Kate happily hummed an upbeat tune under her breath as she pushed open the doors to the official Avenger's compound gym. She had almost perfected a brand new move that she planned to show off to Clint and Natasha, her two favorite Avengers. No offense to Cap and Tony. All she had to do was get the last turn down then she'd had a new move in her ever-growing arsenal.
The archer grinned. Yes, she'd make a good Avenger yet. She was going to make Clint proud.
But when Kate reached the spot where the mats typically were, she found that they had all been hastily leaned upright against the wall. And in the middle of it all was Yelena, of all things, dancing. Ballet, to be specific.
Kate stood in awe as the woman traveled across the floor with such grace and elegance, her hair up in a flawless bun, not a strand out of place. The only thing Yelena was missing was a tutu.
"Hey, I didn't know you could dance!" Kate exclaimed, unable to take her eyes off the person she had once only seen as a badass assassin.
But not a single muscle in Yelena's face twitched, and she continued with her routine as if there were nobody within a ten-mile radius of her. This was her one-woman show, and the only person she needed to impress was herself.
But that didn't stop a mischievous smile from appearing on Kate's face.
This was a perfect opportunity to level the playing field with her rival. Ballet? She'd expect a background in jiu-jitsu or even fencing as she herself had, but dance? Kate could almost laugh at the femininity associated with the sport, especially given Yelena's boisterous personality. Although she was impressed with how skillful Yelena looked as she glided across the floor, Kate knew that this was one of the only chances she had to tease the Russian about something. It was payback time.
"Wow, Belova." Kate crossed her arms and scoffed haughtily, enjoying this a little more than she should. "I never took you for the princess type. Guess you learn something new every day."
Yelena continued to ignore her, clearly uninterested in having a conversation with her. What else was new.
"O-kay...," Kate drew out under her breath, looking the assassin up and down as she wondered briefly if something else was going on. But she quickly shook off the feeling and huffed, frustrated by the lack of response. Usually, Yelena would go along and tease her back, but today was different. She wasn't playing her game and that only infuriated the archer more. What, she wasn't worth her time anymore? Sometimes Yelena was the worst when it came to maintaining a friendship.
But no matter, Kate had another trick up her sleeve that was sure to get a reaction. After all, she was still young, so why not have some childish fun every once in while?
Kate readied her stance, then began trying to replicate Yelena's moves. She by no means was able to reach the level of agility Yelena displayed, but Kate was still proud of how much she had improved since she had started living at the compound. She grinned as she began to enjoy dancing around the gym, a strange yet freeing feeling washing over her. Ballet felt much nicer than the grueling training Clint or Natasha would put her through. She understood why Yelena-
"Wha- Hey!" Kate found herself being forcibly pushed back, a hand gripping her throat, at first just hard enough to disrupt her breathing but not quite enough to choke her. Her feet dragged as she tried to squirm out of the grip, but the fingers only held her tighter. To protect herself, she soon relaxed into the hold, her eyes finally meeting Yelena's fiery hazel ones.
The person in front of her hardly looked like her friend. Despite their height difference, Kate cowered under the Russian's steely gaze, swallowing thickly as she silently begged her to let go. She didn't pity any villain who had to face her in the future.
"Tvoya rabota nog neakkuratna. Opyat' taki," Yelena growled before she roughly drove Kate away. Her chin raised with authority when Kate crashed to the ground, smirking with her eyes but not her mouth.
Kate's jaw dropped, and she scooted backward on the floor away from her, fear rising in her chest and every alarm bell ringing in her ears. Her throat hurt, and she just wanted to leave. She had only wanted to mess with her friend a little.
Kate had gone in too deep. And she couldn't even understand what Yelena was saying.
"Opyat' taki," Yelena repeated, her words low but still stinging like a thousand bees. She looked older. And if looks could kill, Kate would be dead ten times over.
"Um, I don't know-"
"Vy vozrazhayete protiv menya, vdova?" Yelena asked, her accent growing thicker as her breath turned hot with suppressed anger.
The younger woman gulped. She needed a way out. She needed Natasha, and fast.
Something was very, very wrong.
But how was she supposed to get past her? There was no doubt Yelena had her beat when it came to speed and technique. So the only chance she had was to try and reach her friend before it was too late. She had to trust that Yelena didn't actually want to hurt her.
"Wait for just a second, and please listen to me." Kate raised her arms up and away from her sides, trying her best to erase all terror from behind her eyes. "Yelena, it's me. It's... It's Kate Bishop. You know, Hawkeye Jr?" she insisted, smiling a little as if to prove her point.
