassie moved in closer, “fracture. Right there.” She pointed along the right part of the wrist.

“Correct. And you,” she called Peter closer, “best course of treatment.”

“Cast for six weeks. Follow up with ortho. If needed put another cast on for an additional four weeks.”

“Exactly,” Yelena felt a little proud of her infants. “You two can come help with the cast if you want,” she felt it best to have the buffer so there was no more accidental flirting with her patient.

“You can take one of them,” Maria stopped them.

“Why?” Cassie really needed to work on her filter.

“Are you questioning your attending on your first day here?”

“No, Dr. Hill,” Cassie responded chastised.

“I think she just thought it would be cool to see Dr. Belova complete this task.”

“Oh,” Maria turned around with an unamused look on her face, “I was unaware Dr. Lang had a spokesperson.”

Both of the interns looked properly defeated, “Dr. Hill, are we done here?” Yelena didn’t wait for a response, “the two do you wait for me outside.” Cassie and Peter exited the room. “What’s the problem here? I thought this was a teaching hospital. I was going to teach them the proper way to set the cast so Kate’s wrist could heal properly.”

“Kate? First day and you are already on a first name basis with your patients?”

“Do you have a problem with my patient?” Yelena could sense the tension rolling off of Maria in waves.

“She’s been a problem here for a while now, Belova.”

Something felt off here but she wasn’t going to engage in whatever Maria was doing, “I’m only trying to fix her up and send her on her way, Dr. Hill. So I will pick my favorite intern I suppose and carry on with my day.”

“The attitude is not cute and will not get you very far, Belova.”

“Of course, doctor.” She exited the room and saw her two interns hanging out trying to look in the window.

“Holy fuck that looked intense,” Cassie needed all of the tea and she needed it now.

“Did she fire you?”

“No do not be stupid,” Yelena just wanted to finish her job and call it a day, “look Lang, Bishop was Parker’s patient first so I’m going to take him with me.”

Cassie only nodded obviously disappointed while Yelena saw Peter’s fist pump out of the corner of her eye, “boy go get the ortho supplies and meet me outside the patient’s room.” She waited until he was gone before turning to her other intern. “Cassie, may I call you Cassie?”

“Yes.”

“Cassie, do not get discouraged. I am only choosing Peter because Kate was his patient before she ever came to me. This is in no way a reflection of how I view your abilities as a doctor. I do not know either of you well enough to make those assumptions. Come with me,” she started walking towards the nurses station. She flipped through various charts. “Here,” she handed one to Cassie. “Go take a look at this patient. Probably will need surgery. Figure out what’s wrong and you can scrub in.”

Cassie looked at Yelena before grabbing the chart, “you can absolutely flatter me with your accent and the promise of surgery.” She happily walked to her patient’s room.

Yelena rolled her eyes and made her way back to Kate’s room, “sorry for the delay. Dr. Parker is going to be assisting with this part. I hope that is not a problem.”

“Nope,” Kate looked like she was ready to leave.

“Thank you for your patience,” Yelena went on to describe what she found in Kate’s X-ray as well as the casting process and the follow up that would be needed with an orthopedic surgeon to change her cast in 6 weeks. Kate looked apprehensive but Yelena assured her that this was a much better and less invasive option than surgery. “What color cast would you like?”

“Do you have purple?”

“Purple?” She shifted through all of the colors Peter had brought in with the supplies. “Yes!” She triumphantly held up the rolls of purple material. “Is that your favorite color?”

Kate shrugged, “purple is kind of my thing.”

“Your thing?” Peter asked.

“Branding. It’s important,” she said very seriously.

“What are you advertising?”

Yelena did have to commend Peter on his bedside manner. He seemed to take a general interest in the patient but laughed when Kate asked him what his thing was.

“Blue maybe? Or red? I don’t think I have a thing.”

Yelena smirked, “that is very unfortunate. Now, let’s move along with this so Miss Bishop can get on with the rest of her evening.”

“I’m going to guess green or maybe red is your thing,” Kate was staring at Yelena as she was bent over with the brunette’s wrist resting on her leg as she applied pressure on the part of the cast that needed to be flattened. The smile that the blonde had on her face when she looked up at Kate was enough to knock all of common sense out of her system.

“I don’t know I would guess Dr. Belova’s favorite color is black,” Peter broke whatever silent staring contest was going between the ladies and Yelena’s eyes immediately went back to the wrist in her lap.

“Black is nice. So is red and green.”

“A very diplomatic answer,” Kate laughed. “Are you from around here?” She had turned her attention towards Peter and they swapped stories of living around the city.

“You mean to tell me the two of you grew up blocks away from each other and never ran into each other?” Yelena found that wild. “Everybody knows everybody in Ohio. No secrets there.”

“New York City is massive,” Peter added the next layer of purple of Kate’s cast as Yelena went over to the computer, beginning to complete her discharge and follow up paperwork. “We might have met if we went to the same school.”

“Trust fund brat,” Kate pointed to herself. “Only private schooling for me.”

“Ahh,” Yelena didn’t comment out loud but it made sense to her. “Okay Miss Bishop,” she walked back to see Peter finishing up her cast. “As soon as he finishes up the application, we will get you all set to get out of here. I’m going to go get your discharge papers, follow up information and the prescriptions that I know will probably end up in your car, on your dresser or in the garbage.”

“Bold of you to assume I have a car or that I know how to drive,” Kate laughed.

Peter joined her, “New Yorker through and through.”

“Neither of you drive?”

“I can ride a bike,” Kate thought that somehow that made her seem cooler. When Yelena responded, "like a bicycle?” She realized that it in fact did not make her cool. “I’m sure I can work a motor bike or something. I’ve stolen a boat before. I can captain a ship.”

Yelena smirked, “I’m going to clear out before more confessions come out and I’m forced to call law enforcement.” She shook her head, “I will be back shortly.”

She heard Peter ask about the boat and realized she might have witnessed the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Cassie saw Yelena at the printer and came running over to her, “I think it’s gallstones or a perforated gallbladder. I have the patient going for an ultrasound and a CTscan. I will have a more definitive answer after.”

Yelena looked over Cassie’s notes, “impressive Dr. Lang.”

“So…”

The blonde knew exactly what the girl was waiting for but wanted to make her suffer, “so….”

“Well you said…”

“I know what I said.”

“So do I get to scrub in or not?”

Yelena held her laughter in. She knew the excitement of a prospective first surgery, “I said if you properly diagnose. After the tests come back, then we will see. Keep up with the patient and message me when you get the results. When you get the results we will go in together to talk to the patient about surgery. Start a round of antibiotics and pain medication. The fever needs to come down. We will schedule the surgery for tomorrow after we admit her.”

Cassie nodded, “I can take care of all of that. Whatever needs to be done.”

“Go on,” Yelena dismissed her intern before adding, “oh and Dr. Lang, make sure your name is on the board for surgery tomorrow morning.”

“Yessssss!” Cassie was very happy as she walked away from the blonde. “I can’t wait to tell my dad. I’ll add him to the board.”

“Wait. Who is your father? He works here too?”

“Scott Lang.”

“Is he also a surgeon?” Yelena did not know why she was asking so many questions. It was not her normal style to take an interest in anyone’s personal life. The one piece of advice Wanda offered her before starting was to keep her personal life to herself because people at the hospital spread gossip worse than at a highschool. This was not something Yelena was used to. When she was in the army, everyone was like a family. The whole concept of every surgeon for themselves did not sit right with her. Maybe she could turn things around starting with her interns.

“Nope,” she clutched the chart to her chest. “He’s an anesthesiologist. I can see if he’s available for our surgery.”

Yelena chuckled at her excitement, “sounds good. Hopefully the two of you have good taste in music. I’d hate to have to kick the two of you out of my OR.”

“You will be lead surgeon?” Not typically the practice. Usually lead surgeons were third years and up but with her experience in the military as an emergency combat medic, she was further along in the program than her current level allowed. Wanda worked it out with the board of directors that Yelena would be given more freedom at her level than the other second years.

“Yes,” before Cassie could squeal again she tried to move her along. “Go check in on those tests and start her medications. Text me when you have the results.” She watched Cassie scurry down the hallway back to her patient before gathering the rest of Kate’s papers and signing the prescriptions.

Peter had just been walking out of Kate’s room when Yelena return, “she’s pretty cool.”

“Trying to pick up patients? Seems a little crass doesn’t it, Parker?”

“Oh no,” he looked nervous. “I would never ever try to date a patient, Dr. Belova. Talk about a code of conduct violation.”

“At least you have some smarts,” Yelena enjoyed his stammering.

“Plus she’s definitely not straight.”

“Oh?” Yelena tried not to sound intrigued. “And how do you know that?”

“Because she said she likes women. Really a talker once she gets going,” he didn’t realize the implication of that sentence. Yelena chalked it up to him being young and inexperienced. “From what people have been saying, we will be seeing her around. Might as well be sociable.”

“Right. Well good work there. There’s a pile of charts over there. See if there is anyone you can help with before your shift is over.” He left her just outside of Kate’s room. It didn’t matter if the girl was gay. She wasn’t interested in Kate or any woman for that matter. Dating was a thing of the past for Yelena and she had all intentions of sticking to that mindset. “Good news, Kate Bishop,” she walked into the room and saw Kate had changed back into a purple muscle shirt that really accentuated her arm muscles. She pretended not to notice and continued, “your discharge papers. Sit.” She pointed to the edge of the patient bed and stood in front of her when she sat.

“Is your phone number on any of those?”

“No.”

“Then it’s not really good news.”

“Конечно, она флиртует,” she handed Kate the discharge papers and a pen. “I need you to sign on the lines marked. There are instructions on how to take care of a broken wrist but something tells me this isn’t your first broken bone.” Kate laughed. “There is also a list of recommended orthos because you will need to contact one of them for additional xrays and to get your cast off. 6 weeks. Don’t forget.”

“6 weeks,” Kate nodded, trying to communicate that she definitely wouldn’t forget. She pointed to her brain, “got it. Memory like an elephant.”

She couldn’t help the small smile that was forming on her lips, “6 weeks. Put it in your phone. And here are your prescriptions. At least lie to me and pretend you will get them filled.”

Kate smirked, “I will absolutely without a doubt get these filled as soon as I leave here, doctor.”

“Кокетливая и умная задница. Мой тип женщины,” Yelena held her hand out. The moment she felt Kate’s hand grasp her own, she felt a shock and her hand felt very warm. “It was a pleasure working on you today. Thank you for trusting me.”

“Just one time,” Kate smiled at her.

“Just one time,” Yelena nodded, still slowly shaking Kate’s hand. “Now, if anything changes, pain, swelling, blackouts, vomiting, anything like that you come back here. Otherwise, you will see the ortho in six weeks and please do not take this the wrong way, but I hope to not see you back here anytime soon.”

“How else am I going to see you? You didn’t provide me with your phone number,” Kate smirked when Yelena dropped her food hand. “Kidding. Maybe.”

“Take care of yourself and I would tell you to stay safe but I have a feeling you will not listen to me,”

Yelena turned to leave the room when the brunette called after her, “Dr. Belova, I’ll be seeing you soon.” The blonde shook her head and continued out of the room and down the other hallway, “well I’m fucked.”

Chapter Text

Yelena’s first week at the hospital went as smoothly as she could’ve hoped for. She really enjoyed the interns she was given by luck of the draw. She found herself spending more of her downtime with Jen and Sonya. They were assholes but that’s what Yelena liked about them. Having friends wasn’t something she had since leaving the army. This new assignment was the complete opposite of her time at the hospital in Ohio. Yelena had opted to go through her first year without talking to too many people. She wanted to work on her own but now with the new doctors, it seemed like team work wouldn’t be a bad option. She had requested that Cassie’s dad always be available for her surgeries for the simple fact that he was the least annoying anesthesiologist she'd ever met. She had worked ten days in a row and she was ready for her day off before her three days of 24 hour on call started. “We are going out tonight,” Natasha called from the otherside of her bedroom door.

“I thought you were working nights.” Yelena didn’t want to go out. She wanted to cook a nice dinner, have a glass or two of wine and curl up with a good book before getting a solid 14 hours of much needed sleep.

“That was last week,” Natasha was still knocking.

“Cut it out. You don’t have to knock. We are talking,” Yelena was a little more than annoyed. “Just come in and talk to me like a regular human being.”

“Wow,” Natasha walked in with a smirk, “you are grumpy today.”

“I wasn’t really planning on going out tonight.”

The red head looked Yelena up and down. She was lounging on her bed wearing a pair of leggings and a tank top. It looked like she had come back from the gym and just collapsed on her bed, “I can see that. Doesn’t mean it’s not happening.”

“We have vastly different ideas about what a day off looks like.”

“You go to the gym everyday. How exactly is that celebrating a day off?”

Yelena closed her book, placing it beside her quickly realizing her sister wasn’t leaving, “is it a crime that I want to keep my body in shape?”

“I go to them everyday too,” Natasha rolled her eyes, sitting in the fluffy green armchair taking up residence in the corner of her room. “I’m just saying, that you’ve been here over three weeks now and we haven’t gotten a chance to hang out.”

“I see your affinity for guilt trips has not diminished since I’ve been overseas,” Yelena rolled her eyes. “Can’t we just stay in, watch some tv and order a pizza?”

“We can literally do that any night of the week when we are both home. Wanda is at work tonight and I want to go out with my baby sister. Maybe find you a date. Drink myself stupid. Then wake up for work in the morning and swear that I’ll never do it again.”

“This is your idea of a good time?” Yelena absolutely did not want to go out with Natasha just to be set up on a bad date. She never had a problem finding her own dates. She just wasn’t entertaining that particular idea right now. “What would you do when Wanda was at work before I came?”

“Go to the bar and play with strangers. Or get some of my work buddies to come over. I can not picture you being okay with me inviting the guys over.”

“It is not my house, Natasha. Why would I have any say in what you do?” She checked her phone. It was just after six. It was still early enough that if she went to the bar with her then she could be back in bed by nine at the latest. She really did enjoy dancing. Maybe letting loose for one night wouldn’t be so bad.

“I hear you thinking all the way over here. Are you coming with me willingly or do I have to carry your ass there?”

Yelena’s mouth dropped open, “you wouldn’t dare.”

“You are a very petite lady. Thick and muscular but also you are what 4 foot 10? I can easily hoist you over my shoulder.”

“You will not hoist me anywhere,” Yelena wasn’t amused. “I will go willingly.” She saw her sister’s face light up, “but.”

“Of course there’s a but,” Natasha sunk down in the chair pouting.

“If you pout I won’t go at all…”

“I am not pouting,” she crossed her arms. “What is your condition?”

“I want to be back home and in bed reading my book by nine. You can stay longer but i'll be leaving before 9.”

“I can work with that,” the smirk on Natasha’s face told Yelena that she had disregarded everything she just said. “Get ready, Grandma. We will leave at 7. Wear something sexy.”

“Ha! So funny.”

Natasha stopped in front of Yelena’s closet, “hmm I see a lot of fur and grandma sweaters.”

“Get out of the closet.”

“Already did that. I’m just making sure you have something that’s sexy.” She pulled out a little dark green cocktail dress. “Okay. You do. Maybe wear this one. I have something similar in red.”

“So we are going to look like the Christmas sisters?”

Natasha laughed, “funny. I like it. It could be our thing.” She tossed the dress on the bed and headed towards the door, “and for the love of all gods take a shower. I love you but you stink.”

“Fuck all the way off,” Yelena flicked her off as she was leaving. She gave her book a longing look and placed it on her nightstand. A few drinks and some dancing wouldn’t be the worst way to spend the evening even if she had to face the relentless teasing from her sister. She sat up, pulling the dress over to herself. It was a very nice dress that she hadn’t gotten a chance to wear yet. Yelena sighed, resigning herself to the evening ahead of her. “I do not stink,” she slightly bent her head and sniffed, “okay I admit that was a lie.”

45 minutes later a freshly clean and dressed up version of Yelena emerged from her side of the apartment. She was wearing that green dress which had an indecent slit up her thigh, a pair of gold heels, a few gold necklaces and rings on every finger. She wore her hair down and her makeup dark. “You don’t have to have multiple rings on every finger to alert the women you are gay.”

“You know Natasha,” Yelena was putting her phone and wallet in a small purse, “contrary to what you believe I don’t actually have to accompany you tonight.”

Natasha frowned, walking over to her sister before holding her phone out and snapping a picture to send to her girlfriend, “but look how cute we are.”

Yelena looked at the picture and sent it to herself, “be a shame to waste this effort sitting around the house.”

“That’s the spirit,” she grabbed Yelena's bag and threw her stuff into it. “What?” She noticed the look on her sister's face, “we both don’t need to bring a bag.”

“You are a leech.”

“But you love me,” Natasha smiled, opening the door for them.

When they got to the street Yelena was surprised when she turned towards the opposite direction of the hospital, “where are we going? Subway? Taxi? Uber? ”

“Walking…It’s only a few blocks away. On the main road near the hospital.”

“Oh great. So the chances of me running into a coworker on my day off…”

Natasha grinned, “probably high. This is where I met Wanda.”

“Fucking hell,” she rolled her eyes. “Now that I have the chance to ask, you need to tell me what happened with Hill.”

“I need way more tequila for that,” she pulled Yelena into an establishment called The Toolbox Bar.

“Natasha, I hate to burst your balloon but this is a place for gay men.”

“My bubble has not been busted. Tonight is ladies night. So baby sis, like I said, the rings weren’t necessary. Plus it’s 2023. There are gays, straights… the works. Nobody cares about that when there’s tequila,” she pulled Yelena towards the bar and ordered herself a shot and looked at her sister.

“Vodka, no ice. Two please.”

Natasha looked at Yelena, “well damn. I guess we are getting drunk tonight.”

Yelena downed both of her drinks after thanking the bartender. The liquid pleasantly warmed her insides and she felt better about coming out, “we dance?”

“Fuck it,” Natasha threw back her own shot. “We dance.” The two of them dancing together was getting the attention of many of the ladies around the club. “Girl over there is staring at you. My 3.”

“I’m not interested in any girls,” Yelena grabbed a waitress when she walked by and ordered a few more shots for her and Natasha. Her sister was smirking, “if you mention my rings again I will punch you so hard in the face they leave indents.” Instead of saying anything the red head waved her fingers at the girl who was staring at Yelena. She quickly grabbed her hand, “what are you doing? You have a girlfriend.” The waitress came back with their shots which Yelena accepted gratefully. She leaned in and whispered, “put it on my tab, love.”

Natasha drank hers and laughed, “okay you won’t look at the girl but you’ll call the waitress love?”

“Habit. I was not flirting with her. Fine, where is this girl?” Yelena turned her back towards her sister and her eyes widened before turning back around, “that’s my intern. What is she doing here?”

Natasha looked over Yelena’s shoulder and shrugged one shoulder, never ceasing her own dance moves. “From where I’m standing it looks like she’s going to shoot her shot with that brunette over there.”

“I thought you said she was looking at me? Now there’s a brunette?”

“Are you jealous?” Natasha laughed.

“Absolutely not. I’m not interested in my colleague. She must have been just as thrown off to see me here. Who is the brunette? Is she cuter than me?” Yelena smirked, turning Natasha so she could see the girl in question. Her face dropped and she stopped dancing, pulling Natasha with her towards the other bar in the back of the club away from the dance floor. “You didn’t say children were permitted in here.”

“If she’s your intern then she’s not a child. She has to be at least 23,” Natasha rolled her eyes heading to the bar. “Two shots vodka, two shots tequila,” she gave them her tab info from the other side of the club. They downed the shots without flinching and continued staring across the bar. They were both up to seven shots consumed and Yelena still seemed perfectly sober to her sister. Natasha was feeling a little buzz but nothing crazy. “Can we at least go back to dancing?”

“I wasn’t talking about Cass. I was talking about the brunette.”

Natasha shook her head, “I don’t think they let children in here. Are you sure you aren’t jealous?”

“Me? Jealous? Please.” Yelena took a deep breath in, “I have nothing to be jealous of. I thought I might see a colleague. I was not expecting to see a patient.”

“The brunette? Who is she?”

“The one I was texting you about,” Yelena’s eyes didn’t move from the two women across the bar. “My second patient with the track record.”

“Oh the junkie? I’ve heard all about her from Maria. I still can’t believe she got involved with her,” Natasha started to make her way back to the dance floor until Yelena caught her arm.

“What do you mean? Got involved with her? How?”

Natasha rolled her eyes, “did we or did we not come out here for a good time? Discussing my ex and your patient that you totally aren’t jealous of or over is not my idea of fun. Why don’t you go over there and ask her why she is here.”

“And why would I do that?”

Natasha groaned, “because something is obviously bothering you. You always were too stubborn for your own good.”

“Pot calling the kettle black, Natasha,” Yelena was starting to get angry.

“Wait a minute,” she was looking more intently at the two in the corner, “didn’t you say you put a cast on that girl?”

“Da.”

The red head held back her laughter, “well where is it?”

Yelena looked over and saw Kate standing there with a drink in her one hand and the hand that should’ve been casted was folded in across her stomach as she swayed her hips to the music. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” The doctor in her was pissed now. “How can someone be so stupid not to follow simple advice. Six weeks. She put it in her calendar. I watched her. Fucking idiot.”

“Why do you think none of the doctors want to take care of her? Well everyone besides your intern over there. Seriously how can one person not realize they are making obvious fuck me eyes at someone,” she laughed. Okay, the alcohol was definitely starting to settle in, “why aren’t you laughing?”

“Shh,” Yelena’s face remained neutral, “I’m thinking.”

Natasha shrugged, looking around the club, “hey there’s one of my buddies from work. Want to come say hi with me?” Yelena shook her head no, “okay we can just stay here and stare at those two girls.”

“Go say hi,” Yelena brushed her off. “I’m going to go to the restroom.”

“If you are just using this as an excuse to sneak out and go home,” Natasha gave her a knowing look, “be safe and text me when you get home.”

Yelena kissed her sister on the cheek, “have fun.” She watched the red head walk across the club, hugging the woman she had pointed out from her work. She ordered one more double shot and threw it back before closing her tab, paying for her and Natasha’s drinks. The bartender looked at the bill and then at the tiny woman in front of her, “I’m Russian. This was like a drinks appetizer. Don’t let that red head over there drink anymore. She’s past her limit.” The bartender nodded and walked away, taking the empty shot glasses with her. She saw Cassie put her drink down to answer her phone. It looked like she had to go. Being able to read lips, Cassie had told Kate that it was work and she was needed at the hospital. Of course her intern was on call. She better not have been drunk. That’ll look bad for her but that wasn’t her main concern. Cassie looked fine as she paid her bill and walked out of the club telling Kate she would text her in the morning and to get home safe. She saw Kate order another drink from the bar. It looked like a margarita and she smirked, “why do all the cute ones like tequila?” She shook her head clear and stalked over towards her prey, “Kate Bishop, what a surprise to see you again so soon.”

Kate spun around quickly, a little bit of her drink sloshing over the rim of her glass, “doctor, hi.” She quickly hid her arm behind her back. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“How could you?” Yelena let her eyes travel up and down Kate’s body. The younger woman was wearing a pair of tight dark washed jeans, a black tube top and a purple blazer with heels completing the look. She couldn’t deny that Kate looked good but she was simply here to ask her about the cast. She didn’t know why, “so your girlfriend had to leave,” came out of her mouth next. The brunette just stared at her in confusion, “Dr. Lang, my other intern. She had to go?”

Kate was glad the club was dark so Yelena couldn’t see the blush on her cheeks from the obvious display of jealousy going on in front of her. “Cassie isn’t… we aren’t… she’s not my girlfriend.” Yelena didn’t say anything, just staring while waiting for her to continue. “She got called into work. Can we maybe?” Kate looked around and pulled Yelena over towards the bathroom away from the speakers. “Now we don’t have to shout. I met her here last week. I recognized her from the hospital so I said hi and we have been texting since.”

“She likes you.”

Kate wasn’t sure what happened to her brain when she was in the presence of this woman but words and all intellectual thought flew out of her mind. “Does she?” The blonde rolled her eyes, “okay I guess she does.”

Yelena hummed her response, not really giving Kate much to go off of, “shame for her. You should let her down easy.”

“You are just assuming I’m not interested in her that way?”

“I am very good at reading body language, Kate Bishop. The way she was looking at you was not reciprocated. Do not cause me problems at work,” she said, looking at her with an intense gaze.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, doctor.” Kate took a sip from the little straw in her drink, grinning at the older woman.

“I did not realize it had been six weeks already,” Yelena stared at the naked hand that was holding her straw.

“Yeah about that…” Kate was running through the list of her excuses she had indexed away for all occasions but seemed to find it almost impossible to lie to this woman. “I felt it was healed enough.”

“So you thought,” she started with an American accent, “it’s been 10 days, close enough to six weeks. Fuck it,” her regular accent returned, “and just removed it yourself?”

“The accent thing,” Kate smirked, “so hot.”

“Do not change the subject. How did you remove it?”

“Would you believe me if I said I have one of those little hand saws at home?”

Yelena didn’t flinch, “100%.”

“I cut it off. I can’t work with my hand cast. It kept getting in the way. Very inconvenient.”

“Your chart said you are a student,” Yelena pointed out. “How would a cast have gotten in the way of that? Unless you have another job that you did not disclose.”

“I’ve had enough broken bones to know when I’m healed, all right,” Kate sounded a little annoyed, “let’s leave it at that.”

“So it’s all healed up? Good as new?”

Kate didn’t miss a beat, “yup.”

Yelena looked around and a smirk crossed her face, “okay then. A bet? You seem like a woman who likes to take risks.”

Kate nodded, taking another sip, “what’s the bet?”

Yelena pointed over her shoulder, “a game of darts. This is your dominant hand that was casted right?” Kate nodded. “You play with that hand. If it is as you say, healed enough, you should beat me no problem.”

Kate was never one to back down from a bet, a challenge or a dare. Her wrist was definitely still tender but her cocky nature wouldn’t let her say no, “fine. I have time to beat you at darts.”

“When I win,” Yelena continued ignoring the taunt, “I get to recast you and you have to keep the cast on for the mandatory time.”

She thought she was so smart. Kate wasn’t going to back down, “and when I win, I get your phone number.”

The smirk that graced the blonde’s lip would’ve been considered sinful in any other scenario, “bet,” she held out her hand for Kate to shake. Her grin grew even larger when the brunette slightly winced at the pressure on her wrist. “I’ll get the darts from the bar. Do you need another drink?”

“Trying to get me tipsy so you have the advantage?”

“Oh Kate Bishop, I do not need to impair you to get what I want. I was just being nice. Drink or no?”

“How many drinks have you had?”

“9 shots of vodka,” Yelena held her hand out and it was perfectly still.

“I’ll pass on the drink,” and watched Yelena nod before making her way to the bar. “Fuck me if that wasn’t the sexiest thing I’ve ever witnessed. This woman could run me over with her car, reverse it on me and I’d worship the ground she walked on.”

“What was that?”

“Are you ready to lose?” Kate was thrown off by Yelena’s laughter, it was like a song of the sirens.

“So funny, Kate Bishop. Come, we shoot darts. I win and we go on with our lives.”

Kate found herself enthralled by the way Yelena moved while playing. She expected her to be good since she was a surgeon but the grace she threw with was so sexy, “are you swindling me or something.”

That damn smirk would kill Kate, “I do not make bets that I can’t win. You should know this about me.”

“What else should I know about you?” Kate asked when she picked up her next dart. Her wrist was burning halfway through the game but her pride wouldn’t let her quit. She was throwing just as well as the blonde. Or at least she was until Yelena was standing closer and closer to her as the game went on.

“Something for something, Kate Bishop.”

“I like the way my name sounds with your accent,” did she say that out loud? Yelena chuckled, yes she definitely said that out loud. “If I lose this game it’ll be a shot to the ego. I am the star of my college’s archery team. I’ve won so many awards for my archery over the years. They call me hawkeye.”

“But I’m a skilled surgeon. I’m very good with my hands,” she brushed past Kate stepping in to take her final shot. She let the dart fly and as if by magnetic force, it hit the bullseye. “Perfect game. Best you can do it tie.”

“I told you about the archery team, something for something.”

“That red head over there,” she angled Kate slightly so she could see across the bar. The brunette’s breath hitched when the older woman didn’t take her hand from her hip. Yelena whispered just under her ear, “that’s my sister. She’s a pain in my ass.”

Kate nodded, “cool. Cool.” Her hip felt incredibly warm where Yelena’s hand was resting. She thought she might explode from the contact. “Sisters are cool.”

She squeezed her hip before taking a step back, “the coolest. Go on Kate Bishop, shoot your shot.”

Kate let out a nervous laugh, “I don’t think that means what you think it means.”

“Sure it does,” she pointed at her hand then the board, “throw your dart.”

Kate closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “shoot your shot,” she breathed out. Yelena was in her line of sight and saw her cross her legs, her dress hitching on her thigh. Kate’s brain exploded and when the dart flew, it landed just shy of the bullseyes. She had lost. She never lost. “That was unfair.”

“What are you talking about?” Yelena stood, trying to sound as innocent as possible. She casually walked over to the dart board examining where Kate’s had landed, “huh… would you look at that,” she pointed to the bullseyes. “Looks like I won. Sorry about the hit to your ego, little hawk.”

Kate tried not to blush at the pet name, “I still think you cheated.”

“How did you come to that conclusion?”

Kate crossed her arms, looking Yelena up and down, “that dress should be illegal.”

She only smirked, “Natasha picked it out. I’ll let her know you approve of her taste.”

Kate felt the smallest tinge of jealousy before realizing, “the red head?” Yelena nodded, “did anyone tell you that the two of you are dressed like Christmas?”

“That’s what I said!” Yelena cleaned up the darts before leading Kate back to the bar to drop them off. “Celebratory drink? I should really make it an even ten shots.”

Kate looked at her with a look somewhere between confusion and pride, “we will have two shots of vodka,” she told the bartender to put it in her own tab. “Congrats,” she held the shot out for Yelena waiting for her to clink their glasses together.

Much to her delights, Kate didn’t make a face when she threw the drink back, “thank you. Ten. It’s my lucky number.”

“How are you not drunk?”

Yelena shrugged, “Russian. Vodka is like water to me. Very delicious and spicy water. Now, if we were having whiskey, bourbon, or anything else… I could possibly be a little tipsy. But just slightly. I have a very high tolerance.”

“I can see that.”

“So should we talk about my prize?” She took Kate’s fractured wrist gently into her warm hand.

Apparently that was enough for all rational thinking to leave Kate’s brain when she suggested, “dance with me?”

“I do not think that is a wise idea,” Yelena tried to get her conversation back around to the girl’s wrist. “You are my patient. We should be talking about this,” she ran her fingers across the damaged wrist.

“Just because you are a doctor and I was your patient doesn’t mean we can’t be friends?” She saw the blonde’s eyebrow raise. “Friendly? Acquaintances? People who nod at each other when they pass on the street? What’s the harm in one little dance?” Yelena could think of a bunch of reasons not to indulge Kate in her request but failed to voice any of them when both of her hands wrapped around hers and pulled her onto the dance floor, “please?”

It was at that moment Yelena realized she was royally fucked. There was no way she’d ever be able to deny her any wish, “just one.” She circled one of her arms around Kate’s neck and started swaying her hips in time with the music.

The way Yelena moved her body was enough to melt the brunette but she wasn’t ready for the look of desire burning into her through dark green eyes. Maybe she was feeling the same. There was only one way to find out. Kate let her hand rest on Yelena’s hip, bringing their bodies closer together, moving as one with the beats flowing through the club. Kate bent slightly so her lips rested just next to Yelena’s ear, “you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen.”

There was something about this girl that Yelena was inherently attracted to and she found herself chuckling at the shameless flirting. “Do you say that to all of your doctors, Kate Bishop?” She pulled back slightly so she could look at her.

“Just you,” she turned Yelena around so her back was against her front, never stopping their slow grind to the music. Kate wrapped her good arm around her waist, helping to guide their movements. Yelena would be lying if she said she wasn’t surprised by the smooth dancing from the other woman. With an accident record like she had, the dancing was a nice surprise. The blonde pressed her ass into Kate’s front for probably a little longer than was appropriate when she wrapped her arm around the back of Kate’s head, scratching her scalp. She swore she heard the brunette choke back a moan.

When the song ended Yelena pulled away first, “you are very good at that.” She saw Kate was still holding onto her waist. She grabbed the girl's good hand, spinning out of her reach. “Dancing. That was fun,” she shouted when the next song started up. Kate attempted to bring her body back to her when Yelena shook her head, “only one.” She looked to see her sister was still over with her friend from work and there seemed to be more people around her now. She looked back to Kate and held up a finger asking her to wait a moment.

Kate watched as the blonde walked over to the woman she pointed out as her sister and started talking to her. She took the opportunity to close out her tab and pay the bill when Yelena made her way back over to her with a phone, wallet and keys in hand, “I told Natasha I was leaving.”

“Cool,” Kate nodded, preparing to say her goodbye to Yelena for the evening with her fake promise of getting her cast replaced because of the bet. The next words out of her mouth could’ve knocked Kate over with a feather.

Yelena started to walk away from her but turned and looked over her shoulder, “well are you coming?”

Chapter Text

When the song ended Yelena pulled away first, “you are very good at that.” She saw Kate was still holding onto her waist. She grabbed the girl's good hand, spinning out of her reach. “Dancing. That was fun,” she shouted when the next song started up. Kate attempted to bring her body back to her when Yelena shook her head, “only one.” She looked to see her sister was still over with her friend from work and there seemed to be more people around her now. She looked back to Kate and held up a finger asking her to wait a moment. Yelena had absolutely no idea why she was about to do what she was about to do but her common sense seemed to have left her. She walked straight over to her sister’s group of friends and internally rolled her eyes when she saw the smirk on Natasha’s face, “can I see the bag?” 

“Well didn’t the two of you look cozy out there on the dance floor?” 

“I do not have time for this,” she held her hand out trying not to encourage her sister. 

“She’s totally into you,” Natasha reached down for the bag but did not give it to her sister. “She was practically drooling during that dance.” 

“The drinks have gone to your head. Kate Bishop needs her wrist set.” 

Natasha laughed, “is that what the kids are calling it these days? Wanda and I just call it fuc….” 

“The bag. Now,” she did not want to hear the end of that sentence. One of Natasha’s friends handed her the small bag. Yelena removed her keys, wallet and phone before handing the bag back to the friend. “Your keys are in there.” She turned to address the friend, “make sure she gets home okay?” 

“I’ve already called Wanda. She wants her to be dropped at the hospital so she can give her a banana bag before they head home.” 

“Wanda always was the brains in that relationship. Behave yourself,” she kissed Natasha on the cheek. “I’m heading out.” 

“To set her wrist,” Natasha used air quotes. “Please don’t have sex in the living room. Wanda and I like to fuck on that couch.” 

Yelena flicked her off, “Я тебя ненавижу.” 

Natasha laughed, “Я тоже тебя люблю, сестренка. Have fun.” 

The blonde began the short walk back over to Kate. It looked like she was paying her tab at the bar. She told herself to say goodnight to the girl and let it go. Still, she had an obligation as her doctor to see this through or so that was the lie she was perfectly comfortable telling herself. “I told Natasha I was leaving.” Yelena immediately saw the dejected look appear on her dance partner’s face but chose to walk away. “Well,” she looked back over her shoulder, smirking, “are you coming?” 

The brunette stood shocked for a moment before picking up her pace, “yep. Totally ready to leave this place.” The walk was pretty quiet aside from the late night city traffic, taxis honking their horns and the sounds of their shoes hitting the pavement. She felt almost scared to talk in case Yelena changed her mind and ditched her on the middle of the sidewalk. 

“I’m right over there,” Yelena pointed to their apartment complex when it came into view. 

“Cool,” Kate felt like a dork with her response. “I mean, it’s close to the hospital so that’s convenient.” 

“I think that was one of the things that attracted Wanda here in the first place.”

When they entered the elevator, Kate was beginning to settle her nerves, “wait a minute… Wanda that sounds familiar.” 

“She’s the chief of surgery at the hospital. I’m pretty sure you’ve seen her at least once for something in the ER. She’s my sister’s girlfriend.” 

“Hold on,” Kate followed Yelena to the front door of her apartment. “Natasha? As in Maria Hill’s ex Natasha?” 

“The one and only,” Yelena opened the door, leading Kate inside. Whatever the backstory was between all of the women in her life, she decided right in that moment to brush it aside and live in the present. Currently, a very attractive girl followed her home and she was on a mission to collect her winnings. “Home sweet home. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.” 

What the fuck was actually happening? She slowly walked through the living room of a very nice New York City apartment, “their rent must be astronomical,” she walked over to the floor to ceiling sliding doors that led out to a balcony. They were up close to the top floor so the view was incredible. 

“The views are better back home,” Yelena noticed the brunette staring at the sky. 

“And where is home?” She turned to see Yelena had changed into a tank top and sleep shorts. If she thought the dress and scrubs were  sexy looks, this put both of those to shame. This tiny Russian was a goddess and she wanted nothing more than to drop to her knees and worship at her new altar. 

Yelena’s smirk told Kate that she knew what she was thinking but didn’t press further, “Ohio. Maybe Russia but I do not count those years as home.”

“I get that. Painful memories,” she looked back out the window. “Still the city skyline is beautiful.” 

Yelena came over closer, a small laugh escaping her nose, “yes. But it is no open field filled with forest stars.” 

Kate looked over at her and saw a small genuine smile on the other woman’s face, “forest stars?”

“You have them here. I went walking in Central Park my first night here when I could not rest. My brain was going too fast so I walk. The forest stars, there aren’t many but they have made it to the big city.”

“Do you mean lightning bugs?” 

“Da,” Yelena smiled that genuine smile Kate was already relying too much on seeing, “that is what most people call them. Natasha and I called them forest stars when we were little. It stuck. My mama is a scientist and told us all about how their bodies work. I will not bore you with the details.” 

Kate turned to face the shorter woman, “nothing you talk about could ever bore me.” She noticed the pink tinge on the tips of Yelena’s ears and considered that a small victory. “So,” she left the comfort of the window and walked back into the apartment, “what did you want to do?” 

To fuck you on every available surface, she quickly pushed the thought aside. “I won the bet, Kate Bishop. I brought you here to collect my winnings.” 

“You are going to cast my wrist right now?” Of all the suggestions she thought Yelena would mention that was possibly the last on the list but she wasn’t at all surprised at this point. “How? Where? And can I have a drink first?” 

“Yes,” she walked to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of vodka and two tumblers. Pouring each of them a generous portion, “straight vodka or do you need it mixed?” Kate tried to hide her little grimace but Yelena caught it and laughed, “okay.” She opened the fridge, “we have orange juice, some type of Hawaiian Punch. It’s blue. That Natasha’s but I don’t think she will mind. Sprite? I think that’s why this is supposed to be.” She pulled out a generic bottle of clear soda. “Anything of interest?” 

“The blue one,” Kate shrugged. “Sounds good.” 

“Here is your very blue drink,” she brought it over to Kate after putting the remainder of the punch back in the fridge. “Your tongue will be stained for the rest of the weekend.” 

“It’s a calculated risk,” she took a sip of the concoction and made a happy noise that caught Yelena’s attention. “So good.” 

“Hmm,” Yelena cleared her throat, taking a sip from her own glass. Those happy noises would do her in but she was determined to keep things friendly between the two of them. “Looks like windex.” 

That made Kate laugh out loud, “good thing I’m with a doctor then. Now how do you plan on casting me at home.” 

“Kate Bishop, you wound me,” she started walking through the apartment assuming that the girl would follow. Looking over her shoulder, she assumed right, “do you honestly think an ex-combat medic and doctor wouldn’t have supplies at the ready?” She opened the bathroom closet to a variable wonderland of medical equipment. “I can not say for certain that I have purple but we can see.” 

“If I didn’t meet you at a hospital, I would think this is a very strange kink you have,” Kate took another sip. “Do you have a kink for body casts? You seem to be really keen on fixing me up, doc.” 

“Keen?” Yelena chuckled. “I care for my patients.” 

“Do you invite all of your patients back to your apartment to fix them up in private?” 

Yelena shook her head, “you are just special, I guess.” 

Now it was Kate’s turn to blush. She wasn’t sure if the flirting was genuine or if Yelena was just fucking with her in order to get this damn cast on her wrist, “and what’s to stop me from cutting it off again?” 

The pout on Yelena’s face was enough to convince the younger woman that she would jump off a cliff if she asked her to. She never wanted to see that sad face again, “I guess there is nothing stopping you. I just have to hope that you will keep it on this time.” 

Kate was biting the inside of her cheek. She really wanted to make the other woman happy but there was no way she could commit to six weeks in a cast, “it’s just… I know me and I know what I do and I wasn’t lying about the archery. Have you ever tried to shoot a bow with a cast? Impossible. It’s so hard. Took me triple the time to line up my shot.” 

Yelena’s smile started to come back at her rambling, “yes, your mysterious work. Are you ever going to explain that to me?” 

“Maybe. If we move past the people who nod at each other on the street status.”

“A smart ass,” Yelena smiled, “I like that in a woman.” Why did she just say that? This was not her best attempt at being cool. She did not want to lead this girl on more than she already had. “I have an alternative to the cast.” 

“You bring me in here to show me your closet of kink while you have an alternative in the wings? Why didn’t we start with this at the hospital?” 

“As a doctor I assume that my patients are going to follow my instructions. Besides, you agreed to the cast.” 

Kate shook her head in disbelief, “so where is this alternative?” 

“Come on,” Yelena closed the closet and made her way further into the apartment, opening a door leading to a very tidy bedroom. “I have it in here.” She pointed to her bed, “take a seat.” 

Kate nodded, “on your bed?” 

“Da. Do not be weird about it, Kate Bishop.” 

Kate looked offended, “I am not being weird. When a hot woman invites me onto her bed, consent is necessary.” She sat against the headboard, kicking her shoes off and getting comfy. “This blue drink is delicious. Will there be refills?” She had watched the blonde disappear into her own closet but she heard her mumble something in Russian. Whatever she said sounded sexy as hell even if it was probably an insult. She shrugged out of her blazer, getting even more comfortable. “Fix me up, doc. I’m your willing patient.” 

“Ha! So funny, hilarious,” she walked out of the closet, letting her eyes roam the newly exposed skin in front of her. Kate was very muscular and Yelena really enjoyed that about her. She must work out as much as I do. Stop staring at her, you creep, she scolded herself. “Okay I have two things here for you and I expect your full attention and cooperation.” 

Kate threw back the rest of her drink watching the blonde stare at her, “you got it, doc. I’m all ears.” 

“Такая умная задница,” Yelena rolled her eyes while making her way over to the bed. She sat next to Kate with her legs hanging off the side. “May I touch your wrist?” 

“This is the part where I would say, you can touch whatever you want to baby, but I’m being good. So yes,” she held out her wrist with the most innocent expression she could muster. 

Yelena blinked at her a few times, willing the blush to subside, “Да, она меня убьет.” There was a familiar throb between her legs that she hadn’t felt in quite some time. She didn’t have time to think about that now so she gingerly took the girl’s arm and rested it across her bare legs. She carefully felt her bones to make sure they weren’t getting worse. “I’m pretty sure it’s not worst but you haven’t done yourself any favors.” 

“Not the first time I’ve been told that.” 

“Right,” Yelena had finished off her drink in the closet and wished she had brought the bottle with her. “This is an air cast. It works almost the same as a plaster cast more so like a splint. It’s also not as potent as the plaster cast. It’ll help set your bones and keep them in place though. The part I think you’ll like the best…” 

“All ears.” 

“Is that it’s removable so you don’t have to wear it 24/7. I would recommend only taking it off for your mysterious work, your archery, and in the bath or shower.” 

“Do I wear it to bed?” 

“I would for the first few weeks. I think with this method it’ll take closer to two months to heal. So since I know you probably won’t follow my instructions completely, this is an ace bandage. Do not roll your eyes at me. When you don’t have your air cast on specifically at night, you need to put this on to help hold the bones steady. I am not lecturing you. I am saving you from thousands of dollars on surgery to put screws in your wrist.” She grabbed the air cast, “I will show you how to put this on. It was mine when I needed it a few years ago. I apologize I do not have a new one.” Kate’s breath hitched when Yelena’s soft fingers ran up her arm as she slid the cast on. “It’ll hurt when I tighten the straps but this is necessary. Over time, it’ll hurt less while your bones heal.” She tightened it and smiled, “there. All better. Do you need a demonstration on how to wrap with the ace bandage?” 

“Yes,” she did not but she wasn’t ready to give up the physical contact yet. 

Yelena’s eyes sparkled with delight and moved onto the next task. She gently took off the cast and started to wrap her wrist, talking her through the best way to wrap for maximum suppose. “We can leave this one on for now, if you promise to put this one on as soon as you wake up.” 

“How will I let you know if I’ve completed the task?” 

She rolled her eyes and took her phone out from her shorts pocket, “fine. You win. Put your number in here but it’s strictly for doctor/patient correspondence.” 

“Scouts honor,” Kate smiled broadly, taking the phone and adding her number. 

“You were a scout?” 

“No,” the cheeky grin did not subside. “Doesn’t mean I can’t make idle promises and pretend to blame it on tradition. There I texted myself so I’ll have your number for strictly medical professional advice and only that.”  

“I need another drink,” she put her phone down on her nightstand on the other side of the bed before she grabbed both tumblers. “Another blue drink?” 

“Yes please,” Kate made no effort to vacate the bed. “Do you need help?” 

Yelena scoffed, “you look pretty comfy there. Remote is in that drawer. Pick out something to watch on Netflix.” 

She watched the blonde exit the room and Kate swore there was an exaggerated sway to her hips, “fuck she’s fit,” she groaned when she heard the fridge open up knowing Yelena was definitely out of earshot. “What is even going on?” She was no stranger to hooking up with girls. She loved women and would consider herself a serial dater. A little flirting, a little conversation, drinks and sex, that’s how Kate usually operated. That was until those damnable green eyes looked at her. She was ready to confess all of her secrets and she barely knew the woman. “She had me at forest stars. I’m screwed,” she hurried to put the television on before the other woman came back. She couldn’t remember the last time she hung out with someone just to watch television. It was strangely comforting that Yelena didn’t seem to want to jump right into bed with her. Sure it was a shot to the ego but she was hoping that maybe this could be something more. “Do you like Stranger Things?” She called out when she heard the fridge door close. 

“Never watched it,” Yelena returned and set the drinks down and the few bags of snacks that she grabbed.  

“You are officially the last person on the planet who hasn’t seen this show,” Kate clicked on it. “We will remedy that now.” 

Yelena walked back into her closet and came out with a large US Army shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. “Would you like to get comfortable? Or do you prefer to lounge around in your club clothes?” 

Kate was slightly taken aback, “I wasn’t sure how long my invitation would last but yes,” she grabbed the offered articles of clothing. “I would love to get comfortable.” Yelena grabbed her drink and walked over to close her blinds giving Kate ample time to change in private. “All good, thank you this might be the most comfortable shirt I’ve ever worn.” 

“It has a lot of memories attached to it so take good care of it,” Yelena smiled seeing her clothes that are normally large on herself fit correctly on Kate. At least she was properly covered now and Yelena didn’t have to drool over her muscles anymore. 

Settling back on the bed, Yelena joined her and expected her to start the show but was a little shocked when she quietly asked her next question, “why the military?” 

“Sorry?” She asked not sure if she heard her. 

“I was just wondering why you joined the military. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to. I know we are now somewhere between nodding on the street corner and acquaintances but I’d love to hear the story if there is one.” 

“Aside from my parents nobody has asked me since the recruiter. I guess I just wanted to do something that was only for me if that makes sense.” 

“Saving lives is an only for you thing?” 

Yelena laughed, “no. I just needed to get out there and find myself. I have always felt that I was always someone else’s project. Going out there and experiencing something that nobody in my family ever had before was an adventure. Plus, I’m very good with my hands as we both know. I heard about combat medics and I was sold. It did not take much to get me to leave Ohio. I hated everybody in school except Natasha. She was so mad when I told her I was leaving.” 

“I can understand why she’d be upset. You don’t seem like an easy person to be apart from.” 

Yelena needed the conversation to be over so she cleared her throat, “did you want to watch that show? You talked it up big time. My expectations are very high.” 

Kate felt a little disappointed that the deep discussion part of the evening seemed to come to a screeching halt though she still felt like she was making headway. Plus, she got her phone number. “Fine. It will exceed your expectations I’m sure but I get to analyze your snacks first,” she handed Yelena her glass of straight vodka. She also noticed two bottles of water made their way onto the nightstand. She was thoughtful, Kate would give her that. “Okay we have hot Cheetos, a woman after my own heart, salt and vinegar potato chips, peanut butter m&ms, and nerd clusters.” 

“How did I do?” 

“I would ask you to marry me but I think it’s too soon. Which would you like to start with?” 

Yelena was definitely in trouble, “your choice.” 

“I like to go salty then sweet so Hot Cheetos it is,” she grabbed the bag, placing it in between them. “Okay get ready for cinematic excellence.” 

*

A quiet alarm went off next to Yelena’s head signaling it was time to get up and start her three day on-call shift. She looked at her nightstand and saw an empty bottle of water and an open pack of pain medication. At least if she was going to drink on a work night, she wasn’t an idiot about it.  Memories came rushing back to her when she felt a heaviness around her waist and gentle breathing on her shoulder. She kept calm, because panicking ever helped in any situation. She carefully removed the arm that was currently holding her captive as a little spoon and scooted herself out of the bed. Laying behind her was Kate Bishop, wearing her clothes and looking adorable with her scrunched up sleepy face. The look came complete with a little string of drool attaching her to the pillow. She would definitely have to wash her sheets when she got home. Should she wake her? Let her sleep? Run away and pretend that Kate wasn’t there? Yes, option three seemed the best. She hurried to get a quick shower and change into some street clothes to wear to the hospital. Kate was still sleeping like the dead when she came back in but noticed her arm still wrapped in that ace bandage. She pulled the covers up over the sleeping brunette so she wouldn’t get a chill from the air conditioner. Yelena packed her gym bag and headed for her door and immediately regretted it when she smelled coffee and heard the voices coming from the kitchen. “Morning,” she mumbled, walking over to the cabinet, quickly filling up her travel cup with coffee. She heard whispering between the two ladies and could feel their eyes on her. “Say what you need to say. I have to go to work.” 

Yelena wanted to punch that smirk off of Natasha’s face, “there’s a girl in your room, isn’t there tiger?” 

“Darling,” Wanda was taming her own smile, “if your sister has a visitor it is none of our business.” 

“Bullshit it’s not. She been in the city what 4 weeks and already has babes in her bed,” Natasha laughed, “it’s injustice is what it is.” 

“I do not have babes in my bed. There is one girl in there and nothing happened. I’m glad to see you made it home relatively unscathed.” 

“Wanda takes very good care of me. Did you take very good care of your patient there? Setting her wrist wasn’t that what you called it?” 

Yelena groaned, “I’m telling you nothing happened. Yes, she is my patient. An acquaintance. I brought her back here and tried to fix her wrist. Didn’t go as planned. We ended up watching Netflix, eating junk food, having a couple of drinks,” she smirked, “I owe you some Hawaiian Punch.” 

“I noticed my supplies were low in the fridge.” 

“I’ll buy more. Then I guess at some point we fell asleep because when I woke up she had her arms around me and stuff. Then I freaked out and got the hell out of there. So what do I do?” 

“Aww,” Natasha laughed, “I always knew my baby sister was the little spoon in the relationship.” 

“I will stab you in the eye.” 

“Girls, please. Let’s talk this through without any threats of physical violence for once,” Wanda was used to playing mediator. 

“I have to get to work. What do I do about her?” 

Wanda just smiled at her, taking a sip from her coffee, “well you could just go and wake her up, dear. Let her know you are leaving and ask her to vacate the apartment.” 

“Yeah,” she shook her head, “I didn’t actually want to speak with her this morning.” 

“She’s emotionally constipated,” Natasha laughed. 

Wanda quickly grabbed the butter knife when Yelena dove for it, “you can let her stay and talk to her later.” 

“I’m on call for three days.” 

A wicked smirk graced the redhead’s lips, “I’m off work today. You could let her sleep and I’ll make sure Miss Bishop makes it home okay. I need to have a discussion about what her intentions are with my baby sister.” 

Wanda sighed, “seriously the both of you are going to need a time out. Yelena, go to work. I’m not going into the hospital until noon today. If you want to leave her here, I will make sure your sister doesn’t torture her before she goes.” 

Yelena nodded, “okay. Yeah. Thanks.” 

She started making her way to the door before Wanda called for her, “can you at least text the girl and let her know you went to work and that she may be interrogated by your sister?” 

“I thought you’d make sure she was fine.” 

“I’m going to try my best but I am only one woman. You know how feisty your sister can get.” 

“Yeah. Fine. I’ll text Kate.” 

After Yelena left the apartment, Wanda turned to look at her girlfriend, “Yelena really is going to stab you one of these days and I might not be here to intervene.” 

*

Kate rolled over in a big comfortable bed, relishing in the soft blankets covering her body. When her eyes finally fluttered open, memories of the previous night came rushing back to her then an immediate sense of disappointment when she realized she was alone in that big comfy bed. “Too good to be true,” she went to rub the sleep out of her eyes feeling the bandage on her hand. “At least I still have this on I guess. Baby steps,” she laughed, sitting up and reaching over for her bottle of water that was nearly empty. After she finished that, she took the ace bandage off to replace it with the air cast. She had Yelena’s number and was determined to use it even if just to show her that she was following her medical advice. She noticed a message on her phone from the contact she added the previous night. 

Tiny Hot Doctor (8:25am): good morning, Kate Bishop. You looked so comfortable in my bed. I did not have the heart to wake you. I needed to get to the hospital. 3 days on call and no before you get it in your head, we don’t actually hook up in on call rooms. This isn’t Grey’s Anatomy. I enjoyed the television show and your company. 

Tiny Hot Doctor (8:29am): word of warning… My sister is waiting to interrogate you. Hopefully Wanda is still at home when you wake up. Thank you for the girls’ night, truly. 

Kate quickly took a selfie of her still in Yelena’s bed but making sure to get the air cast in the photo.

Kate (9:45am): look doc, I’m following all of your advice. Bummer about the on-call rooms. If I survive the interaction with your sister I’ll let you know. Girl’s night was really fun. 

She didn’t wait for a reply knowing that she was most likely busy at work. Preparing for the walk of shame, Kate quickly got dressed in her outfit from last night hurrying to use the bathroom before anyone noticed her. She folded the borrowed pajamas and left them on the bed. She really did have a good night with the blonde and was hoping it wasn’t a one off. “Okay. You can do this. Sisters aren’t that scary,” she was hyping herself up to leave the safety of Yelena’s bedroom. She put her blazer on, stuffing her ace bandage, phone, keys and card holder into the pocket. “Here I go,” she jumped up and down a few times to get her heart going. She quietly opened the bedroom door, closing it without any noise. She swiftly moved down the hall towards the kitchen and was surprised to see nobody there. There was no sign of the sister or her girlfriend. Did I luck out, she asked herself, still scared to celebrate. She quickened her pace and reached for the doorknob. 

Before she even had an opportunity to turn it, a smug voice called from behind her, “not so fast, Kate Bishop. I believe you just spent the night with my sister. I’m going to need you to sit down and tell me what your exact intentions are with my little Yelena.” 

Chapter Text

Kate reached for the doorknob thinking she was in the clear. Her walk of shame wasn’t quite as shameful this time around but it was still nice not to be caught. Before she even had an opportunity to turn it, a smug voice called from behind her, “not so fast, Kate Bishop. I believe you just spent the night with my sister. I’m going to need you to sit down and tell me what your exact intentions are with my little Yelena.”

So that’s her name, Kate smiled to herself before dropping her hand and turning to see the redhead from the bar. “Hi. You must be Yelena’s sister. Nice to meet you. I’m Kate Bishop.”

“Fortunately and unfortunately for you, I know a lot about you. Maria is a talker and your name came up quite a few times. Mostly how frustrating and annoying you were.”

Kate offered a self-deprecating laugh before crossing her arms over her chest and hanging her head, “frustrating and annoying. Two of my better qualities.” She looked back up, “you forgot stubborn, sarcastic, clumsy, and loyal. I’ve been described as a golden retriever before which is funny considering that’s the type of dog I have.”

“You also ramble. Is that a byproduct of you being nervous?”

Kate shook her head, “no that’s just my natural state of being.” She ran her hand through her hair before pointing behind her, “well I really should be going. My dog is probably missing me.”

“Not so fast,” she pointed to a seat, “sit, would you like something to drink?”

“This isn’t an option?” The look at Natasha’s face was enough to tell her that it was definitely not open for discussion. She sighed and sat down, “no thank you. Yelena left me some water that I finished. So how much do you know about me?”

Natasha walked over and sat down on the stool across the island. “Maria talked but I never got much out of her where you were concerned. So, not all that much. Whatever went on between you and Maria is no longer my concern. My concern is what happens with you and my baby sister.”

“We just met a few days ago.”

“11 days. You were there on her first day at the hospital.”

Kate tried to hide her smile, “she talked about me?”

“Well,” Natasha smirked at the girl, “she talked about everything that happened that day. Her interns, the lawyer, her new Russian friend, the surgery she did and yes you.”

The disappointment was evident on Kate’s face, “that’s cool.”

“My sister is a very introverted person. She keeps to herself mostly and she appreciates stability. I’ve known her almost her whole life…”

“What does that mean?”

Natasha shrugged one shoulder, “that’s a story for her to tell if she wants to. My point is, I’ve never seen her really into a girl before. I think she was with someone when she was overseas but we never talked about it. The fact that she brought you to her house is something rare. So I repeat, don’t fuck with her. Because then you’ll have to answer to me.”

“I wasn’t planning on hurting your sister,” Kate felt cornered though she didn’t feel uncomfortable but a sense of relief did come when the Chief walked into the room. “Morning Chief.”

“Natalia, are you being nice to our guest?” Wanda came over and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek.

“I’m always nice,” she smirked.

“Good morning, Miss Bishop. It’s refreshing to see you outside of the hospital.”

Natasha gave her a strange look, “is it really?”

“Hey,” Kate seemed offended. “That was rude. I am very entertaining outside of the hospital.”

“I’m sure you are. I saw that sexy little dance you were doing last night with Yelena,” a swat came from her right side, “okay, ouch.”

“That wasn’t even hard and you know it. Yelena has already told us nothing happened last night. Give the girl a break,” Wanda refreshed her own cup of coffee. “Her cheeks are bound to stay that shade of pink if you keep it up.”

“Nothing happened,” Kate held up her cast, “well this happened, and I drank your Hawaiian Punch but nothing you know…”

“You didn’t fuck.”

“Natalia,” Wanda gave another warning.

“Sorry,” she rolled her eyes. “So are you friends now?”

“I wouldn’t say your sister is the easiest person to get to know. I know she likes forest stars.” She missed the look shared between the girlfriends. “I also know she never watched stranger things before last night. I think she enjoyed it. She loved all of the 80s references. At she went off on a tangent about how no good music was produced after the 2000s.”

“You got her to watch that?” Natasha sounded mildly impressed.

“She just seems kind of lonely, like she needs a friend. And you know… she’s hella gorgeous.”

“To her credit, she got that cast on you which from my experience is not an easy feat,” Wanda seemed impressed with her roommate. “Seems the two of you might be good for each other.”

“As friends,” Natasha added.

“As friends,” Kate’s lips started to tick up into a smirk. “Though I won’t lie… if she asked me to accompany her on a date I would stop everything and join her. No questions asked.”

Natasha chuckled, “seems she’s smitten with our little Yelena.”

“It’s only been 11 days as you said. We’ve hung out once, well twice if you count my ER visit. So I’m not getting my hopes up but she did give me her number strictly for medical professional reasons.”

It was Wanda’s turn to laugh, “let me see which number.” Kate handed over her phone without hesitation. “Yeah. That’s her personal cell phone, not her work number.”

“So what I’m hearing is I might have a chance.”

Natasha shrugged, “she’s not an easy person to be friends with.”

It was Kate’s turn to shrug, “seems worth it to me.”

Wanda only nodded and smiled at her girlfriend, “well Kate, I have to be making my way to the hospital and Natalia here has had enough interrogation time. Can I walk you out?”

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

“Lovely to meet you, sister of Yelena,” Kate averted her gaze as the two women shared an intimate goodbye.

“Have fun on your day off,” Wanda kissed Natasha before heading back towards Kate.

“Be safe, babe,” she called after them as the door was closing.

“I apologize for all of that.”

The two of them waited for the elevator, “Yelena said her sister might interrogate me but I did think I had escaped when nobody was waiting for me. She snuck up on me.”

“My Natalia is very protective of her little sister. She is also the least tactful and most straightforward person I’ve ever met so you’ll have to excuse her for that.”

“I can’t blame her. I don’t have any siblings but if I did I’d probably be the same way.”

“Whatever instructions Yelena gave you with that air cast, do try to follow them, dear. I’d hate for you to end up back at my hospital,” Wanda advised when they got to the ground floor.

Kate laughed, “I’m sure I’d end up back there with or without the cast.”

“That may be true. I didn’t hear all of Natalia’s threat but be gentle with Yelena’s heart. If she gets hurt, you will have two sisters after you.”

“Noted. Later Chief,” she waved as she headed off in the opposite direction of the hospital.
*
Yelena had been busy since she had gotten to the hospital. On call was no joke and she found that every little thing that was going on in the emergency room somehow ended up under her care. It was nearing 9pm and she had yet to sit down or eat anything. She snuck down to the cafeteria after advising her interns to be on their best behavior then quietly made her way to Jen’s office. She knocked on the door surprised when there was an answer, “you are still here?”

“Busy day,” Jen looked up from her computer. “Are those extra fries I see?”

“I was hoping you were here,” she sat down across from the lawyer and slid her over the extra food. “It’s only one of three on-call days and I’m ready for it to be over.”

“I think it might just be extra long today because Maria isn’t here. Once you feel more confident leading the ER, the nurses, techs and other doctors will fall in line. It took Maria awhile to figure it all out and look at her now. Runs a tight ship.”

Yelena shrugged, hiding her distaste for the other doctor, “I suppose so. I think we can manage without Hill for a day or two.” She knocked on the wood desk, “nothing has gone wrong yet.”

“So,” Jen took a bite of her fries, “how’s it been the past week?”

“Nothing like the army.”

“That seems obvious but how so?”

Yelena chuckled, “probably not how you think. In the army, we were a family. Here it is everybody for themselves. It is like waiting in line to get thrown under the bus.”

“That’s an interesting analogy,” she tried to sneak a bit of Yelena’s grilled cheese.

Yelena rolled her eyes and handed her half of the sandwich, “you pay next time.”

“So…”

“I do not think I like that smile,” Yelena felt like she was going to be backed into a corner.

“Talk around the hospital is that you were at the club last night.”

“How would you possibly…” she rolled her eyes. “Cassie is dead.”

“Nothing is private around here,” Jen laughed. “All that I heard was you were at the club with your sister having a good time. Oh and that your sister is hot.”

“Yes,” the eye roll was so dramatic Jen knew there was more to it than that. “Natasha has always been the hot one. Me. I’m the mean one. The asshole. The bitchy one. The incessantly gay one. Take your pick.”

“You aren’t bitchy to me.”

Yelena grunted, “I guess I like you. You’d know if I didn’t.”

“Not a theory I want to test out,” she noticed that the blonde's phone kept going off. “Is that your work phone? Because as the hospital lawyer I’d have to advise you to answer that.”

“No. It’s my personal one. Seems I’ve picked up a fungus,” she couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face. “I’m sure you know who she is. Brunette, accident prone, previously associated with Hill.”

“Really? You and Kate Bishop?” Jen’s jaw dropped as she folded her arms over her chest, “and just how did that happen?”

“Do not count your bridges before the chickens hatch.” She saw Jen giving her a strange look, “I’m
Russian. Your American phrases are stupid but you get it. There is no me and Kate Bishop.”

“Then why is your phone blowing up?”

“She was one of the patients on my first day here. I cast her arm. Apparently that’s a big deal or whatever. Last night, Natasha and I went out of the club which you already know and Kate happened to be there with Cassie. Neither of them know that I knew they were together. Cassie left and I went to talk to Kate for medical purposes.”

“Medical purposes?” She did not sound convinced

“The girl had removed her own cast only 10 days after I put it on. She told me she has one of those little saws at home. Who has one of those? I bet her on a game of darts. I won, I recast her. She won, she got my phone number.”

“So she beat you at darts. Gotta say I’m a little disappointed.”

Yelena shook her head, “nyet. I won.”

Jen smirked and pointed to her phone, “then what is that about?”

“So after the game, we danced and I apparently lost all rational brain functioning and took her back to my apartment. Do not make that face. Nothing happened. I set her up with an air cast and new instructions. Then we just had a couple of drinks and watched Netflix. I gave her my number for medical questions. I think she may not have understood that.”

Yelena bit her bottom lip contemplating whether or not she should continue, “you can trust me. I don’t gossip with everyone else in the hospital.”

“Kate spent the night. I didn’t realize we fell asleep until I woke up and she was spooning me.”

“You definitely seem like the little spoon,” she smiled.

“I will stab you if I have to. So I freaked out, left without waking her up and then I left her at the mercy of my sister and Wanda. I messaged her a warning but I haven’t read any of her messages since I left.”

“I guess if you are going to stab me this is a good place to do it.”

“Oh,” Yelena’s floodgates were opened now that she felt comfortable sharing with Jen, “my sister said I was emotionally constipated. She’s one to talk.”

“A familial trait?”

“We aren’t blood related,” Yelena was about to elaborate when her other phone went off. “Gotta go. Thanks for the reprieve, Jen. Truly.”

“Anytime.”

It took Yelena less than three minutes to make it back to the emergency room where she was pointed in the direction of the right room. She saw Cassie, Peter and a few nurses already inside. Grabbing the chart, she began reading, “what do we have here? Peter you first.”

“Male approximately mid thirties. Found unconscious in Central Park. Multiple lacerations and heavy bruising on his arms and legs. Jogger called an ambulance.”

“Is there an ID?”

“No,” Cassie added. “No wallet on the body.”

Yelena walked over to the patient, he was resting on his back and stopped, “did the two of you just fail to mention the arrow coming out the front of his neck?”

“No Doctor,” Peter was putting gel on the ultrasound machine to get a better idea of where the arrow had landed. “I just thought it would be obvious.”

“Do not assume anything, Dr. Parker. Pushing the appropriate medication?”

“Yes, Doctor,” Cassie handed over her paperwork. “I will prep, disinfect and stitch up the large wounds.”

“Dr. Belova,” Peter drew her attention back to the ultrasound machine. “Look. The arrow just barely missed his carotid artery but it seems to have landed in his larynx.”

“Dr. Belova?”

“What is it?” She turned to one of the nurses who had been changing him into a hospital gown.

The nurse handed her a small slip of paper, “this was stuffed into his pocket.”

Yelena opened the note and read, “next time you rape someone we won’t be so generous.” She turned to the nurse, “call the police. We need surveillance on this one. He will need surgery to have that removed. We need to get him in there now. If this arrow moves and punctures an artery, he is as good as dead.”

Underneath her breath Cassie mumbled, “if he’s a rapist then it’s for the best.”

“We are under Hippocratic Oath, Dr. Lang. If you are not going to be able to keep a professional nature then I’m going to have to remove you from this patient. Is there going to be an issue?”

“No,” Cassie set her face even though Yelena could tell there was most definitely an issue. “I’ll be professional.”

“Nurse, what OR is open?” The nurse checked the board and replied. “Prep him for surgery. OR 3 in 30 minutes. Both of you will be scrubbing in. Page the other Dr. Lang,” she ordered as she left the room, running into Sonya.

“Surgery? This late at night?”

“Arrow to the neck,” Yelena handed her over the file. She slipped the note into an evidence page for the police when they arrived. “Are arrows a common weapon around here?”

“I’ve seen a few come through,” Sonya shrugged, reading the note through the protective baggie. “There is a big archery scene around here.”

Yelena’s brain halted for a moment. There was most definitely not a connection between this arrow and her fungus. Her personal phone had been going off at regular intervals most of the night. She pushed the thought out of her mind, “so are you scrubbing in with us or am I baby sitting alone in the operating room?”

“Well I was supposed to go home,” she checked her phone for the time. The screen flashed just after 10 pm. “But I think I have some time.”

Yelena nodded, “30 minutes. OR 3. I’m going to go speak with the police. Meet us up there.”

“Whatever you say, Boss,” she fake saluted before heading into the room to yell at Peter and Cassie.

“Pain in my ass,” Yelena rolled her eyes and met the police outside the emergency room door when she saw the flashing lights pull up. “Officers. I’m Dr. Belova,” she shook hands with the officers before going over the facts of what they knew so far, handing over the note to the police. “I was told that arrows are a common weapon in the city which is a bit concerning.”

The one officer looked over the note, “we’ve seen notes like this before, doctor. Unfortunately the information is classified and we can not speak about open investigations.”

“Noted,” she wasn’t the biggest fan of American police. In the military, all of the information was shared among the medics, military police and other emergency services. Yet in civilian life, everyone kept everything to themselves. “I have a surgery to get to. The patient won’t be available for questioning for a few hours at least.”

“That is fine. We will collect his clothes and question the nurses. Get the EMS log and see if we can track down the ambulance that brought him in while we wait.”

Yelena left the police at the nurses station before heading off to the locker room to grab a surgical cap. Thankfully the locker room was empty this time of night so she had a few moments to collect herself before heading to surgery. She laid on one of the benches in front of her locker, slipping her personal phone out of her pants pocket. She quickly scrolled through the messages on her Lock Screen. There were quite a few from her sister but the majority of them had been from Kate. She made notes of the times and there wasn’t more than 45 minutes between the cluster of messages. “There’s no way that was time enough for her to commit an assault.” She put her phone away without reading the messages knowing that she would want to respond and she didn’t have the time. Yelena tried to push the girl out of her head, putting her phone into her locker, and grabbing her scrub cap with the little puppies on it. She put it on and tied it around her fishtail braid to keep it in place. Without using her better judgment, she snapped a quick picture and sent it to Kate with the message, “32 messages that I haven’t gotten to read. Off to surgery. Please stay out of trouble.” She already heard her phone buzzing from inside of her locker as let the door close behind her.

Yelena saw Peter and Cassie in the prep room. They were scrubbing their hands getting ready to go in. They were talking and laughing, meaning they were probably talking about the patient in a way they shouldn’t have been. She quietly walked into the room, holding the door open. “Just grab his dick and twist it,” she heard Cassie say.

“Oh my god dude. This is an MMA fight dude,” Peter responded.

“The old dick twist.” When the door shut behind Yelena they turned to see their boss. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Look,” Yelena started scrubbing, “I get it. That man is a piece of shit but we all took the oath. We have to try to save his life. Even if he doesn’t deserve to be alive. Now can someone tell me what this dick twist is?”

When they walked through the doors in lieu of a hello, Scott shouted, “twist his dick.”

“I hope the man is already unconscious,” Yelena slipped into her operating gown. “Seriously, what is this meaning?”

“It’s from a tiktok, Dr. Belova,” Peter was the first one to settle his laughter. Scott and Cassie were having their own separate conversation regarding the video in question.

“You know what,” Yelena conceded, “I do not want to know. Sonya, do you know?”

“Unfortunately I have seen this and I agree. This guy deserves the old dick twist but we have to get that arrow out of his larynx. Seems like our archery hero will give it to him if he strikes again.”

“Sorry about that greeting,” Scott tried to stifle his laughter. “Good evening doctor. The patient is under.”

“Is everybody ready to get started? It’s a mediocre night to save this poor pathetic use for a human’s life...”
*
The surgery was as successful as it could’ve been given the obstacle of a fucking arrow. She waited in the patient's recovery room with the police waiting just outside the doors. Sometime during the surgery there had been anonymous texts with pictures sent to the police confirming the attempted rape with reassurance that the victim was okay. “Wait so you know there is a civilian out there attacking criminals and you are okay with this?” Yelena was also okay with it but she didn’t want the cops to think she herself was involved. When the police officer responded, “we don’t have enough manpower to cover every inch of the city. It’s reassuring sometimes that this individual or group of individuals are looking out for the people.” Yelena left well enough alone for the time being and resolved herself into waiting for her patient to wake up.

Yelena finally got around to answering her sister’s text messages while she waited. She still didn’t read anything Kate had sent her. She would only last so long though. When the man finally opened his eyes, it was nearing 7am the next morning, “good morning starshine,” Yelena stood up from the chair. “Don’t try to talk. It’ll be impossible,” she checked his vitals on the various machines. “I’m Dr. Belova. You had a tracheal-esophageal puncture and we had to perform a surgery to repair the wound that was left by an arrow in your neck.” She saw his eyes widen, “I know what you are thinking. What? This is crazy. An arrow in my throat? There was no saving your larynx. Rest assured we tried our hardest. The damage from the arrow was too extensive. Unfortunately for you that means you’ll be speaking from a box the rest of your life.” She followed his eyes to just outside of the door, “also the police have been notified. I hope your new jewelry isn’t too tight.” She lifted up his cuffed hand. “My advice… next time you try to rape someone in the middle of the park maybe check your surroundings. Vigilantes are everywhere.”

She made her way out of the room after what seemed like hours, listening as the police went in and read him his Miranda Rights. “What a fucking first day oncall,” she grumbled as she pulled out her phone to finally start reading Kate’s messages. There were a bunch of new unread messages from her including one from ten minutes prior asking her to meet her outside of the hospital if she wasn’t busy. “She might still be there,” she ran up to the locker room to get her cigarettes before heading outside of the hospital. She caught herself smiling when she saw the brunette sitting on a bench near the street with a golden retriever laying by her feet. “This puppy is exactly what I needed,” she squatted near the dog and gave him an adequate amount of attention. She smiled up at the brunette, “how did you know that I needed to see this good boy right now?”

Kate smiled at the way the other woman was fawning over her rescue, “well Lucky was demanding a run to his favorite place. See he really has a thing for fire trucks. He absolutely loves them. I think he may think he’s a Dalmatian but I won’t ruin his fantasies. So, we went for an early morning run and ended up over there looking at the trucks when I was once again cornered by your sister. She said that you had been finishing up with a patient and may need Lucky therapy. I just thought if you were free, you might want to see us. And I brought you a coffee. Natasha said and I quote ‘she’s a serial killer and drinks it black’ so here,” she ended her ramble, handing Yelena a cup of coffee when she sat on the bench next to her.

Yelena took the coffee and let out a low appreciative moan when the hot beverage coated her tongue. She expertly lit up her cigarette, taking a long inhale as she swallowed that mouthful of coffee, “thank you.” She exhaled away from Kate and the dog, “this is exactly what I needed. It been almost 24 hours since I’ve had a moment of rest.”

Kate had to stop herself from drooling, “you smoke too? So you are officially the hottest woman to ever walk the face of the planet.”

Yelena chuckled, “I do not know about that. Most people would think doctors who smoke are bad practice.” She repeated the drink, inhale combo that she seemed to be a master of. “This is delicious. Thank you, Kate Bishop.” Lucky had scooted over so he could rest his head on Yelena’s leg. She absentmindedly started rubbing his face with her free hand, “I apologize for not texting you back. I will admit I was a little overwhelmed by all of your messages.”

“I have been told I can be a little overbearing,” she let out a little laugh. “I’ve gotten it out of my system I swear. Only normal medical texting from here on out.”

“I see you are wearing your cast,” Yelena smiled, “two days in a row. Big steps, Kate Bishop.”

“Now,” Kate felt more rambling coming. “I noticed you didn’t say to stop texting you all together so unless you specifically tell me to stop or slow down them I’m afraid I won’t be able to actually stop myself.”

“Maybe when I’m at work you can limit the amount of messages you send,” she nudged the brunette’s foot with her own. “I liked hearing from you. There is just no feasible way for me to respond to everything. I’ve been very busy.”

“I can do that,” Kate tried to casually sip from her own coffee but ended up spilling a little on her sweatshirt. She heard Yelena chuckled at her little spillage and she felt her cheeks blush, “i'm usually a lot cooler than this.”

“The coolest,” Yelena wouldn’t say the company was unwanted. It made her feel a little something that this girl went out of her way to bring her coffee. “Don’t take this the wrong way but you don’t seem like the get up at the crack of dawn to run with your pup kind of woman.”

“Would you believe that I actually haven’t gone to bed yet?”

Yelena looked at the girl, really looked at her. Beautiful blue eyes with a hint of darkness under the lids. She never would’ve known with the way her eyes were smiling since she sat next to her, “that seems more feasible. That’s good to know during my late nights on call. Most nights are boring. Last night was an exception.”

“I will gladly be your texting buddy during your lonely nights,” Kate nodded as she took another drink successfully, not spilling on herself. “And Lucky is available for emotional support any time day or night.”

“I may just take him up on that offer. On-call is a bitch. Three days on, one day off, a regular five day schedule, then finally, I’ll have three days off.”

“So 8 days. Because you already have one in the bag.”

“Optimistic,” Yelena laughed and put her cigarette out on the bottom of her shoe. “I like that. Well,” she held up the coffee then leaned over to kiss Lucky on his forehead, “I should be getting back in there. I’m going to try to take a nap. I’d suggest you do the same.”

“See you around, Dr. Belova,” Kate smiled and watched as the woman started walking to the hospital before she thought better of herself and came back. “Needed one more hug from Lucky?”

“8 days… would you want to hang out again? Watch some tv? Or maybe see some sights? I haven’t really been to any of the tourist spots yet.”

“I would love to take you sightseeing, then we can watch tv with Lucky at my place if you want. I live above a pizza shop. Best pizza in New York,” Kate held her breath and watched as Yelena contemplated it.

“It’s a date,” before she could dwell on her choice of words she spun on her heels and parroted her words back to her, “see you around, Kate Bishop.”

Chapter Text

Yelena was exhausted by the end of the 8 days working at the hospital. The three on call days were challenging but she would never complain. Growing up the way she had, she learned to never whine about her situation in life because it could always be worse. The motto stuck with her through her military career even when she was faced with the hardest decision she had ever had to make. Besides getting to run her own surgeries while Maria was off, the highlight of her week was the late night texts shared with her favorite patient. There would be daily updates about her cast as well as many pictures of her new furry friend, Lucky. Yelena wasn’t exactly an optimistic person which made things interesting in surgery. She was confident in her abilities but she was a realist. She was trying not to get too friendly with Kate so quickly but she was the one who called it a date and game day had arrived or whatever it was the Americans said to pump themselves up. They were meeting at the Empire State Building at noon so that meant she had to get her ass moving. 

“Wanda?” She called out from her bedroom. “Did you leave yet?” 

She heard her call back, “not yet. What do you need?” 

Yelena was thankful her sister was already at work. The amount of teasing from Natasha would’ve been enough for her to call Kate and cancel. She decided not to mention anything at home until after seeing how it went. “I need your help,” she finally swallowed her pride and heard her roommate walking towards her bedroom door. 

Wanda came in and saw the blonde looking distressed, “what’s wrong?” 

“I feel like an idiot,” Yelena sat down on the edge of her bed. 

“I’m going to need a little context but I’m safe to bet that you are not an idiot,” Wanda gave her a smile that seemed to have an immediate calming effect. 

Yelena hated that about her. It was as if Wanda could see through all her walls straight into her emotions. “Stop doing that thing.” 

“What are you talking about, dear?” She tried to contain her smile. 

“That thing you do. You know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s like you have this superpower and you can understand exactly what I’m thinking and feeling. I hate it,” Yelena pouted. 

“No you don’t,” Wanda walked over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “now what do you need help with and what does this have to do with Kate Bishop?” 

Yelena’s jaw dropped, “definitely superhero bullshit. I sort of asked Kate out today.” 

“On a date?”

“I said it’s a date but I don’t know if I meant it as a date date. I have no expectations of what will happen today.” She waited for Wanda to say something but she knew the older woman was waiting on her, “she said she was going to take me to some tourist places then we could get pizza and watch some tv at her apartment. Is that a date?” 

“That definitely sounds like date criteria,” Wanda chuckled. “Is this what you are wearing?” 

Yelena looked down at her workout clothes, “no? I have to hop in the shower real quick. I wasn’t sure what to wear.” 

“Go get in the shower, dear. I’ll look through your clothes and pick something out.” 

Yelena looked unsure but ultimately time won, “fine.” 

Wanda watched her leave, pulling out her cell phone to text her girlfriend. 

Wanda (10:48am) : your sister is the cutest. 

Natasha (10:54am): Listen I know she’s my sister and yes she is very cute but if that girl is moving in on my woman I will come home and mark my territory. Don’t think I won’t pee on you. 

Wanda (10:56am): Natalia… 

Natasha (10:58am): okay I’m over it. What did adorable little Yelena do now? 

Wanda (11:05am): she has a date with Kate Bishop and I’m picking out her clothes while she showers. 

Natasha (11:08am): easy, tight black jeans with the rips, a white tank top and her black leather jacket. Hair braided and sunglasses. Have her take her bike, dark makeup. Kate won’t stand a chance. 

Wanda (11:10am): perfect, thank you Natalia. 

Natasha (11:11am): anytime babe. 

Wanda took the time to pick out the outfit Natasha had suggested for her sister’s maybe date. There was no way Kate wouldn’t be excited to see her in this, Wanda thought as she laid it out on the bed. When the shower turned off, Yelena reentered the room with her hair towel dried and a red bath towel around her waist. “This is it?” She scrutinized the choice, “not bad. Looks like something I would wear.” 

“Well I hope so,” she smiled an evil little smile, “your sister suggested it.” 

“You told her?” Yelena couldn’t be mad at her roommate. It was her girlfriend after all. Plus, Natasha always had a way of finding out things. It must have been her superpower. She knew everything about everyone in the city. It made no sense to Yelena. “Did she suggest anything besides this?” 

“A braid, dark makeup, sunglasses and your motorcycle.” 

Yelena nodded, “okay.” She watched Wanda exit so she could finish getting ready. There was enough time to dry her hair and put her hair in a low fishtail braid. She would’ve worn it with a more intricate design but the helmet limited her creativity. She took the opportunity to let her makeup shine. This was a luxury she didn’t partake in during her time in the military. She scrutinized her dark eyes and plum lips before adding a little purple to the outside corners of her already dark eyes. “Da,” she nodded to herself knowing she looked good. “Hmm she didn’t pick out any underwear,” Yelena thought as she grabbed a pair of Calvin Klein boxer briefs deciding to forgot the bra for the day. It was cooler as September was in full swing but the jacket would keep her warm enough. She gave herself another once over before deciding she was ready to go. “Well? How do I look?” She twirled around in front of Wanda who had been sitting at the island waiting for her to come out. 

“Your sister has good taste.” 

Yelena rolled her eyes, “it’s not too much?” 

“Very date worthy but also casual enough for not really a date. Have you been out on a date recently?” 

She shook her head, “not since Emily.” 

Wanda nodded but didn’t press the subject, “well I think the two of you will have a fantastic time. Remember how amazing you are and you will charm the hell out of that girl.” 

That earned a laugh from the blonde, “sure. I’m a charming asshole. She’ll love me.” 

“I don’t think Kate falling for you will be a problem. Honestly sweetheart, I think you could have your pick of any woman. You are a catch and don’t tell your sister this or she will threaten to urinate on me again.” 

“So you really think this is a good idea? Her reputation as a patient at the hospital precedes her.” 

“I don’t know the ins and outs of her history at the hospital or with Dr. Hill but if you like spending time with Kate I wouldn’t let that be a hang up. And we’ve all fallen for patients at one time or another. We are only human.” 

“You always seem to say exactly why I want to hear,” Yelena walked over to grab her keys. “I’ll text you later.” 

“Just let me know if you are coming home tonight. I’ll make sure Natasha doesn’t bother you too much.” 

“Ha! Like anyone can control her.” 

*

Kate was pacing the sidewalk in front of the Empire State Building for the past ten minutes. She wasn’t entirely convinced Yelena would actually show up. It’s not often beautiful, capable women would show interest in her. Hookups aside, she wasn’t really one to settle down with anyone and she never dreamed an older woman would show any interest in her. There was something about the doctor that Kate couldn’t get over. She was smart, gorgeous, effortlessly funny, shy, and her accent was sure to kill her. She didn’t think the blonde could get anymore attractive until a motorcycle pulled up in front of her. The blonde took the helmet off and a simple, “hello, Kate Bishop,” was almost enough to send her into an early grave. Of course this bombshell of a woman would also look ridiculously hot in leather and drive a bike. “You made it!” She knew her voice was higher than expected when the blonde chuckled. 

“I wouldn’t miss a girls’ day with you,” she turned off her bike, locking her helmet under the seat. “I hope you weren’t waiting long. Traffic is shit this time of day.” She saw that the brunette was still checking her out so with a smirk she let her own eyes wander. Kate had on a pair of dark washed jeans, an athletic fit purple v-neck and a gray blazer. “You look nice. I appreciate a good blazer. Lots of pockets,” she snapped Kate out of her trance. 

“You look sinful,” she saw that damn smirk again. “Should we go up?” She pointed behind her towards the building in question. 

“So what’s so great about this really really tall building?” She whispered to the brunette after their tickets were paid for. 

“What’s so great?!” Kate went into a long rant covering all of the highlights of the building including all of the times it’s been mentioned in movies. There were historical displays all over the second floor leading to the elevators and she insisted on stopping at everyone so Yelena could read them. She found it endearing how closely the doctor was paying attention to what she was saying and all of the displays. “Ready to head up?” She only asked this after she was sure Yelena had enough time to read everything. 

The blonde nodded, “how high are we going?” 

“We could go to 86th and 102nd. I personally think the higher the better.” 

Yelena’s smile was contagious, “a woman after my own heart.” 

Kate couldn’t help but smile back and feel a sense of warmth filling her heart, “come on. I got quarters so you can look through the little viewfinders.” 

Yelena’s eyes light up, “it’s such a clear day too.” She was trying to hold her excitement in as they stepped into the elevator with the other visitors. They stood so close due to the others with them and she couldn’t help but tingle when she felt the back of her hand brush up against Kate’s. If the brunette noticed she didn’t say anything or attempt to hold her hand which Yelena was grateful for. She felt her head might explode as she watched the floors tick upwards with her increasingly alarming gay panic. When the elevator made its final stop on the 102nd floor, Yelena let out a sigh of relief as the patrons filed out onto the observation deck. “I bet it would be pretty with snow,” she told her companion and they walked around the top of the building. 

“It’s amazing anytime of year,” when they got to the first viewfinder Yelena stopped as she handed her a quarter. “Do you like snow?” 

Yelena hummed as she looked out at the sights, “I’m from Russia. Snow is like our summer. You can see so far,” she moved over so Kate could have a look. “Have you been here many times?” 

“My dad used to bring me here every year on my birthday.” The doctor didn’t missed the use of the past tense and didn’t know if she should say anything, deciding just to reach out and squeeze her forearm. Kate took this as a sign to continue, “he died when I was a kid. I still come here on my birthday, usually. It's hard sometimes. We would come here and I would make wishes and set goals for my next year of life.” 

“And when do you celebrate your next year of life?” 

Kate turned from the view finder, “July 14. And you?” 

Yelena smirked, “something for something always with you, Kate Bishop. January 3rd.” 

“No wonder you love the winter. Winter babies are built differently,” Kate nudged her shoulder before heading around the observation deck. “There’s the hospital,” she pointed. “Bet you miss it all already.”

“I definitely earned my days off,” she laughed. “It was the longest 8 days I’ve had in a while. I don’t remember being that sleep deprived and I’ve had to sleep next to exploding landmines. Look, our apartment.” 

“I’ll need the official tour on a day when you aren’t trying to plaster cast me,” she held up her air cast. “I must admit…  my hand does feel better but I’m being a perfect patient and keeping this on until my doctor advises me to take it off.” 

“Good girl,” she saw the blush sneaking up Kate’s cheeks. “So are you ever going to tell me what you do in your spare time?” 

“Eventually,” Kate wasn’t quite sure Yelena was ready for all of the details. “I am a student. That much was true. Dual major. I switched to online studies after this incident with an old bell and the clock tower. Honestly how was I supposed to know one tiny little arrow would bring down the whole thing?” 

“Now this is a story I want to hear.” 

Yelena and Kate walked around the observation deck a few times looking through viewfinders as Kate told her stories from her college dorm living days. The doctor felt very comfortable in the girl’s presence and it scared her how much she was enjoying her time. Yes, she could see herself spending a lot of time with Kate and that scared her. She didn’t think she was ready for this again so friendship would have to do for now. “You are quite the enigma, Kate Bishop.” 

“So tell me something about you.” 

Yelena thought for a moment, “I love hot sauce.” 

Kate stared at the doctor unamused, “you like hot sauce? That’s all I get?” 

“Not like. Love. Hot sauce on everything. All types of hot sauce, the hotter the better. Have you ever had it on Mac and cheese? From the box? So good. You must try it,” she went on about her favorite condiment as they boarded the elevator to begin the descent back to the ground, “have you ever ridden on a bike before?” The look on Kate’s face alluded to the fact that she had not but the excitement in her eyes was enough to tell Yelena that she was ready to experience it. She walked to her bike and pulled out her helmet and a second one that somehow fit in the seat, “safety first, Kate Bishop. Where are we going next?” 

“I was going to suggest the Museum of Natural History but now I kind of just want to for a ride,” a mischievous raise of her eyebrows was a challenge to the blonde. 

“Where to?” She asked as she swung her leg, straddling her bike. 

Kate was going to explode from the visual, “you are the driver,” she climbed on behind Yelena feeling the older woman’s breath hitch when her arms wrapped around her middle. “Don’t worry, I’ll hold on real tight.”

Yelena suppressed a shiver that was threatening to rip through her body, “how far is this college of yours? I want to see the bell tower you single handedly destroyed.” 

“10-20 minutes drive depending on traffic.” 

“Perfect,” Yelena turned to look at her companion, “just tap whichever way we have to turn when we get going.” She pushed the visor down on her helmet and started the bike. 

Kate was thankful when the bike stopped at a parking lot in the middle of campus. It was only a few miles down the road but the rumble of the engine and being pressed so close up against the doctor really didn’t do anything for her raging labido. When the engine cut she could finally breathe a sigh of relief, “that was an experience.” 

“First time on a motorcycle? Do not worry Kate Bishop, you were in excellent hands,” she took her helmet off and rolled her shoulders. “Very impressive campus. Much nicer than OSU,” she chuckled, “but then again there was no competition.” She held her hand out waiting for Kate’s helmet as they both stepped over the seat. She secured them in the small storage space, “so take me on the grand tour. Please tell me there is a history lesson included in this stop, too.” 

“Anyone else I would think they were being a smartass but the way you enjoyed the Empire State Building history I feel like you really want to know.” 

Yelena raised an eyebrow, “if I was not curious I wouldn’t have asked.” 

Kate smiled at her companion. It was nice to be in the company of someone who genuinely seemed interested in her and her life, “the best part of campus is definitely the food.” 

The tour took Yelena through all the various highlights of the campus including the different colleges, the libraries and a few dining selections. They went to the campus store and Kate tried to buy her a Columbia sweatshirt but the doctor refused to let her spend any of her money on her. Kate eventually conceded knowing she had a few sweatshirts at home she would hope the blonde would want to wear one day. Last stop on the tour was the clock tower. “At least they used my mother’s money to rebuild it,” the words sounded more harsh than she intended them. 

Yelena picked up on the subtle change, “do you and your mother not get along?” 

“My mother is in federal lock up,” she didn’t elaborate and the blonde didn’t push. “The old clock tower was way cooler,” she pulled out her phone to show Yelena some pictures including a selfie of her with her bow the night in question. The picture must have been taken shortly after she let the arrow fly because she had a huge smile on her face. 

When Kate swiped to the next picture, you could see the building behind her crumbling, “you are very adorable, Kate Bishop.” 

“Well if you think destruction of century old public property is adorable, I have even more stories for you,” she laughed. 

“Where did you practice shooting?” 

Kate looked around as if checking for something, “I’m technically banned from the archery team so I’m not allowed in the practice arena anymore but I know a side entrance. If anyone says anything, run like hell.” 

Yelena chuckled, “never failing to surprise me, Kate Bishop.” 

Kate grabbed hold of Yelena’s hand and pulled her through the campus trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible, “right through here,” she let the other woman’s hand go and the blond immediately felt disappointed. Kate held open the door and she snuck through. “This is where I spent most of my time when I lived her.” 

“So you resided on campus?” 

“Yes but my loft isn’t too far away from here so I never truly lived here long enough to make an impression until the accident.” She walked over to where the quivers were stashed. “Want to try?” 

Yelena looked around for anyone who might care and shrugged, “what the hell. I’ve never done this before.” 

“You’d think all that time in the military they would teach use basics like a bow and arrow,” she laughed, handing Yelena a practice bow. 

“Funny,” Yelena tested the string and walked over to the lane where a target stood fifty feet away. “Bows and arrows weren’t our go to weapons of choice. Have you ever shot a gun?” 

“Martial arts, fencing, archery… There were a few seasons when I thought I might be one of those well established lesbian soccer players and that didn’t last but no… no guns.” 

“I could teach you…” her words caught in her throat when Kate moved beside her with the arrow, sliding her arms around the shorter woman to show her how to hold the bow. 

“I would like that,” she positioned Yelena’s hips the right way, “something for something.” Yelena took the arrow and brought it up to her face after making sure it was in the bow correctly, “left hand on your cheek, close your left eye and aim. Pull the string back and fire when you are ready.” She let the arrow fly, sailing through the air and landing pretty close to the bullseye. “Well fuck. Maybe you should be teaching me.” 

Yelena turned to ask for a demonstration when they heard someone enter from the front, “hey you two aren’t supposed to be in here right now. Drop the arrows and put your hands where I can see them.” 

Yelena’s smile broke wide, “this is where we run?” She asked before Kate nodded enthusiastically, dropping the bow to the ground on their way out. When they reached the door it must have started raining because they found themselves running hand and hand through a downpour. The security guard was following them but Yelena was faster, pulling Kate through the clearing crowd in the direction of her bike. They were soaked by the time their helmets were on. The guard made it to the bike but Yelena was already pulling away making sure to drench the man as she sped off. She turned back slightly, “this was fun!” 

Kate thought she heard Yelena yelling and when they were stopped at a red light she asked, “what?” 

Yelena lifted the visor of her helmet, “this was fun,” she repeated, the rain never slowing. “Where do you live?” Kate gave her quick directions before the light turned. Quickly zipping through the city streets, they made it back to Kate’s place in record time, pulling up to a spot just a few steps away from the front doors even though it was parking designated for the pizza shop. The owner saw Kate and waved so Yelena knew her bike was safe there for now plus it was under an awning so it wouldn’t get wet. “That security guard was delusional if he thought he would catch up to us,” she chuckled following Kate up the stairs to her apartment. She could already hear the happy paw taps from her furry friend waiting just inside. “My friend knows I’m here?” 

Kate shrugged a soggy shoulder as she unlocked the door, “I may or may not have told him you might be over later and might have mentioned pizza.” 

“I see,” she waited to be invited inside. When Kate motioned for her to come in, the blonde was immediately tackled to the ground by the excited golden retriever. “I think it’s me and not the pizza though equally exciting I bet.” She let the dog love all over her until he finally settled down. “Such a good boy Mr. Lucky.” 

Yelena stood, taking her leather jacket off and Kate’s eyes almost fell out of her sockets. The white tank top had been soaked through, “umm,” her fucking brain wouldn’t let her mouth speak. “Do you want to get out of those wet clothes?” Fuck her life. She couldn’t help her blush as she tried to avert her gaze from anywhere other than the nipples that were on full display in front of her. 

The blonde’s chuckle only seemed to get deeper and she looked down and pulled the sodden cloth away from the front of her body. Kate caught a glimpse of the band of her boxers sticking to her hips from just above the hem of her jeans. Yes, this is how Kate Bishop was going to die. “That might be a good idea unless you want me to soak your furniture.” 

Kate’s blush was raging now. This woman knew exactly what she was doing and the brunette wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. She removed her blazer, the v neck clinging to her own muscles. She heard Yelena clear her throat. “I can throw these in the dryer for us after we get changed.” She started walking up the stairs leaving Yelena no choice but to follow her up. Kate quickly made way to her closet, coming out with pants and sweatshirts. “Here this should warm you up,” she turned to hand Yelena an outfit when she found herself face to face with the blonde. 

Yelena was shorter than her but it made her no less intimidating, “thank you,” she reached out grabbing the clothes. There seemed to be this inevitable invisible string surrounding the ladies and when Yelena looked back up, Kate was mere inches away from her own face. The sea of blue could drown Yelena and she would go happily. When she finally managed to break their gaze, her own eyes wandered to Kate’s lips and back again. 

Kate was pretty sure she stopped breathing and waited with bated breath for her companion to make whatever move she was planning. They could’ve been standing there for hours as time seemed to stop until Yelena seemed to make up her mind slowly moving closer, tilting her head, ready to capture Kate’s lips in what she assumed would be the greatest kiss she had ever experienced when Yelena’s phone went off in her pocket. She was sure she saw a slightly deflated look of disappointment on Kate’s face. Yelena cleared her throat, “I should check this.” 

“Here I’ll go change downstairs. Take your time,” she handed Yelena the clothes she had designated for her and quickly left the room. 

“Fuck,” she let out a groan when the door closed behind the girl. Damn she really wanted to kiss her but fear and doubt was circling through her brain. The well timed text from Natasha just checking in on her was a saving grace for Yelena. She changed into the clothes Kate had given her. Surprisingly, her boxers weren’t wet so she kept them on. She looked in the mirror using the towel Kate left her to dry her hair after taking it out of her braid, “you can do this, Yelena. Don’t be a pussy.” She read Natasha’s message and decided a little sisterly advice wouldn’t be the worst thing. 

Yelena (6:21pm): I think Kate wants to have sex with me.

“Well that was a stupid fucking message,” she sighed. 

Natasha (6:23pm): and that’s a problem? 

Yelena called her sister instead of messaging since she was on limited time. Natasha picked up after three rings, “yes and no.” 

“Hello to you too, sis.” 

“I have limited time to talk. I’m in Kate’s bedroom. She went downstairs to change. We got caught in the rain.” 

She could hear Natasha laughing, “you have slept with women before right?” She heard Yelena sigh and mumble something about calling Wanda. “Oh stop. I get it. Sleeping with someone for the first time is a lot of pressure. And I know you haven’t told me everything that happened with Emily but I can see why it’s a big deal now.” 

“I just don’t want to rush anything. Kate she’s…” her voice trailed off thinking about the brunette. 

“She’s special hmm?” 

“She’s so special. I just don’t want to rush anything. I do not know if I’m ready for that yet but then if I don’t sleep with her will she get bored and move on?” 

“Woah…” Natasha cut off her rambling. “You are worth the wait. Don’t put words into Kate’s mouth without talking to her about it. If she cares about you, she’ll understand. Plus what… this is like your first official date? There should be no expectations.” 

“It’s 2023. There are always expectations. I almost kissed her when your text came through.” 

“Blocking clits since 1984,” she laughed. That earned a chuckle from her sister, “there’s nothing saying a kiss isn’t appropriate. Make out… maybe a little boob squeeze or ass grab. Don’t put stipulations on it and do what feels right.” 

“No,” Yelena agreed, “you are right. I am overthinking.” 

“Though you should probably go before she thinks you left out of the window” 

“I haven’t used my window exits since Ohio. Plus, she lives on the third floor and I do not have my repelling gear.”

“Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

Yelena laughed, “that leaves a wide berth.” 

She hung up the phone and gave herself another look in the mirror smiling at the Columbia sweatshirt that looked a few sizes too big for her and the sweatpants pooling around her feet. Yelena gathered her wet clothes and headed back downstairs. Kate was already on her phone looking something up. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” 

“No,” she waved her off. “It’s fine. I was just ordering us some pizza. I did promise you New York's best pizza and Lucky asked when it was coming. Let me take those,” she walked over grabbing the wet items from Yelena. She threw them in the dryer and started it up, “I knew you’d look cute in my clothes.”   

“About upstairs…” Yelena was scratching behind her ear a habit she's had since childhood. 

Kate could feel that she was uncomfortable bringing it up, “hey I’m here for whatever this turns into. There’s no pressure. We can just have some pizza and watch more Stranger Things. We could kiss a little. We can do whatever you are comfortable with. I have no expectations other than getting to know a really cool woman.” 

Yelena closed the distance between them, leaning up on her tip toes so she could gently press their lips together. Kate’s breath caught in her throat at the softness of the kiss. It only last a second or two before Yelena pulled away but Kate was already itching to do it again, “thank you, Kate.”

It took a minute for Kate’s brain to start working again while her lips still tingled from the softest kiss she’s ever felt, “umm yeah anytime. So pizza?” As of on cue the door buzzer sounded, “that was convenient.” Lucky already started to get excited. He was wagging his butt and barking at the door. “Yes my guy, you get some pizza too. Go sit down and I’ll bring yours over.” She turned towards Yelena, “he has a special pizza plate in the cupboard.” 

So took the hint and got out a few paper plates for them and found Lucky’s special pizza plate which turned out to be a plate in the shape of a slice of pizza with his name painted on it, “please tell me you feed this pup some dog food every once in a while. I know I’m not a vet but as a concerned citizen I had to ask.” 

“Of course,” she closed the door behind her, depositing the pizzas onto the table. “Doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserves treats for being the goodest good boy.” 

“Did you make this?” She put his plate on the table. 

“Will you make fun of me if I said I did?” 

Yelena shrugged her shoulders, “I think it’s cute.” 

The smile on Kate’s face grew, “then I absolutely made his plate.” She got a couple of sodas out of the fridge and walked the first box of pizza over to the couch. “I didn’t ask what you wanted but I assumed you had taste and like meat.  We don’t eat vegetables in this house.” 

Yelena laughed because she assumed she was joking until she saw Kate's serious face, “meat is fine. I’m not picky. I’ll eat anything. Have you ever had reindeer?” 

“I can’t say I have had the pleasure.” 

Yelena laughed while passing Kate her own paper plate, “trust me. It is not a pleasure. This smells delicious.” 

Kate turned on the tv, “more Stranger Things?” 

“Oh,” Yelena’s eyes lit up, “yes please. I’ve been dying to find out if they will rescue Will. Natasha had been trying to give me spoilers all week and I had to threaten her life a few times.” She took a bite of her pizza and couldn’t help the indecent moan that escaped, “okay comfy clothes, delicious pizza, Netflix, happy dog… you may never get rid of me.” 

Kate just smiled, taking her own slice of pizza, “don’t threaten me with a good time.” 

Chapter Text

Yelena once again found herself riding her bike to Kate’s apartment. She did learn later that first night that the parking garage across the street had a spot designated for her that she obviously wasn’t using. No, she didn’t spend the night after their first date. Yelena was determined to take things slow so that definitely meant she had to go home. Her second day off was spent with her sister mostly teasing her about the phone conversation from the night before. Thankfully Natasha had gone to work the evening shift so she had time to work out then rest and recharge. She finally got her night of reading and wine that her sister robbed her of the other week. Kate had texted her mid read and asked if she wanted to get together the next day before Yelena got caught up in her work cycle again and the blonde couldn’t think of a reason not to say yes. Kate told her they would be outside for the afternoon but it was a 60 degree day late September so she decided on wearing a pair of black cut off jean shorts with fishnets, her black platform doc martens, a cream colored tank top and her leather jacket. Before she got a chance to get off of her bike she noticed the brunette standing against the wall by her parking spot.

“Miss me that much?” Yelena pulled her helmet off, her long hair flowing in waves and she shook it out from the ride. “I must say, it is nice to have a pretty girl waiting for my arrival.”

Kate was glad the garage was dark so Yelena couldn’t see the blush on her cheeks. Okay, so what if Kate had been looking forward to today ever since last night. She knew her time with the blonde was limited and wanted to make the most of every minute, “you wish,” was her pathetic reply. “You look very…” she had to take a moment to collect her thoughts. “Sexy. I’m not shy. You look hot as fuck.”

Yelena chuckled, taking in Kate’s casual fall outfit of cargo khaki pants, a purple crop tank and a black and white flannel. She was wearing a matching purple beanie and Chuck Taylor’s. “Nice pockets,” she nodded towards her pants. “I have pants just like those. So much room for stuff in those pockets.” She stood up so she could reach in the small storage for the extra helmet. “Ready to go?”

“Just a minute,” she pushed off the wall, walking straight to the doctor. Yelena didn’t have a second to think about what was going on when Kate kissed her with fire that she was sure would set her ablaze. Within seconds, Yelena’s brain caught up with her, threading her fingers through Kate’s dark waves. The brunette tasted like gummy bears, a hint of minty toothpaste and something she had never tasted before, just Kate. When Yelena’s fingers tightened in her hair, Kate let out a tiny moan and it was almost enough for Yelena to lose all sense of self. It was music to her ears that she wanted more of. She slid her hand to Kate’s neck, then to her shoulder, gliding down arm slowly to rest at the swell of her hip. Her other hand was still holding the spare helmet because for some reason the logical part of her brain was shut off from the kissing.

Kate’s hands were lost in blonde locks, she opened her mouth more letting Yelena deepen the kiss if she wanted to and that was the last straw and all it took for Yelena’s craving to take over. She wanted harder, closer and faster. Feeling bold, she wrapped Kate’s leg around her hip, slightly grinding into Kate’s center. “Is this okay?” She asked against the brunette’s lips when her free hand slipped into the pocket of Kate’s jeans.

Kate’s next moan was deeper when she felt Yelena’s lips nipping and sucking a path down her neck. “Fuck yes,” she arched her neck, giving the doctor more room to work her wicked magic. Kate was wondering if it was possible for her to cum just from a little bit of making out. When Yelena groaned against her pulse point and squeezed her ass through her jeans, she was almost assured that it was possible.

Yelena was screaming at herself to slow down and relax. They were in the parking garage for fuck’s sake but she felt a magnetic pull towards the girl and she was being selfish for a minute. She would stop in a minute, she told herself but didn’t have time to think about it when someone cleared their throat behind them. “Oops,” Yelena blushed, looking at Kate who turned to look over her shoulder.

“Hi, Mrs. Grady,” Kate was only slightly embarrassed that she was caught making out like a horny teenager by her upstairs elderly neighbor. “We were just saying hi.”

Mrs. Grady laughed, “don’t stop on my account Katherine. It seemed like a very lovely hello the two of you were sharing.”

“We are going to Luna Park,” Kate blurted out trying to make the conversation less awkward but somehow the announcement seemed to make it worse. Yelena let her head fall on Kate’s shoulder trying her best to hide from the old lady.

Mrs. Grady was still chuckling as she walked past them to her car, “you two have fun. Goodbye Katherine. Katherine’s friend, it was lovely meeting you. Oh to be young again.”

They stood perfectly still waiting to hear the sound of a car door closing before either of them dared to breathe, “friend of yours, Katherine?”

She groaned, “please never call me that again. It’s just Kate. Katie if you really must but never Katherine.”

Yelena smiled, “okay, Kate Bishop, okay. That was quite a hello. I am sorry. I seem to have gotten carried away.”

The brunette went back in for a last lingering kiss, “it was perfect. Should we get going?”

Yelena nodded, handing her the helmet she was still holding. “Luna Park? Where is this?” She felt excited all over again when Kate mounted the bike behind her and melted into her body.

“Coney Island. Head south. Go past your place. There are tons of signs.”

“Hold on tight,” she smirked, lowering the visor of her own helmet before zipping out in front of Mrs. Grady’s car and onto the streets of Manhattan.

Kate directed Yelena to a garage that was about half a mile walk to their destination. When she dismounted the bike, she immediately missed the warmth of Yelena’s body. Riding around on the back of her motorcycle was becoming one of her favorite pastimes. “Maybe I should get a drivers license,” she handed her helmet to the other woman.

“I really do not think you need any more reason to show up at the emergency room and something tells me you have eyes on my bike,” she smirked. “I’m happy to take you for a ride anytime you wish.”

Kate felt herself heating up as her mind went back to what happened earlier and she immediately thought about riding something else. She watched Yelena’s ass as she walked over to the pay station and groaned when she saw how good she looked and found herself wanting all over again. “Behave, Kate,” she whispered to herself. “We are going slow.”

“What was that?” Yelena turned around, smiling while holding up her parking ticket. She slipped it into her jacket pocket and waited for the other woman to catch up to her. With her platforms she was almost as tall as Kate and kissed her cheek, “ready?”

Kate linked her arm with Yelena’s and started to pull her from the garage, “I think the question is are you ready?”

“Depends on what this place is.”

“What is this place? Yelena you can’t be serious.”

“As a heart attack,” her tone told Kate that she was in fact serious.

Kate went into a big history lesson about Coney Island which made the walk to the park go by fast. “Luna Park opened in 1903. It looks way different now,” she pointed at all the amusement rides as they made their way onto the pier. “You see that big wooden one?”

“Da,” Yelena nodded, “that’s the famous one right?”

“Speaking like a true native.” Kate smiled at her, “it was built in 1927. We have to do it. It’s not an option.” She pulled Yelena to the ticket booth and bought them both wristbands. “There now we can do whatever.”

“If you think a quick make out in the parking garage is going to get me on that thing,” she pointed to the slingshot ride that she wasn’t sure passed the Osha safety requirements, “you have gone crazy.”

“It takes a while to warm up to the slingshot.”

“You’ve been on that?”

Kate wasn’t sure if she was impressed or if she thought of her as an idiot. Probably a combination of both. “It’s scary as fuck but it’s fun.”

Yelena raised an eyebrow, “I’ll take your word for it.” She watched them load a couple of screaming men into the ride, “look at it. It’s just glorified rubber bands. I do not blame them for screaming.”

“Didn’t you have to jump out of a plane during basic? And you are scared of rubber bands?” Yelena gave her a look that told her she was wrong, “no plane jumping?”

Yelena shrugged, “if you are part of the airborne then yes, you jump out of a plane. That was not my division. After basic, I went to the Medical Department Center and School in San Antonio where I learned how to save lives in the field. That is only one of the Advanced Individual Training areas. And I just realized that you didn’t ask for this information.”

“Please continue,” Kate smiled at her, “I want to hear everything about you.”

“Over time,” Yelena turned back to the slingshot. “Pass on that one. And Texas is very very hot. 3/10. I do not recommend it.”

“Okay no slingshot,” she grabbed Yelena’s hand and pulled her further into the park. “Anything here of interest to you?”

“Besides you, Kate Bishop? You interest me.”

The flirting was very much welcomed and she truly felt she was getting better at hiding her blush but the teasing look on the shorter woman’s face told her that she was not, “play your cards right and we will talk.”

“Fair enough.” They continued walking hand in hand along the pier taking in all of the rides, games and food booths. “This place is like Disneyland?”

Kate laughed, “Disneyland for New Yorkers I guess. It’s more like a non traveling carnival complete with a side show,” she pointed to one of the buildings.

“Let’s do this one,” she stopped them in front of a small Ferris wheel.

“The rainbow wheel? Seems a little on brand for a couple of lesbians,” Kate laughed. When she saw the uncertainty on the blonde's face she quickly added, “it’s perfect and there’s no line.” She pulled Yelena up to the worker, “two please.” She scanned their bracelets and Kate leaned in to whisper something to the woman.

Yelena wasn’t sure what was happening but she felt angry. How could this girl just suck the soul out of her in the parking garage and then turn around and whisper to another girl right in front of her. She let go of her hand quickly putting them in her pockets when Kate turned to question her, “after you,” she pointed to the worker holding the gate open for them.

Kate slid into the Ferris wheel bucket and waited for Yelena to enter. When she did, Kate noticed she sat as far away from her as she could. The worker gave them a thumbs up and started the ride. “Okay what happened? You seem pissed off.”

“Me?” Yelena pointed to herself, “no I just thought you might like to ride this one with the worker.”

Kate stared at her but the blonde wasn’t giving her anything not even a casual glance the most she got was a passive shrug of her shoulder. Then the car stopped at the top of the Ferris wheel as per her request since it was a slow day and there weren’t any other riders. She’s jealous, Kate thought. Oh my god, she’s actually jealous, she thought to herself. “No. I only asked her to stop us up here since nobody else was getting on.” She scooted over so their hips brushed against each other, “as we already established, I am very into you, Yelena Belova.” Yelena didn’t say anything, feeling a little stupid from her immediate gut reaction to be jealous. “I like you jealous. It makes you even sexier somehow.”

A small scoff came from the blonde, her eyes still looking out over the park, “I was not jealous.”

“Sure,” Kate’s shit eating grin only grew wider. “Definitely not jealous.”

Yelena dramatically rolled her eyes, “whatever helps you sleep better at night, Kate Bishop.” There was no malice in her words as she brushed her index finger knuckle against the girl’s hand.

Taking the hint, Kate held her hand, “I can think of a few things that would help me sleep better at night.”

“Do most girls fall for this confident act?” Yelena squeezed her hand.

“I’m not after most girls,” Kate only had one girl in her sights since Yelena walked into her room at the hospital. “Do you want me to stop?”

“I did not say that,” Yelena smirked, “it’s just been awhile since I’ve had the attention of a cute girl. I, too, can think of a few things that’ll help you sleep at night. Almost all of them end with you screaming my name.”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time, doctor,” Kate had to squeeze her thighs together which she was hoping went unnoticed by the blonde. “So what happened after San Antonio?”

“I went back to Ohio for 10 days to see my family and then I was deployed overseas for a few tours. Learned a lot, lost a lot…”

“How long were you…”

Yelena shook her head, “I think this is a talk for another day.”

“Okay,” Kate sensed some sadness in her tone so took the lead to change the subject, “why OSU?”

Yelena chuckled, “so many questions, Kate Bishop. I could’ve gone to NYU or Columbia like you. I was offered scholarships and Natasha offered me a room but after the army,” she shrugged. “I guess I needed to be at home with my mom and dad if that makes sense. They only lived a few hours from campus so I could go home on weekends when I wasn’t working. Plus coming out of the military I got a full ride at OSU. Ohio really isn’t all that bad.”

“I heard it’s pretty flat.”

“True but my parents live on a farm so there’s that.”

Kate’s eyes lit up, “a farm? What do they raise?”

“My mama’s a scientist and works mainly with pigs and piglets for intelligence but they also have goats, sheep, cows and horses. I love riding the horses when I go home.”

Kate pretended to think out loud, “when is too soon to invite myself to her parents’ farm.”

Yelena laughed a full belly laugh, “one day. You might regret that though. My mother is very scary.”

“Scarier than your sister?”

“Natasha is like baby bunny compared to Melina,” Yelena chuckled as the FerrisWheel lurched forward bringing them a short distance back to the ground. “Looks like our fun is over.”

“Oh but we still have so much more to see,” she waited for Yelena to climb out while thanking the girl who let them have the extra time. The evil eye Yelena was giving the ride operator did not go unnoticed.

“Why did you pick Columbia?” Yelena immediately grabbed Kate’s hand when they were leaving the ride just to show the operator that she wasn’t intimidated by her or her lip rings.

“It was close to my apartment and I really really wanted to be on the archery team there. The learning was just something I had to do so I could be part of the team.”

“It is a very pretty school,” a slight squeeze of Kate’s hand was her attempt at telling her she understood if she didn’t want to talk about the subject.

“I had some friends but then the whole bell and clock tower thing threw a wrench in that. Then when my mom got arrested and after the trial… well people don’t really want to hang out with you anymore,” she shrugged with a self-deprecating laugh. “After all of that happened, I found a larping group that I hang around with sometimes.”

Yelena’s turned to look at her, “what is this?”

“Extremely nerdy stuff,” Kate’s cheeks turned pink. “Forget I said that.”

“I will google later,” Yelena smirked before continuing to walk, “good thing for you… I like nerdy girls.” She stopped them at a water gun squirting game, “so little hawk… want to play?”

“Is this another darts competition because I already got your phone number?”

“And I see you are still wearing your cast so…” Kate noticed the smug look on her face. “Maybe this one is just for bragging rights?”

“Or…”

“Or?” Yelena was intrigued.

“If I win… we go on the slingshot.”

Yelena successfully kept the terrified look off of her face. There was no way Kate would win this competition, “and if I win you tell me exactly how you broke your wrist and got all those cuts I had to stitch up.”

How confident was Kate that she could win this competition? Honestly at this point it didn’t matter, she never backed down from a challenge, “bet.” She extended her hug and and waited while Yelena considered the terms. “How confident are you Belova?”

Kate swore Yelena let out a small growl which an equal part amused and aroused her, “bet.” Yelena clasped her hand and pulled some cash out of her pocket. “2 please.” She handed the man behind the booth the money and took a seat at gun number 3.

Kate watched her line up her gun now realizing that she was trying to shoot against a woman whose career was literally shooting enemies. She had to think fast as the guy was explaining the rules and prize system.

“On your marks…”

Think Kate think…

“Get set…”

Fuck it, she leaned over in Yelena’s space and whispered, “I’m not wearing any underwear.”

“Go,” the bell sounded and Kate immediately jumped into the game.

Yelena hesitated only for a second but it was enough.

“Player number 4 wins. Congratulations, what prize would you like? Pick anything from this shelf.”

Kate’s self satisfied smirk as she pointed to the little pig stuffed animal that she handed to Yelena was enough to tell the blonde this wasn’t over. There were plenty of games on the boardwalk. “That was cheating, Kate Bishop.”

“Like oh my last dart when you flashed your underwear at me?”

Yelena pretended to look offended, “I did nothing of the sort. I was just getting more comfortable.” She looked at her stuffed animal, “this was just cheating and a disregard of the rules.” Though she wasn’t going to admit, she was turned on by the new information. Kissing her the way she had been in the parking lot just became even sexier and the blonde realized she was doomed. “I call for a rematch.”

“Are you going back on the bet? Listen,” Kate smirked, “just admit you are scared and we don’t have to go on the ride.”

“I never said I was scared. I said it doesn’t look safe. Two entirely different observations,” Yelena wanted to wipe the grin off of Kate’s face. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to smack her or kiss her but she was feeling a lot of conflicting things. “Fine but if I die you have to explain it to Natasha.”

“Oh my gods. Really?” Kate grabbed Yelena’s hand again and pulled her back in the direction of the slingshot. “Best. Date. Ever.” She punctuated each word as her excitement grew.

“I do love a date that ends up at the hospital,” Yelena rolled her eyes. “What if this best date ever turns into your last date ever with me if I died from cardiac failure on this thing.”

“Oh stop. You’ll be fine. Plus you can’t die until we have the fried stuff with cheese.”

Yelena laughed, “so if the rubber band ride doesn’t kill me you plan to clog my arteries. I’m starting to fear for my health and safety around you, little hawk.”

Kate grabbed both of her hands and squeezed, “just one time.”

“Just one time,” Yelena agreed when they walked up to the booth.

Kate was still holding her hand after they sat down in the bucket seat, “just breathe. Just relax. It’ll be okay.”

Inhaling and exhaling wasn’t working. Yelena couldn’t remember the last time she prayed but silent prayers were her mantra as they were strapped into the slingshot. She made sure her safety restraints were fastened tight then made Kate tighten hers all the way. Truthfully, she was scared shitless but she put on an indifferent demeanor in hopes of hiding that from the brunette. She wasn’t sure she was doing a good job. It was the middle of September for fuck’s sake and she had sweat beading her forehead. “Hold on tight,” she found herself with one hand still clasped in Kate’s. The seat was lowered back into position and she whispered to her riding partner one final threat, “if I die my sister will kill you.” The operator pushed the trigger releasing them upwards into the sky. Yelena felt her eyes close immediately and her stomach jumped up into her throat. Oh yes, she was going to die. She could hear Kate screaming next to her but it wasn’t frightened screaming. It sounded like screams of joy. “Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Holy fuck.”

The ride was flinging them up and down, the seat twirling in the air giving them a lifeless feeling, “open your eyes, Yelena.”

The car had finally stopped spinning. It was now peacefully rocking them back and forth like a giant swing when she finally opened her eyes, “Kate Bishop, that was…”

“Amazing right? The danger and freedom tied together? It’s as close to flying as we can get outside of jumping from a plane,” she was still laughing.

Yelena’s brain was still trying to catch up with her overworked heart. She looked around the pier that they were dangling above and she released a breath. She survived a ridiculously scary and unsafe carnival right. She survived. Maybe this was her sign that she needed to stop punishing herself for the past and live life to the fullest. She looked over and saw Kate laughing, “this was fun.”

“I knew you’d like it,” her smile grew even wider.
Yelena let her head hit against the headrest and laughter just flowed out of her. It was music to Kate’s ears and she wanted to hear that siren song over and over. It was the most pleasant sound she had ever heard, “I really really like you, Yelena.”
*
Three days later, Yelena found herself on the last day of her on-call shifts. She was so tired but it was an unusually slow night in the ER and Sonya was working so it wasn’t as bad. She was sitting in the locker room looking through the pictures she had taken with Kate at Luna Park the other day. She was regretting not spending the night with her but she needed to be at the hospital very early and didn’t want to disrupt her sleep too much. “Next time, I promise,” she had told Kate after their 20 minute goodbye at her loft door. Those big blue eyes were almost enough to crack her resolve but she ended up alone in her own bed that night. Aside from the occasional text message, there hadn’t been time to sit and think about the girl until things slowed down. She was swiping through the pictures when Sonya snuck up behind her, “someone is smitten.”

She quickly put her phone away, sitting up, “I am not smitten. We had fun the other day. That is all it is.”

“And how many orgasms came from this fun?”

Yelena was not about to discuss her sex life or lack of sex life in this case with someone from work, “why am I friends with you?”

Sonya shrugged, “because we are both Russian and I am hilarious”.

“I do not think being Russian is a prerequisite to friendship.”

Sonya laughed, “Нет, но мы можем говорить обо всех этих идиотах, и никто нас не поймет.”

Yelena nodded, “Хорошая мысль. Здесь много идиотов.”

“Так она уже твоя девушка?”

“Нет, мы не спешим. Так что это означает, что оргазмов пока нет.”

“Никаких оргазмов? Звучит ужасно.”

Yelena laughed, “I’m enjoying the chase.”

In the emergency room, Cassie was looking over patient charts and saw a familiar name, “so what brings you in tonight, Kate Bishop?”

There was a new gash along Kate’s left cheek, “thought I’d come by and say hi.”

Cassie let out a laugh pulling out her phone, “just let me text Dr. Belova and she’ll be right down to stitch that up.”

“No!” The brunette said a little too loudly, “I don’t want Yelena to know I’m here.”

“Word around the hospital is that the two of you are girlfriends. Is that not true?” She pulled on a pair of latex gloves and started to examine Kate’s wound.

“Not girlfriends. Not yet anyway. We are just hanging out and seeing where things are going,” Kate hissed when Cassie touched the wound. “Ouch.”

“Sorry,” she pulled her hand back. “This one is going to need stitches. I just assumed after I heard that I would back off because truthfully, Dr. Belova terrifies me.”

“I’m sorry if I lead you on at the club,” Kate looked almost guilty. “You are super cool and I’d love to be your friend.”

“I know I would never stand a chance if my competition is Dr. Belova. She’s unfairly gorgeous. I would like to be friends though,” she conceded that a friendship with Kate was better than nothing at all. She was checking her over, “any other areas of concern besides this slash on your cheek.”

Kate was biting the inside of her cheek, “well…”

“Might as well just tell me Kate,” she warned her patient that if she had to get one of the bosses it wouldn’t go as well for her.

Kate pulled down her pants to reveal a blood soaked bandage on her thigh, “I was kind of stabbed.”

Cassie just stared at her slowly blinking before she unwrapped the makeshift bandage. The stab wound was deep but it didn’t seem to have hit any main arteries, “Kate this could possibly need surgery.”

“No,” she said firmly, “this isn’t my first stab wound. Just disinfect it, stitch me up and give me my customary antibiotics so I can leave before Yelena finds me here.”

“Wait here,” she chuckled at herself, “like you really have an option.” She excused herself and closed the door after pulling the curtain closed. She walked quickly to the supply room and grabbed everything she would need to fix Kate up. It didn’t take her long to get her supplies on the cart and even stopped by the medicinal cabinet to check out the vials she would need for numbing and a quick shot of strong antibiotics to start her on. She checked the hallways before wheeling the items back into the room, “okay so are you going to tell me what happened or am I going to assume that you fell down the stairs and landed on a knife two inches wide, countless inches deep?”

Kate rolled her eyes, “this is exactly why I don’t want to see Yelena. Well that and I have a proposition for you.”

“Oh?” Cassie prepared her equipment and injected both of her wounds with a local numbing agent. “Well,” she pulled on fresh gloves and touched her stab wound, “can you feel that?”

“No…”

Cassie picked up a suture kit, “tell me about this proposition.”

Yelena had received a page from the charge nurse of the emergency room saying there was a patient here for her. “I bet it’s your girlfriend,” Sonya laughed at her as they left the locker room.

“It better not be Kate Bishop if she knows what’s good for her,” of course she knew given Kate’s medical charts that she would be seeing her at the hospital but it seemed too close to her last accident to make any sense. “Her chart has a pattern to it that I haven’t had a chance to sit down and figure out.”

“Or… you could just ask her what she’s been doing that keeps landing her in here.”

“Ha. You are a funny one,” Yelena rolled her eyes while slipping her doctor’s jacket back on. “Do you really think she’d tell me?”

“I mean you are kind of dating her.”

“Yes and the last time I tried asking her, I ended up on that death trap so I think this is something we will have to ease into.”

Sonya smirked, “what is it you always say? Something for something? If you want her to talk you might have to open up your own cold dead heart to her.”

“It’s not cold and dead. I know we are Russian but my heart still beats. It’s held very heavily under many many locks with only one key.”

“She hasn’t earned that key yet?” She watched Yelena shake her head no, “look I get it. I’m the same way. All I’m saying is if you think she could be worth it, it might be something worth risking.”

“All I know is Kate Bishop could either break my heart or bring it back to life and I’m terrified.”

Sonya’s pager went off for the emergency that had just come in that needed her attention, “duty calls,” she winked and ran off in the other direction.

Yelena made her way to the nurses station, “okay I’m here. Thanks for the page. Where’s the chart?”

“Oh, your intern already took the patient. Fixing them up as far as I could tell. Dr. Lang raided the medicine locker.”

“What bay?”

“Actually, the patient is in room 13.”

Yelena smiled at the nurse and thanked her. She knew she had a way of intimidating others even when she didn’t mean to and she was trying hard to stay on the nurses’ good sides. The nurses had the means to make doctors’ lives a living hell. When Yelena got to the door of room 13 she stopped and listened to the voices coming from inside. They were laughing about something so she figured it couldn’t be too serious. She knocked and walked in behind the closed curtain. “Hello, I’m Doctor Belova. What brings you in today?” She pulled the curtain back and saw Cassie putting gauze over a wound that had been stitched on Kate’s cheek.

“Yelena,” Kate was thankful her pants had already been pulled up. “What brings you here?”

“I was paged by the charge nurse. What are you doing here, Kate Bishop?”

Cassie handed Kate her prescriptions, “looks like my job here is done. These stitches dissolve so you are good to go. I’ll be back with the discharge papers.” She did not miss the glare she received from her attending.

“Dr. Lang,” she called after the girl was behind her. “Do not go too far. We have to have a little talk,” she did not take her eyes off of Kate. “What happened?”

“It was just a little thing,” Kate tried to play it off.

“Why didn’t you call? I’d have come down to stitch you up,” she moved so she was in front of Kate. She softened just so, brushing her thumb down her good cheek.

“I didn’t want to bother you just for a couple of stitches. Though now seeing you, I realize that was dumb because I missed out on hot Doctor Belova.”

“What happened?”

“It’s stupid,” Kate’s rehearsed lie came out with ease, “I was practicing my archery with my friends and my wrist buckled. I think I’ve been pushing myself too hard. A few more weeks of recovery to go. Anyway, my arrow slipped and cut my cheek. Cassie was very professional.”

“I’m sure she was,” she didn’t like the thought of her intern fixing up Kate after they had been openly flirting at the club.

As if Kate could read her mind, “I told her she and I can only be friends. She told me that she’s afraid of you so she had no intentions of pursuing me after she found out about us.”

“What about us?”

“Umm,” Kate’s cheek blushed when Yelena got closed, pulling down the bandage checking her intern's work. “That we are going out on dates?”

“And how many others are you going out on dates with?” She whispered.

“I told you. I’m only interested in you.”

Yelena was satisfied with her response, “good,” she went to lean in for a kiss, grabbing both of Kate’s thighs when she recoiled in pain. “What is it? Did I hurt you?” Kate didn’t respond but there was a pained expression on her face. “Kate?”

When she didn’t respond, Yelena put her hand back down on her thighs, “fuck!” Kate kicked her right leg out.

Yelena stood up and walked over to grab her chart, “is there something you’d like to tell me?”

Chapter Text

Kate’s face blanched when she saw her doctor walking over to grab her chart. Please, if any gods are listening, she thought to herself, I need you. She tried to ignore the throb in her stab wound from where Yelena accidentally grabbed her. Hopefully Cassie didn’t mark it down. 

Yelena read the chart and turned to look at Kate, “is there something you’d like to tell me?” 

Kate chucked, “depends on what’s written in that chart, doc.” 

“Patient presenting with five inch laceration across left cheek. No signs of infection. Patient recently gave a tetanus shot. Patient given Cefuroxime sodium injection to stave off infection. Wound disinfected, irrigated and sutured,” she looked up at Kate. 

“Yep,” she pointed to her cheek. “Seems accurate.”  

Yelena cleared her throat and looked down, “there’s another note here.” 

“Another note?”

“Now I will ask again,” she looked at the girl once more, “is there anything you want to tell me?” 

Kate sighed, she was in for it now. The stab wound was definitely in those notes because of course it would be. “I kind of got a little stabbed. It’s not really a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?” She snapped the chart closed. “If I had not touched it, would you have just left here and not mentioned it to me? Seriously,” she was sounding angry now. “What kind of doctor do you take me for? You thought hmm let me just pop in for a quick stitch. Yelena will never find out? The minute I would’ve seen your chart at the nurses station, I would’ve looked.” 

“I didn’t think it was a big deal.” 

“No, Kate Bishop, you didn’t think.” 

Kate hadn’t felt this properly chastised in years. She knew Yelena would be upset but she didn’t think she would be that hurt, “I’m sorry?” 

“Is that a question?” She looked at the brunette for the first time since her mini outburst started. Kate was an adult and was perfectly capble of keeping herself alive or so she should be able to do so. Yelena had her doubts. “I shouldn’t have yelled. As your…” she trailed off not know what exactly she was to Kate at this point. “Doctor… I would just hope that you wouldn’t try to keep these important medical issues from me”. 

“The yelling was probably warranted,” Kate shrugged. “It was a stupid thought that I could hide this from you. I just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it or worry you.” 

“Little hawk,” her demeanor softened significantly. Walking back over she cupped Kate’s good cheek, “we’ve only been out a few times but I hope you know I care about you. I want to know you. The good. The bad. The clumsy. All of it. But any kind of relationship with me, even friendship, isn't going to work if you can’t be honest with me.” 

“No. You are right. I know.” 

“Can I see it?” Yelena looked down at her leg. 

“Umm,” Kate blushed, “I would have to take my pants down.” 

“Kate Bishop,” she smirked, “I’m a professional. I’m perfectly capable of seeing your wound and not try to gawk at your underwear.” 

Kate nodded, standing up from the bed. She slowly pushed her sweatpants over her hips and down her legs. She heard Yelena’s breath hitch when her purple lace panties were exposed before she regained her composure, “would you like me to sit?” 

Yelena cleared her throat, “please.” She was immediately pissed that Cassie got that close to Kate in her underwear. Those were way too sexy for just a Thursday night but she was the doctor here, a professional as she told the brunette. She sat down on the wheeled seat and pulled up in front of Kate’s leg. “This might hurt,” she pulled the gauze away from the stitches. It was bloody already, probably from Yelena pushing on it when she kissed her. She walked over for a clean dressing before inspecting Cassie’s sutures. “Another archery accident?” 

When Yelena looked up Kate got nervous again. She knew the doctor was waiting for some explanation but she couldn’t figure out how to tell Yelena that she likes to hunt rapists, murderers and other criminals in her spare time. She didn’t think Yelena was ready for the full truth. “I was larping. The archery story is true. I was with my friends from the larping group and we were practicing fighting. Guess I didn't see that knife coming but if you think this looks bad then you should see the other guy.”  

“It looks deep like it was deep.” She ran her finger down the side of the wound. “Dr. Lang did pretty good work. There’s a little puckering here but I think that due to the depth and not the sutures. Did she do an ultrasound to see about surgery? Muscle damage? Nerve damage?” The look at Kate’s face told her all she needed to know, “and I guess I won’t be able to talk you into it this time?” She put the new dressing over her sutures and kissed her right above her wound before sitting back up. 

“I don’t think this will make any of this better but this isn’t my first stabbing,” she shrugged. “I'm fine, Yelena. I promise. If I wasn't, I would have asked for more tests.” Yelena scoffed. “Okay I wouldn’t but I know if you thought it was serious you would pull your status and force me to stay.” 

“Let me see your prescriptions,” she held out her hand waiting for Kate to place the papers in her hand. 

“An antibiotic. That’s it. I'm going to write you a prescription for a salve to help minimize scarring for both your cheek and your thigh here,” she handed Kate back her original paper. “You can pull your pants up,” she went over to the sink and washed her hands. “I’ll be right back with your prescription and discharge papers. Don’t leave.” 

“Anything you say, doctor,” Kate pulled her pants up wincing as the pants touched her thigh. “Any chance I can get something for pain?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Have a seat.” 

“Yelena?” 

“Hmm?”

“Go easy on Cassie. She was just doing what I asked. She really tried to get me to do all that extra stuff,” she reassured the doctor who simply nodded and left the exam room. “That could’ve gone better.” 

Yelena left the room and ran smack in her intern who seemed to be snooping outside of the door, “eavesdropping?” 

“You told me not to go far. If it’s any consolation, I tried to snoop but the doors are too thick to hear anything. Am I in trouble?” 

“Walk with me,” Yelena made her way over to the nurses’s station that wasn’t being utilized. “Your sutures look fine.” 

“So I’m not in trouble?” 

“You technically did not do anything wrong however as your attending, I expect to know what’s going on when my intern gets patients.” 

“Patients or your girlfriend?” She saw the fire in her boss’s face. “Sorry that was uncalled for.” 

“Whatever is going on between me and Kate Bishop is outside of the hospital. Here, I am her doctor and she is my patient as apparently she is also yours. Her health and well-being is what is important when she is in these four walls. As my subordinate I expect you to tell me when she’s here. That stab wound looked pretty serious.” 

“Look,” Cassie was trying to keep the defensive nature from her voice. “I offered her all the tests to see if it needed a surgical fix. She told me she wasn’t interested and that it wasn’t her first stab wound. She was mostly interested in bullshitting and then getting out of here as fast as I could suture her up so she didn’t run into you.” 

Yelena sighed knowing all of this already. She was testing Dr, Lang to see if she was going to lie to her as well and when she didn’t Yelena was pleased with that. “I know, Dr. Lang. Kate Bishop is a stubborn one. Next time she sneaks in with a stab wound or any wound, please page me. The charge nurses knew to do so.” 

“Apologies, Dr. Belova. It won’t happen again” she handed Yelena the discharge paperwork she had been gathering, “may I go?” 

Yelena looked at the time. It was only an hour and a half until their three day on call shift was over, “yes go home. I will cover the rest of our shift.” 

Cassie looked up smiling, “you are the best.” 

The blonde grumbled, “do not forget that,” she called after Cassie who was already halfway down the hall. She was quick to type up the salve prescription and the rest of her discharge papers before stopping at the medicine cabinet for a sample of the ointment until Kate could get to a pharmacy and a few painkillers. She wasn’t going to give her a prescription for that still not ruling out a pill addiction. When she got back to the room, she saw the girl curled up on her side asleep on the bed. Obviously she’d been tired, she was stabbed. Yelena decided to leave her paperwork on the container with a note that read, “I’m off in 90 minutes. If you are up before I get back, wait for me or text me and I’ll meet you outside. I marked where you need to sign.” She covered up the brunette, turned off the lights and left her to her nap. 

When Kate’s eyes fluttered open she wasn’t quite sure where she was waking up but she felt refreshed in the darkened room until she was reminded of the night by the deep throb in her thigh, “fuck. Okay,” she pushed herself up in the bed, adjusting her eyes to the darkening patient room. She checked her phone, no messages. There was paperwork on the counter and what looked like a glass of water and some pills. She saw the note from Yelena and her heart twinged a little both in happiness and guilt for not being entirely forthcoming. She swallowed the pain pills, signed the appropriate spots on the paperwork and pulled out her phone to let Yelena know she’d be waiting outside for her. 

Yelena (4:45am): I'm just going to get a quick shower and I’ll be out. 

Kate (4:46 am): take your time i'm not scared of the city and I need some fresh air. 

Kate quickly put her phone back in her pocket, threw her hoodie over her head and exited the room. What she wasn’t expecting was to run smack into someone on the other side of the door. “Excuse me,” she mumbled. 

“I heard you were here again,” came the voice of someone Kate was quite familiar with. “Am I ever going to stop seeing you around here?” 

“Hi,” she was face to face with the one person she actively avoided when coming to the hospital. 

“Hi?” Maria scoffed. “Why are you sleeping in my ER, Ms. Bishop?” 

“Well,” Kate seemed railroaded by Maria. “I’m assuming if you knew I was here then you’ve seen my chart. An accident. Well two accidents.” 

“I read it,” she was not amused by the rambling. “That doesn’t explain why you were sleeping here. We are not a homeless shelter.” 

“I have a home. You’ve been there. Look you can hate me all you want but I’m leaving so if you’ll excuse me.” 

Maria held out her hand, stopping Kate from moving, “what’s going on between you and my resident?” 

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You are many things but stupid isn’t one of them. You are idiotic, yes but stupid, no. What do you want with Dr. Belova?” 

“We are just hanging out. Getting to know each other. Not that it’s any of your business” 

“What goes on in my ER is my business, Bishop.” 

“She’s a friend. That’s it. Are you planning on quizzing me about all of my social interactions? Because I’m supposed to be meeting someone outside.” 

“I heard rumors about you and Dr. Belova.” 

Kate shrugged, “well rumors happen. Is there something you wanted?” 

“Does Yelena know about you? What you do? Why you keep showing up here? I mean she’s also not stupid. That little stunt with the rapist a few weeks ago. That had your mark all over it. How long do you think she’ll stick around once she learns the truth?” 

“I’m leaving,” Kate turned to walk away. 

“I don’t want any drama in my ER, Kate.” 

She laughed, “should’ve thought about that before you inserted yourself into my life the first time.” With that she turned and left, walking straight out of the ER doors already seeing Yelena sitting on their bench smoking. 

“There you are. I thought you may have left without me.” 

Kate noticed how tired the blonde looked, “I had to pee.”