The assassin just stared, boring holes through Kate's forehead while the rest of her body remained motionless and unfeeling.
Kate almost facepalmed but stopped herself before she triggered Yelena with the quick movement. Of course, Yelena wouldn't snap out of it just for her. She wasn't her favorite person. Kate probably didn't even crack the top ten.
"Um... Natasha? What about Natasha? You remember her, right?" she tried, laughing nervously when Yelena's gaze moved down to her eyes. Kate slowly brought up a hand, trying her best to ease her friend off the ledge. "Right? I can find her for you. You just have to give me a chance, okay?"
Yelena slowly tilted her head; her lips turned down in traditional Yelena fashion. But, impressively, her fixed eyes remained darkened and empty. Almost as if she was possessed.
Kate could only assume this had something to do with Yelena's past, although she had only heard snippets in whispers around the compound. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know the truth now that she's seen the disciplined dancer side of Yelena. But as scared as she was, her heart also ached for her friends, the Red Room survivors. Her respect for Yelena grew, despite the fact she was currently being stood over like a dog.
Yelena, after staring for several more seconds, eventually grew bored of her and continued with her routine right where she had left off. Again, not a hair out a place, and not a single misstep. Robotic, yet beautiful.
Kate waited a few more moments before she crawled backward on the floor, her gaze never wavering from the limber Russian. Once the coast was absolutely clear, as Kate made sure several times, she clambered to her feet and made a dash for the door, her shoes squeaking on the linoleum floors on her exit. The archer cringed, but her speed did not falter.
Where was Natasha? She'd know what to do.
xxx
"Oh, thank God I found you!"
Natasha paused on her way to her quarters to see young Kate Bishop jogging down the hallway to get to her. "Hey, Kate, what's-"
"You gotta come quick!" Kate announced, forgoing all formalities. "Yelena totally just attacked me, and I think something is wrong!"
Without even thinking about it, Natasha laughed and shook her head, her expression softening as she thought of the drama Yelena must've caused. "That just sounds like my sister. Does she need a talking to again? I keep telling her-"
"No, you don't get it!" Kate interrupted again, taking Natasha by the wrist and pulling her forward in an attempt to lead her back to the gym. "She's not herself. Something is wrong, Natasha, and I think you need to come and help her."
Natasha glanced down at Kate's hand on her wrist before looking back into her friend's eyes. There, she saw a fear, unlike the emotion she'd typically see in Kate after one of Yelena's playful ambushes. She was completely serious. Something had happened that was out of the ordinary. "What happened?"
"I don't know, I just..." Kate breathed out, trying to remember what she had been doing before her run-in with the assassin. She bit her lip before her eyes lit up in remembrance. "I was going to the gym to work on a new move when I noticed the gym mats had been moved. I thought it was weird at first, but then I saw that Yelena had moved them because she wanted to dance and-"
Natasha's blood ran cold, chilly shivers running up her spine after hearing such a simple word. "What do you mean 'dance'?"
Kate noticed the change in Natasha's stance and let go of her wrist, knowing she didn't need to convince her much further of the situation. "Ballet. I didn't even know she knew how, but she's really good at it."
"And..." Natasha swallowed, almost afraid to know the answer to her next question. There was no telling what Yelena could do when she falls into this state. "You said attacked... Care to explain?"
"O-oh, right..." Kate squirmed, feeling uncharacteristically nervous to tell Natasha the truth. Sure, it had been her that had gotten hurt, but if she hadn't pushed Yelena, maybe none of this would've happened. Guilt swirled in her stomach before she took a deep breath and spilled everything all at once in an avalanche of information. "Okay, so basically, I started teasing Yelena about secretly being a dancer because, like, isn't that something traditionally feminine? Not that men can't dance, it's just that usually-"
"Kate."
Natasha's soft voice cut through Kate's story, making her stop and let out an awkward laugh. 'Oh man, I was just scolded by an Avenger...' "Right, sorry! Anyway, I was messing with her, and then she... Um... She grabbed me by the throat..."
The redhead's neck coiled back at the confirmation Kate was by no means exaggerating the use of the word Attack. Her gut felt very protective of the girl in front of her, wishing that things had gone differently or that she had found Yelena first. Why didn't she try and find her sooner?
"Uh... I think she was speaking Russian? I never took a course, though, so I'm not completely sure," Kate finished, realizing that everything else that happened was simply trivial. Besides, with the way Natasha was looking at her, she knew she had fully convinced Natasha of her dire need for her help.