“36 hours of freedom until my next shift. Can I interest you in breakfast at my place and maybe some sleep?” She knew it was crossing a line to invite her to sleep over but it’s not like it was an invitation for sex. She truly just wanted to sleep next to the girl. “I know you had a little nap back there…”

“I’d love that,” Kate cut her off before she could finish her thought. “Is your sister home?”

Yelena laughed, “she’s still at work until 8. Hopefully you’ll be asleep by then. But we will probably see her later depending on when you want to leave.”

“Never?” 

Another deep chuckle, “Lucky will not be happy with that and you will definitely run into Natasha.” 

“I have someone who looks after Lucky when I’m not set to be at home. He’s with one of the larper friends so we don’t have to worry about him,” Kate watched with rapt attention as Yelena brought her cigarette up to her lips and inhaled deeply. Was it possible to be jealous of a cigarette? Yes, it definitely was because Kate wanted to rip it from her lips and replace it with herself. 

Yelena cleared her throat with a raised eyebrow while she exhaled, “see something you like?” 

“You are a very dangerous person, Yelena Belova.” 

“I never said I wasn’t,” she stood, putting her cigarette out in the receptacle. She bumped into Kate’s shoulder on purpose before sliding her hand into the brunette’s, “ready?” 

“So ready,” she squeezed Yelena’s hand knowing full well she would follow this woman to her death if it was meant to happen. 

When they got back to her place, the apartment was quiet which was a relief to Yelena even though she knew her sister was still at work, “Wanda must still be sleeping. Make yourself at home. Do you have any allergies?” 

“Nope,” she took off her hoodie then took a seat at the kitchen island. “Do you like to cook?” 

“I do,” Yelena smiled, buzzing around the kitchen. “It is very relaxing. Plus, this is my first non hospital meal in over 72 hours. I always go big on the first meal at home after all the on call shifts. Hope you are hungry.”

“I’m always ready to devour food,” she hesitated, “as long as it’s not vegetables.” 

“Vegetables are a staple, Kate Bishop. Are you opposed to fruit?” 

Kate shook her head, “no. Fruit is delicious.” 

Yelena ended up cooking waffles with homemade breakfast potatoes and sausage. She enlisted Kate’s help in cutting up fruit for a side as long as the brunette promised no more stitches for one day. The breakfast conversation flowed so well. Yelena was always surprised how comfortable she felt around the young woman. It had been years since she was so at ease around another person and she was relishing in it. Kate’s hospital visits gave her pause but everyone had their secrets. It’s not like they were officially dating so she didn’t feel too put out by the secrecy. 

“How old are you?” Kate asked, bringing Yelena out of her inner monologue. 

“28. I’ll be 29 in January. I know. Yuck. I am old.” 

“Please,” Kate rolled her eyes. “28 is hardly old.” 

“I’m a good four years older than most of my colleagues.” 

“But you have life experience,” Kate took an unusually large bite of her waffle, “I prefer older women.” 

“Charming,” she chuckled. 

“So this is what…like our sixth date?” 

“Sixth? How did you come up with that number?” 

“Easy,” Kate started counting on her fingers. “The first hospital visit. You were totally flirting with me. I count that as our first date. Then the club. I brought you coffee at the hospital… that’s three. Then the Empire State Building, Luna Park and now this. That’s six.” 

“That’s definitely six,” Yelena smirked. “Any reason you are asking?” 

Kate shrugged, “no.” 

“That is a lie.” 

“I guess I was just wondering what we are. What this is? Am I totally misreading the connection?” 

“Those are loaded questions for someone who hasn’t had proper sleep in over 72 hours.” 

“Forget it,” Kate tried to wave it off. “Just a thought. Ready for bed?” 

“Wait, Kate… sit. I am definitely ready for bed but I want to clean and redress your wounds first. I didn’t say I didn’t want to talk about this. I’d just like to sleep first and then talk about it later. Da?” 

Kate didn’t feel like that was an outright rejection so she was comfortable waiting to have the conversation plus she was dying to snuggle with Yelena again, “I guess I can wait.” 

“Let me clean up here. If you want to go take a shower you know where my bathroom is. Use whatever you’d like. Your pajamas you used last time are on the top shelf of my closet.” 

“Yes, I would love to get the hospital smell off of me,” she walked over to kiss Yelena’s cheek. “Oh also, you should never have cooked for me. I’ll be expecting it all the time now.” 

Yelena watched the girl disappear around the corner, “such a brat.” 

After the leftover food was put away for her sister and the dishes were cleaned, Yelena made her way to her bedroom. She quickly got dressed in a pair of short cotton shorts and a tank top. The sigh of relief she felt from finally being out of her scrubs was indescribable, “having a moment?” Kate asked when she came in wearing the basketball shorts and US Army t-shirt from their first accidental sleepover, “this shirt is still the comfiest.” She pulled up one leg, “I’m a little bloody.” 

Yelena noticed the bandage looked wet, “I’ll take care of that. Have a seat.” 

Kate happily walked over to what she already claimed as her side of the bed from her previous stay, “fix me up, doc.” 

“If you wouldn’t keep getting hurt then we wouldn’t have to have these medically necessary sleepovers.” 

Kate winked at the older woman, “all part of my master plan to make you fall in love with me.” 

Yelena rolled her eyes, “because there’s nothing sexier than stab wounds.” 

*

It was a rare occurrence when everyone was off on the same day in the Romanoff-Belova-Maximoff household but this was one of those days. Sometimes around 3, Natasha emerged from her bedroom making a beeline for her sister’s door. Wanda of course knew about what had happened at the hospital and told her to maybe wait a few minutes but Natasha wasn’t having any of that. 

“Cut your sister some slack, Natalia,” Wanda followed closely behind her. 

“What’s fun about that for me?” Her smirk was annoyingly endearing. “They came home before me and they are still in there sleeping? I bet they are in there fucking. It’s family time,” she announced. 

“Since when do we have family time?” Wanda was also curious about them but Natasha could become extremely persistent and annoying. Wanda was certain that Natasha could break down one of those guardsmen outside of Buckingham Palace. She’s told her this on multiple occasions since Yelena moved in and all it takes is Natasha smirking or winking and she forgets what her argument was. 

“Wait here. I don’t want you to see my sister naked. I’d have to kill the two of you.” As she approached her sister’s door she was listening for any sort of indication that there was something worthwhile going on in there besides sleeping but there were no sounds. She quietly turned the door knob, peeking inside. No, there was no sex. Natasha found her sister snuggling up against the brunette laying like a koala bear. Truthfully it was more disturbing than if she found them having sex. Her baby sister was a closeted snuggler and she would never let her live it down. She took out her phone and snapped a couple of pictures before heading back out, closing the door and then knocking. “Rise and shine, sis! Don’t sleep  away your whole day off!” She heard movement now, rustling and a quiet, “oh fuck.” She smirked at her girlfriend who was just shaking her head from across the room. “I’m coming in.” 

Before she could open the door, Yelena had come out, shutting it behind her, “Natasha. What a wake up call. Can’t a woman get more than 8 hours of sleep at one time?” She saw that insufferable smirk on her sister’s face and immediately wanted to smack it off of her. “What?” 

“Oh nothing.” 

“You came in the room,” she rolled her eyes. “Wanda. Control your woman better.” 

“Sweetheart, you and I both know your sister does as she pleases,” Wanda tried to keep the amusement out of her voice. “I did try. Clearly I wasn’t successful.” 

“Look how absolutely adorable you are,” she held her phone out in front of Yelena’s face. “We should think about this picture for the family Christmas card. Look at you all koalaed up on your tree of a girlfriend.” 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Yelena hissed in a whispered tone before nodding towards the living room. “We haven’t had that conversation yet so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t define us until we had a chance to.” 

“But look how cute,” she passed the phone to Wanda. 

“Yes, very cute but your sister does have a point. It’s not fair to define their relationship for them,” Wanda handed the phone back. “Is Kate okay?” 

“Da. You read the file. I got a few details but I’m not entirely sure she's forthcoming with her information.” 

“But if she was your girlfriend you could force her to tell you,” she looked at the unamused faces before her. “What? Nothing brings out the truth like the guilt of a relationship.” 

Yelena turned to Wanda, “I truly have no idea how you’ve managed to stay with my sister so long.” 

“I’m great in bed.” 

Wanda’s cheeks blushed, “she’s not wrong.” 

“I’m going to rip my ears off,” Yelena turned to leave but was stopped. “What? I have company. Much better than the two of you,” she turned to look at Wanda, “no offense.” 

“None taken.” 

“Look,” Natasha held her hands up, “I get it. I’d rather be on there with the giant tree of a girl who probably knows what she’s doing in bed.” 

“We haven’t…” 

“But,” she cut her sister off, “I’d like to spend time with you and her I guess. We could go out to dinner. The four of us. Wanda makes things less awkward.” 

“Go to dinner? Like double date?” 

“Yeah. Why not? We are very entertaining. We are all off tonight. What does Kate do for a living?” When Yelena hesitated to answer, Natasha continued, “see we can all get to know each other.” 

“I swear to god if you embarrass me or make Kate feel uncomfortable, I will kill you and nobody will question me.” 

“Threats will get you nowhere, sis.” 

Yelena smirked, “maybe not but you are not the only one with a phone full of embarrassing pictures. Would be an awful shame if they started leaking as the kids say.” 

Natasha’s eyes widened, “fine. I’ll be good. Go see if Kate’s down. I know a place we can go.” 

“Why don’t we stay in for dinner. We have food and drinks. I’ll cook,” Wanda offered. 

“I think I like that better. Let me go see if Kate has plans tonight.” 

“Don’t give her the option.” 

“Natalia,” Wanda warned her girlfriend. 

“Fine,” she conceded. “Just let her know how anxious we are to get to know her. Oh and tell her how good Wanda’s cooking is.” 

“She will probably have to go take care of Lucky at some point. He’s at a friend’s house because she came home with me this morning.” 

“That good boy I met when I told Kate to bring you coffee?”

“Yeah why?” 

Natasha looked at Wanda before she smiled, “have her friend drop him off here.” 

“Wait? We can have dogs here and you never told me? You know I want to get a dog.” 

“Don’t pout, dear. Go talk to Kate and let me know what she likes to eat.” 

“Anything but vegetables. Thanks Wanda,” she called as she retreated back to her bedroom. 

Yelena walked in and wasn’t surprised to find that the brunette had fallen back asleep but now she was turned on her side, spooning Yelena’s vacant pillow. Yeah, she thought, I’m in way too deep already. She quickly slid into the bed behind the other woman, snuggling up against her back. “I could be a big spoon,” she mumbled against Kate’s shoulder. “Little hawk,” she said a little louder trying to stir her. She just felt Kate snuggle deeper into the bed. Yelena nosed the back of her neck, inhaling deeply. Kate smelled like home and Yelena knew the fine line she was walking was almost nonexistent. She placed a kiss behind Kate’s ear, “time to wake up.” 

“No,” Yelena heard a small whine from the other girl, “your bed is too comfy.” Kate snuggled down further into the covers. Yelena kissed her behind her ear again and she was sure she felt Kate shiver, “don’t start something you don’t intend to finish, doctor.” 

A deep chuckle sounded from behind her, “I can not attend to you properly knowing my sister is probably standing outside listening. I would hate for her to hear you screaming my name.” 

Kate rolled over, bringing their lips together, “you can’t say things like that and expect my vagina not to respond.” She was kissing her again, deeper this time exploring her mouth before pulling the older woman on top of her. “Fuck,” she hissed when Yelena’s thigh touched her stitches. “Forgot about those.” 

“Another reason to stop getting injured,” she leaned down to whisper next to Kate’s ear, “because when I fuck you… you will feel it everywhere.” 

There was a loud banging on the door, “ten more minutes and I’m coming in there.” 

Yelena groaned and rolled off Kate, “told you.” She wiped her hand down her face, trying to push the horny thoughts from her mind. “Natasha came in and caught us cuddling. So she’s already ready to attack.” 

“I must say… These are some of the best cuddles I’ve ever gotten. I will say that the two times I’ve slept in this bed have been some of the best sleeps I’ve gotten. Maybe I need to injure myself more so I get more invitations.” 

“Do not even joke about that, Kate Bishop,” Yelena’s tone told her it was not up for debate. “Next time I won’t be so nice and welcoming. Now,” she sat up, “let me check your wounds and then we will need to decide what to do about Natasha.” 

“What about her?” 

“Oh,” Yelena rolled her eyes, “she and Wanda invited you to stay for dinner. Apparently a double date. Wanda wants to cook.” 

“Lucky will be home soon…” 

Yelena cut her off, “they said Lucky is welcome to come over if your friend wants to drop him off.” 

“You make it impossibly hard for a girl to say no,” she pulled out her phone to check the time. She already had something planned for later but she could cancel to spend more time with the girl who wasn’t her girlfriend. “Okay. I would love to stay.” 

“Only if you don’t have other plans. Don’t feel obligated to stay.” 

“Hey,” Kate sat up when she picked up on the underlying sad tone, “this is not an obligation to me. I will take any and every offer to spend more time getting to know you and that includes being harassed by your scary older sister and her girlfriend.” 

Yelena couldn’t keep the smile off of her face, “it is settled . You will call for Lucky?” Kate nodded her agreement. “Great. I’ll go get the supplies to clean your wound and you make the call. Da?” She made her way out of the room. 

Kate pulled out her phone and saw several missed messages from her dog sitter and a new one from Cassie telling her she was interested in her offer from earlier. She would get back to Cassie later, right now she was more concerned about her dog. She brought up the contact and pressed the call button, “hey Carol, yeah no. I got your messages. My leg is fine. Yeah. No. Everything is cool. I'm actually here right now.” 

Natasha was walking by Yelena’s room and heard the girl on the phone. She didn’t intend to snoop but in her defense, Kate was talking loudly. 

Can you bring Lucky by? I’ll text the address. Yes… I’m staying for dinner. The doctor asked me to stay for dinner with her sister and the chief. *pause* yes this is a good idea. I really like her. Like way more than I thought possible. *pause* no I haven’t told her anything yet. * pause * okay I know we were hunting tonight but I can’t make it.  Go without me or we can wait until tomorrow. Yes. So you’ll bring Lucky? 

Natasha walked away feeling more conflicted about the girl than she already was. Maria talked about her a lot and it wasn’t always in a positive light. She didn’t care what this girl was getting into but if Kate ever hurt her sister, she would kill her no questions asked. Kate came out of the room, “hi. Sorry. I have to pee.” 

Natasha plastered a smile on her face pretending she didn’t hear anything, “cool. Bathroom is that way. Are you staying for dinner?” 

“Yes, thank you for the invite. My friend Carol is going to drop by with Lucky. I’ll just meet them downstairs. It was very considerate of you to invite the both of us.” 

Natasha raised an eyebrow, “anyone important to my sister is important to me. I look forward to getting to know you better.” She gave Kate a final look that the brunette could not place before turning and walking back towards the living room. 

Kate watched her walk away before heading towards the bathroom, “hey.” 

“All set?” The doctor kissed her cheek when she came into the bathroom. “I can get you fixed up. 

“Yep. My friend is going to drop lucky off so we can stay as long as you’ll have us,” she kissed her quickly before pulling away and adding, “but I desperately need to pee.” 

Chapter Text

Yelena came downstairs with Kate to greet Lucky mostly because she wanted to get away from her sister for a minute but also because she really wanted a cigarette. “I am apologizing in advance for anything my Natasha might say to you tonight. I really wouldn’t think twice if you just left right now.”

Kate turned to see Yelena inhale deeply from her cigarette. Damn, she looked hot like that. There is no reason smoking a cigarette should be that fucking sexy but here Yelena was defying all of the odds. “Why is smoking so bad for you if you look sexy as hell doing it?”

Yelena chuckled, “did you mean to say that out loud?”

“No,” sometimes her brain spoke without permission, “but that doesn’t make it any less true. You are the sexiest person I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

“Is the competition stiff, Kate Bishop?”

“Nothing ever serious, no. Casual hook ups. A few couple month flings but no one stuck around long enough to put up with my shit,” the self-deprecating humor wasn’t missed. “What about you? Any serious relationships in the past? Are there any crazy ex girlfriends going to come after me in my sleep?”

“The only crazy person who might come after you in your sleep is Natasha. No,” she shook her head, “I had one serious relationship in the past before now. I didn't really have much time for relationships. Plus, in Ohio being gay in highschool was kind of a circus show. I never wanted to be anybody’s dirty secret. The military is where I truly accepted myself. Then I met Emily and everything changed for the better.”

“How long did you date her?” Kate couldn’t be jealous of some from the past. She just had a healthy curiosity about Yelena’s past relationship at least that's what she was telling herself.

“About three years…”

“So most of your military career?”

“Mhmm,” she held the cigarette smoke in her lungs. Letting it burn away her emotions. “Emily.. she was very special to me.”

Kate was about to ask about the breakup when she saw Carol approaching with her dog, “there’s Lucky.”

“My good boy,” she put her cigarette out, leaning over and opening her arms as the golden retriever ran straight for her, completely ignoring his mother.

“The utter disrespect,” Kate gave Lucky a side eye, “remember who feeds you the good stuff, young man. If you want your biweekly pizza you better get over here and give me a kiss.” Lucky must have understood her because he turned his head briefly to lick her cheek before turning his attention back to Yelena. “We will talk about this later.”

“Hey,” Carol followed behind, handing Kate his leash and a backpack that she had asked Carol to grab from her house. It had stuff for Lucky as well as a change of clothes and bath products for herself. She wasn’t assuming that Yelena was going to let her spend the night but she was secretly hoping for it. “He definitely missed you.” She turned towards Yelena, “hi. I’m Carol. You must be the doctor.”

“Dr. Belova,” she shook her hand, “but you can call me Yelena. It’s nice to meet you, tall blonde friend of Kate’s.” The woman had very long legs and was wearing short shorts, a tank top and a flannel shirt. Yelena didn’t like the way this woman was looking at Kate. She was picking up on something between them and it wasn’t sitting right with her. Yelena settled for a threatening glare.

“She’s not that tall,” Kate laughed, “I’m taller than she is.”

“It’s nice to put a face to the nickname tiny hot Russian doctor. She was not exaggerating.”

Kate gave her friend a look, “a private nickname.”

“It is okay,” Yelena smirked, “I know I am Russian.”

“Oh a smart ass,” Carol looked the doctor up and down, “we love a smart ass. You should invite her out sometime.”

Kate was silently praying Carol wouldn’t say anything incriminating but she wasn’t confident so she just laughed, “someday.”

“So how do you two know each other?” Yelena noticed the way Kate was fidgeting in her seat. She didn’t know if it was due to a past between the two of them or something more current but she didn’t like it.

“Larping,” Kate almost shouted, causing both women to look at her.

Carol smirked, “yeah larping. I love dressing up in costume and fighting off a bunch of nerds.”

“Hey! Larping is cool and you always come back.”

“Well I wouldn’t get to see my favorite good boy if I didn’t,” she bent down to ruffle Lucky’s fur and Yelena wasn’t happy. That was her good boy and this woman had her hands all over him.

“Yes,” Yelena was staring daggers at Carol. “Lucky is a very good boy. Thank you for bringing him by,” she grabbed his leash while putting her other arm around Kate, silently marking her territory.

Carol took that as her signal that it was time to go, “well I better get out of here. Things to do. People to kill and all that,” she winked at Kate before saying goodbye to Yelena and Lucky.

They watched her walk back down the sidewalk the way she had come from, “did she say people to kill?”

Kate laughed a little too loudly, “inside joke. She’s an idiot.”

“She did wink at you quite a few times,” Yelena handed Lucky’s leash to Kate so she could pull out a fresh cigarette without having to move her hand from around Kate’s shoulders.

“It’s not like that.”

“She is very tall,” Yelena grumbled. “Freakishly long legs. And she ruffled Lucky’s fur too hard.”

“I wouldn’t say freakishly tall,” she rolled her eyes. “Besides, I like shorter women. The ones that spoon up against me like my own personal backpack.”

She let the words hang between the two of them before pressing on with her line of questioning, “so she’s not one of the ones you’ve been with?”

Kate looked at her before answering, “not one of the couple month flings.”

“So a casual hook up,” she lit her cigarette inhaling her feelings, “got it. Is it still going on?”

“Not currently and trust me when I say that there is nothing there except friendship.”

“I trust you, little hawk. It’s her winking that I don’t trust.”

“She’s just a naturally flirty person. Nothing to worry about.”

“Naturally flirty? That’s plenty reason to worry.”

Kate shrugged one shoulder, “I mean she is seeing someone. There seems to be a very simple solution to all this jealousy if you ask me. I think I’m kind of seeing someone too.”

Yelena chuckled, “and who might that be?”

“This incredibly sexy Russian doctor who drives a motorcycle has an amazing body and is jealous of my friend for no reason. Oh she is also a great cook and good with my dog.”

“Six dates?”

Kate smiled, turning to face the blonde, “six official dates.”

“Would you like to be my girlfriend, Kate Bishop?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” she kissed Yelena realizing she didn’t mind the taste of her cigarettes.

“Natasha is going to know as soon as we go back in there. I swear her and Wanda have these hidden superhero powers where they can sense things before you even say anything.”

“How bad could it be?”

When they got back upstairs, Lucky was shy at first, sniffing around the apartment and gently greeting the two other women. He quickly warmed up when Wanda gave him a couple pieces of carrots. “I didn’t know you ate vegetables,” Kate was speaking directly to her dog. “He’s usually on a strict diet of kibble, pizza and Mac and cheese. I keep learning new things.”

“Did you know Kate Bishop saved him from the middle of the road? He was about to be run over and she rushed right out to get him?”

Natasha noticed her sister’s tone and smirked, “girlfriends before you’ve even had sex? That’s a bold move, Belova.”

“I told you,” she eyed Kate who was furiously blushing at the remark.

“Natalia,” came the warning from the other red head who was facing the stove.

Kate thought it was funny that the chief could simply give a verbal warning and Natasha fell into line knowing that her girlfriend was the boss. She wondered if that was a transferable quality when she looked over to her newly instated girlfriend who was there laughing at her sister, “so whipped Natasha.” Okay, it definitely wasn’t transferable.

“Thanks for having us for dinner. Lucky won’t mess anything up in the apartment. I vouch for him.”

“Yelena already vouched for him. I trust her,” Natasha’s weak icy exterior towards Kate vanished the moment she saw how happy her sister was and when she was bowled over by the eager golden retriever. She had yet to be allowed to stand up from the floor. Lucky had found himself a seat on her lap, “plus I think it’s safe to assume he likes me best.”

“So Kate,” Wanda finally turned and walked over to the counter, “no allergies right?”

“No allergies. I eat almost anything.”

Wanda held her smile back, “except vegetables or so I’m told. There will be some vegetables served tonight.” She saw the look Kate’s face made before she could stop it. “You’ll try them and you will like them.”

Kate now officially knew why Natasha so readily agreed to whatever Wanda said. It was hard to not feel the dominating presence. Probably helped her to become chief, “yes, ma’am.”

That was the first night in all of Kate’s 23 years of life that she could recall eating the vegetables voluntarily. Well coerced into volunteering as she didn’t want to face the chief's rage if she had said no. She wouldn’t admit it outloud but the roasted brussel sprouts weren’t that bad. They just smelled like trash. “So how did the two of you meet?”

Wanda looked over at her girlfriend, “do you want to tell the story?”

Natasha rolled her eyes when Yelena chuckled, “oh this is good. Go on, Natasha.”

“What has it been five years now? I was getting ready for a date. I may have already started drinking. What? It was my day off,” she looked at her sister who was grinning at her. “I was meeting Maria at her house and we were going to go together. But as I said… I was already a little drunk. I had my AirPods in really setting the vibes and I misstepped, fell down the stairs and broke my leg. Well I didn’t know my leg was broken. My drunk ass walked to the hospital and was greeted by,” she turned and looked at her girlfriend.

“I wasn’t the chief yet. I was the oncall attending. Surprisingly, I had never met her before though I heard all about her from Maria. I just watched this woman walk herself into the ER and announce that she had a boo boo on her foot.”

Kate laughed out loud, “a boo boo?”

“It’s a medically accurate term,” Natasha pouted.

“So,” Wanda brought the conversation back around, “I fixed up her foot. She needed emergency surgery which I was more than happy to do as a budding chief of surgery.”

“I guess I forgot to tell Maria on my drunken walk to the hospital that I got hurt but as it turns out she had messaged me saying she had to reschedule because she had something come up,” there was a subtle side eye to Kate that nobody caught but her and the brunette felt immediately uncomfortable. “Mom and Dad couldn’t come out and Yelena was overseas for a few more months I believe. So it was just me.”

“I couldn’t let her wake up alone,” Wanda smiled at her girlfriend, “so I stayed with her. I had texted Maria a few times with updates but she was hard to get a hold of. I stayed with Natalia until she was up and ready to be discharged.”

“Maria and I were already on the rocks so to speak,” Natasha shrugged. “Wanda didn’t feel comfortable leaving me at my apartment and with Maria being an intern, she brought me here and I guess I just never left.”

“I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” Wanda leaned over and kissed Natasha’s cheek.

“And Maria was cool with all of this?” Kate knew the question was stupid. She knew how Maria felt about the breakup. She really needed to work on keeping her mouth shut.

“Eventually things got better between us at work,” was all Wanda said about that particular question.

“Do not let them fool you, Kate Bishop. They are disgustingly in love and have sex all over this apartment. You are lucky they seem to be on their best behavior with your company.”

“False information,” Natasha smirked, “I don’t care if Kate’s here or not. I’m only not jumping Wanda for Lucky’s sake. He is far too young to see that kind of thing. Stick around long enough and I’m sure you’ll get an eyeful eventually,” she winked at Kate.

“As of right now,” Yelena looked over at the brunette, “you are no longer welcomed here.”

“Yelena dear,” Wanda jumped in, “when your guest is over we will always be on our best behavior.”

Kate pointed at Wanda, “she seems trustworthy. I believe her.”

“She has a nice, people pleasing face but do not let it fool you, Kate Bishop. First time you let your guard down you’ll come face to face with both of their naked asses and you will be searching for the bleach,” she touched Kate’s knee under the table tickling her with the sensation.

With the slight jolt from Kate’s reaction, Natasha smirked, “inappropriate touching under the table at dinner.”

“The food was delicious, chief,” Kate truly never tasted a vegetable she tolerated until that evening.

“Kate and I will clean up,” Yelena offered.

“Movie or game?”

“Natalia, go pick out a movie. I think these two have had enough of your questioning for one evening.”

Natasha smirked and turned to Yelena, “Если ты хочешь трахнуть Кейт сегодня вечером, будь моим гостем. Стены не звуконепроницаемы, но насколько громкой она может быть?”

Kate had no idea what she had said but Yelena’s jaw dropped and she’d be the first to admit, her girlfriend speaking Russian was a big turn on even if she didn’t understand her.

“Продолжай в том же духе, Наташа. Как насчет того, чтобы рассказать маме и папе о том времени, когда ты трахнул Ванду на их кухне? На прилавке. Рядом с едой,” Yelena had not a hint of amusement in her voice as the sisters glared at each other.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

Yelena smirked, “Попробуй меня.”

Kate moved closer to Wanda and whispered, “okay but that was hot as fuck right?”

“It was,” she whispered back, “and they do it quite frequently.”

“Damn,” Kate couldn’t stop staring at her girlfriend, “how are you just not constantly walking around in a state of horny?”

“I never said I wasn’t,” she chuckled, “but I’ve become accustomed to their interactions. Even before Yelena moved in and we had visited them in Ohio. They’ve always been like this. I think it’s great that they are so close given the circumstances.”

“Huh?”

Wanda noticed by the confused look on Kate’s face that their adoption had not been a conversation they had had yet so she left it at that, “come on now. Enough of this glaring contest. We will go set up a movie. Yelena, I think Kate needs help clearing the table.”

“Fine,” she gave her sister one last scathing look as Wanda pulled her into the other room. “Do not let my sister intimidate you. I can kick her ass. Easy.”

“You’ve done it before?”

“All the time,” the blonde scoffed, “do not let this petite body fool you. I am vicious, Kate Bishop. You do not want to get on my bad side.”

Kate nodded, “I mean… that was a pretty hot display back there. I may just want to get on that bad side when we are alone.”

“Such a flirt, little hawk,” Yelena shook her head, grabbing a few of the dishes to rinse off and load into the dishwasher. “You can not talk me into ravishing you while my sister and her girlfriend are here.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t try,” Kate’s sass was intoxicating to Yelena. “What were you and Natasha arguing about?”

“You do not wish to know,” Yelena was washing the dishes that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher while Kate dried them. “Nat is a pig. That is all you need to know.”

“She was asking about us having sex, got it.”

They finished up with the chores while the other two women were getting ready for a cozy night in. Yelena and Kate had never changed out of their comfortable clothes after being rudely woken up. “I should probably take Lucky for a walk before the movie. He’s house trained but he did just have his dinner. It’s only fair that he gets some outside time.”

“Of course the good boy needs to go out,” Yelena ruffled his fur. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“No that’s okay,” she shook her head, “we won’t be long. I’ll text you when we come back so you can come down and let us up.”

Yelena looked over her shoulder to make sure they were alone before she leaned up on her tiptoes, kissing Kate softly on her lips. She sighed into the kiss, pressing a little deeper before pulling back slightly, “you always taste like candy.”

“It’s my super power,” Kate pecked her a few times before leashing up her dog. “We will be right back.”

“I’ll get your bandages ready for changing,” Yelena watched her leave.

“Where did Lucky go?” Natasha came out of her bathroom wearing some leggings and a sweatshirt that hung off of her shoulders.

“He had to use the little puppy’s room. Kate will message me when they get back.”

“Why don’t you go get ready for the movie and I’ll let them back in.”

Yelena gave her sister an unsure look, “you will not interrogate her. You will not embarrass me or her. You go down, get them, bring them up and that is it?”

“Scouts honor, Yelena. I’ll be on my best behavior.”

She didn’t quite believe her sister but she agreed to it, “fine. Do not take long.”

Kate had walked Lucky a little ways down the sidewalk towards the hospital when felt her phone vibrate. While Lucky was picking the perfect spot for his business she answered, “what is it now Carol?”

“I didn’t actually expect you to answer,” she sounded surprised. “Your Russian seemed annoyed at me earlier.”

“You winked at me like five times. She thinks you were flirting with me,” she watched her dog finally pick a spot to go to the bathroom.

“Well she’s right, I was. You are cute and I flirt with everyone. She shouldn’t take it personally. If I didn’t know how you can maim someone with an arrow, I’d have flirted with her too. But I’m not putting out my death wish just yet.”

“Smart woman,” Kate pulled out a little purple baggie to pick up Lucky’s poop.

“Plus, we know I’m seeing someone.”

“Yeah but she knows we’ve slept together,” Kate almost sounded regretful that she had told Yelena that small tidbit.

“But it was never serious. You didn’t tell her it was an ongoing thing did you? You did. And you told her it was over right?”

Kate sighed, “well I know that and you know that and I told Yelena that but she still looked like she wanted to hang your skin as a trophy above her bed. Maybe don’t wink at me so much next time you see her.”

A loud laugh came through the phone, “I can’t promise that. I just breathe and the flirting comes out.”

“Carol. Please,” Kate wasn’t above begging. “I really like her and don’t want you to mess things up for me. I’m perfectly capable of messing them up on my own.” She sandwiched the phone between her shoulder and her ear. “Did you call for something in particular?”

“I just wanted to let you know we are hunting for that fucker who stabbed you tonight. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Kill the fucker,” Kate mumbled as she opened up the door to Yelena’s building not paying attention. “Happy hunting. Send him my worst.”

“Enjoy your tiny Russian badass. Have many orgasms. See you tomorrow.”

“I hate you. Goodnight,” Kate hung up the phone and noticed Natasha sitting on the bench staring at her with her arms crossed over her chest. “Oh hey. I was just getting ready to text Yelena that we were back.” She started walking in the direction of the elevator, “did you come down here to let us up or just to try to kill me with your eyes?”

Natasha joined her in the elevator. When they were passing the third floor, she reached out and pushed the emergency stop.

“What are you doing?”

“We need to have a little conversation about your intentions with my sister.”

Kate wasn’t panicking that she was stuck in an elevator with a woman who clearly wasn’t her biggest fan, “can’t it wait until we aren’t suspended in an elevator shaft.”

“No,” she wasn’t budging. “Now seems like the perfect time to me. We aren’t really going anywhere. Plenty of time to talk.”

“Okay then just give me the older sister death threat so we can go upstairs before I start to have a panic attack in here.”

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back against the wall of the elevator, “scared of enclosed spaces?”

“No,” she scoffed, “but I’m kind of scared of you.”

Natasha chuckled, “good as you should be. Now,” she looked down at the phone in Kate’s hand, “I don’t know what you have going on with your friends but I sense something slightly off about you. Maria used to talk about you a lot. I didn’t pay much attention but she was worried about you. Now, I don’t know what kind of hold you have over my sister but I’ve never seen her this smitten with anybody. The girls in highschool were awful to her. I never met Emily but after what happened, she hasn’t shown interest in anybody since returning home. So whatever spell you have on her is working.” She took a breath, silently daring Kate to speak. When she didn’t, Natasha continued, “I’m going to find out what you are up to. I have my ways. If I find out that you hurt my sister in any way, intentionally or not, I have no qualms with killing you. And trust me when I say, they will never find the body.”

Kate had heard Yelena when she said her sister was scary but she didn’t really believe her until now. She cleared her throat, “when I took Yelena on the slingshot ride, you said you’d kill me if she died. I thought she was joking.”

“She wasn’t joking.”

“Yes,” Kate was having a hard time keeping eye contact, “I can see that now.”

“So we are clear. You hurt Yelena and I kill you. And by hurt I mean, physically, emotionally, spiritually, or any other sort of hurt that can happen.”

“Got it,” Kate breathed a sigh of relief when the redhead seemed satisfied and pushed the button to start the elevator again. “Just for the record, I have no intention of hurting your sister. She’s very special to me.”

“She’s special to me too, Kate. She was all I had for a few years before we found our home but that’s a story for Yelena to tell.”

“Fair enough. So,” she followed her out of the elevator, “do you ever think you and I will be friends?”

Natasha laughed, “Yelena was right. You are very funny.”

“What’s so funny?” Yelena asked, intercepting Lucky who ran to her when the front door opened and they came back inside.

“Little Katie here asked if we could be friends.”

“Natalia,” came a warning call from the living room.

“Nevermind,” Natasha conceded and made her way over towards the living room. “Poltergeist tonight.”

“Ooo,” Yelena’s eyes got excited, “I love that one.”

“Haven’t seen it,” Kate unclipped Lucky’s leash. “I heard it’s not that scary.”

“Well nothing will ever be as scary as that rubber band ride. You are correct there,” Yelena gave her a peck before whispering, “my sister did not give you a hard time did she?”

Kate thought about telling her about the threat but decided against it, “nope. She mainly talked to Lucky. I swear everybody here likes my dog more than me.”

Yelena looked over her shoulder to make sure the other two women were occupied before backing Kate into the door, kissing her below her jaw, “well that is just not true.” She didn’t take it any further than a couple kisses down Kate’s throat knowing they weren’t alone. She whispered as she peppered kisses along her collarbone, “I like you very much.”

A throat clearing interrupted the moment, “are we going to watch the movie or do you want us to leave so you can fuck Kate against the front door?”

“I’m going to have to kill her,” she groaned, dropping her forehead to Kate’s shoulder. “Fuck off and give us five minutes. I need to change her dressings.”

“Five minutes,” Natasha tried her best not to sound annoyed. “I’ll get some snacks ready. Anything special Kate?”

“Whatever you have is fine.”

“The perfect little guest,” she smirked.

“Oh stop,” Wanda pulled her away. “Leave the girl alone. You don’t always have to be at 100% Natalia.”

“Fine,” she sighed, “I’ll drop down to 92% but that's the best I can do.”
*
Kate and Lucky did end up spending the night over at Yelena's, both loving the time they got to spend with the woman. There wasn’t a dog bed there but the blonde brought a few extra blankets and made a makeshift bed for Lucky next to her window for him to rest while they continued their snuggling from earlier after the family movie. Kate had looked over a few times and saw Natasha and Wanda making out. She knew better than to call them out. Unfortunately the next day, their welcome was worn out when everyone had to head back to work. Lucky and Kate walked Yelena to the hospital before heading back to her own loft.

Looking around her place, it wasn’t necessarily small but it was undeniably quiet and she felt lonely. Lucky whined when he walked over and flopped down onto his spot on the couch, “I know buddy. I miss her too. Should I order us some pizza?” He barked twice which clearly meant yes. “Okay,” she grabbed her laptop, bringing it over to the couch with a Coke Zero for herself. After she placed the order for their pizza from downstairs, she checked her email, “oh fuck. What’s the date?” She looked over at Lucky who just stared at her. She had to log into her school account, “oops. Do you think my professor will believe I accidentally died and that’s why I didn’t do my assignment?” Lucky snorted, “okay. Well I’m a little behind. Honestly, it’s their fault for kicking me off campus. It’s not my fault I can’t remember to sign onto this online crap. At least when I was on campus, there was a slightly better chance I showed up.” She opened a new email and addressed it to her professor. “Okay. How do I ask for an extension when most of my time has been spent trying to get this girl to ask me out?” She quickly typed up an excuse and she sent it off hoping her Professor would give her an extension on the term paper that was due two days ago. She blamed the stab wound for forgetting. “Maybe school isn’t for me, Lucky. It would be amazing if they started paying vigilantes. Not that we need money. Drowning in trust funds is not a bad problem to have.” As the doorbell rang signaling the pizza was here, there was a knock at the window. “Come in,” she called out, knowing exactly who it was. She grabbed the pizza and two plates plus Lucky’s special pizza plate.

“At least I knocked this time,” Carol slid the window open and jumped onto the platform. “So how was the sex?”

“Ugh,” she sat down with one leg curled under her body. “We haven’t had sex yet.”

“I didn’t think you looked very satisfied,” she smirked.

“Do not,” Kate glared at her, “keep it up and I won’t feed you.”

“I didn’t say a word,” Carol pretended to zip her lips waiting for Kate to hand her a plate. She watched the brunette get a slice for Lucky and pass it over to him on the floor. “Your friend called me last night.”

“Which friend?” Kate handed Carol a plate with a couple of slices on it as she settled back against her spot with her own plate.

“The squirrelly over eager one.”

“Oh,” Kate chuckled, “Cassie. I knew she’d be easy to recruit. I heard something about her wanting to cut that one dude’s penis off. Her dad said the same thing. Maybe we can recruit him.”

“No men,” Carol left no room for argument. “You know this.”

“I know,” she rolled her eyes, “you aren’t the only founding member.”

“Then you remember why we started this in the first place,” Carol leaned over and grabbed the remote. “Trashy tv?”

“Fine,” Kate rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to say no to that.” They settled on some dumb dating competition and fell into their comfortable silence, eating and making fun of the competitors on the show. “So what did you think of Cassie?”

“I actually met up with her for a few minutes last night before the hunt,” she looked over and saw the face Kate was making. “Don’t worry I didn’t take her with me. I just wanted to put my feelers out there and see if she’d be a good fit. She’s perfect. I think we can trust her.”

“Yeah,” Kate agreed, “I got good vibes from her when I met up with her at the bar that night. She really hates men.”

“Can’t say I blame her,” Carol laughed. “So when do you think Yelena will come out with us?”

Kate laughed louder than necessary, “I know we just started officially dating but would you like to go out maiming with me and my friends? Oh and your intern?”

“Touché. I see your point.”

“Though her sister…”

Carol looked intrigued, “the hot firefighter?”

“That exact one,” Kate didn’t bother asking how Carol knew her. It seemed everybody knew everybody in the city if you lived here long enough. Especially the women in the lesbian community. “She’s pretty fucking scary. She’d either be a great asset to the team or she’s going to murder me before we have a chance to carry out our… well you know.”

“You think she’s going to be a problem? Interrupt our cause?”

Kate shrugged, “I don’t think she’ll be a problem for anyone except me. I’m going to try to befriend her before Maria gets to her.”

“Fucking Hill,” Carol let her head fall back on the couch, “it always comes back to that woman, doesn’t it?”

Chapter Text

*Late October*

A few more weeks had passed without any emergencies or concerns. Kate had somehow managed to stay out of the hospital during this time. She even managed to get the all clear from the hospital that her wrist had healed appropriately and she could discontinue use of the air cast. She had never felt more excited for the free range of her arm. Truthfully, Kate had been more careful when out in the field in order to avoid any unwanted trips to the hospital. She already knew Natasha was leary of her and didn’t want to drag any l more attention to her and her frequent injuries as long as she could hold off. Things were also going well with Cassie. She seemed extra cautious which Kate attributed to the fact that she was scared of Yelena finding injuries on her. The blonde was terrifying so Kate couldn’t blame her for the extra precautions. “I just can’t do anything to get caught. I need my job and I prefer not to die a slow and agonizing death from a tiny, very angry Russian.” Those were Cassie’s exact words on the night of their first outing. Carol and Kate had been fighting a lot over the past month. She found any and every excuse to not have to go out into the field and absolutely avoided Carol at all costs but it only lasted so long. Carol on the other hand was having a hard time with Kate’s change in demeanor. For so long they had worked together without hesitation and all of a sudden Kate had flipped the script on her and she wasn’t okay with it. “Why?”

“I just can’t go out tonight. Or probably for awhile.”

“Yes,” Carol was angry and Kate knew it. “You said that but you didn’t say why.”

“You know I have school stuff coming up. I’m so behind that it’s no wonder that I haven’t been kicked out for the second time.”

“That’s bullshit,” Carol wasn’t even looking at her now, “you’ve been acting like a whipped puppy ever since that dinner a month ago.”

“If you are just going to come over to yell at me and insult me then I’m going to have to start locking the window.” Kate was upset with the treatment she was receiving but she honestly wasn’t surprised Carol had finally reached her limit. She had been making up excuse after excuse since having dinner with Natasha and Wanda only going out a few times over the past month.

“Natasha doesn’t know shit, okay? Maria hasn’t been snooping around. What’s the issue here, Bishop?” Her voice was raised to a level that probably could’ve been heard by the neighbors, “if you want out, just say it. I’m perfectly capable of doing this on my own.”

Kate yelled back, “you know that’s not what I want.”

“Then fucking act like it.” She was pacing in front of the couch, “Yelena isn’t going to find anything out. If you are so worried then you could just fill her in.”

“We’ve been over this. It’s not happening. Plus,” Kate shrugged, “this has nothing to do with her. I’m busy with school.”

“Stop trying to bullshit me,” Carol was getting angry again, “we’ve been through so much together. You don’t think I can tell when you are lying to me.”

“Okay,” Kate shouted, “okay. I get it. I’m a big fucking disappointment. It’s not news, I’ve been a disappointment my whole fucking life, okay. I was bound to let you down eventually. I like her. All right? A lot and I’m not sure what to do with that and this and it’s all becoming very overwhelming.”

“No,” Carol shook her head, “you and i… we’ve… no. This is different. What we do is different. What we have is different.”

“What do we have? You made it clear a long time ago that there was nothing romantic between us. Now, all of a sudden you are getting territorial because I’m not available at the drop of a hat for you anymore?”

“We’ve built this up from the ground, Kate. It’s not about sex or fuck even friendship at this point. This is more than that and you are what? Throwing our investment away for a woman you haven’t even slept with yet.” There was a knock at the door, “it’s her right? The reason you can’t go out tonight? Not the school project.”

Kate had plans with Yelena and unfortunately the doctor was early, “you need to leave. We can talk about this some other time.”

“I’m taking Cassie. She asked to come out tonight. She said needed some stress release after her oncall shifts,” Carol turned and headed towards the window. “Maybe she can do what you apparently lost the courage to do.”

Carol left out of the window, slamming it behind her and Kate called after her, “yeah well… fuck you too.” She rolled her eyes when the lock fell off of the window and headed over to the door plastering on her happy face, “hey,” she swung the front door open, “you are early.”

Yelena smirked, “I could turn around and come back later.”

“No,” Kate reached out, pulling her inside.

Yelena immediately noticed her girlfriend wasn’t her normal, cheerful self, “what’s wrong, Kate Bishop? I thought I heard yelling when I was coming up. Is everything okay? Are you hurt? Was someone in here with you?”

Kate watched as her eyes did a quick scan of the room before zeroing back in on her, “nobody was here. I was yelling but I am fine.”

Yelena reached up, cupping Kate’s face with both of her hands. Her thumbs were tracing soothing patterns down her cheeks. She never broke eye contact, “do you want to know what my superpower is?” Kate nodded too scared to speak, “I can tell when people are lying to me, little hawk. Are you sure you are okay?”

Fuck this woman was perfect. “Im okay,” she wrapped her hands around Yelena’s wrists, resting her forehead against the shorter woman, “I promise.”

“Okay,” she leaned up to kiss her hello. When the kiss wasn’t returned with Kate’s usual enthusiasm, Yelena got concerned again. “What is wrong, little hawk? Please just tell me. I will do my best to make it better.” She whispered against her lips.

“Carol is being a dick.”

Yelena felt some type of way about that woman and it generally wasn’t warm and fuzzy feelings especially learning what she and Kate had been casual fuck buddies. “Would you like me to kill her? They would never find the body.” Finally, Kate laughed, “there’s my little hawk.” She pulled her into another kiss. This time the girl responded to Yelena’s liking. When they broke apart she continued, “Was she here? Is that who you were yelling at?”

“No,” Kate shook her head. “We fought earlier. I was yelling at the window. I think I need a new lock. It won’t latch right.”

She watched Yelena walk over to examine the window. The doctor bent down and picked up the lock, “well this is the problem, Kate Bishop. The lock is on the floor and not on the window where it should be. We will fix this, yes? I am very good with my hands.”

“So you are a handy woman as well?”

“I wear many hats, Kate Bishop,” she smirked. “And like I said before…”

“You are very good with your hands,” Kate adorned her own smirk. “A claim I am very eager to have demonstrated on me in various different scenarios and situations.”

“Been thinking about me? Hmm,” Yelena brought the latch over and sat it on the table. “I’ve also been thinking about you,” she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. Standing on her tiptoes to whisper in her ear, “I thought about you in the shower this morning and I can attest that my skills are top notch.” She could feel Kate sway a little on her feet at the confession. They had been officially dating for over a month. Of course Yelena was ready to sleep with the girl but she didn’t want to rush into it. Still, a little teasing never hurt anyone. “Very adept, fingering,” she chuckled when she heard Kate inhale.

“Are you doing that thing where you say a bunch of sexy stuff to me, eventually switching to Russian just to say you have to start dinner or take Lucky for a walk?”

Another deep chuckle, “Я не знаю. Это то, что я делаю, детка?”

“The Russian pet name and everything?” Kate whined, “this better be a good dinner.”

Yelena pulled back to see the frustration on her girlfriend’s face, “when have my meals ever been a disappointment?”

“Fine,” she huffed a little extra air out before letting go of Yelena. “We will revisit this after dinner.”

Yelena’s eyes were smiling which was something Kate loved to see, “of course we will, детка.”

“Detka,” she repeated in a really poor Russian accent. “What does that mean?”

“Duolingo and find out,” Yelena laughed, starting to empty the bags she brought over with her ingredients. She learned the hard way not to trust Kate’s fridge to be stocked with anything besides beer, old pizza and condiments. How she was still alive perplexed her as a doctor.

“No, that bird is annoying. If he had a physical face, I would punch it so hard,” she pulled out her phone and tried google translate. She wasn’t sure of the spelling so she did her best phonetically. “Okay, baby.”

“I thought you hated the owl,” Yelena began prepping her herbs and veggies which of course Kate crinkled her nose at every time.

“Google translate, babe. No owls were harmed, this time.”

Yelena hummed in consideration, “I just like the Russian for that better than the English. I think,” looked up, “I just think it sounds pretty, I guess.”

She was going to offer her help but the blonde always refused saying that she liked doing this for Kate. “So cooking, chopping, doctoring, apparently window fixing, showering activities… what else do your hands do?”

“You forgot military activities. Shooting. Mixed martial arts. Oh and they play the piano and guitar.”

Yelena looked up from her knife work and saw Kate smile. The brunette asked, “will you play for me sometime?”

“It’s only fair. You did take me shooting,” she went back to chopping. “Even if we did end up running from the authorities in the rain.”

“It was a great date,” Kate wasn’t backing down.

“It was,” Yelena smiled at the fond memories. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy. After everything that happened with Emily, she had convinced herself that she didn’t deserve any sort of happiness in her life. She really held onto that ideation until Kate Bishop came into her life like a whirlwind and all of the colors returned to her world. She was falling hard and fast and it scared her beyond all thought.

“Your thoughts are almost as loud as mine,” Kate pulled her back into the present, “what are you thinking so hard about over there?”

“It’s nothing,” Yelena shook her head. “I just really really like you, little hawk.”

“Cooking for me, compliments, speaking Russian and confessions of adoration will get you a one way ticket to my bed tonight, Belova,” she watched the blonde blush a little at that. “That invitation doesn’t expire whenever you are ready to cash it in. No pressure.”

Yelena laughed, “the fact that you think there is any universe where I don’t want to fuck that sass out of you is such a ridiculous notion. When I have you, you better have a few days cleared so you can walk properly without raising questions.”

Kate hoped her shaky exhale wasn’t visible to the other woman, “you talk a big game, Belova.”

Yelena stabbed her knife into one of the chicken filets, leaning across the counter inches away from Kate’s face, “I am confident that if I reached into your panties right now, I would find just how much my words turn you on.”

Kate was praying to every god that may or may not exist for Yelena to discard the dinner and fuck her agaisnt the countertop. She thought she was going to get her wish when the blonde fisted her shirt with both hands and bringing their lips together in a kiss that had Kate’s world crashing around her. She immediately twisted her hands in blonde locks, deepening the kiss, returning it with equal passion. She felt Yelena’s moan more than she heard it as all the blood was equally rushing to her ears and lower. She was throbbing, wet and to put it frankly ready to experience the full talents of the doctor. “Yelena, please,” she moaned against her lips, “I want you.”

A small predatory growl sounded through Yelena’s chest, backing up just so, “you are an idiot, Kate Bishop, if you think I don’t want you just as much.” She pulled her back in for one more toe curling kiss before unclenching her fists, brushing out the finger shaped wrinkles. “Why do you think I fucked myself in the shower before i came over? Clearly one orgasm wasn’t enough,” her chuckle was deeper than it normally was, which was an indication that she was as turned on as Kate. “Next time I will give myself two,” she winked at her girlfriend before turning her attention back to their dinner.

“Fuck me,” Kate groaned, smacking her forehead. “I’m going to die from being overly horny.”

“There is time for a shower if you want to go grab one, Kate. No judgment.”

Kate eyed her girlfriend suspiciously, “I think I’m okay. Horny as fuck but okay.”

Yelena smirked, “still holding out hope for later,” she watched Kate’s blush deepen. “Wise choice. You are hopeful and optimistic. I like that in a woman. Now, are you going to sit there like my good girl while I finish cooking up this delicious dinner for us?”

Kate’s eyes noticeably darkened, “call me your good girl and I’ll do anything you want me to.”

After about ten more minutes of watching Yelena cook, Kate decided it would be a good time to take Lucky for a walk. After the fight with Carol, he had been hiding in the spare bedroom. She coaxed him out with a piece of doggy bacon. He almost knocked Yelena over with excitement on his way to the front door. He really loved that woman and Kate understood why. She walked him down the street around the corner before they made it to the small corner park. He successfully relieved himself and they sat down for a few minutes, enjoying the brisk fall evening. “I really like her, Lucky.” He put his head on her lap, “like I like her like her.” He licked her hand, “you do too, I know. I should tell her soon. Hopefully she won’t run.” He sighed. “I know if she likes me like I like her then it won’t matter, right?” Lucky snuggled his head in deeper, “I know. There’s still so much we need to learn about each other. I need to find out what happened with her and Emily. She said she really cared about her but she seems reluctant to sleep with me so I have to find out what happened so I don’t hurt her the same way. I’m not a relationship expert. We both know this. I don’t want to mess things up.” He barked. “Okay. I know. I won’t ruin things for you and Yelena. Should we get back to her?” He perked up and started barking. “Let’s go see Yelena.” Lucky started pulling her back down the street in the direction of her apartment. He practically ran the whole way back. “Now remember,” she said as they approached the front door, “she’s my girlfriend. Not yours.”

Yelena was laughing as she plated the dinner, obviously catching the tail end of that sentence, “I have plenty of room in my…” she hesitated for a moment before continuing, “life for both of you.”

Kate noticed how she didn’t say room in her heart but there was a hesitation. “He was very anxious to get back to you.”

“I know. I am his favorite,” she heard Kate scoff. She pulled out a dog bowl that from the looks of it she had engraved with Lucky’s name on it. He patiently sat until the bowl of chicken, rice and veggies was placed in front of him. “Okay good boy, enjoy.”

“You made him his own portion?”

“Of course I did,” Yelena scratched behind his ears while he ate, “I just left off the sauce and good stuff. It is bland but so are a dog’s taste buds. He will love it.” Kate was staring at her again with hearts shooting out of her eyes. She really needed to get that under control because she was sure Yelena noticed when she looked up with a blinding smile. It was the smile that caused her nose to scrunch up in the cutest way. “Okay Kate, sit. Dinner is served.”

Yelena was glad she had cleaned as she cooked so all that she had to do after dinner was put the dishes in the dishwasher and put the leftovers in Kate’s fridge with reheating directions on the containers. “At least I will know you have been fed for a day or two,” she mumbled as she closed the refrigerator. While Yelena was finishing up she had gone upstairs to change into her movie watching shorts and tshirt. She also threw on an oversized sweatshirt and brought down her Columbia sweatshirt and leggings for Yelena if she wanted to change. “Always so chivalrous, Kate.” She took the offered clothes and went to the downstairs bathroom to change. She quickly got undressed looking in the mirror when she was just down to her spandex black boxer briefs. She had scars littering her body. Most of them were from the military but there were older ones mixed in there. She wasn’t shy realizing she took good care of her body. All that time spent at the gym kept her body looking exactly as she wanted. “Did I tease her enough for one night?” She thought as she picked up Kate’s leggings before discarding them and only pulling the sweatshirt over her head. The shirt was large on her, covering her underwear leaving her legs exposed for the brunette to deal with. “Did you pick out a movie?” She asked, walking from the bathroom sweeping her hair into a top knot. The desired effect was achieved when her girlfriend looked up, dropping the remote. Yelena watched as Kate’s eyes roamed down to her legs, slowly taking in every inch of exposed skin. She couldn’t hold the smirk in when Kate nodded seemingly unable to speak. “Cool, that’s very cool,” she walked over and took her seat on the couch, “are you going to sit?” She asked after a minute when the brunette didn’t move.

“I’ll grab some snacks,” she didn’t look back down, “give me a minute.”

Yelena chuckled, “I will be here, waiting.” Lucky hopped up on the couch in the space on the other end that he deemed his seat which meant when Kate came back she would be squished up against Yelena and her bare thighs. An evil little grin spread across her lips, “need some help, darling?”

“No,” she was facing the microwave waiting for their popcorn to finish popping. She brought over a tray with the popcorn, various movie theater candies, cokes and a few treats for Lucky.

Yelena sat and watched Kate put the tray down and then the realization came across her face when she saw that Lucky had taken her seat at the end of the couch. The blonde reached down and patted the seat next to her, “here’s a spot for you right here, детка.” Kate nodded, sitting down carefully not to have her skin touching Yelena’s thigh. “Comfy?”

“Mmhmm,” Kate willed her heart to slow down. Going into cardiac arrest simply due to seeing Yelena’s thighs was not a cool way to die. Now, Kate reasoned with herself, if those thighs were wrapped around her head that would be her ideal way to go. “Are you?”

“Am I what?” She shifted so her knees fell down onto Kate’s legs.

“Comfortable?”

“Very,” she dropped her head to Kate’s shoulder and could feel her pulse beating. “Relax, Kate Bishop.”

“Ha,” she glanced down at Yelena’s legs. “I don’t think I’ll be able to relax for even a second tonight.” She let her head fall against the back of the couch. Yelena felt that her teasing may have gone too far and started to shift her legs when she felt Kate’s hand come down and stop her, “don’t you dare move your legs.”

“As you wish, little hawk,” she snuggled in deeper, “so what are we watching?”

“Something scary? It is spooky season after all.”

“Yes,” she kissed below Kate’s ear, “scary movies are one of the ways to my heart.”

About an hour or so into the movie was when Kate started to gently trace circles up and down Yelena’s thighs. She didn’t think the brunette was doing it mindfully but it was causing quite a distraction for her. Yelena was desperately trying to concentrate on the movie even though she had seen Scream so many times she could probably recite all of the lines from memory. Every little movement Kate made was starting to get to her. The little laughs or gasps when something happened in the movie. The way she always smelled like gummy bears. It was starting to hit Yelena hard even though she was the one who set out trying to tease the younger woman. She took a moment to study the girl as she watched the movie. She really was adorable and Yelena was gone.

She leaned in closer to Kate, cupping her face with her hand that wasn’t resting on her shoulder. She pressed her mouth up against the younger woman’s ear, “hey,” she breathed out before nipping a line of soft bites from Kate’s ear, across her jaw, working her way down the brunette’s throat. She sucked and nipped, licked and kissed until she got to her pulse point. She sucked hard on the tender flesh and felt Kate’s breath hitch. “Mmm,” Yelena moaned against her neck trying to rile the girl up. “You like that?” She sank her teeth into the spongy flesh of her pulse point before lightly lapping over the bruised skin. “I apologize, that’s going to leave a mark,” she didn’t sound sorry at all as she slid her hand that was resting on her face around, tightening in the brown waves, creating a tension that had Kate whimpering. “How’s the movie, darling?”

“Yelena,” it came out breathy and Kate was once again cursing her hormones because she knew it was only a matter of time before the blonde stopped them, “I thought you wanted to watch the movie.”

“Oh this? I’ve seen it before. Two murderers. The boyfriend and the other guy,” Yelena nuzzled in the girl’s ear and nipped lightly at her lobe, “I’d much rather be kissing you.” She pulled back slightly, “the smell of your shampoo, the little gasps you make when you get scared, the way your fingers are moving against my thighs. It’s intoxicating, Kate, and it’s doing all the right things for me.” Yelena saw the hint of disappointment on the brunette’s face when she sat back against the couch and continued watching the movie. “But I will behave if you insist.”

Kate’s chest was rising and falling rapidly. She was trying desperately hard to let Yelena take the lead and not pressure her into having sex but this was a true test of will. Kate gently swatted Lucky’s butt and he took that as his motivation to leave the couch. She looked at her girlfriend who was staring at the television with a self-satisfied smile on her face as Kate looked back and forth between her and the tv. “Fuck it,” she all but groaned out as she pulled Yelena her lap groaning when the blonde sunk down onto her straddling her hips. Kate’s hands immediately held onto Yelena’s thighs as the doctor leaned down and captured her lips in a heated kiss. The blonde rocked her hips forward into Kate when she squeezed her thighs, moving one hand around to cup her ass, pulling her into her harder. Yelena let out a filthy moan causing a matching one to slip from Kate’s lips. The archer was sure this was the sexiest moment of her entire life and she was trying not to get her hopes up. “Fuck, Kate,” Yelena pulled away so she could catch her breath, kissing along her jawline. “The shower was not enough,” her hips never stopped rocking against Kate. “Трахни меня, детка. Я так мокрый для тебя.”

Kate’s fingers tightened their grip on Yelena’s ass, pulling her in harder, “I have no idea what you just said but it was by far the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard…” her sentence turned into a moan when Yelena bit down on her ear lobe again. “I must have fallen asleep during the movie.” She shivered when that deep chuckle sounded in her ear, “or I’ve died and the after life is you fucking my brains out. Either way, I’m not complaining.”

“You talk too much. Have I told you that?” She looked down at Kate from her position on her lap. Reaching down, she lifted her sweatshirt over her head leaving her only in her boxer briefs. “You are missing some of my best moves here, Kate.”

“Holy fuck,” she couldn’t hold it in as she drank in the sight as Yelena’s bare chest for the first time. Her nipples were already excited and begging for Kate’s attention. She looked up at Yelena who was practically daring her to explore, “you are a goddess.”

“What are you waiting for?” Yelena raised an eyebrow waiting for Kate to make her move.

“And you called me sassy?” Kate asked as she cupped one of Yelena’s small breasts, circling her excited nipple. She wasn’t sure which one of them moaned first but it sounded like a chorus ringing through the apartment. “A goddess,” she whispered before taking Yelena’s other nipple into her mouth.

Yelena groaned, cupping Kate’s head to hold her in place, “О, черт. Я знал, что твой рот будет хорош для чего-то, кроме неприятностей.” She ground her hips harder onto the woman below her trying to relieve some of the pressure building up. “Oh fuck,” Kate actually heard her whimper, “so good.”

Kate held her grin back, letting go of her nipple and kissing the hinge of her neck, “I haven’t even touched you where it counts yet, baby.”

Yelena used her body weight to flip them so Kate was lying on her back with the blonde straddling one of her thighs. The other one was pressed deliciously into Kate’s center. She was willing herself not to cum early. “You seem to be mistaken,” Yelena started leaving love bites down her neck. “You are not the one with the power here, darling,” she flexed her leg against Kate. She was slipping her hand up Kate’s shirts when her phone started to buzz on the table, “leave it.” It stopped when her hand made it to the bottom of Kate’s sports bra. “Не могу дождаться, чтобы попробовать тебя, детка.” Her hand slipped under the sports bra, seeking out Kate’s sensitive nipple when her phone started going off again. “I’m going to kill whoever that is,” she growled against Kate’s neck. Removing her hand, she reached for her phone while remaining on top of her girlfriend. “

“What do you want, Wanda?” The frustration was clearly evident to the woman on the other side of the phone, “yes, I’m with Kate. I'm a little bit busy right now.” Her cheeks were turning pink and Kate wasn’t sure if it’s flushed from being turned on or whatever it was the other woman was saying on the other side of the phone. “Why?” Her eyes turned a dark shade of black as she listened to whatever Wanda was telling her. “She wants to talk to you,” Yelena handed Kate her phone, getting up off her lap, grabbing the sweatshirt she had discarded, pulling something out of her bag and heading to the upstairs window.

Kate watched as she pulled the sweatshirt over her head, opened the window, leaned outside of it and lit a cigarette. “Hello? Wanda?”

“Kate, sorry to bother you and Yelena. Seems this is really bad timing.”

Kate let a little nervous chuckle out, “we were in the middle of a movie.”

Wanda laughed, “so that’s what the kids are calling it these days. I tried to reach you on your phone but I wasn’t having any luck.”

“I plugged it into the charge when I was upstairs,” she looked up at her girlfriend who was taking long drags from her cigarette. “Why are you calling me though? I don’t understand.”

“As I told Yelena,” Wanda’s voice had slipped back into her Chief of Surgery voice, “you are the only emergency or known contact listed for a patient who was brought in as an emergency tonight.”

“Who?”

“Carol Danvers.”

A chill ran through Kate’s body and she automatically understood why Yelena appeared upset, “fuck. Is she okay?”

“We really need you to come down to the hospital to discuss this further. I would say time is of the essence,” Wanda gave Kate the location details for when she got to the hospital and apologized for interrupting their evening.

“Fuck,” Kate mumbled while exiting out of the call. She fucked up. She already knew that eventually the situation would need to be explained to Yelena but during what seemed like it was going to be their first time wasn’t ideal. If Carol pulled through whatever it was the Chief needed to talk to her about, Kate was going to kill her. She walked up the stairs, handing the phone back to her girlfriend who seemed to be onto her second cigarette. “Yelena…”

“No Kate,” she shook her head, “now is not the time. Your person needs you,” Kate noticed the sadness in Yelena’s voice.

But you are my person, is what Kate would have responded had she been strong enough. Instead she just nodded and walked into her room to get changed. “Yelena?” The blonde was already walking back down the stairs to the bathroom where she discarded her clothing, “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll drive you to the hospital, Kate Bishop.” She didn’t acknowledge the apology or turn to see the look on her face. Yelena continued downstairs and into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“Fuck me,” Kate hurried to change her clothes, grabbing her phone and seeing the many missed calls from what she assumed was the hospital’s number.

“Wanda made it sound serious,” Yelena called up from downstairs, “we should probably go.”

“I’ll be right there,” Kate called back knowing that this wasn’t going to be nearly as pleasant as the rest of her evening was. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs to say goodbye to Lucky, “be a good boy for me. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“I don’t think you are going to be home anytime soon,” Yelena mumbled from her position at the front door.

“Yelena,” Kate turned around. “This isn’t how I wanted this night to go. Believe me. I also didn’t know she put me down as her emergency contact.”

“Her only contact apparently.”

Kate sighed, “yes apparently but that doesn’t mean I knew anything about it. I also don’t know what happened to her yet so before you get pissy and start pulling away from me can I please go and deal with whatever is going on?”

Yelena knew she was being unfair to the younger girl. She just really didn’t like that woman and truthfully there was no logical explanation why. She just got bad vibes from her, “fine. You are right. I apologize. If you’d like I can come back later to sit with Lucky until you get home.”

“Oh,” Kate tried to hold in her disappointment. She thought Yelena might stay with her but apparently that wasn’t happening, “I don’t want to put you out. He will be okay.”

Yelena nodded, “then we should get going.”

Kate watched her girlfriend leave, keeping the door open for her to follow her. She reached out and grabbed her wrist, “there’s some things we need to talk about after this is over.” Yelena nodded once again, walking to the elevator. She quietly pushed the button to take them downstairs, “I’m sorry, Yelena.”

The blonde didn’t say anything. She simply grabbed Kate’s hand, squeezing just enough to let her know that they would be okay.

Chapter Text

Yelena stopped her bike right outside the front of the hospital, cutting the engine, waiting for Kate to let go of her and walk through the doors. One good thing about driving a motorcycle is there was no awkward conversation that had to happen between Kate’s apartment and here. Unfortunately, the ride was over and words needed to be said. Yelena was feeling so many things she didn’t quite know where to begin or what to say so she simply held her hand out and waited for her spare helmet. She could see the gears turning in Kate’s brain searching for something, anything to say to put a bandage over the way their time together had ended but it was clear she was coming up short this time. No lie was going to fix this one. “You should,” she nodded towards the door trying to put the girl out of her misery. If Kate tried any hard to come up with an excuse or something to say she was bound to hurt herself.

“Yelena,” Kate grabbed onto her wrist, “this isn’t how I wanted this night to go. I didn’t know she had me as her contact. Even still, I want you to know that she’s just a friend and will only ever be that. I know that doesn’t make up for earlier.”

“Yeah,” she packed the spare helmet into the cargo hold under the seat. “I get it. You are needed inside. Don’t worry about it. We can talk some other time.”

“No,” Kate shook her head, “you don’t get it. I really really wanted to be with you tonight. Like that.”

“So it’s just about the sex then?”

“Of course not,” Kate backed herself into another wall, “I’m just a complete fuck up today. Look, yes I want to sleep with you. A lot. I can’t lie about that. You are the sexiest person I’ve ever met in my life and I’d do anything you asked me to, no questions. That’s not all I care about. I care about you. Getting to know you. Getting to know us as a couple. And yes, I want to experience it all. Call me selfish but I want you.”

Yelena didn’t quite know how to respond to that. Everything Kate had just said, she felt the same way. On the other hand, she knew that the brunette wasn’t being forthcoming with her and it was killing her. “I just want your honesty, Kate Bishop.”

“I know and we definitely need to talk…”

She was cut off mid sentence when Maria joined them outside. “Dr Belova, good you are here. We need your assistance.”

Yelena looked between Maria and Kate and noticed they didn’t even look at each other, “with what? I am not on call today.”

“Is it about Carol? Is she okay?”

Maria finally turned to look at Kate, “the Chief is waiting for you in her office. The fact that you were listed as Ms. Danver’s emergency contact is very telling.”

“You don’t always have to be such an asshole, Maria.”

“It’s Dr. Hill and you aren’t in any position to be dictating behaviors to me,” she turned back to her coworker. “Go inside Bishop.”

Kate turned to look at Yelena who just shook her head with eyes begging her not to get her into trouble with her superior. “Fine,” she gave Yelena a parting look that said we need to talk before turning and heading into the hospital.

“I thought I told you I didn’t want any drama in my ER, Belova.”

“I just gave her a ride here after she was notified of her friend. Whatever is going on has nothing to do with me,” she felt it was the truth because she honestly didn’t know what was going on. “What do you need my help with?”

“Carol Danvers was brought in with multiple gunshot wounds including one which went into her neck. I hear you have experience with this particular injury on the field. She needs surgery now as soon as Bishop gives the all clear but it’s not looking good.”

“Chances of survival?”

“GSW to the lung, left shoulder, stomach and neck,” Maria grimaced, “less than 40%. She lost a lot of blood.”

“Who brought her in?”

“Anonymous call to the EMS. The person didn’t stick around for emergency services to arrive. Asshole.”

“Multiple gunshot wounds and they didn’t wait around? Did dispatch have any info on the caller?”

Maria shook her head, “young. Female. That’s it. Carol was found near an abandoned warehouse. You’ll have to speak with the police for more details though I’m not sure why you care so much.”

Yelena looked at her, “I care because this woman could die. We are doctors Hill. Show a little compassion.”

“As far as I’m concerned, she’s just another body.”

What happened between the three of them? If Maria didn’t care whether or not Carol survived then why was she even involved in the surgery in the first place, “maybe this surgery isn’t a good idea for you.” Maria glared at the younger doctor, “I mean clearly there is some sort of history here and you do not seem invested in her survival so maybe it’s better for the patient if I do this with the Chief.”

“Are you trying to kick me out of my own OR to show me up in front of Chief Maximoff?”

“No,” Yelena wasn’t backing down, “I’m kicking you out for the betterment of this patient.”

Maria scoffed, “whatever. If you only knew, Belova…” she walked away from the conversation without another word.

“Whatever,” she made her way inside the hospital not prepared for surgery but when she was needed she understood her sense of responsibility. She found Sonya, “where’s Danvers?”

“They called you in on this?”

Yelena shrugged, “apparently this hospital can’t run with me having a day off.”

“Oh someone is pissed. Were you in the middle of sex or something?” She noticed the unamused look on her friend’s face, “oh you were totally called in the middle of sex. That fucking sucks.”

“I wasn’t called. Kate was called. I just happened to be there,” she was not amused. “Do not act stupid. I know you know Kate is her emergency contact. And no,” she cut Sonya off, “I do not know any of the answers to your line of questions. I am as in the dark as you are.”

“I guess fucking the subject doesn’t get you the inside information.”

“Not that it’s any of your business but we haven’t had sex yet,” Yelena saw her intern coming down the hallway.

“Here you go, Dr. Belova. This is the file for Danvers. The Chief said to give it to you since you and Dr. Hill are going into surgery.”

“Thanks Peter,” she grabbed the chart and started flipping through the notes. “Fuck,” it didn’t look good.

“Where is Hill?”

“Oh she’s not participating. I kicked her out of my OR.” She turned to Sonya, “want to scrub in?”

“Are you kidding? Always,” she took the file and began reading it. “We might need the Chief.”

“I was thinking the same thing. Peter, can you go see if Chief Maixmoff is done with Miss Bishop? We need her assistance.”

“Anything I can do, Doctor.”

Yelena stopped him, “you can scrub in too. This is going to be an all hands on deck situation.”

Peter’s smile grew wide, “thank you, ma’am.”

“Ma’am,” she rolled her eyes, “get out of here before I change my mind.”

“Yes ma’am,” he shook his head, “Dr. Belova.”

“So…” Yelena grabbed the file and started walking towards the room Carol was being held in with Sonya. “Do you know anything about what’s going on between Kate and some of these doctors?”

“I can not stress to you how much I wish I did but whatever went down started before my internship. Never met any of these mother fuckers before last year,” she thought for a minute. “I bet you Jen would know. Especially if there were any legal complications.”

“I could talk to Jen…”

“Or,” Sonya stopped them just outside of the patient’s door, “you could ask your girlfriend for an explanation. It’s your right to know. It’s not like you aren’t involved in this now.” She shrugged, “seems to me if she cares about you then a simple explanation shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“I know. I know. You are right.”

Sonya smirked, “a favorite sentence of mine.”

Yelena saw Wanda coming down the hallway towards them, “Kate wants to go ahead with the surgery even though the chances of survival are minimal. Where’s Hill?”

“Sonya is scrubbing in and I assume you as well,” Yelena scratched behind her ear. This was a habit she had picked up as a small child whenever she was anxious, “Hill didn’t seem to care if the patient lives or dies so I sort of kicked her out of the OR. I’m sorry chief but I think Danvers needs only good positive vibes in that OR and whatever happened between Hill and Kate seems to involve the patient and she wasn’t happy.”

“You made the right call, Yelena. Of course I will scrub in. This will be an all hands on deck. I explained everything to Kate already and she’s in there until we take Ms. Danvers to prep her. Twenty minutes, tops. OR 4,” she turned and walked back down the hall.

“I’ll meet you up there,” Sonya gave her a look, nodding towards the door before heading after the Chief.

“Fuck,” she flipped through the chart one last time. This was not going to be an easy surgery and if Carol survived, her life would be very different. She looked in the window and saw her girlfriend sitting next to the bed, holding Carol’s hand. She pushed the tingle of jealousy away and prepared herself to be professional before knocking on the door and going in. “Hey…We will be taking her in about 15 minutes. Are you okay?”

Kate looked up at her girlfriend. It was clear that she had been crying, “Wanda said it didn’t look good. The one in her neck… the blood loss.”

Yelena was on the move when the tears started flowing again. It didn’t matter who this woman was to Kate, she didn’t want her girlfriend to be in this amount of emotional pain. “We will do everything we can,” she pulled Kate up and wrapped her in a bear hug. “Your friend has three very capable doctors that will be working on her.”

Kate pulled back slightly, “Maria?”

Yelena shook her head, “she is not one of them. I will not lie to you or drown the situation in honey. It is not looking good for Ms. Danvers. I feel like it’s important to know this ahead of time. Wanda said she told you the specifics.” Kate nodded. “We will try our hardest to save her.”

“I know…” Kate was still crying. “Carol, Maria and I have a very long and complicated history. There’s not enough time to get into it right now. I want to tell you. I swear I do.”

“It is not the time.” She kissed Kate on the forehead, “I should go get ready for surgery. Peter will be in to grab her in a few minutes. He will probably be the one to come out with updates as we progress. If you need someone to sit with, Natasha will come.”

“I’ll be okay,” Kate reassured her. “Thank you.”

“Do not thank me yet, Kate Bishop,” she kissed her again on her cheek before exiting the patient’s room.

Yelena quickly went up into the locker room to change into her scrubs. She truly didn’t know how this surgery was meant to work for Carol. She had seen many terrible and irreparable gunshot wounds in the field. She didn’t get a good look at her patient in the room but based on what she read in the chart, it didn’t look good. No matter her history with Kate, this was her patient now and she had to do whatever necessary to save this woman’s life. “You’ve got this, Belova.” She stood in the mirror after getting into her scrubs. She quickly fixed her hair into a low braid and put her golden retriever scrub cap on.

When she got to the OR, she saw Sonya, Wanda and Peter all scrubbing in, “treat it like you are out in the field. You’ve done this before.”

Sonya pushed the sliding door with her elbow, “are you actually joining us or just going to stand outside and talk to yourself.”

“Oh fuck all the way off,” she pushed past her making sure not to touch her hands, starting to cleanse her own hands and arms. Sonya laughed and headed into the OR. “So what’s our game plan?”

Wanda didn’t have an answer, “I’ve successfully completed more surgeries than I can count but bullets to the neck isn’t my specialty, Yelena. I was hoping your field experience could lead us through this one.”

“Not sure when I became the bullets to the neck woman,” Yelena shook her hands dry in the basin before walking to the doors and slipping into her surgical gown, “but okay.” She walked over to the patient and completed a visual examination of the wounds that were prepped and ready to be cared for. “We are going to need a lot of blood,” she looked to Peter knowing he would be the one to retrieve the blood bags.

“Bags of O neg are already on reserve,” he assured her.

“Perfect,” she decided she would take the neck wound, Sonya could work on her stomach and Wanda could work on her lung and shoulder. “Well I’m not saying this patient is more important than our other patients but I’m also not not saying it. Let’s try not to kill her.”

Yelena couldn’t see it but knew Sonya was smirking behind her mask, “inspirational speech, Belova.”
*
Kate had been sitting and pacing, pacing and sitting in that empty room for over three hours at this point. Peter had come out once to talk about the surgery and to update her on the blood transfusions. It was going to be a few more hours at least. Kate still wasn’t sure what had even transpired until she got a text from Cassie asking her to meet her outside of the hospital. She spotted her immediately sitting on the bench she claimed as hers and Yelena’s. The girl had been crying, “what the hell happened?”

“Don’t be mad.”

“Don’t be mad? Carol is dying. From what Wanda said, there was an anonymous phone call made to 911 and the caller didn’t even wait around until they arrived. I’m assuming you were the caller.”

“I don’t know what happened. We were following this guy to an abandoned warehouse. Carol said it was usually a hot bed of trafficking activity. She wasn’t wrong. Recon only. We were going to go back with you. Apparently someone must have seen us and followed us when we decided to leave. Before I knew what was happening, Carol jumped in front of me all of a sudden and then i registered the sound of the silencer. I guess he thought he got both of us because I went down under Carol and he left. And just for the record, I didn’t leave her. I called 911 and I waited by her side, trying to do something until I heard the sirens then I waited down the alley because I couldn’t risk it being an EMT I knew from work.”

“Why did you even go there? She knows how dangerous that place is. We’ve been watching them for a while.”

“It was stupid and I tried to talk her out of it but she came to pick me up and she was agitated. I haven’t known her for long but she seemed off, angry and distant at the same time. I offered for us to stay at my place and box but she didn’t want to hear it,” Cassie looked like she had been through an emotional whirlwind.

“This is all my fault,” Kate started pacing. “We had a big fight before she left to come find you. I told her I wasn’t coming out tonight and she started blaming Yelena. She left my place very angry. If I had known…”

“This isn’t on you.”

“We’ve been after the trafficking ring for years. I should’ve known that’s exactly where she would’ve gone tonight. But then Yelena came over and we were having a really nice time,” she had so much guilt running through her veins. She didn’t know how to start her apology tour or who to apologize to first.

“Have you said anything to her yet?”

Kate shook her head, “no but I’m going to have to now.” She turned and took a good look at the distraught girl, “you didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“Nope,” she rolled her eyes, “not a scratch. Though if Carol hadn't jumped, I’d probably be dead. Is she going to be okay?”

“Last time Peter came to update me, he said it was going as expected, whatever that means.”

“It means it’s a hard surgery and they have little hope. I want to stick around but why would I be here for this? It makes no sense in this universe for me to be here on my day off.”

Kate was thankful that Cassie showed up. At least it made her anger less, “Yelena told me to call Natasha if I needed company. I could just say you texted me and I asked you to come sit with me.”

“That wouldn’t make Yelena suspicious?”

“Maybe but she knows we are friendly-ish,” she smiled, “it’s believable if I tell her I messaged you to be able to translate the doctor lingo and you showed up.”

“I don’t know, Kate,” it was clear she was worried about what her boss would think. “I think I’m just going to head home. Promise me you’ll let me know what happens? I work tomorrow so I’ll be able to check in on Carol then.”

“I’ll text you if I find anything out.” She watched Cassie give the hospital one last look before taking off down the road in towards the direction of the subway.

Kate stopped at a vending machine on her way back to Carol’s room to get a coke and some chips. Her mind automatically went back to her living room. The feeling of Yelena on top of her was possibly the greatest moment of her life and now she is here, alone in a hospital room, hoping one of her oldest friends doesn’t die. The night had gone from her best to worst in a second. There was a knock at the door and she had been waiting for Peter to enter when Yelena and Wanda came through the door. Her stomach immediately dropped, “it’s never good on Grey’s Anatomy when they don’t send the intern with the results. Is Carol? Did she?” She couldn’t finish either of those sentences.

Yelena stood off to the side of the room and watched as Wanda wheeled the chair in front of Kate. She watched as the chief recounted everything that happened in the OR to the dangerously low levels of blood and the tear through her carotid artery, the reinflation of her lung and the tear in her intestines. All Kate heard was that presently, Carol is still alive but she’s in a medically induced coma and there’s no guarantee that she will wake up. If she does wake up, the wound to her neck could’ve caused significant brain damage and she may lose sight in her left eye. There will most likely be nerve damage to her left shoulder from the through and through gunshot wound there. Carol will need a second surgery to fix that when she can be awake for it. That wound is cleaned and packed. Sonya was able to repair the damage to Carol’s intestines without having to take too much out so that was considered successful. “I know this is a lot of information,” Wanda’s words snapped Kate out of her stupor. “If Carol survives the next 72 hours, it’s going to be a long road to recovery for her. I am sorry I do not have a more pleasant outcome.”

“I’m an eternal optimist, chief,” Kate finally look at her girlfriend who still hadn’t said anything. “Can I see her?”

“Ms. Danvers will be in recover for a few hours until she is transported to ICU. She’ll need to be under extreme watch and evaluation. They have different rules surrounding visiting hours up there.”

Wanda patted the girl’s hand, “the icu nurses are kind of cunty. Don’t tell them I said that. If they give you any trouble, you are free to drop my name. I wouldn’t expect you’ll be able to see your friend until tomorrow,” she checked her watch and it was nearing three in the morning. “You should probably head home,” she turned to look at Yelena, “both of you. I’ll stay with Carol until Peter’s relief comes in. I believe Sonya is oncall so she will let me know if anything needs mine or your attention.”

“I’m just supposed to go home and sleep while my friend is actively dying?”

“Nobody is dying on my watch, sweetheart,” Wanda had faith in herself and her surgeons.

Kate nodded, “thank you, chief. I guess I’ll be back in the morning.”

Wanda passed by Yelena on the way to the door and whispered, “talk to her.”

Yelena rolled her eyes but gave the older woman a small nod, waiting for her to leave. Kate was gathering up her stuff and she said, “give me fifteen minutes to shower and change and I’ll give you a ride home.”

“I don’t want to be any more of a burden than I already have been tonight. I can get an Uber.”

“It’s 3 in the morning Kate. I will not let you Uber home at this hour. I promise it is not an issue. I will take you home,” she saw Kate’s unsure face. “And if you leave without me, I will not be happy.”

Kate didn’t want to do anything to make her girlfriend any more upset than she currently was, “I’ll just wait here then.”

Less than 20 minutes later, Yelena found herself back on her bike with Kate holding on as she zipped through the streets back to Kate's loft. She slowed to a stop outside of the pizza shop. Yelena had no intentions of parking and going into Kate’s house and she immediately felt disappointment when the brunette slid off the bike. “It’s late and I’m tired from the surgery. It was intense.” It wasn’t technically an excuse though it defined sounded like one.

Kate pulled the helmet off, “please just stay the night. I really don’t want to be alone. I’m scared, tired and I know I fucked up but I need you.”

Those three words did Yelena in. She would never allow herself to be absent when someone she cared about needed her, “let me park. Of course I’ll stay.”

Kate hoped back on with full intention of not letting Yelena leave her sights. The blonde sighed, slowly pulling her bike into Kate’s parking spot. She cut the engine and hoped off, taking off her helmet but keeping it as they walked across the street to the apartment. They walked in silence, the heaviness of the evening settling over the pair like a weighted blanket. When they walked through the door, Lucky sensed the unease. He greeted the two of them but quickly went back to his spot on the couch, continuing with his slumber. “He must be sleepy, too,” Kate mumbled, walking over to grab a couple of waters out of the fridge. She passed one to Yelena after she hung her helmet on one of the hooks by the door.

“Thank you,” she grabbed the water but making no moves to drink it.

“Do you need some pajamas?”

Yelena shook her head, “I accidentally left my bag here when we went to the hospital. I brought some with me.”

“Cool,” Kate was unsure what to do with her hands. She had never felt so uncomfortable in her life. “I’ll go upstairs and get changed. Meet me up there?”

“Sure,” Yelena nodded, placing her bottle of water on the counter and heading towards the downstairs bathroom where she had left her bag.

“Trade lives with me?” She begged her dog who just huffed and went back to bed. “Thanks a lot,” she pouted before walking up the stairs to her room. She changed into a pair of flannel pants and a tank top before sitting on the edge of her bed. Yelena said she was tired so she probably wasn’t in the mood for a long drawn out conversation but she felt like she needed to say something, anything to fix things between them.

Yelena walked into the room wearing baseball shorts and an army sweatshirt. Kate thought she looked adorable but she could see the hurt in her eyes. She also looked exhausted. Any prepared speech she had went flying out the window when Yelena sighed, “I do not have the energy to have a conversation tonight.”

Kate obviously understood, “can I talk then? You don’t have to respond or anything like that. I just owe you an explanation or something and I won’t be able to sleep until I give you something. Seriously, you don’t have to participate. Just hold me and I’ll talk.”

Another request Yelena was incapable of denying, “sure Kate Bishop. Let me get in.” She pulled down the covers on the side of the bed that she claimed as her own and settled down, opening her side up for her girlfriend. “Come on,” she patted her chest once she got into a comfortable position.
Kate didn’t waste another second sliding into her settling down half draped over the smaller woman. When Yelena wrapped her arms protectively around her, she sighed and felt safe. She just hoped Yelena wouldn’t run when she began to talk. She felt a kiss on the top of her head and then heard a whisper, “I think this is where you start talking, little hawk.”

“Right. I’m getting there. Honestly, I wish I had a drink. I don’t quite know where to start.”

“Some says it’s best to begin at the beginning,” she felt Kate tense, “I’m not hear to judge you. Whatever you want to share is fine or I can just hold you and we can sleep and do this in the morning.”

“No,” Kate snuggled in further, “I want to share. I’ve never actually told anyone. Well some people know obviously but this isn’t a relivable event. You know? I’m rambling. I’m nervous.”

Yelena chuckled, “it’s okay. Really. I promise you nothing can be as bad as what I’m making up in my head.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Kate took a deep breath in. “So you know my mom went to prison but you don’t know the whole story why. My father was killed when I was young . I remember it quite vividly. A big man in a suit came in and shot him. Mom was horrified that something would happen to me so she hid me in a closet. Needless to say, I wasn’t happy. I was a very capable 11 year old and could take care of myself or so I thought.”

Yelena squeezed her a little tighter and it made Kate’s heart feel safe, “continue, little hawk.”

“I obviously thought it was my responsibility to avenge my father’s death even though I knew none of the circumstances surrounding it. My mother acted like everything was fine. She worked a lot. I found my larping friends. They come into the story later. So I was at home one night while mom was at work and I was just taken from my room. Bag over my head, bound and transported. I didn’t know why was going on.”

“How old were you then?”

“16 I think? I was in highschool. There’s a lot of fuzziness surrounding the event. All I knew was I was being kidnapped and sent somewhere. I had my phone but they didn’t know that. Turns out I wasn’t alone. There was another girl being held at the same time…” when her voice trailed off Yelena knew who it was. “Carol had been there for three months. She looked awful. I knew I had to do something for the both of us. Carol was waiting for them to kill her at that point. She wanted to die. They raped her a lot and beat her. They never touched me like that though and I couldn’t figure out why. About five days in I finally had enough of seeing them torture Carol so I waited until the middle of the night and I texted my mom. Stupid I know. I should’ve called 911 but I was scared and panicked.”

“She got you out?”

“Sort of,” Yelena couldn’t see the smirk lining Kate’s face. “She was coming to get me but I wasn’t going to leave without Carol. I also found it strange that she knew where to find me but I assumed she just tracked my location. Took her five days to notice I was gone but whatever. Anyway…”

Yelena’s grip had just been constantly getting tighter and tighter.

“It was down to a pattern when they would come for Carol and it was always only one guy. Well I decided fuck this guy. Finally, I was able to put my black belt to use. I waited behind the door, kicked the knife out of his hand and then sliced his Achilles. I didn’t feel bad. He deserved it. And I would’ve done worse given the opportunity Carol helped me gag him so we wouldn’t be caught. Then when they came to get me, I was holding onto Carol’s hand, refusing to leave without her. I could see mom. I said you let us both walk out of here or we both die and you’ll have a lot of explaining to do to the press. That’s when I showed them my phone and that I was recording the whole thing.”

“You are very smart. So strong, Kate Bishop. I can see why you and Carol have a connection,” if there was any jealousy left over the fact that they’ve been together, nothing was heard in Yelena’s voice.

“Mom was so mad at me for so long. She took my phone and refused to give it back. I watched her break it. I was pissed. Mom started working more and I barely saw her for the rest of highschool. Honestly, it was nice. Thankfully I had gotten to visit Carol in the hospital. She’s three years older than me but we just bonded. I think people call it trauma bonding but we became best friends. I got a burner phone when my mom wasn’t monitoring me so we could text. We just went on with our lives like normal teenagers. For the most part.”

“Is this the part of the story where you explain why you always end up at the ER and why Hill hates you so much?”

Kate chuckled, “we are getting there but I think I want to end there,” she propped herself up so she could look at Yelena. “If that’s okay… it's been a very long night.”

“I am so tired,” her sentence was backed up with a yawn. “But I can not believe that you are going to leave me on a cliffhanger.”

Kate settled back into Yelena after reaching over to shut the lights off. She placed a kiss over Yelena’s heart, “I just want to enjoy this while I can.”

“I told you,” she kissed Kate’s head, “I’m not going anywhere, little hawk.”

Chapter Text

Despite everything that had transpired the previous evening, Yelena slept like a rock. She didn’t have many peaceful nights after the military but she would be a liar if she didn’t attribute her restful night to the brunette she was currently spooned up again. She wanted to be there when Kate woke up but she really needed to use the bathroom and she wanted to cook some breakfast for her girlfriend so she was sure that the other woman ate before going back to the hospital. No matter what happened to Danvers, it was going to be a long couple of days for Kate. Yelena was not as optimistic as Wanda. That was a hell of a surgery with very complicated injuries. If Carol showed signs of brain activity, she would be shocked. Yelena carefully unwrapped herself from the hold she had on the younger woman and slipped out of the bed. She quickly checked her messages before covering Kate, kissing her cheek and heading downstairs. As soon as her foot hit the landing, Lucky came bounding over to her whining. “I know buddy. Just let me go pee then I will take you out.” 

“Do you think your mama has any breakfast stuff?” She asked the dog as she pulled her leather coat over her pajamas. Lucky let out a whisper bark as she checked the fridge and pantry, “I didn’t think so. We will stop by the store,” she grabbed his leash, “come on good boy.” 

They took the same path that Kate had walked Lucky the previous evening. He really loved the little patch of grass that was sandwiched between the high rises. It looked ridiculous and out of place but the mental image of Kate sitting on the little bench with Lucky circling for a spot made her smile. “Your mama kills people doesn’t she?” Lucky turned to look at her like she understood him. “Do not look at me like you are shocked. I had suspected her for a while.” He trotted over to her and rested his chin on her knee after she sat down. “There are only so many people who could shoot an arrow in a guy’s neck with such accuracy. Quite impressive. But,” the dog’s ear perked up. “Murder is not something I condone though I would be a hypocrite as I, too, have killed many people.” She lit a cigarette, “you do not mind, do you?” She chuckled at herself for having a conversation with Lucky. “You are a good boy. I have always wanted a dog. Such a good listener,” she petted his head when he settled his cheek against her leg. “Do you think your mama is doing the right thing?” He whined in response. “How does she know Maria?” Lucky’s head perked up at the mention of Hill’s name, “oh so you know Maria, too.” He let a huff out of her nose and relaxed his head, “you do not like her? Dogs are not very good at keeping secrets. It is okay. I do not like her very much either.” She inhaled her puff from the cigarette, relaxing at the familiar early morning burn. “I am sure then that you are friends with Carol.” That one earned a bark, “so you like that one. I am sorry if she does not make it. We tried everything.” She finished the last few drags of her smoke before tossing it in the bin, “come on. Let’s go get some stuff for breakfast.” 

Kate rolled over in bed and felt the cold coming from the otherside. She immediately felt disappointment that she was alone. “I just hope she didn’t leave,” she wasn’t sorry she started to tell Yelena about her and Carol last night. It actually felt nice to share the load with someone. It had been hard to hold everything in. Well, she didn’t tell her everything yet but it was only a matter of time before her girlfriend realized. The backstory was important so Yelena could understand why she and Carol do what they do. She rolled over and checked her phone to make sure there weren't any messages from the hospital. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the surgery. From what Wanda had said, it was going to be a hard recovery. Kate wanted to think positively but she was also scared, sad and angry. Sad that she could lose her friend, scared that she would be alone again and angry that some asshole would do this to Carol. It had to be those assholes who work for Fisk. She thought they went away when her mother went to prison. Apparently that was a lie she was telling herself. Kate forced herself out of bed. She didn’t hear anything downstairs including her dog so she figured Yelena couldn’t have gone too far. Unless she did steal her puppy. She wouldn’t have blamed her, Lucky was a very good boy. “Quick shower,” she decided after looking in the mirror. 

When Yelena and Lucky got back to Kate’s, she immediately heard the shower running upstairs and felt a little bad she wasn’t there when she woke up. “Here you go,” she handed Lucky the treat she got for him at the market. “Be a good boy. It’s going to be a hard few days on your mama.” She watched the golden retriever head to the couch before connecting her Bluetooth to the speaker and turning her attention to the ingredients she bought to make a couple of spinach and feta omelets. She also brought home a box of donuts because she felt Kate needed a treat. As well as some fruit because she wanted Kate to have something that wasn’t beige colored. Plus, the brunette didn’t hate fruit so it was a small win for Yelena. “Good morning, Kate Bishop.” 

“You didn’t even turn around. Are you sure hearing isn’t your super power?” 

Yelena chuckled, “military things. I have excellent hearing. Plus, I heard the shower turn off.” 

“Over the speaker?” 

“Always doubting me,” she whisked the eggs together in a small bowl. “You must learn that I am just very talented at everything I do.” 

Kate wanted to make a sexual reference but still felt bad about the way their time together got interrupted yesterday so she refrained, “can I help?” 

“Cut up the fruit?” She passed the bag with strawberries, a pineapple and Kate wasn’t sure what the other things in there were. 

“Are these tomatoes because while I acknowledge that they belong to the fruit family, I will not be eating these like slices of apples.” 

Yelena held back a laugh, “such a refined palate you have, Kate Bishop.” She noticed the look on her face, “those are persimmons. You will eat it and you will like it.”

“If it tastes nasty then I get to pout for the rest of the day.” 

“No. These are ripe and will taste like honey.” She turned around to grab something, “but if for some crazy reason that I will not be able to understand and you don’t like them…Then here,” she handed Kate the box, “I got you some donuts.” 

The smile on Kate’s face was adorable but bordered on annoying, “you do care about my health and well-being.” 

“It is not too late to return those,” she passed Kate a knife, a bowl and cutting board, “now cut up the fruit like my good girl and we can talk about the donuts.” 

Kate’s brain malfunctioned once again at the use of the endearment, “I’m afraid I’m incapable of proper brain functioning after that.” 

“Just cut up the fruit,” the deep chuckle that followed didn’t help Kate’s feelings. 

Breakfast was finished quickly and Kate felt that she was becoming spoiled with Yelena cooking for her all the time. She wasn’t about to complain about it. Somehow she even made scary fruits and vegetables taste delicious. The blonde’s phone buzzed while they were finishing up, “is that the hospital?” 

“Nyet. Natasha wanted to make sure I was alive,” she rolled her eyes. “Sisters. So overbearing.” 

“Only child,” Kate swallowed her last drink of orange juice. “I wouldn’t know. Though, I am afraid of your sister so I get it.” 

“Natasha could kill you with less than 5 seconds of planning time. I would be afraid of her too if I didn’t know all of her weaknesses,” Yelena smirked.

“Any chance I can hear the story about the two of you? I’ve been given hints that you may have been adopted but I didn’t want to assume.” 

Yelena shifted in her seat, “I suppose something for something. You shared with me. I don’t really talk about this often.” 

“I’m fine with whatever you give me. Isn’t that what you told me?” 

Yelena’s expression softened, “Nat and I were in the same orphanage in Russia. When our parents came to adopt us there was a problem with my paperwork and I could not go with them yet. They were never given a reason for the hold up. Melina’s work took her to America so little Yelena got left behind.” Kate’s face fell upon hearing this story, “do not pity me for my past. It is not so different from your own. I was adopted. Very nice woman. Well she was until she sold me to a trafficking organization. Thankfully I was young. 7 or 8 so they did not use me for sex. I was put into training to help them kill. That was also not fun. I was used to rob and lure people in where they would be killed.” 

“How did you get out of that? Your family?” 

Yelena felt the guilt and pity dripping off of her girlfriend and her initial reaction was to hate it but coming from Kate she could let it slide, “from what I’m told, Natasha wouldn’t give up on me. Every year she would make Alexei come back to Russia to look for me. I do not know to this day how he found me but he did. I’m not sure what kind of deal or trade he had to make to get me but he did what he felt was right and off to Ohio I went.” 

“How old were you?”

“I celebrated my 10th birthday in Ohio. First birthday I ever had that I could remember.” 

“Yelena…” she saw the doctor’s eyebrow raise as if daring her to offer sympathy. “I am sorry. I can’t help but feel the feelings you don’t want me to feel. You are the strongest person I’ve ever met. Honestly,” she reached over and grabbed Yelena’s hand. “I am happy you got reunited with your family though. I’m guessing that’s one of the many reasons you and your sister are close?” 

“After I came to Ohio, she didn’t let me out of her sight. I was always with her. When I graduated and went into the military she had a fit. She was so upset that I was going to enlist and leave her.” 

Kate shrugged, “that I can relate to. I’d be very upset if you were going to leave me.” 

“I came back to her in one piece and she had already moved to New York. Her life went on with or without me here,” she smirked, “she was also pissed when I turned down her invite to live with her when I got accepted into med school in the city. I wanted to stay close to home. I needed family support when I got back.” 

“Do you want to talk about that?”

Yelena shook her head, “one sad story at a time.” 

“Fair enough,” she got up, grabbing their plates. “I’ll clean up. You can entertain Lucky.” 

“I will cook every meal if it means I do not have to do the dishes. Excellent trade.” She walked over, taking a seat next to Lucky on the couch. The dog immediately snuggled onto her lap like he was a small dog even though he was built like a weighted blanket. The comfort and support she felt from the pup must have given her the courage to ask her next question, “how long have you and Carol been killing people?” 

Did Kate hear her correctly? Did she really just ask that? They had been so discrete. How had she figured it out? Of course she had, she’s the smartest person Kate’s ever met. The plate she was cleaning slipped out of her hand back into the basin, “what?” 

“Kate, do not play dumb with me.” She was turning to address the question when her phone started to ring. “Answer it. Do not worry. I will not forget the question.” 

“Hello?” She quickly answered, thankful for the small reprieve. 

“Kate, hello. It’s Chief Maximoff.” 

“Oh no,” Kate immediately wanted to go back to Yelena’s question. “You started with your title. This can’t be good news.” 

“Kate, we need you to come back to the hospital as soon as possible.” 

“What happened with Carol? Is she okay? No, I’m guessing not. If she was okay then I wouldn’t have to come back to the hospital as soon as possible. It has to be something bad. I don’t think you’ll tell me anything over the phone. Maybe you’ll tell Yelena if I put her on? Can you tell Yelena? She’s a doctor. I give her permission to hear whatever it is.” 

“Kate,” Wanda’s calm voice came through the speaker, “I need you to calm down, dear. It’s something that needs to be discussed in person and no I can not discuss this over the phone with you nor Yelena. Please just come as quickly as possible. Remember to breathe, drive safely and we will see you soon.” 

Kate didn’t say goodbye, she only nodded and hung up. “I have to go.” 

“I’ll drive,” Yelena gave Lucky one last pet before getting up. “I’m assuming she wouldn’t tell you anything. Doctors. So annoying.” 

Kate could tell she was trying to lighten the mood after the question bomb and phone call. She appreciated the joke, “you don’t have to come with me. I’ve monopolized a lot of your time recently.” 

Yelena quickly moved over to embrace her girlfriend, “I want to be there for you.” 

“You are too good to me,” she kissed Yelena’s cheek. 

“You make it hard not to be, little hawk. Go get dressed.”

*

The ride to the hospital was just as quiet as it was the night before. Kate couldn’t shut her brain off. She was trying really hard to be positive but the tone of Wanda’s voice did not make that an easy task. “I don’t think I can do this. I don’t think I can go in there,” she said quietly, taking off her helmet after Yelena parked the bike in the employee garage. 

“You can.” 

“No,” Kate shook her head, “I’m not okay. She’s my Carol and we fought about you really bad yesterday before you came over and the last things we said to each other were angry words. That’s not how best friends treat each other.” 

“Kate,” Yelena noticed the signs immediately. “Look at me,” she grabbed Kate by the shoulders and forced her to look at her. Kate’s breath was coming in short shallow bursts. “You are having a panic attack and will start to hyperventilate soon. You need to breathe with me. Like me. Here feel,” she moved Kate’s hand to her heart. “Deep breath in,” she sucked a breath in while Kate did not. “Come on Детка,” she encouraged Kate. “Deep breath in with me through your nose.” She saw Kate inhale, “good now hold,” she counted to five before she had her exhaling through her mouth. They repeated the action a few more times before the brunette started to settle. “Good, that is my good girl. Keep going. A few more breaths.” When Kate’s breathing settled, Yelena kissed her lightly on the corner of her mouth, “there you go. Just stay present with me and I’ll help you through anything Wanda has to tell you.” 

Kate nodded, “okay yes. I can do this with you.” 

“Are you okay? Do you need a minute?” 

“No,” she shook her head, “might as well get this over with.” 

Yelena locked Kate’s helmet up with her bike, carrying hers in her left hand while grabbing Kate’s hand for support, “I’m right here,” she squeezed her hand before pulling her towards the hospital. They walked to the receptionist station. 

“Dr. Belova, hi,” the woman greeted her. “I didn’t know you were in today.” 

“Not to work. Could you either tell me where the chief is or what ICU room Carol Danvers is in?” 

“Hmm,” she looked through her records. “Killing two birds with one stone. The chief is in with that patient now according to her location. ICU bed number 6.” 

“Thanks,” she smiled at both of the women before turning to Kate. “Ready?” 

“You keep asking me that and the answer is no, never.” She followed Yelena over to the elevator. Thankfully the blonde didn’t let go of her hand. She felt grounded next to her girlfriend. “You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach on a rollercoaster before it drops?” 

“Da,” she closed the door and pushed the button to the floor that housed the ICU unit. 

“That’s been my stomach since yesterday but it’s only gotten worse since the chief called.” 

Yelena only squeezed her hand tighter, “I understand that feeling. But I am here with you. Whatever it is, you don’t have to decide anything alone.” 

“I seriously don’t deserve you. I can’t compete with how perfect you are.” 

“Stop saying things like that,” Yelena had no explanation why but she was into this girl so much that it was bordering ridiculous. “I do not like when you put yourself down. I do not want to hear that again.” 

Kate blushed, “okay.” 

“Okay Детка,” the doors opened. “You are strong. Remember this.” 

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever get standing out here,” she announced when they made it to room 6. 

Wanda opened the door, “come on in. Sonya is here, too.” 

“Okay,” Kate walked over to stand next to her best friend. She immediately grabbed Carol’s hand and her stomach was at the peak again. “All of her surgeons in one room. This can’t be good.” She looked at her girlfriend who had been reading her overnight charts but couldn’t make out any sort of expression on her face. When she closed the chart, Kate asked, “that good, huh?” 

“Ms. Bishop,” Sonya had been the overnight doctor with Carol so she felt it only right to tell her what she knew. 

“Please call me Kate. Especially with whatever news you are about to give me. Call me Kate. Also, if I can ask,” she looked between all three of them. “Don’t dance around anything. Just tell me like you would tell someone you love.” 

Sonya cleared her throat while Yelena scratched behind her ear. “Kate,” Wanda stepped over to her and motioned for her to take the seat next to Carol’s bed. Wanda sat down on the rolling seat in front of her. “The severity of Carol’s injuries have taken more of a toll on her body than what we had originally seen during the surgery. While we were successful in removing the bullets and fixing the problems with her body, the injuries took a heavy toll on her brain. We’ve been monitoring her since surgery and there’s really no easy way to say this…” 

“Yelena?” Kate looked over at her girlfriend knowing that she wouldn’t sugar coat things or lie to her. 

Yelena looked at Wanda who nodded before standing, leaving the seat open for the blonde, “Kate,” she sat down and grabbed both of her hands. “I’m sorry but Carol has shown no brain activity for the past few hours.” 

“I thought she was in a medically induced coma? I don’t understand.” 

“She is but Sonya and the Chief were monitoring her brain stem activity and there hasn't been any since early this morning. According to her chart, a neurologist came in to see her and ordered a CT scan which shows a lack of white and gray matter. Her brain cells are slowly dying but with a lack of stem response, the neurologist will pronounce her brain dead. I am so sorry.” 

“So that’s it? She just dies?” Kate was trying so hard to hold her tears in. Her hands slipped from Yelena’s. This couldn’t be happening. After everything she and Carol managed to survive together. One night Kate wasn’t there and she’s just gone forever. “What do you need from me?” She looked at the chief, tears threatening to spill. 

“You are her only known next of kin. It’ll be your call when you want to stop the ventilators.” 

“Wow,” Kate knew it was going to be bad but nothing in the world could’ve prepared her for this. “Umm… okay. I don’t know…” she was desperately trying not to spiral out of control in front of the three surgeons. 

“You don’t have to decide anything right this second,” Sonya added, trying to give her some relief. “There is no rush. We can give you some time with her.” 

“Take your time Kate,” Wanda touched her on the shoulder, “I am very sorry.” 

“Would you like me to go too?” Yelena asked Kate quietly. 

“Just for a few minutes. Please. Don’t go far.” 

Yelena kissed her forehead, “I’ll go get you something to drink then I’ll be right outside. Come get me when you are ready for me. I will not leave this area. I promise you. Remember, you are strong, little hawk.” 

“Promise?” She looked up at her girlfriend, begging her to stay close. 

“With my life.” 

Kate waited until everyone had left the room before turning back to her friend, “I am so mad at you right now even though it feels like the absolute wrong emotion to be feeling at the moment. You went there. You went there knowing what these people are capable of… what they did to us… and you went there willingly… without me. Now look at you,” her tears were flowing freely now. “I know you can’t hear me so if you are floating outside of yourself somewhere I hope you are listening. You’ve been in my life for almost a decade. How am I supposed to do this without you?” She got up and started pacing because for some reason she thought that would help. “You saved me. I’ve saved you. That’s what we do. And now there’s nothing…NOTHING I can do for you.” She felt the anger coursing through her, “I don’t get to. We have been planning for this for a year and you just went. Took the new girl and died. You are dead, Carol. And I’m going to be alone.” She walked back over to her friend and grabbed her hand, “this hurts more than when I lost dad. And now I’m supposed to tell them to turn off the machines, plan a funeral and bury my best friend? This shouldn’t have happened.” She took a few breaths to try to collect herself, “I’m sorry we fought. I’m sorry you left angry. But mostly I am so sorry I couldn’t save you this time.” So, Kate did the only thing she could do at that moment, she held onto Carol’s hand and sobbed.

*

“Are you going back inside or are you going to pace the linoleum away?” Sonya asked when she spotted Yelena outside of Carol’s room. 

“So fucking funny,” she rolled her eyes. “I do not want to push her. She needs time to process her feelings or whatever.” 

“She asked you not to take long, right? That girl is into you and I think she needs support right now. I don’t know much about her or your relationship but if my best friend was laying brain dead in a hospital bed, I would be desperate for some support.” 

“Da,” she shook her head, “you are right. She needs me.” She was about to go in when she saw her intern coming down the hall, “Dr. Lang, is there something you need?” 

“Ms. Danvers was on my rounds so I was just checking in to see if there has been any improvement.” 

“A lack of improvement,” Sonya handed Cassie the chart that had been resting on the wall. 

Cassie read through the notes, “brain dead?” 

Yelena noticed a strange inflection of her voice. Almost as if she was about to get choked up. She understood the severity of the case and how losing a patient is never easy but Cassie seemed almost regretful. “You okay, Lang?” 

Cassie snapped the chart closed and shook her head, “uh huh. I need to go.” She shoved the chart into Sonya’s arms and took off down the hallway. 

“Your interns are very strange.” 

Yelena watched Cassie retreating down the hall and she swore she saw her wiping away tears. There’s no way her intern was involved in all of this, was there? “Strange,” she shrugged, “good doctor though. Should we go check on her?” 

“I’ll go,” Sonya shrugged, “you have a girlfriend to console.” 

“Right. Right,” Yelena thanked her and knocked lightly on the door. There was no answer so she let herself in. Kate was hunched over her friend sobbing, “Kate? I did not want to scare you. Just wanted you to know I was here.” She put water and Coke down on the side table, “I did not know what you would want.” 

“Thank you,” she quickly wiped the tears away from her face. “I’m sorry you have to see me like this.” 

“No more apologies, Kate Bishop,” Yelena sat down in the seat next to Kate and grabbed her hand that wasn’t holding onto Carol’s. “I should be apologizing. As surgeons, we failed and for that I am truly sorry.” 

Kate sat back, resting her head on Yelena’s shoulder, “I don’t know what to do.” 

“Losing someone you are close to is a very hard thing to ho through.” 

“You’ve lost someone?” She felt Yelena wrap her arm around her shoulders. “Of course you have. That was a stupid question. Military and all. How did you? When did it? I can’t finish any of these questions.” 

“I suppose you want to know if it gets easier. Hmm?” She felt Kate nod, “I suppose it does. But not entirely. Everybody deals with grief in their own way. I can tell Carol was very, very close to you. It’s even harder when they are close.” Yelena knew the type of grief Kat was experiencing all too well. “Is there anything I can do for you right now?” 

“Just being here means everything,” Kate snuggled in further. “How long will she live after the machine stops?” 

Yelena sighed, “she is not really living Kate. Her brain does not function anymore. Her heart can continue for a while after the machines stop but she will not feel any pain. I will be here the entire time if you want me to be. I already talked to Wanda and got approved for some time off.” 

“You haven’t even been here that long.” 

“You are a priority,” Yelena kissed the top of her head. “If you need help with any of the arrangements, I can help with that as well.” 

“I’m the only family Carol had. It won’t be a big service. I don’t even know how to plan a funeral,” she started to cry again. “This is so unfair. She was a good person just trying to do the right thing.” 

“It’s never fair,” Yelena started to run her fingers through Kate’s hair to help calm her. “Whenever you are ready… there is no rush.” 

Kate nodded, “ a few more minutes then. If her mind is already at rest then her body should be too.” 

*Five days later*

Carol’s casket was on the machine that would help  lower her to her final resting place. Since she didn’t have any family, Kate chose to bury her by her own father. She wanted to be able to visit them together. The service was small and held at the burial site. Kate was sure she had already cried out every tear she had been allotted in life but a new wave of sadness came when the officiant was giving the generic eulogy they use for everyone without families. Wanda, Natasha, Sonya, Cassie, Peter and Yelena showed up to support Kate. The man was droning on and on about Carol being welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven by all of her friends and family who had gone before her and Kate had heard enough, “can I say something?” 

“Of course,” the guy stepped out of the way. 

She walked over to the casket with a rose in her hand. Everybody had been given a rose to be buried with Carol. Kate was squeezing hers so hard she could feel blood starting to pool in her palm. She ran her empty hand over the black box, “Carol did not deserve any of this. She had a shitty childhood with a family that didn’t care about her. She was kidnapped, raped, beaten and wanted to die. She came into my life and I needed her to be okay. You know that feeling when you meet someone and instantly become best friends. I’m not sure she felt the same way at first but we connected. It’s a fucking shame she’s dead. The world is missing out on an amazing person. She died doing what she’s been doing her entire adult life, protecting innocent people who can not protect themselves. I will not let her death be in vain.” She placed the rose down on the box, “whatever it takes.” 

Nobody else in the crowd said anything but they all came forward to lay their roses on the casket. Cassie bent over and whispered an, “I’m sorry,” that only Kate could hear. She reached over and squeezed Cassie’s shoulder to let her know that they had each other. Yelena saw the interaction but didn’t say anything, she just grabbed Kate’s hand and led her a few steps away so the officiant could finish and they could lower Carol to her final resting place. The whole service took less than fifteen minutes and everybody was going back to Wanda’s for lunch. 

Kate waited until the casket was lowered completely before turning away, “that fucking sucked,” she exhaled. 

“I know,” she wrapped her arm around Kate’s waist. “Come on, Детка. Let us celebrate her life and your friendship.” 

“Will there be drinks?” 

Yelena chuckled, “we have a lot of vodka at the house.” 

“I need many drinks,” she started to say when she looked up and saw someone she wasn’t expecting to see. A new wave of fury struck and instantly coursed through her body, “you have a lot of nerve showing up here.” 

Yelena’s eyes followed as Kate marched over to Maria who was leaning up against a tree.  “Oh no,” she followed Kate. 

Everybody else stopped walking and watched as the scene unfolded in front of them. 

“You had absolutely no right to show up here today,” Kate stopped right in front of the other woman. 

Maria stood up straight, “it’s a public location. You do not own the graveyard.” 

“And you don’t give a fuck about Carol or her well being. You made that perfectly clear the night she came in for surgery.” 

“Kate,” Yelena tried to reel her in, “this probably is not the best place to do this.” 

Nobody heard her. “Let me guess. She died because of her own stupidity. I told you both that it would end in bloodshed. Didn’t I?” 

“You pretended to care about us. What we were doing. You pretended. And when things got real. When they got hard… you left and never looked back. You never cared about either of us.” Kate was shaking with anger, “you only care about yourself.” 

“You behave like such a child, Bishop. You are an adult now. You need to grow up and act like one. Not everybody holds onto the past. It’s time to let some of that shit go. Look where it got Carol… in the fucking ground.” 

“Kate. Dr. Hill,” Yelena tried again. “This isn’t a good time. We are here to celebrate Carol. You can air your grievances out elsewhere.” 

“That is where you are wrong, Dr. Belova. I’m not here to celebrate Carol. I’m here to warn your girlfriend that if she keeps going at the rate she is then she will be buried in the ground right next to her friend.” 

A smack was the last thing heard echoing off the graves as Kate struck Maria hard across the face before turning and leaving with the people who showed up for her today. Yelena gave Maria one final look before joining her girlfriend. Kate grabbed onto her hand to help ground her. “It’s going to be okay, Kate. Do not let her get to you.” 

“I think I need to finish telling you our story.” 

Chapter Text

Kate truly had full intentions of talking to Yelena after the scene in the graveyard but when they finally made it back to her apartment for the wake, the brunette decided to consume half a bottle of tequila getting too drunk too fast. She couldn’t recall anything after forcing everybody to do a round of shots in honor of Carol and the self-proclaimed greatest slap outside of professional wrestling. At some point, the bottle of tequila was taken from her and she was neatly tucked into Yelena’s bed. The blinding headache tore her from her sleep the next morning followed by a wave of nausea. She was determined not to throw up in someone else’s house. It took her a minute to remember where she was when she saw a note on the nightstand accompanied by a bottle of pain medication, a few nausea pills and two bottles of water. She picked up the note first. It read: 

Kate Bishop,

I am sorry I can not be there when you wake. My oncall rounds started early this morning. I have a feeling you will be in some pain when you wake. Take the pills and drink all of that water. I want a picture of the empty bottles. I am also sorry I didn’t take that tequila from you earlier but I feel like you needed to be numb. I get that. Please, stay as long as you want. Lucky is welcome to stay as long as you need. I’ll be home in four days. Wanda and Natasha should be around if you do not wish to be alone. I am asking you to not do anything rash until we have a chance to really talk. Please. 

Yours,

Yelena 

Kate’s head hit the pillow, “so much tequila.” She was grateful that her girlfriend had access to the good medication as she reached over grabbing the nausea pills first. They were the quick acting kind that dissolved under her tongue so she gave them a few moments to kick in before attempting to sit up. After being certain the nausea wouldn’t come, she took the pain pills and drank as much of the first bottle as she could manage. She snapped a picture of the water and sent it to her girlfriend with the message, “missed you this morning.”

“Shower,” she said after getting a glimpse of her face in the mirror. “I definitely need a shower.” She heard someone out in the kitchen and she had a feeling it was Natasha waiting for her with another lecture. If that was the case she had to check in and make sure she didn’t say anything stupid. 

Kate(10:20am) : hey I think you might be oncall but you are probably less prone to rules as Yelena. I have a question. 

Cassie(10:24am) : don’t tell her I’m texting. Can’t believe you are functioning at a decent hour with a body half full of tequila. What’s the question? 

Kate didn’t know how to interpret that response. The tone came off harsh and a little less than Cassie’s normal amount of friendliness. She was working so Kate thought maybe she was just bothering her. 

Kate(10:30am): I don’t want to bother you. We can talk later. 

She was about to ditch her phone to go get a shower when the screen lit up with an incoming call from Cassie, “hello?” 

“Hey. Are you okay?” 

Kate was instantly relieved to hear the normal cheerful voice of her friend. She totally misread the tone of the text, “yeah. I misread your tone. I guess I’m just on edge after everything.” 

“I snuck into a patient’s room to call you. Don’t worry. Coma patient. What was your question?” 

Kate really did appreciate Cassie. She was turning out to be a cool friend to have, “did I say or do anything incriminating last night? It’s just that I think Natasha is out there and I don’t want to face another lecture.” She heard Cassie chuckling, “what did I say?”

“Aside from the 15 or so times you announced how hot your girlfriend is… I don’t think it’s anything you said. Though,” Kate could hear her smirk through the phone. “This was the first wake I attended where the mourning party insisted everybody play charades and then again the mourning party kept reenacting her slap from the graveyard.” 

“Well fuck.” 

“Maybe next time go lighter on the tequila, champ. But in all seriousness, you didn’t do or say anything that would raise suspicion. We all know your girlfriend is hot.” 

Kate laughed, “she really is, isn’t she? Man, I need to sleep with her soon.” 

“You still haven’t let her rail you yet?”

“Very tasteful, Cassie,” Kate groaned, “no. We were on that path and then Carol died. There hasn’t been another opportunity. I’m not sure how to bring it back up. She wanted to have a conversation or so her note said. Not necessarily looking forward to that one.” 

“About our stuff?” 

“Mmhmm,” Kate felt an unease in the pit of her stomach. “And Maria.” 

“That was an A class slap. Really. Job well done there.” There was a knock on the door and Cassie whispered, “I gotta go. Someone is trying to come in here. Don’t be scared of Dr. Belova’s sister. She’s totally hot as fuck but I think you’ll be fine. Call me later.” 

“Bye,” Kate rolled her eyes and hung up feeling better than she had before the call. She put her ear to the door and listened. When she didn’t hear the kitchen noises anymore, she quickly grabbed a towel and headed to Yelena’s bathroom. “Whew,” she made it without an interrogation. Her shower was uneventful though she did really enjoy Yelena’s selection of bath products. They always smelled so good, like a spa or the woods. Kate couldn’t tell but it reminded her of her girlfriend so she wasn’t complaining. She walked the distance back to Yelena’s room still draped in the green towel. “I need to go home,” she sighed knowing how much easier it would be to stay. There was an alert that came from her phone noting that a text had been received. She was almost afraid to check it but it’s not like it could be Wanda telling her that her friend died again. 

Yelena(10:50am) : good morning, Kate Bishop. I thought I said I wanted a picture of both empty water bottles. We both know how hot you think I am… be a good girl and drink both waters. 

“She did not have to put that damn winking emoji,” Kate wanted to crawl in a hole and die but was quickly stopped when a second text came through. 

Yelena(11:15am): you did not respond. So, either you are being naughty or you do not think I am as hot as you let on… 

Kate(11:17am): I’m never going to live this down. It’s not my fault you are in fact the hottest person to ever exist. I’m drinking the water now, doctor. 

Yelena(11:20am): good girl. Now, Nat says you haven’t emerged yet. She thinks you are scared of her. Do not let her bully you. 

Kate(11:23am): that would be more comforting if you were here as a buffer. A very hot buffer.

They weren’t even in the same location but Kate was sure she could hear Yelena’s deep raspy chuckle through the phone. 

Yelena(11:25am): less than four whole days now. I come to your place Thursday night? Sound good? 

Kate(11:27am): already counting down the hours. Guess I’ll go face Natasha. 

Yelena(11:30am): remember she’s not so scary and I’m waiting for that picture. 

“Oh if she wants a picture, I’ll give her a picture,” Kate smirked to herself before she quickly drank the contents of the two water bottles only regretting that decision for a few moments when her nausea came back. She still had one of the nausea pills Yelena left her so she took that real quick before arranging the empty bottles in front of the mirror. She was feeling particularly bold that morning so she let the towel dip below her breasts, exposing them along with some of her abs.  She posed in the mirror making sure the empty water bottles could be seen. The glare from the flash covering most of her breasts was exactly what she was going for. “I’d fuck me,” she shrugged before sending the picture with the message, “as ordered, Doctor Belova.” She wasn’t expecting a reply text so she put the phone down and grabbed a pair of sweats from Yelena’s closet. It would be good enough to wear home. “She’s not that scary,” was the chant Kate was internally giving herself as she gathered her stuff and made her way out of the safety of the bedroom. 

“There she is,” the familiar voice came from behind Kate, “the woman who thinks my sister is the hottest woman to walk planet earth. You know,” she rounded the living room and joined her near the kitchen, “Yelena already has a pretty big ego. You going around announcing her hottest doesn’t help matters.” 

“Tequila and I have a very long and intense relationship.”

Natasha threw her head back laughing, “okay Yelena said you were funny and I can see it now. Would you like a sandwich? I was going to make a grilled cheese. And I have hot Cheetos but don’t tell Wanda or Yelena. I don’t need a lecture.” 

Kate took her bag off, “you had me at sandwich but hot Cheetos sealed the deal. What can I do?” 

“Entertain me,” Natasha laughed while she was getting the cheese and butter out of the fridge. She held up a bottle of hot sauce, “is this a no for you?” 

“I’ll pass on the hot sauce. Must be a family thing,” she smiled at her similarities to Yelena even if they weren’t blood related. “Did you always want to be a firefighter?” 

“Straight in with the interrogation,” she laughed while buttering the bread for the sandwiches. “I thought I was the one asking the questions.” 

“Something tells me you already know a lot about me, whether through Yelena or Maria or your own stalker google searches. So, humor me, Yelena is important to me. I want to get to know the most important person in her life.” 

Natasha raised an eyebrow, “flattery will get you everywhere in this house. Well played, Kate Bishop. No, I just sort of fell into that work. I was in an accident about six months after I moved here. My car caught on fire and I was saved by the fire crew and a sexy EMS worker who was trying to get into med school.” 

“Maria?” 

“The very one,” she started grilling up their sandwiches. “We became friends and she happened to know some of the fire crew and I started volunteering until they took pity on me knowing it wasn’t cheap to live in the city. I was working as a waitress. I sucked at it but if you flirted enough… the tips were worth it.” 

“I could never be a waitress. My coordination is less than stellar.” 

The red head laughed again, “says the girl who could shoot an arrow into the throat of a suspected rapist.” 

Kate’s mouth fell open, “that wasn’t me?”

A smirk, “is that a question or a statement?” 

“Is it worth attempting to lie to you? Your sister said her superpower was knowing when people lie. Does that run in the family or not?” 

Natasha slid the two sandwiches onto a couple of paper plates, depositing the pan into the sink. She grabbed a family sized bag of hot Cheetos and two cokes, “that sentence is all the admission of truth I need. If the firefighter thing didn’t work out, I was planning on being a cop. So, why do you do it?” 

“Don’t you think this is the sort of conversation I should have with my girlfriend first?” 

“I don’t need all the details. I just want to make sure you aren’t going to hurt my sister. Like we talked about last time, I really don’t want to be forced to kill you,” she popped a couple of Cheetos into her mouth. “I think I’m developing a fondness for you.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “I’m not scared of you.” 

“Good one,” she laughed, “I almost believed that.” 

Kate took a bite of her grilled cheese, “okay this is delicious.” She went into a shortened description of what happened to Carol and her when they were younger but left the story there because she didn’t think it was fair to Yelena to tell Natasha the full truth before her. 

Natasha spoke with a mouth full of sandwich, “well whatever your reasons, Maria kept your secrets. Honestly I still can’t work out how she was involved but that slap was amazing. Wish I could’ve given her one, too.” She saw something flash across the brunette’s face, “you doing okay, kid? Losing someone close to you is rough. If Yelena was courteous, she should’ve mentioned that you are welcome to stay here as long as you need. I won’t pry anymore than I have.” 

“I don’t know if I’m fine. I lost my dad when I was a kid but this is different. Carol and I were a different sort of family. It’s weird her being gone, you know?” She saw a nod of understanding so she continued, “Yelena told me that  I could stay here. I think she’s worried about my retaliation. I mean… she’s not wrong to think that but as impulsive as I may be, I always have plans. I never would’ve gone off half cocked like Carol did the other night.” 

“Let me guess… that squirrely little intern is in on everything.” 

Kate’s mouth dropped open once again, “okay that’s just unfair. Also, Yelena doesn’t know at least I don’t think she does so try not to get her in trouble at work. She’s terrified of your sister. Like petrified.” 

Natasha shrugged, “as she should be. Lena is very scary when she wants to be.”

“Lena?” 

“Don’t even think about it. Only I get to call her that. And she hates it most of the time but I refuse to stop. I’ll have to kill you if you try it.” 

Kate held her hands up in concession, “I wouldn’t dream of it. Don’t tell Yelena about Cassie, okay? I’m going to tell Cassie that i plan on talking to Yelena about everything.” 

“I probably won’t even see her before you do. Consider yourself lucky. I don’t like withholding information from my sister.” 

“Thank you,” Kate and Natasha finished their lunch over a relatively pleasant and more light hearted conversation. The girl decided that she did in fact like the older woman and she wasn’t as scary as she first thought.  “I should probably go check on Lucky. Poor guy probably has to pee like mad.” 

“I can drive you. Drop you off before I head to work.” 

“Oh I live across town. I can take the subway,” Kate tried to wave off the offer. 

“If I let you take the subway no matter what time of day, Yelena would kick my ass. Seriously, it’s not a big deal.” 

“Why do I get the impression you are just offering so you can see Lucky?”  

Natasha smirked, “it’s mostly that and the Yelena thing. You ready? I have like twenty minutes.” 

The two of them left the apartment with Kate feeling significantly better about everything she had been so worried about. 

When Natasha pulled her old blue Chevy truck up in front of Kate’s apartment building she waited for instructions on where to park, “you can pull into that parking garage over there. I have a parking spot. I assume you want to see Lucky?” 

Natasha laughed, “that might be the stupidest fucking question I’ve ever heard in my life.” She pulled the truck into the designated spot. “Of course I want to see Mr. Lucky. He’s such a good boy.” 

They got into the loft and Natasha immediately sat on the ground and let Lucky invade her personal space, “I thought you had to be at work in twenty minutes like ten minutes ago.” 

Natasha rolled her eyes, “so what if I’m a little late. Take our picture,” she tossed Kate her phone. “The boss will understand when he sees how fucking cute this puppy is.” 

“He’s like 5 or 6… unsure of his age since I found him in the garbage but he’s definitely not a puppy.” 

“Did you hear your mama? Blasphemy. All dogs are puppers no matter their age. You my furry friend are the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen,” she planted a big kiss on his snout which was the perfect picture Kate snapped of the two of them. 

*

Yelena had been so busy the first two days of her on-call shifts she barely got a chance to eat let alone relax. Nearing hour 72, she finally found herself in one of the on-call rooms after taking a quick shower in the locker room. There was a small table with one chair which was being occupied by Jen while Yelena sat against the wall of the bottom bunk. “You didn’t have to bring your dinner here. I’m perfectly capable of entertaining myself.” 

Jen waved her off, “please like I really want to socialize with any of the other doctors in the cafeteria or worse the patients. Plus, I haven’t seen you in awhile. I’ve heard you had a crazy few weeks.” 

“Checking in on me to make sure I’m okay or are you here for the tea?” 

“Can’t I be here for both? Before you ask, I don’t know anything about Carol. Whatever happened with Maria was before my time. I was working out in LA before I transferred here.” 

“Hmm,” Yelena nodded, pulling out her phone to check her messages from the past few days. Her heart swelled when she saw the picture of Natasha in Kate’s loft being attacked with Lucky kisses. “Seems my sister has worked her way into Kate’s house,” she handed the phone to Jen. “That is the best dog.” She wondered if this meant Kate got over her ridiculous fear of Natasha. There were a few more pictures of the two of them with Lucky and that one picture of Kate she couldn’t show Jen. She would have to look at that later after the lawyer left. “What would you do if you suspected someone you cared about to be engaging in dangerous activities?” 

“This seems like a loaded question.” Jen sat back in the chair, “as a lawyer I feel like I’m not at liberty to discuss dangerous activities but as your friend I’m assuming you are speaking about your emergency room dependent girlfriend. If my significant other was involved in something dangerous, I would want to be as transparent as possible. I’d let them know that while I’m not happy about their extracurriculars, I care about them and their well being. Does that make sense?” 

“I’m almost certain she’s caught up in some less than stellar shit but a part of me doesn’t care. Does that make me a shitty person?” 

Jen took a few minutes to think about that question, “do you think Kate is a shitty person?” 

“Not at all.” Yelena sighed, looking back through her texts from the girl in question. She really liked her a lot. It wasn’t typical for Yelena to let her guard down long enough to fall for someone. She never allowed herself to get close enough to others for them to weasel their way into her life. Kate coming into the ER on her first day of work was like a sign. She felt like an addict when it came to the younger woman. The longer she was away from here the move she craved. 

“I heard about the slap,” Jen pulled Yelena out of her inner monologue. “I think there would be a line of doctors and patients around the building waiting for a chance to slap Maria. I can’t say that I wouldn’t be one of them.” 

Yelena chuckled, “it was so satisfying.” She thought about it for a second, “and had it not been at her best friend’s funeral, I probably would’ve taken Kate straight to bed. So sexy.” She cleared her throat before letting her mind wander back to that picture Kate texted her. 

Jen smirked, “did you want me to head out so you can take care of that?” She pointed to Yelena’s unconscious clench of her thighs. 

“Rude,” her mouth dropped open in indignation. “I would never engage in that kind of activity in the workplace.” 

Jen let out a loud laugh, “well you are about the only one then. Everyone has sex here. In these rooms. Your sister included.” 

“Ew gross,” Yelena scrunched up her nose, “we are friends but we are not talking about my sister’s sex life friends. Natasha is virginal and will remain so until she dies.” 

“Should we discuss your delusions now or later?” 

Yelena set her face, “virginal. Now clear out of here. I need to try to get some sleep before they call me back out there.” She watched as her friend threw her empty dinner container away and headed out the door after saying a proper goodbye. It was nice that Yelena had a few people besides her sister and Wanda that she could talk to. She hadn't really expected to make any friends in the city as this was something she always struggled with but she really did enjoy Jen and Sonya.

She turned her attention back to her phone after dimming the lights, locking the door and getting more comfortable on the bed. “Let’s have a look,” she pulled up the picture Kate had sent her the other day with the empty water bottles. There wasn’t a moment to truly appreciate the photo until now. Her body was very muscular. The towel was resting just above her belly button and most of her breasts were obstructed by the flash of her camera but it was enough to excite the doctor. Yes, she knew they had to talk but she was human and that picture was doing things for her. It had been quite awhile since she had time to scratch her itch. “Почему бы и нет?” She pulled her scrub top up, letting her hand brush over her covered breasts, over her defined abdomen, dipping into the top of her scrubs bottoms. A wicked smile graced her face as she angled her camera down and snapped a picture. “Wish you were here,” was the message that accompanied that picture she sent to Kate. She let her fingers venture lower, feeling just how worked up she had gotten herself by a mere photo of her girlfriend. “Черт возьми, я давно не был таким мокрым,” she sighed, feeling her arousal coating her fingers. Her phone vibrated next to her as she was circling her clit with the perfect amount of pressure that would get her off quickly. With her free hand she checked the message finding a picture of Kate mirroring Yelena’s current position though she could see the glisten on the other girl’s fingers. “Fuck,” she entered herself slow and with a renewed purpose. “Она станет моей смертью.” 

*

The rest of her oncall days went by quickly with no major accidents. Sonya did comment a few times how the blonde seemed to be in a particularly good mood after her five hours of sleep and her only response was, “five hours of sleep is hard to come by at the hospital.” She knew her friend saw right through that reply but thankfully Sonya didn’t press the issue. After her shift, she stopped at home to take another quick hour nap, shower and grab some clothes to stuff into her backpack. She planned to spend the night over at Kate’s place. It was Thursday and she did sort of invite herself over. 

“Big date?” Natasha asked from the couch. She had her back towards Yelena’s hallway but her hearing was exceptional. 

“Now Natalia,” Wanda’s feet were casually resting on her girlfriend’s lap. “Don’t give her a hard time. She just put in four days at work. And look… she’s happy.” 

“Well yeah she’s happy. She gets to go see Lucky. I can’t believe Kate didn’t bring him by once. I told her she and Lucky were more than welcome to stay while you were at work. I even cooked her lunch. My sisterly hospitality was unmatched and she didn’t bring the dog by,” she grumbled while massaging Wanda’s feet. 

“You are a little intimidating, sweetheart. Kate’s probably going through a lot right now. Dealing with losing her best friend and having to navigate her feelings for Yelena is probably taking its toll on her.”

“Plus,” Yelena smirked, “you are scary as hell and always know the right buttons to push. Kate sent me that picture of you and Lucky. Seems you three hit it off. I think it’s the whole Carol thing. She hasn’t lost too many people.” 

“She mentioned her dad died,” Natasha was just salty that she didn’t get to see the dog but she did enjoy her lunch with the girl. “I do really think she cares about you, Yelena. She even opened up to me a little. That just goes to show how not scary I am. I thought we hit it off well.” 

“She tell you about the kidnapping?” She saw Natasha nod, “and I’m assuming you told Wanda?” 

“I didn’t think it was a secret at that point.” 

“Yelena,” Wanda sat up a little straighter, “we know how important Kate is to you and therefore she is important to us. We will support your relationship.” 

“And whatever Kate is into… that’s also fine with me at least. I wouldn’t mind going out to murder a rapist or two,” Natasha shrugged. “Do you think there’s an open spot now that Carol kicked it?”

Yelena slapped the back of her sister’s head, “Сука. Ты будешь первым, кого я убью.”

Natasha laughed, “Ты любишь меня, сестра. Я точно знаю, что ты думаешь, что я очаровательна. Я чувствую, что моя безопасность не находится под угрозой.” 

“Спорный Мнение,” Yelena rolled her eyes. “It is bad enough she somehow got my intern wrapped up in it. I’m not letting her get my sister too.” 

“Figure that part out? All you have to do is ask Kate a straightforward question and she crumbles like a house of cards,” Natasha laughed.  “And besides, don’t act like you wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to kill someone.” 

“Been there. Done that,” Yelena thought about it. “But I could be convinced to go for a hunt. Doesn’t seem like the cops give a fuck about what they were doing.” 

“Maybe that’s how Maria knows Kate?” Wanda finally spoke up. “I remember when she first became an intern, she had come in as a patient. Broken arm and a rape kit was ordered. But she made me promise that I wouldn’t call the police. I still feel awful about that decision to respect her wishes to this day.” 

“Do you think that’s a correlation?” 

“I’m not sure, Yelena. It’s something only Kate will be able to tell you. Unless you want to try to get Maria to open up to you,” Wanda smirked. 

“I’d rather drive off of a cliff,” she rolled her eyes. “I should probably get going. Kate’s expecting me.” 

“One last bit of advice?” Wanda waited for a nod from the blonde, “don’t pressure her into telling you everything. Let it happen naturally. You both care about each other. Let the feelings happen and see where it goes.” 

“I think she’s telling you to pull your head out of your ass and get laid,” Natasha laughed, flipping Yelena off as she headed towards the door. “Have fun sis. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

“That leaves a wide berth, darling,” Wanda patted Nat’s head.

*

Yelena pulled her motorcycle into Kate’s spot, taking her helmet with her as she crossed the street waving at the familiar workers in the pizza shop. She was surprised that they didn’t wave her inside. When Yelena would go over to Kate’s the pizza shop owner usually waved her inside when he saw her to give her Kate’s pizza that she had ordered ahead of time. That seemed a little strange to the blonde but she just waved and continued on into the loft, bypassing the call box with the spare key her girlfriend had given her in order to check in on Lucky occasionally. Taking the stairs two at a time, she quickly approached the front door when she heard music wafting out of the apartment as well as the smell of something delicious. Instead of walking straight in, she knocked on the door. “Come in!” She heard from the other side. “Kate Bishop, I’m here,” the sentence was caught in her throat when she entered and saw her girlfriend standing at the stove dressed in black pinstripe slacks, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, heels and a black apron which read: who gave me permission to cook? Yelena stepped into the apartment, letting her bag fall to the floor. Aside from Kate looking adorable with flour streaked across her forehead, the table was set complete with fresh roses and lit candles. She even noticed that Lucky was wearing a little bow tie. “What is all this?” was all she could think to say taking everything in and letting it marinate. 

Kate turned and gave her the most adorable smile, “I wanted to cook you dinner.” 

“I’m flattered,” she walked over, picking up a dish towel and wiping the flour off of her forehead. “It smells delicious.” 

“I have never really cooked before. But look, “she pulled the lid off of a big simmering pot on the stove and then opened the oven to show her inside. 

“Is this…” 

“I wanted to make your favorites. So, I called Wanda because she was stupid enough to call me with her personal number. Truly an oversight on her part. Somehow I convinced her to give me your sister's number so I texted her and got her to tell me your favorites from Russia. I made beef stroganoff and cheese pirozhki… I don’t think I’m saying that right. And look,” she showed Yelena the pancakes that were cooling in the fridge, “ syrniki for dessert.” 

Yelena just stared at her in shock not quite knowing what to say. Kate started to feel a little insecure and went off on a ramble, “okay yes I know… I’m not the best cook but look nothing I’ve made has ever sent anyone to the hospital except that one time but I didn’t know Carol had a nut allergy. So technically that wasn’t my fault. Plus, I followed all of the instructions Natasha gave me exactly as she told me. And,” she was wringing her hands, “Wanda stopped by early this morning with some of the spices she knew I wouldn’t be able to find in the store. I guess Natasha told her what I was doing. As long as you don’t have allergies I can almost guarantee that none of this will send you to the hospital. At least I hope not. I may have gone heavy on the spices in the stroganoff but you like spicy things so I’m not worried about that.” She looked at her girlfriend who was still staring at her. “Are you mad?” 

Yelena shook herself from the stupor she had been in listening to Kate ramble, “mad? Why would I be mad?” 

“I don’t know because I went behind your back for the information.” 