"Are you hurt?" Natasha asked after a short silence between them, tentatively holding Kate's shoulders near her neck.
Kate caught herself before she leaned into Natasha's touch when her hands moved up to the base of her neck to feel for any abnormalities. Natasha's movements reminded her of her mother's, and it was days like these she was hard not to miss. And as much as she respected Natasha, she truly felt that, in the end, this was merely an Avenger looking out for a hurt citizen. Why would someone in the spotlight as much as Natasha want to care for a broken kid like her, anyway?
"I'm fine," Kate reassured, her voice coming out barely a whisper despite her efforts to speak louder.
Natasha nodded once, her expression grim, but her caring eyes still made themselves clear. "Okay." Her thumbs barely grazed the sides of Kate's neck, and the girl had to suppress a longing whimper. "I'm sorry about all this, Kate. I had hoped she had gotten past all of this, but I guess that was just wishful thinking."
Her hands finally left Kate's skin, and she found herself missing it as soon as it was gone. Not like she'd like an excuse to be examined for injuries again.
"I need to go get her. Do you want to come with me?" Natasha asked; Kate, snapping to attention at what she found to be an odd question.
"Come with you? Why?"
"I'd understand if you didn't want to, but-" Natasha smiled, a hint of sadness behind her tightly closed lips. "I promise I won't let her hurt you again. Besides, you are her friend. She'd like to know that you're okay when she comes to."
Friends, huh? Kate hadn't really been sure if Yelena had seen her as such, but if Natasha was confirming it, Yelena must've too. She matched Natasha's smile and nodded. Time to help a friend.
xxx
"Make sure you stay back, okay?" Natasha reminded over her shoulder for possibly the millionth time when they had reached the gym.
Kate hummed, holding her hands up in compliance. "I will; I will. I would like to not have a repeat of earlier if I can help it."
Natasha gritted her teeth at the thought but quickly shook it off and pushed the door open, Kate tailing her as she entered to look for her sister. There, just like Kate had described, was Yelena, still dancing as if nothing had happened before.
Kate looked over just in time to see Natasha's throat bob uncomfortably.
Natasha recognized this routine. Her instructor used to make her do this until her toes bled and her ankles felt like they might break with one strong gust of wind. She shouldn't be surprised Yelena had learned it too, but her never-ending wish she had gotten her out before resurfaced, much to her despair. But Nat couldn't let it affect her too much because Yelena was here now, and she needed her help.
She turned to Kate, who wordlessly reassured her she knew the plan, then with an uneasy breath, she announced in a loud voice: "Otdykhay, vdova."
Yelena instantly stopped what she was doing and stood tall, her arms tucked behind her back, her eyes forward and unblinking.
The younger woman's eyes widened at the sight before her. Not only had Kate figured out Yelena could dance today, but she had also seen the rarity of Yelena fully submitting to someone. She didn't think she'd see the day when Yelena did as she was told so quickly.
Natasha began approaching Yelena, her steps strategic and calculated. Once she was close enough, she continued with the next instruction. "En pointe."
Again, Yelena listened, standing up on her toes perfectly despite her lack of ballet shoes.
"Yeshche raz," Natasha continued after a short pause. She knew what could help, but that meant facing her own demons. This was not what she was expecting on what seemed like an ordinary Monday.
Yelena readied herself and began the routine from the beginning, gliding across the room with the same unwavering grace.
Natasha waited until the right moment before she stepped in, falling in sync with her sibling, even though they had never danced together before.
Kate knew she wasn't supposed to find this heart-wrenching moment to be beautiful, but she couldn't help it. It looked like the women had spent years perfecting this routine together in secret, waiting for the day they could show the world what they were capable of. And it wasn't a stretch to believe that, in some dark, twisted way, that was the reality. She didn't have to be a genius to know that the Widows were lucky to be alive.
Tears stung Natasha's eyes as they got closer to the end of the routine, but she knew breaking down could cause Yelena to snap. She couldn't watch Yelena as she wanted to, but the glimpses Natasha stole reminded her of how Yelena got the titles she did. Hardly anyone could match her grace and natural talent. She began wondering if, in another life, Yelena could be a professional dancer.
Their dance came to an end with them meeting in the middle, and Natasha could tell just by the way Yelena was breathing that she was returning to reality. "Can you hear me?" the Avenger whispered, switching back to English to better confirm her hopes.
Yelena swayed from side to side, looking like her legs would give out from under her any second. Still, she nodded, shaky as it was.