“You think I’d be mad because you talked to my sister and her girlfriend? Kate,” she looked up into very uncertain blue eyes. “I’m glad you feel comfortable enough talking to them. I just do not understand.” 

“What? Is it the food I made? Natasha assured me these were Russian dishes and were your favorites. I don’t know the translation. You hate it,” she deflated a little. 

“Stop,” she grabbed Kate’s hands. “Kate, stop. It smells wonderful and I’m sure I won’t be poisoned. These are some of my most favorite foods. Natasha didn’t trick you. What I don’t understand is why would you do this for me?” 

“Oh that’s the simple part. I wanted to thank you.” 

“Thank me? You have absolutely nothing to thank me for.” 

“Oh but I do,” Kate said as a matter of fact. “My life has been crazy since as far back as I could remember. I never had my life under control and honestly I still don’t. But you are here and you see me. You helped me when I came to the hospital without asking invasive questions. You brought me to your house to fix my arm. You sat with me while my best friend took her last breaths and held me during the funeral. You didn’t push me to share my secrets even when I knew it was killing you. And when I finally got the courage to tell you, you just listened without judgment. We’ve only been together for a few months and I know that I care for you so deeply that it scares me but it also excites me beyond belief. So yes, I tried to make you dinner so I could thank you for being the amazing human that you are.” 

Kate watched as the smile reached Yelena’s eyes, “nobody has gone through this much trouble for me, Kate.” She really didn’t know what to say or how to reciprocate the kind words other than telling Kate that she cared so deeply for her that it was scaring her. So she followed Wanda’s advice and felt her feelings. She tilted her head slightly, leaning up on her tiptoes, she ghosted her lips across Kate’s before dropping her nose to Kate’s neck. “It does smell delicious in here,” she inhaled her girlfriend’s scent like her own personal source of oxygen. “I’ve been thinking about you since the other night,” she whispered, leaving a kiss on the underside of her jaw. “And I come walking into this? You’ve gone out of your way to make me dinner?” 

Kate’s breathing was heavier than it had been just a few moments ago. Her girlfriend being so close to her, pressing kisses against her throat and jaw was doing things to her that wanted to make her forget the dinner and take her upstairs, “Yelena,” she whispered. 

“Hmm?” She hummed against her throat. 

“I really want to see where this is going.” Her train of thought was being thwarted by Yelena’s insistent kissing. “You are making it very hard for me to concentrate.” 

Yelena chuckled, “I am sorry, little hawk. I got some good advice as I was leaving home earlier and you made this nice dinner for me and you look amazing. I got carried away.” She kissed her once more before taking a step back, putting some distance between them. “I feel underdressed,” she looked down at the white crop top she was wearing under her leather coat and her black skinny jeans with her usual boots. 

When Yelena took her jacket off, Kate’s eyes were drawn to her chest. She obviously wasn’t wearing a bra and her long blonde waves were adding to the distraction, “oh no. Trust me. You look very hot.” 

Yelena smirked, “yes I have heard you think I’m hot.” She laughed at the blush forming on Kate’s cheeks, “Don’t you shy away now. I am hot, you were right.” She laughed a little harder, “okay,” she held her hands up, “I’m done. Show me what you’ve cooked.” 

Yelena couldn’t explain all of the feelings that were swirling through her during the course of their dinner. Everything Kate made was delicious even though the brunette was a self proclaimed horrible cook. It tasted like she was back home eating her mama’s home cooking. The conversation flowed easily because it always did with Kate. The whole time she knew there would never be a moment of awkward silence. Kate filled those beautifully with stories of nothing in particular. Sure she had cared deeply for Emily. They were deployed together and did two tours overseas. What they shared was an experience that could never be the same with anyone else but Yelena had to move on eventually. Those feelings she had for Emily were entirely different that she felt for the rambling girl sitting across from her. 

Kate was like sunshine after a harsh rainstorm. When the brunette started smiling and asking if Yelena wanted to visit the Christmas tree farm with her even though it was only the second week of November, she couldn’t help her heart from beating a little faster. She found herself agreeing without hesitation. Yelena was desperately trying to stop her landslide of emotions before she confessed something to Kate that she didn’t think either of them were ready to hear no matter how loud her heart was screaming at her. “Kate Bishop,” she quietly spoke to hopefully get her attention. 

“Sorry,” she blushed, “I just love Christmas so much. The trees, music, ugly sweaters, snow, all of it really. Once I get on the topic I can’t stop.” 

Yelena pushed her chair back, standing to walk over to her girlfriend who also had pushed away from the table. She leaned down until her lips brushed Kate’s ear, “take me to bed, Детка.”

Kate was sure that all of her senses stopped working simultaneously and that she was no longer functioning as an alive and well person. “What?” She waited a minute for the blonde to respond but she only repeated her previous demand causing every pulse in her body to travel south. “I thought,” her breath caught in her throat when Yelena slid into her lap, nipping at her earlobe. 

“Hmm? What did you think, Kate Bishop,” her accent even stronger as the words went straight to Kate’s core. 

“Distracting,” she felt Yelena chuckle against the hinge of her jaw. “I thought you wanted to talk.” 

Yelena was leaving open mouth kisses along her jawline, “talking is so boring, isn’t it?” Yelena continued her path of kisses while Kate tried to regain some semblance of how to use the English language. Her hands found themselves drawn to the blonde’s thighs, her grip tightening when she found a particularly sensitive spot on Kate’s neck. “So boring,” Yelena chuckled at the groan Kate let out when she rocked her hips down slightly. 

“Yes,” Kate nodded enthusiastically, “but your note… wanted to talk…” 

Yelena pulled back just enough so she could rest her forehead against Kate’s, “do you not wish to have sex with me, Kate Bishop?” 

“Oh I wish it,” she looked into Yelena’s deep forest green eyes. 

“I want you,” she simply stated, “and I want to show you how much I appreciate your thank you.” 

Kate was trying her best to see if there was any sort of hesitation in the other woman’s eyes. When she found none, she felt herself nodding again, “talking is so boring.” 

Yelena let their lips barely touch, smirking into a soft kiss, “take me to bed, Детка.”

Chapter Text

Yelena pushed her chair back, standing to walk over to her girlfriend who also had pushed away from the table. She leaned down until her lips brushed Kate’s ear, “take me to bed, Детка.”

Kate was sure that all of her senses stopped working simultaneously and that she was no longer functioning as an alive and well person. “What?” She waited a minute for the blonde to respond but she only repeated her previous demand causing every pulse in her body to travel south. “I thought,” her breath caught in her throat when Yelena slid into her lap, nipping at her earlobe. 

“Hmm? What did you think, Kate Bishop,” her accent even stronger as the words went straight to Kate’s core. 

“Distracting,” she felt Yelena chuckle against the hinge of her jaw. “I thought you wanted to talk.” 

Yelena was leaving open mouth kisses along her jawline, “talking is so boring, isn’t it?” Yelena continued her path of kisses while Kate tried to regain some semblance of how to use the English language. Her hands found themselves drawn to the blonde’s thighs, her grip tightening when she found a particularly sensitive spot on Kate’s neck. “So boring,” Yelena chuckled at the groan Kate let out when she rocked her hips down slightly. 

“Yes,” Kate nodded enthusiastically, “but your note… wanted to talk…” 

Yelena pulled back just enough so she could rest her forehead against Kate’s, “do you not wish to have sex with me, Kate Bishop?” 

“Oh I wish it,” she looked into Yelena’s deep forest green eyes. 

“I want you,” she simply stated, “and I want to show you how much I appreciate your thank you.” 

Kate was trying her best to see if there was any sort of hesitation in the other woman’s eyes. When she found none, she felt herself nodding again, “talking is so boring.” 

Yelena let their lips barely touch, smirking into a soft kiss, “take me to bed, Детка.”

Kate’s brain had clearly short circuited but her body was making the moves for her as she pushed herself to her feet, the blonde wrapping her legs around her waist. “You are quite sturdy aren’t you?” 

Yelena chuckled, “small but compact,” she started her assault on Kate’s neck as the brunette carried her to the stairs. She was determined to carry her all the way up to her bedroom. The blonde’s strong thighs weren’t budging so Kate knew the woman was safe in her arms. Yelena stopped her kissing when they reached the top of the stairs. “When I said, take me to bed, I did not mean carry me to your bedroom.” She smirked at her girlfriend, a sparkle of challenge in her green eyes. “Always a show off. Time to put those big muscles and that mouth to use, Kate Bishop.” 

Kate laughed, throwing the blonde down onto her mattress landing with a little bounce, “I’m a full service lesbian of course I was carrying you. You said take me to bed and I take most things at face value before I completely overthink everything,” she reached down and started unbuttoning her dress shirt. “This is okay?” She asked while pushing her shirt off of her shoulders, it falling forgotten to the floor. 

Yelena’s smirk had been a permanent fixture since they started making out. She sat up on the edge of the bed, “the overthinking has started. Right on time.” She reached out, grabbing Kate’s hips and pulling her between her open legs. “There is nothing to think about right now except everything I’m planning to do to you in the next couple of hours.”

“Hours?” Kate’s tongue came out to wet her bottom lip thinking of all the possibilities. 

“Hours,” she ran thumb in a small circle around Kate’s belly button.

Kate swallowed hard looking down at her girlfriend, “you sure you don’t want to talk about this?” 

Yelena’s hands were working the button of Kate’s trousers before she stopped and skimmed them up the bare skin of her torso, stopping to unhook her bra, “there are a lot of things I want to do right now and talking is not high on the list.” She watched with rapt attention as the purple lacy fell from Kate’s breasts. The urge to cover herself was there but less. Yelena noticed the tips of her ears turning pink, “you have nothing to be embarrassed about, you are gorgeous.” 

Kate reached down, her fingers lightly grazing Yelena’s ribs before settling on the hem of her crop top, “something for something?” A slight nod was all she needed before pulling the fabric up and over Yelena’s head. “Wow,” was all she could get out before the blonde pulled her down into her lap. She let her hands travel up Kate’s trouser covered thighs, thumbs dipping into the creases where her hips joined her legs as their mouths met again in a hungry kiss. Yelena was in the perfect position to press her mouth against Kate’s sternum, flicking her tongue out for a taste while cupping Kate’s breasts and sweeping her thumbs across her already sensitive nipples. A groan escaped the younger woman, “you like that?” Her only reply was a very enthusiastic head nod. Yelena swept her thumbs back over her nipples, “use your words, little hawk.” 

“Gods yes,” it came out as more of a moan than a sentence. “More. I need more.” Yelena delivered, sucking a pert nipple into her mouth. “Oh fuck,” she threw her head back. “Yes, that is more,” she could feel how turned on she was and felt she was moments from exploding and it had been a few minutes of above the waist touching. 

She pushed Yelena off to create a little distance, “what?” The blonde looked confused with signs of worry, “did I hurt you?” 

“No,” Kate smiled, “nothing like that. I’m just not going to last long at this rate.” She pushed Yelena back fully into the bed and climbed off of her, her fingers resting at Yelena’s pants button, “May I?” She unbuttoned her pants, swiftly pulling them down her legs, letting them fall to the floor. Yelena was wearing a pair of dark green Calvin Klein boxer briefs that had Kate letting out another groan. A telling smirk graced Yelena’s face. She knew she looked good and yes, Kate agreed, she should be very proud of her body. She let her hands glide over Yelena’s stomach, thumbs brushing over the band of her underwear. 

When she started pulling them off, Yelena sat up and flipped Kate over onto her back, “no you don’t, Kate Bishop. Something for something.”  She unzipped Kate’s trousers, discarding them over the edge of the bed. “May I?” She looked up when Kate started to move her hands to her underwear. “No, let me,” she hooked her fingers under the lace and pulled them down her thighs. “Ты чертовски великолепна,” she breathed out before removing her own boxers, sliding back up. They both moaned feeling their naked skin coming together with an electric shock. “You feel better than I dreamed,” she brought their lips together in a kiss, she only stayed a moment before her lips and teeth went back to Kate’s collarbone. “You’ll have to forgive me.” 

“For what?” Kate’s brain was malfunctioning. 

“I haven’t done this is a very long time,” she slid one leg between Kate’s pressing her thigh into Kate’s center. 

“Fuck me.” 

Yelena chuckled against her skin, “but I think we will be just fine.” Kate felt another surge of electricity when Yelena started grinding her thigh into Kate. She could feel Yelena’s arousal on her own leg and it was turning her on even more. “Иисус Христос,” she groaned when she felt pleasure deep in her own core. “Мне нужно попробовать тебя на вкус.” 

“What?” Came Kate’s breathless reply. 

“May I taste you?” 

Kate felt near orgasm as it was, “please,” she said, rolling her hips for more friction. 

Yelena pressed a kiss to her throat, then started a slow, tortuous journey down her body. Tongue, lips, teeth, pausing to explore one nipple, then the other, before continuing a wet glide down her stomach. “Fuck,” Yelena whispered, pressing a kiss to the inside of Kate’s thigh. “You’re gorgeous.” Then kissed her other thigh, “and very wet.”

Kate laughed knowing just how turned on this woman had made her. How quickly she had broken her down by simple touches and kisses. Kate was desperate for release while Yelena seemed content on taking her time and finding every spot that pulled a moan from the brunette. Yelena’s tongued darted out for for a taste everywhere except where Kate was desperate for her. “Gods, Yelena…if you don’t hurry up I’m going to take matters into my own hand.” 

Yelena finally licked a slow path from her entrance to her clit then chuckled against her throbbing center, “relax, Kate Bishop, I’ll get you there.” 

“Holy shit, Yelena.” 

Yelena smirked from her position between her legs, “yes?” 

Whatever rebuttal Kate had prepared died on her tongue when Yelena hooked her arms around her thighs and pulled her closer. Her mouth took over from there, kissing, licking, slipping inside of her warmth. When Yelena replaced her tongue with two fingers deep inside Kate, a guttural moan fell from her lips, “this is how I’m going to die.”  Yelena knew exactly when to curl her fingers the moment her mouth closed around her clit alternating between sucking and licking. “Right there, so close,” that was all it took for Yelena to double down on her efforts, teeth, tongue and mouth lapping at her bringing her closer to the edge with every thrust of her fingers. It did not take long before Kate was screaming Yelena’s name to the gods as the blonde helped her back down from her orgasm. When her legs finally stopped trembling, she pulled Yelena up her body, putting every emotion she was feeling into a kiss. “You were right, you know? You are very good with your hands.” 

Yelena chuckled but her voice sounded wrecked with lust, “I told you this, Kate Bishop. I am very talented in everything I do.” 

“I get to do you now, right?” Kate looked like a kid on Christmas waiting for her chance to open a gift. 

Yelena only nodded, before her hips started gently rocking against Kate’s leg, “your turn. Show me what you got, little hawk.” Kate grabbed Yelena’s hips and pulled her higher until she was sitting at the juncture of Kate’s crease. Yelena bucked her hips, her own center sliding against Kate’s mound made both women groan in pleasure. “Трахни меня, Кейт Бишоп. Так хорошо,” she started circling her hips down, pressing her clit against Kate, building her back up as well.  

Kate reached between them, her fingers stopping at Yelena’s entrance, “is this okay?” Yelena didn’t respond with words. She grabbed Kate’s fingers, lining them up and sunk down on them. The back of her own hand was in the perfect position pushing against her own clit. She had to remind herself that this was about Yelena’s orgasm not her own but the blonde riding her fingers, cursing in Russian was doing all the right things for her. “You are so fucking hot,” Kate couldn’t hold that thought back. She saw the older woman blush slightly while increasing her speed. 

Yelena leaned forward making sure Kate’s hand was pressing against her, “cum with me?” Kate nodded her head and picked up the speed of her fingers, making tight circles over Yelena’s clit. The blonde clenched hard around her fingers, “Блядь, я кончаю.” 

The force of Yelena’s orgasm was enough to send Kate into a smaller second one, “the Russian language frock your mouth should be illegal,” she panted while watching Yelena come back from the heavens. 

Yelena moved slightly, collapsing onto the mattress beside the brunette, “give me two minutes.” She watched as Kate brought her wet fingers up to her lips, sucking them into her mouth, moaning at the taste of her girlfriend, “never mind. I go again,” she rolled back on top of Kate, kissing her breathless. 

A few hours and many orgasms later, Kate found herself laying more than content under her own personal Russian weighted blanket. Yelena had melted down onto Kate after her last orgasm and chose to stay resting on top of her. The brunette was agile enough to pull the blanket over them so they didn’t catch a chill in the late autumn evening. Yelena’s head was just above Kate’s heart while her hand was tracing shapes along her right  arm and shoulder. “I could fall asleep like this, Kate Bishop,” she snuggled down further into her, “your heartbeat is very soothing to me.” 

Kate kissed the top of her head, fingers combing through blonde hair, “do you think now might be a good time for that talk?” 

Yelena was smirking though the other woman couldn’t see, “perhaps we could talk about opening a window. It smells like a lot very satisfying sex was had in this bedroom. We might consider airing it out.” 

“Lena,” she groaned, causing the blonde to rearrange slightly to prop herself up on her left elbow. 

“Lena? This is new.” 

Kate’s eyes grew wide, “oh shit. Sorry. It sort of just snuck out. Natasha warned me you didn’t like that nickname and here I go delivering it after I finally get to have my way with you. So uncool of me.” 

Yelena gave her a little half smile, “I do not like when she calls me that. From you, I think I could make an exception.” She snuggled back down on Kate, relaxing her weight on top of the younger woman. 

“If you were serious about me opening the window, you are going to have to let me get up,” Kate placed another kiss in the blonde locks that were tickling her nose. 

Yelena groaned, “but you are so comfortable, Kate Bishop.” 

“I didn’t really peg for you a post sex cuddler,” Kate smiled when Yelena chuckled, “I like it.” 

“Natasha caught you spooning me that one day at home. She hasn’t dropped the subject. I am afraid if this gets out, I will be forced to kill you.” 

Kate wrapped her arms tighter around the blonde, “your secret is safe with me.” After a few quiet minutes, Kate’s brain got the better of her, “so can I ask a question?” 

“I knew you couldn’t hold out for too much longer,” Yelena remained snuggled. “Go ahead but if you think I’m moving you are wrong.” 

“What changed your mind? Don’t get me wrong. I really really enjoyed this but you were so adamant about talking first then you came over and something changed.” 

Kate felt Yelena sigh, her breath ghosting over her collarbone. She felt her body respond and had to tell herself that now wasn’t the time for more sex. It was talking time and she finally felt the Yelena was ready to open up a little, “Wanda and Nat stopped me on my way out.” 

“They told you to have sex with me?” 

The deep raspy chuckle that followed was not helping Kate’s libido, “not exactly. They just reminded me that life is short and we never know how much time we have left here. I came over with full intentions of talking then I walked in and you put so much thought into that dinner for me. Nobody had even done that for me before. For the first time in a very long time, I felt taken care of. I am not making any sense. I blame the orgasms.” 

“No,” Kate didn’t want her to slip back under her defenses, “I get it. I mean I don’t have any sisters encouraging me and I also don’t have any serious relationships to compare this to but I really really like you Yelena. It kind of scares me.” 

“I scare you?” She propped herself back up on her elbow to look down at her girlfriend. 

Kate shook her head, “no you don’t scare me. The fact that I’m falling hard and fast scares me.” 

“Ahh,” she pecked her cheek, “then you and I are how do you say in the same car.” 

Kate smiled, “in the same boat?” 

“Same thing,” Yelena rolled her eyes, “I adore you, Kate Bishop.” It was like she could see the wheels turning in her girlfriend’s mind, “go on ask it.” 

“Were you in love with Emily?” 

Yelena had been expecting a question like this to come up at some point. Honestly, she was surprised it took Kate so long to get to that point. She figured the emotions were running high with all the dopamine that had been released over the past few hours. “I’ve never really talked about her with anyone outside of the army therapists.” 

“You don’t have to talk about anything you aren’t comfortable sharing. I would never push you. I shouldn’t have asked.” 

“No,” Yelena cut her off, “it is okay. It is not fair to you if I do not share some things about me, about my past.” She waited to see if Kate was going to say anything. The brunette was staring up at her just listening. “It is a long story but I will shorten it so we can get back to cuddling, da?” 

Kate smiled, “like I said… whatever you are comfortable with sharing.” 

“Emily and I met when we were sent to the same AIT after basic. She talked to me on the first day of classes and basically told me I was going to be her friend and I had no choice. She was funny, smart, caring and one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met up until that point.” Yelena shifted so she was no longer on top of Kate but laying along her left side, still propped up on her elbow, not quite making eye contact. She had never been great at being vulnerable. “Emily was my first real friend that I didn’t share with my sister. Up until I met her, all of my friends were friends with Natasha first and they just sort of let me tag along. We sought comfort in each other, physically,” she tried to hide her blush. “And we started calling ourselves girlfriends sometime before we were deployed on our first tour.” 

“It was a gradual thing then?” 

“Well yes and no. We were the only two women medics in our company so it made sense for us. She and I didn’t have much in common outside of the military but that’s all our life was at the time so it did not seem to matter. You did not ask for this though. You asked if I loved her. I was very young and she was my first girlfriend. I think I loved her but I also do not think I knew the full extent of what love could be back then.” 

“Where is Emily now?” 

Yelena’s face dropped, “this is the part I do not like to talk about.” She shook her head when she saw the brunette starting to say something, “I want to talk about it.” She shifted again so she was laying on her back, looking up at the ceiling with her right arm behind her head. “Emily and I were basically the clean up crew. We were not the soldiers on the front line. We didn’t fight. We weren’t in the battles. They brought us the bodies and we fixed the ones we could but by the time they made it to us there wasn’t much we could do. It was a very mentally draining job. We had a lot of sex to distract us from the sadness of the job. Which is one of the reasons I told myself I would never jump into bed with some right away again. That is another story,” she sighed when she felt Kate snuggle up against her side. “Like I said… we were how do you say… behind the scenes. Emily came back to our tent one night telling me about a conversation she heard about a bombing that was going to happen close by later that evening. I told her to tell the people higher up in the ranks. She had this thing about her where all she wanted was to save people and if we went up the ranks, it would be too late. I thought I had convinced her that leaving wasn’t a good idea. Apparently I was wrong. She told me she was going with or without me. I couldn’t let her go alone. I followed her to edge of our camp and I tried once more to stop her. She made it two feet over the line and I stood there and watched as she was blown to pieces.” She stopped her story and took a few deep breaths, “the company obviously heard the commotion and while they were open firing, I just stood there. And I hated myself for it.”

“None of that was your fault.” 

“No,” Yelena responded quietly, “I know. She was special to me and she died and there was absolutely nothing I could say or do to stop her from leaving. It fucked me up, Kate. I got on the medic’s radar because I wasn’t eating. I couldn’t sleep and when I did I had nightmares. I wanted to go off and kill everyone who was responsible and when I realized I couldn’t, I turned the anger and hate inwards. I started abusing the sleeping pills I was prescribed and I drank a lot. Feeling nothing was better than what I had been feeling. Eventually the company decided to honorably discharge me and send me home set up with intensive therapy. My mom really helped me through the worst of it. My dad was there too but he is kind of an idiot. They helped me realize that I could make a difference. That’s when I decided to go to med school. Even if I wasn’t able to save Emily or stop her from making that rash decision, I could at least be there to help heal those I can.” 

Kate was quiet, letting the words sink in. She definitely understood why Emily did what she did. Kate wouldn’t be able to sit by if she knew people were in danger like that. After hearing all of that, she wondered just how much of her extra curricular activities Yelena was privy to and how she actually felt about everything. Kate was confident that if Yelena had a problem with everything or at least what she knew then she never would’ve slept with her. “Yelena…” 

She turned on her side to face Kate, “please don’t.” 

“I was just going to thank you for sharing.” 

“No. That is a lie,” Yelena cupped her cheek, running a thumb across it, “you are comparing yourselves to Emily.” 

Kate’s eyes widened, “how do you do that?” 

Yelena kissed her nose, “superpower remember? Emily was very special to me. She taught a lot about myself, who I am and who I wanted to be. There is no denying that. But you, Kate Bishop, you are everything. I do not know what I would do if something were to happen to you or Natasha and Wanda. I do not even want to think like that. The point is I trust you and whatever it is you do. I would never ask you to change yourself or to stop doing what you're doing. Just know that I am here for you. Apparently so is my intern and sister. I only ask one thing.” 

“What is that?” She whispered, inching closer to the blonde. 

“Please do not do anything rash without talking to me about it first. I will always support you but I need to know that you are safe.” 

Kate looked into her dark green eyes and felt she could see into this woman’s soul. She was laying every emotion out on the table for Kate. A simple promise was all she was asking and she would support Kate no matter what she was getting herself into. The brunette wasn’t sure she could commit to what she was being asked. She had never included a partner in her vigilante plans before because it was mostly a solo event or a partnered event but she had had Carol for that. Now that Carol was gone, Kate knew she was looking for revenge and she wasn’t sure acting without impulse was an option but fuck it if she didn’t want to try for this woman. She found herself nodding, “Yelena… I…” 

The sentence was cut off when an explosion sounded from the large picture window outside of the loft bedroom door, “what the fuck?” She quickly got up, threw on some sweats and tossed some clothes to the blonde. 

“Stop!” Yelena yelled, bringing the back of her hand to the door. “It’s hot. Cover your face,” she nodded towards the bed sheets. “We need to get Lucky and get out.” 

Kate grabbed their phones and tossed Yelena a shirt to hold over her face as she opened the door, flames dancing on the loft landing, “shit, fuck. Go,” she watched Yelena exit, following quickly behind her when another bottle came through the window, exploding down near the living room. Lucky was already by the door barking, Kate grabbed her backpack and watched as Yelena leashed the dog, grabbing her own backpack and helmet. “We can go out to the alley.” 

“Who still uses Molotov cocktails?” Yelena sounded angry. “Come,” she handed Kate Lucky’s leash and grabbed her hand pulling her from the apartment and down the hall. “Call 911,” she shouted back as they were descending the backstairs. 

“No,” Kate stopped just outside of the back door. “No police.” 

“No police? Are you fucking kidding me? Homemade explosives were just launched through your window.” 

“Yes,” Kate knew exactly what was happening and who was behind it. “We don’t need the police. Remember… we do this my way.” 

“Fine,” Yelena huffed, “but I’m called Natasha.” 

“I wouldn’t get your sister involved in this.” 

Yelena pointed behind her back towards the building that they were steadily putting behind them, “you don’t think the fire department wasn’t already called? I want to give her a heads up and tell her to keep her mask on incase whoever did this is lurking.” She saw a look cross her girlfriend’s face, “you know who did this, don’t you?” 

“I have a list of suspects,” Kate shrugged. “I am not worried.” 

“Not worried? They threw bombs through your window, Kate.” 

Kate grimaced, “what would you say if i told you that wasn’t the first time.” 

“And you still live there?” Yelena couldn’t believe she was hearing such a nonchalant tone from her girlfriend. Clearly this was an issue and something that needed to be dealt with. Bombs through the window after sex was extremely bad timing but, “dying by explosives after a lot of orgasms would’ve been a cool way to die.” She took her phone out and called Natasha who did verify that her crew was called to an explosives fire. Yelena warned her about the situation and her sister promised to be safe. She started talking solely in Russian but by the time the call ended, they had seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion. Yelena had led them to the subway. Since they had Lucky with them, she would have to come back for her bike. “You are coming to stay with us.” 

“Yelena, stop,” she pulled the woman to a stop just outside of the subway entrance gate. “We couldn’t possibly impose. I can get a hotel.” 

“Are you kidding me right now? Your home was attacked. I will not let you be alone.” 

“Exactly, I was attacked. I can’t put you and your family at risk like that.” 

Yelena shook her head, “you do not get to make that decision for us, Kate. Natasha and I talked about it. We are unlisted. Nobody even knows us in the city. You have no connections to us. You and Lucky will come home with me and all of us will figure this out together.” 

Kate really didn’t know what to say. It was clear her girlfriend wasn’t budging on the situation and everything in her heart was telling her to go with Yelena. She could go, stay with the girls and still be able to do what she needed to do. The tracksuits wouldn’t find her there. There was nothing linking Kate to any of these women. It made sense for her to go. She heard the announcement for the train they needed to board. She saw resolution in those green eyes and knew it was her only option, “fine. But the minute you and your family are in danger, Lucky and I are gone.” 

Yelena grabbed her hand and pulled her into the subway car when the doors opened, “it won’t come to that.” 

Chapter Text

A few weeks had passed since Kate had moved in with Yelena and it went surprisingly well except for the fact that Kate realized she was never left alone at home. One of the three women was always there with her. She was beginning to think that nobody trusted her. Fair point. She probably would’ve done something stupid if she had time alone with her thoughts but the women saw to it that her thoughts were not an option. Somehow even Yelena was able to shirk her on-call responsibilities. It was very handy to be related to the girlfriend of the Chief of Surgery. “I know what you guys are doing,” Kate told her girlfriend as they walked Lucky down the Christmas light lined sidewalk outside of the high rise. The town had lit up with the holiday after the mishap at Kate’s apartment. The police were called but Natasha knew people on the force so she had them write it up in a way that wouldn’t lead to a lengthy investigation and kept Kate’s name out of all of the reports. Yelena smirked, stopping to lean against a Christmas light lined pole while Lucky circled for a good spot, “and what is it that we are doing?” 

“Babysitting me,” Kate was many things but stupid wasn’t one of them. “I haven’t had so much as a few moments to myself over the past couple of weeks. It’s like I’m living with my parents all over again.” 

“But with many orgasms,” Yelena’s smirk only grew wider. 

“Okay well that’s definitely a perk.” Kate pulled out Lucky’s purple waste bags. “Also, it’s unfair to bring the orgasms into the argument.” 

“I’m not arguing with you, Kate Bishop.” 

“You can leave me at home alone, you know?” 

Yelena let the words sink in. It wasn’t the first time Kate had referenced her place as home and it had a warming effect deep in her gut. “I know but I’m also concerned about you. I can not just shut those feelings off. I care about you. A lot. And so do Natasha and Wanda. We just want you to be safe.” 

“I know,” Kate tried not to let herself feel guilty because she had tried her hardest to forget about Carol and the attack, especially with the holidays coming up. She was trying to focus everything on Yelena. It just wasn’t getting easier. She wasn’t about to express herself when Yelena’s sentence caught her off guard. 

“Want to go with me to pick out our Christmas tree? Wanda and Natasha said it’s my job this year and I think you have the perfect eye for the holidays.” 

Kate pretended need to think about it, “can we wear matching ugly Christmas sweaters and Santa hats? And drink hot cocoa then go to the Christmas markets before the tree lot? And can I paint fake snow on the big picture windows of your apartment? And can we watch holiday movies while we are trimming the tree?” 

Yelena tried to hide her smile. This was one of the many things she loved about her girlfriend. Yes, love. Yelena had come to the conclusion that she was unequivocally and irrevocably in love with that woman and nothing was going to change her mind. However, she thought it was way too soon to announce her feelings to her partner. Natasha had even called her out the other day when they were walking to work together. 

“Come on Lena,” Natasha had been hounding her for a week now ever since their first movie night after Kate’s temporary move into their apartment. “You look at her like she hung the stars.” 

“I do not do that,” Yelena was tired of her sister butting into her business. Talking about feelings was something that didn’t come easy for the blonde. It just wasn’t something she did with anyone especially her sister, “what do you want me to say? You told me to have her come stay with us. Would you have me ask her to leave?” 

“That’s not what I’m saying at all. I like having Kate around. I make her nervous all the time and I like that. Plus, if she moved back home that would just create more work for the crew if she keeps getting Molotov cocktails through the windows.” 

“That wasn’t her fault. At least not entirely,” Yelena shrugged. 

“Nothing like explosions after orgasms,” Natasha laughed. 

“It was very considerate of them to wait until we had both finished,” it took her a full week and a few days but Yelena was finally finding humor in the situation. “Should we just join up with Kate and help her kill these men? From what I’ve heard, they are garbage and deserve whatever she’s planning.” 

“I’ve said before I’m not opposed to joining the cause,” they had come to a stop outside of the fire station. “Just say the word and I’m there but stop changing the subject.” 

“I am not changing the subject.” 

“As a master of denial, I am telling you that you are. I think you love Kate. And I also think it’s adorable.”

Yelena rolled her eyes, “and you think you know everything about my relationship?” 

“No,” Natasha smiled, “but I know you and I know you don’t do anything half assed. I see you, sis. I see the way you look at her and the way she looks at you. It’s actually pretty disgusting. Maybe we should ask her to move out.” 

Yelena scratched behind her ear, “I like her. A lot. Okay? But I’ll be damned if I tell you my feelings for her before I’ve even worked them out for myself.” 

“Fair enough, love birds. Have a good day at work, dear,” she kissed Yelena’s cheek causing the other woman to roll her eyes. 

Yelena wiped the kiss away before turning to head to her shift across the street at the hospital. “Always a pain in my ass.” 

That conversation with her sister really got Yelena into her feelings and made her stop to think just how she felt about the brunette and there was no denying that she loved the girl. Still, she wasn’t telling anyone, “that’s a lot of holiday traditions you just shoved into one breath of air. How ugly of a sweater are we talking?” 

“Let’s take Lucky home then swing by my house and pick up some essentials for Christmas.” She saw the look that crossed the blonde’s face. “It’s the middle of the day. I don’t have any middle of the day enemies. We can sneak in through the back if it makes you feel better. Please?” 

How was Yelena going to ever be able to say no to her when she used her big eyes to get everything she wanted. “Fine but if I even sense trouble we are leaving. We will park my bike out back. If it doesn’t fit on your back, you aren’t bringing it.” 

Kate gave her girlfriend a little salute which Yelena found both endearing and infuriating, “let’s go!” 

*

“Why does one city need so many holiday markets?” Yelena had finally asked when Kate had dragged her to the third market of the day. 

“Don’t act like you aren’t having fun,” she wrapped her arm around Yelena’s shoulders bringing her closer to her body. The snow falling had been getting stuck in her long eyelashes and Kate had found herself having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. 

“I did not say I didn’t enjoy it. I just wonder how many Christmas markets one city needs. Plus,” she looked around, “I thought we were getting the tree today.” 

“Well we need things to trim the tree with, don’t we?” She had been using her cards liberally to make purchases at the stalls that Yelena had shown interest in. She had all of the items shipped to Wanda’s so they would be waiting for them when they eventually made it back with the tree. 

“So I never have to work a day in my life,” she smirked, “you could easily be my sugar mommy.” 

Kate blushed, “I have a feeling that your job is rewarding but I will most certainly buy you anything and everything you could ever want or need.” 

“Noted,” a small smile played on her lips. “And what do you want for Christmas this year, Kate Bishop?” She reached her hand around her girlfriend's waist, tucking her body in closer to fight off the cold. 

“Is it cheesy to say I already have everything I want?” 

“Hmm,” Yelena considered the statement. “A little but this is okay. I think it is just cheesy enough.” They continued walking, stopping at every few stalls to look at the items the vendors had for sale. “And I already got you a present so the question was purely rhetorical.” 

Kate felt her whole body warm. It had been many years since she had felt someone truly cared about her like Yelena does. Other than Carol, she hadn’t experienced this kind of love and affection since her father passed, “help me find a thank you for Wanda and Natasha,” she settled with instead of trying to have a conversation about feelings in the middle of the Union Square Christmas market. 

Yelena was going to argue the fact that she didn’t need to get them anything but then saw the resolve on the brunette, “fine,” she tightened her grip around her waist, “I saw some cool antique looking weapons over there. Natasha would like something like that.” 

“You want me to buy your scary ass sister a weapon?” 

Yelena shrugged, “this is what she likes. Gifting weapons is like our love language. Wanda, she’ll be grateful for anything. Natasha is a shit and has very specific tastes.” 

“Lead me to the weapons,” Kate let her girlfriend take her back toward the table they passed a few moments prior which held a large selection of very nice looking weaponry. She noticed how Yelena’s eyes lit up at a few of the pieces when she would pick them up and talk about them. “Oh shoot,” Kate pretended to look in her wallet. “I’m out of cash. Here,” she handed Yelena her card, “can you run to the atm for me?” 

“I take cards,” the girl behind the booth started to say when Kate shook her head. “Actually it looks like my card reader is offline.” 

“It’s no problem,” Yelena grabbed the card and waited for Kate to whisper the pin to her. “I’ll be right back.” 

Kate watched her girlfriend walk away towards the big sign pointing to the atm before turning back to the woman, “I want to buy these for her.” She handed her a set of intricate throwing knives. “And I need to get them in my jacket before she returns. Whatever they cost. This should cover them.” She handed the woman a large wad of money. 

“The knives aren’t this much,” she tried to hand the money back. 

“Keep it. Your merchandise is amazing and you deserve it. I’m sure. Now, wrap these quickly?” She watched the woman wrap the knives in several thick bundles of tissue paper, placing them into a leather cover. “Thank you,” she slipped them into her inside pocket with plenty of time to spare. “Don’t say anything, please. It’s our first Christmas together and I just want to see her smile. When she comes back, you need to take more money from her for her sister’s gift.” 

“I appreciate your kindness,” the lady smiled at her. 

“All set?” Yelena walked back and handed her the card and cash she had pulled out for Kate. “Did you find something for Nat?” 

Kate kissed Yelena’s temple, “you are the expert. Pick something you’ll think she’ll love.” 

*

It had been another day before they were finally able to get to the Christmas tree lot. Kate had talked her into a ridiculously large tree stating it would look great in front of their big windows. After the first few Christmas outings, Yelena quickly learned there was no use arguing with Kate on these matters. The holiday spirit had fully bitten her girlfriend and it was easier just to go along with everything she had requested during their shopping trips. “It’s a little big, don’t you think?” Natasha called from the kitchen island where she was perched on a stool drinking her mixed drink. 

It was a rare night all four women were at home together so Kate dubbed it the perfect day to decorate the tree. They were listening to Christmas vinyls, drinking some fruity strong vodka drink Natasha had made, and decorating while Wanda made a variety of Christmas cookies. It seemed oddly domestic but at the same time, it was comforting to Kate. She hasn’t had a nice Christmas since her father passed away unless you count getting drunk with Carol and half assing a tree to be tradition. “It’s not big, just a little full.” 

“I think it looks lovely in front of those windows. Kate has an eye for decoration,” Wanda wasn’t necessarily a holiday person either but she enjoyed the contagious spirit Kate was bringing into their house. 

“Please don’t inflate her ego,” Natasha smirked, “it’s fine. I suppose.” She pulled her hand back from the cookie mix bowl with a quiet ouch when Wanda slapped her hand away. “I just wanted a small taste.” 

“Be nicer to our guest and I’ll think about it.” 

Yelena came over and scooped out some of the cookie dough on her finger, “yeah Natasha, be nicer and you’ll get to reap the benefits.” She chuckled as she popped her batter covered finger into her mouth, “mmm delicious.” 

Another smirk, “I don’t think you want me to be as nice to Kate as you are. I hear all of the ways you accommodate our guest at night.” 

Yelena shrugged, “years of torture listening to you go at it back in highschool.” Natasha smacked her upside the back of her head, “and since I moved out here? My ear plug supplier has never been happier.” 

Kate came walking over to the island to refill her drink, “what are we talking about?” 

Natasha smirked, “just how loud you are when you cum…” 

Kate’s cheeks turned a bright pink color, “umm.” 

“Natalia,” Wanda rolled her eyes. “No we weren’t dear. We were talking about how nice the Christmas tree looks.” 

“And now we are going to be talking about how far I can shove my foot up my sister’s ass,” Yelena was staring daggers at her sister. 

Kate helped herself to more drink, leaning over to whisper, “if she thinks that’s loud, she hasn’t heard anything yet.” 

Natasha just started cackling, “I like you, Kate Bishop. Always a surprise with this one.” 

“Is this your first American Christmas tree?” 

Yelena shook her head, “no we celebrated both American and Russian Christmas growing up.” 

“But mostly Russian Christmas. We really only did the American stuff for show so our neighbors and schoolmates didn’t think we were strange,” Natasha added. “Mom and Pop still do the whole Ded Moroz thing.”

“But the food is amazing,” Yelena loved all of the traditional Russian Christmas foods. 

“Ты пригласил ее пойти с нами домой?”   

“Нет. Еще нет.” 

Natasha knew her parents could be a lot but it’s not like Kate didn’t have the practice from living with them for the past few weeks, “Мама и папа вообще знают, что ты с кем-то встречаешься?” 

“Nyet,” Yelena took a drink from Kate’s mug. “Стоп. Я скоро спрошу ее.” 

“They are doing that hot thing again,” Kate failed to whisper to Wanda. 

“The thing where we talk?” Natasha smirked. 

“Exactly,” she grabbed Yelena’s arm and started to pull her back to the tree. “I need your help hanging the garland.” 

“You are the tall one here,” she tried to protest. 

“I know,” Kate kissed Yelena’s forehead, “I need you to do the bottom of the tree.” 

Yelena felt her cheeks start to heat when she heard her sister laughing from behind them, “I am not that short.” 

“It doesn’t help that your girlfriend is a giant.” 

“Natalia, hush,” Wanda was trying to stifle her own laughter. “I swear it’s like living with children.” 

“You love me,” Natasha finally got a finger full of cookie dough, “I’m not worried.” 

They watched Kate and Yelena laughing together as they finished up the final touches on their Christmas tree. “Your sister is in love,” Wanda spoke quietly so they wouldn’t disrupt the couple. “Does she know?” 

“I tried to get it out of her but you know Lena. Her feelings are boxed up so tight. I think she knows. Will she ever admit it? That’s a whole different question.” 

“They are good for each other.” There was no denying how happy Yelena had been the past couple of months. It was like the moment Kate came into her life she could suddenly see colors again. “Yelena has been so happy lately. It’s contagious.” 

“I will feel really bad if Kate breaks her heart and I have to end up killing her. I do enjoy her company.” 

“Have I ever told you how much the over protective sister act is a huge turn on?” 

Natasha spun around on her stool, “tell me again.” 

*

“Ice skating? You know I’m Russian right? Ice sports are a big thing over there.” 

Kate laughed as she paid for their admission to the skating rink, “dazzle me then, champ.” 

When the brunette had suggested that they go to Rockefeller Center to see the tree and go skating, Yelena had been very skeptical. “There will be so many tourists,” she tried to discourage the activity but her girlfriend was very insistent saying that Yelena wouldn’t be a true New Yorker until she saw the big tree up close and in person. First thing Kate insisted on was getting their picture in front of the tree. Yelena was only slightly shocked when Kate kissed her cheek during one of the photos. “I didn’t want her to think we were just sisters and make us do those stupid sister poses.” She whispered to Yelena as they were walking away. Wanda had been correct the other day, Kate Bishop had a way of sweeping everyone into her positivity tornado and Yelena was happily along for the ride. “I brought skates for us,” Kate had patted her backpack. 

“You just happen to have skates ready to go?” 

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to, Belova,” she handed her the small pair of skates. “These will fit you nicely. Now, I’m not a professional Russia ice skater but I’ve been coming here every year since I can remember so I shouldn’t fall on my ass looking like an idiot in front of my drop dead gorgeous girlfriend.” She was rambling as she pulled on her own skates, “want to know something stupid and cheesy?” 

Yelena looked up, getting lost in the Christmas lights reflecting off of Kate’s smiling eyes, “tell me,” she whispered as she pushed one of Kate’s dark locks behind her ear. Yelena had to physically stop herself from saying those three little words that were threatening to spill out every time she looked at her girlfriend lately. 

If it was even possible, Kate’s eyes smiled brighter, “it’s always been a dream of mine to skate around holding hands with my girlfriend under the lights of the Christmas tree. Silly I know.” 

She tried to look away but Yelena held her chin between her thumb and pointer finger, “it is not silly, little hawk. It is now also a dream of mine that I did not know I had.” 

“You make it really hard not to just grab your face and kiss you all the time,” Kate rested her forehead against the beanie covered forehead of her girlfriend. 

Yelena chuckled, “seems we suffer the same affliction.” 

Kate let out a sigh, “and what’s the recommended course of treatment, doc?” 

Yelena closed the distance, bringing their lips together in a soft barely there kiss. She was actively trying to stop herself from pouring her feelings out in words so her lips would have to do the speaking for her. Kate enthusiastically reciprocated the kiss after a noise that sounded an awful lot like a moan came from the back of her throat. She reached up, cupping Yelena’s jaw while trying to press their bodies closer as awkward as she could sitting next to her girlfriend on a bench. 

Kate smiled into the kiss when a groan left Yelena when she felt Kate’s tongue run along her bottom lip. The blonde was convinced she could die happily kissing her girlfriend. However, she was suddenly aware that they were in a very public location with children and families present so she backed off, just so, smirking against the younger woman’s lips when they chased her, not willing to allow any great separation. “Is that your recommended treatment?” 

Kate smiled when Yelena kissed the tip of her nose, “something like that, yes.” She left one parting kiss to her lips, “we should probably get to skating before I say fuck it and just take you home to have my way with you.” 

Yelena stood, lacing her fingers with Kate pulling her towards the ice, “wait is that an option?” Yelena just laughed and pulled her out onto the ice, “is that an option?” 

“Later, Kate Bishop,” she grabbed onto her hand tighter when they hit the ice for the first time, “now we skate around and be the best couple out here.” 

*

There had been a few weeks where Yelena was relieved from her on-call duties but there was no way to get out of the holiday shift being one of the newest doctors at the hospital. Luckily, she would have Wanda to commiserate with since she volunteered to take the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day shifts with her almost sister in law. Yelena had really wanted to spend the days with her girlfriend but she understood her responsibilities. That was easier said than done now that the blonde found herself lying naked on top of her girlfriend after indulging in each other for the entire morning. It was just reaching 1pm and she had to be at the hospital in an hour to relieve Maria. In between lazy kisses to Kate’s exposed collarbone, she whispered, “okay I really need to get going.” 

Kate chuckled, “that would be believable if you didn’t keep leaving hickeys all over my chest.” Yelena looked up at her with a pout on her face, “I’m not complaining. I would happily lay underneath you all day if I knew that was a possibility.” 

“Well,” Kate could feel the smirk against her skin before Yelena ran her tongue up the side of her neck, stopping at her ear, “I can quit if you want to be my sugar mommy.” 

“I already told you that I would give you anything you want,” the sentence came out breathier than she had intended when Yelena started kissing along her jaw. “Don’t start something you don’t intend to finish, Dr. Belova.” 

“Oh,” another harsh suck to her pulse point, “I have full intentions…” her sentence was cut off by a loud knock on the door. “Fuck,” she stopped her actions only for a moment. “If we are quiet maybe she’ll go away.” 

Another louder knock came, “Yelena Belova.  If you aren’t ready to leave in 30 minutes, I’m going to have to let you go.” 

“She has her chief of surgery voice out today,” Yelena kissed Kate’s cheek. “I guess I have to get going.” She turned her head slightly, “I’ll be ready. Go away.” 

“I swear. All these sisters want to do is have sex,” she heard the red head mumble as she retreated down the hall. 

Kate laughed when Yelena’s head dropped to her shoulder, “why is she complaining when she’s on the receiving end of the orgasms?” 

“That is a good question, Kate Bishop.” 

“So I guess you need to get ready?” She had been dreading Yelena going in for a long shift for days now. The fact that her girlfriend had to be at work for over 48 hours was killing her but at least they made plans for tomorrow. 

“Unfortunately but you and Natasha are still planning on coming for a Christmas dinner tomorrow right?” 

“Nothing is going to keep me away from a delicious Christmas dinner in the hospital cafeteria,” Kate kissed the top of Yelena’s head. “Do you want me to bring your Christmas presents to the hospital tomorrow?” 

“About that,” she felt Yelena’s muscle tense. “I was kind of wondering if you maybe wanted to come to Ohio with me, Natasha and Wanda for Russian Christmas.”

“You want to take me home to meet your family?” 

“Da,” she gave a little nod looking up from the safety of Kate’s shoulder. “Only if you want to of course. My family, they can be a bit much. You mean so much to me though. I would like for them to know you.” 

“I would love to spend Christmas with you and your family.” She was quiet for only a moment, “do you think your parents will like me?” 

“My daddy will love you. My mama… you will grow on her,” she smirked. “She has the biggest mama bear complex. Do not worry. I plan to tell them all about you before we get there.” 

“Are you sure you have to go?” Kate hated that her voice sounded so needy but she wanted more time with her girlfriend. She knew the blonde was so close to saying those three words that she had been dying to say herself but she refused to be the first one to say it. So she stubbornly held her tongue each time those feelings bubbles to the surface. “I mean saving lives is cool and all but naked Christmas snuggling seems way cooler to me.” 

The little frown came across the doctors face once more, “I am sorry, little hawk but I must go before Wanda comes in and drags my naked ass to the hospital.” 

Kate laughed at the thought, “what a Christmas treat for all of your patients.” 

Yelena pecked her lips once more before rolling off of her girlfriend and out of the bed. She didn’t bother to cover up before grabbing her clothes and heading to the shower. Kate couldn’t take her eyes off of her body as she moved effortlessly around the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the brunette shift, “no Kate Bishop. You stay in bed or else I will not make it out of the shower. You get extra handsy in there and we do not have the time.” 

Kate grumbled and fell back against her pillow, “spoil all my fun.” 

*

“Come on, Natasha. They will be waiting for us,” Kate was anxiously waiting in the living room already dressed for the cold walk to the hospital. She was more than a little excited to see her girlfriend and even snuck one of her small presents in her pocket to give to Yelena when she saw her. 

“Jesus kid. Settle down,” Natasha came out from her bedroom, zipping up her coat. “They aren’t going to run out of cafeteria food.” 

“Don’t be a smart ass. I’m not going for the food.” 

Natasha laughed, “calling me names now? My my my how you’ve gotten comfortable around here.” She walked towards the girl and kicked her shoe, “are you coming or are you just going to sit around all day? Our girlfriends are waiting.” 

Kate groaned, “gods you are so annoying.” 

“Just the perfect older sister. Come on,” she bent down and kissed Lucky’s forehead. “Sorry good boy but you can’t come this time. We can go on a nice long Christmas walk later.” She pulled a dog biscuit out of her coat pocket and slipped it to her favorite puppy. “Lay down and watch some tv. We will be back soon.” 

“Lucky is going to be huge when we leave.” 

“Who said we would let Lucky go so easily?” Natasha raised an eyebrow before giving the dog one final forehead kiss and standing. “He’s the perfect fit for the family.” 

“I swear you like the dog more than me.” 

Another laugh, “I never denied that. You coming?” She was leaning against the open door frame.

“So frustrating,” Kate ruffled Lucky’s ears before walking past Natasha and out the door. 

They walked in comfortable silence for a while before it got the better of Kate. She was never one to enjoy silence when her brain was always working overtime. “So how did you pick the short straw to babysit me over the holiday?” 

“I wouldn’t call it the short straw. I don’t have to put out any fires started by overzealous uncles today. I have a little seniority at the station. I have to work on New Year's Eve though, so that sucks a little.” 

“But you love it? The job?” 

“It has its ups and downs like everything else but I do love it,” she looked over at the girl before adding, “I think it would be a good job for you if you were interested.” 

“Me? Saving lives?” Kate laughed, “doubtful. I’m more likely to need fire rescue than be able to save anyone.” 

Natasha rolled her eyes, “don’t be self deprecating. I know you’ve saved many lives whether you actually get credit for it or not. I’m not offering you a job just telling you it’s an option if you want it.” 

Kate honestly had no plans for what she was going to do with her life. She knew the vigilante shit would only go so far. She would never give it up if she had her way and technically she had more than enough money with her inheritance after her mother’s indictment. She wasn’t working at her mother’s company but she still got a nice paycheck as acting CEO. She didn’t need to work but she wanted something legit for payment. Could she be a firefighter? She highly doubted it but she loved a challenge, “I’ll think about it.” 

“So when are you going to tell my sister that you love her?”

Kate’s mouth dropped and her footsteps stopped, “what? Me? Love Yelena? That’s just… what?” 

“Mmhmm,” Natasha smirked, “that was very convincing.” 

“I’m not going to be that lesbian that confesses her feelings first. No way. It’s not happening,” Kate started walking again. Her heart starting to flutter with every step getting closer to their destination. “It’s only been a few months. I don’t want to scare her off.” 

“I think it’s a conversation worth having.” 

Kate smiled slightly, “she did invite me to Christmas in Ohio.” 

“Fucking finally,” Natasha laughed, “been on her about that for a few weeks now.” 

“She said she wanted her parents to get to know me. Then she said your mother was a little scary.” 

“Don’t worry about Melina. She only wants the best for Yelena and once she sees how happy you make her daughter then she won’t give you too much of a hard time.” 

Kate and Natasha finally made it to the front of the walkway to the hospital, “do you really think I make her happy?” 

“Kid,” Natasha shook her head, “I haven’t seen Lena this happy since Alexei brought her home from Russia. I know her living with me has been amazing for her but I’m willing to bet you are responsible for at least 76% of her happiness.” 

Yelena had made her way outside to smoke when she got Kate’s message that they were there. She had just got to the front door of the hospital and saw her sister and girlfriend talking by the street. The next thirty seconds were the fastest moments of Yelena’s life. “Not talking about me are you?” she yelled at them but she noticed a van approaching the pair of girls when they turned to look at her. Immediately, fear filled her body when she saw it slow to a stop, the sliding door opening. She saw two men jump out. One of them grabbed Kate, throwing her into the van while the other pulled out a gun and shot three rounds. Two went into her sister who crumbled to the ground and the third one whizzed past her head as the shooter jumped into the van as it drove off with Kate inside. “Natasha!!!” Yelena screamed as she ran over to assess the situation. She screamed out to the ER bay for help. “No no no no,” this wasn’t happening. She fell to her knees besides her sister, putting pressure on the first wound in her abdomen. “I can’t find the second hole. Where did they shoot you? Where does it hurt?” She asked as she frantically tried to remove Natasha’s jacket. Peter and Cassie were running to join her with a stretcher, a blanket and an orderly to help lift Natasha. They stopped when they got to her side. “She has multiple gunshot wounds. I only found one hole. Three shots fired. Two went into her. She’s losing so much blood.” 

“We got it, Dr. Belova. Go get the chief,” Cassie had tried to move Natasha from Yelena’s grip which seemed like a futile attempt. 

“Do not touch her!” Yelena yelled out at the intern. “I will fix this. I will fix her.” 

“Yelena,” Cassie tried again. “You can’t do this. She needs help now. You need to go tell her girlfriend.” 

“Lena?” Natasha’s eyes were fluttering, not quite able to focus on anything. 

“I’m here,” she tucked a piece of red hair behind her sister’s ear. “I’m not leaving you.” 

“Merry Christmas…I got you bullet wounds.” 

Yelena knew her sister was trying to make her feel better but with the way Natasha was losing her color and the fact she couldn’t keep her eyes open did not cause pleasant feelings in the blonde. “Try not to speak. I am going to fix this.” 

The last words out of Natasha’s mouth before unconsciousness overtook her sent Yelena into another spiral, “where’s Kate?” 

Chapter Text

Natasha was rushed into the emergency room where the team started to hook her up to machines, assessing her gunshot wounds. The red-head had already passed out from the pain and lost a lot of blood. Yelena was in the room with Sonya, Cassie and Peter as they were working to evaluate Natasha to see what exactly they needed to do in surgery, “move,” Yelena ordered, “you are going too slow. She’s losing too much blood.”

“What is going on in here,” the Chief appeared at the door, “people are complaining about the shouting. I was paged?”

“Wanda…” Yelena finally let her eyes leave her sister. She walked over to her almost sister in law covered in blood that wasn’t her own, “they paged you. It’s Natasha…” she stepped out of the way so Wanda could get a look. Yelena wasn’t sure how the chief was going to respond but she noticed all of the color leaving her face when her eyes landed on the blood.

Wanda immediately jumped into action, “what happened?”

Cassie went through a brief run down of what happened from the time she came outside. Pointing to Sonya, “she just ran an ultrasound. Two bullets still inside. One in her abdomen and our best guess without going is in the other one hit near her kidney as she was turning. We need surgery and blood. Lots of blood. Does anyone know her blood type?”

“I’m a match. Take what you need,” Yelena took off her stained white coat.

“Who did this?” Wanda was still digesting all of the information. “Did anyone call the police?” She looked up and saw the tears welling in Yelena’s eyes, “Yelena, sweetheart, where is Kate?”

The hurt and anger clouding her usually bright features, “I have to worry about Nat right now. I can’t exactly think clearly as I'm watching my biggest support system dying. Take my blood and we will cross the other bridge after she comes out without bullets.”

Everyone in the room realized there was no arguing with her over this, “im scrubbing in.”

“No offense Chief,” Sonya spoke up, “but both you and Dr. Belova are not fit for surgery right now. If you don’t feel confident with us performing the surgery I can page Dr. Hill.”

“No!” Yelena stood up straighter, “Hill is not allowed to touch my sister.” She turned to Wanda, pulling her aside, “do not let Hill operate on her. I do not trust her,” she whispered, “we need to talk about her later.”

“Natasha and I are both A-. I’ll have a nurse start taking my blood.”

Wanda turned to the others, “the three of you better save my girlfriend. I can also donate as O-. Natsha can take my blood. Cassie, get your dad in the OR.”

Sonya turned towards the interns, “go find your dad,” she ordered Cassie, “you go book OR2 immediately. This can’t wait.” Peter and Cassie left with their orders. “I’ll have the nurses come prep her for surgery. This is not my first gunshot wound surgery. Natasha is in very good hands. If something goes wrong, I give both of you permission to kick my ass.”

“We trust you, dear,” Wanda was trying not to pace, “can I have a moment alone?”

“I’ll go let the nurses know about the prep,” Sonya started to leave but held back and turned towards Yelena, “you good? I’m here, you know. For anything you need. Do not hesitate.”

“Thank you Sonya,” Yelena turned with her friend to leave, giving Wanda space to talk to Natasha, “I will be okay. And I trust you in surgery. Besides me, you are the best surgeon here.”

“Tragedy strikes and you are still a smart ass.”

“Always,” she chuckled.

“I thought Kate was coming for lunch today. What happened?”

“Has Cassie ever confided in you? Anything about her personal life?”

Sonya give her a strange look, “weird question but no. Look if you don’t want to tell me what’s going on that’s fine but like I said. I’m down to help in any way that I can.” She made sure Yelena was looking at her before winking and heading to the nurses station.

“She knows something,” Yelena’s gut was telling her that Sonya knew something about Cassie or maybe Hill but she didn’t have time to think about that. She waited outside for a few minutes before heading back inside, “everything okay?”

Wanda had been crying, “no,” she wiped her tears away. “Do you want some time alone with your sister?”

“Please,” she tried not to sound desperate, “I just need a few moments then the nurses can start their prep.” She slid into the seat that was next to the head of the hospital bed. She felt Wanda kiss the top of her head before the quiet sound of the door shutting came from the other side of the room. “Jesus Nat. What the hell happened? I have to say this is one of the worst Christmas presents you ever given me and yes I am counting that stupid mutant goldfish that lived for five years.” She grabbed her sister’s hand, kissing her knuckles gently before running her cheek over her kiss marks, “you can not leave me. You are a royal pain in my ass everyday but I need you, Natasha. You fought for me to be in your life… I expect the same from you now. I need you to get better because I need you to stop me from doing something I’ll regret. You need to help me get Kate back. Those assholes got her and as much as I want to leave right now to find her, I can’t leave you. So hurry up and get better so we can go kill them together.” There was a quiet knock at the door, “come in.” The nurses were here, “looks like it’s time. I love you,” she whispered and kissed Natasha on her cheek before heading into the hallway so the nurses could do their thing. Wanda immediately took Yelena into her arms and the blonde crumbled into the embrace, “American Christmas is shit.”

“I know,” she held her tighter. “Let us go get some vodka.”

“We are both on call for another day.”

Wanda shook her head, pulling back to look at Yelena, “I made arrangements. We are off the clock.”

“I’ve already had too much time off.”

Wanda gave her a little smile, “well it’s a good thing that I’m the Chief of Surgery. Now let’s go give our blood then head up to my office to wait.”
*
“This is some good vodka,” Yelena had finished her third glass, replacing her empty tumbler on Wanda’s desk. One glass for every hour Natasha remained in surgery. Her boss wouldn’t let her drink more than that. They took two bags of blood from both of the women and Wanda made Yelena eat something from the cafeteria before she allowed her any vodka. “One more. Double shot?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart.”

“I am not drunk,” Yelena pushed her empty glass closer to the chief. “If that is what you are worried about, don’t. I am Russian. We drink. It’s what we do.”

Against her better judgment, she poured Yelena the double she requested. “Drink it slow,” she had almost got the sentence out of her mouth when Yelena threw it back in one gulp. “Or just shoot it back.” She watched her slam the glass back down, “you good?”

“Not at all,” Yelena sighed.

“Tell me again what happened and why we didn’t immediately call the police?”

“You know why,” Yelena was tired of talking it through though the vodka helped. “The van pulled up. I was too far away. Two men jumped out, grabbed Kate and fired three shots. Two into Natasha and the third was meant for me. Fucker missed. I know it was those guys who killed Carol. They had Kate before and I couldn’t protect her just like I could save Emily.”

“That is a very different situation. Kate wasn’t looking for trouble today or for a few months now. Plus, I don’t know her like you do but I feel like Kate is very capable of taking care of herself in this situation.”

“We don’t even know what the situation is, Wanda. I need to talk to Cassie.” She saw the raised eyebrow, “she’s well… I don’t want to incriminate her but her interests align with Kate. Maybe she knows where they might have taken her.” As she was talking the door opened, “ahh look who dragged the cat inside the room.”

“How is the surgery going, Dr. Lang?” She swatted Yelena on her arm, regretting the last double shot she gave the younger woman.

“Surgery is done. Ms. Romanoff is in recovery before she’s moved to room 1213. She will be moved in about 30 minutes or so, probably less. She’s already been out of surgery for quite some time.”

“The bullets, Lang. Get to the bullets.”

“Yelena,” Wanda swatted her again. “Sorry about her. Long day, very little sleep. Lots of emotions. Blood donation.”

“And vodka?” Cassie pointed to the bottle that was still very visible on the desk. “All of the bullet fragments have been removed. The one that pierced her stomach only did so superficially. We were able to stitch that up no problem. The one that hit her kidney however did a significant amount of damage but the doctor was able to save the kidney. Full function won’t be able to be determined until she wakes and we see the output.”

“Good work to you and the team,” Wanda was satisfied with what she heard, “let them know we will be down shortly and tell Sonya thank you.” She looked over and saw Yelena quickly wipe a tear from her eye, “our girl is going to be fine.”

“Is she though? She was assaulted in the middle of the street.”

“Natalia is a strong one. I bet she will be more concerned about Kate when she comes to than she is about her own injuries.”

Yelena nodded, “yeah she’s going to want to fuck those guys up. I think she likes Kate even if she does bully her sometimes.”

“She shows her love by sarcasm.”

“I always thought she was best described as a charming asshole.”

Wanda laughed, “that’s my Natalia. Let’s go wait in the room. I still need to call your parents.”

“Please tell them she’s okay so they don’t insist that they need to come all the way out here.”

She held the door open for Yelena to exit first, “you must think I’m some sort of magician if you think I can talk Alexei and Melina out of anything.”

Yelena had left Wanda in the hallway near where Natasha’s room was slated to be. When she rounded the corner, she saw something that she was immediately unhappy with, “oh fuck no.”

“Yelena,” Sonya tried to stop her but the blonde pushed past her.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up here like this.”

“I’m a doctor. Why wouldn’t I be here?”

Maria was standing way to close to a still unconscious Natasha for Yelena’s liking, “you have no business here, doctor. Please leave.”

“I came in to do rounds on my patient and I saw her name on the board.”

“It’s Christmas Day. Why would you be doing rounds on your patients? Aren’t you off today?”

Maria crossed her arms over her chest, “you are asking an awful lot of questions about things that are not your concern, Dr. Belova.”

“How did you know Kate was going to be here today? Were you listening in on a private conversation?”

“What does any of this have to do with Kate?”

Yelena scoffed, “do not play dumb with me.”

“You are drunk. It’s a bad look for the hospital.”

If Sonya hadn’t had a hand on her forearm, she would’ve already punched the other woman, “get out,” she was seething by that point when Wanda had finally walked into the room.

“Dr. Hill, what are you doing here? It’s your day off. Shouldn’t you be celebrating Christmas?”

Maria rolled her eyes, “like I told your pit bull here… I came to do rounds on my patients and I saw Natasha’s name on the board. I just wanted to see if she was okay.”

Sonya also sounded like she was getting pissed, “surgery on two gunshot wounds and a possibly malfunctioning kidney. Does that seem okay to you?”

“You told Kate at Carol’s funeral that she would be next. Finally cashed in on your threat. Bold to do it in front of the hospital.”

Maria turned, glaring at the blonde, “you have no idea what you’re talking about. What I’ve been through. I suggest you go to the cafeteria and sober up.”

Whatever better judgement she had flew out the window when she broke her hand free from Sonya, punching Maria in the nose, “fuck you, Hill.” She turned, leaving Natasha’s room without another word.

Blood was pouring out of her nose, “fuck,” she walked over to the sink area, grabbing a few paper towels to try to stop the bleeding, “well that’s fucking broken. Are you going to do something about this, chief?”

“Do something about what?” Wanda had to hold her smirk in. While she wasn’t quite sure what Maria had to do with all of this, Yelena’s reasoning was valid so she couldn’t fault her for wanting to punch the other woman. “I didn’t see anything.”

“I guess I need to go speak with Jen.”

Sonya was the one who laughed this time, “you mean Ms. Walters who spends all of her lunch breaks with Yelena? One of her best friends. Go on and see how that works out for you.”

“Are you fucking serious right now? Listen, I know what I said to Kate and I realize how bad this looks but none of you know the whole story but you seriously can’t let this go unpunished Chief. As her superior I am asking for you to do something here.”

“As as your superior, I’m asking you to be a decent human being and if you know anything that can help us right now, please share it,” Wanda had moved over next to her girlfriend. “In the interim, I think it’s best for you to leave, go enjoy your day off.”

Sonya smirked, “maybe stop by the ER and have Dr. Parker fix up your broken nose.” She winked at the bloodied woman as she made her way out of the patient’s room. “Sorry about that. I don’t know how or why she was here but as soon as I saw Yelena coming down the hall I tried to stop her from coming in.”

“It’s okay, you couldn’t have known.”

“We all heard Hill at Carol’s funeral. It’s not crazy that Yelena would think she had something to do with this. We’ve all seen the way Hill acts when Kate comes into the ER. She definitely knows something.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Yelena. You sound just like her. I don’t want to incriminate her until we have insurmountable proof that she’s involved.”

Sonya nodded, “we should talk to Cassie.”

Wanda rolled her eyes, “so all of my doctors are in on this and nobody bothered to tell me?”

“I’m going to go find Yelena. Here’s Natasha’s chart. Everything post surgery is looking good right now.”

Wanda took the chart, “thank you for all you did today.”
*
Outside Yelena was sitting on a bench deep into her third cigarette. “I don’t think doctors should be chain smoking like that.”

“Oh fuck off,” she rolled her eyes, taking a deep inhale and holding it in her lungs.

“Oh come now,” Cassie sat down next to her boss. “I just helped save your sister’s life. I know you don’t hate me. You can stop pretending any time now.”

“Want one?” She held out a half pack of smokes.

“I don’t think I should,” she reached for one anyway. “I usually only do this when I’ve had some drinks.”

“I took care of that part for you,” Yelena chuckled.

“How many did you have anyway?”

“Five? That’s usually nothing for me. I’m slipping. Mother Russia would be so disappointed in me.”

Cassie laughed, “lack of sleep and high emotions also lead to higher levels of intoxication. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Did you see Dr. Hill?”

The smile on Cassie’s face bordered evil, “Peter pulled the short straw and had to fix up her nose. That punch was immaculate from what Sonya told me.”

“She did something. I know it.”

“Kate mentioned Maria a few times but nothing that would’ve made me think she was responsible for this.”

Yelena turned to look at her for any sort of indication she was lying, “tell me what Kate told you.”

“After her and Carol decided to start their own missions, Kate was in Central Park one night and saw a man lure a woman into a van. She obviously followed because they only went a few blocks. The intent was clear. When she got to the van she heard sounds of the man trying to force himself on the woman. She ripped the door open, shot the man in the calf with an arrow and pulled Maria out of the van.”

“I see.”

“Kate forced Maria to go to the hospital for a rape kit so she could press charges but I guess there was no evidence of sexual assault internally when she got to the hospital. The man never came into the hospital. Apparently he ripped the arrow out and drove away while Kate was attending to Hill. She said the van didn’t have a license plate but the man sounded familiar if that makes sense.”

“And she was sure this wasn’t some sort of sting operation to lure Kate and Carol out of hiding?”

Cassie put out her cigarette after her last hit, “hmm never thought of it like that.”

“Hill could’ve been planted knowing they could get eyes on Kate that way.” She didn’t want to think the worst but she knew that Maria was involved and she didn’t trust her for a second. She was sure that Hill had something to do with the abduction today, she just didn’t know how or why. What was in this for her? There were so many unanswered questions. She would get them whatever way was necessary. “Do you remember where that warehouse is located from that night with Carol?” She saw Cassie nod, “did Kate ever mention any other locations they had?”

“She mentioned a few. Yelena, these men are dangerous. Please tell me you aren’t going in there Rambo style trying to save Kate on your own. She is a tough woman. She can last a while.”

“I know what kind of woman Kate is,” Yelena snipped back. “I won’t let her suffer.”

“Yelena…”

“No,” she shook her head, “I will not let her think that nobody is coming for her. She’s not alone in this.” Her eyes narrowed when she saw Maria exiting the hospital, “I’ll kill her. Nobody will miss her.”

“Yelena,” Cassie reached out to hold her back, “remember we are here for your sister then we will come up with a plan to get Kate back. You are not alone doing this. I promise you that.”

“Yelena,” this was the first time she called her by her name, “I think we need to talk.”

“No shit.”

“Look I’m not trying to be combative here but I want to tell you my side of everything before you condemn me into this horrible person you’ve decided that I am. Can we meet tonight?”

“No. I need to be with my sister,” she wasn’t in the mood for a get together but this might be the only way she could get something out of the woman. “Tomorrow, Kate’s apartment. I’m sure you remember the way.”

“9pm?” Yelena nodded, “I’ll be there. Bring her,” she pointed to Cassie, “we need a witness in case you decided to just come and shoot me.”

Yelena looked over at Cassie who shrugged, “I’m off tomorrow.”

“We will be there. I expect honesty or else I’ll kill you.”

Maria didn’t say anything else, she just walked away.

“I better get back in there before the Chief fires me.”

Yelena checked her phone, “I’ll be right in. Thank you, Lang. For everything.”
*
Intense pain was the first thing Kate felt when she finally attempted to open her eyes, “Merry fucking Christmas to me.” Blinking her eyes, there were sharp pains and she couldn’t see well even though there was some light in the room she was in. “At least they gave me a sleeping bag this time.” She rolled over to give her eyes time to adjust to the light. “Oh,” she finally was able to adjust her eyes and saw another figure in the room with her. The girl was in the corner of the room, huddled with her legs pressed to her chest. She was wearing an old earth tshirt and leggings that looked like they had dried blood on them. “Hi,” she said, trying to get the girl’s attention. “Are you awake?” She sat up and noticed the girl immediately flinched and hugged her knees tighter to her chest. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Kate.”

A few moments passed without any sign the girl was going to speak until a soft voice said, “I thought you were dead. It’s been at least a day since they dumped you in here with me.”

“Fuck. I missed Christmas dinner at the hospital,” she groaned while standing, getting a feel for the room.

“Christmas?”

“Yeah, yesterday was Christmas. How long you been in here?”

“I don’t know,” she rested her chin on her knees, “two birthdays I think.”

Kate walked over slowly, “can I sit here?” She pointed to the ground next to the girl knowing she was fragile. The girl nodded, “what’s your name?”

“Mac. I haven’t had a roommate forever. I watched them kill my last roommate. I was hoping you weren’t dead. It gets lonely here by myself.”

“Can I tell you something, Mac?” She waited for approval, “this isn’t my first time being taken by these assholes. I got out once and I’m sure as hell going to do it again. Want to help?”

“If I’m bad…” she started crying.

“Nothing bad will happen to you again, Mac. I promise you.”

She shook her head, tears streaming down her face, “no. They came for me already today. I should be safe for a few days unless they come for you. They haven’t had you yet.”

Kate was almost afraid to ask, “had me?”

“Rape you.”

She already knew what the young girl was getting at but for some sick reason, she needed to hear it. Maybe to fuel her anger that was already there but now she was even more determined to get them out. Mac didn’t look more than 13 but again she was too afraid to know. Kate immediately started searching for herself. She was still wearing her coat from the walk to the hospital, “idiot didn’t even search me,” she pulled out a few small knives Yelena had given her for protection. “Thank you, babe.”

“You have someone?”

“A very special someone whom I love very much.”

“Have you told them?”

She shook her head, “no but as soon as I get out of here I plan to tell her immediately. Life is too short to hold anything in. You have people?”

Mac looked sad again, “ran away from my foster home. Look what a great idea that was.”

“Where did they get you?”

“Central Park. I was sleeping I guess and the next thing I know… woke up here. These men come in once every couple of days and take me to a common area where they take turns either beating or raping me. Well the latter didn’t happen until last year… they were kind of enough to wait until I started my period. What a joy it’s been. We get fed through that slot twice a day. With you here, they have been giving me double but I ate yours because I was starving and I thought you were dead. I’m sorry. You can eat mine next time it comes through.”

“Don’t worry about it. You need it way more than I do,” she didn’t want to say it but the girl looked beyond malnourished. “Plus sharing is caring and I didn’t bring you a Christmas gift.” Kate relaxed only slightly when she finally saw the small smile Mac was wearing. She searched a few more pockets and noticed her wallet was gone. “So they took my wallet but not my knives. Idiots.”

“Don’t happen to have a cell phone on you do you?”

Kate’s face lit up in a smile, “oh my god. The idiots wouldn’t have left it.” She patted her pockets and sure enough, her phone was in her breast pocket, “fuck,” she tried to turn it on, “dead.” She stood to remove her coat and rolled up her sleeve, “but my watch still has a little juice. 10%.” She switched in on low power. “Should I send a message to Yelena? That’s going to eat up a lot of my battery. All Yelena has to do is look on the find my phone app. I may have linked us to each other without telling her. She’ll be thanking me if we make it out of here alive.”

“Or…” Mac was looking at her like she was crazy as she continued on her rant about whether or not to use her short battery life to text her girlfriend. “You could call the police.”

“You don’t think we’d be the first to die as soon as they heard sirens?”

“Tell them it’s a no siren situation.”

“And you think the NYPD would actually care enough to listen to that request? I’ve also had my fair share of run-ins with them and I have my doubts.”

Mac just looked at her, “are you kidding me? Call the police.”

Kate shook her head, “I know you think that’s the best plan but I’m telling you it’s not. I’ve been here before. Last time I only got out by dumb luck. I’ve learned in my life that I don’t need saving or rescuing. I take care of myself and I can get out of anything. You have to trust me, Mac. We are going to run out of here. This time…” she pulled out a lighter and an unopened pack of cigarettes she was going to delivery to her girlfriend, “we are burning this mother fucker to the ground.”

Chapter Text

“So you're telling me that I might be pissing into a bag for the foreseeable future?”

Yelena tried not to laugh at her sister’s response to the surgical outcomes after she came to. It took Natasha until mid morning on the 26th to come out of the anesthesia and pain medication drowsiness but they figured the more sleep she could get the better. Even Wanda agreed that the longer Natasha was sleeping would be beneficial because the redhead would just be looking for ways to discharge herself home well before she was medically cleared to leave.

“I did not say that,” Sonya was holding her patient’s chart trying to keep a straight face. “I said that the second bullet pierced your kidney and we aren't sure if it's functioning at this time.”

She strained but pointed over the side of the bed, “is that my bag of piss?”

“Yes.”

Natasha looked over at her sister, “will you help me change my piss bag at home?”

Yelena scrunched up her nose, “absolutely not. Ask your girlfriend to do that for you.”

“Can the two of you concentrate so I can finish going over all of the paperwork and my notes?”

Natasha frowned, “well she’s no fun today.”

Yelena laughed, “a few days on call will do that to a person. Go on, Sonya. I apologize for my pain in the ass sister. Any signs of infection in the wounds or stomach?”

“Her blood pulls are normal, temp is fine, you are going to be in a tremendous amount of pain while you heal. Also, from what I can see, the preliminary urine output seems normal but as you are healing there is no way to know for sure so we are recommending keeping the catheter in for 10-14 days pending the outcome of your follow up appointments. Also,” she grimaced, “the chief says I’m not allowed to discharge you until the 30th.”

“That is absolute bullshit and you know it. Four days? I’m supposed to stay in this shit hole for four days? What am I supposed to do here? I can heal at home. Tell her, Lena.”

Yelena was scratching behind her ear knowing she had absolutely no say in the matter. Wanda had made this decision by herself and she wasn’t budging, “you are going to have to talk with the chief.”

All the mirth left Natasha’s face, “you can bet your ass I’ll be speaking with the chief. No sex?”

Sonya tried not to laugh, “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Natasha shrugged, “there’s plenty of other things I can withhold until I get what I want.”

Yelena smirked, “but who will change your piss bag?”

“One of the nurses I suppose until she’s released,” Sonya looked between the two sisters, “whatever happens after she is discharged is none of my business.”

“Hope you are comfortable looking at my vagina, sis. You’ll be up close and personal with her soon enough if Wanda doesn’t let me have my way.”

“Lucky me,” Yelena deadpanned before Sonya excused herself from the room stating the nurses would be around soon for pain medication and more labs. “How are you really feeling?”

Natasha’s asshole personality dropped as soon as it was just her and Yelena in the room, “I feel like I was shot. Twice.”

Yelena didn’t look at her sister, just reached over and grabbed her hand, “it was very scary. Я видел, как так много людей умирало, когда я был за границей. Мужчины, женщины и дети, но ничто по сравнению с тем, чтобы видеть, как ты истекаешь кровью в моих объятиях. Я ничего не мог сделать, чтобы спасти тебя. Это были худшие моменты в моей жизни.”

Natasha squeezed her hand, “Пара маленьких пулевых ранений не убьет меня, сестра. Я никогда тебя не оставлю. Ты меня слышишь? Я никуда не пойду.”

Yelena half smiled, nodding her head at the silliness over the fact that they only felt comfortable being vulnerable while speaking Russian, “Твоя кровь испортила мои любимые скрабы,” she said trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. Natasha started laughing, “oh I’m so sorry. I will work on controlling my blood flow.” Even after hearing that she would be relatively okay, Yelena seemed sad. Natasha was trying to figure it out when a memory suddenly came rushing back to her, “Lena?”

“Hmm?” Ignoring the nickname and letting it slide since Natasha was injured, “what’s wrong? Do you need more medicine? I can get the nurse.”

“No,” Yelena could tell she was uncomfortable with the words resting on her tongue. “What happened to Kate?” The bad feeling washed over the redhead, “is she dead?”

Yelena could hear the concern and worry in her voice and all she could do was shrug her shoulders, “I do not know.”

Natasha tried to sit up but was stopped by an intense pain in her abdomen, “fuck that hurts.”

“Stop it. You are going to pop a stitch. Lay down.”

“Yes, doctor,” she begrudgingly laid back down. Yelena started to stand, “where are you going? Sit down. We aren’t finished talking about this.”

Yelena turned back around, “excuse me? I was going to get the nurse for more pain medication for you since you thought sitting up was a good idea.”

Natasha grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving, “I know this act. Running away from our feelings is one of the things you and I both excel at. What happened to Kate? We were coming to see you for lunch and now you are telling me I got shot and you don’t know if Kate is dead or not?”

Yelena sat back down and let out a frustrated noise, “I do not know where Kate Bishop is. The guys that shot you, grabbed her and took off.” She explained the entire situation to her sister including everything that transpired over the past day, “oh and I got drunk in Wanda’s office and broke Maria’s nose.”

“So to sum up…”

“I physically assaulted someone and Kate is gone.”

Natasha was quiet for a few moments, absorbing everything she had just been told, “that’s a shitty Christmas.”

“That is exactly what I said.”

“Well that settles it,” Natasha started reaching for her phone.

“What are you doing?” Yelena saw where she was looking and grabbed the phone for her.

“Texting Wanda. I need to get the hell out of here so I can help you get Kate back.”

“Absolutely not. Look I appreciate your willingness to help but you can’t even sit up. Plus, I am meeting with Maria tonight. She said she has some things to tell me.”

Natasha shook her head, “there is no way you are meeting with her alone. I don’t know exactly what she has going on with these people but it can’t be anything good.”

“I am not going alone. Cassie is coming with me.”

Natasha smirked, “good thinking. Lead your intern to her death.”

“Nobody is dying tonight except maybe you if you don’t get off my back. I have no idea where Kate is and I want to kill those men who took her. Maria might have some answers. What was I supposed to do?”

Natasha grabbed her hand again, “look I get it. I’d be a wreck too if something happened to Wanda and I couldn’t do anything about it. Hey. Have you tried the find my phone app thing? I stalk you and Wanda on that.”

Yelena pulled out her phone, “I don’t have that set up.”

Natasha grabbed the phone out of her hand, “seriously? Here.” She pulled up the app, “I set it up for you as soon as you came to live with us. And look,” she scrolled. “Kate’s added you.”

“She did?! Where is she?”

“Her phone isn’t registering. Her watch is on here but it’s a large blue circle so the last place her watch was on is in this vicinity. Looks like her battery is really low. I took a screenshot so we can look at the map more closely.”

Yelena took her phone back and watched as the watch went offline, “looks like her battery died.”

“Good thing I took that screenshot.”

“So,”she enlarged the area with the blue circle, “their warehouse is somewhere around here. I’ll question Maria about it later.” She looked at the hopeful expression on her sister’s face, “you aren’t coming. You are staying here until your girlfriend clears you.”

“I want to save Kate, too.”

Yelena gave her a small smile, “I would love your help. Your body got in the way of those bullets though.” She rolled her eyes, “I can come back tomorrow morning after we talk to Maria and you can still help me plan this all out.”

“I guess that’s the best I’m going to get.”

Yelena pointed to her urine bag, “can’t have you dragging your piss through the warehouse. We don’t want to leave any DNA behind.”
*
“You are going to set fire to this place?” Mac asked in both fear and excitement. “What if we don’t make it out and burn to death? That doesn’t sound like too much fun.”

Kate knew the girl had a point as she carefully hid the cigarettes and lighters in a secure location the goons wouldn’t find if they tossed their cell. Calling the room a cell was a bit of a stretch. It was an elongated closet with sleeping bags. “I just need to get out there to see what we are working with. Do they let us go to the bathroom?”

“How have you still not called anyone on your watch?”

“Oh!” Kate turned to her watch, “message Yelena.” The watch got the message screen up, “Lena… I’m fine, well I’m not. I’ll get out of this.” Before she got a chance to send the message her watch went black, “oops.”

“Battery died?”

“Yes,” she sat down next to Mac, “but there’s still a shot she got my location before it died. I’ve been here for over 24 hours at this point.”

“Then maybe we could just wait for her to come save us.”

Kate chuckled, “I’m not waiting for anyone to save me. Do they let us go to the bathroom?”

“See that bucket over there?”

“Ahh. I see,” Kate thought that was a setback but still it looked freshly cleaned so someone must switch out the buckets. “They’ll have to change it eventually.”

“When they take me out,” Mac was fidgeting with her fingers, “I try to disassociate so I don’t have to feel anything but outside this room is a larger looking warehouse room. Couches, TVs, kitchen. And it leads down hallways to different cells I guess and bedrooms. They never take me to the same room two times in a row.. There’s like four or five they switch between. I guess they don’t want me getting comfortable enough to plan something.”

Kate nodded, taking in all the information she was receiving, “kind of sounds like the place they held me before but bigger? I’m not sure. Well do you have any suggestions?”

Mac laughed, “me? I’m just a kid.”

“No. Not right now. You are my accomplice. I need you to recall anything you can about out there. Approximate meal times. Anything can help. Do you have anything you’ve squirreled away since being here? Anything at all?”

Mac looked over at her, seemingly looking to see if she could trust her new roommate, “I have some stuff.”

“I promise you that you can trust me.” She watched the young girl walk over the side of the room opposite the bucket. Underneath Kate’s sleeping bag, Mac pulled out a few things and walked them back over to show Kate like a little puppy showing its toys.

“A toothbrush they gave me by accident once. A bunch of napkins. Toilet paper. And look,” she pulled her most valuable item out, “two plastic knives. I know it’s just plastic but I feel like this was a good start. I didn’t have any plans to use any of this but I wanted something.”

Kate cut her off, “something concrete to hold on to. I get it. It’s something that’s yours. Taking back a little bit of freedom they took away. Believe me, I get it. This stuff is great, Mac. Here,” she handed her one of the small knives from her coat. “Get to work on making a shiv out of the end of your toothbrush.”

“How do I do that?”

Kate smiled over at the girl, “here. Let me show you.” She opened her knife, taking the tooth brush and cutting downward into the handle. “It’s easy once you get going.” She did a couple more cuts before passing it over to Mac, “you try.”

“Oh,” Mac was genuinely smiling, “it is easy. You know? I’m not happy that you got caught but I’m thankful you are with me.”

“We will get out of this one, kid. I promise you that.”

“Hey. I thought you said I wasn’t a kid.”

Kate laughed, trying her watch again without success, “I guess I did say that. Just get whittling and we can talk code names later.”
*
Yelena rolled to a stop idling her motorcycle outside the address Cassie had texted her earlier. It was a nice looking brownstone on the other side of Manhattan. She watched her intern walk towards her, held out her spare helmet and she shook her head, “why are you dressed like a ninja?”

Cassie shrugged and took the offered helmet, “I didn’t know what we're getting into. Maria isn’t a problem but we are going to Kate’s house. Who knows if these men are still watching it.”

Yelena didn’t bother holding back her smirk, “and dressing like a ninja was your plan?”

“Shut up,” she shoved the helmet on and got on the back of the bike. “This bike is so cool, by the way,” she said louder than necessary since Yelena didn’t start it back up to full power. “I can see why Kate is so into you.”

“I’m flattered,” Yelena let the bike roar to life. She turned around and added, “hold on and try not to make a pass at me while I’m driving. I'd hate to save Kate just for her to kill you.”

Yelena parked her bike a few blocks from Kate’s apartment, “we walk through the alley from here.”

Cassie noticed when Yelena leaned forward to release the kickstand that there was a gun in the back of the blonde’s jeans. “Okay I know you were in the military but were you like an assassin in a past life?” She had to run to keep up with Yelena as she struggled to take off her helmet.

“Leave it on. If there are people around, do you really want them to see your face?”

“Good point,” Cassie shoved the helmet back on, “but the assassin thing?”

Yelena’s chuckle was dark, “if that helps you sleep at night, little Lang.”

“You aren’t actually going to shoot Maria are you? Like for information?”

A heavy sigh was heard from the other woman, “no I’m not. This,” she pointed to where her gun was hidden, “is just a precaution in case any of Kate’s other acquaintances show up. I need to protect us somehow.”

They had made it to Kate’s building and quickly walked up the backstairs, entering the charred loft. Kate hadn’t bothered to fix it up while she was staying with Yelena because the thought process was that they would just fuck it up again before this was all over, “and what’s the plan if they do show up?”

“You ask a lot of questions,” Yelena took her helmet off, setting it on the counter watching her intern do the same. She took a small hand sized pistol out of her boot and handed it to Cassie, “here. Put this in your boot, under the sock. Only use it if you need to. Turn the safety off like this.” She showed Cassie how to operate the gun. “Also, take this knife.”

“Somehow this doesn’t make me feel any better,” Cassie concealed her newly appointed weapons.

“You offered to be my plus one. Terrible decision on your part, truly.” There was a knock on the door and Yelena held her finger up to her lips. She walked over silently looking through the peephole. Satisfied that only one person was out in the hall, she opened the door to show a very tired looking Maria. “Looks different than before, doesn’t it?”

“Hello to you too,” Maria pushed past the blonde making her way just inside the door of the destroyed loft. “Could use a new coat of paint if Kate returns.”

“If Kate returns?”

“Yeah,” Cassie walked over to stand next to the blonde mirroring her posture, arms crossed over her chest, “what’s this if bullshit? Are you insinuating she is already dead?”

Maria looked between the two women, “really Belova? The pitbull got herself a chihuahua? Can I come in or do we have to do this in the threshold?”

“Come on in,” Yelena pulled Cassie over to the side, “which charred piece of furniture would you like to sit on?” They watched Maria walk around the apartment. She clearly had been there before, noted by her familiarity to the room. Maria chose to sit on one of the high top stools, “sit,” she instructed Cassie to follow suit as she went over to deadbolt the door. “How did they know Kate was going to be at the hospital yesterday?”

“Because I told them. I overheard you telling Sonya that your sister and girlfriend were coming for lunch on Christmas Day. I looked at your schedule and saw when you were taking your break and I made a call.” She never broke eye contact with Yelena and saw her cool exterior cracking, “look I’m not happy or proud that I was a part in this. I did what I had to do to fix it.”

“Fix what?”

Yelena looked at her intern before speaking, “you heard the girl. Answer her questions.” She suddenly was very grateful for the partner in this one. Had she been alone she probably would’ve just shot Maria and left many questions unanswered.

“It had been a few months before I met your sister. I was finishing up my last year in medical school and starting to look for hospital placements for my residency. I guess maybe I was in the wrong place at the wrong time but I was walking through Central Park on my way back to my dorm and I was jumped. Apparently I had been followed for quite some time. Whatever. Can’t change the past. I knew I didn’t want to get raped or killed so I did the only thing a 20 something would do and I told them I’d do whatever they wanted.” She stopped to see the two women still staring at her. “Not my finest moment but I wanted to live. I was just a means to an end for them.”

“Then end being Kate Bishop?” Yelena tried but failed to keep the disgust out of her voice.

“There were two girls going around and hurting these men. In my opinion, they were justified but I clearly couldn’t say that to these guys. Like I said, I didn’t want to die. I didn’t find out much of anything. I had to finish school and then they instructed which hospital I was to have my residency at. I know that they weren’t interested in Carol, only Kate. I was to help them obtain the brunette. The first attempt was that night in the park. When Kate stopped the rapist from getting me, I saw how young she was and…”

“And what your conscience ticked for a second before you jumped back into the fray? Obviously your change of heart never happened if you were still helping them.”

“I told you. You can’t shake these guys.”

“Why do they want Kate?”

“Money? Power? To kill her? I don’t know what they never said. So I took the internship right before the attempted rape but nobody at the hospital knew me yet because I hadn’t started. After that, I noticed Kate would come into the ER quite frequently with the normal cuts and bruises, broken bones and she was desperate for a friend. I wanted to get her to trust me and at first I thought it was because of my assignment but then I realized I felt bad for the girl,” Maria didn’t think all of this information was necessary for the storyline but she had never talked about any of this before. “Of course Kate remembered me because there was no way her hero complex would let her forget someone she saved.”

“Careful,” Yelena growled, “you are already on thin ice.”

“Stand down, pitbull. You asked for the story so I’m telling you the story. Seriously Lang, control her a little better.”

Cassie did her best not to look flustered, “considering she’s covered in weapons and you are still breathing… I’d say she’s pretty calm.”

Maria rolled her eyes, “whatever. Should I continue?”

“Please,” Yelena managed a smile though the word came out with a bite to it.

“The plan was to befriend the girl and turn her over to men. I always got assigned to Kate when she came into the ER and slowly she started opening up to me. Probably because I didn’t ask too many questions or judge her. One day Carol came into the ER with her and she didn’t trust me from the minute she met me. Can’t see why, I’m very charming.”

“Ha!” Yelena barked out a laugh, “sure you are.”

“Anyway, I got to know Kate and I started having second thoughts about giving her over. That night your sister got hurt and she connected with Wanda? I was here trying to talk some sense into Kate. I was trying to tell her while not specifically telling her the danger she was in. Carol showed up and things got ugly. Carol made it very clear that if I wanted to see Kate anymore it wouldn’t be without her present.”

“What happened next?” Cassie was on the edge of her seat.

“Nothing until you showed up,” Maria looked at Yelena. “Kate had been lying low with Carol. Still coming in and out of the ER but the guys seemed to slow down on looking for her. Then you came to work, Kate showed interest in something they could take away and they pulled me back in.”

“So the plan was?”

“To kill you,” Maria said without a hint of amusement. “Kill you to get Kate.”

“That night this happened,” Yelena looked around the charred loft, “you sent them here. Told them where we would be? Were you watching to know we’d be here?”

Maria reached over and grabbed Yelena’s phone, popping the back open, “I haven’t been watching,” she let the wiretap fall out of the phone.

Yelena was upset before and now she was just furious. That means that the apartment was probably bugged too. These people heard all of it and she was disgusted but she couldn’t let it show knowing they were probably still listening, “what do they want Kate for?”

Maria shrugged, “as best I could gather… her mother owes them millions.”

“So not to traffick her?”

Maria shrugged again and Yelena was ready to slap her, “I think it’s money and politics. Kate’s first escape got them disbanded for years. I don’t think they ever got over that.”

“Isn’t Kate’s mom in prison?” Cassie knew the highlights of Kate’s past from the few nights they spent together but didn’t know every detail.

“She is,” Maria confirmed.

“Do they still want me dead?”

“I won’t lie. Now that they have Kate, you aren’t their top priority but they are worried you’ll come for her and get in their way.”

Yelena pulled the gun out from her waist band, “and what’s to stop me from killing you right now?”

Cassie was starting to sweat. She hadn’t known Yelena long but there was no doubt in her mind that she would pull the trigger if she had to, “do you know where Kate is being held?”

“Don’t ask her any more questions, little Lang. She’s not going to help us.”

Maria smiled, “well that’s just not true. I warned Kate at Carol’s funeral.” She turned to face Cassie, “and from what I hear, you’ve already been there.”

Cassie’s eyes went wide in realization, “fuck.” It was where they were the night Carol died.

“Time to go, Cassie,” Yelena pulled Cassie with her towards the front door but before she could turn the knob a series of smoke grenades filled the loft followed by one very loud flashbang. The room filled with smoke, making it impossible to see, “Lang go,” she twisted the knob and tried to push the girl out when gunshots started firing in the room. Yelena pulled her own gun out and fired back. Crouched down behind the island, she felt a searing pain rip through her arm, “mother fuckers,” she shook it off and started firing again after she reloaded. It could’ve been seconds, minutes or hours but when the smoke finally started to dissipate, Yelena saw two figures lying on the floor. “Shit,” she looked at her left shoulder and saw blood trailing down her arm. The body closest to her was a man in riot gear. She laughed as she checked his pulse, “lucky bastard. You will make a nice hostage.” She stood up and kicked the unconscious man before making her way over to the other body. Maria lay on the ground, blood pooling around the right side of her throat. “Try not to move,” Yelena grabbed a towel from the counter and started pressing it into the bullet hole in Maria’s neck.

The woman looked scared yet calm, “it's cold in here.”

“I know. Seriously try not to move. I’m going to reach in your pants for your phone so I can call 911.” She already knew there was no way Maria would even make it the length of the ambulance ride from here to the hospital.

“No,” Maria coughed some blood. “It’s fine. I know it’s over. Just sit with me.”

“Don’t talk. Just close your eyes and relax. The pain will be over soon.” Yelena had sat with many people during her time in the military. Watching the light go from someone’s eyes was always difficult.

“They got Lang.”

“Fuck,” Yelena’s head dropped. This was becoming more messed up by the day. She was going to bring them all back or die trying. “Maria?”

“Hmm?” She opened her eyes to look at Yelena.

Maria’s breathing was labored and her skin was cold to the touch, “why did you do this?”

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, “they took my mother. Right after you came,” she coughed more blood, “they took my mom.”

“Jesus. Hill. I could’ve… We could’ve helped.”

Maria closed her eyes, “when you find them. Tell my mother I love her and I’m sorry.”

Before Yelena could assure her that she would find her mom, Maria took her last breath. She let go of the blood soaked rag and took out her phone, “Wanda?” She waited for the woman to reply, “I need your help.”
*
Cassie was dragged out of the apartment and thrown into the back of a van. She pretended to be unconscious so they wouldn’t try to talk to her or question her. It was a small miracle that they didn’t touch her while they thought she was out. She could hear them talking from the front seat, “did you see Hill?”

The other one responded, “dead. I think.”

“Boss won’t be happy his informant is gone. What about Jessie?”

“I think he was dead, too. I thought we were grabbing the blonde. Why did we take this one?”

“Blonde had a gun. This one didn’t put up a fight. We will just have to go back for the other one.”

Cassie willed herself not to freak out. They must be taking her to wherever they have Kate. They didn’t even want her. They wanted Yelena. She just hoped when she got dumped into her holding cell they wouldn't have the forethought to search her. The drive was short and Cassie played dead when they opened the sliding door. “This one is light. Should we throw her in with the others?”

“Couldn’t hurt.”

Kate had been restless all night waiting for someone to come in and grab her or Mac. She didn’t trust any of them and was scared they would come looking for them if they got bored. Her fears shot through the roof when she heard some men outside. Quickly she grabbed her knife and had it concealed under her sleeping bag. The door opened and blinding light poured in. One man threw in another sleeping bag while the other dropped a body onto it, “leave her here. We will deal with it in the morning.”

Kate waited unmoving until the door was fully shut and locked again. She didn’t want to speak first so she waited until she saw the figure start to stir. “Hello?” She whispered to the body.

“Kate?” The familiar voice called before rolling over. “Oh thank God you are okay,” Cassie threw herself into her friend's arms.

“How? What? Why?”

Cassie shook her head, “Maria set us up. The men were coming for Yelena but she started shooting so they grabbed me instead. It was a nightmare.”

“Who’s that?” Mac asked, rolling over in her bag. “Why is she hugging you?”

“It’s okay, Mac. I know her from the outside,” Kate introduced the two girls. “I need to hear more about this setup but Mac said they do more frequent rounds at night so we should try to get some sleep.”

“Plus if they hear us talking they will definitely come in and beat us.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Cassie’s grin grew wider. “I’ve got the answer to all of our problems. That girlfriend of yours is a keeper.” She reached into her shoes and pulled out her gun, knife and telephone. “They didn’t even search me, idiots.”

Mac looked at the weapons and fully charged cell phone, “you’ve got to marry that woman.”

Chapter Text

Yelena had been sitting and waiting for what seemed like hours. The small, sterile interrogation room appeared to shrink with every minute that passed. She could’ve run from the scene but Wanda convinced her to stay and deal with Maria’s murder head on. Before she was whisked away in the back of a police car, she had refused emergency services for the graze wound on her arm, “military. If you think this is my first gun shot, you are an idiot.” Okay, maybe that wasn’t the smartest approach to dealing with the cops but they were treating her like she had committed the crime. “Do you honestly think I would still be here if I did this? No. This is not my style. It was way too messy.” That was the moment she decided to enact her right to remain silent. So, here she sat in the small white room. She looked down at her blood soaked jeans and then up into the obvious two way mirror. A little laugh came out before shaking her head, “see what happens when you fall in love? Woah, where did that come from?” She dropped her gaze from the mirror when her mind immediately bombarded her with memories of Kate. When had she fallen in love and why did her mind decide in the middle of a criminal investigation was a good time to voice those feelings? “Stick to the facts,” were the last words from Wanda before she called her contact. Yelena was still waiting for this mystery friend to arrive. When there was a knock on the door she couldn’t help herself, “finally. I thought you were going to leave me to die here.”

“Ms. Belova. Of course I didn’t forget about you.”

“Doctor,” she quietly groaned. Why did she correct this man?

He just let out a laugh, “as I was saying, Dr. Belova. I would never leave the future sister in law of my good friend Wanda to die in an interrogation room. I was getting all the info from the police who had worked up the scene.” He slid over a cup of coffee.

“Thanks. Detective.”

“It’s Captain. But you can call me Fury.”

“Fury? Captain Fury? Is that your first name?”

“We aren’t here to discuss my name. And it’s just Fury. Not Captain.”

Yelena stared at him for a moment, “what does the chief of police call you?”

“Fury.”

She noted the unamused look on his face, “your detectives?”

“Fury.”

“And Wanda?”

His face never wavered. “Fury.”

“What about your mama?”

Yelena saw the slight smile cross his face, “she calls me Fury. And here I thought your sister would always be the biggest pain in my ass. I stand corrected.”

“You must not know Kate Bishop.”

“Natasha is the pain in my left ass cheek. Miss Bishop is the pain in the right one,” he watched the blonde watching him carefully before she nodded and took a drink from the coffee he brought her. “So why don’t you tell me what happened tonight.”

“It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?”

Fury’s head tipped to the side, “nothing is ever obvious in this profession. So if I had to make my most intelligent hypothesis, I would say that you were confronting Maria about the whereabouts of Kate Bishop.”

“How much do you know?”

“How much do you know?”

Yelena cursed under her breath, “cyka.”

“I do not speak a lot of Russian but that didn’t seem very nice, Doctor. I’ll answer one of your questions if you provide the same courtesy. If you are asking if I know about Kate’s nighttime activities, the answer is yes. She and I have met on several occasions and she has been a great assistant to the police force. I have asked her many times to consider coming on full time but it is usually met with a laugh and she trips and falls on her way out of my precinct. Now, please tell me what you and Maria were doing inside of Kate’s charbroiled apartment.”

“Did you know Kate Bishop had been taken?” When Fury did not confirm nor deny that question, Yelena continued, “Christmas morning, Kate was taken in an unmarked van outside of the hospital the same moment my sister was shot. We both know who took her.”

He finally nodded, “the men who had her captive before. We never assumed they went away; however when her mother was taken into custody, we thought their interest in Kate would diminish.”

“Clearly, that was not the case. Maria had made a comment at Carol’s funeral that if Kate kept on the path she was on that she would end up buried next to her friend. I kind of punched her and then we decided to meet and talk things out. Cassie Lang was there with me but when everything went down, I think she was taken, too.”

“We had suspected Miss Hill’s involvement for a while with the group but could never confirm it. I had a detective trailing her for a few years but she never was able to confirm anything.”

“Before Hill died, she said they had taken her mother and that’s why she was involved.” Yelena figured it would be best for her if she just told Fury everything she had learned tonight because keeping secrets didn’t work for anybody and she really just wanted to do whatever she could to get Kate and Cassie out as safe as she could. “I did not see any of the men. They used smoke grenades and flashbangs. I would’ve tried to follow but Maria… she wasn’t going to make it and I did not want her to die alone.”

“We know a few of their warehouses and hideouts and can narrow down where they have taken your friends.”

“So what does this mean? You know I didn’t have anything to do with Maria’s death. If it had been me, I wouldn't have stuck around. What do you need from me tonight? It is very late.” The intensity of the evening and shock of events had finally caught up to her. Now she was not only worried about her girlfriend but Cassie as well. “Are you doing to alert, Dr. Lang that his daughter has been taken by traffickers?”

“We did not know about Cassie Lang until just now. So, yes. We will be in contact with her father. Dr. Belova, I need you to trust that we will have this under control.”

Yelena chuckled, “if you are asking me to not go looking for my girlfriend then you are crazy.”

Fury laughed this time, “I never thought you’d agree to that. The stubbornness runs deep in your family. I am just asking that you let the police do their job and work with us to get this taken care of.”

“I suppose I could,” she crossed her arms over her chest. “But we move out tonight. I’m not about to leave Kate with those sick assholes.”

“I’ll bring my people over tonight. We will come up with a plan now and meet you at nightfall. Be ready for anything.” Yelena watched him get up and head to the door. “I am quite fond of your, Kate Bishop. We will get her back.” He left as quickly as he had entered and Yelena took that as her sign that she was free to go.
*
Kate was woken up by the footsteps outside the door of their shared cell. Thankfully nobody came in this time but she heard them say, “we should take the new one out for a spin,” and she saw red knowing they were talking about Cassie. Nobody fucks with her friends and gets away with it. Before she could turn over in her sleeping bag, she felt warmth pressed up against her back. Turning slightly, she saw that Mac must have snuck into her sleeping bag in the middle of the night and her heart broke for the girl. She couldn’t even imagine not having real human connections with another person for so long. She turned over completely and wrapped the girl up in a hug. Mac didn’t hesitate to snuggle in closer, burying her head in Kate’s chest. “I’m going to get you out of here,” she whispered agains the top of her head. “You are safe now.”

“You two okay over there?” Cassie turned in her sleeping bag to face Kate.

“Mmhmm,” Kate lifted her head and gave her friend a little smile. “Your phone still have battery?”

“Let me check,” she pulled it out from the inside of her boot. “Just barely but yes.”

“Send your location to Yelena. And then turn your phone off. Preserve the last of your battery for later. We will need it.”

Cassie did as she was told, “it’s like you’ve done this before,” the words died on her tongue when she remembered the small amount of information Kate and Carol had shared with her about their joint past. “I’m sorry. That was stupid. Sometimes I have this disease where I don’t have a connection between my brain and my mouth.”

Kate chuckled, “I think I suffer from the same disease.” When she looked back down, Mac’s cheeks were bright red, “good morning.”

“Oh god,” she tried to shuffle away from the warmth. “I am so sorry. I meant to sneak back over before you woke up.”

“Don’t even worry about it,” Kate didn’t want her to feel upset about the need for a human connection. “Did you sleep okay?”

Mac gave her the smallest smile, “best I’ve slept in years.”

“Glad to hear it,” Kate watched the girl stretch before leaving the sleeping bag, shivering slightly at the cold air in their room. “Okay, I’ve tried to hold off as long as I can but I need to use the bucket.”

“The bucket?”

“Our bathroom,” Mac pointed to the bucket that was near where Cassie had set up her bag. “You might want to move.”

Cassie looked to her right and saw Kate standing, almost jumping up and down on her feet, “is it just a number one?”

“Yeah but I’ve been holding it since I got here,” she watched her friend nod and move over to her own sleeping bag. “Thanks,” she moved past Cassie and utilized the bucket. “I have never been happier for a supply bucket in my life.”

“Don’t forget the cover when you are done,” Mac was resting against her wall of the room trying not to make eye contact with anyone.

“Is it weird if I use the bucket too?” Cassie waited until Kate crossed back over the small room. “I apparently don’t have a bladder of steel like you do.” After Cassie relieved herself, she went over to sit against the wall with Kate.

“Why are you both staring at me like that?”

Cassie smiled a very strange smile, “come on now.”

“You know you have to pee too. It’s like some super strange summer camp bonding experience. Everyone uses the bucket and becomes like soul sisters or something,” Kate kept a straight face.

“I don’t think that’s a thing,” Mac had thought the two women had lost their minds. “I’ve never been to summer camp but if joint pissing was a thing then I’m glad I missed out.” She watched them watching her and shook her head. Okay. so she did have to pee but this still seemed weird. She rolled her eyes, “fine but you can’t watch.”

Kate and Cassie averted their attention to give the girl some privacy with the bucket, “so what happens next?” Cassie whispered, “I would like to avoid being raped at all costs.”

“Hopefully Yelena got your location. Whether the cops come or not, we make our move tonight. I’m think…”

“Hey,” Mac sat down on the other side of Kate, “no planning the escape without me.”

“Never,” Kate slid over so there was more room for the girl to sit comfortably. “Thankfully, Cassie’s phone still had charge this morning so she was able to send our location to Yelena’s number. Hopefully she gets it. I’m sure she will. It’s not like Apple to ever fuck things up. Right?”

“Still got juice in that thing?”

Cassie chuckled at the girl’s enthusiasm, “Not much unfortunately. I’m trying to preserve the small life left in it. Yelena did grace me with lots of weapons so we need a plan?”

“Yes,’ Kate knew that they had to make their move. They wouldn’t wait too long before coming in for one of them. “It’s been too long since they’ve gotten their fix. I say next time they come in…”

“It’s usually two of them. Always the same two. One particularly large one and a small one.”

“That’s good information to have,” Kate smiled at Mac. “I say we try to take down the big one. One of us will wait behind the door so when they come in, they only see the two of us and the third one is waiting with one of Cassie’s knives and goes for the achilles. It’ll take care of the big one. He won’t be able to move. Then we bring out the gun. Tell them that nobody has to die if they just get us out of here.”

“I don’t know if that’s going to work. They are a stupid group of guys but we have one gun and a handful of knives. There’s so many of them.”

“You forget…” Kate reached under her sleeping bag and pulled out her lighters. “We have fire. We have a bunch of fire starters that you’ve been squirreling away. I will work on the explosion if things go wrong. Let’s just say, I have experience with arson.”

“Very comforting, Kate Bishop.”

“Stop,” Kate rolled her eyes. “You are starting to sound like Yelena.”

Cassie laughed, “we do spend a lot of time together.”

There was a loud bang on the door that had all three of them jumping, “keep it down in there.”

They sat in silence until they heard the footsteps retreating, “I hope my dad isn’t worried,” Cassie whispered.

“I know Yelena will tell him what he needs to know if the police don’t.”

“So we go tonight?”

Mac grimmaced, “they usually come for me after sunset. I sure hope the two of you know what you are doing.”

“I promise you. It’s going to be okay.”
*
It had taken Yelena a ridiculously long time to fall asleep after she was finally home from the police precinct. She had too much pent up energy so she headed to the gym for a quick arms, shoulders and abs session before taking a warm shower to relax her body. When she crawled into bed around 4am, she passed out almost immediately. She woke to someone gently running a hand through her hair, “Yelena, sweetheart, it’s nearly 4pm.”

She blinked her eyes open, “Wanda?” She tried her hardest to clear the sleep from her eyes before the time registered, “4pm? Did I miss Fury? He said he would come by later.” Yelena grabbed her phone, “no. it’s dead.”

“I just got home from the hospital. Your sister is still pouting that I won't release her. I think she’s about ready to kill Sonya and Peter. Fury told me he’d be here around 6 so you have time to get ready and eat something,” she grabbed Yelena’s phone. “I brought home some food from your favorite Indian place.”

Yelena gave herself a moment to breathe and reflect on everything that happened, “he seemed nice enough. Said he would bring his people. Whatever that means.” Her train of thought was broken when a loud rumbling came from her stomach, “I can’t remember the last time I ate. Did you say Indian?”

“I’ll get it ready and set this on the charger in the kitchen for you,” Wanda kissed her forehead before leaving her to change out of her sleepwear.

She got out of her bed and quickly changed into a pair of cargo pants and a black tank top even though they were fully entrenched in winter. It was warm in the apartment and with growing up in Russia, she always felt she ran warmer than Americans. “It smells so good,” she quickly slid into her seat at the island, happy to see that Wanda would be joining her for dinner. “Are you going to come with us tonight?”

“If I didn’t have to get some sleep and head back to the hospital to make sure your sister doesn’t leave AMA then you know I would. Kate and Cassie mean a great deal to me,” she passed Yelena a bowl full of chicken curry and some naan bread. “I know that you’ll be in good hands with Fury but I don’t suppose there is any way I can talk you out of going along tonight? Leave the heroine stuff to the police force?”

“Because the police have been great up until this point? No. I do not trust anyone to save Kate if i am not there to oversee that they don’t fuck things up. Besides, I have dozens of rescue missions under my belt. I may have been a medic but they utilized everyone in rescues when we were overseas. I’ll be fine,” she knew the motherly look she was going to see if she looked up from her plate so she continued to eat. “Do not look at me like that. I can sense you giving me the look.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, dear.”

Yelena chuckled before taking a big bite, chewing a couple of times before responding with a half of a mouthful of food, “yes you do. It’s that look you give to me and Natasha before either of us do something you think is ridiculous or dangerous or just plain stupid.”

“Noticed that, did you? I’ve been with your sister for years and she still doesn’t know the face.”

“Oh she knows it. She just thinks that she has special girlfriend powers that get her out of trouble with you. I’m sure she thinks that she can use sex as leverage to act as stupid as she sees fit.” She looked up to see the redhead nodding in confirmation, “It’s a shame she can’t be here. I know she would go into that building with me to save our people. Natasha always did have a weird relationship with self-preservation. Her hero complex rivals that of Kate Bishop’s.”

“Your sister would do anything in her power to help with this rescue. Unfortunately she is facing an uphill recovery and still peeing into a bag.”

Yelena made a disgusted face, “yes, that piss bag would slow us down tonight. Good call chief.”
Conversation flowed easily between the two of them as it did the entire time they had known each other. It only stopped when Yelena’s phone lit up, finally charged enough to turn on and a bunch of notifications lit up the screen. “Anything important?”

Wanda reached over and grabbed the phone. Her eyes lit up, “holy shit.” She handed the phone over to Yelena.

“It’s from Cassie.” She opened the text, “a location.”

“They didn’t search her? Incompetent kidnappers.”

“This is good. Fury said he had a few ideas where they could be but this means we have the exact location and if they didn’t take her phone then she probably still has the gun I gave her last night before we met up with Maria.”

“You gave that child a gun?”

Yelena smirked, “it’s not like she didn’t need it last night. She just didn’t get a chance to use it. Can you send me Fury’s contact information? Or text him mine and tell him I have an important update and he needs to get over here sooner.”

“I’ll text him your information.”
*
45 minutes later, there was a knock on the apartment door. Wanda had stayed awake so she could hear any plans that they made but mainly because she was worried about Yelena’s safety. “I’ll be fine. But you can stay,” she liked that the Chief was protective of her because she was missing her annoying sister at the moment. Natasha would in no way let her do this on her own so it was nice to have a sister watching over her. Yelena opened the door, “I thought you were bringing your people?”

“Hello to you too,” Fury pushed past her and entered the apartment. After he quick hello to Wanda, another girl walked into the house. “My people.”

“This is just one girl,” she looked the woman up and down. Short, brunette, dressed in slacks and a white button up. She was wearing an over the shoulder gun harness but in no other way looked like a police officer. “She’s your people?” Yelena turned to Wanda, “I am far less confident now.”

“Hey now,” the brunette sounded offended.

“Dr. Belova, this is Detective Darcy Lewis. She has been tailing Maria for the past few years. She knows the case and has been highly active with Kate Bishop. Don’t let her size fool you. She is a highly trained member of the force.”

“Sup,” Darcy nodded at Yelena. “Thanks for that unwavering welcome. So they got your girl?”

Yelena didn’t know what to make of this woman. She seemed overly confident yet aloof at the same time. Kate would most likely get along with her. “Seems that way. They also got one of my interns and who knows who else is in that warehouse. Did you get the location I sent over?”

“It’s one of the places we had flagged.”

“Fury’s right. I had followed Maria out there a couple of times. That’s where they were the night Carol got shot. Or so we think. Nobody was actually there to confirm it and your intern doesn’t talk much.”

“You brought Cassie in for questioning? How did I not know this?” Yelena didn’t know if she should be upset about that or impressed that her intern was able to hide something like that from her. When they got the girls out of that hell hole, she would have to have a conversation with Cassie about the importance of not keeping secrets. “So what’s the plan? The three of us just go in there? Guns blazing?”

Fury shrugged, “that’s the general plan.”

“We don’t know how many people are in there,” Wanda joined in sensing the plan seemed half baked and completely asinine.

“No,” he shook his head, “we don’t. But the longer we wait the worse it’ll be for your friends.”

“We go tonight,” Yelena didn’t need any further encouragement than that. She wanted them back and she wasn’t scared. If the military taught her anything it was that the things you care most for can be taken away in an instant. “I’m all in. Come,” she waved to Darcy, “I have many weapons in my closet.”

“Cool. Fury?” She turned to her boss, “I’m going to follow the scary Russian chick into the room with the weapons.”

“She’s military. She’s cool.”

Darcy smirked, “somehow that doesn’t make me feel better.”

“Come. I show you the weapons.”
*
Night had fallen. It had been hours since the food rations were pushed through the slot in the door. Kate had mapped out of plan banking on the fact that she hoped the warehouse was similar to the one she was in last time. “Everybody remember the plan?”

“Relax Kate,” Cassie had attempted to take a nap which failed almost before it started. “We’ve been over it like 20 times. What could possibly go wrong?” A piece of wadded up bread hit her in the side of the head, “what?”

“Are you crazy? You can’t put that kind of thought out into the universe,” Mac was looking for more stuff to throw at her. “If anything goes wrong, you are entirely to blame now.”

“Nothing is going to go wrong,” Kate was just as nervous as the other two but she wouldn’t let it show. The determination to see these two out of here safely was enough motivation she needed. Her hero complex was itching to come out and now was the perfect time.

“So for the plan…”

Mac sighed, “I knew she wasn’t paying attention.”

“I was. I swear. I just don’t feel comfortable being the one with the gun. I’ll do the slicing. I’m a doctor after all,” she slid the gun along the floor to Kate.

“So I’m still the bait. Fun.”

“Nobody is touching you tonight, Mac,” Kate truly believed she could get them out of there. She quickly tucked the gun into the back of her pants. “I’ll be the gun, girl. No problem.”

“Should we use our sleeping bag to put over the guy’s head after she cuts him? We don’t want his screaming to alert the others.”

“Good thinking,” Kate was impressed with the girl’s train of thought. “Idiot will probably scream. Though when they see the gun, the screams will probably stop. I found that people are much more cooperative when the threat of death is looming.”

“I’m glad I am on your good side,” Cassie smirked. “And I thought Yelena was the scary one.”

Kate was about to respond when there were keys jingling in the hallway accompanied by two male voices, “it’s showtime ladies,” she whispered. She watched Mac get into place on her bed and Cassie hid behind where the door would open. “We’ve got this,” she looked at both of her friends before the blinding light came in from the open door.
*
Wanda had refused to yet Yelena leave the house with her bike keys. For some reason unbeknownst to Yelena, the redhead felt safer with her riding with the police. So here she sat, in the back of the squad car, nervously playing with a knife. “Don’t cut yourself back there,” Darcy looked over her shoulder. “It's been awhile since I took a basic first aid class but i feel an obligation to save your life.”

Yelena rolled her eyes, “seriously this is your people? I’m a doctor. A little flesh wound is nothing for me.” She thought about accentuating her comment by running the blade along her palm but thought better of it. Being in the presence of cops had put her on edge. “How much longer?”

“We are two minutes out,” Fury said, looking through the rearview mirror. “I already have patrol cars set up along the building. Nobody is getting out of there without us being able to make a move.”

“This is supposed to comfort me?”

“No,” Fury smirked. “I am in no way here to comfort you. I’m just here to save your friends. I suppose I don't have to ask you if you know how to shoot.”

Yelena chuckled, “yeah. I’m good.”

“She had a very impressive weapons closet,” Darcy had never seen a civilian with that many guns north of the mason dixon line who wasn’t involved in drugs or the mob. “And,” she sounded even more impressed, “all of them had the serial number. I bet you even have them registered.”

“Of course I do.” Okay, the woman was growing on Yelena. “And if I don’t, you don’t really think I’d show those weapons to the cops, do you?”

“Oh she’s smart. I like this one, Fury.”

Fury just shook his head, “I knew bringing you was a mistake. I can see the alligence forming. You already got to Natasha. Don’t corrupt this one too.”

“Oh you are friends with Nat?”

“Accidentally. I went to the club, following Maria but she never showed up. Natasha had been waiting for her and we danced a little and talked. She bought me a couple of drinks. Thought she was going to ask me to go home with her but we just exchanged numbers and became texting buddies.”

Fury nodded, “after she got together with Wanda… she would come with her to the station or we’d have dinners. Your sister is a charming asshole.”

“That is my Natasha,” Yelena chuckled. Her good mood immediately turned when he slowed the car to a stop after cutting the headlights. They were parked down the street from a very sketchy looking warehouse, “this is it?”

Fury and Darcy got out of the car before Yelena had time to question them any further, “everybody clear on the plan?”

“Get eyes on the girls,” Darcy pulled out her gun, checking the ammunition. “Shoot the other mother fuckers.”

Yelena pulled out one of her guns, two more ready to go, “what she said.”

“It has only been 30 minutes. I do not like this,” he waved his hand between the two of them.

Darcy shrugged, “what can I say? Sisters love me.”

“Did you hear that?” Yelena turned towards the building.

“Gun shots,” Fury took off towards the building. “Stay back,” he shouted over his shoulder to Yelena but she had taken off running, immediately forgetting the plan. “Yelena!” He shouted, “get back.”

“What?” The question was cut off by a loud explosion. One of the upper side walls blew off the building, smoke and fire filling the night sky. “Kate…”

Chapter Text

*Before the explosion…*

“So for the plan…”

Mac sighed, “I knew she wasn’t paying attention.”

“I was. I swear. I just don’t feel comfortable being the one with the gun. I’ll do the slicing. I’m a doctor after all,” she slid the gun along the floor to Kate.

“So I’m still the bait. Fun.”

“Nobody is touching you tonight, Mac,” Kate truly believed she could get them out of there. She quickly tucked the gun into the back of her pants. “I’ll be the gun girl. No problem.”

“Should we use our sleeping bag to put over the guy’s head after she cuts him? We don’t want his screaming to alert the others.”

“Good thinking,” Kate was impressed with the girl’s train of thought. “Idiot will probably scream. Though when they see the gun, the screams will probably stop. I found that people are much more cooperative when the threat of death is looming.”

“I’m glad I am on your good side,” Cassie smirked. “And I thought Yelena was the scary one.”

Kate was about to respond when there were keys jingling in the hallway accompanied by two male voices, “it’s showtime ladies,” she whispered. She watched Mac get into place on her bed and Cassie hid behind where the door would open. “We’ve got this,” she looked at both of her friends before the blinding light came in from the open door.

“Let’s go girl,” the bigger of the two men came through the door first.

“No we are supposed to get the new one,” like Mac had predicted, a second smaller man appeared in the door frame.

“Sorry boys,” Kate spoke up from her side of the room. “You won’t be taking anyone tonight.”

The smaller one laughed closing the door behind him, “and what do you plan to do about to, Bishop?”

“It’s good to see my fans recognize me. I’ll be sure to leave you an autograph.”

“She’s talking too much,” the smaller one said. “Go smack her around so we can get what we came for.”

“I wouldn’t suggest moving from that spot,” Kate’s voice was even and calm.

Both men laughed, “have you seen the size of my friend here? What do you think you can do to stop him? If the boss wants any of you, my boy here will deliver.”

Kate rolled her eyes which she was sure they saw, “hasn’t anyone told you boys that size doesn’t matter?”

“And hasn’t anyone told you women should be seen and not heard?” The bigger one took a step further into the room and before anyone had a chance to react, Cassie pulled the knife through both of his Achilles in one smooth motion. The man screamed out in pain, immediately falling to the floor.

“Don’t move,” Kate pulled the gun out from behind her back. Aiming it at the one still standing. “Shut him up, girls.”

As if in cue, Cassie and Mac sprang into action, gagging the bleeding man, “good one.” Cassie threw a knife to Mac.

“We are in charge now. Tell me how many men are here?”

“Like a gun is going to scare me,” the man said but Kate could hear the waiver in his voice.

Kate smirked and lowered the nose of the gun so it pointed at his crotch, “what if I shoot you there? Wouldn’t be able to rape anymore children. I could solve a whole lot of problems. One damaged dick is a win for the community.”

She tightened her finger slightly, “okay. There’s at least 15 guys here.”

“How many other girls?” She saw him roll his eyes, turning the gun and shooting the big man in the kneecap. “I promise you that your penis is the next bullet.”

“Six rooms. I don’t know how many girls.”

Kate didn’t think he was being fully transparent but at least he was talking, “what does your boss want with me?”

“Money. Lots of money.”

“Eleanor is in jail. The funding is gone,” she noticed his key ring on his belt.

“He will get the money one way or another.”

Kate noticed Mac and Cassie whispering to each other seemingly coming up with a side plan. The big man had stopped screaming so they assumed he was passed out from the pain. “Do those keys open all the doors?”

“I’m not giving you my keys.”

When she saw they took the covers off the man, Kate pulled the trigger delivering her promise. The man fell to the ground clutching his crotch, “I didn’t expect your cooperation.” She watched the girls gag him, muffling his screams and Mac grabbed the keys, tossing them to Kate. “Stay here and be good boys until the cops show up. We will be sure to lock you in.”

Mac walked over and kicked him where Kate had shot him, “I hope it falls off.” She spit in his face.

“I would say thanks for the hospitality but I had to piss in a bucket,” Cassie pulled the sleeping bag over his head.

“Let’s go. Quietly. New plan. The two of you will quickly and quietly locate the rooms with the other girls.”

“What are you going to do?” Mac didn’t want to separate. She had made that clear in the initial planning.

“I’m going to make sure none of these men get out of here alive,” Kate’s smile turned evil. “We can’t count on the police. We have to send a message to the top. I’m not just going to sit here and allow myself to be extorted while people are being treated like this. Smoke out the boss.”

“We are all supposed to leave together,” Mac wasn’t happy with the turn of events.

“Cassie, make sure Mac gets out. Don’t lose her. Find the girls and get them help. Move fast,” Kate didn’t wait for any confirmation before turning on the spot and running down the hallway without a sound.

“This is a really bad idea,” Mac watched her go down the hall before turning to Cassie. “What are your qualifications?”

“I’m a doctor,” Cassie didn’t want to be stuck with the kid. Neither of them truly had a survival background but Kate trusted her to get Mac and the other girls to safety. “Here,” she pointed to the next room.”

“It looks like our door. You open it and I’ll go talk to them.”

“Deal.”
*
Kate didn’t have a plan. She had a hint of a plan but nothing solid was forming in her brain as she scoured the halls for these remaining 15 men. 1 woman… a handful of bullets and a shit load of men. All Kate knew was that she needed to buy Cassie and Mac as much time as possible to save the other girls. She needed to get attention and draw the crowd to the kitchen area. This would be so much easier if she had her bow and arrows. Man, she was really missing them. The first room she came to seemed to be a lounge and there were four men. She believed that she would be faster and smarter than them so she just gave a few quick whistles to get their attention allowing herself to not be seen. “Idiots,” she whispered before she took off down the hall, confident the men were on her trail or at least investigating the whistles. A few more well timed whistles had more and more people following her. She stopped with any noise when she finally found the kitchen. She turned on the gas to the stove before moving over, watching the door with her gun raised. “Took you guys long enough.”

“How did you get out of your cage, Bishop?”

Kate tilted her head to the side, “you must not know what happened to your friends who came to collect Mac.”

“Who the fuck is Mac?”

One simple question had Kate fuming. Of course they wouldn’t bother to learn any names of the people they captured. “I shot his dick off. The other one won’t be walking anytime soon or he might already be dead. Can’t be sure. You see this is going to go down one of two ways.”

“She thinks that she’s in charge, boys. Cute.”

“I’m the one standing here with a gun,” the sentence died on her tongue when at least four of the guys produced guns aiming them back at her. “Okay that’s a bit of an oversight on my part.” Not that it was going to deter her from what she needed to do. The subtle sound of gas was something only she could hear from her position. “You can either let me walk out the door or we can all die in a fiery explosion.” She smiled when she heard the round of laughter coming from the otherside of the room. She kept her gun raised and slowly started to move towards the left side of the room towards the back exit. Her slow movements caused the men to start shifting closer towards the kitchen appliances which is exactly where the brunette wanted them.
*
“I think we’ve checked all the rooms,” Cassie kept track when they started and just let the girls out of the sixth room. In total there were 13 young women and girls pulled from the rooms. They were beaten and scared but were more than ready to escape. “We have to go. Don’t look back.” She started leading the women down the hallway to the stairwell. There was a clearly marked exit door that didn’t seem to be guarded.

“How do we know someone isn’t waiting on the other side of that door?”

Cassie turned back to look at Mac, “one potential bad guy or 15 of them in the warehouse. Our chances are better with one.”

“So what? We just leave Kate to fend for herself?”

Cassie was getting frustrated with the girl now. “Of course I don’t want to leave Kate behind but she’s more than capable of getting herself out of this situation. Trust me.”

“Trust you? We met less than 24 hours ago. I don’t even know you,” Mac was trying to even out her voice so as to not cause a scene. The other women and girls were getting impatient. If Cassie didn’t want to help that was fine. Mac didn’t need a babysitter, “you are right. Kate can help herself. We should go that way.” She pointed to the door at the bottom of the stairs. “One guy is better than 15. Here,” she tossed her one of the extra knives. “That one looks like she’s ready to kick someone’s ass. Lead with her and I’ll bring up the rear and make sure everyone gets out okay.”

“Mac,” Cassie gave her a look. “I’m trusting you here, kid,” because she honestly had no other option. She had to get everyone out knowing Kate was likely to do something equal as stupid and dangerous as whatever Mac might do. “All right,” she handed the knife to the girl who did in fact look like she was ready to fight, “let’s go. Follow us and stay quiet. When we get out, let’s go to the road and wait for a sign from Kate.” Cassie led the girls down the steps, pushing the door open, almost breathing a sigh of relief when there wasn’t anyone on the other side. “Go quick,” she waited for all of the girls to exit. “Well fuck,” she knew Mac was a loose canon. The young girl was nowhere to be seen.

Mac had turned and left almost immediately when Cassie exited the building, “I’ll find her myself.” She took off running back up the steps, down all the hallways, past all of the rooms they unlocked, following the trail Kate didn’t leave for her. She spotted an overflow of men standing in and around an open door, they shuffled further inside the room. “Must be Kate,” she thought as she walked around the other way towards the backside of the kitchen. She was listening closely to the back and forth between Kate and one of the men and heard some laughter at whatever it was she had just said. She heard Kate mention a fiery explosion and then one of the men laughed and responded, “and just how do you see that happening?”

She listened as Kate responded, “wouldn’t be my first massive arson. Now, are you going to let me go?” Mac moved just within eyesight of Kate. She wasn’t visible by anyone else but she knew she got the brunette’s attention when a soft shake of her head told her to stay where she was, “this is ending whether we make it out of here or not. My friends made it out and they know who is at the top.”

“A little rich bitch like you couldn’t stop us,” the man’s laughter caused a chain reaction when the sound of the main entrance to the kitchen was closed and locked.

“I really didn’t want to have to waste my bullets shooting more dicks but here we are,” Kate shot at the front man, hitting her mark. When the man screams and falls to the floor and few of the men gather around him, “I have more bullets. Raise your hand if you want to keep your penises.”

Mac tried to stifle her laughter. Kate was possibly the coolest person she had ever met, “pssst.” She tried to get Kate’s attention but she just shook her head again. She accidentally pushed against the door, causing it to move. “Who is out there?” Fuck, Mac fucked up.

“Stop,” Kate’s voice was firm, “don’t move.”

Mac heard another shot and scream when Kate pulled her trigger. The bullets have to be running out. Two more gun shots went off and she chanced a glance, seeing Kate duck and roll before firing another shot, landing it into a man who let out a cry of pain. “Fuck,” Mac cursed under her breath when the door swung open and a man grabbed her. She immediately reacted and stabbed his hand causing him to let go. She kicked him in the groin and ran over to where Kate was, “what can I do?”

“What are you doing in here?” Kate looked over the back of the counter, once again pulling the trigger. “You were supposed to go with Cassie.”

“She and the girls are outside. I wasn’t leaving you. I couldn’t leave you.”

Kate understood but now wasn’t the time to play the big sister to this girl, “do you smell that?”

Mac sniffed, “what is it?”

“Gas,” Kate whispered. “We need to head towards the door. We are blowing this place up and we need a head start.”

A few more bullets came their way, “come out girls. We aren’t finished yet.”

Kate pulled the lighters out of her pocket, broke one open and flinging the contents of the lighter fluid towards the stove, “on three… run and don’t look back. I swear I’ll be right behind you.”

Mac nodded, “promise?”

“Right behind you,” Kate popped up, gun aimed, “STOP.” She was surprised when the shooting immediately silenced. “Wow i didn’t actually think that would work,” there was no time for self-doubt. “The best part of all of this? It isn’t the fact that you all are about to die. We might even die. But do you want to know the best part?”

“The part where we start shooting again?”

“No,” Kate’s smile was growing, “three.” She looked down at Mac, “it’s how dumb you guys really are.” She saw them turning red. “Two.” She gave Mac once last glance. “It’s the fact that you were all too dumb to smell the gas.” She waited for realization to cross their features. “One.” She watched as Mac got up and started to run. At least two shots were fired and hit her but she continued, “NO!” She lit the paper on fire and threw it over her shoulder, firing her last bullets as she ran from the room, closing the door behind her. The explosion caught her by surprise and she was thrown against the wall. The scream coming from the room and the glass blowing out of the windows shook Kate from her momentary stun. She stood, pain searing through her, “yup. That’s definitely broken.” She looked down the hall and saw Mac laying on the ground, “no. No. No. Absolutely not,” she rushed over to her. The pain in her arm long forgotten, “you don’t not get to die on me.” There was blood on the ground pulling under her but there was no time to find the source. The fire was spreading and she needed to get them out. “I’ve got you,” she didn’t let her arm get in the way. Kate hoisted the girl over her good arm and started to leave the building. Thankfully Mac was light or else she didn’t think the escape would’ve been possible. “I need to go back to the gym,” she grunted as she started down the stairs to the open door as Police started surrounding the back door.

“Kate…”

It was almost a whisper but she could hear her girlfriend’s voice from more than half a mile down the room. She gently let the girl down, “HELP! We need help over here!” There was another loud explosion coming from the building as the sirens from other emergency vehicles filled the air.

“Kate…” another call of her name, louder and closer this time before she felt someone slide into the space next to her. “Kate? Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

It was then that she realized her hearing was muffled from the close explosions, “help her,” there was no time for the anticipated reunion with her girlfriend. She needed Dr. Belova to save her friend, “she’s been shot.”

Yelena sensed the urgency and after giving her girlfriend a quick once over looking for bullet holes, she turned her attention to the girl. “Help me get her pants off,” Yelena was struggling through the blood. When her girlfriend was still sitting there unmoving she spoke again, “Kate can you hear me?” She still didn’t respond so Yelena waved a blood covered hand in front of her face, “Kate!”

The muffled sound coupled with the bloody hand got her attention, “the explosion,” she said loudly. “I can’t hear that well.” She lifted her good arm to push Mac’s shirt up.

Yelena immediately noticed the use of only one arm, “you are hurt.”

“It can wait. We need to save Mac. She’s only 13. I think? She needs us.”

Yelena focused her attention on the girl finding the source of blood coming from her thigh and other just below her right ribs, “two entry wounds. Can’t find any exit wounds. Here,” she ripped her shirt off. “Stop the blood up top. Put pressure on it. I’ll create a turincut for her leg until the ems get here.” She pulled her belt out of her pants and started by cutting the jeans with a knife before applying the belt tightly around her mid thigh just above the bullet hole to stop the bleeding.

It didn’t take long for the EMS and Firefighters to arrive, quickly rushing into the building to look for any survivors. Once the fire was contained, the police were free to search the building. The few men who managed to get away from the blasts as well as the two men who they locked in the room were taken away in handcuffs or taken to the hospital also in handcuffs. They would be booked and processed after they were released. Fury had told Kate that Darcy would need to take a statement from her, Cassie and the rest of the women as soon as possible. Kate had informed him that she wasn’t going anywhere until Mac was at the hospital and stable. She also refused any EMS services unless she was permitted to ride in the ambulance with Mac and Yelena. “She has to be okay. I promised I’d get her out,” was all Kate kept saying during the very short ambulance ride to the hospital. Mac was rushed to surgery immediately under the care of Sonya and Wanda at Kate’s insistence. She wouldn’t let Yelena scrub in though the blonde wasn’t quite ready to let her out of her sight. They had been sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes, silence filling the space like a noxious cloud. “Can I please examine your arm?” When Kate didn’t respond, “and get you a hearing test?”

“Hmm?” Kate turned to her girlfriend, getting the first look at her since Christmas Eve. “Merry Christmas,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a crushed pack of cigarettes.

“What am I going to do with you, Kate Bishop?” She shook her head, grabbing the pack from her girlfriend, “how are you?”

“I think I need an xray and lots of pain pills.”

“We go,” Yelena stood up, taking Kate’s good hand in her.

“But Mac… I can’t leave her.”

“We are just going to look you over. Wanda knows how to find us. Do not worry. Your friend is in the best hands aside from my own,” her smirked lost some of its usual mirth. She couldn’t stand to see her girlfriend in pain. They entered the room in the ER where they first met, “just one time.”

“That’s what you said. I knew it was a lie.”

Yelena’s gaze softened and Kate could see the smile behind her worried eyes, “have a seat Miss Bishop. I need to conduct an exam.” Kate huffed out a breath and struggled to pull her shirt over her head. “Stop. Before you hurt yourself more,” she moved to stand in front of the brunette. “It’s probably going to hurt. A lot. Are you super in love with this shirt? It might be easier to cut it off if you.”

Kate couldn’t help the small whimper that escaped and she knows Yelena heard it, “that’s fine. It’s old.”

Yelena reached over to the drawer behind them and pulled out a pair of scissors, “this won’t hurt as much.” She started cutting downward from the neck of Kate’s shirt and down the sleeves. She saw various bruises all across her right side where she assumed the impact happened, “did they…”

Kate shook her head, “they didn’t touch me. I swear.” Yelena only shook her head and continued to remove her shirt. “This is from when I lit the kitchen on fire. The explosion knocked me into the concrete wall. Kate Bishop 0, concrete wall, 1.”

“You are a very capable woman, Kate Bishop,” she placed a small kiss onto what she assumed was her good shoulder. “I do not like this,” she pointed to her bruising and swollen arm. “I am glad they did not touch you. I could not live with myself if that had happened when you were meant to be visiting me.”

“You couldn’t have stopped this Yelena. But you got Cassie's location. You came for us,” she tried to reassure the blonde that everything was okay.

“Of course I came for you, Моя любовь. I was crazy the past few days. May I touch you?” She asked once the shirt was completely removed. She didn’t have to examine much. Just from looking, she could tell Kate’s arm was broken in at least two places, “I will not drown this in honey. It does not look good. And you have some pretty nasty cuts that need stitches but we could do that part at home if you want.”

“Hmm?” Kate asked when Yelena’s tone dropped a little.

“And a hearing test,” she chuckled. “Seriously, what caused all of this?”

“Explosion. Not my first. The hearing will come back,” Kate reassured her. “I once tried to make exploding arrows. It didn’t go well.” She took a look down at herself, “at least no bones are sticking out, this time.”

“I probably don’t even want to know. From the look of it, you did not even need my help.”

“You came for us,” Kate kissed her cheek. “And you brought the police. Any reason why you got so chummy with law enforcement while I was gone?”

“Yeah…” Yelena reached in the top cabinet and pulled out a hospital gown helping Kate wrap it around herself. “A lot has happened. Let’s get your xray and we can talk about everything.”

As Yelena had suspected, Kate’s arm was broken in two places and her shoulder was knocked out of the socket. She wouldn’t need surgery but the doctor highly recommended Kate be put under to set the bones and pop her shoulder back into place, “will I have to stay overnight at the hospital?”