Natasha drew closer, her movements steady in case Yelena reverted back. Although at this point, that was highly unlikely. She raised her hand and touched the side of Yelena's neck, her fingers trailing across her skin gently until she reached the nape of her neck. There, she squeezed, holding her tightly before she leaned next to her ear and whispered, "Razmestit'."
Yelena's head instantly dropped onto her sister's shoulder, doing exactly as she instructed with zero hesitation. Exhaustion racked her calves and shoulders, and the only between her and her knees hitting the floor were the strong arms snaking around her waist. Natasha's breath tickled her face as she pressed small kisses along her temple and cheek, soothing her cloudy and confused mind. She just wanted to go to bed.
"Take it easy, okay?" Natasha instructed softly, stroking the back of Yelena's neck in a repetitive motion. "You went on for a long time. Kate and I were worried about you."
"Kate?" Yelena finally spoke, her voice rough yet concerned.
"Yeah." Natasha ducked her head and gave Yelena another kiss, this time against her jaw. "You scared her, so she came and found me. I'm glad she did. Why didn't you tell me it's gotten bad again?"
"Did I hurt her?" Yelena instead asked, dodging the question with a more pressing one. And the sound of Natasha swallowing hard was all the confirmation she needed. "Dang it, Bishop..." Yelena buried closer, tucking her nose against the base of Natasha's neck, completely oblivious to the archer in the room, safe and sound. "Are you mad?"
Natasha shook her head before she maneuvered her arms up to Yelena's shoulders and carefully pried her away from her body. She pressed their foreheads together to make sure Yelena's eyes wouldn't wander before she spoke again: "I'm not mad. Kate is okay. I think at this point, she's more worried that this is her fault."
" 's not," Yelena confirmed just loud enough for Kate to overhear. "And she's stupid for thinking so..."
Kate smiled a little, although the embarrassment didn't skip over her. At least Yelena seemed to be okay, tired as she looked.
"Is now a good time to tell you she's here?" Natasha whispered, her eyes sparkling with a small amount of mischief under her purest look of love.
Yelena raised her eyebrows before she leaned back just far enough away from Natasha to peer over her shoulder, and sure enough- "You didn't..."
"You're glad I did, don't lie to me," Natasha replied with ease, turning around to sling an arm over Yelena's shoulder. "She's okay. You mostly just scared her."
Kate clasped her hands in front of her uncomfortably when Natasha started to lead Yelena over, whispering... something to her as they walked. She wasn't quite sure what to do, as she didn't know what Natasha had relayed to her about the events. And as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't completely trust Yelena's intentions at the moment.
"Hey, Bishop."
"Huh?" Kate put her hands on her hips and smiled a tight-lipped smile, quick to pretend she had been listening the whole time.
"You're an idiot," Yelena addressed bluntly, her expression both stoic and serious.
Kate cleared her throat, and Natasha elbowed Yelena somewhat roughly.
"But..."
Yelena's demeanor changed so quickly that Kate nearly took a step back in surprise.
"Thank you. For getting Natasha." The Russian bumped against her sister, smiling when Natasha returned the favor. "And whatever I did to you, I'm sorry." Yelena's expression changed for the third time, this one not unlike a scolding teacher. "But don't do that again. I can't trust myself in that state to not sure you into a Hawkeye-themed smoothie."
Kate found herself laughing at the visual, but her mouth quickly clamped shut when Yelena's chin tilted up in question.
"I'm serious, Kate Bishop. Don't."
"I won't, I promise!" Kate crossed her heart with her finger and held her arms out to the side. "I've learned my lesson. Trust me."
"Hm." Yelena leaned against Natasha, satisfied with her apology and too tired to care about Kate seeing her being soft. "Let's hope so."
"What she means is-" Natasha gently smacked the back of Yelena's head, earning a whine of annoyance. "She's not going to hurt you again. Because if you find her like that again, you're going to come and find me. Right?"
"R-right!" Kate agreed, nodding with a bit too much enthusiasm. "I will. Scout's honor."
Yelena huffed, unimpressed with Kate's over-the-top agreement. But as much as she hated to admit it, she knew Kate was serious about it. "You're still an idiot, Hawkeye Jr."
xxx
Tvoya rabota nog neakkuratna. Opyat' taki - Your footwork is sloppy. Again.
Vy vozrazhayete protiv menya, vdova? - Are you talking back to me, Widow?
otdykhay, vdova - At ease, Widow
Yeshche raz - Once more
Razmestit' - Submit