“Nyet,” Yelena was wheeling her back to the room she had done the exam in. “We don’t even need the OR. We can do it in this room. I’ll have the Dr. Lang give you something to put you out short term and have the orthopedic surgeon help me with your shoulder and set your arm. Then I can cast it. Less than an hour, promise.”

“Was there a funeral?”

Yelena shook her head, “it was only last night. The medical examiner has not released the body yet.”

“I know she was a bitch but we have to find her mom,” Kate sighed, shifting to get onto the patient bed. “Maria was kind to me most of the time. I won’t be able to make peace until I know her mother is safe.”

“Look,” Yelena pulled the wheeled stool next to the bed, “I get it. I will help in any way that I can. Fury and Darcy from the precinct… the friends of Wanda? They are not so bad. And Fury spoke very highly of you. I think you can trust them here.”

Kate nodded, “yeah. I know. It’s my stubbornness that got all of us here in the first place.”

Yelena shook her head, “don't ever say that. It was the sick and perverse nature of those men. They want your money to fuel their operation and they do not realize how fucked they are now.”

“We just need to put an end to this before they kill Ms. Hill.”

“Of course,” Yelena had covered her up with an extra blanket. “Want to get this arm situated? Then we can go home?”

“I don’t think I can leave Mac here.”

“Hold on,” Yelena got up and left the room.

Kate stared at the door, “that was weird.” She just stayed in bed, waiting but luckily she came back after only a few moments. “Oh good.”

“You didn’t think I left l, did you? I went to check in on the surgery. They have recovered one bullet so far. The one in her leg shattered so that one will take some more time. Her gallbladder got the majority of the damage with the other bullet but they just removed the whole thing since she technically doesn’t need that organ to live. Wanda has high hopes for the outcome but Mac will have to remain in the hospital for at least a week post surgery. She will need extensive PT to be able to walk. I spoke with the charge nurses and I have asked them to move Mac into Natasha’s room when she’s ready so she can look after her until she’s released to wherever it is you and her decide.”

Kate felt her heart warm with Yelena’s care not only for her but realizing how important Mac had become to her in such a short period of time. She truly had no idea what was going to happen to the girl after leaving the hospital but it seemed there was plenty of time during her recovery to figure it out, “I’ll take care of her hospital expenses.”

Yelena shook her head, “Wanda will never let that happen. Do not worry about it. Now, I’ve paged for Dr. Lang and I ran into our Ortho. She’ll be along. You won’t feel anything. I just need to start you iv.”

“Isn’t that what the nurses usually do?”

Yelena smiled at her bringing over the iv cart, “what can I say? I’m a full service doctor.” Kate watched as Yelena prepped the area for the IV without missing a beat. It was a learned practice that the doctor had clearly been doing forever. “Just a small pinch. It won’t really burn until the medicine goes in. It’ll feel more cold then you’ll be out before you know it.” She slid the needle into Kate’s vein, retracting it and leaving the small tube. She put the clear bandage over it to hold it in place to wait for the medicine. Yelena bent over and placed a kiss above the bandage, “there. All done.”

“Complete with a kiss? I hope all of your patients don’t get this special of treatment.”

Yelena smirked before cleaning up the small mess she made, “only the ones named Kate Bishop.”

“Definitely the special treatment then,” Kate couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face. “I missed you so much.” She let her head hit the back of her pillow, “I wasn’t sure I’d get to see you again.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to sleep until you came home,” Yelena kissed her forehead. Fuck, did she miss the woman sitting in front of here. “Hey Kate…” she wanted to tell her. Those three words were on the tip of her tongue and there was no perfect time to say it, it just felt natural and right until Dr. Lang came through the door.

“Miss Bishop. Long time, no see. You ready to go to sleep?” He had a nurse follow him in with a cart of medications. The nurse immediately began hooking her up to various monitors to keep track of her vitals while she was under. “Thanks for saving my daughter. She told me all about it. I will never be able to thank you enough but you know what they say…”

“What?”

“Nothing says thank you like really good drugs.”

Kate laughed, “and pizza. I like pizza.”

Yelena stood up by Kate’s head as Scott prepared the medication, “it’ll feel like only minutes and you’ll be up and casted.” She leaned down and whispered, “you are in good hands. I got the purple cast ready to go.”

“Okay just start counting backwards from 10. You should start to feel the good stuff almost immediately,” he was pushing the plunger directly into her IV.

“Woah,” Kate felt light headed as soon as the medicine started circulating through her blood stream.

“It’s okay to let go, little hawk,” Yelena was holding her hand, feeling it go limp.

“Yelena?” Her name came out quiet and full of sleep.

“Yes?”

Kate’s eyes began shutting and the last sentiment was barely above a whisper but it was enough for Yelena to hear, “I love you.”

Chapter Text

Kate’s mini bedside surgery had been a success. The ortho was able to set her bones correctly while Yelena worked on stitching up the deeper wounds she got from the fight. It even appeared that a bullet had grazed her thigh at one point so she irrigated and packed that wound. “Would you like me to start casting her arm?”

“Nyet,” Yelena only looked up momentarily. “I will take care of this. Thank you for your help.” She went over the X-rays with the ortho before she left the room and everything looked good.

“Would you like me to stay to monitor her vitals?” Scott had a feeling the doctor had been waiting for privacy. “She’s not hooked up to any life saving machines so she should come around on her own. I’d say she has about another hour or two of sleepy time before she starts to wake up.”

“I’m fine,” Yelena also dismissed him. “Thank you, Dr. Lang and I’m sorry for what happened to Cassie. It won’t happen again.”

“This isn’t on you or Kate. Cassie made her own decisions and she’s effectively grounded for the foreseeable future,” he shrugged. “Work and home. She’ll probably hate it and hate me but we will work it out. Thanks again and don’t forget to say it back to her when she wakes up. Any idiot can see you feel the same.”

Yelena felt her cheeks turning pink, “hey Scott? Don’t go too hard on Cassie. She was just helping me out of a tough spot. I’ll take some of the blame if it lessens her sentence.”

He laughed, “we can talk about it later. Let me be a concerned Dad for a few days.”

Yelena went back to her stitching not waiting to see if Scott had anything else to say. It had been a very long 72 hours. She needed a few days in bed to catch up on her sleep but right now, she just needed her girlfriend to be okay. “Okay these wounds look good,” she put the final dressing over the cuts she had stitched up. “Purple again?” She laughed getting the plaster ready. “At least this time I can assure that you will wear this for the recommended time frame.” She started the tedious process of making sure Kate’s cast was perfect, squeezing the areas needing extra structure just as the Ortho pointed out in her X-rays. “I should never have let you come here for Christmas. I should’ve tried harder to uncover your secrets. There’s so much I could’ve done. I am sorry this happened to you.” She dunked the purple plaster into the water before starting her second layer. “Also, I’m sorry to say your apartment is even more fucked up than the fire. I can help you hire contractors to fix it up. I would feel safer with you staying with me for now.” She finished up the cast, cleaned up her material and felt her eyelids starting to drift. “Fuck it’s been a long couple of days.” She looked over to Kate laying in the hospital bed, sleeping. “That looks very inviting, little hawk.” She walked over to the side of the bed away from her cast arm which she made sure to prop up with extra pillows. “A little nap couldn’t hurt,” she sent Wanda a quick text to tell her what room they would be in before climbing in the bed, snuggling up against her girlfriend. “Perfect,” she draped an arm over Kate’s stomach, burrowing her face in her neck and falling asleep almost immediately.

Kate blinked her eyes a few times from the seemingly best dreamless sleep she had ever had. No realization of the previous day's events registered. Her mouth felt dry and her arm was really heavy. She could vaguely feel a weight across her body and shifted slightly. She looked down and saw a mop of blonde hair against her chest, “woah,” she laid her head back down feeling light headed. “Did I get high?” She looked down again and this time she saw green eyes staring back at her. “Oh hi. I don’t mean to sound rude but I have a wife and she won’t be happy if she comes home and you are on top of me in my very small bed.” The words didn’t click but there was something about the smirk looking back at her. She looked at the woman again and then at her right arm which was set in a dark purple cast.

“A wife? Is she scary?”

“Oh yes,” Kate’s eyes were closed again. She smiled at the thought, “she could kill you instantly. But she’s also the cutest and I love her so much.”

Yelena stiffened, “oh umm.” She shifted her body weight off of Kate. So that’s twice her feelings were stated. She was still very much high but that’s usually when people were more truthful. “I should just umm,” she couldn’t get off the bed fast enough.

Kate just sighed, “if you see my wife, tell her I love her.”

Before Yelena could register any of that, Kate was already back to sleep. “Holy shit,” she breathed a small sigh of relief. It wasn’t as if the love wasn’t reciprocated. She just wasn’t the best at love and feelings. She desperately needed to talk to someone before Kate woke up again demanding to speak with her wife. “Natasha would never let me live this down,” she rolled her eyes, exiting her girlfriend's room as quietly as humanly possible. “Her wife that she loves,” Yelena couldn’t wrap her head around the absurdity of the situation. She pulled out her phone and saw she had multiple missed messages from both Natasha and Wanda. She ignored the messages from her sister and found out from Wanda’s texts that Mac was doing well, in recovery and would be moved up with her sister within the hour. “I slept for three hours?!” She couldn’t believe it when she looked at the time.

Deciding that going to Natasha’s room was a waste of time, Yelena made a quick trip to the Chief’s office knocking before hearing a soft “come in” from the other side, “oh good, it’s you. I was about to send security to look for you. Natasha was getting worried when you didn't return any of her messages.”

Yelena shrugged, closing the door, “she sent 30 of them. It is hard to keep track.”

“Did you get any sleep? You look both refreshed and exhausted.”

“Was there a compliment in there somewhere?” She smirked and sat down, “I’m fine. Slept after I finished with Kate’s casting. How’s the girl? Did she wake up yet?”

“Mac was in and out of consciousness in the recovery area. She started talking and trusting us a little more. She’s 12 years old.”

Yelena tried to hide her anger, “younger than Kate thought. Those bastards deserved whatever they got in that explosion. Innocent children? I saw this kind of stuff when we were stationed overseas but to see it at home is heartbreaking.”

“She doesn’t have a family to go back to. She ran away. I came back and looked her up in the system. Her parents were killed shortly after they took Mac.”

“Reassurance that nobody would go looking for her,” the anger was fuming. “Your friend Fury better find the man on top and put a stop to this before I take matters into my own hands.”

“Because that worked out so well for Carol and Kate?” She noticed the look of anger in Yelena’s eyes. It was reminiscent of Natasha’s anger. “I’m not saying that this will be a quick and easy fix but the police have more now than they ever did thanks to Kate and Cassie. Mac will also be an invaluable resource.”

“Hasn’t she been through enough? And you put her with Nat. That poor girl,” Yelena was ready to move the conversation onto anything besides the despicable things those men were doing.

“Hopefully Mac will keep Nat in line and she won’t be a flight risk for at least another five days,” Wanda saw Yelena’s shoulders finally relax. “Was there anything else?”

Yelena scratched behind her ear not entirely comfortable with sharing, “well. Maybe. You know Kate, right?”

Wanda’s eyebrow raised, “Kate? Hmm? You mean your girlfriend who has been living with us for the past month? Between her and Natalia, there’s never any food in the fridge. Kate? Yes, I think I might know her. What’s going on, sweetheart?”

“Well. Okay,” Yelena bit the inside of her bottom lip. Fucking feelings were so hard. “Before Kate went under, she kind of told me she loved me. At least that’s what I thought I heard. I think Scott heard it too but of course he did. Man has supersonic hearing like a bug or something.” She took a breath to see if Wanda would interject but she didn’t. “She was waking up from the anesthesia and I was laying next to her. She asked me to move because her wife would be jealous. I was playing around and asked if her wife was mean. And she said that her wife could kill me but she is also very cute and that she loves her.” Wanda still didn’t respond, “twice in three hours. Yes. She’s higher than a giraffe’s pussy but come on. What do I do? Surely she will not remember that. Am I supposed to bring it up?”

“Sweetheart,” Yelena looked up at Wanda.

“Da?”

“Breathe. You are right. She probably won’t remember any of that. But you do know that people usually do speak their truth when they are experiencing the effects of anesthesia.”

“She loves me?”

Wanda’s heart broke at how small Yelena’s voice sounded, “why wouldn’t she? You are an amazing woman, Yelena. She’d be an idiot not to.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Do you love her?” She could see the worry on Yelena’s face. “It’s okay if you don’t or if you don’t know yet. Love is complicated and hard and feelings can be tough to navigate.”

Yelena hated herself at that moment. Feelings shouldn’t be hard. She knew she cared about her girlfriend maybe too much. She was an adult and should be able to voice her feelings. “No. I know that. Every minute that she was gone, I couldn’t stop thinking that she would die before I got the chance to tell her how I felt about her. She’s so special to me and I have never felt this way about anyone, even Emily. I thought I loved Em but it’s nothing compared to the way my whole person lights up like a Christmas tree when Kate is near me or telling me a dumb joke or playing with Lucky or even just touching my hand. Is that what love is? Always wanting to be with the other person? Wrapping them up in a bubble and making sure nothing bad even gets to them again?” She didn’t need to look up to know Wanda was nodding. “I’m scared. What if we do this thing? Like really give into the love and something bad happens again? Or,” her voice got even smaller, “what if she decides she doesn’t love me back one day?”

“Yelena, sweetheart, if you spend your life worrying about the what ifs then you might miss out on something special. Kate Bishop, she’s a determined girl who had something traumatic happen to her but it didn’t slow her down. You can’t predict if something will happen in the future. I think she’s worth the risk though. I can see the love she has for you. We will just be sitting at home watching a movie and she’ll just be staring at you. She loves you so much, Yelena. I also think you owe it to yourself to let her love you.”

Yelena sighed, “why do you make everything seem so easy?”

“Years of loving your sister has taught me a lot about love and life.”

“We are not the easiest people to love,” Yelena had to give that one to Wanda. “So you think I should tell Kate?”

“I can’t tell you that. You’ll know when the time is right. Remember the advice from before, feel your feelings. You'll know when it’s time.”

“I suppose I should get back to her. I just kind of ran out of the room.”

Wanda checked her watch, “you’ve been in here awhile. Knowing Kate, she could be halfway home.”

Yelena nodded, quickly making her way to the door, “thanks for this. It really did help.”

“That’s what I am here for.”

Yelena decided to take a detour to stop by Natasha’s room before going back to Kate. She knocked before entering. Her sister gave her a big grin, “how jealous were you that you didn’t get to set that building on fire?”

Yelena smirked, “we do love a good arson.” She nodded to the girl who was still asleep. “Remember when you set the barn on fire?”

“Me?” Natasha tried to keep her voice down so they didn’t wake the girl. “I remember the barn but I don’t remember it being me.”

“Oh,” her smirk grew bigger. “It was all you and that girlfriend of yours in highschool.”

“Funny. I can’t recall. Must be the bullet wounds. They hurt,” she feigned her pain expertly.

“Sure sure,” Yelena laughed. “Would you like me to call the nurse?”

“God no, Wanda already has the whole team hovering so I don’t leave. Like I’m actually going to try to sneak out with my piss bag.”

“You are a noted flight risk.”

Natasha just flicked her sister off before a soft whimper came from the other girl in the room. They both looked at Mac as she slowly started to blink her eyes. She lifted her head up just an inch and noted both women staring at her, “take a picture it’ll last longer,” she said with a rasp to her voice.

“Who the hell does she think she is?” Natasha laughed.

The girl groaned clearly in a lot of pain, “where’s Kate?”

“Let me get your nurse. I think she needs more pain medication,” Yelena got up to walk towards the door.

“Is she dead?”

“Nyet kid,” Yelena took her phone and texted Sonya to get the girl meds. She grabbed the pitcher and poured Mac a little bit of water. She helped guide the straw to Mac’s lips and instructed, “just small sips until your doctor comes to see you. Kate’s going to be okay. Broken arm in two places, a bunch of stitches and a likely concussion. She’s probably sleeping right now.”

Mac sipped the water a few times before letting her head hit the pillow, “she was so cool at the warehouse. It’s like she wasn’t afraid of anything. I couldn’t leave without her.”

Natasha chuckled, “wow Lena. Looks like your girlfriend has a fan girl.”

Sonya had already entered the room, “a fangirl hmm? Kate Bishop is pretty popular around here.”

“Just shut up and give the girl her medicine,” Yelena rolled her eyes.

“Oh my gosh. You are Kate’s girlfriend? She talked about you a lot.”

Natasha snorted out a laugh, “that’s not saying much. Kate always talks a lot.”

“Dr. Belova over there isn’t anyone special,” Sonya winked at her as she was pushing the plunger of the medication into Mac’s IV. “I’m the one who saved your life.”

“Doctors,” Natasha laughed, “aren’t they the worst?”

“I almost died?”

Sonya looked between the two sisters before looking back at her patient, “you were in very capable hands.” She went on to explain where the bullets had entered her and the recovery process during the surgery. She told Mac that she wouldn’t be walking for awhile, “the Chief said she would be in to explain everything in more details.”

“So are you going to patch me up and send me back home? I’ll just run away again.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that right now kid,” Natasha already knew what had happened to the girl's parents. “We have a long time here to recover together. It’s probably best to focus on that.”

“There’s something you aren’t telling me.”

Yelena didn’t want to lie to the girl but she knew how delicate the entirety of the situation was, “Natasha is right. The main focus is getting better. Would you like for me to go see if Kate is awake so she can come up and visit?”

“Do not be surprised if this medicine knocks you out for a while,” Sonya was checking the fluid levels in her iv bags. “But visitors are welcome. Give us like twenty minutes though so the Chief can come down, okay?”

“Bring Kate soon,” Mac already had her eyes closed. “I want to say thank you.”

Yelena left the three of them in the room to go check on her girlfriend. She had only been gone a little over an hour and she felt bad that she had left the room so quickly but she didn’t think Kate would remember any of it. She was greeted with a cheerful, “oh good. I was hoping it would be you.”

The nurse gave her a look before chuckling and leaving the room, “I wasn’t even gone that long.” She fully entered the room, taking in all of the McDonald’s delivery bags surrounding Kate on her bed and the counter.

“I was hungry and the nurse gave me my phone. I didn’t know when you’d be back or what I wanted so I ordered everything.”

“I was checking in on Mac. I did not mean to be gone so long,” she tried to hide her endearment at the sight of Kate trying to put a straw in her cup with her cast on. “Let me get that for you,” she helped with her straw then asked her what she wanted to eat.

“There’s enough for you. And Sonya. And your sister and Wanda,” Kate was back to normal with her 100 mile a minute rambling.

“Are you in any pain?”

Kate shook her head no, “the nurse brought me some pills and then I was just really hungry.” She looked down at her arm, “can’t feel anything in there. Guess I can’t saw this one off.”

“Do not even think about it,” Yelena was still looking through all the bags of food that Kate had ordered. “I have this one?” She pulled out a Big Mac.

“Of course. Have as much as you want,” Kate was already six chicken nuggets deep into her own feast. “Did I say anything dumb coming out of anesthesia? I've seen so many embarrassing tiktoks of people’s stupid confessions when they are high.”

Yelena schooled her face not giving anything away, “nothing out of the ordinary.”

The brunette looked almost upset, “damn. I thought I’d go viral. So has the police been by yet for me?”

“Fury said he offered you jobs on the police force before?”

Kate shrugged, stuffing another nugget into her mouth, “I never really considered it until now. I mean they are just going to keep coming after me and my mom’s money until either they get what they want or they are behind bars. I can only kill so many of them at a time.”

“I heard you were very impressive during the fight. I have no doubt of this. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to protect you.”

Kate waved her off before starting in on some fries, “there was nothing you could’ve done. These men are relentless and won’t stop. Maybe it’s time to play nice with the police. So,” she took a drink of her Coke Zero. “How is Mac?”

Yelena told Kate about the injuries that the girl sustained and the extensive recovery process for her shattered leg. “It’s going to be a hard couple of months for the girl.”

“There’s something you aren’t telling me.”

“Even if Mac wanted to go home which she made clear that she doesn’t,” Yelena hated this part of it. “Her parents were murdered shortly after Mac was taken. I am assuming the same guys went back to clean up and make sure nobody would go looking for her.”

“Fucking assholes,” her mouth was full of fries and Yelena couldn’t help her smile. “What?”

“It is very cute but not so intimidating when you talk with your mouth full of food.”

“Sorry,” Kate swallowed the food in her mouth and took a drink. “I’m so hungry.”

“That happens when you are high,” Yelena laughed. Watching her girlfriend stew over how she was going to destroy these men with the help of the police of course just fueled Yelena’s feelings for her even more. Still, she didn’t think over bags of greasy delivery was the best time to announce her love especially when the brunette had no recollection of already sharing her feelings. “I missed you,” was what she settled on.

Kate’s eyes lit up, “I missed you too. I have your Christmas present at home.”

“You are so funny, Kate Bishop. You were kidnapped and all you care about is my Christmas present?”

“No,” Kate joined in on the laugh. “It just sucks we missed our first real holiday together. If I have things my way, Fisk will be behind bars before Valentine’s Day so I can show you how much you mean to me.”

There were those damn butterflies again that had been persistently flying around Yelena’s stomach since the thought of love entered her head. She cleared her throat, “then we better start working with the police.”

Kate asked for a burger after she finished off her first twenty nuggets. “So what happens to Mac now? If she gets placed in a home, she’ll probably just run away again.”

“Mac has a lot of recovering to do. She’s in Nat’s room now and I think Wanda has worked it out that she can stay here in the hospital with them for as long as her recovery is that way there’s no need to think about any of that until she’s healed.”

“I said the cost is on me.”

Yelena smirked, “and I said Wanda would never accept your money.”

Kate shrugged, “looks like I’ll just have to make a rather large anonymous donation to the hospital then.”

“You are a very stubborn woman, Kate Bishop.”

*two weeks later*

“Come on Yelena,” Kate had been frustrated to say the very least. “Why won’t you have sex with me?”

Yelena turned around from the stove, “it is pretty obvious.”

“Pretend I’m dumb and spell it out for me because believe me when I say,” she pointed to herself with the hand that wasn’t attached to the cast. “I’m ready to go.”

“Do that again but with your right hand.” She heard the frustration pouring out of her girlfriend and she really did sympathize with her but Kate had a lot of healing to do. “The broken arm isn’t enough Kate? You also had a pretty severe concussion. Or do you forget the three days you spent in the hospital?”

“I remember a lot of pain medication and delivery. Did I eat a lot?”

Yelena laughed, “that is an understatement.”

“Okay but what if I get so horny that I die?” She rolled her eyes when she saw the blonde start laughing all over again. “It could happen. It really isn’t fair. I saved all those lives and I’m going to die from lack of orgasm.”

“You won’t die from not getting laid. Trust me. I would know this. I’m not risking your recovery for a quick fuck, Kate.”

“Okay,” Kate was still trying, “what about a nice slow and tender fuck?”

Yelena couldn’t help the laughter that erupted, “you are so funny. Hysterical really. Slow and tender fuck? That sounds like some sort of way to cook poultry. Give it another week or two most likely and we can revisit this conversation.”

“That’ll be over a month from our last time. I will definitely die.”

“Kate,” Yelena slid a fresh baked brownie across the island to her on a napkin.

“This is bribery. I don’t usually take bribes but besides withholding sex, I haven’t been able to have anything but healthy food since coming home.”

“I do not do these things to punish you. As your doctor, it’s important to me that you heal the right way. I just want to give your body enough time to recover before I take care of you,” she turned back to the multiple pans she had going on at the same time plus whatever was cooking in the oven.

“Why are we cooking so much food?”

“We?” Yelena threw a smirk over her shoulder. “I did not realize you actually helped at all.”

“Helped. Complaining about lack of orgasms. Same thing now what’s with the buffet you are cooking?”

“Natasha is coming home today. Honestly I can’t believe Wanda kept her in the hospital so long.”

Kate tried to hide her frown, “when do you go back to work?”

“After we meet with Fury and get a plan in motion. You’ll still have me around the house for a little longer. Do not start missing me yet, little hawk.”

“We are going to the precinct tomorrow, right? I’m nervous even though I technically didn’t really do much wrong. It was all self-defense. I think I’m just scared that the police will fail again.”

“Ahh,” Yelena nodded. “But there’s something they have this time that they didn’t have last time.”

“Me?”

Yelena pulled a pan of salmon out of the oven, “I was going to say me but I guess you are correct.” There was a knock at the door, “can you get that?”

Kate was still grumbling about being horny but she did as she was asked and half expected to see Natasha but was caught off guard with a delivery guy, “umm I think you might have the wrong house. Babe? Did I order from IKEA again in my sleep?”

“Oh good,” Yelena appeared next to Kate, wiping her hands on her apron causing Kate’s horny to sky rocket. “You are all good to set that up in the office. Door next to the big bedroom down that way,” she pointed to the side of the apartment that held Natasha and Wanda’s room.

“What the hell do we need that for? Are you punishing me even more by making me sleep on the opposite side of the house? I promise not to try to hump you in my sleep but I can’t be held accountable for what my unconscious body tries to do.”

“It’s not for you dumbass,” Natasha pushed through the front door. “What no welcome home hug?”

“Nat!!” Kate immediately threw her good arm around her friend’s neck, squeezing as tight as she could.

“Easy, kid,” Natasha laughed. “If you suffocate me I’ll have to go back to the hospital.”

“Come in,” Kate was so happy to see her up and walking around. “I can’t believe you finally got to bust out of there.”

Natasha shrugged, following her into the kitchen, “I had to wait until I could pee on my own.” She heard Yelena laughing, “if only my baby sister had been so kind to provide me with the piss bag changing service. I swear it’s as if she doesn’t love me at all.”

“I love you in the adopted sense not the biological sense. Piss bag changing is for biological sisters,” she did kiss Natasha on the forehead when she sat at the island next to Kate.

“Okay then who is the bed for?”

“Oh that?” Natasha had a weird smile on her face. “Seems I picked up a stray while I was at the hospital and Wanda said I could keep it.”

“It?” Kate was confused.

“I really wish you would stop saying that. People are getting the wrong idea,” Wanda’s calm voice was heard coming into the apartment closing the door. “They advertised this apartment as wheelchair friendly but I beg to differ,” she complained as she was backing a wheelchair into the kitchen area. “Here we are.”

“My stray,” Natasha chuckled as Wanda spun the chair around revealing a very happy looking Mac.

“This is your stray?” Kate had the biggest smile on her face.

Mac shrugged, “I guess I live here now.”

Chapter Text

“Do we really have to do this?” Kate was not happy to be standing outside the police precinct even if she was standing there with her girlfriend.

“They offered to come to the apartment.”

Kate shook her head, “no. I don’t want them tainting our special place with their rules and regulations.”

The blonde laughed, “spoken like a true vigilante. They are not so bad. Fury and Darcy seemed like almost normal people though they are friends with Natasha so that is still questionable. The sooner we go in there and talk to them, they soon we can get back to our lives prior to all of this bullshit.”

“This has been my life for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what there is to go back to,” Kate felt Yelena’s eyes boring into her temple. “I don’t know what I am or what I’m supposed to be if this all goes away.”

“Well that’s easy,” Yelena turned her girlfriend to face her. “You are Kate Bishop. The strongest, most loving, stubborn person I’ve ever met. I have no doubt that you will find exactly what you want to do. Whatever you choose, I’ll be right here beside you the whole time.”

Kate sighed, “you can’t say things like that to me and expect me not to want to jump your bones.”

Yelena caressed her cheek before bringing their lips together on a gentle kiss, “soon.”

“Soon like when we get home.”

A deep chuckle had Kate shivering on the spot, “not that soon, little hawk.”

“It’s the return of Kate Patience Bishop,” she pouted. “If I die from lack of orgasms make sure that’s in my obituary.”

Yelena nodded and pulled away, still holding onto her hand, “I will certainly honor that request but I think you will be fine.”

“Fury wants me to be a cop. Do you think I could do it?”

“I think you would make a very sexy detective one day,” Yelena laughed when she heard her girlfriend groan. “Teasing aside. I think you would make a fine member of the force. You’ve been doing it for years. You just haven’t been getting paid for it.”

“I don’t really like to play by the rules.”

“I’ve noticed. But I think you’d have a lot of leeway with these cops. You don’t have to decide anything anytime soon plus you are casted for awhile still so no active duty for you, I’m afraid.”

Kate scowled, “you are benching me from my own fight?”

Yelena shrugged, “doctor’s orders.”

“With the potential for early tender fucking if I’m on my best behavior for awhile?”

Another deep chuckle led their way as she pulled Kate through the precinct doors, “whatever helps you sleep at night, Kate Bishop.”

They walked towards the front desk. Kate didn’t actually expect to see a secretary at a police station but she truly did learn something new everyday, “hi. We are here.”

The woman looked up unamused, “and who are we?”

“Oh,” Kate had just assumed they knew. “We are here to see Fury. I’m Kate Bishop. This is Dr. Belova. He should be expecting us.”

“I’m just fucking with you,” the woman laughed. “Fury’s been waiting for you. Let me take you back to his office.” Kate gave her girlfriend a look before shrugging and following the secretary, “we’ve been hearing a lot about the famous Kate Bishop for years. It’s nice to finally put a face to a name.”

Yelena saw a little smirk on her, “so they do know you,” she whispered.

“Right? It’s like I’m a celebrity or something.”

The secretary looked over he shoulder and winked before opening the door to Fury's office, “or something. Have a seat ladies. I’ll let Fury know you’ve arrived.”

“This feels less like celebrity status,” Kate grumbled when they were shut in the room like a couple of flight risks.

Yelena chuckled, “I wonder if that rather impressively large file on his desk is on you.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to look?” Kate walked over to the desk but as soon as she put her hand on the file she was interrupted.

“Please keep your hands to yourself, Ms. Bishop,” Fury entered the room. “Dr. Belova. Good to see you.”

“What? It’s not good to see me?”

Yelena now realized that the two of them had built up a friendly rapport of some sort over the years of his pursuit of her, “this ought to be good,” she chuckled and sat back crossing her arms over her chest.

Fury gave Yelena a look, “I take back whatever nice things I’ve said about you. You are exactly like your sister.”

“That’s a compliment,” Darcy followed him in the room. “Nat is great.”

“Even my number one detective isn’t on my side,” he shook his head, taking his seat behind his desk. “How are you feeling?”

Kate shrugged, looking down at her cast, “could be worse.”

“Glowing review as you are a doctor,” he smirked.

“She’s just salty that I won’t let her take it off early.”

Kate grumbled, “she even made me give up my tiny saw. It’s like she doesn’t trust me at all.”

“Precautions,” Yelena shrugged. “I don’t want to just have to recast it before I need to.”

This implied a step in the process that Kate was unaware of but before she could ask, Fury spoke, “sounds like a great time at home. I want to thank you both for coming in today though we could’ve come to you.”

Darcy rolled her eyes, “yeah we could’ve scratched Mackenzie off the list at the same time.”

“If you call her that to her face, she’ll slit your throat,” Kate was still feeling overprotective of the girl but laughed all the same when she saw the smile on Darcy’s face.

“She is very precocious, isn’t she?”

Yelena chuckled, “that’s just a nice way of saying stubborn or pain in the ass. People said that about Natasha all throughout school.”

“I like you. You call out the bullshit,” Fury pointed to Yelena. “And we’ve already talked to Mac extensively at the hospital. Your sister unfortunately was there for the interrogation but surprisingly I think Natasha helped calm the girl. She provided us with a lot of good information and descriptions of dozens of men including a handful that weren’t in the explosions. This will help us tremendously.”

“In fact we already have like four or five locations pinpointed where they could be keeping other girls and we’ve located Fisk.” Darcy had a big smile on her face until she saw the look on Fury’s face, “was that a secret?”

“Well what was our game plan?”

Darcy bit her bottom lip, “find out what Kate knows before we say what we know.”

“And what did you do?”

“I immediately told Kate everything we know because she and her girlfriend are adorable and sometimes I can’t help myself?”

Her sentence turning up into a question mark made Yelena chuckle, “I like her.”

“Most people do,” Fury didn’t seem amused. He turned to Kate, “so you know everything we have.” He opened a file and turned it towards them. It had all their intel on the trafficking, Fisk and other people in the ring. There was also a list of known missing girls and suspected runaways. “Anything you can confirm or add would be greatly appreciated.”

Kate sifted through the papers before looking at Yelena who just shrugged, “are you promising that he’s going to end up in prison this time?”

“Either that or dead. I can’t promise which one but I assumed you’d be happy with either outcome.”

Kate hid her surprise, “there are worse possible outcomes. If it is the second, can I be the one to pull the trigger?”

Fury smirked, “does that mean you finally accept my offer to join the force?”

“I already told her she can’t be involved in the actual combat and retrieval unless it’s after her arm has healed.”

“Someone drives a tight ship,” Darcy mumbled from behind Kate.

“You’re telling me,” she sighed before turning back to Fury, “and no I haven’t made a decision but I wouldn’t say that I’ve ruled it out anymore.”

“A small step in the right direction.”

Kate knew this needed to end. No more girls should have to go through this. “Okay. I’ll help in anyway that she’ll allow,” she pointed over to Yelena essentially placing the ball in her court.

Three pairs of eyes stared at Yelena causing an uncomfortable feeling to wash over her, “fine but I’m making no promises. She’ll need more x-rays to see how much she has healed then probably a short cast, maybe two weeks best case scenario.” She turned towards Kate, “your arm was pretty fucked up. Professionally speaking. We let it heal in there for two more weeks then we do the reassessment.”

“Seems reasonable. Two weeks for ground work. Stake outs. Footwork. Questioning. Research. You know,” Darcy laughed, “all the non fun stuff.”

“We can work with that,” Fury seemed pleased. “Oh and your sister said she’s down for whatever we need her for.”

“Ha! Good luck getting that approved by Wanda. She’s even more strict than I am.”

*2 weeks later*

Yelena found herself unable to sleep. Not only had the ortho given the “all clear” to remove the cast but she agreed that Kate was well enough to put it in a brace for the rest of the healing. That was bad news as far as Yelena was concerned. She had really hoped her arm would still be bad enough that the police would have to move forward with the brunette. She wasn’t worried about Kate not being able to handle herself. Clearly the girl had skills. She was just terrified of something happening to her. Maybe she should have just let Kate fuck the sense out of her. At least then she would’ve gotten a decent night’s sleep. She sighed and carefully peeled Kate’s arms from around her waist and snuck out of their bed. She shook her head at the thought. When did she start considering it their bed? Maybe a quick workout would help settle her down.

Yelena made her way to the closet and quickly changed into a pair of biker shorts and her sport bra. She tossed a hoodie on overtop for the walk down to the gym before throwing her hair up in a messy bun. She made her way out of the room, silently closing the door behind her, making her way to the kitchen to mix some pre-workout.

“What are you doing up?”

“Natasha? I could be asking you the same thing. I’m going to work out,” she pointed to the pre-workout mix she had grabbed from the cupboard.

“I’m getting ready to head back to bed. Just needed some water,” she pointed to the fridge before grabbing herself a cold bottle of water. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Nyet,” she sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about Kate and the police and my mind won’t shut up.”

“Kate’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. I’d imagine she’s even looking forward to putting all of this behind her,” instead of excusing herself, she sat down at the island content to continue the conversation.

Yelena wanted to mix her drink and head out the door but the look on her sister’s face told her they were far from over, “yes. I understand that.”

“You are afraid she’s going to haul off and get herself killed?”

Conceding to the fact that this conversation wasn’t going to end anytime soon, Yelena sat down next to her sister and shrugged, “I guess. It’s happened to me before.”

“That was an entirely different circumstance. Kate will be with the officers. They won’t let her do anything stupid now that they’ve got her where they want her. Kate knows that this is her best chance of everything being over. She’s told me as much.”

“You’ve been speaking with my girlfriend?”

Natasha couldn’t help her smile, “don’t get all territorial on me. She asked me if I was joining in and then she told me she was worried that you would be mad at her if she joined in.”

“She said that?”

“Yes because believe it or not for some reason that girl loves you and cares about your feelings. If you don’t want her doing this all you have to do is tell her.”

Yelena only caught wind of one word in that sentence, “she’d told you she loves me?”

Natasha smirked, “from what Wanda tells me you already know the answer to that question.”

“Of course she didn’t keep her mouth shut,” Yelena rolled her eyes. “Kate was high. That does not count.”

“Why haven’t you told Kate? Don’t give me that look. We all know you love her. Well everyone except Kate. She’s fucking clueless but I didn’t really expect anything else from her.”

“I’m not saying it to you before I say it to her.”

Natasha shook her head, “so stubborn. Whether you say it or not it doesn’t mean it’s not true. All I’m trying to say is maybe before she goes off with Fury and Darcy, you might want to tell her. You of all people know how life can change in an instant.”

“I know. I know. I was just waiting for the perfect moment. And that’s stupid because there is no perfect moments in life.”

“You could’ve written it on her cast. That would’ve been cute but she’s getting that off in the morning.”

Yelena rolled her eyes, “you are such a jackass. Do you want to join me down in the gym?”

“Are you kidding? I got a hot girlfriend who needs a good snuggle. I’m exhausted.”

“I get why I’m out here at 3am but what are you doing up?”

Natasha just sighed, “I was with the kid.”

“Is she having trouble sleeping?”

“Something like that. Have you noticed how tired she is in the morning?” Yelena gave a noncommittal grunt while shaking up her drink. “She says she’s going to bed but she goes into that office and plays for a few hours on my iPad. I have it down to a science. About three hours after she goes into her room, she starts having night terrors. I just go in there to help her through them then I sneak back into my room and go to bed.”

“How do you know it’s night terrors?”

Natasha just shrugged, “remember when you were discharged back to the farm? You always went to bed and mom and pop, they didn’t think anything of it but I knew. I knew it took you time to fall asleep. So I’d wait. Eventually you would pass out but it didn’t last long. I would slip into your room and just hold you when you’d start coming to. Talking to Emily. Begging for it to stop. I would just hold you until your body relaxed and then I knew you were out for the night. I researched night terrors and figured that’s what it was because you never mentioned anything to me. It’s like you didn’t know it was happening.”

Yelena just stared at her sister, “you did that for me?”

“I couldn’t leave you. I was scheduled to move out here way sooner than I did but I couldn’t leave when you were hurting like that even if you didn’t know. Then you started school and one night, they just stopped. I knew it was time for me to move on with my life. I guess it seemed like you didn’t need me anymore.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Another shrug, “you would’ve been embarrassed if you found out your big sister held you throughout the night. We are very prideful people.”

“I suppose that’s true. So you’ll never tell Mac?”

Natasha shook her head, “not unless she brings it up. If me being in there brings her even the smallest amount of comfort then that’s something easy I can do for her. She acts like a tough little shit but she’s fragile and I suppose I care for her.”

“Anybody with ears can see that,” she saw the smile on her sister's face. “Got that wrong. It is very early. So what’s going to happen with Mac? I’m assuming the foster system is out of the question. She’s a flight risk from what I’ve heard.”

“She has no living relatives and she’s said multiple times that even if she did, she would run away if she had to go back with them. Mac definitely is going to need counseling to work through everything but I think Wanda and I are open to her becoming part of the family. She likes it here and we like having her. Any disagreements? You live here, too. We would never make that big of a commitment without speaking with you first.”

Yelena took a drink, feeling the caffeine enter her system, “as much as I appreciate the forethought, I’ve been thinking maybe me and Kate should move out. It is getting a little crowded around here and it’s not like I even planned on staying forever.”

“You’ve only been here five months. I’d hardly say you’ve worn out your welcome. There’s plenty of room.”

“I did not say we are leaving tomorrow. I just think Mac would appreciate an actual bedroom if she’s staying for the long haul and Kate and I will need our privacy.”

Natasha chuckled, “she is getting her cast off and from what I recall, she’s a screamer.”

Yelena smacked her shoulder, “cyka. I don’t know why I put up with you.”

“You love me,” Natasha laughed as Yelena just shook her head and left the apartment without another word.

The workout was exactly what Yelena needed. She was thoroughly exhausted by the time she crawled back into the bed two hours later. Sure it was nearing 6 in the morning but sleep was precious and Yelena knew Kate would sleep the day away. Or at least she thought so until her over excited Golden Retriever girlfriend was standing over her calling her name repeatedly. Yelena groaned and pulled the covers over her head, “come on Lena. You have to wake up. You stink and my appointment is in like an hour.”

Yelena peeked out of her blankets, “I do not stink. You take that back.”

“Sorry babe but you do in fact stink. We might have to burn those sheets. The laundry might not even save them.”

A grumble, “I do not stink.” She sniffed, “okay I maybe stink a little but the sheets are salvageable. Why are you up?”

Kate pointed to her cast, “today’s the day! Why aren’t you up?”

The blonde rolled over onto her back, “I could not sleep so I went to the gym. I was too tired to shower after. What time is it?” She grabbed her phone and saw it was just past 9. Three hours is still more than what she usually gets when she’s on call, “okay. I’m up. Let me get a shower real quick then I’ll be ready to go.”

Kate climbed on the bed and straddled Yelena’s hips after she threw the blanket off of herself, “hey,” she bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Are you okay? Couldn’t sleep?” Yelena was very aware of how Kate was sitting on top of her and she had to reel herself in because believe it or not she was also very horny. The cast wasn’t just a punishment of Kate’s. When her hands instinctively gripped Kate’s hips, the brunette smiled, “I could’ve helped you out with that.”

Yelena tried to clear the sleep from her throat, “I thought you said I was stinky.”

Kate kissed the hinge of Yelena’s jaw before whispering in her ear, “very stinky but you are also so irresistible when you are sleepy.” She tucked her cast between their bodies so she could adjust her hips slightly, grinding down onto her girlfriend, “we have some time.”

Yelena’s sleep filled chuckle made Kate bite her bottom lip. The blonde reached up, brushed her thumb against her lip, releasing it from its trap, “when i finally get a chance to fuck you the way I’ve been dreaming about it’s going to take far longer than an hour.” She saw Kate’s pupils dilate at the thought, “and it should not be the night before your big police debut because I promise you won’t be able to walk right for a couple of days.”

Kate let out a little sigh next to Yelena’s ear which caused an involuntary shiver to rip through her body, “I can still fuck you though, right?” She sat up just enough to look into her girlfriend’s forest eyes. “You know I’ve been dying to strap you. I can do that with a heeling arm. I’m very skilled.”

“Kate Bishop,” it came out more strangled than she had intended. The thought of being pounded into the mattress seemed very appealing right now.

Kate could see the wheels turning in Yelena’s mind. “Come on baby,” she could see the resolve cracking, “I could make you feel real good.”

As the words, “yeah okay,” started to tumble from Yelena’s lips there was a loud knock at the door, “fuck me.”

Kate laughed when Yelena’s head hit off the pillow, “that’s what I was trying to do.” She turned towards the door, “just a minute.” She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Yelena’s forehead, “you really do need a shower.”

Another loud knock, “we are leaving in 30 minutes. Mac has an appointment at the hospital too. If we are late, Wanda will withhold sex again. Be in the truck or find your own ride.”

“I really hate her,” Yelena rolled her eyes and sat up, the horniness failing to dissipate.

“No you don’t!” Natasha called through the door as Kate whipped it open. “She really doesn’t.”

“She’s just a little frustrated,” Kate shrugged. “Honestly, same.”

“Oh my gods,” Yelena got up, walking to the bathroom and slamming the door.

Kate let out a little laugh, “and embarrassed apparently.”

“She’s fun to tease,” Natasha smirked. “Though from the look on her face, I’m sure you were doing a different kind of teasing.”

“I almost had her in my trap. Maybe later,” she looked down at her cast again. “This thing will be off and I was hoping to take her out tonight on a date. Didn’t want to wait until after tomorrow. Who knows what could happen? Plus, she’s going back to work in a couple of days and she has to be on call.”

“Did she say anything to you this morning?”

Kate shook her head, “no I woke her up and just kind of jumped her. Why did she say something to you?”

“Nope,” Natasha knew they were both in the same place emotionally. “I think a date would be a good idea. Maybe a hotel room somewhere far, far away from here.”

“We aren’t that loud,” Kate tried not to laugh knowing that was a bold faced lie. “Okay maybe we are.”

“Plus there’s a kid in the house. She doesn’t need to hear what the two of you sound like when you are cumming.”

“That’s just wrong,” Kate shook her head.

Speaking of Mac, she could be heard calling for Natasha from the other side of the apartment, “20 minutes and I’m leaving with or without the two of you.”

“Yeah okay, we will be ready,” Kate called after her before sitting down at the desk and starting up Yelena’s computer. She quickly browsed a few hotels before finding one with a perfect view, “tonight. Yes. It’s perfect. I’ll tell her how I feel tonight.”

Yelena had been having a similar conversation with herself in the bathroom after a quick shower, “all right Belova. You are not a pussy. You are going to tell that girl how you feel tonight or you are going to die trying.” She chuckled at her own dramatics before walking to the closet and moving all the cleaning products aside to unveil Kate’s past due hidden Christmas present. She always hid her gifts there for Natasha and just as she suspected, Kate also never bothered to clean the bathroom. “You know how you feel. Just tell her,” she held the wrapped gift in her hand. “You already know she loves you. At least she loves her wife when shes high as fuck,” she chuckled. Yelena quickly got dressed and made her way out of the bathroom seeing Kate scurrying around their bedroom throwing stuff into a bag, “what’s going on?”

“Date night,” Kate’s smile was contagious. “I packed a few things for you. I hope that’s okay.”

“More than okay,” she slipped the present into her coat pocket. “We better get going before Natasha leaves us.”

“She keeps talking about our very loud sex,” Kate zipped up the bag and threw it over her good shoulder, grabbing Yelena’s hand and pulling her towards the door.

Yelena quickly grabbed the backpack to carry it herself before lacing their fingers back together, “remind me to kill her tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

“Date night?” Yelena wouldn’t lie. The thought of spending alone time with Kate was in the forefront of her mind. “That sounds kind of nice.”

“Just kind of nice? Clearly I need to wine and dine you more, Dr. Belova if your first response is only kind of nice.”

“Very nice,” she stopped before exiting the bedroom. “Are you dead set on getting that thing removed today?”

Kate knew Yelena was worried about her. Not just about the cast coming off and how her arm was healing but everything that was going to happen tomorrow night. “Lena, if you don’t want me to go through with this just say the word and I’ll tell Fury.”

“No,” Yelena shook her head, “you misunderstand. I have come to terms with the fact that you behaving dangerously is just a part of the full Kate Bishop package. I was going to say that if you are going to get that off and a brace put on then you go to the hospital with Nat and Mac and I’ll follow on the bike. You’ll be able to ride with the brace on.”

“Date night and a ride around town?”

Yelena could see her girlfriend’s eyes lighting up, “go on. I know you packed for me but I want to grab a few things. Anywhere special I should bring clothes for?”

“Anything you wear is perfect, babe,” she was going to lean in for a kiss when she heard the front door hit off the wall.

“We are leaving. Get your asses out here or walk!”

“She is such a pain in my ass,” Yelena mumbled. “Go before she actually leaves you.”

Kate smirked, reaching her good hand down to smack Yelena’s butt, “and a fine ass it is at that.”

“I did not need to see that,” Natasha had come back to their room with Mac who was just laughing from her wheelchair. “Kate Bishop, I thought we talked about the appropriateness of your behaviors around the child.”

“You were leaving out the front door. How did you get here so quickly?”

Natasha shrugged, “superpower. Now let’s go.”

“I’m following behind on my bike.”

The redhead gave her sister a suspicious look, “fine. Come on Kate. Let my sister have her creepy alone time.” She sidestepped to let Kate out of the room, “you push Mac.”

“Don’t make it a challenge Natasha. I will 100% do it and risk another fracture in this stupid cast and your sister will kill us both.”

“Guys,” Mac spoke up, “if someone doesn’t drive us to the hospital we will both miss our appointments.”

“Listen to the child,” Yelena yelled from inside of her closet. “She has more brains than the two of you combined.”

“Fine. I’ll push her. You drive,” she smirked when she heard Yelena start to yell at her in Russian.

“Aww,” Mac seemed almost disappointed, “I like when the small mean one comes with us. She looks adorable when she speaks Russian.”

“Adorable, hot,” Kate laughed, “who is to say?”

“Get your ass out of my apartment Kate Bishop,” Natasha laughed. “Stop corrupting the stray.”

Yelena finally let out a relaxed breath when she heard the noise cease and the front door shut. Valentine’s was only a few days off but now seemed like as good a time as any to tell Kate everything and maybe talk about the future pending the outcome of the police bust the following night. She noticed Kate had taken the backpack with her when she left with the girls so there really was no way to see what she had packed for her but the ass grab made Yelena think the clothing was limited. Kate couldn’t be taking her anywhere too fancy. There’s no way she shoved a suit into that backpack. “This will be fine,” she grabbed an outfit out of her closet and a pair of heels. She threw some makeup and perfume into her bag and grabbed a handful of jewelry. “Can never pack enough accessories,” she made sure Kate’s gift was in the bag along with a smaller box that was meant for Valentine’s Day. She wasn’t taking any chances. Yelena also pushed a few weapons into the bottom of her pack. If her girlfriend was insistent on helping then she was going to be right by her side. Lastly, she went over to her underwear drawer and picked out a piece of lingerie that she thought Kate would enjoy. “Weapons, presents and lingerie. What happened to your life, Belova?” She chuckled, threw her back over her shoulders, grabbed her helmet and her keys, “she’s worth it.”
*
“How do you expect me to walk again if you won’t take this damn thing off?!”

Wanda looked over at her girlfriend, “she’s been spending too much time with you, Natalia.”

Natasha just laughed, “that sounds like the Bishop influence if you ask me.”

“Couldn’t be me,” Kate was sitting on the second hospital bed currently getting her arm cast sawed off by her girlfriend. “I have so much patience with medical professionals and always wait the prescribed time with their prescribed care routine.”

Yelena stopped the saw to look up at the brunette, “maybe you did hit your head harder than you thought.”

“She’s delusional,” Natasha reached for Kate’s chart, “we need to write this down.”

“Oh stop,” Wanda grabbed the chart, “it’s the thought that counts, dear.” She turned back to Mac, “sweetheart, you knew that after the ortho took additional X-rays that you might have to be recasted. Four more weeks then they will transition you to a brace.”

“But it’s already been over a month,” she looked down at her sad leg. It was clear to see the wounds and where the surgery happened. Her gallbladder incisions healed a few weeks ago. The leg though had to be completely rebuilt. Mac was glad they were able to save it. She wasn’t sure if the grown ups knew but she heard they were talking about having to amputate it. She guessed that she should just be thankful to still have it. “Fine. I want green and black this time.”

“We can do that,” Wanda walked over to the supply cupboard to gather the supplies for the ortho.

“Be lucky they didn’t have to reset it,” Yelena said while sawing. “That hurts like a bitch.”

“Natalia,” Wanda gave her a look.

“What? I didn’t do anything this time. Yelena is the one cursing in front of the kid.”

“I only said bitch plus the kid said damn earlier so do not blame us for this. She was already corrupt when she arrived.”

“Yelena has a point,” Mac had to get her two cents in. “But I wouldn’t say corrupt. Maybe a little dented or damaged.”

“See, my love,” Natasha smirked at her girlfriend. “You are in a room full of damaged goods.”

“Just a little group of thrift store finds,” Yelena chuckled removing the two pieces of Kate’s cast.

“Hey,” Kate pretended to be offended. “I’m at least from the fancy thrift store.”

Natasha laughed again, “sure you are, Katie. Just keep telling yourself that.”

“And you really want to stay with us?”

Mac just gave her the biggest smile, “more than anything.”
*
“Okay but tell me the truth,” Kate was following Yelena to the parking garage where she had left her bike. After they had said goodbye to Natasha and Mac, they split from the group to begin their much needed day alone.

“Okay, what is it?”

Kate used her long legs to walk faster in front of the blonde to stop her in her tracks. When she got in front of her girlfriend she registered the tired response from her, “hey if you are too tired to go out we can just go back to your place and take a nap.”

Yelena did not like the way she referred to it as her place when she had been calling it home previously, “I am fine. I am not too tired to spend the evening with you. Now what am I telling you the truth about?”

A little mischievous grin appeared, “does this brace make me look half human half robot?”

“You are an idiot, Kate Bishop. Adorable but an idiot.” She opened the cargo and pulled out the other helmet, “put this on. We can’t risk any more hospital trips.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “I need help. My arm won’t bend fully with this thing on.”

Yelena chuckled, “sure.” She reached up, putting the helmet onto her girlfriend, buckling it under her chin. “Safe and sound.” She put her own helmet on and climbed on the bike, waiting to feel Kate slip on behind her. “Where to?”

“480 Park Avenue.”

Yelena was unfamiliar with the location but started the bike and took off slowly at first to give Kate a chance to relearn her grip with the brace, “hold on tight, little hawk.”
*
Kate leaned against her girlfriend for a few moments after Yelena found a parking space in the designated garage. Yelena did not question the location or push Kate to dismount. What was waiting for them inside this building seemed to be important, “take your time, Kate.”

The brunette didn’t know it was possible to fall more in love with her girlfriend but the small gestures had her heart skipping a couple of beats. She held on a little longer before relenting, “okay. Let’s go.” She dismounted the bike, keeping her helmet and reaching for Yelena’s hand as soon as she had both feet on the ground. She squeezed it tighter than she thought but the doctor didn’t budge. “This way,” Kate led her through the garage entrance that led to the lobby.

“Hello Ms. Bishop. I haven’t seen you around here in a long time. It’s good to see you.”

The guy had been standing outside the elevators waiting for her and Yelena to enter, “I’ve missed you too Johnny and can you really blame me?”

“I suppose I can not. To the penthouse?” He swiped his keycard to access the special floor.

“Yes,” Kate squeezed Yelena's hand, noticing that she had been quiet during the exchange. The elevator made its ascent to the top floor of the skyscraper and opened inside of the apartment. “Thanks Johnny. We can find our own way down.”

“Anytime, Ms. Bishop,” the doors to the elevator closed as Kate hurriedly pulled Yelena through the over the top New York City penthouse.

The house was bigger than any living space Yelena had ever seen before, “you live here?” She left her helmet and backpack on a table near the door.

“No. My mother lived here. I live in the charbroiled loft,” she immediately hated the icy response.

“Ahh noted,” Yelena could sense a shift in Kate’s attitude as soon as they left the hospital. She didn’t want to push her girlfriend but she knew the brunette wanted to talk about it or she wouldn’t have brought her here. “So this is your childhood home then?” She walked past the baby grand piano, letting her finger run down a few keys.

“No. This is the home my mother bought after my father died.” Kate didn’t want to give the short replies. She had no reason to be grumpy about this, especially with Yelena. She had made peace with some of this a long time ago. Okay, maybe Kate had been lying to herself about that part. Do you ever get over the loss of a parent especially when it was a murder instigated by your other parent?

“Little hawk?”

Kate snapped back to the present and found her girlfriend standing in front of her with a look of worry in her forest eyes, “I’m okay.”

“You know,” she reached out and tucked a strand of brunette hair behind Kate’s ear. “You do not always have to be okay with me. This is hard for you, no? For many reasons and I’m sure I only know the baseline. You do not need to share with me.” She grabbed her chin between her thumb and index finger, forcing the younger woman to look at her, “but I am here for all of this. I will take whatever burdens you need me to carry for you. It’s okay to share the load, little hawk.”

Kate whispered back, “I’m afraid to believe you.”

“Do you not believe?” Yelena’s mouth turned down in the most adorable frown Kate had ever seen. “I would never lie to you. Know this about me, Kate Bishop.”

“Everybody who has ever cared about me has turned out to either be a piece of shit or dies so my track record with people loving me is in short supply.”

Yelena didn’t miss that word that Kate slipped into the sentence most likely unconsciously, “thing about me, little hawk is I’m a survivor. I’m not going anywhere. This is something I can promise you.”

“Promise?”

Yelena held her pinky up between them, “promise.” Kate let her forehead rest against Yelena’s and wrapped her pinky around her girlfriend’s. The doctor’s frown finally turned up, “you’ve just entered an unwritten contract with me. I take my business deals as seriously as my pleasure deals. Now,” she pulled back slightly, twisting her fingers until they were holding hands. “Do I get a tour?”

And just like that, Kate suddenly felt a weight lifting off of her shoulders, “sure. But we have to grab a few things along the way.”

“Oh?”

Kate shrugged her good shoulder, “a few things the police could use that I know they didn’t find during the raid of this place.”

“I really like to see you playing well with others,” Yelena lifted their joint hands and kissed Kate’s.

“I’m only helping because i desperately want this to be over,” she pulled Yelena through the penthouse giving her a tour of all of the overly decorated rich people's rooms.

“Do I get to see your bedroom?” She asked when they stopped and entered one of the offices inside of the penthouse.

“That’s the last stop. I need to pick up something to wear to dinner tonight.”

“Hmm,” Yelena hummed, following her girlfriend further into the room. She watched as Kate went over to the bookshelf, pulling a book and the whole shelf seemed to dislodge. “I was about to ask why rich people need three offices but now I just want to know how I can get one of those super secret spy room bookcases.”

“Couldn’t tell you why mom needed three offices but the bookshelf was custom made sometime before I was taken. I can’t remember it sadly but I can get one of these put into your apartment if you want,” she smiled over her shoulder before pushing the shelf out of the way revealing a key panel on the wall next to a steel door. “I know a good security company.”

“Is that what your family did?” Yelena of course knew this but not from Kate. They had never really talked about Kate’s family outside of her father passing, her mother being in prison and the information about her schooling. Yelena never felt the urge to push her into sharing knowing that the brunette would tell her when she was ready.

“Bishop Securities. You can’t possibly tell me that Natasha didn’t google me,” Kate was laughing at Yelena’s guilty face. “When we first met, I’m surprised you didn’t know the last name then you said you weren’t from around here so it made sense. My dad started the business. It did well or so I’m assuming, I was only a child but we lived in a big place kind of like this and I never wanted for anything. Then, he died. Well he was murdered.” Before she had a chance to see any signs of pity on Yelena’s face, she turned, put in the code and walked inside the hidden room. She wasn’t sure she was followed until she heard faint footsteps. “I guess mom wasn’t satisfied with her share of the life insurance policy she got after having my father murdered.”

“Kate,” Yelena’s voice was soft.

“The rest of this is all speculation I put together from my own research and speaking with the police. I was 10. A child. There was no reason to believe my mother was doing anything wrong. We moved in here because she said our home was too painful after dad died. Turns out, she lost the house, gambled away the insurance and then got into dealings with Fisk. She built up Bishop Securities which until a year ago was under the heavy hand of Fisk and his people. When I started digging, I found a whole bunch of documents I turned over to the police. Mother was arrested, Fisk well the evidence was conveniently mishandled and he went free. So, I’m here,” she sat behind the smaller desk. “Looking for the rest of the evidence I didn’t give to the police that ties me to Fisk with the original kidnapping. It’s a signed document from my mother basically using me as collateral in case of an emergency. She sold me to them and they collected.” Kate found the file she was looking for and slid it over to Yelena. She watched the pity fall while anger rose, “this is why they still want me. She owes them millions. They will either get it through me or go for the company.”

“They can not get away with this,” she closed the file and slid it back to Kate. “Fury needs this, da? After the raid tomorrow, what more evidence could they possibly need?”

“Maybe this?” She pulled out more files. “It is full of emails and texts threatening my life and Bishop Security.”

“Is this your company now? No? Now that your mother is in prison most likely for the rest of her life. Is this what you do? Outside of school and your other activities?”

“I am CEO of Bishop Security in name only. I don’t actually go to work there with the day to day functions other than to attend boring ass board meetings, attend the galas and basically be the face of the company. The unfortunate guy who was dating my mother at the time of her arrest runs the company. He didn’t know about her involvement in the mob. He’s a wonderful business man. I trust him completely with running the company. He already restructured the office and after a full background on everybody, he was able to get Fisk’s people out of the network.”

“How have I never seen you going to work?”

Kate laughed, “I don’t go often and when I do I make sure it’s during your on call days. Though since I was being babysat, I had to join remotely because I couldn’t sneak past Natasha.”

“I missed you in a suit? This is some sort of hate crime, Kate Bishop. Can I ask why you didn’t tell me any of this sooner?”

Kate shrugged, “I guess I wasn’t ready then I was kidnapped and recovering. I wanted to live in our happy bubble for as long as possible before you had the chance to judge me for my family.”

“I would never judge you let alone do so for your family’s indiscretions. You are stronger than I think you realize, Kate. I also don’t pity you if that’s what you think. I am angry and I am sad that this happened but I promise you that you are safe with me.” She thought about it for a minute before adding, “except for when you were literally kidnapped on your way to have lunch with me.” A small yet comfortable silence washed over them before Yelena continued, “so when to said you could be my sugar mommy.”

“I 100% meant it. I am a shareholder in the company plus my CEO salary, my estate money, my father’s life insurance that was in my name and all of my trust funds. You wouldn’t have to work a day in your life if you didn’t want to.”

“I can only assume that you’ll be paying for this date?”

The smile she gave Kate was enough to confirm the love the brunette had felt for Yelena. “Yes, Doctor. This is all I need from here. I just want to go to my room to pick up something to wear,” she pushed back from the desk, grabbing the files. “Want to see where absolutely no magic happened?”

Yelena found herself smiling more than usual, “yes. I’d love to see your bedroom.”

Kate led her down the hall and up the stairs to the first closed door on the left, “go on.”

Yelena pushed the door open and was immediately greeted by the smell on her girlfriend’s shampoo. There were posters on the walls, trophies and medals as well as pictures of whom she guessed were friends from school. It looked like a perfectly well adjusted average teenager had lived in this room. “I thought it would be more purple,” she sat as she walked over to the bed and picked up a stuffed animal. “Very cute,” she turned giving Kate a grin.

“Don’t be rude,” she walked over, grabbing her toy. “This is Jeff the Landshark.”

“A landshark?”

Kate scoffed, “well I don’t see any oceans around here, do you?”

Yelena chuckled, “fair enough.” God, she was in love with that woman and she needed to tell Kate but as soon as she went to open her mouth the other woman handed her back the shark and disappeared into a walk-in closet the size of her bedroom in Ohio. “Where are you going?” She looked down at Jeff and smiled again. “She’s an idiot,” Yelena whispered to the stuffed animal, “but I love her so much.”

“Did you say something?” Kate appeared with a garment bag.

“Nope. Just getting to know Jeff. What’s in the bag?”

Kate rummaged through her drawer for a tie, socks and a change of underwear, “my clothes for later.”

“I’m almost guaranteed that whatever you have in that bag is way fancier than what I put in my backpack.”

“You could wear a garbage bag and still be the most beautiful woman in the room.”

Yelena felt the color rushing to the tips of her ears, “such a flatterer, Kate Bishop. I do not think I’ll be able to hold this and ride my bike to wherever it is you are taking me with your billions of dollars.”

“Don’t worry about that. Come on I have one more thing to show you,” her smirk had Yelena intrigued enough to say goodbye to Jeff and follow her out of the house.

Yelena grabbed her helmet and backpack, “do you ever want to come back for your stuff?”

“Not really,” she grabbed a key card out of the drawer by the door. “It’s not like mom is ever coming back. I could sell the penthouse but it’s already paid off and keeping it unoccupied is probably killing Eleanor.”

“Your level of petty is aspirational, little hawk.”

Kate was able to operate the elevator from the penthouse to the ground floor without any trouble. She said her goodbye to the door man before taking Yelena back into the parking garage where she parked her bike, “it’s safe here. Your bike should be fine overnight. Unless you want to drive it home, it’s up to you.”

“There was an armed security guard up front,” Yelena chuckled. “I think she’ll be okay for one night.”

“Good,” Kate grabbed Yelena’s hand, essentially pulling her along to another elevator. She swiped her keycard and put in a security code to give them access to a private floor of the garage.

The door opened up to a private garage full of vehicles. Yelena’s eyes immediately went to the corner where the newer model luxury cars sat, “these are all yours?”

“Those,” Kate pointed to the modern ones Yelena was looking at, “are my moms. She of course needed to have the most expensive and ridiculous cars. I think she drove that G Wagon a total of four times. Over there are the trucks she needed to have. For what? No idea.”

Yelena walked towards the back of the garage to where a few motorcycles were and she had to hold back her drool, “has anyone ever ridden these? They look untouched.”

“I don’t think so. I swear mom just collected these to prove she had the money to buy them. She doesn’t have a motorcycle license and I don’t even have a driver's license. I don’t think anybody wants me operating one of those. If you want them, they are yours. They aren’t doing anybody any good just sitting here, collecting rust.”

Yelena’s head turned towards her girlfriend who was walking over to the vintage muscle cars. Clearly she had just heard her wrong. There was no way Kate just offered her these bikes, “what?”

“Those are all my moms. These were my dad’s. He had a thing for collecting vintage muscle cars. He also restored some of these himself.” She stopped on the other side of the garage and waited for Yelena to start moving. “I used to love going for rides in dad’s fancy cars. He would also let me help work on the cars with him. I wouldn’t do much but fuck if I wasn’t good at holding the flashlight in the exact right place. Mom hated me helping him so that made me enjoy it even more. Ladies aren’t supposed to get dirty, is what she’d always say after our garage time. Part of me thought I’d be a mechanic when I grew up.”

“And yet you never got your license?”

Kate shook her head, “what do you need to drive for in New York? The subway works just as fine. I always refused to have mom’s driver take me anywhere. Now, you can drive me.” She gave Yelena a grin before she shrugged, “plus, after dad died, I didn’t have anyone to work on cars with.”

Yelena walked closer, “I built my truck from parts back in Ohio. Well when I was in highschool I tried to build a mustang like this one.” She pointed to the ‘67 Ford. “This is gorgeous. Sadly, my car never took off. I had to use Natasha’s rejected blue truck. Until I went to the military. When I was discharged back home, I successfully rebuilt a truck from parts. I left her back at the farm, only bringing my motorcycle to the city. Now, I know I’m not your father,” she crinkled her nose, “and I truly would not want to be.” She let out a deep chuckle, “the things we’ve done speak for that. But I would like to work on cars with you. Here. Ohio. Wherever. Just as long as I’m with you.” She waited a minute letting the words sink in, “I pick? We take this one.” She started walking over to the black ‘67 mustang. “Very cool, Kate Bishop, very cool.”

“Yelena?”

“Yeah?” She turned away from the car to face her girlfriend.

“I love you.”

Chapter Text

Yelena walked over to the black 1967 mustang. It really was one of the most beautiful cars she had ever seen outside of her rebuilt truck. She did miss her truck being surrounded by a garage full of nice cars. She never really bothered to think that her girlfriend didn’t just have money. Kate was “own a whole fleet of vehicles that she couldn’t even drive” rich. Yelena had never known that kind of money. She made a decent paycheck as a resident but hoped one day she could provide for a family of her own. “We take this one,” she rounded to the driver side door, “I’m driving.”

“Yelena?”

She heard her girlfriend calling from behind her but she had already opened the door and the car smelled so good, “yeah?” She heard a very faint response from Kate but there was no way she heard what she thought she heard. “What?” She popped back up out of the car.

“I said,” her phone picked a very annoying time to start ringing. “Shoot it’s Mac. Should I let it go to voicemail?”

“Answer it. Could be an emergency,” she resigned to the fact that Kate definitely didn’t say what she thought she heard. Though, if Kate did say those three words Yelena would’ve said them back with enthusiasm.

“No we aren’t coming home tonight,” Kate was arguing with Mac over the phone. “Because Yelena and I need some alone time.”

“Put her on speaker,” Yelena said when Kate got into the car.

“You are on speaker watch what you say about Yelena. I can’t stop her from killing you even if you are a minor.”

“But you guys have to come home. Or better yet pick me up and take me with you.”

Yelena chuckled while starting the car. The engine roared like she had imagined, “I do not think this vehicle is handicapped accessible.”

“Why don’t you want to be at home?”

Mac sighed, “because it’s weird without you guys or even Nat.”

“Weird how?”

Yelena laughed again, “I think that’s teen slang for boring, Kate Bishop. She thinks Wanda is how do the kids say, lame?”

“Wanda is great company,” Kate sounded almost defensive of her part time roommate.

“I didn’t say she was lame. She’s just not you guys.”

“Kid,” Kate was sympathetic of course but also she wanted her alone time, “you want her to adopt you right? Want a family of your own?”

“Yeah,” Yelena joined in, “Kate and I won’t always be there. Or I’ll be on call and Natasha works nights. You and Wanda will have to bond. She is nice lady. Ask her to make brownies. She makes incredible brownies.”

“Then tell her you bet you could beat her at Mario Party. Wanda never backs down from a challenge.”

“Not when her pride is at stake,” Yelena looked at Kate silently asking if she was okay to drive.

“Listen Mac,” Kate’s tone softened, “you’ll be okay tonight with Wanda. Just do the brownies and video games. If you need me to call her I will but she already loves you.”

“Okay but what if that thing happens?”

Kate looked at Yelena confused, “what thing?”

Mac sighed, “Yelena you know right? I think I heard you and Nat talking about it the other night.”

“Ask Wanda if she wants to have a sleepover. She knows what’s going on.” She waited to see Mac would say anything but after a few more quiet moments, “she wants to help you, Mac. Do not be intimidated. She is very small woman. I can kick her ass if I need to.”

That got a laugh out of Mac, “no you are right. I know she’s fun and nice and all the stuff. And yes I know she likes me. I was worried about the sleeping but I guess I’ll just talk to Wanda.”

“Don’t forget about Lucky. He loves to snuggle,” Kate spoke up.

“I could never forget about that good boy,” Mac sounded happier than when she called. “Okay, I think I might be okay if you don’t come home. Though I will hold this against you for the foreseeable future.”

Yelena scoffed, “she is already spending too much time with Natasha.”

“Text me if you want me to call Wanda for you.”

Yelena couldn’t help but smile at the affection in Kate’s voice for the girl, “she’ll be okay, little hawk. Won’t you, Mac?”

“Okayish at best. I’ll text you guys later and think of ways you can make this up to me. Goodbye.”

Kate said her goodbye before hanging up, “she’s the cutest. After you of course.”

Yelena grimaced, “I’ve been called many things throughout my life but cute isn’t among the top.”

“Face it babe,” Kate pinched Uelena’s cheek, “you are adorable.”

Yelena shrugged, “I suppose it’s okay if it is coming from you. So we go?”

Kate looked at the blonde. Had she not heard her confession earlier? She told her that she loved her and it was basically as if Yelena was either ignoring it or didn’t hear it. She really didn’t know if she should bring it up, “yeah. Let’s go. I’ll put the address in the gps.”

“Actually,” Yelena blushed a little, “can we go for a little joy ride first?”

“Anything you want,” Kate gave her a soft smile as if she would deny this woman anything.
*
The joy ride was more than Kate bargained for. She had already been ridiculously turned on for the last month and watching her girlfriend operated the manual transmission of a car that she helped to build was doing all the right things for her. Yelena looked happy behind the wheel. Many times throughout their drive along the Shore Road Promenade, Yelena commented on how sexy that car was. They could’ve parked and walked but it was a little chilly so they just rode around and took in the sights. Kate almost lost it when Yelena took her hand and put it over the gear shift, showing her what the different gears felt like and how to shift. “I will teach you one day, little Hawk. One obstacle at a time. Police first then driving,” she laughed when she saw Kate squirming in the passenger seat.

Kate finally relaxed a little when she had Yelena pull up to the valet parking area outside of the hotel she had booked them reservations at. This hotel was usually booked up but when you had the last name Bishop, certain perks came with being we’ll known and rich even if your mother is currently serving time in federal lock up. “This is where you are taking me for dinner?” Yelena looked over at Kate. “This is too much, Kate. I don’t need fancy dinners. Trust me. I know a good diner Natasha took me too on my first night here.”

“We can go there after we win tomorrow night. What’s the point of having access to all of this money if I don’t get to spoil my pretty girl?” She swore she saw a blush coating Yelena’s cheeks before the blonde rolled her eyes, getting out of the car and passing the keys of the valet.

“One scratch on this and nobody will be able to find your body,” Yelena threatened the guy who looked almost too young to be driving.

Kate had already gotten their stuff out of the back seat, “Yelena, baby, you don’t have to threaten him. He will take care of the car.”

“Of course, Ms. Bishop,” he took the keys, “enjoy your stay at The Greenwich.”

“Our stay?” Yelena seemed confused, “I thought we were just eating here.”

“Your sister seemed to be under the impression that if I got my brace then we wouldn’t be able to help ourselves at home. She may have mentioned that I’m a screamer. So, I got us a little room. Modest I promise,” Kate grabbed Yelena’s hand after the blonde took the bags. Even with her robotic arm, Kate held the door open, “after you.”

Yelena rolled her eyes, “making me look bad. You have the brace, I should be opening the door for you.”

“You can get the next one, babe. Plus, you are carrying all the bags like my own personal little pack mule,” Kate held the door with her hip so she could swat Yelena’s ass with her good hand when she walked through the open door.

Yelena shook her head, trying hard not to blush as they entered the hotel. She waited until Kate moved ahead, standing by the check in table in the lobby which by the way looked more extravagant than any hotel Yelena had never stayed at before, “this is too much,” she whispered to Kate when the lady went to the back to round up some of the paperwork.

“It’s not really that expensive. I promise,” then she shrugged, “plus you are worth it.”

“Ms. Bishop,” the receptionist returned, “checking in for one night for our N. Moore penthouse. Very nice. As you requested, the grocery items have been left in the pantry and of course you both are entitled to our spa services, complimentary for our penthouse guests.”

“Yes of course,” Kate acknowledged the woman whose name tag read, Annie. “Do I pay now?”

“Yes,” the receptionist slid over a few papers containing the details of their stay. “With this rate, we only accept credit. Sorry, no cash at this time.”

“Not a problem,” Kate nudged Yelena, “can you get my wallet out of my back pocket?”

“Sure thing,” Yelena was reeling over the amount she saw on that bill. She fumbled only slightly, grabbing the wallet and opening it so Kate could pull out her Amex Platinum card.

“Perfect,” Annie took the card, “I’ll just run this real quick then we will be all set.”

“Sounds good,” Kate watched her walk away to the back counter where the other computer was. “Are you okay?” She noticed how quiet the blonde had gotten.

“This is too much.”

Kate waved her off, “this is nothing.”

“Nothing?” She tried to keep her voice down, “it’s almost $10 thousand dollars. For one night?”

“Almost. You said it yourself. Relax babe. I promise you this is nothing. Just have a nice time while we are here. The room is gorgeous.”

“Here is your card back, Ms. Bishop,” the receptionist turned a piece of paper to Kate. “I just need a signature here to authorize the transaction and then you’ll be all set.”

“Yep, just let me,” Kate tried to grab the pen in her right hand but the brace was making it difficult.

“Let me help,” Yelena took the pen and placed it between Kate’s index finger and middle finger so she could grasp it with her thumb. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” Kate had to stop herself from swooning over the simple gesture. Maybe Yelena hadn’t heard her confession earlier or maybe she had and she just didn’t reciprocate the feelings? Kate turned and signed her name realizing in front of the hotel receptionist wasn’t the time for the existential crisis.

The woman handed over a key card, “enjoy your stay Ms. Bishop and Ms?”

Kate interrupted her, “Dr. Belova.”

“Ahh,” the receptionist smiled, “Dr. Belova.”

Yelena grabbed the copy of the bill that Kate was seeming to leave behind. She folded it up and slipped it into her back pocket, grabbed the bags and followed Kate further into the hotel. When they passed by a very expensive looking restaurant Kate informed her that they had reservations there in an hour so they would have to get ready soon. She then went on to explain to Yelena that typically the hotel requires a seven night minimum stay for this particular penthouse but her last name gets her special pull at a lot of places in New York and sometimes she likes to cash in on that. “Have you heard anything I’ve been saying?” Kate finally asked when they stopped outside of the door to their room for the evening.

“Da,” Yelena nodded. “Let us see what all the fuss is about with this room, Kate Bishop.”

Kate laughed, “oh it’s not just a room.” She opened the door and let Yelena enter first, watching her as she dropped the bags in the foyer. Yes, this is what the blonde deserved. Kate had been wanting to spoil her for months but didn’t have the opportunity.

Yelena spun around, smiling, “there’s an upstairs?!”

Kate heard her laughing as she ran up the stairs to check out the second floor of the penthouse, “there’s also a sauna down here and a large soaking tub.”

Yelena hung over the railing upstairs, “this place is bigger than any house I’ve ever lived in. Like we can fit our entire apartment up here.” She had disappeared for a moment before she reappeared, “did you say a sauna?”

“Mmhmm,” Kate couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face if she tried. She leaned against the wall that lead to the kitchen and watched the blonde run down the steps towards the master bedroom only stopping for a moment to look at the exquisite floor to ceiling fireplace. She heard an exciting noise coming from the bathroom, “you like it?”

“Like it,” Yelena shouted back, “it’s too much, Kate Bishop.”

“Well there is one penthouse here that costs $18,000 a night so this is moderately priced in comparison.”

Yelena came back out of the bathroom walking towards Kate with her jaw dropped, “how much? No. Do not tell me and never take me there. This is expensive enough. I will never be able to pay you back for this.”

Kate shook her head, “pay me back? Babe, this is a date night. I brought you here because I wanted to be with you, not because I needed something in return. I brought you here because I.” Her failed declaration of love was cut off by a notification on her phone. “It’s an alert from the credit card company,” she rolled her eyes. “And now they are calling. Excuse me,” she kissed Yelena’s forehead before answering and walking back into the foyer.

“This place is fucking ridiculous,” Yelena said no herself and she explored the kitchen. She opened up the pantry and saw a variety of hot chips as well as all of her favorite candies. In the other drawer, there was a bottle of her favorite vodka. “She spoiled you, Belova.” Out of curiosity she opened the fridge and saw more of her favorite snacks and drinks. “We are only here for one night.” She noticed the many blue Gatorades, “ahh,” she heard Kate end her phone call, “you must be expecting me to put out tonight.” She grabbed a Gatorade and turned to face her girlfriend.

“I just got those in case you got thirsty,” Kate tried to keep it cool.

“Play your card right and you might be needing these electrolytes, little hawk. Dinner in an hour? I should freshen up.” Kate watched Yelena walk back to the foyer grabbing her bag and heading towards the bedroom with a wink, “I saw a rainforest shower in there I’m dying to get under.”

Kate groaned, “if she doesn’t put out tonight I’m going to die from lack of orgasm.” She walked over to grab her garment bag that held her suit. “She hasn’t seen me in a suit yet. If this doesn’t get her to fuck me, I may just have to propose,” Kate laughed at her own jokes. “Okay,” she sniffed herself before deciding that she also needed a shower and as much as she wanted to get under that rainforest shower head with her girlfriend, they don’t have enough time for that. So, Kate went upstairs to one of the other bathrooms, taking off
her arm brace for the first time and stretching out her arm. “Fuck,” she groaned, “feels so good.” She knew that Yelena would make her wear it during their date so she enjoyed the time to stretch and relax. With her good arm, she reached in and turn the shower on to get the water hot. “I wonder if I can get myself off without making it obvious.”

Meanwhile, Yelena had emerged from the shower fresh and relaxed. She snapped a picture and sent it to Wanda with the caption, “we need one of these for home.” She had laid her jumpsuit out on the bed before she had gone into the bathroom but she grabbed her makeup bag to set her face prior to getting dressed. “Should I dry this?” She looked at her wet hair in the mirror. Yelena shrugged and went back to her bag and grabbed Kate’s Dyson air wrap that she managed to throw in her backpack earlier. “Quick and effortless curls. At least this is what they tell me on the TikTok,” she plugged it in and got to work. 20 minutes later her hair and makeup was set, she emerged from the bathroom. “Kate Bishop probably ate all the snacks waiting for me,” she laughed and looked at the lingerie choices she packed before disregarding them and deciding to go bare under her jumpsuit. She stood in front of the mirror and slipped into the black lace halter jumpsuit. It was a simple design that tied around her neck. It really left little to the imagination with the deep v cut and open back.

Yelena studied herself in the mirror before slipping on a pair of gold high heeled shoes, and adorning her fingers with the many rings she brought. She took a quick picture and sent it off to Natasha.

Yelena (6:45pm): do I look too slutty for a Michelin restaurant?

Natasha (6:46pm): you always look slutty for Kate. The clothes don’t matter. Where did she take you?

Yelena snapped a couple pictures of the bedroom and sent them to her sister.

Yelena (6:48pm): this ridiculously overpriced penthouse.

Natasha (6:50pm): looks like Kate is expecting you to put out tonight. Should I give you the birds and the bees talk now or later?

Natasha (6:51pm): you look great. Happy even. Go have fun tonight and don’t do anything I would do.

Yelena (6:53pm): that leaves a lot of wiggle room.

“Baby are you ready?” She heard Kate calling from the living room.

“Yes,” Yelena called back before grabbing her phone and plum lip stain. “All set.”

“Holy fuck,” Kate stopped on the bottom stair, mouthing hanging open getting a good look at her girlfriend. There was no way to disguise the fact that she was slowly dragging her eyes down Yelena’s body. “You should exclusively wear that. Fuck baby, it fits you so well.”

Yelena was in no better state when she saw the all black fitted suit Kate was wearing, complete with a black tie. She assumed she had a better poker face and could admire her unabashedly because Kate was still gawking, “if you keep looking at me like that we might not make it to dinner, little hawk.” She walked the short distance, first making sure her arm brace was tightened properly, then fixing her tie. “There, so handsome.”

Kate descended the last step, coming face to face with Yelena in her heels, “I have snacks. We could skip dinner.”

Yelena chuckled, “but look at all this effort we’ve put into dressing up. Take me out, Kate Bishop. Buy me a ridiculously overpriced cut of meat.”

Kate nodded, “good luck to me trying to do anything besides stare at you tonight.”
*
Dinner was a feat in and of itself. Kate wasn’t sure how she was meant to concentrate on the food and free flowing conversation with her girlfriend sitting so close to her in their shared booth looking more delicious than the food. She watched Yelena with every bite and sip she took. “I still can not believe you spent $76 on a chicken, Kate Bishop,” Yelena was pulling her back towards the penthouse. “Though,” Kate could hear the smirk in her voice, “I’m not sure you ate enough of your food since you were staring at me all night.”

Kate stopped moving, “can you blame me?” She spun Yelena back towards her so they were both facing the mirror in the hotel. “You are the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen before. It’s hard to concentrate when you are eating said chicken and making those little noises you make.”

Yelena met her eyes in the mirror, “remind you of something else?” She quickly turned her head to peck Kate’s cheek before continuing down the hall, “before you keep staring at me like a snack.”

Kate cut her off, “maam you are the whole damn meal.”

Yelena chuckled, “flattery will get you far but as I was saying, I have something I’d like to give you.”

“Is it what’s under the jumpsuit?”

“Ten minutes. Can you not think about sex for ten minutes? I want to give you your Christmas present. We are over a month late here and I’d like you to have it before I get you something for Valentine's day.”

“Are you asking me to be your Valentine, Dr. Belova?”

Yelena shrugged, “we will see how good the rest of the night goes.”

“Best I can do is five minutes,” Kate shrugged, “I mean have you seen yourself?”

“I do not blame you. I am very hot,” she smirked while stopping in front of the penthouse door. “Ten minutes.”

“Fine,” Kate rolled her eyes dramatically. “Ten minutes and not a minute more.” She opened the door to their room and stepped aside to let Yelena in first.

“Such a gentleman, Kate Bishop,”

“I have my moments. Oh,” she remembered after the lust cloud cleared a little, “I have presents for you too. Let me get them out of my backpack.” Kate ran up the stairs before Yelena had a chance to respond. She assumed she was still downstairs, “be right down.” Kate rooted around until she found the box that had those knives Yelena had eyed at the Christmas market and another smaller box that she had recently acquired. This would either go over well or it would ruin the whole evening. Only time would tell. “Lena?” She walked back downstairs and saw Yelena standing in the kitchen mixing a few drinks for them with the vodka and Gatorade she had for them and she noted that the blonde was already snacking on her takis.

“I made some drinks. You took so long up there,” she spun around and saw Kate had opened her tie and unbuttoned a few of her dress shirt buttons, “here.” She grabbed the small gift box off of the table as well as her own drink, “nothing like Christmas in February.” She sat down on one of the ridiculously large couches facing the fireplace. “Now you are a very hard woman to shop for. I knew you were rich but I didn’t realize how rich until we went to your fleet of cars today. I saw these at that Christmas market and thought you might like them. It is not much and I will buy you something better for Valentine’s Day.”

Kate reached out and grabbed Yelena’s forearm, “you are rambling, babe. We’ve been spending a lot of time together and you’ve picked up on my bad habits. You didn’t have to get me anything. Though,” she smirked, “I do like getting surprised.”

“Seeing as how much trouble you’ve gotten yourself into lately, I probably shouldn’t even give this to you but here,” Yelena handed over the package.

“Well with that warm up, I’m sure it’s amazing,” Kate carefully opened the package and lifted the top of the box.

Yelena watched her girlfriend’s eyes light up when she saw the vintage arrow tips. The market stall had some vintage ones then Yelena had found some custom made purple ones that she knew she had to get for Kate, “do you like them? I know it’s not much but I thought the vintage ones were cool and the purple was good for your branding.”

“Babe, they are perfect. I love them.” She was now even more excited to give Yelena the first gift. “It seems we have similar taste in gifts. I saw you looking at these when we were picking out a gift for Natasha,” she handed Yelena the first gift.

“Little hawk, did you get me weapons? You know gifting weapons is our family’s love language,” she unwrapped the throwing knives she had been looking at when they were at the market. “Is this why you made me go get cash that day? So you could buy these behind my back?” She pulled out one of the throwing knives to examine it. When Kate nodded, “this is perfect. I love them and do you think cleaning would notice if I practiced in that wall over there?”

Kate laughed, “I mean if you want to test them out I’ll pay the damages.”

“No,” Yelena put the knife away, “I can wait. I love them, Kate, thank you.” She noticed Kate chewing on her bottom lip, “what is it? Are you okay? Does your arm hurt?”

“Perfectly healthy. It’s just I have something else here for you and I’m not sure how you will react.” She handed Yelena the even smaller wrapped box, “I just got this like a week ago and honestly after I did it it seemed like something we should’ve definitely discussed first but I let my Gryffindor tendencies take over if you know what that means and I went all in risks be damned.”

Yelena was even more curious now as she held the little box in her hand, “should I be scared?”

“Just open it.”

Yelena did just that and pulled out a little key card, “you didn’t buy this hotel, did you?”

Kate laughed, “of course not.”

Yelena also noticed a keychain with regular keys in the box as well, “does this gift come with an explanation or do I have to go around random locations in New York to find my access point?”

“I shouldn’t like this smart ass thing you have going on right now but truthfully it's really turning me on.” Yelena just looked up smirking at her which didn’t help with the being turned on thing so she cleared her throat and started her explanation, “so that’s a key.”

Yelena chuckled, “I have managed to work that part out myself. What’s it a key to?”

“Remember how Mac lives at your apartment now and how it's been crowded with her and me living there?” Yelena nodded but Kate figured she wasn’t going to interrupt her train of thought so she continued, “that’s the keys to the penthouse of your apartment building. I know we’ve only been together for what? Half a year or so. What are we u-haul lesbians? I just thought we’ve already been living together and to be honest, I don’t want to go back to my charred apartment. So I kind of sold that. The more I talk the more I realize that we definitely should’ve talked about this first. Just because I’m at the let’s move in together stage doesn’t mean you are there yet.” She noticed the blonde was looking down at the keys, “and I could just move into my mom’s penthouse. It’s not like she’s coming home, ever, so it’s really no big deal. I just thought it would be convenient for your work. And if you weren’t ready to leave your sister and Wanda they could totally move in as well. It’s a five bedroom penthouse so the whole family could be together, still. I know that’s important to you. Or it could just be us. Or at this rate, it could just be me because you really aren’t giving me much to go off of here and now I feel really stupid.”

“Kate,” Yelena needed to get the other woman to stop, “you’ve said enough.”

“No,” Kate shook her head, “you seem less than enthused so I don’t think I have.”

“This is just a lot to process.”

Kate tried to grab the box back but Yelena wasn’t letting go that easily, “if you are worried about the money then you shouldn’t be. I kind of sold my charred loft. It’s prime real estate in New York and even in its current state, it sold really fast.”

“I can’t afford to live in a penthouse on my salary.”

“Well it's kind of already paid for. You said it yourself earlier, I’m as the kids would say rich rich. I have more money then I’ll ever be able to spend and it seemed like a good investment at the time. Plus, I was paying up front so they were eager to make a deal. Don’t worry, I can still get out of the sale. At least my brain gave me some forethought to write it into the agreement. Don’t worry. I’ll call and cancel everything tomorrow. I’ll just move into mom’s penthouse. It’s not even a big deal.”

Yelena patiently waited for Kate to finish her rambling. She noticed how sad her girlfriend seemed. If she was being honest, moving in together did seem kind of fast but they had already been doing it for a few months and it worked for them. “So you just bought a house for you, me and my entire family? No questions asked.”

“I’m more of a do in the moment and second guess and worry later kind of woman,” Kate gave a nervous little chuckle. “I mean there’s still the possibility that everything goes south tomorrow night and we can just pretend this never happened.”

“Kate. Stop. I’m not mad about this. You spending this amount of money on me and my family is a little much. It’s not unappreciated, just I’m not used to it,” she picked up the key and smiled, “just last night I was telling Natasha it might be time for you and me to move out. It is getting a little crowded in Wanda’s place.”

“You were?”

“Da,” Yelena nodded, “you are not the only one who has been thinking about our future, little hawk and with everything that happened at Christmas I just can’t risk losing you again.” Do it, Belova. She was internally preparing herself to let it go. She already heard Kate loud and clear when she was high on those pain pills. Three little words it’s so easy to do. “I would love to move in with you. I can’t speak for my family and Mac. I guess we can discuss it with them another time,” she cursed herself for the words that came out instead but Kate’s face lit up with excitement as if she just received the best news of her life.

“Wait so you actually want this too?”

“Of course I do,” Yelena moved closer on the couch to her girlfriend who somehow moved to the opposite during her ramble.

“Is the ten minutes up?” Kate saw a look in Yelena’s eyes, “because it's taken everything in my power all evening not to jump you.”

“Almost,” Yelena leaned in and kissed the corner of Kate’s mouth. “When we were in the garage earlier, I thought maybe I heard you say something but then I wasn’t sure.”

“Oh that,” Kate was immediately nervous again for an entirely different reason. So Yelena had heard her and just hadn’t said anything in response.

“Because if you said what I think I heard then you also said something similar to that twice before while you were high on narcotics. I mean as long as you are inviting me to move in with you I just thought you might want to try again, sober and without interruption?” The end of the sentence turned up into a question while still trying to sound as confident in the moment as possible.

Kate let out a nervous little laugh. “Okay. I can do that. Also didn’t know if you heard me earlier and the whole drugs thing, well I don’t remember any of that but I’m sure I didn’t do or say anything embarrassing.”

“You were very charming while high. I’ve never seen one person consume so much McDonalds in my life. It was truly impressive to watch.”

“I mean you already agreed to move in with me so it's not like you’ll run away now,” Kate began her nervous ramblings again.

Yelena rolled her eyes dramatically and trapped Kate’s chin between her thumb and her forefinger forcing her girlfriend to look at her, “I love you too, little hawk even if you are a complete idiot most of the time.”

“You love me?”

Yelena kissed the tip of her nose, “with all of my heart.” She looked at the watch on her wrist, “well look at that. It’s been a whole 15 minutes. Now, you need to take me into that ridiculously expensive bedroom and show me just how much you love me, Kate Bishop.”

Chapter Text

Yelena always has been an earlier riser. She blamed the military though it started way before that when she lived in the orphanage. If you didn’t wake up early, you didn’t eat. So, it didn’t matter the time of day, when Yelena woke up she was always hungry. She rolled over and saw her girlfriend sleeping on her back with her good arm thrown over her head. Yelena can’t recall getting Kate to put her brace back on but she must have at some point because her braced arm was resting across her stomach. There was no threat of waking Kate up, Yelena was pretty sure she could sleep through another explosion. She sat up, stretching all of her muscles. Everything was sore but in the most delicious way. Confessing her love for the brunette had awoken something in her partner that led to many rounds of sex all over that penthouse.

Yelena wasn’t really one to relinquish control so easily but as soon as Kate put on that strap, there was a shift and Yelena let it happen. Kate had assured her many times that her arm was okay. “Fuck,” she groaned getting out of the bed. She wasn’t used to that sort of workout but she wouldn’t say no if Kate wanted to use the toy on her again in the future. “Snacks,” was the only thought she was having after she left the lush bedroom. The clock showed that it just passed 10 in the morning. “I never sleep in this late,” she chastised herself for her laziness only to remember they probably didn’t go to bed until after 3 or 4 in the morning. She took her time raiding the fridge and the pantry. “Kate really did spoil me,” she pulled out water and Gatorade and started devouring a protein bar. She also mixed in some takis for obvious health reasons. Noting it was getting later in the morning she went over to the phone and dialed for room service. A woman picked up the phone in two rings. “Good morning. I would like to place an order for room service.”

“Of course, which room are you staying in?”

Yelena’s mind blanked. The information must have gotten fucked out of her last night, “the penthouse.”

“Which one ma’am?”

The blonde blew out a frustrated sigh, “the big one? There’s an upstairs and a great shower. I can not remember the name.”

“That really doesn’t narrow it down.”

“The $10k one not the other one,” Yelena almost said with a hint of embarrassment in her voice. Of course she forgets the name but who could forget that price tag.

“Ah yes,” Yelena heard her clicking computer keys. “Miss Bishop’s room. The N. Moore Penthouse.”

Yelena slapped her thigh, “yes that is the one. It slipped my mind.”

“Okay what can we get started for you?”

“Anything brunch,” Yelena didn’t have the menu on hand and didn’t think about it before picking up the phone. She was assuming she lost a few brain cells from their activities last night. “Whatever you recommend is what I want to order. Two of those, juice, coffee and some pastries.”

“Of course,” the lady gave Yelena a few choices and she changed her mind. She ordered the eggs Benedict for herself and got Kate the chocolate chip pancakes with sausage. “We will have it to your room in 30 minutes.”

“Wait,” Yelena had to stop the woman from hanging up on her. “Do you not want my credit card information?”

“That won’t be necessary, ma’am.”

“Is breakfast included?”

“No.”

Yelena was getting annoyed again, “then I must pay. It will be with a visa.”

“It’s already been taken care of. I do not require payment because any thing ordered has been instructed to be charged to the card on file.”

“But I wish to pay for this breakfast.”

Yelena swore she heard the lady on the other line chuckle, “I am under strict orders to not let anyone pay but Ms. Bishop.”

“Well what if I just cancel my order and door dash something to the penthouse?”

The lady seemed far too chipper with her response, “unfortunately due to security clearances, Ms. Bishop refuses delivery services during her stays with us. Would you like me to go ahead to get this breakfast order started for you, ma’am?”

Yelena sighed realizing she would not be winning this one, “fine. My money is no good here.”

“Like I had said before, we will get this to you in about 30 minutes.”

Yelena thanked the woman and hung up the phone before cursing and eating another taki. The voice behind would’ve startled her if it wasn’t for her military training, “why is the picture of my girlfriend completely naked in front of a roaring fire, eating takis and arguing with the room service woman the hottest thing I’ve ever seen?”

“Kate Bishop,” the sing-song tone in her voice accompanied the smirk as she shifted towards the brunette who was not so subtly checking her out. “It seems I forgot my robe this morning. You know I always run hot.”

“I know and I was cold. My personal Russian heated weighted blanket left me alone in that big bead to get hypothermia.”

Yelena barked out a laugh, “always so funny.”

“So room service?” Kate came over, sitting dangerously close to her naked girlfriend. Seriously, her body should be illegal, she thought to herself still unabashedly checking Yelena out.

“30 minutes. You and I will have a fight later about how I was unable to pay for the breakfast. I just don’t have it in me now. Someone kept me up very late last night.”

“Sorry babe. I won’t apologize for spoiling you,” Kate let her index finger knuckle run along the outside of Yelena’s thigh.

Yelena grabbed her hand and gave her a look that told Kate Dr. Belova was now in the room with her, “how is your arm feeling? I do not think we can count last night as the light activity the ortho was recommending.”

“I’m fine, doctor,” trying her best to not openly stare at her naked girlfriend.

“I packed some pain medication in case you need it. Also, I recommend using the sauna to loosen up before we leave. If you are not feeling up to take on the raid nobody will think any less of you.”

“Woah,” Kate dropped Yelena’s hand. “I said I’m fine. It’s very hard for me to sit here and be lectured about my arm while you are naked. If this is going to turn into an office visit can you please put some clothes on?”

“This is not a lecture just my concern for your well being.”

“And I appreciate your concern but I’m doing this tonight. I don’t care if my fucking arm falls off. That asshole is getting what’s coming to him tonight. I won’t let this happen to any more innocent girls. Mac deserves this justice.”

“Spoken like a true vigilante.”

“I promise I’m fine and I don’t just want to throw myself in danger. I need to do this, Yelena. I need this with every fiber of my soul.”

Yelena nodded, “I have never once doubted you. You have proven you can take care of yourself. The hospital records say otherwise but you are a capable woman and I will be with you tonight. You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”

Kate was only human, “okay now you are saying all these nice things and you are still naked.”

Yelena smirked, “25 minutes until breakfast arrives. Want to join me in the shower?”

Kate was incapable of doing anything besides watching her girlfriend leave the room, following as close behind as she could while still trying to remain cool.
*
“All I’m saying is that I don’t think going in there all bang bang, shoot shoot, bullet bullet, gun is really going to be the best plan of attack.”

Yelena hated to admit it, “I agree with Darcy. This doesn’t seem like a good strategy.” Kate gave her girlfriend a look that said how dare you betray me. “There has to be a better way to infiltrate that doesn’t send you in,” she turned to Darcy, “what did you say again?”

“Bang bang, shoot shoot, bullet bullet, gun?”

Yelena tried to hide her smile, “yes that. We need to avoid that.”

Fury shook his head, “I thought it would be a cold day in hell when Darcy was the voice of reason in the group.”

“Not just here for my looks, Fury.”

Kate rolled her eyes, “it’s not a bad plan.”

“Sending you in as human bait might be the worst plan I’ve ever heard, Kate Bishop.”

Kate looked at her girlfriend, “whose side are you on?”

“Whoever’s side is the one where you come out alive and I don't really care what happens to anyone else,” she saw Darcy looking at her, “no offense.”

“You really can’t offend me,” Darcy laughed. “If it’s my time to go then it’s my time to go.”

“Do you have the building schematics?”

Kate looked at her girlfriend before looking at Fury, “well do you? Ex military. She might have something.”

Fury pulled a big rolled tube of paper off of his desk and threw it at Yelena, “all right Belova. Let’s see what you got.”

Yelena stood up so she could roll the schematics out across the table in the interrogation room there eye currently working in, “let me see.”

Kate noticed how Yelena’s finger was moving slowly and calculated across the map of the building. She would trace the staircases down and stop when she noticed something she had assumed Yelena marked as an area of concern or interest. Kate could help but feel turned on from watching her girlfriend take charge. The blonde must have felt the staring because Kate heard, “it’s hard to concentrate with your eyes boring holes into the side of my face.”

Yelena looked up over her shoulder just in time to see Kate avert her eyes, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

The blonde just shook her head and laughed, “sure you don’t. Okay,” she turned back to the schematics. “Has your people done recon? Scoped out the building and the guards?”

“Yes,” Darcy flipped the white board to the side that had text and numbers on it, “it’s a big office building as you can see. Not the typical warehouse. Located five miles outside of the city across the New Jersey border. Each floor has three security guards plus revolving security on the ground floor and extra men by Fisk’s office. From what our men have reported, Fisk is there every three days around 7pm for what appears to be a debrief. Sometimes it ends up with them killing one of their own. There has been no sight of the girls or other victims being taken to this location.

“Okay I see where my plan may be a little hasty,” Kate leaned over Yelena’s shoulder to get a better look at the blueprints.

“Bang bang shoot shoot doesn’t always work,” Fury told the girl. “So what are your thoughts, Belova?”

“How many men are coming tonight?”

“The four of us,” Darcy answered, “plus five others. We will have more on standby.”

“Right,” Yelena looked at the plans again before turning towards her girlfriend, “and how confident are you in your shot?”

“100% even with this stupid robo arm.”

“Yeah you should probably leave that thing in the car tonight,” Darcy shrugged. “Probably would just slow you down and you are healed enough.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell everyone.”

“Injured is injured but if we are doing this then we need to be all in so none of ours fall,” Yelena was fully taken back to her military days. “Do we have good equipment like zip lines, anchors, bombs, flashbangs, more guns? Tasers or batons?” Fury and Darcy just stared at her, “is not a deal breaker, I have these items in my closet.”

“We can get you whatever you need, I just need to know the plan before I sign off on bombs and batons being given to a couple of civilians.”

Darcy leaned over towards Fury, “I thought you said she was a medic.”

“I am. But that doesn’t mean they didn’t use me for other missions. I am small, capable and I fit places. I can shoot a target from across a rooftop. I’ll be fine there. I just need to know that everybody will be on the same page as me once we get going.”

“Okay,” Fury sat down, “tell us the plan.”
*
Kate found herself on top of a roof across the street looking at her girlfriend through the viewfinder of her bow. “Are you sure about this?” She spoke through her ear piece.

“You are having second thoughts?”

Kate saw Yelena looking her way. The blonde was wearing a black tactile suit, night vision glasses and had various guns strapped to her with two batons attached to her back. “No,” she wasn’t sure of that answer. She would’ve much rather went in on her own. Kate really didn’t like the idea of Yelena putting herself at risk for this. This wasn’t her fight.

“Because you don’t sound so sure.”

“Just one more time, please?”

“You have already hacked into the main electrical system of the building, locks are set to shut down in 3 minutes. I am going to go in through this hatch,” she pointed to the air vent she was standing next to, “and make my way inside the building giving me a head start. I’ll take out the guards on this floor and make my way to Fisk. Darcy and Fury are going to come in from the ground and work their way up. I need you to stand by on Hawk duty and be ready in case things get messy.”

“That’s the part I don’t like.”

“I will be fine,” Yelena wasn’t nervous. The medics were trained in the same combat and basic training every other soldier had. Plus, they were utilized overseas when times were desperate. Yelena was skilled in hand to hand combat. This guy from what she had seen appears to be large but she was not intimidated by his size. Her girlfriend would zip line over to them if the situation escalated.

“One minute until the doors unlock. They shouldn’t notice.”

“Perfect little hawk.”

They heaved fake gagging, “can Nick and I be moved to a different channel. The love fest and pet names are making me be violently sick and I don’t want the vomit stench to alert these stupid henchmen.”

“Okay you spend way too much time with my sister,” Yelena rolled her eyes and turned to look over at Kate one last time. “We’ve got this.”

Kate closed her eyes and breathed. The alarm went off on her phone and immediately Yelena entered the hatch the same time she saw Fury and Darcy enter the front of the building. “Silencers are a godsend,” Kate didn’t know where to watch. Yelena hadn’t reentered her sight yet so she kept her eyes on the other two. “Okay I’m in,” she heard Yelena whispering into the earpiece. Kate turned and watched the blonde fall from the air vent into the hallway alongside where the guards where. She must have landed silently because, “the guards weren’t phased,” she said back to her girlfriend which earned her a chuckle, “do not doubt my skills, Kate Bishop. Watch this.” She went around the corner and Kate watched her engage in hand to hand combat with three large men, easily taking them down in a show of agility and a surprising amount of strength. When all three of the men were laying on the ground in various states of consciousness Yelena spoke again, “okay moving to Fisk’s office now. How many security do you see, little hawk?”

Kate moved her site down to the next floor, “five. Three by the elevator and 2 outside of his office.”

“Okay. As planned,” Yelena went quiet as she moved, clearing the rest of the top floor before entering the stairwell. Upon her exit, Kate saw a Yelena sneaking through the corridor, putting the silencer of her gun. The plan unfolded before Kate’s eyes. Yelena had shot the three guards at the elevator without alerting the other two of the commotion. “Where are they?” Yelena hissed into the earpiece. The plan was to meet Fury and Darcy up at the office so they could handle the guards while Yelena slipped inside.

“We have a situation down here,” they both heard Fury say over the intercom. “Hostages. Girls. Young ones.”

“Fuck this bastard,” Kate stood, slinging her bow across her back and shooting the zip line across the building.

“Kate, no. Stay.”

“Too late,” she jumped, praying that she landed at her destination and let out a sigh when she made it. She quickly took the same path that Yelena had, meeting her outside of the elevators, “miss me?”

“Jesus Kate,” Yelena pulled her around the corner, away from the dead guards she killed. “I told you to stay put.”

“Until there was an issue. This seems like the textbook definition of an issue.”

“I have this under control,” Yelena’s face was not amused. She didn’t need help with this but mostly she didn’t want to put Kate at risk for further injuries.

“It’s fine, babe,” Kate grabbed her bow and pulled a few arrows out. “Look,” she showed Yelena the seemingly normal looking tips. “I made some trick arrows. Crazy right? It’s amazing what you can do with a buttload of money.”

“And what are you going to do with these arrows?”

“I figured that I go back into the vent system and make my way to Fisk’s office. I’ll use this one. It’s a modified flash bang arrow. I can shoot it down into his office, you kill the guards outside and then we both take on Fisk together.”

Yelena looked at her girlfriend, then her gun and then the arrows, “this is not a terrible idea.”

“Boost me back up there,” she pointed to a vent above their heads.

Yelena nodded and brought her hands in front of her intertwining her fingers, “up you go. I’ll wait for your bang,” she hoisted Kate when the boot hit her hand. She watched Kate enter the air vent before turning to head back down the hall. “Wait, Yelena,” was whispered from behind her. When she turned back, Kate’s head popped out of the vent. “What is it?”

Kate smirked, “I love you.”

Yelena rolled her eyes and tried not to blush, “and I love you. Now go. Let’s get this asshole.”

“If we weren’t preoccupied down here,” Darcy’s voice came through her ear, “just know that I’d be gaggin over this display of affection.”

“Fuck off Lewis,” Yelena turned her earpiece down as she silently made her way passed the dead guards towards the office. She didn’t know how long she stood there with her eyes closed, breathing softly, waiting for the signal.

The explosion wasn’t quite as loud as it was in Kate’s apartment the night Maria died but it was disorienting and loud enough to get Yelena moving. Around the corner, the guards trying to get into Fisk’s office, “boo.” The men turned and started towards her. Two bullets. Two head shots. Two more dead security guards. “There is always collateral damage.” She quickly reloaded her gun and shrugged, “they knew who they were working for.” She quietly turned the doorknob to Fisk’s office and pushed it in as soon as a billowing cloud of dark smoke smacked her in the face. She held in her coughs and made her way inside of the room. “Don’t move,” she came out of the smoke and into the clearing that opened up when she opened the door.

Kate watched from the air vent that was blown apart. She was far back enough during the explosion that she didn’t immediately come crashing down into the room. Her bow was already fixed with her next arrow and ready for the kill shot whenever it was time. “Wilson Fisk,” she heard her girlfriend speaking in a tone that gave her a whole body shiver. It sounded deadly and yet Kate couldn’t shake the throb she felt in her core and silently cursed her libido. “The game is over. No more girls. The police already cleared out your warehouse and now they are clearing out this office. There’s nothing left for you.”

Fisk turned around, holding two machine guns, “doesn’t look that way to me, little girl. Where is Katherine? Sending her doctor in to clean up her messes?”

“I’m not afraid of you. All I need is one shot.”

He delivered a devious laugh that made Kate’s insides lurch, “fucking bastard.”

“I know she’s here.”

Kate moved a fraction of an inch and it was enough for her to see both Fisk and Yelena look up. She had less than a second to react before she heard the shots. She rolled further back into the vent when rounds from one machine started ripping through the metal of the duct. She heard the other gun going off and when she realized it was most likely aimed at her girlfriend, she jumped down and into the room, “I’m right here dickhole.”

Fisk turned his attention to Kate momentarily ceasing fire, “you’ve caused me a lot of trouble, Katherine.”

“No,” Kate tilted her head, “you’ve caused all of this yourself. I appear to be finishing the problem for you.” She let her arrow go, landing in his chest.

He laughed and pulled it out, “not deep enough.”

Yelena looked over at her girlfriend, gun still aimed at Fisk as if to communicate that she was going off script. Kate shrugged and loaded another arrow, “games over. Backup is already downstairs.”

“Tell you what is going to happen here,” he pointed a gun at each woman. “I am going to shoot her,” he motioned towards Yelena, “and then I’m going to knock you unconscious and take you with me out of here while the police clean up the mess I left them downstairs. Foolish to think I wouldn’t know you’d come for me eventually.”

“What mess?”

“Do you think they are smart enough to find Ms. Hill in time?”

Thankfully their ear pieces had been interconnected so Fury and Darcy had access to what was going on in the office, “we found her,” came quietly through Kate and Yelena’s ear pieces.

Yelena looked at Kate and lowered her weapon, “well get on with it.”

Kate looked at her like she was crazy. Yelena wasn’t one to go off script, “no,” she moved in front of her girlfriend with her bow extended. “Just wait,” her voice was louder and more commanding than usual. Every nerve in her body was at full attention knowing either everything was going to click into place or they were both about to die.

“No more waiting. This ends today, Katherine,” Fisk made a move and want to pull the triggers when his arms seemingly seized.

“Did you know that certain poisons won’t cause immediate death?” Kate went on and they watched his arms lock, guns fell to the floor followed by a look at horror on his face. “The arrow might not have reached your heart but your muscles are seizing, nerves are dead.” They watched his body fall to the floor with a thud, “there is it.”

“Kate Bishop,” Yelena seemed impressed, “a poisoned arrow. Very clever.”

“Looks like this does end today, asshole,” Kate kicked the man who went unconscious as soon as he hit the floor. “Fact remains, I made have over done it with the poison so he may die. Either way, I consider this a super successful mission.”

Darcy came up behind them, “damn that’s one big fucker. Is he dead?”

Kate shrugged, “could be soon enough. I shot him with a poisoned arrow. May have went heavy handed. If he is alive do you think you guys will be able to keep him behind bars this time?”

“We weren’t the ones who fumbled the evidence, Kate. He will be locked away for good,” she kicked his foot, “or dead. Either way no great loss to society. Ms. Hill asked to speak with the two of you whenever you are ready.”

“She know I watched her daughter die?”

Darcy looked at Yelena, Kate had already reached for her hand, “she knows you were there that night.” She turned as soon as the paramedics made their way into the office to assess the damage on Fisk.

“He’s not breathing. Would you like us to start the life saving measures?”

Darcy looked at Kate and Yelena before shrugging, “it’s not great loss to society. Call the coroner.”

They watched Darcy leave before Kate started to get worried, “hey,” she quickly followed the other woman out of the room, grabbing Yelena’s hand and pulling her to follow. “I’m not going to get charged for that murder, am I? It was self-defense and a total accidental poisoning. I didn’t even know there was poison on that arrow.”

“Calm down, Bishop,” Fury met them in the hallway. “This will be high profile but we are keeping the two of you out of this. We appreciate everything you did for this. Of course, the two of you will be needed at the station for a debrief and to get statements but after that I expect the two of you to stay out of trouble.”

“I think he’s mainly talking to you,” Yelena smirked at her girlfriend. “I’m just a doctor,” she held up her hands. “There is absolutely no way I had anything to do with those dead guards in those hallways.”

“You are cleared too, Belova.”

Yelena let out a small sigh of relief as they watched the two walked over to debrief with the other cops. She was going to say something about the bravery her girlfriend showed up there and how proud she was of her but all of that was cut short when Kate leaned in and whispered, “something about you killing those men really got me going. Quickie before we head back to the police station?”

Yelena laughed out loud causing the police to turn to look at them, “I don’t think we have any time.” She kissed the corner of Kate’s mouth, “tonight.”

*2 weeks later*

Yelena finally finished her first on-call week after the time she had off due to everything that happened. It was hard being at the hospital for the whole week but there were only so many weeks she could skip and she was just about out of time. Thankfully, Wanda was understanding and didn’t put any extra time on for her this year of her residency. “You are lucky your sister is fucking her,” Sonya joked when Yelena had finally walked back into the hospital. Truthfully, she missed it. She missed being in the operating room, joking around with Sonya, making her interns uncomfortable and have girls’ time with Jen when she could sneak in a break. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, it was weird without Maria. Sonya noted that it was up to Yelena now to be the scary hot Doctor. “It’s not my plan but a role I’m sure I could step into.” Natasha definitely made fun of her when she told everybody at dinner one night.

They were still all living in Wanda’s apartment. She and Kate hadn’t had a chance to tell everybody because of work schedules and Yelena being swept back into her rotation at the hospital. Yelena received a lot of picture messages of Kate getting her ass kicked playing video games with Mac. They always had some sort of “wish you were here” text accompanied with it.

Yelena walked out of the hospital and checked Kate’s location on her phone. Most of the time she was at the house but she thought she might find Kate at this particular location. She walked across the street to the firehouse where she had stored her bike. “I did not think you were cleared for full duty work yet,” she came across her sister sitting and bullshitting with a bunch of her coworkers.

“What Wanda doesn’t know can’t hurt me,” she shrugged. “And technically im not working, we are bullshitting.”

“Yes but I was working and Wanda is working and Kate isn’t home so who is watching the kid?”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Mac had called from behind Yelena as she wheeled herself from the other side of the fire truck. “I like coming here. They have good snacks and puppies.”

“She’s a very stubborn girl,” Natasha rationalized, “and we do have the best snacks.”

Mac was weeks away from getting her cast off for good and she was settling into their family nicely. The family sat down with her to have a conversation about school. They all thought the girl should have some say in her schooling with all the trauma she faced before sending her to the wolves with a bunch of middle schoolers. “Talk about a new era of trauma,” Natasha surmised and it was then they collectively decided Mac could attend virtual school and they would reassess before highschool.

“Consider this a PE lesson,” Mac laughed as she pulled out a bag of hot Cheetos that she had been smuggling in her chair.

“You are spending too much time with Kate,” Yelena laughed. “Will the two of you be home for dinner or will it just be me and Kate?”

“Light duty work is bullshit,” Natasha was getting antsy being at home all the time. She was healed and ready to go back to work. She knew Wanda was nervous to let her go back full time even though everybody was reassured many different times by many different people that Fisk was gone and the police were taking care of the rest. No more trafficking, no more girls, no more stray bullets meant for Kate. “We will be home. So if you are planning any of your very loud late night activities maybe get a hotel room.”

“I have ear plugs. You guys can have sex at the house. I won’t hear you.”

Natasha and Yelena both stopped to look at the girl. “See Natasha, perfectly safe to have sex at our house. The kid has earplugs.”

Natasha looked at Mac, “you are an enabler.”

“I think Wanda is off tomorrow night. Kate and I kind of have something we need to talk to the family about. But for now,” she pulled out her bike keys, “I need to go collect my girlfriend and get some sleep.”

Before either of them could say anything else, Yelena straddled her bike and took off out of the fire department, flicking her sister off as she drove by. “She knows how to make quite an exit doesn’t she?”

Mac shrugged, “at least we know that the news isn’t going to be an unwanted pregnancy.”

Natasha laughed, “you are lucky Wanda didn’t hear you say that. Cripple or not she’d smack you upside the head so fast.”
*
The end of February was still pretty chilly in the city but it didn’t stop Kate from finding herself sitting across from her best friend’s tombstone recounting everything that got them to where they are today. “I know I said I’d be back sooner than this but when my arm was broken it was lucky that I got to pee without someone breathing down my neck. I guess it’s kind of nice they all care about me so much. Family is such a weird concept for me. I look at these four women and I see home. Then I feel guilty because you were my home for so long. We did it Carol. It’s done and you don’t even get to celebrate.”

Kate stopped and took a minute to collect herself. It’s not like Carol could call her out for rambling but she wanted to slow her stream of consciousness down. They did it. The threat was gone and no more girls would be taken. At least not while Kate was still patrolling the city. “Maria wasn’t as big of an asshole as we thought. They took her mom. We found her. So, it kind of makes Maria’s involvement and death a little less knife to the heart, you know?” She chuckled, “I bet you are standing behind me trying to smack me with your ghostly little hand. Are you a ghost? Have you been watching us?” Kate panicked for a minute, “I hope you didn’t follow us to that hotel. There were things we did that we would’ve had to charge you if you watched.”

Kate shifted, “I should’ve brought Lucky. Next time I’ll bring him. Did I tell you Fury has been hounding me to join the force. I haven’t given him an answer yet but it might not be so bad to work with him and Darcy. They were pretty cool. Yelena thinks I should go for it. I don’t know, I mean someone has to be home with Mac. Okay yes she’s almost 13 and we are moving out. Oh, did I tell you that? I bought a whole ass penthouse in their apartment complex.”

Kate was so engrossed in her conversation that she didn’t hear the bike crawling to a stop a little further back on the road. Yelena noticed that she seemed to be lost in thought so she didn’t want to go over there and bother her nor did she want to hear a conversation that wasn’t meant for her. Yelena couldn’t believe that she wasn’t even in the city for a whole year and her entire life got turned upside down in the best way possible.

“I just love her so much and I can’t wait to see where it goes. I promise I will come back sooner this time. No more unexplained absences or broken bones. I promise,” Kate said a silent goodbye to her friend when she reached out and touched her tombstone.

Yelena watched Kate hold on for a few seconds before standing up, leaving a bouquet of flowers at the grave. She waited for the brunette to turn around and Kate greeted her with the biggest smile, “need a lift?”

Kate ran over to her, throwing her arms around Yelena’s neck, “I’ve missed you so much.”

“It’s been a long week,” Yelena wrapped her up, inhaling her deeply. “Please tell me that you are ready for me to cook you some lunch and then crash out. I am so tired.”

“I will never say no to food and nap time with my girl,” she loosened her grip of Yelena and took the offered helmet. “So anxious to get to me that you are still in your scrubs?”

“Must have been an accident,” Yelena looked back behind her and wink.

Yelena felt Kate mount the bike and wrap her arms around her waist. Kate squeezed tighter, “unfair you know what those do to me.”

“Maybe we can add a shower to the lineup after lunch.”

It was nice to see that Yelena was just as affected as Kate was most days. Seriously, scrubs should be illegal in their house. There was no logical explanation but Kate loved the way Yelena looked in them, “shower orgasms are some of my favorite.”

“Oh,” Yelena looked behind her again, “tomorrow night is family dinner.”

“Do you want to tell them about the penthouse?”

Yelena’s smile could’ve blinded Kate, “if you are asking me if I want to move in with you, then that’s a stupid fucking question.”

“So we are doing this?”

Yelena circled her arms around the ones holding her, “I have never been more certain of a decision in my life. Kate, meeting you was like a little electric touch that I needed to bring me back to life.”

Chapter Text

*7 months later- September*  

Nothing made Yelena feel more alive than being in the operating room. Having just started her third year, her interns now had their own interns and she and Sonya had more freedom regarding their ability to make choices and perform in the operating room. The emergency room was where Yelena felt she should be. Urgent, life saving surgeries where she had to perform immediately and without hesitation. It gave her a high she had been chasing since the army. Sonya had chosen general surgery as her specialty so she didn’t spend as much time in the pit but they still found themselves together more often than not. Still, she felt like she found her people and where she belonged.

The music in the operating room was playing loud enough to be heard but at a volume that still allowed for her to hear and be heard while working. They were trying to repair a ruptured spleen from a motorcycle accident that came into the ER in less than favorable conditions. The ortho had already set the broken bones, they just needed to finish up with the surgery and the bones could be cast, “he is going to be in a lot of pain. For a very long time.” She said to Cassie who had decided to follow in Yelena’s footsteps and was considering emergency as her special interest. 

The surgery was interrupted by the Chief’s voice coming over the intercom from the gallery, “Dr. Belova, while you are doing an excellent job it seems your spleen repair is almost complete and Dr. Lang can take over for you.” She saw Yelena shake her head and look up at her, “don’t tell me no. We have a very important date and if you are late then your girlfriend will be very pissed and I won’t stand for it.” 

“Oh shit,” Yelena couldn’t believe it had slipped her mind. She had been too involved in this surgery, “here you go Lang. You know what to do. And if you fuck it up I have Sonya waiting to kick your ass.” 

Cassie took the tools from Yelena’s hands, “so absolutely no pressure at all. Gee thanks, Dr. Belova.” 

“Anytime,” she laughed, “good work everybody. I appreciate you all.” She exited the operating room, throwing her gloves and mask in the trash. Her gown went into the laundry and she began to scrub out of surgery. “I can not believe I almost forgot today,” she looked at the clock and noted they still had a good 45 minutes to get where they needed to be. 

Wanda entered the prep room, “go shower and get ready. Natasha and Mac are picking us up out front in 25 minutes. We don’t know how traffic will be getting out to Queens.” 

Yelena rolled her eyes, “I’ll be ready, mom.” 

Twenty minutes later, Wanda had found Yelena already outside of the hospital sitting on the bench having a cigarette, “has anyone ever told you that’s a bad look for a doctor?” 

Yelena laughed, “no but I said that to a patient on my very first shift here and she didn’t laugh. It’s a bad habit but I’ll quit eventually. I have enough stubborn women in my life to make sure I stay on track.” 

“We only care about you, dear,” Wanda looked down at her sister-in-law. After the whole ordeal with Fisk and Mac moving in, Wanda and Natasha got married. It was a quick ceremony at the courthouse but it was perfect for them. Ever since, Wanda had been dropping hints to Yelena about proposing to Kate and while it wasn’t a horrible thought, they were both just getting started in their careers so she decided to wait. Though she would be lying if she said she didn’t think about marrying Kate almost daily especially when she came home from a super long on-call rotation and Kate had surprised her with a dog. “I want to call her Fanny,” Yelena announced as she sat down and let the akita come over and sniff her. The two of them instantly bonded. For the most part, there was someone always home with Fanny and Lucky so they didn’t cause too much mischief and Yelena had trained them both with Russian commands. “Why are you always so fucking hot?” Kate had asked her one afternoon when she came home to Yelena teaching the dogs tricks. “It takes a lot of practice to maintain my position as the scary hot doctor at the hospital.”

“Get in losers,” Natasha and Mac pulled up in front of the hospital. 

“Why do you put up with her?” Yelena put out her cigarette and threw it in the receptacle.

“She’s grown on me,” Wanda laughed, getting into the front seat. 

“Like a dirty old fungus, got it,” Yelena got in the backseat with Mac. “What no puppies?” 

“I tried to convince her but she said they couldn’t come,” Mac was only slightly pouting. 

“I was under strict orders only humans were invited,” Natasha looked through the rearview mirror, “seatbelts, girls.” 

Yelena rolled her eyes and whispered to Mac, “such a mom.” 

Kate and Yelena did eventually move out of Wanda’s apartment and up into the penthouse. It came with a lot of tears from Mac when Wanda had said that she wanted the three of them to remain in her house.

*

 “It’s not fair. They literally have 8 bedrooms up there.” 

“Sweetheart, I think Kate and Yelena might want a little alone time,” Wanda tried her best to curb the outburst. 

“Oh that’s bullshit. If they didn’t want us they wouldn’t have offered. What’s so great about this place anyway?” 

Wanda was a little put off at the idea of moving. This apartment was her first big purchase as a doctor and there were a lot of good memories attached to the place. “I’m sorry but the answer is no. We are staying here in this apartment.” 

Mac just nodded and stood up, wiping away some tears, “this is so unfair. I finally just found a family and it’s already being torn apart.” 

Wanda watched the girl turn and storm out of the living room, slamming her door behind her, “well that went well.” 

“And just think,” Natasha finally spoke, “she’s not even a teenager yet.” 

*

Yelena chuckled to herself in the backseat thinking about the outcome. Now everyone was living in the penthouse. Wanda tried to keep her house but when she realized after a few months they were all spending more time upstairs than in their own house, it didn’t make sense to try to hold onto it. Wanda put the apartment up for sale and it sold in less than a week. 

Kate was also planning to sell her mother’s penthouse. They didn’t need it and it wasn’t like her mother was coming home. She was in the middle of working something out with the building to be able to keep her custom made garage for all of her cars. Kate cleaned out her old bedroom and took a bunch of stuff that belonged to her dad including her fencing things. Other than that, she didn’t care if the penthouse burned. She didn’t plan to step foot in there again. “If we keep all this crap in there, we can sell it for more,” was her rationalization for not clearing it out properly. 

Yelena wasn’t arguing with her. She would’ve been more inclined to if her girlfriend tried to sell the garage and cars. 

“She’s doing it again,” Mac called out to the rest of the car. 

“I’m not doing anything,” Yelena grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Oh is she doing that thing where she’s making heart eyes thinking about her girlfriend?” 

“Shut up, Natasha,” Yelena very maturely and like the adult she is and stuck her tongue out at her sister. “I’m just happy for her and I was thinking about stuff. I don’t need to be analyzed by you,” she gave Mac a look. 

Mac just shrugged, “why don’t you just marry her already?” 

“She has a point, sis. It’s bound to happen sooner or later.” 

“I vote for sooner,” Mac said enthusiastically. 

“All right girls. Leave poor Yelena alone. I think that’s enough teasing for one car ride.” 

“Fine,” Nat and Mac said at the same time, earning a few snickers. 

“Jesus the two of you spend entirely too much time together,” Yelena rolled her eyes. Since Mac came to live with them, it’s been like having a younger sister and most days Yelena found it passable. Mac was okay. She really enjoyed listening to music with Yelena which made the blonde happy. At least they had something they could bond over. 

“Maybe Kate is going to propose to you. It would be a really cool day to propose.” 

“Mac,” Natasha looked at her through the mirror, “Wanda is right. We don’t want Yelena all flustered when we see Kate. That wouldn’t be nice.” 

“Thanks I guess.” 

“It would be funny as hell,” Natasha continued, “but it wouldn’t be nice.” 

Finally after what seemed like hours, they parked in the designated lot before walking up to a very large and foreboding looking building, “Kate’s been in here everyday for six months? No wonder she comes home grumpy sometimes,” Mac grabbed onto Yelena’s arm without thinking twice. 

Yelena relaxed her muscles and let the girl hold onto her, “yeah but she always comes around after we get some food in her tummy. That seems to be something the two of you have in common.” 

Natasha caught up to them, “I think hell has frozen over when my sister said the word tummy. Ouch,” she rubbed the back of her head, “what was that for.” 

“We are being nice today, Natalia, for Kate’s big day. Leave your sister alone,” she grabbed Natasha’s hand and led her into the building. 

Yelena and Mac followed the other two inside, “did you leave your knives and pistols at home?” 

Mac looked at Yelena for a minute before she saw the blonde smirking at her, “I only have my brass knuckles on me today.” 

Yelena shrugged, “they might let you in.” 

After passing through security that resembled the airport, the four of them were finally permitted inside. They found their seats quickly and Yelena noticed the big “Congratulations Graduates” banner hanging up on the stage. 

“I’m so proud of her,” Wanda’s motherly tone was in full force already. 

“Who would’ve thought, our little vigilante’s gone legit,” Natasha smirked, grabbing Wanda’s hand before she had a chance to smack her. 

Yelena laughed at that one because she was just as shocked as Natasha was when Kate came home six months ago and announced that she was going to the NYPD Police Academy. 

*

It had been a long few days at work and all Yelena wanted to do was go home and rest. Unfortunately for her, it was a family night. Everyone was already sitting around the couch so she sighed and asked, “okay what do you want me to make for dinner?” 

“Kate’s bringing pizza home,” Mac looked way more excited at the prospect of pizza. 

Yelena tried not to take it personally. She knew not even her best dish could beat the greasy delicacy that was pepperoni pizza, “she’s not home yet?” 

Wanda shook her head, “she left when Natasha and I got up. Said there was something she needed to take care of and left.” 

“Hmm,” Yelena’s gut instinct was to worry but she was working on that, “maybe she went to visit Carol.” She quickly hopped in the shower and changed into a pair of leggings and one of Kate’s old t-shirts to prepare for family night before heading back into the living room. 

Yelen was greeted by the smell of pizza and a big smile from her girlfriend, “honey I’m home and I brought deliciousness.” The blonde cringed at the nickname and Kate immediately picked up on it, “sorry I meant babe. Honey is too 1950s heterosexual for us.” 

Mac started laughing, “see you can’t move upstairs. This is quality bullshit we will be missing.” Wanda fixed her with a look, “I mean quality entertainment.” 

Everyone was already sitting around the living room, grabbing slices of pizza. Yelena went and sat next to Kate, kissing her briefly before taking her own plate, “oh here,” Kate reached behind her and produced a bottle of hot sauce, “because I know you can’t just eat it regularly.” 

“You do love me,” Yelena kissed her cheek before grabbing a slice of pizza and proceeding to dump a large amount of hot sauce onto it. “Now this is a slice of pizza.” 

Everyone was talking, eating and having a nice time together as a family. Nobody expected Kate to deliver her next line, “I signed up for the Police Academy. I start on Monday.”  Four heads turned to look at her, “it’s like I just won The Voice.” 

“I’m sorry. What?” 

Kate looked at her girlfriend, “that’s where I was today. I had to complete a physical fitness test and a psychological evaluation. I passed both so I start on Monday.” 

“I must have lost my ability to hear correctly,” Natasha was also looking at Kate like she had two heads. 

“I think what these two are trying to ask is, when do you decide to do this?” Wanda was just as thrown off as the other two. 

“Oh well,” Kate shrugged and took a bite of her pizza. “Fury kept texting me and I’m like geez old man get the hint I’m not interested. I haven’t heard from him in a week or so. I thought he finally got the hint. Then Darcy showed up one night when the three of you were working.” She heard Mac make a noise and saw a pout forming on her face. “You were already asleep and I wasn’t waking you up for Darcy. She’s a bad influence.” 

“Not fair,” Mac grumbled. 

“My daddy always said fairs are for tourists. I still do not know what he means but that does not matter. You did what?” 

Kate laughed, “well Darcy made some good points. She’s very hard to argue with.” 

“Darcy does have two very compelling arguments on the front of her chest.” 

“Natalia,” Wanda warned with only her name. 

“What? I was just saying what everybody was thinking,” she tried to hide her smirk when she saw Yelena holding in a laugh. 

“Let Kate finish her story. No more interruptions.” 

“Thanks Wanda. Like I said. Darcy is very hard to argue with. We were just hanging out, shooting the shit,” she cast a side eye to see if Wanda was going to reprimand her for swearing in front of the child. When nothing happened she continued, “then Dacry started with the fact that Fury has been talking about me and it’s getting on her nerves. I was like yeah what is he obsessed with me? Then she started to get serious telling me I’m already doing the cop thing just illegally and not getting paid for it. She told me how much Fury was willing to pay for me if I made it through the Academy and what his plans were for me. I told her I didn’t really care about the legality of my activities because I hadn’t gotten in trouble yet but then she reminded me that it might always be her and Fury cleaning up my messes. I started asking questions about the Academy and honestly it doesn’t sound so bad.” 

“Take a breath,” Yelena rubbed her girlfriend’s shoulder.  

“Basically the money seemed too good to pass up and I know why you are thinking, it’s not like I need the money.”

“Kate,” Yelena felt her girlfriend getting nervous and agitated the more she continued to speak, “slow down. Look at me.” She waited for Kate to look at her, “nobody is judging you here. Just breathe and speak freely.” 

Kate closed her eyes and took a breath, “I needed something more. Some sort of purpose. After Carol died, even before that I was just floating through life. School didn’t work out. I’m making money from Bishop Security but I don’t actually do anything. I like helping people. Saving lives. It would be nice to be the hero and have it count for something for once.” 

“You are talking to a room of doctors and a firefighter,” Wanda broke the silence. 

“Yeah. Believe me, nobody understands that feeling more than the three of us,” Natasha added. 

“I wasn’t going to accept because it’s in Queens and I can’t drive. I don’t want to be more of a burden to the three of you than I already am but Darcy said she’d take me everyday. I have a feeling Fury put her up to it but I accepted.” 

“You’ve never been a burden to us, Kate.” 

“What do you think?” She turned her attention from Wanda towards Mac who had been relatively quiet during the whole conversation. 

“You saved my life and all of those girls. Cassie too. It already counts for something,” Mac shrugged and took a bite of her pizza, “I’m cool with it.” 

Kate let out a breath and a few chuckles were heard at Mac’s response, “well it’s settled then. I guess I'm going to be a cop.” 

After everyone went back to their dinner and watched the movie, Yelena leaned over and whispered, “I’m so proud of you, little hawk.” 

*

Natasha smacked her out of her memory before the ceremony started and past Yelena had been correct. She was so proud of her girlfriend. Kate looked so happy when they called her name and announced which district she’d be working for. Of course Fury had claimed her before she even agreed to go to the academy. He saw what everyone else saw in Kate. She was special and Yelena knew she would make an excellent officer even if she disobeyed the law herself most of the time. 

Yelena hung back and watched her sister, Wanda and Mac give their congratulations and love to her girlfriend. When Kate looked up at her, Yelena held up a pack of smokes, winked at her and turned to leave the building. She knew Kate would follow her outside eventually if her family ever let her go. 

Yelena laughed when she saw the other family members who must have been waiting for the ceremony to end to fill their lungs with poison as she found a secluded spot against the building, still visible to the door so Kate could find her. She was lost in her cigarette when she heard a very familiar voice coming up next to her, “hasn’t anyone told you that smoking kills, Doc?” 

Yelena inhaled deeply, holding the smoke in her lungs before exhaling away from her girlfriend, “if I recall correctly, someone told me that I look very hot when I smoke. Can’t have it both ways, Kate.” 

“Actually,” she pointed to her badge that was adorned on her brand new police uniform, “I think I can. I am the law now after all.” 

Yelena let her eyes travel down Kate’s body, “hmm,” was all she said before taking another puff of her cigarette. “I see no crimes being committed here, Officer Bishop.” 

“Okay fuck, Yelena,” Kate almost whined resting her back again the wall. “You can’t look at me like that and call me that with your sexy ass voice when I’m surrounded by my new coworkers. It would be very uncool to be caught fucking at graduation.” 

Yelena laughed, “so funny, always. Kate Bishop, you are hilarious. I think that would make you cooler. Some of those rookies up there with you didn’t even look three days out of middle school.” 

“Oh no they have to be 21 to join,” Kate saw her girlfriend smirking. “And now you are being sarcastic and hot at the same time.” 

“Okay,” Yelena put her cigarette out on the bottom of her heel. “I’ll behave. I was very impressed with the ceremony. Nobody threw up or passed out.” 

“That’s what you were expecting?” 

“Both happened at my highschool graduation. It was a circus. But this is Ohio for you,” Yelena laced her fingers with Kate’s and started walking towards the parking lot when she saw her family already making their way to the car. “If you can survive carpooling with Lewis for six months, I know you are going to be an amazing officer. Even if you sometimes go outside of the law.” 

Kate pointed back to her badge again, “I am the law now, babe. Keep up. It’s official.” 

“How quickly I forget these things.” She squeezed Kate’s hand, “I’m so proud of you.” 

“Thank you for coming. I know it was kind of lame.” 

“It was not lame. It took a lot of hard work to get here. And even if it was a little lame, I’d still be here because I love you. Did you tell Natasha where you wanted to go for dinner? She said she was going to ask you.” 

“Yeah. And then it morphed into a whole ten minute conversation with your sister, her wife and Mac about when I'm going to propose to you.” 

Yelena stopped for a second, “I would offer to kill her but you are official now so I can not do that. I’ll just slap her when I get in the car. Do not listen to them. They are busy bodies. Too much time on their hands.” 

“They mean well.” 

“I’ll still smack her. There’s so many things she deserves a smack for.” 

“I mean, marrying me wouldn’t be so bad would it?” 

“No it would not,” Yelena had spent a lot of time thinking about the future. “I might have thought about it but only when the time is right. There’s no rush for the future. You are just getting started.” 

“I love you.” 

“I know and I love you too. I’ll talk to Natasha and tell her to stay out of our business. Do not worry about her.” Yelena started walking towards the car again when she saw them all standing outside looking at the two of them walking. “What the hell are they doing?” 

“Yelena?” 

“Always so nosy,” Yelena rolled her eyes. 

“Yelena?” 

The blonde felt a tug on her hand, causing her to stop walking, “what?”

Yelena turned around and saw her girlfriend down on one knee holding a beautiful ring that looked almost too nice to be real. She looked at the ring and back to her girlfriend who seemed both confident and nervous. 

“Yelena Belova, I love you more than anything. You have said many times that I brought you back to life but it’s really you who did that for me. Our life is a whirlwind and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. We both know waiting around isn’t our style. Will you marry me?” 

*roll the end credits* 

Just breathe just relax, it’ll be okay 

Just an hour til your car’s in the driveway 

Just the first time every hanging out with you tonight 

I’ve got my money on things going badly 

Got a history of stories ending sadly 

Still hoping that the fire won’t burn me 

Just one time, just one time 

All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life 

Got a feeling your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life 

And I want you now, wanna need you forever 

In the what if your electric touch

I’ve been left in the rain lost and pining 

I’m trying hard not to look like I’m trying 

Cause every time I tried hard for love, it fell apart

I’ve gotten used to no one calling my phone 

I’ve grown accustomed to sleeping alone 

Still I know that all it takes is to get it right 

Just one time, just one time 

All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life 

Got a feeling your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life 

And I want you now, wanna need you forever 

In the heat of your electric touch 

I was thinking just one time 

Maybe the stars align 

And maybe I call you mine 

And you won’t need space 

Or string me along while you decide 

and just one time 

Maybe the moments right 

It’s 8:05 and I see two headlights 

*cut the music* 

Kate’s down on one knee looking up hopefully at Yelena who swears she hasn’t breathed in approximately three minutes. Was this what being in shock felt like? She could feel the six eyes from her family on the back of her neck and it was making her even more nervous. Kate must have sensed her nerves because the brunette stood, resting their foreheads together, “it’s just you and me here babe. We don’t have to rush into this. I just want to be able to call you mine. A promise of a future. We can decide all of this together.” 

Yelena stood back slightly, “yes.” 

The biggest smile broke out across Kate’s features, “yes I knew it,” she hurried and slid the ring on Yelena’s finger as if having a second to think would have her changing her mind. 

Yelena threw her arms around Kate’s neck, kissing her as if they were the only two people in the parking lot. The spark of electricity between the two of them seemed to grow a little stronger. They were pulled out of their moment by a round of applause. “Seems you made quite a scene at graduation, Kate Bishop. Kate Belova? Kate Bishop-Belova? We can figure that out later.” 

They hurried back to the car, “well I guess we are getting married,” Yelena couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. 

“See,” Mac said looking up at Yelena, “I told you today would be a cool day for a proposal.” 

*back to the credits* 

All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life 

Got a feeling your electric touch 

All I know is this could either break my heart or bring it back to life 

Got a feeling your electric touch could fill this ghost town up with life 

And I want you now, wanna need you forever 

In the heat of your electric touch